RQ2 - Thoughts of Darkness

Remind the party c “le continuing lightn xplains that the Brotherhood will wish to study
orm outside. the diary, that it may provide them with a
weapon to use against the Lord of Barovia,
Encounter 16: The Hish Master’s Strahd Von Zarovich.

Quarters A pouch of diamonds and other gems is also
tucked away in the cubby hole, worth 10,000
T he High Master’s room has two entrances: gp. The tapestries are very heavy, but they are
one of them provides access to the worth 5,000 gp each. There are eight of them.
Apparatus chamber and the other leads
back down to the general illithid living Finally, if any of the PCs have been taken
quarters. Both entrances are protected by a pit captive during the adventure, their equipment
of cold death trap that the High Master merely will also be here. This is an opportunity for t
levitates over when going to and from his DM to “bleed off’ any excess magical items
private quarters. that the character has been carrying,
particularly those that have caused the DM fits
The pit ofcold death trap is a magical while trying to run a balanced campaign. Those
a combination of contingency spells. The pit
itself is a 15-foot-deephole with a subtl Elder-brain
beveled rim, flooded with 10feet of
Whenever anyone steps onto the bev U’ hen the party has finished searching the
surface next to the pit, a contingent ice s room, read the following boxed text.
spell is tripped, inflicting 3d10 points of
damage to anyone with 40 feet. Also, the floor -
becomes icy and slippery, causing anyone on
the beveled rim to fall into the pool of water. As Lord Drassak calls you to him. “My
soon as the creature(s) falls into the water, a fellows, our quest is almost achieved! We
contingent cone ofcold spell is tripped, have taken back those things which have
caused so much evil, and now we g o to undo
inflicting an additional 12d4+ 12 points of what has already been done. The High
Master Illithid, in his lust for power, is
damage and freezing the pool solid. Characters attacking his Lord even now, foolishly
will suffocate and die in a number of rounds attempting to drain power and life from him.
equal to1/3of their constitution score.
“The time of glory is at hand. Gather
Once the party has negotiated their way past around me, and place one hand upon the
the trap, read the following: Sacred Barrier. I will call upon my new-found
powers to take us to the lair of the foul Lord
This room is mined smooth and furnished of Bluetspur.
with wall tapestries that depict human slaves
bowing before mind flayers. There is a large, “You wizards, prepare to cast your
crystal throne on a dais in the corner, padded deadliest spells. You warriors, prepare your
with soft cushions. On the other side of the bows and arrows, for the Lord lives in a pool
room, a thick mattress made of a of briny water and hand-to-handcombat may
suspicious-looking hide lies against the wall, not be possible.”
beneath a tapestry that depicts a mind flayer
calling lightning down from the skies. Allow the PCs to make any last minute
p- rep- arations. The transition from the High
The Apparatus manual is hidden in a recess
behind the tapestry by the High Master’s bed. aster’s quarters to the lair of the Elder-brain is

When the -part-y recovers it, Drassak asks to be

allowed to keep it safe on his person. He

b

nearly instantaneous, so the duration of any of the shelf drops off abruptly, falling some
spell cast before the dimensional walk is not 30 feet to a steaming pool that literally glows
shortened by the journey. It is impossible to with power. The pool itself is gigantic and
cast any spell during the transition, however.
stretches out of sight, around rocky corners.
Drassak sits upon the crystal throne and Floating just below the surfake of the pool
iolds out the Rod before him, allowing each of
rou to place a hand on it. He tilts his head is one of the most loathsome creatures
jack and begins to hum low in his throat. The you’ve ever seen. A huge mass of tangled,
rum grows louder and its pitch raises until it fibrous black tissues, covered with writhing
iounds exactly like the background hum that
ras followed you throughout Bluetspur. feelers, pulsates and glows like windblown
embers: it can be none other than the Lord of
The High Master’s room goes misty around
rou and fades to gray. Meanwhile, Drassaks Bluetspur itself!
iumming continues to grow louder and
ouder, until it reaches a deafening volume. It Attached to its backside, with its long
ioon occurs to you that Drassak is no longer
naking the noise. teeth sunk into the soft tissue like a parasite,
is the repulsive baglike monster that you saw
It doesn’t feel like you’ve moved, but the in the Apparatus before the machine
nist suddenly clears and you find yourselves
n an enormous cavern. You are standing on exploded; it must be the High Master Illithid.
I wide shelf of rock, perhaps 100 feet wide
ind 200 feet long. Three sides of the shelf Some of the Lord’s feelers have wrapped
md at the cavern walls which rise to the around the “tadpole,” actually appearing to
:eilinq, some 100feet above. The fourth side
embrace the vampiric renegade.

