AD&D - S1-4 - Dungeons of Dread (1e)

By Gary Gygax and Lawrence Schick S Series Classic Adventure Compilation ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS™

FOREWORD By Lawrence Schick Welcome to Dungeons of Dread™, the archival collection of adventure modules S1 through S4. All four of these scenarios are durable fan favorites that have stood the test of time, albeit for very different reasons. S1 Tomb of Horrors is one of the most famous Advanced Dungeons & Dragons™ scenarios in the history of the game. It passed through several iterations, first appearing in Gary’s campaign as a dungeon designed to challenge his players’ high-level characters—and take them down a peg. It was formally written up as a tournament scenario for the 1975 Origins game convention, then revised in late 1977 for publication as an AD&D™ module. The dungeon of the demi-lich Acererak was, for Gary, a kind of thought experiment: If an undead sorcerer really wanted to keep his tomb from being plundered by greedy adventurers, how would he do it? The answer, of course, was to defend the crypt with tricks and traps designed not to challenge the intruders but to kill them dead. And furthermore, to do it in ways so horrific that all but the most determined party would give up and leave well enough alone. Module S2, my own White Plume Mountain, wasn’t written to be published. I wrote it as a submission to persuade Gary that he ought to hire me as an RPG designer. Mission accomplished: Gary offered me a job, and also, to my surprise, offered to publish White Plume Mountain exactly as written. Gratifying, of course, but also a little embarrassing, since the adventure was really just a sampler of clever ideas that were never fully fleshed out. Its central conceit, a “funhouse” dungeon full of tricky obstacles designed to challenge adventurers for the amusement of a mad wizard, was already a cliché even at that date. And I was all too aware that the artifact/weapon Blackrazor, included to show I could adapt ideas from other media to AD&D, was a descendant of Elric’s Stormbringer. But unlike Tomb of Horrors, the challenges in White Plume Mountain were designed to make players think, work together as a party, and ultimately win through and feel successful. Players liked that. Vegepygmies and robots. What more could you need to hear? Let’s go! S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks was Gary in full-on funhouse mode, having a high old time mixing elements of Jim Ward’s Gamma World with fantasy to create a rollicking and memorable AD&D adventure. Some remember Gary Gygax as the stern pontiff of AD&D, ruling on what was and wasn’t proper and decrying all heresy. What I remember is Gary the game designer, a mischievous man with a firm grasp on the Laws of Fun, who knew how to offset threat with humor, and who understood that players valued most what they worked hard to earn. S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth marked the end of the S series—and rightly so, because despite being based on a gilded-hole dungeon originally designed for a tournament in 1976, its updated version really belonged more to the ‘80s campaign-setting school of design than to the wild-and-woolly ‘70s. S1 through S3 were standalone modules that could be easily dropped into any DM’s campaign, but Tsojcanth is firmly based in Gary’s World of Greyhawk™. Indeed, there’s evidence that Gary considered Tsojcanth part of a longer Greyhawk campaign, placing the adventure between T1–T4 The Temple of Elemental Evil and WG4 The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun. (By this reckoning, The Village of Hommlet, The Temple of Elemental Evil, and Tsojcanth are thus the “lost” WG1 through WG3 modules.) So, Tsojcanth was published in the S series because it got completed out of order, but was too good to delay. However, forget all that ancient history. If you’re a Dungeon Master hoping to amuse and challenge your players, what’s important is that you can count on this book to deliver many rousing evenings of fun. I think you’ll find these adventures deserve the moniker “S”—for Special. TABLE OF CONTENTS S1: Tomb of Horrors ........................................................3 Illustration Booklet .........................................................15 Map of the Dungeon......................................................35 S2: White Plume Mountain .........................................37 Map of the Dungeon......................................................52 Keraptis’s Poem .............................................................54 S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks ..........................55 Illustration Booklet .........................................................85 Maps of the Dungeon ..................................................122 S4: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth ...........................129 Dungeon Master’s Wilderness Map ............................... 161 Maps of the Dungeon ..................................................162 Player’s Wilderness Map ..............................................164 Monsters and Magical Items (“Booklet 2”) ......................165 DUNGEONS OF DREAD™ S Series Classic Adventure Compilation Tomb of Horrors—©1978, 1981 TSR, Inc. White Plume Mountain—©1979, 1980, 1981 TSR, Inc. Expedition to the Barrier Peaks—©1980, 1981 TSR, Inc. The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth—©1982 TSR, Inc. ©2013 Wizards of the Coast LLC. This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast LLC. Published by Wizards of the Coast LLC. Manufactured by: Hasbro SA, Rue EmileBoéchat 31, 2800 Delémont, CH. Represented by Hasbro Europe, 2 Roundwood Ave, Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1AZ, UK. Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, AD&D, Wizards of the Coast, all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the USA and other countries. All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. 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3 Dungeon Module S1 Tomb of Horrors™ by Gary Gygax AN ADVENTURE FOR CHARACTERS LEVELS 10-14 In the far reaches of the world, under a lost and lonely hill, lies the sinister TOMB OF HORRORS. This labyrinthine crypt is filled with terrible traps, strange and ferocious monsters, rich and magical treasures, and somewhere within rests the Demi-Lich. This module was originally used for the Official ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS™ tournament at Origins I. The author wishes to thank Mr. Alan Lucien who was kind enough to submit some of the ideas for this dungeon. Included herein are background information, the Legend of the Tomb, and possible locations for the tomb on the WORLD OF GREYHAWK™ map. Also included are DM notes, characters specially designed for the module, and numerous illustrations to be shown to the players.

4 any additional information which player characters would have no way of knowing, and avoid facial expressions or voice tones which might give helpful hints or mislead players. The real enjoyment of this module is managing to cope, and those players who manage to do so even semi-successfully will appreciate your refereeing properly and allowing them to “live or die” on their own. The startling information for the module depends on whether you are using the Tomb as an insertion into your own campaign, as a section of THE WORLD OF GREYHAWKTM fantasy setting, or simply as a one-shot exercise for your players. Because of the variableness, the information for starting is stated so as to assume the expedition has arrived at the site of the TOMB OF HORRORS. As Dungeon Master, you may fill in whatever background is needed, and if this is a section of a campaign, players cannot have obtained the Legend information without consulting sages, casting legend lore spells, finding the information in some arcane work, or whatever; all prior to locating the actual locale of the Tomb and then getting to it, so that background will have been accomplished. [When this module was used at Origins I, referees were instructed that the hill had been found in the Vast Swamp, and the party had arrived there in barges.] Start: The party has arrived at the site of the demi-lich’s last haunt. Before them is a low, flat topped hill, about 200 yards wide and 300 yards long. Only ugly weeds, thorns, and briars grow upon the steep sides and bald top of the 60’ high mound. There are black rocks upon the top of the hill, and if these are viewed from a height of about 200’ or so above the mound, it will be seen that the whole is shaped like a human skull, with the piles of rock appearing as eye holes, nose hole, and the jagged teeth of a grinning death’s head. A thorough inspection and search of the entire area will reveal only that the north side of the hill has a crumbling cliff of sand and gravel about 20’ high in about the middle of the whole. (This is the area 34 squares wide which forms the eastwest axis of your dungeon map.) A low stone ledge overhangs this eroded area, and shrubs and bushes obscure it from observation at a distance. It will require a full turn for searching each 10’ of this cliff area. Search must be done from a distance with a long spear or 10’ pole. Prodding must be high in order to collapse sufficient material to expose a portion of a tunnel entrance. Once on entrance is exposed, it will require about 1 hour for 6 characters working in teams of 3 to thoroughly clear a passage, but a crawl space can be opened in 1 turn by 3 characters digging with swords and hands. Note that probing of the gravel and sand face can begin wherever the players choose—east, west, middle, several locations or merely a single one at a time. Leave this strictly to the players to decide. The best manner to handle it is to ask where they will search, once they have determined that they will investigate the area and have stated how it will be done and with what. Remember low probing, or probing with short implements (daggers, swords, etc.) will not reveal anything. As soon as any entrance is cleared and entered, go to the KEY. Note: Characters who become astral or ethereal in the Tomb will attract a type I-IV demon 1 in 6, with a check made each round. LEGEND OF THE TOMB The legend of the tomb is an old story with many parts, some of which may be lost or obscured. Characters attempting to glean special information by consulting sages or through legend lore spells may still have difficulty obtaining as much background as they desire, for the scraps of information are often minimal and mystical. These bits of information are available as clues, and characters can make of them what they wish: Ancient Burial Places; Ancient Tombs; Sorcerous Kings; Challenges, Surpassing (Certain Death); Soul Eaters; Treasure, Great … The other parts of the legend can be furnished by the Dungeon Master from the description which follows: The Tomb of Horrors: Somewhere under a lost and lonely hill of grim and foreboding aspect lies a labyrinthine crypt. It is filled with terrible traps and not a few strange and ferocious monsters to slay the unwary. It is filled with rich treasures both precious and magical, but in addition to the aforementioned guardians, there is said to be a demi-lich who still wards his final haunt. (Be warned that tales told have it that this being possesses powers which make him nearly undefeatable!) Accounts relate that it is quite unlikely that any adventurers will ever find the chamber where the demilich Acererak lingers, for the passages and rooms of the Tomb are fraught with terrible traps, poison gases, and magical protections. Furthermore, the demi-lich has so well hidden his lair, that even those who avoid the pitfalls will not be likely to locate their true goal. So only large and well-prepared parties of the bravest and strongest should even consider the attempt, and if they do locate the Tomb, they must be prepared to fail. Any expedition must be composed of characters of high level and varied class. They must have magical protections and weapons, and equip themselves with every sort of device possible to insure their survival. Possible Locale of the Tomb: 1) The highest hill on the Plains of Iuz 2) An island (unmapped) in the Nyr Dyv 3) In the Bright Desert 4) At the western border of the Duchy of Geoff 5) Somewhere in the Vast Swamp south of Sundi 6) On an island beyond the realm of the Sea Barons NOTES FOR THE DUNGEON MASTER As clever players will gather from a reading of the Legend of the Tomb, this dungeon has more tricks and traps than it has monsters to fight. THIS IS A THINKING PERSON’S MODULE, AND IF YOUR GROUP IS A HACK AND SLAY GATHERING, THEY WILL BE UNHAPPY! In the latter case, it is better to skip the whole thing than come out and tell them that there are few monsters. It is this writer’s belief that brainwork is good for all players, and they will certainly benefit from playing this module, for individual levels of skill will be improved by reasoning and experience. If you regularly pose problems to be solved by brains and not brawn, your players will find this module immediately to their liking. Negotiation of the Tomb will require quite a long time, so be prepared to spend several sessions with this module. When the game ends for the day, assume the expedition is spending the intervening time until play again commences resting and recovering from adventuring up to that point. Allowing actual/game days on a 1/1 basis gives players a chance to recover some lost hit points, too. As there are no monsters to be randomly encountered within the Tomb, the party might be allowed to encamp close to the entrance without fear of random encounters, but if you do so opt, do not inform the players of this. Please read and review all of the material herein, and become thoroughly familiar with it, before beginning the module. As players enter keyed areas, you will note from appropriate information whether or not the area has one or more illustrations for visually highlighting play. Read aloud appropriate sections, but never give

