Dungeon Magazine - 070

8/13/2019 Dungeon Magazine - 070

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Editorial

Gane of Ga.nesI r's nine when I first startd plv-ing DLNero\s & DR-{co\s! 'ith myfriend nd nextdoor neighbor, lavidHaris. It wrs the sufter of 19?7.Dvid hd pick.d up a thin blu bookat a localgaming store,and ire bganrolling up characterssoon he.efte.We hd no expenenccwitb roleplaying gamesand no clu shat irewe.e doing. but I can still rememberentering the first roo fDavidsdu.gen nd getlins kilied by th.eeeiant ants. That was nJ first brushwiih deth, and a sood ime was hdb! all.The lwo ofus returned to the storelveeks aier snd bought a shared copyofthe l{oDs,er Mnzal. rThe storehad only one cpJ eft, and David andI shared evenrhrng anysr rThciUsttations lone stirred the ima1'nation and mde th bok *orth buying. but for me it filled a specialneed:I was tired of fighting grnt aDts,andup until t hen I had no idea whrl cafrion crawler looked ike. I was alsodesj'ningmy own killer dungeon,and the 32-pageblue bookjust didn thave all the monsters needed

That was 21 years go.Vv, fty.Time flies when Jou'rc having fun.In 1986,s I ws enlering mJ firstyer ofuniversitr TSR released heprcmiere issue ol / )...\.to'\rAdreat.es masazine. t was likebeing nine years old all ovcr againthe exuberance. he inag intin. the

You sce, he most m.vel.us andamazing thing about thc D&D gameis that it adapts o suit pla!e.s ofalmost ny age Thc same rs moldedby ones imaginalion, and thus itappalso the nrne ear old. h l8year-old,and the 80 r.ar-old.Ifyou've ncver pl\'ed D&D before,this is your.hnce to find out whatyou're missine. ncorpo.ared n thisissue re 16 pgesofD&D fast pla!rules. I inlrte rou to lrr the fast-playgame with some ricnds. The rulesinclude a short adrenlure {'t in aruined toser that\ sure to prolidehou.s ofenjolentOn thc other hand. l rou're iong-time gmr.l invitc lou to run rhefst-playadventure for sohe fri endsor relatiles \rho har. never playedthe D&D gamebefo.c This is rourgoldenoppoftunity ro show hemwhat they've been nissing all these

We want to her horv hc adventureplyedour-Nhat gloriousor horiblefate befell he.haract.rs. and horvftuch thc platers eniolcd rhe gme.Wlen the dventu{ is con.luded. hebodiescounted.and the tfeasuretaken, sendus ! lcttcr tellrg us whathappened. \'e 1publish the best et-ters thai we receiveOh, and lest I brge!The person{ho sends s the ftostinteresting nd vocali!e talc oftheirgrop'sadventure{ nisd!enlure.as the case mJ be-rlill receiveafree onc-yearsbscripti{)n r)DLr.J.)xAd.enlles. as well as apnstinc copy ol lssue +1 1acollector'sitem no lngeravailablc in stores r.Any gooddventu.e is worth sharinswiih olhers I look fo)aard to hearingI .o ,^^t^i" 6gfl(WKu( x\xlr,, rI

AOVMURESOR sRROI!+TAYING AMES

Volume XIINumber 4PublisherWendyNoritake

Executive EditorPierceWattersEditorChristopherPerkinsA$ocite EditorDaveGross

Editorial AssistantJesseDeckerArt DirectorLany Smith

Production ManagerJohn DunnAdvrtising Sales Managel|BobHenning

Ad Tlafic ManagerJudy Smitha

The editors ofDL,\ctorAduenrurerswould lik tothank this issuescontributing aft sts andcartographem:Diesel,Stephen Danile, TelryDykstra, Bob Klasnich,Bradley McDevitt, AarcnWilliams, CIais Zipse,and Brom.

4 lssueNo 70


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The UlAffiOt thoulderedhedooropen, nd t cteakedn hinges rusedor centuries, heairsmelled f dampearthandancient, nspokenetets.Aheadof thefl,a stone-lined all disoppuredinto thedarkness evond."Let'sgo," said hewizard,consulfing is map."Hokl on," said he osue. Listen!"From the hallwayqhed ame he solt scrapitlgof boneagainstbone, nd out of the darknessstepped skeleton,he orchlight |lecting of itspolished ones. nother keletonoined f aftd hena thifd. Theif lower aws openedn a ooicelessattlecry, and the undetdwarriorsraised heirrusted wonlsand charsedheadoenturers.. .Welcome to the DUNGEoNS DRAGoNso ast-PlavGarne. his lb-paSespecialnclusionn Duvr,roi 'Adoenturess an introduction to the ADVNCEDDUNGEoNS DRAGoNS! ame-the world's mostpopular roleplaying ame. f you're an e\peri-encedplayer who knows all this stuff. share itwith someonewho hasn't playedbefore. f you'reinterested n how to play theD&D game, ead on.What Is aRoleplayingGame?In a roleplaying game, each ndividual involvedpretends to be an imaginary character, much thesameas an actor plays a part in a film or a play.The big difference is that in a film, the actors arefollowing a script-but in a roleplayinggame,youand the other playersare writing your own linesas you play out an adventure,and the ending ofthe story s not determineduntil you get there.One of the individuals in a D&D same is theDungeon Maste! (DM for short), the personwhoknows what the adventure is ll bout and tellsthe playerswhat's happening as the story movesalong. t's always necessaryor someone o be theDM, but this doesn't have to be the samepersonevery time you play. The other individuals areplayers, each one playing the role of his or herown player character PC for short). The adven-ture included with these rules, titled "The RuinedTower," s for one DM and up to four players.In the D&D game, player charactersare heroicfighters, mighty wizards, and cunning rogues.They joumey into lost ruins (the "Dungeons" ofthe game's title) and battle fierce monsters (some-times, though not always, "Dragons"). To play"The Ruined Towet" eachplayer picksone of thechaiacters from the sheets on pages 5-6. If youwant to play more advenfures,you can use thischalacte!over and over-you don't have to useanew character very time you play new game.The DM should read over all of these ules andthe adventurc before starting play. The playersshould readpages2-4 and look over the charactersheets on pges 5-6-but don't read any farther,or the surprisesof the adventurewill be ruined!2 D&D Fast-Plav ame

WhatAre CharactersMade OTake a minute to look at the charactersheetsonpages5-6. Make photocopies f thosepages fyouwant, cut eachof the pages n half, and makesurethat every player in your group has the sheet orthe character e or shewants to olav Here'swhatall the nformation on the characier'sheets eans.Name: Thecharacter's ame,alreadywritten in.

Player That's you, the player "running" thischaracter. ut vour own namehere.Class:D&D characters all into eeneralclasses.Each classhas advantagesover lhe others. Thecharacter lassesn this adventure nclude ighterslwho are good t tighting with swords dnd otherweapons),wizards (who can't fight with swordsbut can cst spells), and rogues (who are okaywith swords and can also do sneaky stuff likepicking locks).Race: n the D&D game, characters an belongto different races. ln this adventure, most of thecharacters re human. Niles is a halfling, which isa diminutive race of beinss who are known fortheir braverv and cunning.-Level: Chracters can b'ecarried over from oneadventure to the next (like a "saved game"). Asthey have more adventures, hey become morepowerful. Level s a measureof how Dowerful theaharacters re. n this advenfure,all tfte charactersare evel 2, which means hey are still fairly inex-perien(ed ndcangrow morepo\ erfu..Ability Scoresr hesenumbersale theheartof acharacter'sdesc ption. They tell what the strongpoints and weak points of the characterare.0ustlike realpeople,most charcters rebetterat somethings thn others.)SftnStr s how strong your character$.Derte;ty is how quick your character s.Constitution is how healthy your character s.Ifltelligence s hovr smart your character s.Wisdon is how much common sense our char-acterhas.Charisrna is how appealing your character is.Ability scores range from 3 to 18, with 3 bein8the lowest (and weakest),and 18 being the best.


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Fightersusually have high Strength, ogueshavehigh Dexterity, and wizards have high lntelli-gence.Your character's ability scores have aneffecton how well he or shedoesat certain hings.We'r,edone all the calculationsyou need to playthe adventure,so don't sweat t.Armor: This line tells you what type of rmoryour character s wearing.Armor Class:This number tells you the benefitof the armor your character s wea ng. A /o(,number for Armor Class s a gootl thing a 3 isbetter han a 4.Mover This number describeshow fast vourchdracLer ove5.All thechJractersn thi ' adven-ture move at the same rate, except for Niles thehalfling. He's slower than the resi. Thars rnrpor-Lanl f t he pdrt) runs away lrom ddnger, inccNiles will lg behind.Hit Points: Hit points are a measure of howmuch damage your charactercan withstand.Weapons,monsters,and falling into deep holescan all do damage o your character.Wounds: This line is used to keep track of thewounds your characterhas taken. If this numbergetsto be more thn your character'shit points,he or she s deadand out of the game.Use pencil to tally your character'swounds, ,ust in casesome of them get healed.(Elannahas helingpotion that, f drunk, will restore ost hit points.)Goldr Money in the D&D game s expressed ngold pieces.Everybodystartsout with no money,but characters an pick up gold as a treasureor areward during an adventure.The amount of goldyolrrchracter olle(. Boe\on lh : l in(.XP:Short or eXperience oints,XP s a measureof how successful ou are as fighter,wizard, orrogue.Everyonehas a certinamount of XP (thenumber varies)so that they re 2nd level.Next Level This is the mount of XPvour char-cternceJ5 o Bo to the ne\i le\el. ou'Het P b)defeatingmonstersand completingquests.Weapons:This section ells the types of weap-ons each characterhas and how much darn.rgeeachweapon causes. o find out what things like"ld8" and "1d10" mean,see he box in the nextcolumn that talksabout "Funky Dice."Spellsr BecauseThaddeus s a wizard, he hasspellshe cancst.His spellsare isted here.He cancast one ,rd8i. ,rissi/cand one sls47spell duringthe adventure.Abilities: Most of the characters ave differentabilities,dependingon their class, ace,and abili-ty scores. heseare coveredhere.Equipment This is a listing of other importantstuff your charactermay have.Ordinary items ikecloaksor boots aren't mentioned,but things thatmay be useful, ike rope and torches, re.