The moment your party appears in its lair,

the Lord flares brightly and the deafening
drone pierces your brains like a hot blade,

forcing you to clutch your heads and fall to

the floor.

High Master To

-Illithid’s Quarters Apparatus
0 IO Feet
Chamher

To Mind Flayer
Living Quarters

your heads. You cannot resist the will of the its title. The item is burning like the sun,
Lord. Your hands move as if they were not illuminating the cavern and throwing off a
yours, driven by the Lord‘s psionic drone as
if it were a physical force. psionic static field, preventing the Elder-brain
Tell the party to make a saving throw vs. spell
from using its powers upon you. Drassak ’
with a - 10penalty. Those who successfully moves to the rim of the rocky shelf and
stands between you and the briny pool.
save have resisted the Lord’s command, but
they must use all of their will to do so, so they “Quickly!” warns the voice of Lord
will not be able to take any other action. If a PC Drassak in your brains. “I can’t keep this up
fails his save, he immediately begins to plunge
his weapon into his body, inflicting his much longer!”
maximum number of attacks per round to
himself, automatically hitting every time. Roll The Lord Elder-brain moves closer in its
for damage. When the round is complete, tell
the PCs to repeat the saving throw for the same pool and the drone becomes barely audible
results in the second round. During these first
two rounds, the party will be powerless to cast again. The sound pulses, like a battering ram
any spell, invoke any psionic power,or take any
other action to help themselves. They are attempting to break through a wall.
completely at the command of the Lord
Elder-brain. Then, all around you, minions of the Lord

At the beginning of the second round, read appear, summoned to protect their ruler

Iacred Barrier, and you begin to appreciate against this imminent threat.

“Protect me from them!” cries Drassak. “If
I am struck, we are all lost!”

Ten mind flayers (five of them mages), 20
drow fighters, and eight drow mages appear. If

Bonespur has not exhausted his medallion’s
power by this time, he will also appear on his
nightmare.

Mind Flayers (5): AL LE; AC 5; MV 12; HD
8+4; hp 65; THACO 11;#AT 4; Drng special;
SA mind blast; SD nil; MR 90%; SZ M; ML 15;
XP 9,000.

Mind Flayer Mages (5): AL LE; AC 5; MV 12;
HD 8+4; hp 55; THACO 11;#AT 4; Dmg spec.;
SA mind blast; SD nil; MR 90%; SZ M; ML 15
XP 10,000each.

Mind flayer spells: Magic missile (X 4),
glitterdust, Mews acid m o w (8th level), spectral

hand, dispel magic, freball, lightning bolt,

Evard 3 black tentacles, monster summoning It

Drow Fighters (20): AL LE; AC -3 (-6 with

bucklers); MV 12; HD 15;hp 93 each; THACO
#AT 1or 2; Dmg Id8 +7 (sword) or ld3/ld3
(drow crossbow bolts); SA see below; SD see
below: MR 80%; SZ M; ML special; XP 10,000

each.

Drow Mages (8): AL L E AC -5; MV 12; HD other drow clothing and armor is magically
protective, but it radiates no magic and decays
16; hp 45 each; THACO 15; #AT 1 or 2; Dmg by to powerlessness after ld4 days above ground.
spell or ld3/ld3(drow crossbow darts); SA see
below; SD see below; MR 85%; SZ M; ML Bonespur: AL CE; AC 3; MV 12; LvI 17; hp 62;
special; XP 14,000each. THACO 11; #AT 1; Dmg special +6; SA nil; SD
nil; MR nil; SZ M; ML 9; XP 9,000.
Drow Mages' Spells: Burning hands, magic
Nightmare (1): AL LE; AC -4; MV 15, FI 36;
missile ( X 2), shield, shocking grasp, blur, detect
invisibility, misdirection, stinking cloud, web, HD 6 +6; hp 46; THACO 15; #AT 3; Dmg
blink, dispel magic, fiueball ( X 2), lightning bolt, ld6 +4/1d6 +4/2d4;SA burning hooves; SD