5 KEY TO THE TOMB 1. FALSE ENTRANCE TUNNEL: The corridor is of plain stone, roughly worked, and it is dark and full of cobwebs. The roof 20’ overhead is obscured by these hanging strands, so casual observation will not reveal that it is composed of badly fitting stones. Daylight will be sufficient to reveal that there is a pair of oaken doors at the end of the passageway. If the roof is prodded with any force, or if the doors are opened, the roof of the tunnel will collapse and inflict 5-50 (5d10) hit points of damage upon each character inside of it, with no saving throw. The doors open outwards by great iron ring pulls. The cobwebs must be burned away to be able to inspect the tunnel ceiling. THIS AREA IS DEPICTED IN ILLUSTRATION #1. 2. FALSE ENTRANCE TUNNEL : This is another plain stone passageway, but the ceiling is only 10’ high. Daylight will enable adventurers to dimly see what appear to be two separate doors at the end of the corridor. The floor paving at 50’ distance within the passage will shift slightly when characters tread upon its surface. They will hear a rumbling from behind (or beside if some are at 30’ within) them. At this instant begin counting slowly to 10—about 1½ seconds per count—and if you reach 10 before any player has reacted as noted below, the huge stone block, 10’ thick, has slid shut and completely sealed off the passageway. This block cannot be moved or forced back. Trapped characters can escape only by the following means: disintegrate, phasedoor, stone-flesh (assuming a sufficient quantity of the block can be changed), transmute rock-mud, wish. Players giving notice that their character is running out will be able to cover 1’ of distance/1’’ of movement rate for their character/count. Thus, a base 6’’ movement rate means that the character can cover 6’ of distance in the space of a single count. Mentally note such character’s actions, and when the 10 count is finished, compute where each character is. The block begins slow movement, so that at the count of 1 only a slight bit protrudes, at 2 it is 2’+ a bit out into the corridor, at 3 it is 4’+, at 4 it is 6’+, at 5 it is 9’, at 6 it is 11’+, at 7 it is 13’+, at 8 it is at 16’, at 9 the block is 18’+ across, and at 10 it has slammed shut and crushed anything between it and the wall. EXCEPTION: An iron bar will stop the block, but only if the bar is placed on the floor where it will wedge the block. A bar elsewhere will bend and allow the block to come shut, but 1 count will be gained as the bar bends. The doors at the end of the passage are false ones. THIS AREA IS DEPICTED IN ILLUSTRATION #2. 3. ENTRANCE TO THE TOMB OF HORRORS: Even a bit of daylight entering through a crawl space or a torch will reveal that this is an unusual tunnel. Bright, brilliant colors are to be seen everywhere, the stones and pigments undimmed by the passage of decades. (USE ILLUSTRATION #3 NOW.) The floor of the corridor is a colorful mosaic of stone, with a distinct, winding path of red tiles about 2’ wide (the line snaking its way south down the corridor) easily visible to the onlooker. (See special note regarding the pit traps at the end of this paragraph.) No stonework can be seen on the walls or the ceiling 20’ above, for some sort of cement or plaster has been smoothed over all of these surfaces and then illustrated. The scenes painted show fields with kine grazing, a copse with several wolves in the background, slaves (human, orc, elven, and strange human-animal mixture — pig-human, ape-human, and dog-human) going about various tasks. Certain of the frescoes show rooms of some building — a library filled with many books and scrolls, a torture chamber, a wizard’s work room (see 4. below for more details of this area). There are chairs, windows, boxes, bales, doors, chests, birds, bats, spiders and all manner of things shown on the walls. All pits (except where noted to the contrary) throughout the Tomb are 10’ deep and concealed by a counter-weighted trap door which opens as soon as any person steps on it. Thrusting with force upon these traps with a pole will reveal them 4 in 6 (d6, 1-4). Those who step upon a pit lid will have a base 100% of falling, modified downwards by 1% per point of dexterity through 12, and 2% for each point above 12, i.e. dexterity of 13 = 14% chance of not falling into a pit, dexterity of 14 = 16%, 15 = 18%, 16 = 20%, 17 = 22%, and 18 dexterity = 24% chance of not going in. At the bottom of each pit are 5 iron spikes coated with poison. Roll d6 to determine how many spikes wound the victim; 1, 2, and 3 meaning that number of spikes have wounded the victim, 4-6 equal NONE HAVE WOUNDED the character. Each spike causes 1-6 hit points of damage, and the victim must make a saving throw versus poison for each spike which wounds him or her. Any failure means the victim is killed by the poison. A. This area is where the torture chamber is painted, and the wall hiding this passage shows a painting of the iron door which evidently confines some sort of a horrid creature (its taloned and scaled hands grasp the bars of its small window) which can be loosed to torment prisoners. If the plaster and lath behind it is broken, a normal, inward opening door will be revealed. B. If the pattern of the floor has been carefully observed and studied from the entrance to this point, the individual with such perseverance will be rewarded by suddenly understanding that a message is contained in barely notice-able runes in the mosaic floor. It says “ACERERAK CONGRATULATES YOU ON YOUR POWERS OF OBSERVATION. SO MAKE OF THIS WHATEVER YOU WISH, FOR YOU WILL BE MINE IN THE END NO MATTER WHAT! Go back to the tormentor or through the arch, and the second great hall you’ll discover. Shun green if you can, but night’s good color is for those of great valor. If shades of red stand for blood the wise will not need sacrifice aught but a loop of magical metal — you’re well along your march. Two pits along the way will be found to lead to a fortuitous fall, so check the wall. These keys and those are most important of all, and beware of trembling hands and what will maul. If you find the false you find the true and into the columned hall you’ll come, and there the throne that’s key and keyed. The iron men of visage grim do more than meets the viewer’s eye. You’ve left and left and found my Tomb and now your soul will die.” 4. FRESCO OF THE WIZARDLY WORK ROOM: The most outstanding feature of this area is actually outstanding! Two jackal-headed human figures (USE ILLUSTRATION #4 AS SOON AS THE PARTY EXAMINES THIS AREA CLOSELY) are painted so as to appear to be holding a real bronze chest. If this box is examined closely, the viewer will note that it is hinged on the bottom so as to allow the lid to swing down if a catch on top is pressed. The catch has an easily detectable poison needle trap, and this can be avoided easily by pressing the stud with a dagger pommel, etc. However, when the box opens, it will appear to be absolutely empty, but if a character actually feels inside the chest he or she will find a rod which stands vertically from the bottom. This lever moves easily, and if it is pulled with any force it will open the shaded trapdoor which covers a 30’ deep pit (spiked and poisoned as are all traps of this sort here) which will inflict 3-18 (3d6) hit points of damage to all who fall within, exclusive of spike damage. Note: This trap door is 3’ thick and cannot be detected by sounding or by any magic which detects secret doors, or even traps. True seeing will reveal a fine rectangle where the stone plug is, but it will not show what it does. Once triggered, the pit remains open thereafter. 5. THE ARCH OF MIST: One section of the path shown on the

6 A. pull down B. pivots centrally C. pull inward and up at bottom D. slides up E. double panels pull inward F. slide left G. 7 studs — press all and door opens, 1 & 7 bring door falling inwards for 3-18 h.p. damage 10. GREAT HALL OF SPHERES: This area is similar to 3., for the floor is of inlaid tiles and the walls and ceiling are painted with figures of animals, strange signs and glyphs (which mean absolutely nothing), and humans and human-like creatures with spheres of different colors. These globes are 2-dimensional, of course, and their significance and pattern are described below. (AS SOON AS THE PARTY ARRIVES HERE SHOW THEM ILLUSTRATION #10.) From north to south, with the west wall being the first column, and the east the second, the figures and spheres appear as follows: GOLD held high above head* PALE BLUE at shoulder ORANGE held waist high SILVER at feet (False door) (secret one-way door**) PURPLE at feet GREEN held high above head (False door) YELLOW at shoulder BRONZE held waist high PINK held high above head GRAY at shoulder BLACK at feet*** (none) PALE VIOLET at shoulder BRIGHT BLUE at feet (none) WHITE held high above head RED held waist high**** TURQUOISE at shoulder BUFF at feet SCARLET held waist high (none) PALE GREEN at feet INDIGO held high above head * an illusion covering a crawlway to 11. ** this door can be opened by a knock, disintegrate, rock to mud, or stone to flesh spell *** an illusion covering a crawlway to 14. **** an illusion covering a crawlway to 13. A. Magic Archway: When the party examines this arch give them ILLUSTRATION #5, and inform them that the stones glow in these colors whenever any person comes within 3’ of the portal: lower left, OLIVE; keystone RUSSET; lower right, CITRON. No matter which stones are pressed in what order, the archway remains clouded and veiled with a haze which nothing can enable the onlookers to see through. All living matter which goes through the arch will be teleported to 3., while non-living matter is teleported simultaneously to 33., i.e. characters stepping through will appear at the start totally nude, while everything else with them will go to the crypt of the demi-lich. (Cruel, but most entertaining for the DM . . .) 11. THE THREE ARMED STATUE: When players find this smallish room they will immediately see what appears to be a broken, 8’ tall statue of a 4-armed gargoyle (ILLUSTRATION #11), with a broken off 4th arm on the floor nearby. No amount of fooling around with the broken arm will enable it to be replaced, and the statue will do nothing at all meanwhile. A close look at its open and outstretched hands, however, will detect that a large gem (a 100 g.p. blue quartz one fits perfectly) will fit in a carved depression in each of the 3 remaining hands, while the broken one has no such concavity. If 3 large gems of any sort are placed within the hands, the stoney digits will close and crush them to powder, dump the grains on the floor, and return to their normal positions. If this is repeated twice more, and 9 gems are so crushed, a 10th (or more) will cause the triggering of a magic mouth spell to speak the following words: floor leads directly into this archway. If any character stands within 1’ of the entranceway upon the path, the base stones will glow yellow on the left, orange on the right, and the keystone 7’ above will glow blue. (When this happens, SHOW YOUR PLAYERS ILLUSTRATION #5.) There is a misty veil across the archway, and nothing will cause the vapors to clear, nor will any sort of magic allow sight into the area, until the glowing stones are pressed in the proper sequence — YELLOW, BLUE, ORANGE. If this sequence is pressed, the vapors disappear, and the path appears to go eastwards. If the archway is entered when it is clouded, those characters doing so will be instantly teleported to 7. (see below). If it is passed through after pressing the glowing stones in proper sequence, those stepping through ON the path will be teleported to 11., those who pass through off the path will be sent back to 3. 6. THE FACE OF THE GREAT GREEN DEVIL: The other fork of the path leads right up to an evil-appearing devil face set in mosaic at the corridor’s end. (SHOW YOUR PLAYERS ILLUSTRATION #6). The face has a huge O of a mouth; it is dead black. The whole area radiates evil and magic if detected for. The mouth opening is similar to a (fixed) sphere of annihilation, but it is about 3’ in diameter — plenty of room for those who wish to leap in and be completely and forever destroyed. 7. THE FORSAKEN PRISON: This miserable cubicle appears to have absolutely no means of egress, and even a magical means of detection will not indicate any. There are 3 iron levers (about 1’ long) on the south wall of the chamber. These levers will move horizontally or vertically, singly or in combination. Only the act of moving all 3 together upwards or downwards will have any results. Moving them straight up opens a small trapdoor in the center of the ceiling (10’ above). Pushing them simultaneously down opens the entire floor to a 100’ deep pit with no exit. Damage from the fall is 10-100 (10d10) hit points, and the floor will automatically return to a closed position in 1 turn, thus sealing any inside the pit there until another victim triggers the drop away again. The ceiling route is a crawl space some 3’ square. At the place it turns east there is a plug in the ceiling which can be detected only with magical vision means or if a character has sense enough to test for secret doors by rapping. Secret door detection will not be of avail here except as noted. Eventually the small tunnel leads to a magical one-way door which opens in the pit side as shown, and players are back to square one . . . 8. GARGOYLE LAIR: When any door leading to this room is opened, it frees o mutated 4-armed gargoyle from temporal stasis. This monster is a huge (H.P.: 64; 19 strength) monstrosity that attacks 6 times/round as a 12 hit dice creature inflicting damage as follows: 2-8 × 4/3-12/1-6, and if any 2 of the clawing attacks (2-8 × 4) hit, the creature will do an additional 7 hit points of rending damage to the opponent so struck. Around the creature’s neck is a collar studded with huge, gleaming gems (blue quartz stones of 100 g.p. value each, 10 gems total). Hidden in a secret compartment of the collar is a slip of parchment with the following written on it in magical runes which require a read magic spell to understand: “Look low and high for gold, to hear a tale untold. The archway at the end, and on your way you’ll wend.” Beneath the runes is the initial “A”. (USE ILLUSTRATION #8 FOR THIS ENCOUNTER). 9. COMPLEX OF SECRET DOORS: Each of these portals must be opened by hand, and each requires a different method of opening. Meanwhile, each round that there are characters in a shaded room, a number of bolts will be fired into the area from hidden devices in the walls and ceilings, and 1 character, randomly determined, in each such area, will be hit for 1-6 points of damage unless he or she makes a saving throw versus spell. There is absolutely no way to prevent the bolts from being triggered and from hitting, and armor and spells will NOT have any effect either. The various secret doors open as follows:

7 There are scenes of normal life painted on the walls, but the people have rotting flesh, skeletal hands, worms eating them, etc. Yet there are also depicted various religious symbols of good alignment, and a faint aura of good can be magically detected. What a puzzle! Could the demi-lich actually have been of good alignment? There is a mosaic path leading to the altar, and to either side great wooden pews face the worship area. (All of these benches have hinged seats. The back pair of pews have 4,000 s.p. each hidden therein, the next pair have 3,000 e.p. each, the next have 2,000 g.p. each, and the front pair have gas traps — a cloud of gas will fill the whole chapel in 2 rounds after opening the pew bottom, and all in the place will lose 2-8 points of strength for 48 hours!) A wooden railing divides the room, and south of it is the altar, a tiered dais with a wooden chair (nicely carved and padded but unremarkable), 2 large brass candelabra holding 5 white candles each, and in each corner a large white pottery urn stoppered with a brass and wood plug. A human skeleton in black chain mail (badly rusted and torn) points to area B. (Now show your players ILLUSTRATION #14.) A. Opalescent Blue Altar: This block of strange material glows with an inner light. (A very faint evil can be detected 2 in 6 per round of detection.) If the thing is touched by living matter it will send a lightning bolt 40’ long and 8’ wide shooting up the aisle — base 40 hit points of damage, save versus magic spell reduces the hit points to 20. After this bolt streaks forth, the altar turns a fiery blue-red and if it is touched by any object it will explode doing base 60 hit points of damage to all creatures within a 30’ radius (saving throw reduces damage by 50%). B. Archway of Glowing Orange: As already stated, the skeleton on the floor of the chapel room is outstretched and pointing to the arch. (Show your players ILLUSTRATION #5, and explain that none of the stones of the arch glow, but that the entranceway is filled with luminous orange vapors of an exciting hue.) These vivid orange mists cannot be penetrated with any sort of vision or magic. The skeleton, of course, misleads the party, for any character passing through the portal will enter a 10’ × 10’ room where their sex and alignment are reversed by a terrible curse. (Although restoration of alignment and sex to original is difficult, the curse once reversed will not alter paladin-hood, ranger status, etc.) Re-entering the archway will restore original alignment, but 1-6 hit points of damage will be sustained in so doing. Going back a 3rd time will reverse sex again, but the individual will be teleported as arch 10. A. does. Only a wish or alter reality spell will restore both alignment and sex. However, if alignment is restored by entering the orange portal, a remove curse spell will then restore original sex. Prior to alignment restoration, no spells other than the those stated will affect the cursed character. C. Careful inspection here has a 4 in 6 chance of noticing a small slot with a letter O faintly traced above it. This is a moving stone block described below. It cannot be magically detected, nor will it open by physical or magical means other than the method given in 15. 15. STONE GATE: This stone is only 2’ wide, 4’ high, and 10’ thick in a wedge shape. It is impregnated with strong antimagics which prevent its detection or removal or change to another form or substance. The slot (C. above) is of sufficient size to accept a coin or a flat gem. It is also just right for insertion of a magic ring, and only such an item will actually trigger the mechanism which causes the block to sink slowly into the floor so as to allow entry into the passage beyond. The ring (or any other object deposited into the slot) is forever lost, as the sinking stone crushes all to pieces. The gate opens easily from the other (east) side, and no special item is required to trigger its opening from that side. The corridor widens to 10’ and turns southward where steps “YOUR SACRIFICE WAS NOT IN VAIN. LOOK TO THE FOURTH TO FIND YOUR GAIN.” As these words are spoken, an invisible gem of seeing will come into being in the palm of the broken off arm of the statue. The gem must be found and the character so doing will need to wipe it free of a magical substance before it can be seen or used. Note that if the arm is carelessly moved, the gem will fall off and roll away. Detect invisibility or any other sort of searching except by careful feeling will be useless. Describe the gem, once wiped clean and visible, as an oval diamond, with two flat and polished sides, very clear, and about one inch diameter by one-quarter inch thick. It will operate only 12 times, then shatter. 12. TRAPPED FALSE DOOR: At this location, as well as several others throughout the Tomb, there are false doors which screen a spear trap. (When one of these doors is opened, hand the players ILLUSTRATION #12.) A spear will shoot out, and the door opener(s) or any others standing before it are subject to be struck. Determine at random, if need be, which character is the target, and that player must then make a saving throw versus magic spell to avoid taking 2-16 (2d8) hit points of damage. When the door is closed and reopened, another spear will fire. 13. CHAMBER OF THREE CHESTS: When the party enters the crawlway hidden by the sphere illusion of a red color, they will come to an apparent dead end, but a bit of examination will easily discover (4 in 6) a secret door. The character opening the door will be precipitated to the floor 10’ below by a tilting stone at the mouth of the crawlway, and an automatic 1-6 hit points damage sustained (a mere annoyance, but it erodes the strength of the party). At this juncture show the players ILLUSTRATION #13 (A). The large chests are affixed firmly to the floor; the 1st is of gold, the 2nd of silver, the 3rd of oak bound with thick bronze bands. Each is about 4’ long, 2’ wide, and 3’ high. In these containers are: Gold: (Plate only over iron) 12 large asps (H.P.: 9 each; AC 6; attack as 3 hit dice monsters; cause 1 h.p. of damage only when biting, but saves versus their poison are at -2) will slither out and attack next round. They are fast (12’’ move) and will continue biting until all are killed. (USE ILLUSTRATION #13 (B).) Silver: (Plate only over iron) holds a ring (protection +1) in a clear crystal box (worth 1,000 g.p.). When this box is lifted from the supposed bottom of the chest, 8 darts will fire upwards, and 1-2 characters (maximum which can be in the line of fire) will take 1-4 hits each if they are exposed to the path of these missiles. (Actually reaching in and removing the case is exposure!) Damage is 1-6 hit points per dart, with no saving throws. (USE ILLUSTRATION #13 (C).) Wood: When the lid is opened, an animated skeleton of a giant will be instantly teleported into the chest, and it will always strike first. The thing wields 2 (nonmagical) scimitars, and it attacks twice/round for 2-12 h.p. of damage per hit. The skeleton has 32 h.p., AC 2, and attacks as a 10 hit dice monster. All edged weapon hits upon it cause only 1 h.p. of damage, but blunt ones score normal damage. Magic does not affect this monster, and it cannot be turned. Holy water will cause 1-4 hit points of damage. (USE ILLUSTRATION #13 (D).) 14. CHAPEL OF EVIL: By passing through the illusionary black sphere the party will have crawled along the small tunnel until reaching the end, only to find it is solid stone. It requires a 1 in 6 to find the secret door at the passage end, no matter what the race of the character examining the area, and no form of magic will detect it, save the gem of seeing. Once inside, they will see what is obviously some form of temple area.

8 with rotting and decayed furnishings which were once most costly, and upon a solid gold couch (50,000 g.p. value) a lichlike figure with a crown on its head will be slowly rising (and throwing up its hands in apparent fear if the mace is being carried). A booming voice from the whole of the chamber will demand: “WHO DARES TO DISTURB THE REST OF ACERERAK? IT IS YOUR DEATH WHICH YOU HAVE FOUND.” (After this announcement you should show your players ILLUSTRATION #18.) The purported lich is actually a magically prepared zombie with spells upon him which give the following stats: AC -4; move base 12”; H.P.: 32; attacks 1/round as a 6 hit dice monster for 3-10 h.p. damage; and anti-magic charms will absorb 12 levels of spells cast before any will take effect (any spell partially absorbed is spoiled). Between strikes the zombie will gesture magically with its hands as if readying a spell. If it is struck by the golden mace it will make a roaring bellow (magic mouth spell), and the weapon will obviously stagger it (roll dice and shake your head). The 3rd time it is struck by the gold mace the zombie will instantly wither and disappear in a puff of dust, the mace will shatter, and at this moment the room will start to shake and stones will begin to come down from the ceiling. OBVIOUSLY THE PLACE IS BEGINNING TO COLLAPSE, but take your time detailing the rumblings, tremors, grinding noises, falling hunks of ceiling, and so forth; and if players inquire they can see a jade coffer, the dead monster’s fallen crown, and a fine leather bag (a give-away—it isn’t rotten) within easy reach. All other items are iron, locked, etc. NOW BEGIN COUNTING SLOWLY TO 10, and it is odds on that there will be a stampede up the stairs to get away! A programmed illusion from the pseudo-crypt will give the full effects of a cave-in, and actual dust will billow up the stairs, while bits of stone begin to fall in the east-west tunnel and then the north-south tunnel and stairs reached from the pit. If the party runs out, ask them if they thought it was too hard a dungeon . . . The jade coffer is worth 5,000 g.p. and contains 6 healing potions. The crown is begemmed and worth 25,000 g.p. The small sack holds 278 p.p., 29 base 10 g.p. gems, a scroll of 7 magic-user spells (pretend to roll, but they are all 1st and 2nd level), and a map showing a location several hundred miles away which supposedly has a rich treasure (it is a fake, naturally). If this doesn’t make them suspicious enough to take another run through to check things out, put the module away for use when you have a different group (or the same ones) inquiring about one of the key references in the Legend. Note that something so simple as a commune spell will reveal that the demi-lich has not been destroyed. In any event, Acererak will see to the righting of things eventually. The only treasure left in the pseudo-crypt is the gold couch. 19. LABORATORY AND MUMMY PREPARATION ROOM: Although there is only 1 item of eventual use within this totally plain and cluttered place, the volume of items within it is calculated to waste time for the players. All of the walls are lined with shelves, and upon these are old jars filled with dust and impotent ingredients of all sorts. There is a large desk and stool, 2 workbenches, and 2 mummy preparation tables. Clay pots and urns on these tables and the floor obviously once contained unguents, ointments, oils, perfumes, etc. Linen wrappings are in rolls or strewn about. Dried herbs of unidentifiable nature, bones, skulls and the like litter the work benches. In the south are 3 vats of about 7’ diameter and 4’ depth which contain murky liquids. (SHOW ILLUSTRATION #19.) The 1st holds 3’ of dirty water. The 2nd contains a slow-acting acid which will cause 2-5 h.p. of damage the round after it comes in substantial (immersed arm, splashed on, etc.) contact with flesh—minor contact will cause only a mild itch; at the bottom of this vat is one-half of a golden key. The 3rd vat contains a gray ochre jelly (H.P.: 48; 4-16 h.p. of damage due to its huge size) with the other half of the gold key beneath it. The vats are affixed to the floor and too heavy to move. The key parts are magical and will not be harmed by anything, and if the parts are joined lead down steeply to a corridor west. The series of 3 doors in the corridor are easily opened on any roll of 6 in 6, 2 in 6 (1 or 2) indicating that the door opener falls through as the door opens so easily, plunging into the pit (see 3. above for pit details). Of course, if the door is not violently pushed against, it swings inward, and the party will have standard chances of falling in when the characters leading the way step on the cover. By the time the 3rd door and pit have been reached, they will certainly expect the pit, and will be likely to ignore it. This carelessness will prevent them from examining the pit from within, as a wooden door painted to look like stone will be observed 5 in 6, immediately felt if a tactile investigation of the walls are made. It is most probable that the party will proceed to area 16. 16. LOCKED OAKEN DOOR: The gate is heavily bound with iron bands and there are several locks apparent. If a character listens with an ear to the door, he or she will hear far-off music and happy singing, obviously coming from somewhere beyond. The door radiates a dim magical aura, and no forcing or knock spells will open it. A disintegrate spell, or physically chopping it to pieces, provide the only means to continue past it. Once the door is destroyed, sounds of confusion and running (away) can be heard from the north—all music and singing has ceased. There is a faint glow (torchlight?) northwards. The walls of the passage are of smooth white alabaster, and the floor is a very smooth, highly polished smoke gray marble. The destruction of the door triggered an audible glamer spell to produce the noise heard. The tunnel floor is a counter-weighted beam. Its overbalancing point is the 3rd square from the door, and when 1 or more characters step there the floor will begin to tilt downward from the door north, with the north end slowly sinking. (AT THIS MOMENT SHOW YOUR PLAYERS ILLUSTRATION #16.) Quickly state the floor is beginning to slant as explained above. Begin counting slowly (as per 2. above) to 5. All characters still north of the doorway at the conclusion of the 5 count will fall and begin sliding downwards to the north at 10’/segment. When the 40’ point is marked each will take 1-6 h.p. of heat damage, 2-12 h.p. at 50’ and thereafter they are plunged into a pit of flames and molten lava which will absolutely snuff them out. Retreat from the area during the count is at the 1’/1’’ of base movement rate per count. 17. MAGlCAL SECRET DOOR: This entrance to the remainder of the Tomb is along the stairway which leads down. It can be found by any means, but nothing will enable it to be opened until the area is either viewed through a gem of seeing, a similar spell is cast, or a detect magic spell is used to pinpoint the magic aura. When the magic of the door is found, it will require a dispel magic or remove curse spell to remove the guard which prevents the door from being opened. Once accomplished, the secret door can be opened easily from either side. 18. FALSE CRYPT PROTECTED BY FEAR GAS: Before the party can enter this area, they must descend the stairs and enter the slightly cloudy west passage. The tunnel is fear gas filled, and unless characters announce they are holding their breath before entering its 40’ length, they will breathe in the gas—save versus poison or run away at top speed for 2-8 turns. Beyond the first 10’, the gas becomes thicker, and it irritates the eyes, so it is only 3 in 6 for any character to notice the south door. Once the south door is opened, the gas dissipates. A. The False Crypt: The steps down to the chamber at the end are filled with webs which can only be removed by magical fire (burning hands, a flaming sword, etc.). Any character trying to break through them will become hopelessly entangled and cannot get free unless magically burned free or wished out. At the very foot of the stairway is a silver-inlaid mace which will begin to glow with a bright golden light when it is picked up by any character. Whenever this weapon is swung at the pseudo-lich, it will hit. The pseudo-crypt is filled