How the Game WorlisIn the D&D game, the Dungeon Master and theplayers team up to tell a story. The DM has ascript,alsocalledan adventure, hat tells what thechrr(tcrs 1i l l lace n Lhe uneon. he playershrve (hrcter heets, hich tell themwhat theircharacters an do and what items they can use.The DM sets he stage,usuallyby readinga pre-

FunkyDiceWeapons (and a lot oI other things in the game)come with a set of numbers, ike 1d8, 2d6, nd1d4+1.What do the numbersmean?They describe different types of dice used inthe D&D game. The number after the "d" tellsyou how many sides the die has. A "d6" is thenormal kind of di you'rc prcbably used to see-in8-a cube with each side represnting a num-ber ftom 1 to 6. Other dice come in differentshapes and have differnt numbers of sides: 4, 8,10,12, r .d 0.A number in front of the "d" tels how manydice should be rolled, so 1d8 means roll one &sided die, and 2d4 means roll two 4-sided dice.Aplus siSn foltowed by a number means that thenumber should be dded to the mll: "1d8+1"means roll an 8-sided die and add 1 to the result.A lot of Samesuse these dice. If you don't havethem,you cn8el lhem ata tme storeormaybea boolstore. If you can't get them ritht way,here's how to use6-sided dice to take the place ofall the other sizes.d4 - Roll a 6-sided diej roll over if the rcsult isa 5 o r 6 .d6 - Roll a 6-sideddie normally.d8 - Roll two dic of difterent colors. Roll oneto get a d4 number (roll over on 5 or 6). Roll thother on, and if the result s 4, 5, or 6, add 4 tothe total.d10 - Roll two dice of different colors. Roll oneto get a number between and 5 (roll over on a6). Roll theother one,and f the number s 4, 5, or6, dd 5 to the total.d12- Don't worry about a dl2 right now; youwon't need one in this adventure.d20-This one s a ittle complicated.Roll threedice (or one die three times). The first roll givesyou a number from 1 to 5 (roll over on a 6). If thenext roll is 4,5, or 6, dd 5 to the total.lfthe thirdroll is 4, 5, or 6, add 10 to the total. (Yeah, t's apain, but at leastyou don't have o buy ny diceuntil you decide f you like the Sameor not.)An easier way to get a result that's kind of Iikerollint a d20 is to roll a Gsided die and multiplythe result by 3- If you like that better, no prob-lem the adventure you're Soing to play wolksthe sameitherway-

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What Is All This StuftThe D&D gme is set in fantsy world, a lotIike our world back in the Middle Ases. D&DcharacteGus swords instead of guns, ride hors-es instead of cals, and fight monsters instead ofrush-hour traffic. In the qame, we throw arounda lot of words desffibinj stuff from that age. Incaseyou're not sure what we mean . . .

Swordsare good weapons,but not all swordsare eoual. Niles has a short sword, which is bestfor hiin becausehe's not very big. Darkblade hasa long sword, which is longer and has a bettrrcach. Elnna uses a two-handed sword, whichcauses he most damaee of the three.Daggers are sharp knives, handy for cuttintthints and stabbing monstels. DagSers cn alsobe thrown to do damase.A qurterstaff is a ple bout seven feet lon&usetul for bashing opponents and testint theeround ahead. Armor comes n sveral different styles. Chinmail is made of loose linls of metal. Scle milis made of overlappint metal sheets. Leathrarmor is more flexible and quieter (nd thereforebetter Ior rctues to sneali round in), but itdoesn't potect as well as chin mil or s.alrnail. Wizards don't wear rmor-it messes uptheir abilitv to cast sDells.thievest tools a handy to have becausesometimes it's easier (nd smarter) to open adoor by pickint a lock instead of bashing itdown. A set of tools includes bits of wire, clip-pers, mtdl pick!, nd other small items thaarogue uses to do ll sorts of crafty things.

pared bit of text, telling the players wht theirchracters ee.This might be a brief descriptionofthe reawhere thecharacters re,or an old legendbeing told by the fire, or a passage rom a book.The players then can ask questionsand tell theDM what they want their characters o do. TheDM tells the playerswhat their characters eeandhear Here's ar exampleof how that works:DM: You seea corkedbottlesitting on a shelf.Player: I pick up the bottle and look to seewhat's in it.DM: The bottle is corked, and you can't seethrough the glass.Player t pull the cork out of the bottle.DM: A black mass of smoke swirls out of thebottle, and from the heartof the smokeavoicethunders,"At last I am free! Now I can con-quer the world!"Player:Uh, is t too late o put the cork back ntothebottle?Youget the dea.Sometimeshere s somedoubtabout f a particular action s successful,f you hit

4 D&D Fast-Plav ame

an opponent, or how much dmageyou cause.For tht you need he funky dice (see hepreviouspage).Sometimeshe playerswill roll the dice andsometimes he DM will roll the dice, dependingon the situation.CombatThe playersare running chracterswho re goinSinto a dunseon in order to defet the monstersand take hir treasure. he monstersaren'thappyabout this, and as a result . . . we havecombat.The olavers roll the dice when their charactersare do-ing things. The DM rolls the dice for thethinqs he controls, ike the monsters,or when hewanls to keep the resultssecret iom the players.If there's any questionabout who rolls, the DMdecides makin-gdecisions s part of the job). Incombat,players always roll for their charcters.When combat starts, eachplayer needs to saywhat weapon his character s using. Darkblade,for example,may use his long bow or his longsword. Both have advantages nd disadvantges.Each of the olavers needs to make an "attackroll," trying to-gei a parhcular number or higheron 1d20(a 20-sideddie). In general, ighters rebest at combat nd wizards worst, and characterswith high Strength do better than weaker ones.Eachplayer gets o roll to see f his or her charac-ter >corera hit. In the dvenfure,we summarizeatl this and tell you what number eachof thechar-ctersneeds n order to hit. Ifyou miss, here s nopenalty, except that the monster is shll there andtakesa swing at your character n retum.On a hit, vour character'swepon causes cer-tain amount of damage.The long sword, for ex-mple, causes1d8 points of damage o an oppo-nent. The DM keeps rack of damage o the mon-sters-when a monster's wounds aregretet hanits totl hit Doints, he monster s dead.After the aharacters achget a chance o hit, theDM mkes attack rolls for-the monsters.Agin,we've done the calculations lready n the adven-ture, and we just give you the number required.lf a charcter s hit, themonster doesan amountof damage deteimined by another die roll. Theplayer marks this damageaswounds on his or hercharacter heet.rvVhat'sNext?You've got the character shets,you've got thebasic nfo bouthow the game s played and howcombat works, and now it's time to get into thereal action.The personwho's goin8 to be the DMshould read he restofthisbooklet. The restofyouwill be players, so don't read any farther. WhentheDM is ready,you cn begin the adventure.


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CharacterSheetName:DarkbladeClass: ighterLevel:2Ability ScoresStrength 17Dexterity 15Constitution 14Intelligence 11Wisdom 13Charisma 15Armor:ChainmailArmor Class:Movet12Hit Points: 2Wounds:

Player:Race:Human

Gold:XP:2000 NextLevel:4000

Spells:Darkblade

Weapons:Long bowDamage d8LongswordDamageld8

has no magicalspells.Abilities:When attacking with his boqmakes wo attackseach round. Hehis bow if he is in closecombat.When attackng with his sword,doesan additionalpoint ofdamage.age, hen add 1 point.)Equipment:Torch5O-footcoil of ropeBackpack

Darkbladecannot useDarkblade(Rolldam-

o1993TSF. ncAr [email protected] pholcopyorpereonalusnly

ns&DrCharacter SheetName: lannaClass: ighter

Level:2Ability ScoresStrength 15Dexterity 17Constitution 15Intelligence 13Wisdom 11Charisma 76Armor: ScalemailArmor Class:Move:12Hit Points: 4Wounds:

Plaver:Race:Human

Gold:XP:2000 NextLevel:4000Weapons:

T o-handed wordDamage d10DaggerDamage d4Spells:Elanna asno magical pells.Abilities:Elanna as hreedaggers. hemay ight withoneofthem,or throwup to two per ound.Shecannot hrowherdaggersfshe s n close om-bat.Equipment:TorchPotionof Healing:This is a smallbottleofliquid that, f drunk,heals d4+2hit poinrsofdamageor 1d.1+1 oints f half is drunk). twill not raisehedrinker's it pointsaboveheiroriginalevel. hepotion mell. l pepperminr.

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Character SheetName: ilesClass:RogueLevel:2Ability Scoresqr ' . - - rL 11Dexterity 18Constirution 13IntelJigence 12Wisdom 10Charisma 12

Player:Race:Halfling

Armor: LeatherArmor Class:6Move: 6Hit Points:7Wounds:Gold:XP: 1250Weapons:

Next Level:2500ShortSwordDamage d6DaggerDamage d4

Spells:Nileshasno magical pells.Abilities:Nileshas wo daggers. e may ight with oneofthem,or throwup to wo per ound.He cannot throwhis dggersf he s n close ombat.If Niles attacksa humanoidcreature rombehind,he hits more easilyand doubleshisdamageoll.Equipment:LantrnThieves'ools:Nilesmayopena lockeddoorusinghis ools, ndwill succeedn a roll of4 orless n 1d10.

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Character SheetName:ThaddeusClass:WizardLevel:2Ability Scoresc r , . -dL qDexterity 12Constitution 15Intelligence 18Wisdom 16Charisma 13Armor: None robes)Armor Class: 0Move:12Hit Points:Wounds:

Player:--Race:Human

Gold:XP:2500 NextLevel:5000

Prmission gnld lo phl@py lor pend us only

Weapons:QrarterstaffDamage1d6DaggerDamage 1d4

Spells:Thaddeusmay casteach of thesespellsoncePeroy:Magi nisile;'|h\s spell automaticallyhits acreaturend inflicts 1d4 +1 points ofdamage.Sleep:'fhis spell causes iving things to fallinto an enchanted leep.Sleepingcrearures rehelpless, ut can be awakened ormally.Equipment:LanrernMagical Scroll:Thaddeushas a scrollwith ano spell on it. When he reads the scrollaloud, he spellcauses sruckor lockeddoor toautomaticallyopen.

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6 D&D Fst-PlyCame


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Getting StartedLet's say you're going to be the DM for thisevening. t's always a good ide to read throughthe adventurebeforeyou run it, just so you knowwhat's coming. You bring to the tablethis adven-fure, either some6-sideddice or a set of the funkvdice if you havesome), omecratch aper, en-cils, and somegraph paper (if you want-it's not anecessitV).f Vou can, photocopv the chdractersheetss the plaverscan use thm witnout wnt-ing on the oriinls. t should takeabout an hourto play this adventure,more f you takeyour time,less f you speed ight along.You should havebefweenone and four olaversfor lhrs d\ enture, hreeor iour beinq the ide;1. tyou have only one player, et him run two charac-ters the monsters in this adventure aren't tootough, but they could be too much for just onecharacter o handle. t's good if the playershaveachance o read pages2-4 of this booklet aheadoftime, but that'snot a necessity. ou can ill them non things as hey go along. t willjust be easier orthem if they alreadvhavea handle on the bsics.Once you get setfled,here s what you, the DM,

What we're going to do here s tell a story,astory that you'ie going to help create.Eachofyou has a character:a fightet a wizard, or arogue.The story takesplace n a world filledwith monsters, reasure, nd adventure.I'm going to be the Dungeon Master, orDM. I'll describewhat your charcters ee,and you're going to tell me what your char-acters do in response.Do well, and yourcharacterswill be rewarded with treasureand increased ower. Look at your charactersheetsand we can run dot^ n what the vri.ousnumbersand items mean.

Beginning the AdventureOnce the players are comfortable with their char-acte$, read the followinq aloud.

All of vou are natives of the Vale, a smallfarming community madeup of a numberofsmall towns scattered long broad,woodedvalley.The Patriarch s the spiritual leaderofthe Vale,and he has askedyu to come o hisshrine when the noon bell sounds.The noon bell is just striking as a servntushersyou into the Patriarch's tudv Theoldgray-bardedman is bent with age and wis-dom. He motions for vou to have a seatNow you, lhe D\4.re going to speak n the roleofthe Patflarch. You cdn eive him an "old man"voice f you want, or jusa alk normally.There'salittle bit of acting involved here, but you don'thave to do anything you feel uncomfortablewith.

Cive theplayersa chance o review their charactersheetsand ask any questions.You should knowmost of the answers about what the numbersmean from reading he first sectionof these ules.Ask eachof the players o introducetheir charac-ters to the rest of the group.For example:"T'!e gotNi les,a half l ing ogue,"


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He tells the charactershat the locationof theruined tower is off the beaten rack,but easilvfound. (No map is provided or the Valethis adventure,_sois map is an imagrnaryone. It you want to have a map of the Vale tshow the players, take a mornent to sketchoneout.) f no one brings t up, merely5y."ThePatriarch ntoldsahap andshow, 1,ruthe locationof the tower.Threshould b noproblem reaching it."The Patriarchdes not have anv guards orassistnts o spare for the expeion. If hedid, he would-have sent thert' insteadof theadventurers.