c h a m monster, Evard S black tentacles, fear, paralyzing cloud; MR nil; SZ L; ML 14; XP

polymorph other, wall ofice, advanced illusion, 3,000.
animate dead, cone ofcold, hold monster,
shadow door, disintegrate,globe of The DM should roll 1d4+3-this is the
invulnerability, true seeing, monster summoning number of rounds that Lord Drassak can hold
off the psionic attack of the Lord Elder-brain.
K teleport without error, incendiary cloud. During each passing round, tell the PCs that the
pounding of the drone grows louder and louder.
All drow may use the following spells once
per day: dancing lights, faeriefue, darkness, A PC may attack the Lord and inflict
levitate, know alignment, and detect magic- damage, but only from behind Lord Drassaks
Drow darts are coated with a poison that protective screen. Should the PC teleport or
otherwise enter the pool,he will immediately
requires a saving throw with a -4 penalty. lose all protection of the Rod and be
completely at the mercy of the Lord. lllithid
Those who fail fall unconscious for 2d4 hours tadpoles surround the PC and pull him under,
and are subject to nightmares and the
accompanying madness and horror checks.
Drow mages wear bracers ofdefenceAC 2; all

I

to his death. With a final crushing blow, the Elder-brain
smashes through Lord Drassak’s static field.
For additional dramatic effect, the DM can The drone slices through your brains and an
make the NPCs attempt to attack Drassak, irresistable voice commands you to
forcing the PCs to concentrate their efforts on
defending him. Unless the PCs use very poor surrender. Your arms g o limp as your wills
judgment or battle tactics, Drassak should be are broken.
allowed to continue wielding the Rod.
Then, there is a horrible scream in the air
If Drassak is overcome by the attacking that pierces even through the Elder-brain’s
monsters, the psionic shield will immediately powerful buzz. You turn toward the pool,
where Lord Drassak is rising from his knees
drop and the PCs must make saving throws to
avoid attacking themselves again. Of course, and holding the Rod aloft with both hands, as
the monsters continue to attack them as well, if it were a stake. The scream comes from
and the death of the party is almost assured. If him!
this occurs, the DM may allow them to wake up
in the cages of Slave Pen C (see Encounter 12). Before the minions of the Elder-brain can
stripped of their equipment and with only one
hit point. Any successful escape must be one of react, Drassak hurls himself from the rocky
the DM’s design. shelf, sails through the air, and crashes into
the briny pool, landing directly on the
Annitella fights the monsters, with the PCs, Elder-brain. He raises the Rod above his head
to the best of her abilities. once more and drives it through the High
Master’s tadpole body and into the
When the Lord Elder-brain breaks through Elder-brain itself!
the Rod’s protective barrier, read the following
text at the beginning of the round. There is a fiery flash and an explosion that

you are all outside the mountain, including Any character may take refuge from the storm
nnitella, and all of the monsters under the rock outcroppings, but there is not
enough room to fight there.
you were fighting.
All mind flayers scatter as soon as they
Drassaks final, desperate attack on the discover where they have been sent. lllithid
Elder-brain was more than it wanted to deal mages immediately tefeportto safety while
with. It therefore psionically teleportedeveryone normal mind flayers simply run for cover.
out of its lair and out of the mind flayer Bonespur, if he is still alive, mounts his
complex (Point D on the interior cover map of nightmare and disappears into the Border
Rluetspur). Drassak sprawls unconscious on the Ethereal. The drow remain and fight to the
ground, a bit charred around the edges. If death. The lightning dies down after the fourth
Annitella has not yet fallen in combat, she will round of battle.
cry out, run to him, and drag him under cover
from the storm (see below). If the PCs are stili fairly fresh and strong after
all of this, five mind flayer vampires will appear
It is still “nighttime” and lightning is falling and attack.
out here. Fortunately, it is nearing “dawn” end
the lightning is not so frequent as it might be. Vampire Mind Flayers (3): AL CE; AC 1; MV
All characters must roll saving throws vs. wand 12; HD 8+3;hp 60; THACO 8; #AT see below;
each round to determine whether or not they Dmg see below; SA energy drain, mind blast;
are struck by a bolt (save again for half
damage). Failure to save indicates that the SD +1 or better weapon to hit, regeneration;
character has sustained 8d6 points of damage.
MR 90%; SZ M; ML 20; XP 11,000.