9 life. She has the following statistics: AC 5; Move 12”//24”; Hit Dice 4; H.P.: 20; Magic Resistance 20%; High Intelligence; and spell powers as follows: charm person (by song) at +2 all within 3”, invisibility, suggestion, polymorph self — each usable once per day. Any creature whom the siren touches in anger must save versus poison or become an idiot (2 intelligence) for 5-20 turns. She has the power to cure idiocy so caused (or that of the mists) by touch also. There are 2 sacks with the siren, a large one, and a small one, both of which will disappear if she is asked to accompany the party. If either is touched the siren and the other sack disappear. These sacks are: Large Sack: This bag contains 50 pieces each of copper, silver, electrum, gold and platinum. It appears to be a normal sack, but it radiates magic if it is checked, for it is a small bag of holding (filled weight 5 pounds, 250 pound weight limit inside, 30 cubic feet volume capacity). Small Sack: To determine the contents of the small sack roll a d10: 1-2 filled with wool 3-4 5 pieces of jewelry 5-6 1-6 potions of extra-healing 7 1-6 scrolls 8 4-48 base 100 g.p. gems 9 bracers of defense, AC 6 0 ring of feather falling It is not possible to gain both the large and the small sacks. If a character or characters state they will grab them simultaneously, dice to see which is touched a fraction of a second sooner. The other disappears — along with the siren — forever. The siren will converse in a friendly fashion only, asking how characters are and if they find the going hard in the Tomb. She will answer any direct questions with an evasive reply: “I cannot say,” “That is unknown to me,” “Possibly,” etc. until she is freed. She knows nothing of the Tomb in any event. 23. FALSE/TRUE DOOR: When the party reaches this point and opens the door, it is probable that they will believe it to be nothing more than a false door, but the seemingly blank wall of solid stone behind the false door hides a secret door. Note that just beyond the secret door is a secret trap door in the corridor floor. This opens to a steep flight of narrow stairs which spiral down to a 5’ wide passageway which emerges at area 24. A. The most likely place that will be found, however, is the passage full of sleep gas which is reached by the east door. When the doors to the north (which open to the sleep gas area) are opened, everyone in that passage will instantly collapse in slumber for 2-8 turns. Each turn of slumber roll a d4, and if a 4 results, a stone juggernaut (rather like a steam roller) comes out of the 20’ × 20’ room to the north and rolls 1-6 spaces (10’-60’) south then west as determined by a roll of d6. Everything it rolls over is squashed to a pulp. There is no appeal. (If the party is in this way destroyed, show them ILLUSTRATION #23.) 24. ADAMANTITE DOOR: Although it is marked secret, it is very evident: the marking is simply to make certain that its actual nature is known. It has permanent anti-magics on it, and there is no magical or physical way of forcing entry. There are 3 slots in the door at about waist height. If 3 sword blades are shoved simultaneously into the slots, the 1’ thick panel will swing open. THIS IS A ONE WAY DOOR WHICH CANNOT BE PREVENTED FROM CLOSING IN 5 ROUNDS! 25. THE PILLARED THRONE ROOM: There are scores of massive columns in the huge chamber, and each of these 3’ diameter pillars radiates magic when detected for. Any character who touches a pillar with or without intent will uncontrollably together they form one solid key, hereafter called the FIRST KEY. As the acid will harm even magical weapons, the players will have to figure some way to neutralize or drain off the contents of the 2nd vat, as a reach-in-and-grope-for-it technique has a 1% cumulative chance per round of being successful. 20. HUGE PIT FILLED WITH 200 SPIKES: (SHOW ILLUSTRATION #20.) This 10’ deep, open pit completely fills the passageway and extends so as to make jumping across it totally impossible for most creatures. Ergo, the pit must be crossed by climbing down and walking across it, then climbing up the other side. Simple! Wrong—any footstep upon the last 3’ (east portion) of the pit will cause a volley of spikes to be discharged upwards, and each person in the pit or leaning over its edge will be struck by 2-5 spikes, each hit causing 1-6 hit points of damage, no saving throw. Some magical means must be used to get across, for new spikes will come up where the ones which were discharged came from. 21. THE AGITATED CHAMBER: The secret door to this place is a normal sort, so it can be found without undue difficulty. It appears to be filled with funerary offerings and furniture. (SHOW ILLUSTRATION #21). There are 4 rotting sofas, several throne-like chairs, vases, and urns which are dented, chipped and broken, stands, small tables, and braziers, all jumbled together. Only the rather plain tapestries hanging upon the east and west walls appear to have been spared a rough looting. There are 6 locked trunks and 24 locked coffers amidst the general havoc. The heavy trunks are empty, but the small coffers hold either 1-3 angry asps (H .P.: 4 each; AC 6; attack as 2 hit dice monsters; normal poison +1 h.p. damage for the bite) if 1-3 on d6 is rolled, 8-80 p.p. if 4-5 on d6 is rolled, or 2-8 base 10 g.p. gems if 6 is rolled. The weight of the players upon the balanced floor will have set a mechanism into motion, and each round they remain in the place a d6 must be rolled. Any odd number resulting from a roll means that on the next turn the floor of the room will jump and buck up and down violently. Each player must be rolled for, with a 2 in 6 chance to fall and sustain 1 hit point of damage from abrasions and contusions. The tapestries, which appear to feature weed-grown rocks and green and golden tan scenes of undersea life, are specially anti-magic treated creations of green slime and brown mold. If they are torn, they instantly turn into green slime and cover each and every player character/character standing before them, i.e. each covers a 20’ long by 10’ deep area of floor when it falls. Covered characters are turned to green slime and gone, with no recourse possible due to the amount of slime. Note that the tapestries can be handled normally, just not yanked so as to tear them (and they are well affixed at the top); however, if any character is holding one when the room becomes agitated, it is 75% probable that the jerking motion will tear the thing. If these hangings are subjected to burning they instantly turn to brown mold and drain 4-32 (4d8) h.p. of heat from all characters within 5’ of the mold (and it gets worse from there . . .). Note the secret door behind the tapestry on the west wall. 22. THE CAVERN OF GOLD AND SILVER MISTS: As a private joke, Acererak has caused a beautiful and good aligned siren to be placed into this cavern under an enchantment. She must be asked to come out to break the spell, and she can give no clues as to the nature of her durance. (DISPLAY ILLUSTRATION #22.) The mists are silvery and shot through with delicate streamers of golden color. Vision extends only 6’. There is a dim aura of good if detected for. Those who step into the mist must save versus poison or become idiots until they can breathe the clean air above ground under the warm sun. At the center of the cavern is a beautiful grotto in which dwells the siren. If she is asked to come with the party, she will do so, stay with them through the adventure, and thereafter be their friend for

10 float upwards (levitation) until he or she bounces gently around on the ceiling just as a child’s helium balloon. To stop this effect a dispel magic or remove curse spell must be placed upon each such individual. (Use ILLUSTRATION #25 to display this 110’ square, 30’ high room.) There seems to be a gentle breeze in the room, for any character floating amongst the many-hued columns will begin drifting northeastwards or northwestwards (towards locations A or B). From the entry the observant character will be able to observe part of the dais (D) or room 27, if a bullseye lanthorn is employed. A. Devil Face: (ILLUSTRATION #6.) About 24’ above the floor is a mosaic of a green devil which appears to be exactly the same as that first encountered in the entrance hall to the Tomb. Any creature coming within 3’ of its gaping jaw will be sucked in and instantly teleported to be “spat out” nude from location 6., while all non-living matter with the character goes to location 33. B. Devil Face: This is identical to A. above, but it is tinged with a bluish color over the green and any character drawn into this mouth opening is teleported into location 27.A. (q.v.). C. Charred Remains: Cinders, ashes, charred bones and skulls, the crisped and blackened remains of clothing and gear, arms and armor — a thoroughly awful and frightening sight — encircle a huge, glowing orange gem. (DISPLAY ILLUSTRATION #25 (C).) If evil/magic is/are detected for, the gem will send out pulses of wickedness and a strong aura of dweomer — so strong that the detecting character will get the vague feeling that the magic is wish connected. The gem is a cursed wish magic item, and no matter what is desired by the character daring to touch it and wish, a reverse or perversion will bring doom to that character and all named in the wish. Immediately after causing the evil wish to transpire, the gem begins to pulse with reddish lights, growing progressively stronger, brighter and hotter. Count to 10 as usual. The stone then explodes, absolutely killing any character within a 15’ radius with a wave of searing radiations and flames. The gem remains as a noisome mass of stinking purplish mold which bubbles and chuckles. In 1 week the mass will reform as a glowing orange gem . . . D. Ebony Dais and Silver Throne: (USE ILLUSTRATION #25 (D).) Contrasting with the pastel colors of the floor and pillars of the hall is the stark blackness of the huge dais atop which rests an obsidian throne inlaid with silver and ivory skulls. Upon the throne rest a crown and a scepter, both of which will give off an aura of magic. The crown of gold negates the pillars’ levitation effects and enables the wearer to see within the hall as if he or she were in normal daylight, but outside this place the wearer is blind! Furthermore, the wearer knows that the crown can be removed only by touching the scepter to its top. The scepter is of electrum, with a gold ball at one end and a silver knob at the other. If the silver end is touched to the crown, the wearer is instantly snuffed out, turning to a fetid powder which cannot be brought back to life no matter what (wishes notwithstanding). If the golden knob is used upon the crown, the wearer can lift it from his or her head. Examination of the throne will reveal a small replica of the crown inlaid in silver upon the lower front panel of the seat. If the silver end of the scepter is applied to this inlay, the throne sinks and reveals a 5’ wide passageway. Each of these items is obviously valuable (25,000 g.p. for the crown, 12,500 g.p. for the scepter), but both are cursed, and if they are removed from the Tomb the possessor of either will be visited by a demon (type I) sent to reclaim the item and return it to the throne room — 2 such demons if a single character has both. 26. SMALL ROOM WITH A DOOR OF ELECTRIC BLUE: The door actually shimmers with a faint blue light when observed from within 10’ or so. When the door is touched, this gleaming grows bright. A brass pull beckons to be used, and the door will open easily. Inside the western room there is only dust. The eastern room is another matter: If this door is opened, the characters will see a low stone table upon which rests a large wooden sarcophagus. Various broken and looted chests, urns, and coffers are scattered about. Inside the sarcophagus are the parts of a mummy (not an undead, exactly, for at this time it is the mummified remains of a human) with wrappings partially undone and tattered, and a huge amethyst just barely visible between the wrappings covering the head. This 5,000 g.p. gem has an evil magic placed upon it, and if it is removed from the eyesocket the remains become a true mummy with the following specs: H.P.: 39; 2 attacks/round due to haste; 2-13 h.p. damage: resist fire upon the wrappings make them impervious to normal flames, and the creature wears a ring of fire resistance. 27. THE PORTAL OF SCINTILLATING VIOLET: This appears to be another small 10’ × 10’ room much like the 2 numbered 26. When the door is touched a faint lilac color which glowed faintly from a distance will shine forth a bright and corruscating purple with tinges of sickly green. If the door is pulled open, the characters will see a bare chamber, with a small door before them on the north wall, and pairs of swords crossed behind shields hung upon the walls. There are 3 such sets on each of the walls to either hand, and 2 sets on the north wall, 1 flanking each side of the door. If the threshold is crossed by any creature, 1 set will fly off the wall and attack the individual so doing. The 2 swords will both attack at the beginning and the end of each round, striking as if they were wielded by a 1st level fighter, but being +1 on both “to hit” and damage. This trio will so attack until they are destroyed or the one who violated their area is dead. Each item is AC 3 and requires 11 h.p. of damage to destroy; all hits will be taken by the shield first, as it always interposes itself. (SHOW ILLUSTRATION #27.) Surviving weapons and shields return to their former positions after the offender is hacked to pieces. The following spells will affect these items, and only the following spells: repulsion sends all 3 back to their original position; heat metal (or a rod of cancellation) will cause 1 to fall to pieces; transmute metal to wood will cause 2 to fall to the ground as motionless hunks of timber; disintegrate will destroy any and all of a set; enchant weapon will cause a sword to become a plain iron weapon. Worse still, if the threshold is crossed a 2nd time, still another pair of blades and a shield will attack, and each set will attack at 1 level better than the last set (2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc., all the way to 8th), each will have 1 greater plus (the 1st are +1, the 2nd +2, etc. all the way to +8 for the 8th set), each set is 1 armor class better (set 2 is AC 2, set 3 is AC 1, set 4 is AC 0, etc., all the way to the 8th which is AC -4), and each set is 1 hit point harder to destroy (the 2nd has 12 h.p. each, the 3rd has 13 h.p. each, etc., all the way to the 8th which has 18 hit points per item). Only after all sets are destroyed is it possible to enter the room. A. The Chamber of Hopelessness: Any creature unfortunate enough to be teleported here from area 25.B. is doomed, for their fate is clearly stated in glowing letters magically written on the north wall of the place: “YOU WHO DARED TO VIOLATE MY TOMB NOW PAY THE PRICE. STAY HERE AND DIE SLOWLY OF STARVATION, OR OPEN AND ENTER THE DOOR TO YOUR SOUTH WHERE CERTAIN BUT QUICK DEATH AWAITS — WHICHEVER YOU CHOOSE, KNOW THAT I, ACERERAK THE ETERNAL, WATCH AND SCOFF AT YOUR PUNY EFFORTS AND ENJOY YOUR DEATH THROES.” A small fountain of water spills into a wall basin and drains away through side holes, so there is always plenty to drink.