When the first member of the party enters theareaof the tower itself,read the flloiling to thatplayer.The otherplayerscan isten n.You stepo\,er he wall and see hat the nsideof the tower is filled with rubble and debns.Dead leaves, shattered stones, and rottedtimbers are scattetedaround the floor rousee,partly buriedby fallen imbers,a door onthe far wall, leadingbackunder the hillside.As you notice this, you also see a pile ofIeaves ustleqlightly o your letr.A laige ratpoles tsheadout frombeneathhedeblis. thisses wdmrng t you,showrngong, azor-sharp eeth. t lunge, rward.ahd bahino r,threemore ep rom heirhrdingplaces.

I herere our gidnL at5among hedebriswithinthe ower,and they redefending heir erri tory.The ratsaregrayiih-bnrwn, bou'i wo teet ong,and havewicked,sharptceth and red, feral eyeslTheyonly attackcharctersn the ower area;andwill not climb over the walls. If there s only onecharactern the tower area,all threeattackhim. Ifthere are two characters, wo attack each character.If thereare threecharactersn the k)wer area, woattack the first chracterwho entered,and oneattackseachof the others. f thereare four charac-ters in the area, then one rat attackseach of them.Eachof the players needs to roll a pcrncurarnumber or higher on 1d20 o successfullyttack grantrat:

. Darkbladeneedsan 11or higher to hit. If hehits with his sword,he does1d8dmage, nd thenadds 1 point. If he useshis bow, h can attacxtwice n sinle ound, ! enaBr nstdi fferent at\,dnddo 1d8dmage n eachhil. but hecnnot sehi\ bo\^dgain5tdt\ thtarea ncling him.. Elannaneedsa 12or higher to hii. If she usesher two-handed sword, sh rolls 1d10 to deter-mine how much damageshe does. f sheusesherdagger,she rolls 1d4 to determinedamage.Shecan throw her daggersat rats that are not;ttck-ing her dircctly.. Niles needsa 13or higherto hit. He causes d6damage if he uses his ahort sword, and ld,l ifusing his dgger.He cdu\es d4 damae f hethrowsd daSgcr, ut can onlv throw drgersaLrats hatrentattacking im.. Thaddeusneedsa l3 or higher to hit. He caus-es ldb damgewith his quarierstdff hddeu-spe(ilty s not combt,but mdgic pel ls. f hecasts is nrdxr. ;rssi/r pell,he do* ld4*t poinLqo' dama8e o a rai ot his choice no tt.rcl rol lneeded).If he casts his slcepspell, all the ratsimmediately fall into an enchantedslumber andareeasily defeated.

The RuinedTowerOnce the players get evervthing squared awalwith the P;tri;r


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Each rat starts with 3 hit points. If a characterinflicts 3 or more points of dmage, the rat isdefeated. If a rat takes less than 3 Points of dm-qe,note on a pieceof scratchpper how muchdimaee the rat ook. Subtract hat number from 3,and fht remains is how many hit Points the ratnow has,Anv rats not defeated get their chanceto attackback.'Forech at,you ro"ll d20 to try to hit a (er-tain characterTheats re all equalli vicious,butthey need diffejent numbers to'hit the charactersbecuse he charactersre wearing different tt?esof armor and have different Dexterity scores.. To hit Drkblade, the rats need a 16 or higher.. To hit Elnna, the rats need a 17or higher. To hit Niles, he rts need a 13or higher.. To hit Thaddeus, the rats need a 10or hiSher.Needless to say, it's better if Thaddeus staysaway from the rats.A iat attacks a chosen character untll ihat char_acter leaves the ara of ihe tower or is reduced to0hil points; then the rat choosesa new target fromthe remaining characters. If all the characters arereduced to 0-hit points, or if thev leave the towerarea,the rats buiow under the ebris and fleeIt's likely that the characters will kill the ratswith minum damage to themselves.Any dam-10 D&D Fast-PlayGame

aqe ht was takenby the charactersemainsuntilte chrcterseo bck to the to\,!'nor someoneuses Elarura'sption of healing to restore lost hitDOtnts. Defeatine he rats gainsexperiencepoints (XP)for the ch"rcters.Th'e rats are worth i5 )(P each,so four of them are worth 60 points. That means if sinqle chrcterstayed in the tower area andkilled"all he rats,hegtsll 60points. f two char-acterskilled two rats apiece, each character gets30xP If three characte took part in the cmbat,each one gets 20 XP, and ia all four charactershelped, eah one gets 15 XP Have the Plyers-aik the XP eamedon their character heets.Eachsheet ellshow many experience oints that char_acter needs to advnce to the next level (Ob-viously, no one will get there very fast tust bydefeating ats.)Jhere is no treasureamonq the debris,but if theDlave$ want their chactei to look, let them do3o.-Whenthey decide to move on, they shouldwant to inves(igte he door partly hiddn by thefallen timbers,whi(h can be easilvmoved aside.The door is a hea!ry oak doot ;ith a lock that'srusted out and usless. However, the door isswollen in its frame and bdly weatherd, and thechracterswill have to use brute strength to oPen

One square = 10'

0 doorX hiddt pit$ *"*t a.".cf dbri.


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map, that place s marked by the big symbol for apit. (This s orle reason ou don't show theplayersthe DM's map-you want this place o be a secretuntil the chrcters et there.)If the charactersmerrily march down the corridor, heading for the door, the characters n frontfall into the pit that suddenly appearsbefore hemas the floor disintegrates. Read the followingaloud if this happens:You walk down the corridor. About halfwaydown, the ground suddenly shifts beneathyour feet and falls away, revealing a blackchasn beneathyou. The sk)nesyou're stand-ing on slip into the blckness, nd you follow.

The pit is 10 feet deep and filled at the bottomwith water and softearth.Eachcharacter hat fallsinto the pit takes1d4 points of damage.They alsoget muddy ftom tlle experience. he edgesof thepit are rough and sloped,so it is relativelyeasy oclimb out.If the characters re a bit more cautious(nd ifthe players listened to you when you told themabout all the water damage n the hallway) ndindicate hat they are checkingout the corridor asthey move into the hillside, readthe following:You move cautiously down the hallwatmaking sure you have a firm footing on theuneven lagstones.One of the stonesbeneathyour feet shifts as you touch t, and you pullback quickly. With a deep rumble, a largehole opensdirectly beforeyou. Another step,and you would have fallen into a large,muddy pit.

If the characterswere cautious,give eachof them10XP (As the DM, you're allowed to reward play-ers or smart thinking.)The pit is a rgged hole in the floor, and once thas opened it will remain there permnently.There s enough of a ledgearound it that the char-acterscanget past t easily.Note that this is a natural pit causedby erosion.Some evil creaturesput pits in their lairs just tocatch hose oolish enough to trespass, nd some-times hosepits are illed with sharpspikesor poi-sonoussnakes.Just houBhtyou'd want to know.)When the characters each he door at the otherend of the corridor, hey see t is bdly rotted,andits hinges and latch are extremely rusted. Thereare words carved on the door, lmost invisiblebecause f the damage.The sign reads:

SCRIPTORIUMDO NOT DISTURB12 D&D Fast-Play ame

A scriptorium is a placewhere scrolls and booksare copied,usually by scbesor monks.(Youcantell the players hat it's something hat their chr-acterswould likely know-)The door is almost completely rotted out, andwill disintegrateat the first touch. Go to the nextsechon.The ScriptoriumWhen any character irst touches he door (triesthe knob, eansagainst t, knockson it, whatever),readthe following aloud:

The rotted door falls apart at the first touch.The wood cascadesnto a pile of splinters,and the hineesand knob clatter o the floorOn the otherside of the doorway is a large,square oom, aboul 30 feeton a side. There sanother door directly opposite yours at thefar side of the room. Thefloor in here s morelevel and dry than the corridor was.The room holds six coDv desksand stools.Four of the desksare ociupied bv what looklike robed monks, heir bodieshunchedover.One of themonks ooks up at you, his hoodfallinq back as he does so. He has no skm orflesh,onlv a skull with small flickersof redflamebuming in the pits of his eyeso(kets.He raises bonv handand Doints t vo.As if by silenisignal, theother thremonksget off their stools.Their robes ly open, re-vealing that they are nothing more than nFmated skeletons. hev all carrv rusted, rian-guraroaggers. ney move tor^,ro ou.

There are four skeletons, hough only two mayattack a particular target. If the characters tandtheir ground in the doorway, then only the frontrank may be attacked.The characters et to maketheir attacks irst, then the skeletons.Because he skeletonsare magically anlmate.tbones, hey are essaffectedby weapons hat cut.Swords, aows, and daggers cause ess damagewhen usedasainst a skeleton.. Darkblade needsan 11 or hisher to hit. If hehits with his sword, he does 1d8 damaqe, hendds I point tnr his hiBh strength. ind fhe totldamagehe cuses, hen divide by 2, rounding up(21l2becomes ). f he useshis bow, he can attacktwice,even againstdifferentskeletons, nd do 1d8damage.Again, divide the damageby 2 after it isrolled. Once the skeletonsget close enough toattack, he bow is useless.. Elannaneedsa 12 or hisher to hit. If she usesthe two-handed sword, sh rolls 1d10 to deter-mine how much damageshe does. f she usesher


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dagger,she rolls 1d4 o determinedamage.Again,divide the result bv 2.. Nilesneedsa 13or hisher to hit. He will cause1d6damage f he useshis short sword, and 1d4 fusing his dgger. Divide the result by 2 to de-termine how much damaee Niles does to theskeletonhe attacks.. Thaddeusneedsa 13or hisher to hit. He caus-es 1d6 damage with the quarterstaff and thisresult is rol divided bv 2. The ouarterstaff s ablunt weapon, not a cutting weon, so it doesfull damase o theskeletons.f Thaddeuscastshis dgic r/'ssils pell, he does 1d4+1 points of dam-age to the skeletonof his choice no attack roll isneeded). f the player running Thaddeuswants tocast his slcel spell, you should mention that thespell would have no effect because he skeletonsare not alive and the mgicof the sleep pell onlyworks against iving creatures.The remaidng skeletons get their chance toattackback after the characters et their chance ohit. For echskeleton, oll 1d20:. To hit Drkblade, a skeleton needs a 15 orhisher.a To hit Elanna,a skeletonneedsa 16or higher.. To hit Niles, a skeletonneedsa 12or higher.. To hit lhaddeus,a skeletonneeds q or h gherA sleleton ausesd6 dmeewhen t sucaess-fully hits.a character The skletons have 5 hitPOrn6eacn,The skeletons fiqht until either thev are defeatedor the characterJare. If the characters lee theroom back the way they came, he skeletonswillchase hem. The skeletonscn't ctch he humancharacters, ut they are faster than the halflingand will overtake Niles before he escapes heunderground are. (The other characters houldwant to tum around and comeback o help if thathappens.One way or another, they're going tohaveto deal with theseskeletons.)Skeletons re worth 65 XP each,so four of themare worth 260 XP total. Justas you did with therats, divide up the expedencepoints between allthe characterswho took Dart n the combat.When the skeletonsare defeated, he playersmay have heir.haraclers e(h the room. heyfind nothins in the desks the scrolls he skeletonsappeared o be workin8 on arenothing more thantattered scraps.The triangular daggers he skele-tons callied areof an archaicdesign.nd, thoughstained with rust, are still useful. The Patriarchgives the characters5 gold piecesper dagger ifthey b ng them back (20gold pieces otal if theyDartwith all of them).When the characters et around to checking hedoor out of the room, read the players thefollowine text:

The door at the far side of the room is madeof heavy wood and bound with bands ofiron. A largeplate of metal s mounted to thedoot and that plate is inscribed with a sym-bol of a bull's head.Thedoor hasbeen ockedand secured tom the othe! side.This door is not iust stuck. ike the one at the strtof the adventuit hasbeen ocked by the inhb-itants of the room beyond. The charactersmaythink ofa numberof ways to try opening he door. Force t open: They cn try to force the dooropen with brute strength,but it is tougher thanthevare. t will not open,even f two or more char-actrs rv to force t Denat the same ime.. Haak it down: The characters an trv to hackthe lock nd hinges off the door. L p Lo wo char-acterscan hack at the door, the door is hit auto-matically (it can't get out of the way), and takes20points of damage before it springs open. Thedownside of hackine at the door is that it wamsthe inhabitants of the library (the room behind thedoor) immediatelt and theycanprepare. Se henext page or more informationon this.). Pick the lock: Roguesarevery good at open-ing locks, and if Niles is present,vou can tell theplayers this. The player running Niles needs toroll a 4 or lesson 1d10 n order to pick the lock.Niles can trv three ties to oDen his door If hesucceeds n one of those iies;he unlocks t with-out notifying the beingson the other side. f Nilesfails to oick the ock fter hree ries. he ock s tootough frhim to openby using his tools.The char-acterswill hve to try somethingelse.. Cst the knock soell:.Thaddeushas a scrollwith a magical spell on it. lf he casts the ,t ockspell, the lock clicks open immediately (and thespell disappears rom the scroll).The LibraryAs soon as the characters ave managed o openthe doot read the following to the players:On the other side of the door is a large,well-fumished room. The walls are lined withshelves that are filled with large, water-stained books. The floor is littered withbones.Directly before you are three zombies,unliving humans with their flesh dried andpulled tight over their bones. Their bodiesare missing chunks oI flesh. It looks as ifsomethinghas taken bites out of their arms,

legs, and torsos.They have blank, mindlessexpressions n their faces.Behind hese hree monsters s another


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creature hat resembles human, but this oneis more savageJooking. ts skin is the purplecolor of a bruise, ts eyesglow with a yellow-ish light, its hair is mangy and ptchy,and itsteethare inhumanly sharp. t is a ghoul, anundead creatureof deadly power The touchof its taloned hands can paralyze a livingcreature.The ghoul points at you and hisses, Killthem! Kill the living intruders!" At his com-mand thezombiesshuffletoward you.

The ghoul in the library is the one responsible forthe missing ivestockon the nearby arms,and thebones scatteredaiound the room are from theeoatsand lambs hat it hasstolen-The zombiesarell its service,and it uses he as bodyguards.The ghoul does not want to fight, but insteadtries to flee with its tresure.How successful heghoul is in getting awy dependson how muchwarnine he had before he chracters ntered heroom. (If they tried to force the door or hack itdown, the ghoul is alerted o their presence.)Here's what the ghoul would prefer to do. Assoon as it realizes hat it's about to be visited bythe characteis,t goes o a shelfalong the eastwalland srabsa small chest hat conlans rts "lrea-sure." That takes one round. Then it goes to thenorthwest cornet,wheretherc s a secret oor cov-ered by a bookcase. hat takesanother round. [ttakes wo more rounds to shove aside the book-caseand open the door. After the ghoul passesthroush the secretdoor into a tunnel that leads othe suiface, he monster s gone, eaving the zom-bies to fiqht the characters.Surnmrizing, here are the ghoul's actions,round bv roundr1 is ade aware of the heroesoutside.2 goesand gets he small chest rom the shelf.3 eoes o secretdoor4 - hoves side he bookcase.5 - opens he secretdoor6 (or later)- escapeshrough the tunnel.

This "schedule"means hat fthe charactersaketoo long bashing n the door, the ghoul is well onits way to escaping.On theotherhand, f the char-acterspick the ock or use he kfiock pell, hey cancatch he ghoul flatfooted.Yy'herehe ghoul is inthe room deDends n when the characters nter. fthey take a long time to get into the room, theyfind the secretdoor open and the ghoul standingin front of it. The ehoul tells the zombies to killthem, and dashes into the tunnel in the nextround.The ghoul tries to escape, etting its zombieshandle the adventurers, unless the characters14 D&D Fast-Plav ame

manage o causedmage o it. ff it is damaged bya hit from a weapon or by the magrcmissile pell),the ghoul gets mad and attacks the party alongwith the zombies.The olavers need to roll different numbers on1d20 r their characters o hit the zombiesor theghoul. The ghoul's a little tougher than the zomlrresare.. Darkbladeneedsa L0or hieher to hit the zom-bies,and a 12 or higher to hit the ghoul. If he hitswith his sword, he does 1d8 damage,and adds 1point for his high strength. f he useshis bow, hecanattack wice in one round, even againstdiffer-ent targets,and do 1d8 damage,but cannot use tin direct combat.. Elannaneedsa 11or higher to hit the zombies,and 13 or higher to hit th 8houl. If she uses hetwo-handed sword, she rolls 1d10 to determinehow much damageshe does. f sheusesher dag-ger,she rolls 1d4 o determinedamage.. Niles needsa 12 or hieher to hit the zombiesand a 14 or higher to hit th; ghoul. He causes d6damaqe if he uses his sholt sword, and 1d4 ifusing his dagger As a rogue, Niles gets a specialbenefit for attacking from behind. If he managesto sneakup behind a zombie,he needsonly an 8orhigher to hit, and ifhe getsbehind theghoul,heneedsa 10 or hiqher In addition, he does dorledamage multiply the resultof his damage oll by2.. Thaddeusneedsa 12or hieher to hit the zom-biesand a 14or higher to hit teghoul. He causesld6 dmagewith the quarterstaff. f he castshis,ragi. ,rbs/le spell,he does 1d4+1points of dam-age o the zombie of his choiceor to the ghoul (noattack roll is needed) f he wants to castshis sleepspell, ell the player running Thddeus hat therewould be no effect-the zombies and shoul arenot ivinB hings, nd dren't' tected y t-hemgi(.The zombies have t hit Doints each,and cause1d8 damagewhen they hit.. To hit Darkblade, a zombie needs a 15or high-er on 1d20.. To hit Elanna,a zombie needsa 16 or higher.. To hrt Ni les, . /ombieneeds 12or higher.. To hit Thaddeus,a zombieneedsa 9 or higher.Theghrrul as 4 h,t pomtsand,unl ike heZom-bies, can make multiple attacksagainst he sametarget. The ghoul tries to hurt the character hatwounded it. but if it has to fight its way throughothers t will do so. It can attack with both of itsclaws,eachcausing1d3pointsofdamage(roll1d6and divide the result by two), and its bite, whichcauses d6 points of damage.Howevet if it is car-rying its chestof treasure n one hand, it can onlymake one claw attack. f the ehoul loses he chestor Duts t down, it can useboth of its claws.


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. To hit Drkblade, heghoul needsa 15or high-er on 1d20.. To hit Elanna, heghoul needsa 16 or higher. To hit Niles, the ghoul needsa 12 or higher. To hit Thaddeus, heghoul needsa 9 or higherThe ghoul also hs a specialabiliry Each ime itclaws or bites an opponent, t has a chanceof par-alyzing that individual. A paralyzed charactercn't fight, move, or talk, and is an easy arget orthe zombies o hit. This Daralvsis asts or 1d6+2rounds. A charactercanvoi the effectsof thisparalysis f the player makes a successful ie rollusing 1d20.This roll is called a sari,g ffiloar.Aswith combat, eachcharacterhas his or her ownnumber to avoid the effect of the ghoul's specialability:. Darkblade, Elanna,and Thaddeusall need a14or higher to avoid beingparalyzed.. Nilesneeds 13or higher o avoidbeingpar-aryzeo.If a charactermakeshis sav ing throw, then theghoul's touch has no effect.A nw saving throwmustbe rolled every time a character s clawed orbitten by the ghoul-avoiding the pralysisonceis no guarantee hat it won't happen next time.The charcters an choose o let the ehoul es-caPe, ut theywon t get any e\periencepoinls fordefeating t, and they won't get its treasure.De-feating he ghoul is worth 175XR which means44XP for four characters,58 P for three,88 for two,and the full 175XP for a sinsle character:The zombies are worth 65 XP each,so three ofthem are worth 195exDerienceDoints otal. Thatbreaks down to 49 points oer character or fourcharacters,65 oints for threcharacters, 8 XP fortwo characters, nd 195 or a singlecharacterThe room contains no monetry treasure,butthe books are valuablebevond belief to the Patri-arch. If the charactersbiins them bck to the

Patriarch(or simply bring news back to the Pa-triarch oI the library's existence), e giveseachofthem 400gold pieces.The chest hat the ghoul was guarding containsits personal reasureof gemsand mgical tems.The chest s locked.Niles hs a 4 in 10 chnceofopening the lock (roll of 4 or lesson 1d10),or thekrocksoell can be used.or the lock can be bashedin (on hit from a sword or dagger will do it).Within the box are the followine items:. 12black pearls.. A scroll.. A bottle similar in shapeand size to Elanna'spotion ofheling. Ifa character ulls thecorlhe or she discovers that the liquid insidesmells ike peppermint.. A dagger.withsymbolscarvedalong the bladern an unKnown anguage.. A sackmadeof blue cloth.The charactersmay play around with the items,seeking o figure out what they are, or they cantake them back to the Patriarch. The items arcexplained n the "Wrapping Things Up" section.If the charactersLrghthe ghoul by surpriseand defeated t before t reached he secretdoor,they might not find the door (unless someonethinks to move the bookshelf aside). f they findthe secretdoor, t leads nto a narrow. drk tururelthat burrows for about 50 feetand finlly surfaceson the far side of the hill from the tower This tun-nel is how the shoul made its entrv to and fromhis lair.Otherwise he charcters aneetout oftheruined tower by bcktracking,and then refurn tothe Patriarchwith their information.WrappingThingsUpIf the charactersare defeated in the dungeonbeneath he ruined towet red he followingi

Alasl For all your bravery, you've filed todiscoverand defeat he secretof the ruinedtower. The Patriarchwaits a few davs. thensadlv shakeshis head and offers a prver foryou. Then he calls togetheranothr b-andofadventurers, nd wams them that thosewhohave previously sought out the secrets avenot returnecl.If you want to, you can try the advenfure again,either from the very beginning, or with whateverchanges occurred because of the characters'actions. For example, the corrido! may alreadyhave the pit in the middle of it, and there may befewer (or more) rats,and a few of the zombiesandShouls ook frighteningly familiar . . .If the characters iscover some of the secrets f

The Ghoul Might Fight!The way we've set up thjs adventu, gettingawy is more important to the ghoul than seeingtht the characters ar defeated--ut you. as theDM, can have the thoul act any way you want.With sorne lucky dice rcIs for the ghoul andsome ur ucky ones for the characters, the ghoulmight be able to prlyze and defeat aII thechar-acters f it decides to stay around and fight. Thismight be a cruel thing to do to the characte$(and their plyers), but it would be a tood wayto show the players how dngerous a monsteriike the ghoul can be. (And you can always backup and start the adventure over, or just replaythe scene n the library if you want to dve thecharacters another chance.)