Encounter 18: Rusolution boncluding m e Adventure

If Annitella has fallen when the battle is over, le DM may insert one or more encounters
she will have regenerated enough to regain
consciousness. She immediately crawls t o L with vampire mind flayers before the party
Drassak and cradles him in her arms. Read the reaches the northern reaches ofaBluets
following: if he chooses. Whenever the PCs reach the
realm’s northern edge, the Mists rise before
Annitella cradles Lord Drassak in her arms them. They may enter the Mists and pass to
and caresses his mind flayer face with her another domain of the DM’s choosing or the
tentacles. Weakly, his tentacles respond, may successfully reach Barovia.
wrapping around hers. You overhear his
thoughts to her. “There was never any need,” If they seek out the Brotherhood of
he tells her. “I have always known,” and there Contemplative Power and relate their story, the
he dies. Order will treat them graciously. The Apparatus
manual fascinates them and they reward the
Annitella bows her head over her dead PCs for bringing it to them; the nature of th
lover and falls silent for a few moments. reward is up to the DM. If Annitella has
Eventually, Annitella lifts her head again and promised the PCs that the Order can grant
addresses you: “Thank you, from both of us, magical wishes, then it is up to the DM whet
for your heroic efforts. You have been braver this is true or whether Annitella lied, in her
and kinder than we could have hoped. There deranged state.
is only one more favor which we would ask
of you. Take the Apparatus manual and go
north. Find your way through the Mist
through any means you can find; perhaps the
Vistani may come t o your aid, perhaps there
are other ways.

“lf you come, by fortune or skill, to
Barovia, seek out the Brotherhood of
Contemplative Power. Give them the manual,
tell them what the Rod really is, and tell
them what happened here. They will treat
you and reward you as they can.

“I must stay here, with my Lord Drassak,
at least for a while.”

Annitella will refuse to accompany the party.
Offers to polymorph her back to human form
will not interest her, nor will she accept any
offer to raise Lord Drassak from the dead.

“I have lost him twice, now,” she says. “I

cannot stand to lose him again. Lord Drassak
came to Barovia from another world.
Perhaps this way he will find his way back.
Let his heroic act of defiance against the
Lord of this vile domain be his last. Perhaps I
may yet join him.”



In the Cave: Unaffected In the Cave: Unaffected

A mist rises from Annitella and passes A mist rises from Annitella and passes
through everyone’shead in the wink of an through everyone’shead in the wink of an
eye. A blank expression crosses their faces, eye. A blank expression crosses their faces,
then they begin to look around with then they begin to look around with
squinting eyes. As it passes through you, you squinting eyes. As it passes through you, you
hear Annitella’svoice, commanding,“Fight, hear Annitella’s voice, commanding, “Fight,
fight to the death!” fight to the death!”

Before you can react, you have already Before you can react, you have already
drawn your weapon; your companions have drawn your weapon; your companions have
done the same. With a great struggle,you done the same. With a great struggle,you
regain control of yourself, but the others are regain control of yourself, but the others are
moving to attack! You have no choice but to moving to attack! You have no choice but to
prepare for battle! prepare for battle!

In the Cave: Unaffected In the Cave: Unaffected

A mist rises from Annitella and passes A mist rises from Annitella and passes
through everyone’shead in the wink of an through everyone’s head in the wink of an
eye. A blank expression crosses their faces, eye. A blank expression crosses their faces,
then they begin to look around with then they begin to look around with
squinting eyes. As it passes through you, you squinting eyes. As it passes through you, you
hear Annitella’svoice, commanding, “Fight, hear Annitella’s voice, commanding, “Fight,
fight to the death!” fight to the death!”