11 (It is impossible to flood the place, for there are hundreds of small drain holes in the walls and floor.) (DISPLAY ILLUSTRATION #27 (A).) There are numerous skeletons here, rotting equipment, and 30-300 each of s.p., e.p., g.p., and p.p. hurled about. Crushed gems and broken magic items are littered about — the work of insane victims and attacking swords. (Careful searching will find 2-20 uncrushed gems of 10 g.p. base value, 1 unused potion of diminuation, and a +1 flail.) If the door to the south is opened from this side, all of the swords and shields swoop from the walls to attack, but they will cease as soon as the character(s) retreats into the chamber to the north. 28. THE WONDROUS FOYER: The narrow passage behind the throne leads to a landing and steps which funnel out to the south as they ascend. The 6 steps are made of onyx, pink marble, lapis, black marble, serpentine (golden) and malachite. The walls of the chamber are copper (untarnished and gleaming) panels set between rare woods inlaid with ivory. The ceiling is silver, formed so as to reflect and multiply light within the place. (USE ILLUSTRATION #28.) Upon the 4th step is a large, cylindrical key of bronze (the SECOND KEY) for all to behold. It has an antipathy spell cast upon it, and any creature touching it must save versus spell at -2 (due to the strength of the dweomer). Those who fail the throw will never touch the key or allow it within 2’ of their person under any circumstances. At the head of the steps are a pair of huge doors, and the key found upon the stair appears to fit these valves. 29. THE VALVES OF MITHRIL: These doors are 14’ wide and 28’ tall. They are made of solid mithril, 3’ thick, and impregnated with great magicks in order to make them absolutely spell and magic proof. Where these valves meet, at about waist height, is a cup-like depression, a hemispherical concavity, with a central hole. The latter appears to be the keyhole for the SECOND KEY, but if this is inserted, the character so doing will receive 1-10 points of electrical damage, while the FIRST KEY will cause double that amount of damage to any so foolish as to insert it! The real key to these great gates is the scepter from 25.D. If the gold ball is inserted into the depression, the mithril valves will swing silently open. If the silver sphere is touched to the hemispherical cup the holder of the instrument will be teleported instantly to be spat out of the devil’s mouth at 6., nude, while all non-living materials with him or her go to area 33., and the crown and scepter flash back to the throne. If the door is attacked by force it will not budge, but if it is scratched or nicked it will show red and if cut by a sharp weapon it will begin to gush forth blood — the blood of all those who have died within the area of the Tomb! The red flow will cascade down the steps and fill the area to the top of the 1st step in 6 rounds, and each round thereafter it will rise higher by 1 step. In 20 rounds it will completely fill the foyer to the ceiling. A cure critical wounds applied to the valve will staunch the flow of blood, as will a heal, 2 cure serious wounds, or 4 cure light wounds spells. If magic is used against the blood, only the following spells will have any effect: Spell Results cone of cold freezes blood and flow for 3 rounds create water turns blood to normal water disintegrate destroys all blood levitate coagulates the blood and moves it upwards to become a huge red ochre jelly polymorph creates 3-12 wights which attack purify water turns all blood to a gas which weakens all in the area to 3 strength for 1 day raise dead/ resurrection either spell destroys the blood and will bring a shade to stand on the top stair and bless all the party so that they regain up to 10 lost hit points each and are completely refreshed Fire of any sort, magical or otherwise, turns the blood to a poison gas which is absolutely fatal, and all characters in the foyer area are dead, with no saving throw, while any in the 5’ passage to the area of the throne will be slain unless they save versus poison at -4. 30. THE FALSE TREASURE ROOM: This imposing chamber has a silvered ceiling, just as the foyer has, so it is bright. The walls are of ivory with gold inlaid. The floor is polished (but common) agate. In each corner hulks a 9’ tall statue of black iron. That to the northeast stands with a saw-toothed two-handed sword raised to strike; that to the northwest a huge, spikeended mace; to the southeast the sculpture readies a wickedly spiked morning star, and the one in the southwest has a voulge. Each has a magical aura, but they are merely hunks of metal; they do nothing. Each has an evil aura as well, and the visage of each of these iron statues is most fearsome and terrifying. The room itself is lined with lead and has anti-magical properties, so no spells will work within the room, and no magical properties of items of any sort will properly function except to detect auras such as magic or evil. (DISPLAY ILLUSTRATION #30.) A. Bronze Urn: This gold filigreed container is very large, and a thin stream of smoke issues from a tiny vent in its brass stopper which is sealed shut with gold fill. This gold must be pried out to open the urn. If the stopper is removed, an efreet will come forth. If the urn has been battered, knocked about, shaken, overturned, etc., the creature will be in a fury and attack. Otherwise, it will perform 3 services for the party and then depart. B. Granite Sarcophagus: The huge outer shell has the glyphs spelling ACERERAK on the lid in platinum (insets equal to 100 coins which can be pried out). The far end of the thing is stove in and shattered. Inside can be seen bits of a wooden inner shell, a few bones, destroyed jewelry (stones pried out), torn bits of robes and windings, dust, and a broken staff of the magi (evident from the runes upon it). A shattered skull will roll out if the contents are poked around. (Why, the demi-lich has long been destroyed, but his magical traps somehow survived!) C. Iron Chests: Each of these massive iron boxes is set into the stone and has triple locks set with poison needle traps. Neither can possibly be moved, and both show marks of prying, battering, etc. The eastern chest holds 10,000 gems which will appear to be of not less than base 50 g.p. value each, no matter how they are tested in the dungeon. Each is actually a 1 g.p. quartz gem. The other contains 10,000 copper pieces magicked to appear as platinum until they are removed to a distance of 13 miles from the Tomb, when their true nature becomes evident. D. It will require 3 persons of 16 or better strength to move any of the iron statues. This one hides a ring pull which will raise a small plug of stone and enable the party to enter a small chute which takes them 10’ down to the corridor to the west. 31. The 2 one-way doors to the north are actually a form of phase door which enable characters approaching from the north to go through corridors which are not actually existing in the normal world. No amount of trying can make it possible to find these passages from the south — be it passwall, wish, or whatever. Opening either of these doors, or the one to the east from the far side, causes a covered pit to come into phase in the area it is shown. This pit is otherwise exactly the same as others in the place. 32. SECRET DOOR: The portal cannot be detected by any magic means, but careful inspection will discover that the wall at this location has a small opening that is metal-lined — obviously a keyhole! Any attempt to force the door open by physical or magical means will be useless. If the FIRST (gold key from

12 teeth in the jaw (each diamond worth 5,000 g.p.). The demi-lich can tell which member of the party is the most powerful, and it will usually select a magic-user over a fighter, fighter over a cleric, a cleric over a thief. The soul of the strongest will be drawn instantly from his or her body and trapped within the right eye jewel, and the gem-eye will gleam with wickedly evil lights as the character’s body collapses in a mass of corruption and moulders in a single round—totally gone. The skull will then sink down again, sated. If it is struck or touched a second time, it will again rise and drain the soul of the next strongest character into its other eye. This process also repeats through all 6 of the diamond teeth (so a total of 8 souls can be stolen) and if the skull is still intact and still molested, it will pronounce a curse upon the remaining characters which will teleport them randomly in a 100-600 mile radius, each cursed to some fate similar to a) always be hit by any opponent attacking or b) never making a saving throw or c) always losing all treasure without gaining any experience from it. The latter part of the curse can be removed by a remove curse spell, but the charisma of the character so treated will drop 2 points immediately thereafter and remain there permanently (unless some magical means of increasing it is found). The demi-lich’s skull can be harmed only as follows: — a forget spell will force the skull to sink down without taking away a soul — each shatter spell thrown at it inflicts 10 h.p. of damage — a power word, kill pronounced from an astral or ethereal magic-user will destroy it. — only a fighter with a vorpal blade, a ranger with a sword of sharpness, +5, or vorpal weapon, or a paladin with the like or even a +4 weapon can inflict damage upon the skull — an exorcise spell will cause it to sink as a forget does — a dispel evil spell inflicts 5 h.p. of damage — a holy word pronounced against it will inflict 20 h.p. of damage — a thief slinging one of the large gems found in the crypt will inflict 1 h.p. of damage per 10,000 g.p. of value, i.e. 1, 5, or 10 h.p. damage, but the gem is thereby shattered and even misses must be saved for versus a crushing blow or the gem is shattered from hitting a crypt wall. Acererak’s skull takes 50 hit points before it is destroyed, and it is AC -6. If the skull is destroyed, each gem trapping a soul must make a saving throw versus spell as if it were the character trapped within. Those failing their save contain no life force — the demi-lich drained the soul and devoured it before being destroyed. Those which succeed still contain the character’s soul, and this is evidenced by a faint inner light (and visible as a tiny figure within the gem if viewed with true seeing, true sight or a gem of seeing.) The soul can be freed by crushing the gem, but some material body must be ready within 10’ distance to receive it — a clone, a simulacrum, a souless body of some sort. DESTRUCTION OF THE DEMI-LICH EARNS A SUGGESTED 100,000 EXPERIENCE POINTS. THIS CONSIDERS ALL ACTIONS WITHIN THE TOMB OF HORRORS TO GAIN THE CRYPT. TREASURE TAKEN OUT SHOULD ADD AN ADDITIONAL 1 EXPERIENCE POINT FOR EVERY 2 G.P. OF VALUE. This ends the expedition to The Tomb of Horrors. We hope you and your players will have found it exciting, challenging, and rewarding. 19.) KEY is inserted, the door will sink into the floor, a stone sheathed adamantite slab of tremendous thickness. There can be no real doubt that the end of the adventure — one way or another — is near. 33. THE CRYPT OF ACERERAK THE DEMI-LICH: The smallish 10’ × 20’ burial vault has an arched ceiling with a 25’ peak. There is absolutely nothing in the room, although there is a small depression a few inches deep and about 2’ square in the center of the floor. Careful inspection will discover a small hole in the middle of this depression — another keyhole! If the FIRST KEY is inserted herein, the individual doing so is blown upwards by the force of the resulting explosion of the key, and 5-30 (5d6) h.p. of damage will be sustained by that individual only. The SECOND KEY (from 28.) will fit within the hole and nothing untoward will occur. In fact, nothing whatsoever will happen until it is turned 3 times to the right in succession. Immediately when this is done a trembling will be felt, and the center of the south 15’ feet of the crypt floor will peak. (AT THIS MOMENT BEGIN A COUNT TO 5. ANY CHARACTER UPON THE SOUTH 15’ OF THE FLOOR AT THE END OF THE COUNT HAS RISEN UPWARDS WITH THE ASCENDING VAULT AND HAS BEEN SQUASHED TO JELLY AGAINST THE ARCHED ROOF!) The south 15’ of the crypt now is filled with a mithril vault. There is a door in the center of the device, with an inset ring. A hard pull will swing open a thick door. (DISPLAY ILLUSTRATION #33.) Inside are the following: — all items from characters teleported nude — 97 base 10 g.p. gems and 3 huge gems (a 10,000 g.p. peridot, a 50,000 g.p. emerald, and a 100,000 g.p. black opal) — 12 potions and 6 scrolls (determined randomly) — 1 ring, 1 rod, 1 staff, and 3 miscellaneous magic items — a +4 sword of defending and 2 cursed swords and 1 cursed spear of backbiting The demi-lich Acererak also lingers in the crypt . . . The Demi-Lich: Ages past, a human magic-user/cleric of surpassing evil took the steps necessary to preserve his life force beyond the centuries he had already lived, and this creature became the lich, Acererak. Over the scores of years which followed, the lich dwelled with hordes of ghastly servants in the gloomy stone halls of the very hill where the Tomb is. Eventually even the undead life force of Acererak began to wane, so for the next 8 decades, the lich’s servants labored to create the Tomb of Horrors. Then Acererak destroyed all of his slaves and servitors, magically hid the entrance to his halls, and went to his final haunt, while his soul roamed strange planes unknown to even the wisest of sages. Joining the halves of the FIRST KEY calls his soul back to the Prime Material Plane, and use of the SECOND KEY alerts the now demi-lich that he must be prepared to do battle in order to survive yet more centuries. All that now remains of Acererak are the dust of his bones and his skull resting in the far recesses of the vault. This bit is enough! If the treasure in the crypt is touched, the dust swirls into the air and forms a man-like shape. If this shape is ignored, it will dissipate in 3 rounds, for it can only advance and threaten, not harm. Any physical attack will give it 1 factor of energy, however, and spell attacks give it 1 energy factor for every level of the spell used, i.e. a 3rd level spell bestows 3 energy factors. Each factor is equal to a hit point, and if 50 energy factors are gained, the dust will form into a ghost (see ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, MONSTER MANUAL) controlled by Acererak, and this thing will attack immediately. (The dust will waver and fall back if it is struck by blow or spell, as if suffering actual damage, so formation of the ghost is not too improbable.) If any character is so foolish as to touch the skull of the demi-lich, a terrible thing occurs. (USE ILLUSTRATION #33 (A).) The skull of Acererak rises into the air upon the touch, and it slowly scans the party. There are 2 jewels set into the eyesockets (50,000 g.p. rubies) and there are 6 pointed (marquis cut) diamonds set as

13 SPECIAL ITEMS POSSESSED BY EACH CHARACTER CHARACTER ROSTER FOR USE WITH THE TOMB OF HORRORS Class and Level No. Race CI. Ft. M-U Th. Str. I W D C Cha. 1. H 14 11 18 10 17 15 12 2. H 14 16 12 18 16 16 14 3. H 12(p) 17 14 15 18 16 17 4. H 13(r) 16 15 14 17 18 16 5. E 5 11 17 18 12 15 15 14 6. D 9 18/91 9 11 17 18 11 7. Hg 11 10 11 12 18 16 12 8. D 7 8 16 12 9 17 18 8 9. H 9 17 10 17 15 15 13 10. ½E 5 7(r) 6 18/62 15 17 16 16 12 11. E 7 9 11 16 10 18 15 16 12. H 9 8 17 9 17 16 10 13. H 8 15 12 13 18 18 10 14. H 8 12 14 16 17 15 18 15. ½E 5 613813 17 16 11 16. H 6 12 13 18 17 16 15 17. H 7(p) 14 10 10 15 15 17 18.G 45(i) 918918 16 7 19. H 6 18/00 11 10 12 14 13 20. Hg 4 5 10 10 8 17 16 11 Race: D = DWARF; E = ELF; ½E = HALF-ELF; G = GNOME; H = HUMAN; Hg = HALFLING Class: (i) = ILLUSIONIST; (p) = PALADIN; (r) = RANGER Character Number Items 1. displacer cloak, +1 ring of protection, +2 dagger, wand of magic missiles 2. +3 plate mail, +3 shield, +3 mace 3. +1 plate mail, +2 shield, +1 flaming sword, ring of fire resistance 4. +2 splint mail, +2 shield, magic bow, 10 +1 magic arrows, +1 sword 5. +1 chain mail, +3 shield, +2 short sword, scroll of 4 spells (burning hands, disintegrate, dispel magic, levitate) 6. +1 ring mail, +3 shield, gauntlets of ogre power, +2 hammer 7. +1 leather armor, +1 ring of protection, +1 dagger, boots of speed 8. cloak of protection +3, ring of invisibility, +1 short sword, +1 dagger, bag of holding (largest) 9. +1 plate mail, +1 shield, staff of striking, scroll of 2 spells (cure critical wounds, resurrection) 10. +2 chain mail, +1 shield, levitation boots, +1 mace 11. bracers of defense AC 5, wand of lightning, +2 dagger 12. +4 ring of protection, wand of magic detection, rope of climbing Character Number Items 13. +1 splint mail, +1 shield, +3 spear, potion of polymorph 14. +1 plate mail, +1 shield, staff of striking, dust of appearance 15. cloak of protection +1, +3 sword, +1 dagger, potion of healing 16. +1 scale mail, +1 shield, cloak and boots of elvenkind, +1 mace 17. +1 chain mail, ring of protection +1, crossbow and 12 +2 bolts, potion of healing 18. bracers of protection AC 4, boots of striding and springing, +1 axe, +1 dagger 19. +1 plate mail, +1 shield, 2 javelins of lightning, +1 hammer, potion of flying 20. robe of blending, +1 ring of protection, sling of seeking, +1 short sword Players must roll for their own hit points, decide upon what spells they will take, and list all equipment and other weapons they are taking. As these are all substantial characters, it is safe to assume they could have any items listed as normally being for sale, but do not allow any to over-encumber themselves. They can take up to 1,000 in coins of any type, and 5,000 g.p. in gems of any base value, each if desired.