D&D Fast-PlayGame 15


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the ruined towet but then turn backbeforereach-ing the ghoul's lair, read the following:You retum to the Patriarchand tell him whatyou hve discovered.The old man is veryexcitedby your news,and believes hat thereis greater treasureand knowledge beneaththe ruined Dile of stones.He asls if vou willretum to finish the job, or if you would pre'fer that someoneelsegets the honor of dis-coverine the secret of the ruined tower

Again,you c an run this adventure gain,eitherfrom the very beBinning,or with lhe chan8es hathvehaDpened ecause fwhat the characters idthe first-time hev visited this place.If the characte;s ound the iibrarv (whether ornot they defeated he ghoul), read te ollowing:

The players can work out their own ways ofdividing up the treasure. he best way to split upthe gold and gems s to give every characteranequal share.Magical items can be divided up ac-cording to usefulness-the wizard should get thescroll, one of the fighters the potion, the otherfighter the dagger,and the ro8ue the bag, fore\ample.Or, heplyers n oll dicednd thehighro11 ets he first choice.Eaah character has a new XP total now-theoriginal number plus any XP eamed dudng theadventure.When a charactergoesover the "NextLevel" numbet he or shegains more power, morehit Doints,and more abilities.Tire number of gold piecesa characterhas rsrecorded in the "Gold" blank on the charactersheet.As the Bamegoes on nd charactershavemore adventures, they can buy things with theirgold-better weaponsand armor, magicalscrolls,and other handv items.Once he trea;ure s diwied up and the XP andeold recordedon the shets,he characters ehreto the local inn for a fine meal to celebrate heiradventures and brae about their success.Theplayers an bring thesecharactersck to playgjin, through anither advenlure,on anotherday.WhereDoWe Go From HereP

Congratulations!You've run your first D&D ad-venture. If you've had a good time. you mightwant to know what vou can do next.Other D&D adveniuresare or saleat vour localhobby shop or bookstore.For stdrters; ook forwrath of lhMirloLiur ad Eyeof the Wyoern.If you think you've got a handle on playing theD&D game, you might check olr| lntroducfion o.4pv,4NcrDuNcroNs& D,4coNs.his bie box ofgamemalerial.Bive5 ou moreof the ni tty-Sri ttyol the rules and sets into more detail, while stillbeinqeasv or a new DM nd plvers o fol low.lf /ou want to eap nto hed;ep end andadmitit, you really want to), you might want to checkout the ADVANCEDuNcEoNs& DRAcoNs'hard-back rulebooks, also available at many stores.These books contain all the information vou needto stdrtnd olavan entire eriesot advefures.To leam ior about the D&D game by visitingthe Intemet, go to our website at r^m,w.tsi.comand get look at everything we've got to offer.What happens o Darkblade,Elnna,Niles,andThaddeus? hev'l1stillbe around for thenext timevour olaverswnt to run them in another adven-iure. br'your players rnay want to createtheirown characters, ave their own adventures/andmake their own lesends.Worlds of Advenlure arewaitinq for you.

The Patriarch s extremelypleasedwith yourdiscovery of the library beneth he ruinedtowerl He believeshat it may havebelongedto an ancient and powerful wizard, whoselair has not vet beendiscoveredand whosetreasure tilliies out there,waiting for braveadventurers o find it! Congratulations!If the characters efeated he ghoul,add this:

ThePatriarch s happy that you have defeat-ed the ghoul that was plaguing the localfrms and homesteads.With this menaceputto rest,he can urn his attention o othermat-ters, such as finding the hidden tomb of thewizard who onceruled the vallev

As statedabove, he Patriarchgiveseachcharacter400gold pieces o reward them for their discoveryof the library. f they defeated he ghoul, he givesthemdn ddditionl100Boldpieces ach.The Patriarchwill gladly identify the magicalitems the chacters ound:. The perlsareworth 100gold pieceseach.. The dagger is rnade of magically sharpenedand reinforcedmetal. t is a dagger+1, hich adds1 point to a chaiacte!'sattack roll and 1 point tonv damase he ttackcauses.j The scioll containsspetls,which a wizard maycast. t has a,t/ock spell,a magtrnissilespell,and alightning bolt spell-which shootsa bolt of light-ning that causes d6points of damaSe.. The liouid in the bottle is aootion of saf,'r-ftealirg, which heals3d8+3pointsdf damage,or 1d8 fa third of the Dotion s drunk.. Thebag sbigger on the nside han on the out-side.lt is a bagof holdirg,and canhold up to 250pounds of stuff while still being easily ifted.16 D&D Fast-Play ame


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Letters

Any thoughts o the adentures in thisi55e? y.ite to "Ittels," Dt' -cEoN'A&eturcq 1801Lid AenueS.W,nenbn, WA 98055.Youcan also endil"s d, dungon@*'izards.com. Pl.ds.sendsubsiptionquestions ndchanee of ddd.ressnotices to DrlNcEo\Adventres, Szs.nptbrs, P 0. Bor169106, Escondido, CA 92016-9 t061ll free:1.800.395.7760. mdil:[email protected] ImpressionsBefore bgin, have to say that youguys ar doing gret b o. themagazine. 'v noticed hat recentlyyou publihed wo non-AD&D d!en-tures ("he Ice Tyrant" for theDRAcoNr-L\cE1:tr.rHAcE" systemand 'Converyence" for the ALTERNTT\'system, n I ssues#65 nd +68 respc-tively). I mst say I'm impressed,ndI think itt a good dea to give plyers sampling ot the other RPG systemsout there. And while it seemsnot tobe the popular opinion. I hope htyou continue to pubiish non-AD&Ddventurespe.iodically.I'n a new readeaactually. begnwith Issue #64 n late Novemberoflast year becase sw tht it hd aRAwNLor adveDture. had no ideathat a magzine ike this even elist'ed until I 6w t on the shelfin nyt@at mall's bookstore. Lst Dance"was a great adventre to read andhad trDly horrific feel to it. "TheMad Chefs ofLc Anchois"and

"Bzllin's Blackspherc"are d!en-tures I cn use n my cmpai8n(albeit when my PCs advancebeyondthird level). Grotto of the Queen"hsless mmedite use to me, a6 I usethe MysfaR cmpaign lmost exclu-sively,but I'm giving serious houghtto starting a FoRcorrE\ REALMS!cmpign n the futur.Johr Tblisantvia emailYikes!Ijust sot Issue *68. My rection:shockd. mzed.appalled. m, ofcourse. eferring to "Convergenc."TSR went through some$owingpins try-'ing o dete rmine whi wasqppropriare content for its Daga'zines.Now that Wizards ofthe Costowns TSR. and thereforeDL,NcroxAdr.nrf.s. these re being repeated.I recommend hqt WotC go back andrcd th "tttrs" sectionofthe mg-ziner hrs represents cross-sectjonofopinions oftheir new subsribe.As mr subscriptiongoesback tolssue t8. I would like to point outthat non,AD&D'/non-D&D' adven-tures were porly .eceived.Cse npoint: hos manv sper hero modulesa.e there in the past 69 issues?Basicallr ArrtrRNrTy dventu.es nDr\cto\ vill cost WotC my subsc.ip,

tion. I do not own th rules, andwasting 20t ofany issue will notcauseme to bur them.I thinkArrEL\rn has quite bit ofappealfor number ofresns. also thinkthis is an inapprprite plce o printit. I woutd stronsly recommendpub-lishing the AfER\rrY adventurcselsewhere. expect hat I m not.L E. SudDersvi emilMultiple Choice?

Oky. 'm not going say anythingabout the ArrEL\rr\" dventure (inIssue *68r because 'm sDreyou realready receivins sacksof prisinsletters ... right? I can't decide fyouguys are bold expenmenters,hck-sters for the new li.e, suckers orpunishment, o. all ofthe above.Th be6t ofth rehining dven-tures w By Mrkln's Masic," byBian Corvello. always ppreciateagoodoutdoor adventure bcausefind they a.e the toughest o create.I also iked Lb Smednan's

"SteppingStones,"mainly becausecan already picture my plyersgath-ered round the handout, n totlsilence,with an open'mouthedndconfused ook on their faces.Finalln Ijust wanted to add tht Ithink the "Maps of Mystery" are aseat idesl I hle often cnnibatized,L'GtoNAduenr.es solely o. thirrnps,and I would love to sesomeneq nique desisis for ca6tle6ndkeeps n the future. SeaD McllwaineVaDcouver, BCThis issue's Map of Mrsterr" 6eepae 33) flrs DMs plentr ofinspitution for d codstalcampaign Gien thepopularit! ofthis fedturc,e're hop.inq to shoucdseother nterestinglocales


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Milo the wizartlprepares magical oficoctiofl.

"HomoncuLousSteu" is Andrc's frretentri.rrion to DuNcEoN' AdveDtures.Adrcw notes that this nodule Dasintended. to make the plale thinhabout ste.eotypes,dt least uherc Miloaad Gdid arc con.emed."Homonculous Stew' is an AD&Iradventure for 3-5 player charactrstevels 2-4 (bout 12 totl levels), butthe modle is atso suitble fo! one PC(Dreferably a wanior) of levet 4 or 5The module takes plce in stretchof tenpert woodlnds known as theErlking Forest; however, any remotAdveniureBockgroundDeep in the Erlking Forest lives anold mse nmed Milo, thoush mostknow of him onty as the wizard ofthe Wood.Mito, a Tthlevel trans'muier, spends his days Putteringabout his cottge, concocting strangepotions and experimenting with newalteration spells.He seldom eveshis Bylvan home for any reson, rele'gating the task ofgathering food,andreagents o nrs mri!r, a pucKrsnhornoncutous amed Eok.Recentl, Milo ws working on aptronotogro srrcngr,h nd neededatuit ofha)r from-wht else?-nocre. Milo, acqua;ntedw'th mosi ofte forests rnhabitsnts, knew ofanogre who lived to the southeast So,off sent Eok to fekh his master someocre hair Now Eok fanciedhirnself60 qDick nd ninble for big stuPidogle to ctchhim, but s the homon_culoussoon ouDdout. Gaid is no

Gid is considerablysmarter andstronger han the ve.geocle (hehs the sttistics of an ogle chief-tin), and he is wel-known amonsthe forest soblins as a trader andfierce mer;enarj. In his youth, Gaidsened three hag siste$ who oncelived in the Ertking Forest. The hagsconductdatl kinds ofdark sorcerypon the forest and its inhabitaDts,;oeciallv the wild etves-selt-appointei cuardians ofthe *oodeGaid ws sbjected to the sistrs'arcneexpenmentss well, most ofthe time without his knowledee Theresidul effects of these experimentspemanently endowedhim with ahish resrstance o poisonand magicTh'eelvesventuaiy marchedagainst

HOMONCULOUSSTEWBYANDREWDIFIORE, R-

Whot's ookingn heErlkingorest?Arlwork& Co ogtophYbY Diesel

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Horroculous TEwh$, and a $eat battle ensued.n out.with his own lifedy knows not whatofhis former ernployers.He iscontent to be a bone-brcker orsoblins.Wen Gaid causht Eok. he had de to whon the homonculousHe, too, s acquaintdwith

is some sort ofhermit who dab-Gid imneditelyhis goblin todies o verifyhomoculousws, ndeed, heproperty and conveyGid'sRecalling he hass havinsfmilirs, Gaid knows thepet toand sees his situation as anthe wizard. Thebgin with the partytat Milo's cottse shortly ftersoblins have encountered heof the Woods.