Before you can react, you have already Before you can react, you have already
drawn your weapon; your companions have drawn your weapon; your companions have
done the same. With a great struggle,you done the same. With a great struggle,you
regain control of yourself, but the others are regain control of yourself, but the others are
moving to attack! You have no choice but to moving to attack?You have no choice but to
prepare for battle! prepare for battle!

In the Cave: Unaffected In the Cave: Unaffected

A mist rises from Annitella and passes A mist rises from Annitella and passes
through everyone’shead in the wink of an through everyone’shead in the wink of an
eye. A blank expression crosses their faces, eye. A blank expression crosses their faces,
then they begin to look around with then they begin to look around with
squinting eyes. As it passes through you, you squinting eyes. As it passes through you, you
hear Annitella’svoice, commanding, “Fight, hear Annitella’s voice, commanding, “Fight,
fight to the death!” fight to the death!”

Before you can react, you have already Before you can react, you have already
drawn your weapon; your companions have drawn your weapon; your companions have
done the same. With a great struggle,you done the same. With a great struggle,you
regain control of yourself, but the others are regain control of yourself, but the others are
moving to attack! You have no choice but to moving to attack! You have no choice but to
prepare for battle! prepare for battle!

Annitella

Greater Broken One, Neutral Evil

Armor Class: 3 s w 3
Movement: 9,
Hit Dice:
Hit Points: 5
THACO:
No. of Attacks: 40
Damage/Attack:
Special Attacks: 15
Special Defenses:
Magic Resistance: 2

Size: 1d6 +5/1d6 +5
Morale:
XP Value: Constriction

Regeneration

Nil

M (6‘ tall)

12

420

Annitella is a 15th-levelthief, formerly of therefore employ any lie that will enlist the YC:
help. She is terrified of spell use; she is certain
chaotic good alignment. While she was not a that spells led to her capture by the illithids.
formal member of the lawful good Barovian
Combat: Annitella can still use weapons, but
monastic order, the Brotherhood of she suffers a -2 penalty to hit because of her
Contemplative Power, she was friendly with a loss of dexterity. Her primary attack form is to
number of its members, especially with its grasp her adversary with each “hand” and
champion, Lord Drassak. constrict for ld6 points of damage per round;
once grasped, a victim must render her
The thief has had some dealings with the unconsciousor dead to break her grasp.
Vistani in the past, so she was able to bribe
Annitella gains a +5 bonus to her damage
them to take Drassak and herself across the
Barovian border and into Bluetspur,where the rolls due to her superior strength. She retains
Vistani correctly discerned that Lyssa Von her former intelligence(13), although she has
Zarovich had gone with the Sacred Barrier. lost her thief skills. Her bone structure has the
resilience of cartilage,so blunt weapons inflict
Now, Annitella has become a greater broken only half damage. She regenerates 1 hp per
one. Captured by illithids who needed round.

information from her, but were unable to
penetrate her mind, she found herself the

subject of torture and physical manipulation.
She has been twisted into a mockery of an
octopus. Her skin is smooth and scaly like that
of a cephalopod, always needing moisture, and
her head is elongated like that of an octopus.

The shock of being converted into a broken
one has addled Annitella’s brain. Her alignment
has shifted to neutral evil, leaving her paranoid

and ruthless. She now wants the Rod of Houtras
for her own and is bent upon revenge against
the illithids for what they did to her. She also

wants to liberate the Shattered Brethren from
the tyranny of the mind flayers. Annitella will

6onespur

17th-level Bounty Hunter, N

Armor Class
Movement
Level/Hit Dice
Hit Points
THACO
No. of Attacks 1 Cha 7
DamageIAttack
Saves: by weapon

Paralyzation, poison, death magic 7

Rod, staff, wand 4

Petrification, polymorph 6
10
Breath weapon

Spell 5
Thief Skills: Pick Pockets, 9

95%; FindRemove Traps, 95

95%; Hide in Shadows, 95%; ,

Climb Walls, 95%; Read La

Bonespur is 6’4‘’ tall and bald. He sports a creatures to enlarge the mind flayer’s slave
black fu manchu mustache. There is a 4” scar pool. He is an uncanny tracker. Unless a 20 is
over his left eye, but closer inspection will rolled on ld20, he never fails to track his prey.
reveal that he has many small scars all over his
body. He dresses mostly in leather, especially in Bonespur has three prized possessions: a ring
sleeveless jerkins that expose his muscular ofspell tunzing, a chain contingency medallion,
arms. His eyes are grey and unexpressive. and a psionic shape-shifting knife,given to him