14 Skill Level and Magic Items: If your players are not experts, it is suggested that you allow them each an additional potion (but you should exclude giant strength and oil of etherealness) and possibly a cleric scroll of 3 or 4 spells. If the party is relatively small and of lesser levels, pick one or more items of magic from those shown on the table above and distribute them amongst the characters adventuring. If your players are few, their skill level is near novice, and you do not believe that they will be able to handle multiple characters, add the magic items as suggested and then up each 1 level of experience from that shown on the roster. Do the same for total novices, and allow them a man-at-arms each as torch bearer and pack carrier. NOTE: Your players are free, of course, to take in their own characters should you decide to incorporate the TOMB OF HORRORS into your own campaign, but they should be of equivalent strength in terms of levels and magic items available to those given above. If they are considerably weaker, you should consider 1) delaying use of this module until your players have obtained additional levels and/or magic items, or 2) offering “assistance” from some non-player source, say a local baron who’d like to build a summer castle on the spot of the TOMB and sends your players to “clean up” the area. Other similar ideas will readily suggest themselves with a little careful thought, but care should be taken to mesh the scenario with pre-existing conditions in your campaign. ASSIGNING CHARACTERS TO PLAYERS Number of Players Suggested Character Mixtures for Best Results Option I Option II Option III 2 1/2/3/8 1/2/5/10 1/2/8/9/17/20 3 1/2/3/15/18/20 1/2/4/5/9/16 5 thru 13 4 5/10/11/12 /17/18/19/20 1/2/6/8/13 /14/18/20 9 thru 20 5 1/2/4/7/11 2/3/5/10/11 10 thru 19 6 1/2/3/8/10/17 1/5/6/7/9/18 9 thru 20 7 1/2/4/6/10/11/18 2/5/10/11 /15/18/20 7 thru 20 8 1/2/4/5/7/9 /11/19 1/2/6/8/12 /14/20 2/5/7/10/11 /14/15/18 9 4 thru 12 1 thru 9 5 thru 13 10 5 thru 14 1 thru 10 10thru 19 Number of Characters per Player: It is difficult for the best of players to handle 3 characters, especially when these are not their own characters which they have grown familiar with over the course of many adventures. It is recommended that each player control no more than 2 characters, and if there are 6 or more players, each should have but a single character.

15 ILLUSTRATION BOOKLET This illustration section is specially designed for use with the module. It contains 32 illustrations showing various features of the Tomb, and should be used by Dungeon Masters to show appropriate views to the players as they adventure. Each illustration within this section has a number which corresponds to the rooms and locations on the master map (note that not all locations are shown and that some appear more than once). The descriptive copy within the booklet indicates when appropriate illustrations should be shown. The illustration on this page carries no number and can be shown as the adventure commences and the players begin their search for the entrance.

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37 Dungeon Module S2 White Plume Mountain by Lawrence Schick AN ADVENTURE FOR CHARACTER LEVELS 5-10 This module contains background information, referee’s notes, player aids, a complete map level, a cutaway view of the mountain complex, and more than 15 pieces of art for both DM and player. WHITE PLUME MOUNTAIN is from the special (“S”) series; like others in the series, it is meant to stand on its own and is a complete ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS™ adventure. The recommended number of players is four to ten, with levels ranging from fifth to tenth.

38 at the most ten characters, with a combined total of 40 to 60 levels between them. A good party balance would be something like 40% fighters, 30% magic-users, 20% clerics and 10% thieves. Your players will need both brains and brawn to successfully complete their mission, as there are situations here which cannot be resolved by frontal assault. If your players are unused to hack-proof dilemmas, they may find this module frustrating or even boring. However, if your players are used to using their wits, they should find this an intriguing balance of problems and action. Unless you are used to mastering lengthy adventures, it will probably take more than one session for a party to investigate all three branches of the dungeon. If this is the case, it would be best if the party were required to leave the dungeon and re-enter upon resumption of the game. If they stay in the nearest village (several miles away) they will be relatively safe, but if they camp near White Plume Mountain it would be a good idea to roll for wandering monsters. It is important to record the condition of characters who will be resuming an adventure and keep track of their damage and possessions in order to avoid argument later. Please read the entire module through and thoroughly familiarize yourself with complex areas before beginning play. Try to remain objective, and let the players determine their own course of action. It is easy to fall into the trap of referee vs. players – try to avoid it. When describing things to your group, be careful not to give them information or insights which they would not normally have. Though you are always obliged to describe what they can easily see of their surroundings, try not to give away useful information that they haven’t asked for. The party will want a copy of Keraptis’ message to refer to. Neither deny nor confirm guesses from players who think they have it figured out. The Dungeon Master is encouraged to add his own ideas and to flesh out the details of the dungeon where things are only hinted at or incompletely described. There is room for changes and improvements if you feel you can make the module better. The end of the module makes it clear that there must be more of this dungeon hidden somewhere under White Plume Mountain. Perhaps a secret stairway or passage not marked on the map leads to another complete level where Keraptis yet reigns. If your group enjoys this adventure, you may wish to continue it with additions of your own. White Plume Mountain is located in the northeastern part of the Shield Lands, near the Bandit Kingdoms and the Great Rift (see WORLD OF GREYHAWK, available from TSR). However, those who wish to integrate this module with their own campaign can place White Plume Mountain wherever they like, and the party may be required to journey to the vicinity through the wilderness. How they get there is up to you. Start: The party has arrived at White Plume Mountain, which stands alone in a vast area of dismal moors and tangled thickets. They will probably arrange to leave their horses and possessions either at the nearest village (about five miles from the Mountain) or hidden in the Dead Gnoll’s Eyesocket, a small natural cave in the side of a hill about two miles from the Plume. There is really no other shelter available. The villagers know about the cave and may have mentioned it. If the party leaves no guard, they will just have to trust the villagers not to steal their belongings. (Dishonest villagers will have to weigh their fear of White Plume Mountain against their certain belief that the party will never be seen again.) The cave is easily barricaded to keep out unintelligent wandering monsters. White Plume Mountain is an almost perfectly conical volcanic hill formed from an ancient slow lava leakage. It is about 1000 yards in diameter at the base, and rises about 800 feet above the surrounding land. The white plume which gives the mountain its name and fame is a continuous geyser that spouts from the very summit of the mountain another 300 feet into the air, trailing off to the east under the prevailing winds like a great white feather. The spray collects in depressions downslope and merges into a sizeable stream. There are steam vents in various spots on the slopes of the mountain, but WHITE PLUME MOUNTAIN INTRODUCTION White Plume Mountain has always been a subject of superstitious awe to the neighboring villagers. People still travel many miles to gaze upon this natural wonder, though few will approach it closely, as it is reputed to be the haunt of various demons and devils. The occasional disappearance of those who stray too close to the Plume reinforces this belief. Thirteen hundred years ago, the wizard Keraptis was searching for a suitable haven where he could indulge his eccentricities without fear of interference. He visited White Plume Mountain, going closer than most dared to, and discovered the system of old lava-tubes that riddle the cone and the underlying strata. With a little alteration, he thought, these would be perfect for his purposes. The area already had a bad reputation, and he could think of a few ways to make it worse. So, taking with him his fanatically loyal company of renegade gnomes, he disappeared below White Plume Mountain and vanished from the knowledge of men. . . Today, the once-feared name of Keraptis is little known even to learned scholars. Little-known, that is, until several weeks ago, when three highly-valued magical weapons with the cryptic names of Wave, Whelm and Blackrazor disappeared from the vaults of their owners in the midst of the city of Greyhawk. Rewards were posted, servants hanged, even the sanctuary of the Thieves’ Guild was violated in the frantic search for the priceless arms, but not even a single clue was turned up until the weapons’ former owners (all wealthy collectors) each received a copy of the following note: Search ye far or search ye near You’ll find no trace of the three Unless you follow instructions clear For the weapons abide with me. North past forest, farm and furrow You must go to the feathered mound Then down away from the sun you’ll burrow Forget life, forget light, forget sound. To rescue Wave, you must do battle With the Beast in the Boiling Bubble Crost cavern vast, where chain-links rattle Lies Whelm, past water-spouts double. Blackrazor yet remains to be won Underneath inverted ziggurat. That garnered, think not that you’re done For now you’ll find you are caught I care not, former owners brave What heroes you seek to hire. Though mighty, I’ll make each one my slave Or send him to the fire. It was signed with the symbol of Keraptis. White Plume Mountain has tentatively been identified as the “feathered mound” of the poem. The former owners of Wave, Whelm and Blackrazor are outfitting a group of intrepid heroes to take up the challenge. If the adventurers can rescue the weapons from this false Keraptis (for who can believe it is really the magician of legend, after 1300 years?), the wealthy collectors have promised to grant them whatever they desire, if it is within their power to do so. Notes for the Dungeon Master This module was designed for characters of fifth through tenth level. Characters below fifth will have too little experience to be of much help to the party, and they are likely to be killed too easily. Conversely, high-level characters have too many abilities and resources to find a proper challenge in this dungeon. It is suggested that the players’ party number at the very least four and

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40 KEY TO THE DUNGEON LEVEL WANDERING MONSTERS An encounter occurs on a 1 in 12. Check each turn. These are monsters Keraptis has released into the dungeon specifically for the purpose of giving the intruders a hard time. All will attack immediately. Ogres and bugbears are charmed, and cannot be persuaded to betray Keraptis. 1. Black Pudding (AC: 6; MV: 6”; HD: 10; HP: 45; #AT: 1; D: 3-24; SA: dissolves wood and metal; DS: blows, cold and lightning do not harm). 2. 2-5 bugbears (AC: 5; MV: 9”; HD: 3 + 1; HP: 19, 15, 13, 12, 10; #AT: 1; D: 2-8; SA: surprise on 1-3). 3. 2 gargoyles (AC: 5; MV: 9”/15”; HD: 4; HP: 21, 19; #AT: 4; D: 1-3/1-3/1-6/1-4; SD: + 1 or better weapon to hit). 4. Invisible stalker (AC: 3; MV: 12”; HD: 8; HP: 33; #AT: 1; D: 4-16; SA: surprise on 1-5 [d6]; SD: invisibility). 5. 1-3 ogres (AC: 5; MV: 9”; HD: 4 + 1; HP: 21, 18, 17; #AT: 1; D: 1-10). 6. 1-2 wights (70% chance of 1, 30% chance of 2; AC: 5; MV: 12”; HD: 4+3; HP: 22, 20; #AT: 1; D: 1-4 plus energy level drain; SD: silver or magic weapons to hit, cannot be affected by sleep, charm, hot, cold, paralyzation). AC = armor class; MV = move; HD = hit dice; HP = hit points; #AT = number of attacks; D = damage per attack; SA = special attacks; SD = special defenses. Information provided above (and in similar descriptions of monsters throughout the module) is for quick reference. Don’t hesitate to consult the MONSTER MANUAL for complete descriptions if you feel it’s necessary. none of them are large enough to allow entry. The only possible entrance into the cone is a cave on the south slope known as the Wizard’s Mouth. This cave actually seems to breathe, exhaling a large cloud of steam and then slowly inhaling, like a man breathing on a cold day. Each cycle takes about thirty seconds. Approaching the cave, the party will hear a whistling noise coinciding with the wind cycle. If it were not for the continuous roaring of the Plume, this whistling could be heard for a great distance. The cave is about eight feet in diameter and forty feet long. At the end of the cave, near the roof, is a long horizontal crevice which is about a foot wide. The air is sucked into this crack at great speed, creating the loud whistling and snuffing out torches. Shortly the rush of air slows down, stops for about two seconds, and then comes back out in a great blast of steam. This steam is not hot enough to scald anyone who keeps low and avoids the crevice, but it does make the cave very uncomfortable, like a very hot sauna bath interrupted by blasts of cold air. The ceiling and walls of the cave are slick with the condensed steam which runs down them. The floor is covered with several inches of fine muck. Only careful probing of the muck near the back of the cave will reveal a small square trap door with a rusted iron ring set in it. Once the muck has been cleared away it will require at least three characters of strength 16 or better to pull up the encrusted door (or two strong characters and a knock spell, or passwall, etc.). Directly beneath is a twenty-foot square vertical shaft and the beginning of a spiral staircase leading down. Standard Dungeon Features All corridors in this dungeon are ten feet in height, and have been carved and, in some places, seemingly melted through solid rock. Unless stated otherwise, all doors are 8’ by 8’, made of oak and bound in iron. Though the doors are swollen by the dampness, and thus difficult to open, the wood is not by any means rotten.