Mostergoblins towith news fmm the cottage,he besins preparing a new dish:te{. (Last week t wsThe time it tkes Gaidprepare his stew is variable left

which is added ast.homonculi um to gooslain. but Gid doesnot knowfor the hornonculou. tpoint he attempts to barter formgical potions,but he waitsong beforesuccumbing o

The DM hs the option of playinsHe cn be ustpowerful ogre bentins the homonculous , ncase ine is ofthe essence.Orould be an unusual NPC who is

r option requires he PCs totheir diplomatic hats and rote-the negotiationsbetween MitoGaid. Ifthe PCs do theirjobsthey might evenget the ogre toa lock ofhis hair inpotion,which Gaid can thensoblins more

"Hury, befor it's too late!"The DM should haveechPC'srnove-ment rate on hnd, noting the party'soverall movement rte is thst ofitsslowest constituent.Thus, a paftywith dwrf (unencumbered coldtrek throush a "rnedium forest" suchs E lkins Forest only t a te ofS,or 90 feet pr round.This doesnotnen the DM has to keep trck ofevery step the party takes;rather. theI)M can use the slower paces amens of buiidins suspense.What isimportant is that the playrs renindful of time running out for the

The ocre'sden is shortjunt fromthe magician'scottage.The tirne ittakes Gid to preparehis stew is leftup to the DM.Ifthe PCsdon't arivein time to save Eok, the homonculousdies,and Milo immediatety sufie$2d10 hp danaee. The PCs should beallowed to use whtever means heyhave t the ir disposal o speedptheir joumey (spells.magicl items,and so forth). Likewise, he DMshould periodicallycheck or randonencountersand wether conditions,which provide a soodwy to sound

The characters have the benefit ofMilo as a guide, educing the chancesofgetting lost. The Elven Way iseemap) is an old footpath orisinallytraveledyea.s aso by the wild elveswhen they haunted this sectionoftheforest, before he soblins ived. Ithas becomeoverSrcwn with under'brush and is hardly discernibleas path. It is by far the quickest andsafest oute est ofOld Forest Road.Unfo untly. t is much too nanowand windins to accomrnodte orses,mDles,and other such mounts.BeginningheAdventureThe PCs are traveling thrcush theErlking Forest when they cone uponMilo fishtins offthe soblins.Thenasician hs lredy tumed one ofth soblins into iant toad, usinghis pohnorp ot.r spell,and ischasing he rcst ofthe goblins with aMelfs ninute neteors spell.

Wizordof fh WoodsSine Milo accompnieshe PCs,th DM should make u* of histzlepthic link with Eok to relyinformation t the PCwhen theyare within 4a0yar& of the ogre'sden. This link can creat n evenBreatrseme of urgency.Milo (human ransmuter): LLN; AC I (Dexterity); MV 12; M7;hp 18;THACo 20; #AT 1; Dmg bywepon lTe -1 (Strength peDalty);SZ M (58 t[); ML 15;S 5, D 15,C 10, l4,W 72, Ch 7Ot cbe of 6e-ful items GeeDMG/7?a ot ljst otposslble temsJ,uand of maai. mis-sil"s (18chareEs), asEr, pellb@k(codtains hose belowptu-sherecipe or crcatins homonculi).Spells:colo. spm!, derectmdgic,feather all, mending;alter Eelf,leitata mi.rcr imoge in[raision,Melfs ninute meteo.s; olrmo.ph

Milo is not an adventingmagE.He hasa healthy fear of larse mon-stE, o8s ncluded.Most of hisspells have ittte or noolTensivebenefit; Deve.tleless,he ds nothesitate to use his Bplk or gicalitms to belp r$cue hi fmiliar.Milo hats to tmvel and prelersspndins is time bentoveletdrit h tomes and bubblins testtubes. His lack of socialgracesbliesa keen and inventive mind,bsentty absoed in arce @lcu-tatioG or fomlnae. His dememortnds t put other pple otr, whomistkenly ssune he's crazy,rro-gant,o. both.Eok thomonculous)rNT hish;AL LN;AC 6; MV 6, Fly l8 (B);HD2; hp 8i THC019;#AT1;Dmg1-3; SA bita causes r"ep for 5d4munds);SZT (18 tsll); ML 14iXP27OtMM/192.Eoks appe.anceaild mtrleisms vglely reflect thoeof hiscreat r. Milo made Dok sveralwinters aso, and since then thehomoculoushas beena dutiful ser-vant and the wizard'sonly conpan-ion. He lives tr sene Milo butenjoF the time spent alonegatheing thingr in the fo.est.Like all homonculi,Eok haresatelepathic link with his maltrextndins to a rang of 480yards.

You'vebeen traveling alons an oldforBt oad. For the most part, therid hs been uneventful. The thickcanopypmvides welcome eprieve

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fiom the hot middy 8un.A gentleheeze btows through, brinsingwith it all the wonderful frasrncesofthe woods.It's hrd to imsinesucha peacefulplacebeins infestdwith goblins, but you have lernedto heed the waminss oflocls. Youexpect to be out of the forest bynightfll, and as ons as you sti.kto the nain rcad, the chancesofencountringgobliru shouldbe

Suddenh s ifto mock theBethoughts, a loud exptosion shattersthe serenity. You hear seveml i.hu'man creans as a dozen or rlloregoblins stumble out of the forestand onto th .od, wisps of bluesmoke railing behind then. Mostof them flounder to the groundcoghingand chokins.You relizethat one s not a goblin at ll butrather n ove$ized toad in goblingrb.Another explosion nd threemorc gobliDs come screaming out ofthe forest with theil backsides onfire. They a being chased by awizened old man shoDtinshoriblemaledictioru.The pnic-stnckensoblins scramble n every direction.W}Ien the dust settles, he old manstands before you red-faced. panti

"FrieDdor foe?' he asks,cotlaps-

attcks).His statistics are otheNiseMilo did not suffer ny dmgebutcollapses tom sheerexhaustion.Hecomes o in ld4 munds unless hePCs revive hirn sooner In any event,he assumes he PCs are ofsood char'acter if they are st his side when hawkens.Seeing hat they are lsodventurers,h quickly relys ll theevents eading up to his bout withgoblins.Ofcoue, he chnses heprt about sendingEok to Gaid's ndinstead insists the o8xecane withthe goblins.snatchedEok, and fledbeforeMilo couldset off 6pell.Hebelieves he ogre s going to eatEok-he believesogreseat every-thing nd anything-unless they canresch the den in tie. Milo thinks heknows the loctionofthe den ndclains he cn lead the PCs theresafely, but he's afraid to face the ocralone.lfthe PCs are unwilling tooffer their seFices for free,Milotempts them with speculationsaboutthe octe's reasre hoard, tthoughhe cannot confirm whether the ogrehas any treasure wortb taking.Ifthisis still not enough,Milo offers o pythe party 100gp plus one or twopotionsof ogresrrcngl, lthoughMilo needsseveraldys-and theproper mterials-to create hem.Milo cn aflord to py up to 300 gp.

but he's ookins for help at a brsinprice. fthe PCs are sreedy, he DMshould tke tbis into accountwhendiwying up the story award.Milo's home can be seen hroushthe trees Dst few yrds off iherod. t is small fieldstonecottagewith thatched roofand a nrowfootpth tht menders o the frontdoor Amund back is a wel1,a woodshed,and sarden of sone of thelargest vesetables he PCs re likelyio hle ever seen.Th soblins'"attack" causedconsiderabledamageto his lb after Milo hurled a flamingalembict one of thern, missing thesoblin nd dstroyins severalworksin pro$ess; the smell of sulfur still

Although Milo has never visitdthe osre'sden himsell he knows howto get there from Eok's previousexcursions nto that rea ofthe for-est.He accompanieshe PCs to theoge's den nd insists they nkehaste.Milo's anxiety grows ncreas-ingly wo.se s more time psse

(especillywhen he regins his tele-pthic link with Eok). nd hebecomesnc.esinslypushy andimptient as the PCs get closer otheir final destinaiion.This couldbecomea real problen for the PCswhen encounteringdelays,such aswandenng monsters.The Woodsman and th DryadSouth of the Elven Way is a gro\ oft.ees climed by dryad nmedElrinn. As the PCs nke their waytoward the rivea small woodlandanirnls loyal to Elrinna lert the dryadto the party's presence. he PCs rsoonccosted y a rgtag young manin a worn letherjerkin and carryinsa woodcutterl axe.He greeh the PCsand introduceshimselfas Gllantri, woodsmn from the town of Skorroqwhich lies few miles north. Despitehis hassrd appernce,Gallntri iswell spoken,good-natured, nd gen-

If asked where he'sheading,Gatlantd replies, Nowherein partic'lar I'ln just wandering."He tries todissude be prty ftom continuinglons the Elven Way, llins then itis haunted and tht they would bewise to follow him south longa'sfer path." Ifthe PCsclee to fol-low Gallntri, he leads hem fewyards northeast ofthe dryd'sgroveand sugsests hey relax near fllentree. giving the crious dryd achnce o eavesdropon the PCs' con-versationsand find out the latesthappeninss, ncludins why usty littlegoblinshve been spottdrunningback and foh throush her neck of

The woodsmands not stry trfrom the dryad'sgove and sraciouslydeclinesany offer tojoin the PCs.Chamed by Dlrinna severl nonthsaso while out collectins twiss for kin-dlins, Gatlantd hs been he dryd'lover and g\rardianever since.Ehinn, a naturally cuious creature,asked Gllantd to bing the PCs toher so that she could spy on them,perchance to find yet another yogman worthy of her chIns.The dryd tries to remain out ofsight but within earchot, using thewoods camouflage- She appears tobe beutiful elvenmaid, clothedonly in her lons tresses.Chamctrswho re alert or on gard for boubte

The goblins were sent to deljver verbal rnsom demand to Miloi thedim little creaiuresdid not expect hewizffd to accost heln. (Even Milodidn't think he had it in him-)Taken abck by Milo's rebuttal, thesoblins sctter hamlessly into thewoods, eventully resining thirsenses nd resouping outside Gid'slir. If the PCs psue them, the gob-lins lead the Pcs on merry ronpthrcush the forest, pos8ibly into goblin encDpmentor the dryd'serove (seebelow) but certainly not

C{blins (12): NT averge;AL LEiAC 6; MV 6; HD r li hp 4 ech:THAC0 20i #AT 1; Dmg by weapont}?e;SZ S (4 t11); L 12;XP15;MMl163: studded ethea shortsword, shoft bow, two ilight ows.One of the goblins,Gtup,has beenpolrmorytud int/t a laryq e].y toad(AC 8, MV 12,and no etrective

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HOMOT{CUtOUSTEW 207. chanceofspotting herthe folige.Thoush Gl|ntri is very winsome.easily t jealosy, n partof the dryad's chm.a charismtic PC inprty, she emerses from thend casts her.d.a pe.so2(preferablya3 t save).No s@ner does hebesin ternpting the PC whenGallantri lpses nto anthrows down hist the PC. Gllantrithe PC with his fists, attack-with a +2 bonus to hit. The dryadmusedby Gatlantri's weaknessdoes ittle to disourse him. If heor subdued, oweveashethe ca.med PC to defendShe does not engage in combtfils, she stepsok and d,nenstontree. If thesubdues Gallntri and dragsout of the oak smvq the dryd'sis instntly brcken, but hemmory ofhis enslave-my opt to double hesubduing rther thnGllntrijoin the PCs n their quest,nxious o Aetback home.Milo has never met the secretiveAlthough he's heard wild tles"wood nymphs," he doesplace much stock in these stories.is likewise unknown to theThe dryad i3 awre ofcaidgoblins,but she keepsheror fear that the soblinsdesecrateher grcve.Gallantri (human rnser):AL CG;12: R3j hp 19;THAC0 18:by weapon type; SZ Ml0 tall); ML l5i XP 65i S 13, D 13,14, 10,W 14,Ch 16;HS 20%,MSwoodcutter'sxe (1d8/1d6),(1d4lr).Elrinn (dryad):INT hish;AL Ni9i IV 12;HD 2; hp 8;THAC0 19;by weapon t}?e: SAry SD diwnsion d.@r MR 50%(5 tall)iML 12;XP S75tMM/93.