41 The answer is “the Moon.” If the wall of force is knocked down or circumvented, the sphinx (AC: -1; MV: 15”/24”; HD: 8; HP: 38; #AT: 2; D: 2-8; SA: dispel magic, symbol) will attack. 3: A large patch of green slime (AC: 9; MV: 0; HD: 8; HP: 35; attacks by dissolving into green slime all flesh it comes into contact with, within 1-4 rounds; can be killed by fire, cold, cure disease) covers the floor in the indicated area. As it is totally covered by water, it is not easily detectable, and characters may walk through it and not even notice they have done so until it has eaten through their boots and started on their feet. The usual flask-of-oil method won’t work here, as the flaming oil will just float on the water. A fireball will probably wipe the slime out. 4: The door to this room appears normal: that is, a large ironbound oak door, swollen by the dampness and difficult to open. However, when the party has entered the room (or as much of the party as is going in). it will slam shut behind them. No spike, hold portal, knock or passwall will open the door or keep it open. Only the proper key turned in the keyhole on the inside of the door will unlock its magic. In the room, suspended from the ceiling by unbreakable wires at the points indicated, are nine silvered glass globes. The globes are each about two feet in diameter, and inspection with X-ray vision or clairvoyance will show that each contains some apparent treasure and a key (aha!). A good hard crack with a weapon will shatter any of them, dropping the contents (if not caught) into the muck below. Starting in the northwest corner of the room, number the globes for your own reference 1 through 9. This way you will know which globes on the following list the players are smashing, if any. In #1: 3 folded-up shadows (AC: 7; MV: 12”; HD: 3+3; HP: 19, 17, 14; #AT: 1; D: 2-5 plus 1 point strength drain; undetectable by clairvoyance or X-ray vision), 300 worthless ENCOUNTER AREAS 1: The spiral staircase descends about 100 feet before ending in area 1. The staircase is badly rusted, and sensitive characters will feel it thrumming to a continuous low vibration (this vibration from the Plume geyser will be noticeable everywhere in the dungeon). The air is warm, humid, and rather foul. Lamps and torches will burn fitfully and give off a lot of smoke. The floor of the room is covered with water, and floating on the water are patches of green and white subterranean algae. In the damp humidity of the dungeon, this algae or algae-like fungus clings in patches to the walls and even the ceiling. It is harmless, and can be found almost everywhere in the dungeon where there is water. The water on the floor is about a foot deep, and the floor itself is covered with slippery mud. Except where flights of steps lead up out of it, this scummy water covers the floors of all rooms and corridors. The water and mud will cut average movement down by one-third, and will necessitate continuous probing of the floor by the party as they advance. It will be very difficult to keep silent, run (without falling), or depend on invisibility spells (waves and foot-shaped holes in the water give one away). The floor of the passage leading away from the first room is covered by the warm, scummy water mentioned above. 2: A rather mangy, bedraggled gynosphinx squats in the water in the middle of the intersection. The dotted line marks where a wall of force blocks off the corridor. This wall of force is weaker than most, and can be brought down by disintegrate, dispel magic (always 100% effective) or passwall. The sphinx will let the party pass (by removing the wall of force) if they can answer the following riddle: Round she is, yet flat as a board Altar of the Lupine Lords Jewel on black velvet, pearl in the sea Unchanged but e’erchanging, eternally

42 lead pieces, and a false key. In #2: A potion of silver dragon control and a false key. In #3: Jewelry worth 12,000 g.p., a false key, and an angry air elemental (AC: 2; MV: 36”; HD: 8; HP: 33; #AT: 1; D: 2-20; SA: whirlwind; SD: +2 or better weapon to hit; transparent to clairvoyance or X-ray vision). In #4: A ring of flying (4 charges) and a false key. In #5: Eleven worthless glass gems and a false key. In #6: Phony glass jewelry, a false stone key, and a gray ooze (AC: 8; MV: 1”; HD: 3+3; HP: 16; #AT: 1; D: 2-16; can be killed only by lightning or physical blows; fills entire globe, and thus is indistinguishable by clairvoyance or X-ray vision). In #7: A wand of paralyzation (1 charge) and a false key. In #8: The real key and a ring. Upon release, the ring speaks to the entire party telepathically: “Stop before you pick me up. I confer the following powers upon my wearer: invisibility, haste (8 charges), I act as a ring of protection (+1), confer 100% protection from charm, flying once per day, spell turning (10 charges), treasure finding (6 charges), and one wish. The only drawback is that I eat one hit point per year permanently. But I must be put on before leaving this room, as I must be worn for me to leave. However, once I am removed from the finger, all my powers are lost. So you must decide right now who will wear me permanently.” This is a basic loyalty and intelligence test. Will the party members cut each others’ throats over the ring? Of course, if they take time to think about it, they’ll realize that the ring must actually be a diversion. It will seem to have all of the powers mentioned above as long as it remains in the room. Once outside, it has no power and can’t even talk. In #9: Gems worth 600 g.p. and a false key. 5: In this room are five flesh golems lined up against the north wall. Each has a number on its chest: 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13. Number Five says, “One of us does not belong with the others. If you can pick it out, it will serve you and the others will allow you passage. If you pick the wrong one, we will kill you. You have 60 seconds.” The Answer: 9 is not a prime number. Give your players an actual sixty seconds to figure it out. Golems: AC: 9; MV: 8”; HP: 30; #AT: 2; D: 2-16; SD: can only be hit by magic weapons. Unlike typical flesh golems, these will take full damage from magical fire or cold attacks (saving throws are applicable). Electrical attacks restore one hit point of damage to the golems for each die of the attack, i.e., a six-die lightning bolt would cure a golem of 6 points of damage. 6: Here, a short flight of stairs leads up to a dry corridor. Just around the corner is a turnstile that allows passage only one way: forward (turns count er- clo c k wise only — see sketch). It will probably have to be destroyed on the way back. A golem could rip it out, or strong characters could try with a chance equal to their percentage for bending bars and lifting gates. 7: The door opens onto a stone platform in a large natural cave. The ceiling averages 50 feet above the level of the platform, while the floor of the cave, 50 feet below, is a deep pool of boiling mud. Points A and B mark the locations of geysers. Geyser

43 The treasure: Whelm, a lawful neutral hammer +3 (+5 for dwarves), intelligence 15, ego 18. Purpose: kill all trolls, giants and goblin-types (including bugbears and hobgoblins). It can be thrown and will return from up to 150’ thrice per day (dwarves only). It also acts as a hammer of stunning: once per day, when struck upon the ground, it will send forth a shock wave stunning up to 45 hit points of enemies up to a distance of 60’ for 1-4 rounds if they fail to save vs. spell. Whelm also detects gold, gems, and the presence of goblins. A drawback is that the bearer of this weapon will come under the influence of a severe case of agoraphobia (fear of wide, open places), and will fight at -2 when not inside a building, at night, or (best of all) underground. Whelm is obviously a dwarven weapon. The treasure also includes 10,000 s.p. and 9,000 g.p. in six leather sacks, a potion of ESP, a potion of black dragon control, and a scroll of 3 spells: magic mouth, dispel magic and monster summoning III. 9: A ten-foot-deep pool. At the bottom is a very stiff valve wheel. When turned by two 18-strength characters (or the equivalent) a tube will open which will drain out all of the water in the wet corridors in 10 turns. Also at the bottom of the pit is a secret door (which can be found only by detect magic) that leads to Keraptis’ Indoctrination Center (see End Note). 10: This appears to be another normal, water-covered room, with steps rising out of the muck on the far side, but actually most of it is a fifteen-foot-deep pool. The areas within the dotted lines labeled A are the only shallow one-foot-deep parts. The deep area marked B is inhabited by two kelpies (HP: 26, 27; see information at end of module). As the party rounds the room, the kelpies will rise to the surface, and each will attempt to charm a male character as explained in the section describing these monsters. Area C is the kelpies’ underwater lair, accessible only from beneath the surface of the pool. Scattered A spouts once every five minutes. Geyser B spouts once every three minutes. Opposite the entrance platform is another stone platform, approximately 90 feet away. Between them a series of wooden disks is suspended from the ceiling by massive steel chains. The disks are about four feet in diameter, and three feet apart. Each disk is attached to its chain by a giant staple fixed in its center. The disks swing freely and will tilt when weight is placed upon them. The disks and chains, as well as the walls of the cavern, are covered with a wet, slippery algal scum that lives on the water and nutrients spewed up from the geysers. This coating gives off a feeble phosphorescent glow. When the geysers erupt, they reach nearly to the roof of the cavern, and creatures holding onto the disks or chains may be washed off to fall into the mud below (an almost instant death). Characters with 18 strength, or better, have a 65% chance of holding onto the disk that is adjacent to an erupting geyser. For each strength point less than 18 there is a 10% lesser chance of hanging onto the disks (i.e., 16 strength equals 45% chance.) However, for each disk the character is located farther from the geyser, there is a cumulative chance 5% greater of holding on, i.e., one farther away (from the adjacent disk) equals +5%, two away equals +10%, etc. Damage varies as the distance from the geyser. Adjacent disk: 5-50 points; one away: 4-40, and so on: 3-30, 2-20, 1-10, 1-6, and 1-4 for anyone in the cavern. Characters who make their saving throw vs. breath weapon will take only one-half damage. 8. The lair of the vampire Ctenmiir (AC: 1; HP: 40; see MONSTER MANUAL). He is compelled by a curse to remain here in a trance except when defending the treasure which lies in a niche in the floor under his coffin. He automatically awakes at the approach of intruders. The door to the room is permeated with tiny holes through which he can pass in gaseous form. The room itself has a permanent darkness spell on it which the vampire is unaffected by (i.e., he can see perfectly well). Destroying his coffin won’t bother him, as Keraptis has spares hidden away.

44 dungeon fed. There are strange gaps in her memory in the areas of dealing with her employer or any section of the dungeon other than her own. She has never been past the doors at 14. Burket knows even less than she does. 13: Snarla’s inner sanctum is a beautifully ornate room: the floor is covered by fine oriental rugs, the walls by erotic tapestries and shimmering curtains, the ceiling by an intricate mosaic depicting a summer sky dotted with fleecy clouds. In the northeast corner is a large and lavishly covered bed, strewn with cushions. Next to it on a low table is a buffet of sweetmeats, cakes, and other delicious-looking comestibles. In the northwest corner of the room is a brass-bound oak chest. Anyone who investigates the bed will find that it actually feels quite uncomfortable, and anybody tasting the food will be disappointed in the extreme, finding it tough and not very tasty. True seeing or detect illusion will reveal that the opulent bed is actually only an old straw tick, and the delicious treats are something very much like iron rations. In reality, the walls, floor and ceiling of the room are quite bare. Only the brassbound chest appears as it actually is. Dispel illusion or dispel magic will remove the illusion. The chest must be opened while uttering a command word known only to Snarla, or it will dissolve into a stinking cloud, leaving 400 e.p., 300 g.p., and 7 gems worth 1,300 g.p. total. 14: This is a succession of thick metal doors, flanged so that they overlap the doorjamb on the north side and thus can only be opened by swinging them to the north. There are handles on the north sides of the doors so that they can be pulled open in that direction. These are actually emergency doors whose purpose is to prevent the dungeon from being flooded by the boiling lake at 15, should there happen to be an “accident.” about the lair are 600 g.p., a piece of jewelry worth 2,000 g.p., and a suit of chain mail +3. D is an empty room, a decoy, which is level with the areas marked A. 11: This is a thirty-foot-long spinning cylinder, apparently made of some light metal. It is ten feet in diameter, and spins counterclockwise at about eight miles an hour. The entire inner surface is covered with slippery oil and painted with a dizzying blackand-white spiral pattern. It is possible to slide through the cylinder, but no one could walk through it and keep his or her feet. 12: Watching through the loophole of the end of the passage is an alert guard, Burket (AC: 4; 4th level fighter; HP: 18; +1 to hit, +3 damage). If he sees intruders approaching, he will wait until they are halfway through the spinning cylinder and then ignite the slippery oil with a flaming arrow (damage 2-16 the first round to any caught within, 1-4 on subsequent rounds until it burns out in 2-8 rounds). He will then warn his lover, the sorceress Snarla, close and lock the shutter over the loophole, and move to defend the door with sword and shield. The room contains only a couple of benches and a table upon which are Snarla’s spell book and a large candlestick. The book contains only those spells which she has memorized (mentioned hereafter), but it is protected by an explosive runes spell. Snarla (AC: 10; 7th level magic user; HP: 17) is a lycanthrope. Her memorized spells are: fear, haste, dispel magic, web, stinking cloud, scare, magic missile, push, shield. If Burket is killed or she is caught in a very bad situation, she will change into werewolf form and attack with desperate savagery at +2 (AC: 5; MV: 15”; HD: 4+3; HP: 26; #AT: 1; D: 2-8; SD: silver or +1 or better to hit; damage suffered previous to metamorphosis should be subtracted from her new hit point total). If captured alive and made to talk, she will tell the party only that she is charged with keeping the kelpies and certain other denizens of the