Stonesis small stream thtpath through the eastem por-Forest.The waterat n unhun'ied pace or nostexcept where a

few surslins cscades merge. tsappeannce, though serene enough,would hardly nerit nention in a lndrich with ntural beuty ifnot for itsdrk enchntment.The local folklorehas it tht the waters were poisondby an evil witch wshins her ctothesamong the rocksupstream. No one nrecent memory has ctually seen hiswitch, but it is true that nyone whodnnks fron or bthes n the brookmust Bvew. spell or suffer theeffectssinilr to tht of.&rsedscroll (see MG for list of possibtecu$es). There are mny tavern talesof thirsty travelers who couldn'trcsist a drink fmm the crystllinewatrs, only to awken the nxt dyt find thenselves as hairy s wootlyroth. In most cases he effectswearofiin 1d4 weeks,but sone rnyrequirc a noe cr.se spell (t theDM's discretion).Milo hs neverimbibed water frorn the brook andwould find its msic both intrisuinsnd amusins, so ons as he was not

The Dlven Way leds o the onlycro8sing n the Erlkins Foresr sixstpping tonesknown as the Faerie

Stnes. Over the decades, h brook'senchantment has instilled theerockswith the ability to move on their own.The rocks tend t sp.ead themselvesout cross the brook, but they havebeen known to cluster together onone Bide of the brook or the otherWen they sense a humanoid figurewithin 10 eet ofthe either shore,anyrocks not curently stepped on movetoward the ligu.e. Wlen somenesteps onto stone, t glid$ slowlyand smoothlyacmss he bmok,depositing its pasenger sfely ontoTh brook tselfis 30 wide androughly S deep in the middle, Cradu-ally beconing 2 deepat the edges.The stones re rcltively sDalt (thelrsest being onty one f@t in diame-ter) nd can cIry one M-size orsmller qeture. The rel trick isvoidins the water leaper when stone rcaches the middle. These og-like fih can leap out of the watr andglide towrd a target up to 30 feetaway. As they leap, the watr leaprsenit an ear-splitting Bhriek, and any,one failins to save vs. spell cannotactfor one round. Any person struck by a

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k,pefud akf scee:s i i ' lDc\ l .t ! chcck al l inl , , h. bn!,k.Watcr lcapers ,I I : INT rnr .'\l.N : r \ ( - 8 : l l v s s 2 : H D l r h D.ach:THA( 'o20: AT l : I )n ,s I 1 :SAsh k. lcap.SZ s r l l , r ,g : 111,1).1rDen of the OgreThc fo l los i . s t cx t a lsumcs thc p! f t \h rs . c ! ch .d (h . osrs d .n in l i nn r , ). " r . l i ) k l i , )m the s td \pot l l t h i s i sn ,n th .se. .d j t rs t t he , . lb fmar io .c .o .d ingh An\ ' sob l ins $ho cscpedX l i lo s (1 . th c r r l i f f h . rc sm.dGr id o f thc {1z . rd s t cnrpo: ! nd $Gdid h.s dd l i scd h is ,nr r in i . s sobl ins not ro k i l l o r in i , , f lh . mrs . : rh ,P ( ' s . n (h . orhef h .n . l . r f . .o th . f

l r rsc !nrnr ! l s . t hN l c lN t td l r )gc lhc f,n thc b(c7. l i k r n , rcabr ( \ v id(h in , . s 1, , , , l o l ) l i , , s l rnd hu{ td l { { ln round the nt r ' rn r r

r. irct. hc Naris rn arca 2 ilr thc PCsto comc o hrnr .Ki l l jns of i the sobhnsifks hir. but ot overlt so: hcrc arct ) l .n l t nrofcshcfc rh. ! crnrc ronr .( i ( 'bl ins I 6) INT Nv.r rseiAL LE:A ( 6 : N I V : H I ) I l : h p ' l r l H A ( 020: l l : Dug br $eap,r r jpe:SZ S.1r l l ) i l ' l j - l2 ixP 15: 1,u,163r rudd.d lcr th. f . .h i . ld . shor t$Lord. hor tbos: Id l f l rsht aDoNS.l Ki tchen. Thc f i rst th ins thc P('snot i . f when h..r .n1.f i " th. .nt i . ingann,) ls tc \ ( ! ,k ing in l! . lebhck.uldf l )n sspndedv.r nopenpi1 n th iddle of lhe ca!e.l .s tooned ro. r rhe oofafe bales lNild hos. fr-urts. .sctabl.s. ch.cscs.rnd t lvo ivc c fd l p j la lc ts D sacks).Around h. l i rcp i l ar. pi lcsol f i l thr. r f th .n*ar . . rnr )ng thcnr d.c{ntcro l drnd. lnn rv i. which. lhoughhighh i , , tox ica l ing,sto$. enrpor . f \ rnesi r , lsts 4 houfsrnd hesanr h.nf f i ts as / )olnr ro/ . i lo l?/ !Thc goblinssc this rca rs rhcjrr lc .prngqu. l t . fs Sclcr l nrani t tI id .s hc nbouton th. i loof I l th. PCsbo(hcr ( ,scr rch hcsc. hcy f ind rnon-nragrcrldllagcr rnd ild6 i li) cp2. Ihe ()gre's Dn. l his crc is clultr . .d \ i1h bags. oxcs, .d brfelscontarn j rs f mor .$eapons.ufs, spirr ts. nd othcr r isccl l .nc ousr !dcgoods (rd. bt hmln standrds.Horv.v . r i l t l l 2 iJ on(! i , rrs rr . lho-oughlr" ear(hed r ime{lnsumingpr t ress ,possib le,,per lnrn ' i ththe ogreroundr, he bl loiDg temsc.n b nund: ;00cp d isgu,sed ssoldcoi .s . 1n ofch.s.17 uncur .drrnrrl hrdcs{!rth ldii+.l sp cach.fivc afgh.rs rvorth 5 r? c!dr. t\Lo.j!lsol runr No.rh 25 sp ruch. r ,ilo l p lar { mi l .and qui r . r o l t {ent rsi l rer ipp{{ l frorvs.( iid s i tst rable acial l t as l ic .d of f s t lagmj te in the middleof th. cav. . leh indhrm hanssalaDt.rn .nd a round bird cs. mad.ofbocand srncs l ns ide hc csc!ur ts Eok:h is wingshare bccn. l ippcds, ,h. cdnnot ly lhe r9. hrs ude tadl0.k 1+5" bonus o th ie l 'sOpenLocks b i l i i l , and hehfs cnb. snappcd i th . succcssful BcDd Bars mll t +10', On top ofthc dcska.c thrce cat lcr sacksthold in la;0 p. j rJ p, a.d.12 gprcsp.r t iv ( l r and ltrgc i r)n'boundledg.r ;a id s cu.rent l t "dibbl ing in

th. pathNindsup thrcush shr lloq eul .h to a lars. crrc n,oundcd br borcs rn.l dchris Thc sa,lchis clc!r o ' (. .s rnd is $. l l r r )dd.nAlon! . h . s lop.s h i .k bumbl .sthfeten r ) farp l h " . fubbrush 'n i .g the top peneier ' lheca!e moulh hasb. .n b.d.ck.d$i th s t f jnssofskul ls.most l rof

Tcr s,) l ) l ins ! .d at lhc nrrrh 01rh. (.r . . r , ,d s ix nrn1,h id. nrmsr h . l f a b l f s 2 0 l i , f td o $ r t h ep ! t h' l hc\ fenrr i h iddcnnless he P( s"orfch thr buJres o d isco\ . r h .nr o.br l t lc brcaksout t th . . ! \c .0nc of t |c sobl jns idjns thcbushc' mrkcs a bi rd c l l l to $r rhcolh. fs o l a l ) |).h ing nrrd. rs 1h. rkr.r) ^\. (ock.da, ,d h. i r ^ \sfeadr , , i fe. just . .ase hingsg1us\ 1h. s.bl ,n' srndins eaf the.nir 'nc.hv. ofd. f . lo l . t ih . \ t rzlrd prr : . but hc chrfactc fs f f hc ldblck I l rhc P( s mrk. r shoNoftufcc. r i l l l i lo th. . r t rns rhcr laarn-the gobl i .snrustn,nk. r mol {rherk t .1 l rh. fo l l l : r i ts . hr \ terthe hehes prss. I l rhc ) l l suc.ceds.th. goblLns t tck he hees unl i lha l f th . i r numb. fs af . s la iD. ts l ich pornl h. r Nn rnt { , hc \voods$hi lc rhr ! .o i r l ins iddcn thc bm-l) l .s pctpf r lh. I r( 's virh r ross( i ,mbt t,Dar. i (l l r l . s ( iid , ) l 'i . l ruders. l )uthe dr)e. ot nrer\enc:

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HOMONCULOUSEWWhen th prty enters, the ogresemingly doesnot notice their pres-ence nd wits round or two beforetiftins up his head ons enoush toask: "Cone to barter?'At this point,the PCs nust decide he best courseof action. If they decide to barter,Milo is rcluctant to give p hispotionsto the likes of Gaid and mayeven demnd hat the PCs kill theosre. But ifthey rcfuse to do so,Milohas little choicebut to relent.Gaid is surprisinsly articulate foran ogle. though still a bit gruff. He iscrfiy but blunt, nd he revels hetruth about how the homonculouscame nto his possession, fact thatmight change he PCs'imp.ession ofIf the situation bcomes ostile,Gid picks up a heavy crossbow hid-den behind the stalasmit,e'table) ndfires one bolt for 1d8+1 hp dmage-He then leaps ove. the stone tableand attack with his cudgel.Gaid (ogre): NT avege; Al NEAC 4; MV 9; HD ?; hp 3?;TIiAC0 13;{AT 1;Dms 1d10+6or by weponiype (+6);SA 18/00Streneth;SD +5to svevs. poisonand splli SZ L (10tall); ML 14;XP 1,400;MMl272; chinmail, owlbear skin, hea\y cudsel(2d6+6hp damase).Gid appeaB more ike a hill giantthn an ogre, Btnding 10 tll andweighing nearly 500 lbs. Indeed,helny even have somesint blood un'nins throush his veins.He werspoo cured owlbearskin over hischain mail sh;i, afiordins him anadditional 1 AC bonus.He wields anenomous cudgelbut loves o brawl.often picking up snller opponentsand hurlins thern int aalls forrd6+6 hp damase.As a result ofwizrdly experimentsconducted on him by his fomer hasemployers, Gaid is more resistant to

both pokon and Dagic, siniDs +5 on3. Trasure Cave. This chmber sseledby lrye, .ound boulder thatrequires Strcnsth of r8 (or com-bined Strength of26) to roll side-The ceilins is coNiderably lower thanthe rest of the den


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THEMAZEOFTHEMORKOTHBYJAMESWYATT

Denizensf the deeplworkby 8ob XlosnlchCodog.ophyby 0l361

B! the time this oventue sspnLJames ill hae reached the ripe oldaAe of 30. Althoush Jan' adentureb dasiAwd for undercea heroee, tuo*s equa r eu uith suface folkuho d.a.efa tha perils of the d2ep.'The Maze of the Morkoth" is anAD&IF adventwe for 3-5 quaticch.acters of level 4.4 (about 25 totatlevel). Five smple charactrs reincluded with this adventure.Altmativel, playe$ can use therules for cretiry quatic PCs foundin 'Heroes of the Se," in ,,acoxMaso.zita 1t25O.The DM should reviw the nne6govehins underuater survivI, visi-bility, combat, and spllcalting asprcae rad ]t Of Ships and the Sea(OSAS). The adventure ie6 placeon a continntl shelfotrthe coast ofan island archipelgo.

For he DungonMoslerHundreds of yearc aso, the islnd ofOreli dtuappeared in a volcsniceruption that filled the sky eithsmoke for e y a month. It capital,the sleaming city ofDiFEr i6,wasfirst bued under lva nd sh, thensunk beneath the waves, lost foEverto the surface world. Famed lor itspottry and honzewar, Dir-Emlihd bn a jewet in the DuqanEmpire's cmM, d its loss wasmourned by tho$uds.Over the centu.ies, oean cunentsand seaquake hve wom away atthe sunken island, and two smalltunnels now lead lrom the ocDwter intr the ruins of Dir-Emlis.One tu n$tled away amons the clsgsof sutken Orelia. The other is in thedeep-wtr region knom to the localseafolk as the Ma of the Morkoth.Here in the depth re seveEl tunnelentrances ftom $hich no cretuever retums alive. Within thmorkoth's lair is anothr tunnel, onethat leads up int0 the heart of theblnd to DiFEmtis.A few wks aso, an explorer iiomthe surfce world found his way intthe sunken city. A dwNen mastr ofpsionic powers, Delmek took up resi'dence in an air pocket within theruin6, nd set out to explore the ruinstuIy. (Note: Ifyou do not us psionicsin your @npaisn, Delnek can be humn wiza.d instad. ltmat st-

Underseaheroes onfront teffor in the oftrl of a giant moray eel,

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IHE IIZE OFTHE IORKOTHtistie for Delmek s wizard rpleented n sidebr atr in thisadventure.)The ncient pottry andbronzeware Delnek found olTeredinstaDt welth, but he was mostinbigued by te tunnel he discov'ered, filled with Bwirling hypDoticlights. Esily bl to Esist themorkoth's h)Tnotic bit, he et hismind into the tunnel nd made con-tact with the eture's mind. Greedyfor powea he used his nastry of bothtelepathic and psychometabolic disci'plines in an attempt to stel themorkoth's most imp.essive ability: ristance to mgic so strong as toreflect spells back upon their cste.s.He has alredy attained limited suc-cessin this effort. Unfortuntly, pro-lonsed contact with the alien mind ofthe morkoth has driven Delmek tothe hink of Banity. He is srowinsitcreingly pannoid, and he con-stantly lighb delusions that he is anorkoth hirnseltA creatur of considerable ntel-lect, the norkoth has detcid theintnsion into its mind and body.Furious but lso intrigued, it sentminions into the nearby communitiesof se elves Dd locathah to find the"sorcerer" who ws so brazenlyttmpting to stel its power. Theseminions- mlenti assssin,brutish vodyanoi, and severlkoalinth thuss are even now wrcak'ins hv@ in these peaceful conmuni-ti, kidnapping the chief locathahshmn nd attemptiDg o kidnapthe ledr of the 3e elves. Tlle PChemes are called upon to solve tlese$imes and end the morkoth's reig! ofBlood n the WolerThe PCs begin the adventure t.avel-ing along mjor ocen currnt,swimming at a depth of round 200feet. It is a clear day in clear wate.As they trvel, the PCs stumbleamss the morkoth's agent at work.Prin Ethelir, leader of the seaelven commity ne the morkoth'slair, i trveling with a rctinue ofeishtclards in a seshell chariot t wed bytwo giant sehorues.Unknown t him,one of his trustd guar is themorkoth's nalenti spy, Ek-bellinos (seesideb). A soup of koalinth drop ontthe elven pariy fton above, and themlenti, seeming to ruh to his

leaderk side, actully picks him witha Dedle coatd with pa$b'tic poison.As the kolinth d$cend, the glEdsswim int a defeftive pition, butEthelinn is powerle$ t ue hi magicin his defens. Ek'bellinos swirnsdown into the murky depths and a$ayftob the ensuins battle.Raad te folowing description toThe wan current at your backcaries you easily alons throusht}le deep blue wate. Above you, thesurfce shimDers with the lisht ofthe noontime su. Below you, theocean wter deepens to blckns.Suddenly, the constant hum ofunderwatr life i overshadowed ythe soundsofbattle a fes hundredyards ahead. Voices cry out in painas metal clashes asainst metat, butin the drk wter you cant see anysign of the combatnts.

The battle is in prosress 250 yardshed of the PCs. If the PCs advance,it takes t least a mund beforc theycan even see that the combatnts arehumanoid. At tht distance, read thefollowins:You discern five humanoid fisulesand two giant seahoreclNtredtogether. Tbthered t the se hoEesis a seashell chariot with a nder.Descendins upon the clultr reeisht attckerc armed with cmss-bows, spears, and harpoons. 'IVohDoid bodies float lifeless in

PCs who advnce one mo.e mundcn discern the combatnts. T'he fivehumanoid li$res clustered togetherare sea elves.Prince Ethelinn rides inthe chariot. The two dead bodies areatso sea elves. The other humanoidsare koalinths. l are tocked in meleexcpt one of t}le koalinth who isheding fo. the sea8hett chriot with big net, while the flg!.e iD thechariot remains motionle$.Pcs can close with the kolinthand ttck in the next round. A.lso nthat round, howvea the koalinthwith th net attacks the sea elvenlede., who iB completely paralyzedby the mlenti's potuon. If t}lekolinth's attack is ucce$tu], bothhe and the ell vrtuh, teleportd bythe magic of the net bck t the

mo*oth's lair. t that point, thekoalinth shift to defenive cti andKoditlth leaden INT very (12);AL CE; AC 4; MV Sw 12; F4lP4; hp18;THACo14; AT l; Dmg2d4+1(hrpoor);SZM (? t[); ML 14;)G270;MMl191 (hobgoblin).Spellstcrc light wounds, .6sureruistance*, renooe ear;how person,* P.esrr.rresreranc,$cribed inOS.4S,doubles }le lecipient's mexi-mn tunctioning depth for 1 tlm + Iturn4evel. Its Enge is t uch, d itffectonly one creture.The castingtime s 3.Koalinth Dttn INT averase;LCE;AC5;MV Sw12;F2; p 15;THCo18;#AT3,2;Dmsspcial(Det); Z M; ML 13;XP r20;MMl191(hobgobtin).This koaliDth crie8 anet of telzpo ation, s}ni.h upon com-mand transport the l'ieldei t thelocation desird,long *'ith nyoneoran]4hins within the net.I(oalhth cro8sbowmen {6): INTAverase8);AL CE;AC 5;MV Sw 12;HD 1+1;hp 4, 4,5, 6, 8, 9;THACor9;*AT 1; Dmg 1d6+1 oGsbows) or 1d6(spe);SZ M; ML l1;)(P 65;MMl191 (hobgoblir).Princ EtheliDn (aquaticelfleader): L CG;AC6;MV Sw 15 0while panlyzed); F5^tr4; hp 28;THACo r5; #AT r; Dns 1d6+2 tri-dent, two-harded);MR 90% o si"epDd cam; SZ M; ML 16;S r7, D tr,C 15,I 16,W 12,Ch 14;)G 650 forrcee): MMlllO.Swna. tisht, Eic nisile, ehizd;ESE strenath.Aquatic elves (5):II\IT hish {14);AL CG;AC6: MV Sw 15;HD 1+1;hp3,4,5,6,9;THACo 8; AT1;DDg1d6+1 tident); MR 90% o slzep andcharn; SZM;ML lSiXP 42OiMM/110.Assuming tht the PCs help theelves battle the koalinth, they arewelcomedas allie! by the elves whenthe battle is done,whether or notthey succeededn preventinsEthelim's captue- ff any koalinthre capted, they speakoi y thi3obscrewrning:'Seek not to stalwhat is not yours.My mastr wilreclaim what ha8 been o8t."{If theycan dentify spellcastrsamons theircapt rs, the koalinth direct this wam-ins particula at such ndividuats.)

They stadfastlyrefuse reveat the

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THE MAZEOF THE MORKOTH

Ihe Morkoth's inionsWhile morkoths tend to wit like spi-ders in the centers oftheir mazeliketunnel complexes,witing for prey tocome o them, they a.e intelligentnd schelningcreture8.Most haveplns and desireswith resrd to theaorld beyond heil turnels. nd theysometimesmastermind grndinirigues that ffect even the sufcewortd, usins tlies and slves obring them to fruition. The morkothof the Maze s no difrerent, nd itrnintins stable of useful agentsthat come nto play in this adven-ture. Ofthese, the most importntagent is a malenti spy and assassinclled Ek'bellinos.Ek-bllinos shdows he PCsthroughout the adventure. He hsbeen moving arnong he seelvesnd locthh,satherins informtionbout the communities.Takins onthe identity of sea elven soldieinaned Rethenn, he hs insertdhimself into the royal gnard ofthese elven Princ Ethelinn, allowinshim to facilitate the kidnap attemptthat begins he dventure.Wen thPCs arrive, his attntion tumB quite

Ek-bllinos (nalenti assssin:AL CE;AC 5; MV 15:FTihp 50iTHC0 12; #AT 5; Dmg 1d6+3iML14;S 17,D 15.C 13, 14.W 12,Ch14t MM/17\ sha sLoord.+3 tswclal-lzed), pendant of disuise.Useful to the rnorkoth for ditrerentresons, Mulsrek the vodyanoi is brute. He is responsible foi the kid-nppina of Sheh'pue the locathahbeforc the sta.t of the adventure, ndhe serves in similrly blunt waysthmghout the rest of the ad'rture.Mulgtek (vodynoi brut): ALCE;AC 2; MV 6iF6; hp 52iTHACo15;#AT SiDmg 3 72/3 72/7 70,ML14;S 18/87 +2/+4) , 11,C 15, I9,W 10, Ch 7;MMl352 (umber hulk).FiDally, the morkoth has a nm-ber ofkoalinth rninions.Theseaqutic hobsoblinstaee he kidnap-pins attempt on Prince Ethelinnthat besins the dventure,under Ek-bellinos' edership.Their leder s a4thlvel fighter/cleic, nd anotherof them is a 2ndlevel fighte( Theentire kolinth band is detiled nthe openins sceneofthe dventure.The kolintb do not apper n therest of the dventurc.

The following sections describeth actions of Ek-bellinos andMulgrek during each Bection of thedventure. Even the bestlaid plansof rnorkoth and malnti cn be foiledby ctever or powerful PCi so it isquite possible hat some minions willnot be around to play the paridescribd for them below In tiscase, the DM can either i8lo thelent described or a8sign the part toBlood in th Watr: Ek-bllinos isimportnt in the opening scene of theadventw, thosh he has just ieft thestage. He poisons the elven PrinceEthelinn. allowins hin to be moreeasily captred by the mo*oth'skolinth gents. He retums to the seelven community the next day,ssmins new identity. He murdels prcmiDent nerchant named Hadrain Vlissimi, nd tkes on his identitywine h pendant of d.isgui.Ifthe kidnapping was suc@ssfrn,Ek-bellinos' task at th point k tokeep an eye on the PC. He dos thisas surreptitiously as posible,makinguseof Hadr'sextensiveconnectiongwithin the community more thanfiBt-hnd obseNation to kep tabson thei actions. ln this way, heleams everrthing the PCs leaD aDdcommunicats this infomtion t

tf the PCs prevent the morkoth'gminions fron capturins PrinceErhelinn in the openins scene,Ek-bellinos has th additioDal

Dungeon Magazine - 070

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