45 3,935 g.p. total), a ring of infravision (60’), a luckstone, and a wand of frost (17 charges). The DM will note that a character grabbing Wave while the waterskin is collapsing should be able to save his own and others’ lives by invoking the cube of force ability (Wave will instantly make the holder aware of the ability, if the holder is neutral or willing to convert on the spot). Characters inside the cube of force will probably end up being blown out the geyser at the top of the mountain. The air-filled cube will float, drain down the cascade, and be ejected from the Plume — a rocky ride. Characters could also survive the boiling lake with a combination of fire resistance and water breathing. 18: A ten-foot-long, ten-foot deep open pit, filled with and hidden by water. 19: A series of copper-colored metal plates lines the walls of this corridor. The plates are six feet high and six feet wide, and cannot be damaged or removed. They set up an induction field which causes metal objects passing between them to become heated. The field extends from floor to ceiling, and cannot be “ducked under”. Metal will become uncomfortably warm after moving twenty feet into the field, painfully hot after thirty and hot enough to damage at forty feet and beyond. This includes armor, weapons, treasure, gold teeth, even magic-users’ daggers. A man in metal armor passing through this corridor would take damage as follows: 1-8 points at 40’, 2-16 at 50’, 3-30 at 60’ and 4-40 at 70’. Characters not carrying metal will feel only slight discomfort when passing between the plates. Metal carried in wrappings of cloth will burn through by the 50’ mark, and it will similarly burn through leather by 60’. Those protected by fire resistance will take no damage if they save vs. spell, or half damage if they fail. Fighters and clerics may have no other recourse than to take a full turn to remove their armor, drag, push or use a Tenser’s floating disk to get their armor and weapons through the corridor, and then take another full turn to suit up. Armor pulled through the corridor by ropes will probably heat up enough to burn through them at about 60’; leaving a pile of hot metal laying in the water. The only sovereign remedies for this dilemma are the cone of cold or ice storm spells, which will nullify the effect long enough for a party to dash through. 20: Behind the secret door, 8 ghouls wait in ambush for an unarmed company to come through the heat-induction corridor. AC: 6; MV: 9”; HD: 2; HP: 10 (each); #AT: 3; D: 1-3/1-3/1-6 plus paralysis. These ghouls wear amulets that protect them from being ordered away by clerics or paladins. 21: Stairs leading up to dry corridors. 22: The Frictionless Room. The strips labeled A are five-foot-wide open pits. They are ten feet deep and the bottoms are lined with rusty razor-like blades. Anyone falling in will take 1-12 hit points of damage and will contract instant super-tetanus and die in 2-5 rounds unless they save vs. poison (cure disease will destroy the infection). The walls, ceiling and floor of area B are covered with a substance that is totally 100% frictionless. This substance extends to cover the ceiling and walls around the razor-pits. Anything that alights on this silvery surface will move in the direction of its last horizontal impetus, bouncing off the walls (if it strikes them) like a billiard ball, until it slides into a razor-pit. It is impossible to stand on the surface, for even a heartbeat would unbalance the stander enough to send his feet out from under him. The slipstuff will be totally unaffected by any force, magical or otherwise. It is completely inert. Magic-users will find that fly, levitate, jump, dimension door, blink and teleport spells will not work in this room. The dotted line at C is the illusion of a west wall: the actual 15: The boiling lake is several hundred feet deep, extending down to the red-hot rock below, and reaching nearly to the ceiling of the cavern it occupies, 50 feet above the level of the sunken ledge described in 17. It is fed by an underground stream which enters at point A at a depth 100’ below that of the ledge. Its run-off is at point B, above the ledge, near the ceiling of the cavern. 16: The run-off from the boiling lake cascades down through a series of near-vertical lava-tubes to the base of the blowhole, 800 feet below the level of the dungeon. There the water strikes molten rock and is instantly converted to steam. It is ejected up the blowhole and out the top of the volcanic cone, forming the continuous geyser of White Plume Mountain. 17: A sunken stone ledge projects out into the boiling lake. The corridor from the dungeon continues out into the lake under a rubbery magical forcefield that keeps out the waters by forming a sort of elastic skin of super surface-tension. The shape of the corridor is not square in cross-section, but rather semi-circular, as if a series of hoops were supporting the ceiling. The skin is soft, resilient and uncomfortably warm to the touch. Under any pressure it immediately becomes taut, and any character unwise enough to puncture it with something sharp will leave a permanent hole. A stream of scalding water will rush into the corridor, hopefully burning the idiot who made the hole (1-4 points damage). The skin will not “heal” once punctured. Major damage to the waterskin, as from a slash with a sword or axe, will collapse the field like a balloon in 1-6 rounds. After thirty feet the corridor widens out into a low, domeshaped area. Here lives the guardian of the treasure, just about the biggest giant crab (AC: 0, HD: 15, HP: 60; #AT: 2; D: 3-18) anyone’s ever seen. On one of its “forearms” it wears a rune-covered copper band that protects it from all psionicrelated spells (such as charm, fear, confusion, paralysis, magic jar, etc.) It also protects against all psionics. Unfortunately, it is worthless as a treasure, as the magic is keyed specifically to this particular monster. The crab will intelligently attack any and all intruders, being careful not to bump the waterskin walls. The crab is experienced in fighting in this manner, as is evidenced by the bones scattered about, but your players’ characters are not. The DM will have to watch for characters whose actions may rip the waterskin, especially any foolish enough to use two-handed weapons or violent spells like fireball or lightning bolt. Such people are likely to get the whole party boiled. At the north end of the dome room is a heavy chest which is firmly attached to the floor. In it is the treasure: Wave, a neutral trident +3 which does 1-10 hit points of damage, 14 intelligence, 20 ego. Purpose: death or disfigurement to all who won’t convert to the worship of Poseidon (or any similar sea-god you choose). Powers: Functions as a trident of fish commanding (as the miscellaneous magic item in DUNGEON MASTERS GUIDE) Functions as a trident of warning (as the miscellaneous magic item in DUNGEON MASTERS GUIDE) Finds water Confers water-breathing and underwater action abilities upon bearer Confers cube of force ability (as the miscellaneous magic item in DUNGEON MASTERS GUIDE) Possesses speech and telepathy (in the common tongue as well as the languages of all sea creatures). Dehydrates: On a natural roll of 20, in addition to its normal damage, Wave dehydrates its opponent, draining onehalf of his or her remaining hit points (compute normal damage first). Also in the chest are 1,000 g.p. in small sacks, 20 gems (3 big ones worth 1,000, 1,000 & 5,000 g.p., and 17 others worth

46

47 25: These two magical secret doors will reveal themselves and open only to the bearer of Sir Bluto’s magic key. 26: As the side view shows, this large room is terraced around the outside in giant steps of ten foot depth and width. Steps B, C and D are enclosed by magically created glass walls which keep the inhabitants of these terraces confined. For good measure, they have all been charmed and ordered to stay on their levels as long as their glass walls are intact. Steps B and D are filled to the brim with water. The only exits from the room are the doors on levels A and E, so if the party wants to continue onward, they must get safely to the bottom level. The door in the bottom level opens into a corridor which passes under the rest of the room. Step B: In this square pool live six giant crayfish (AC: 4; MV: 6”//12”; HD: 4+4; HP: 23 each; #AT: 2; D: 2-16). Step C: A dry level with six giant scorpions (AC: 3; MV: 15”; HD: 5+5; HP: 22 each; #AT: 3; D: 1-10/1-10/1-4 plus poison). Step D: Another wet level with four sea lions (AC: 5/3; MV: 15”; HD: 6; HP: 27 each; #AT: 3; D: 1-6/1-6/2-12). Step E: Here are three wing-clipped manticores (AC: 4; MV: 12”; HD: 6+3; HP: 41, 29, 24; #AT: 3; D: 1-3/1-3/1-8, plus 24 tail spikes at 1-6 each). The manticores will not hesitate to fire their spikes at any they recognize as intruders, though they can only hit targets on step A by firing along the long axis of the room (and vice-versa, of course—see diagram). The creatures in each level will be randomly distributed when the party enters, but as the intruders near each section the monsters will move to follow, expecting to be fed. They are used to live food, and will ignore dead meat or other food. They will consider anything living that enters their levels as food, and will attempt to eat it. The glass walls cannot be broken by fired arrows, slung stones, or such things as thrown helmets. An 18-strength character could break a hole in one with 2-5 swings of a heavy mace (longer for less strong types). A safe is set in the wall opposite the door on level E. If opened incorrectly (i.e., trap not removed), a vibration device in the wall is triggered which will shatter the glass walls in 1-6 rounds. The safe contains 6,000 s.p. and one piece of jewelry worth 3,000 g.p. If all of the glass walls are broken, a wall of force like the one at No. 2 will activate immediately in front of the door on level E, preventing the water from forcing the door open and escaping into the corridor beyond. There will be enough water in the room to completely fill levels D and E and cover level C to a depth of about two feet. The water will slowly drain out of four small drains in the corners of level E, but it will take a good twenty turns to do so. Of course, parties who choose to wait will be subject to rolls for wandering monsters. Once the water is finally gone, the wall of force will disappear. If the party manages to knock down the wall of force (by using a dispel magic, disintegrate or passwall), the pressure of the water will push open the door and the water will rush into the corridor beyond, pulling along any swimming characters and miscellaneous debris nearby. The water will collide with another modified wall of force covering the door at the end of the corridor, and then begin draining out through a very large grating in the door in the last ten feet of the passage. The water will take only two turns to drain out through this grating. When the water is gone, the last wall of west wall is ten feet farther. Objects hitting the false wall will pass through and apparently disappear. This tends to foil schemes for attaching ropes to the west wall from afar. The trick here is to get a rope strung through this room and fastened securely at both ends. Once this is done, a party can pull themselves across, regardless of the surface. A clever party may even be able to come up with other methods. Ingenuity is required. 23: There is a stream running through this room that is suspended in mid-air. It enters and leaves through two tunnels, each of which is about six feet in diameter. The lowest points of the tunnels where they come through the walls are about two feet from the floor. The stream only half-fills the tunnels; consequently, when it flows through the room it is hemispherical in cross-section (see accompanying illustration for clarification). Objects can be thrust through the sides of the stream, but no water other than a few drops will escape. It would even be possible to walk right through the stream, but only a very strong person could do so without being swept off his feet. The stream flows quite quickly, from the west to the east, and within it blind cave-fish dart about. It is lukewarm. Also in this room are six small two-man kayaks (with no paddles). Should anyone choose to go boating into the unknown tunnel, they will have to figure out how to get in the kayaks once the kayaks are in the stream, five feet from the floor. These kayaks tip over easily. If they successfully board the kayaks, the party will bump along through a twisting tunnel. They can regulate their speed by pushing against the walls. Eventually they will emerge into 24. 24: 8 fighters under the command of the cruel Sir Bluto Sans Pite await here to ambush any who come through the tunnel. They will be alerted by the alteration in the flow of water as the party tampers with it upstream. The stream flows through the air in this room in the same manner as in 23. Sir Bluto’s men work in teams of four, two on each side of the stream. As each kayak comes out, a team will throw a net over it and attempt to drag it out of the stream and down onto the floor. When it falls, they move in to finish off the (hopefully stunned and trapped) occupants with swords. The 8 henchmen are AC: 4 and have 20 hit points each (4th level fighters). Sir Bluto himself was a respected Knight of the Realm before his indictment in the River of Blood mass-murder case. His mysterious disappearance from prison left even the Royal Magician-Detectives baffled, and a reward of 10,000 g.p. was posted for his capture. Someone in the party is sure to recognize his one-of-a-kind face. Sir Bluto: AC: -1 (shield +1, plate mail +2); 10th level fighter; HP: 50; +2 to hit, +4 damage. He carries the magic key to the secret doors (25) and is wearing boots of striding and springing. The stream continues on out of 24 and goes back to 23, completing the circuit.

48 increases by one point, until it can compel its bearer to kill a human or humanoid being. Upon feeding, its ego returns to 16. The DM will note that Blackrazor is a negative-energy entity that exists by absorbing positive life energy levels from those it kills. However, if it even strikes a negative-energy being like an undead (except for ghouls and ghasts), it will work in reverse, transferring one level and corresponding hit points from the wielder to the creature attacked. It will do this each time that it strikes. Under these conditions, the wielder can actually die and have his soul sucked out by his own sword. If the wielder survives, he will need a restoration spell or twice the usual number of levels received from positive “kills” to replace the lost levels. Those killed for replacement must be of the same race as the sword-wielder. Blackrazor (and you, the DM) may very well keep this little drawback a secret until the first time the sword bites into a wight or a vampire. The DM must remember that Blackrazor exists solely to feel power and souls coursing through itself, and sometimes it may not be too picky about where the energy is coming from. In addition to the above, the sword has the following powers: Speech and telepathy (common and whatever tongues its wielder knows, which it learns telepathically) Detects living creatures (souls), 60’ r. Haste spell (bearer only, 10 rounds), once per day 100% magic resistance to charm and fear (exact percentage chance of resistance will depend on the level of the opponent casting such a spell) The treasure also includes 1,000 e.p., 200 p.p., 4 pieces of jewelry worth a total of 11,000 g.p., a potion of healing, a scroll of protection from evil (clerical), and armor of vulnerability. force will dissipate. The water drains straight down through an old lava tube to a large empty cave with no other exits. 27: Here resides Qesnef, a huge ogre mage who lost a bet with Keraptis and as a result must guard his treasure for 1,001 years. A magic mouth warns him of the approach of trespassers, so he will be able to disguise himself by polymorphing himself into the form of a doughty halfling warrior, perhaps one who has been trapped by the evil wizard. Qesnef (AC: 1; HD: 5+2; MV: 9”/15”; HP: 35; #AT: 1; D: 1-12; SA: fly, invisibility, darkness 1” r., charm person, sleep, assume gaseous form, and cast a cold spell like a wand that does 8d8 points of damage; SD: regenerates 1 hit point per round) also wears a ring of protection +3 on his left hand and a ring of mirror images (5 charges) on his right. Qesnef is kept in very luxurious surroundings. The floor is strewn with rugs and cushions, and tapestries cover the walls. A six-foot hookah stands in the comer. The treasure has been casually shoved beneath a sumptuous divan. It includes: Blackrazor, a chaotic neutral sword +3, intelligence 17, ego 16. Purpose: to suck souls. It is a black sword that shines like a piece of night sky filled with stars, and it is sheathed in a black scabbard decorated with pieces of cut obsidian. On a killing stroke, Blackrazor temporarily adds the number of levels of the dead foe to its bearer’s levels (in terms of fighting ability). The bearer also temporarily gains the full hit points of the victim. All subsequent damage to the sword’s wielder is removed from the added hit points first. The extra levels and hit points last a number of turns equal to the number of levels received. The souls of all entities killed by Blackrazor are sucked out and devoured; those killed by the black sword cannot be raised. For every three days the sword remains “unfed”, its ego