Bonespur is half-vistani. He was born in by the High Master lllithid in return for his
disgrace and raised as a servant in the house of
his grandfather. He learned to tolerate repeated services.
beatings from everyone, including his own Combat: Bonespur is more interested in

mother, who despised him for removing her intimidation and treachery than hand-to-hand
from her father’s grace. He withdrew from
combat. He rarely advances to the front line,
society and grew very good at avoiding others.
Sometime during his adolescence, Bonespur and he reserves the use of his psionic weapon
for those moments when he is confronted or
noted the passing of a vistani caravan through cornered. If given the opportunity, he will
his town, and he began to follow them at a summon his nightmare and disappear into the
distance. To their astonishment, Bonespur was
able to track tt\e caravan across the borders of Border Ethereal, only to mount another
Darkon and into neighboring realms. He ambush against his adversary.
eventually infiltrated their ranks, learned many
of their powers, and then murdered them for
the “hedonistic thieves” that they were.

Today, Bonespur is a master bounty hunter in
the employ of the High Master lllithid of
Bluetspur, capturina humans and other

Lyssa Uon Zarouich I

Vampire, Chaotic Evil 1I

Armor Class: -3 rmCornoar: Lyssa s age ennancernents modrly her
Movement: 18,FI 18
Hit Dice: 1 1 +1 powers in the following ways: Her vampiric
Hit Points: charm gaze forces victims to save with a -3
THACO: 85
No. of Attacks: penalty to their die roll; a +2 or better weapon
Damage/Attack 10
Special Attacks: is needed to hit her; she regenerates 4 hit
Special Defenses: 1 points per round; she is immune to garlic and
Magic Resistance: ld4+6 mirrors. Lyssa also enjoys a particularly deadly
Size: See below salient ability: her deadly touch drains fiue
Morale: Regenerat ion energy levels from her victims. She can be
XP Value: 15% turned as a lich.
M (5‘ tall)
Lyssa is not fond of combat, even with her
18 abilities-she would rather dupe others into
fighting for her. If need be, she can be a
13,000 devastating opponent. Her favorite strategy is
to assume gaseous form and attempt to surprisl
Lyssa is the daughter of Anna and Tod Von her opponents while they are busy with her
minions.
Zarovich, granddaughter of Sturm Von
Zarovich, who was one of the few people to
escape Strahd’s wrath on the day he murdered

his brother and lost his beloved Tatyana to
Fate. As such, Lyssa has been raised to despise
her grand uncle, and to plot against him at

every turn.
Ironically, Lyssa shares some of Strahd’s own

fate: In order to better oppose him, she struck
her own dark pact and murdered her fiance to
honor it. In addition, Lyssa tormented her
former lover’s ghost by seducing his
incorporeal spirit and laughing sadistically
when he bemoaned his inability to kiss or hold
her. In frustration, he attacked her repeatedly
with his aging touch, thus aging her over 200
years in the course of a night, before she wholly
obliterated him from existence. As a result,

Lyssa has achieved Very Old status (300-399i)n

terms of her vampiric powers, even though she
has been a vampire for only a century. Her
gaming statistics reflect this artificial
enhancement.

Lyssa has come to Bluetspur with the notion

of mounting a coup against Strahd. She
believes that mind flayers can overpower the
Lord of Barovia with their psionic abilities. Her

efforts to turn the High Master lllithid into a
minion vampire work nicely into her plans.

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Underwater
FREQUENCY: Rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary or group

ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Nil
INTELLIGENCE: Variable
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic neutral
NO. APPEARING:
ARMOR CLASS: 1- 1,000
MOVEMENT:
HIT DICE: 0 or 8 (see below)
THACO: Sw 36
NO. OF AmACKS: 3
DAMAGE/ATTACK 10
SPECIAL ATTACKS: 1
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
SIZE: See below
MORALE: Nil
XP VALUE: S
Average 9
3,000

Remnants are the spirits of humans and human elusive creatures, and they prefer to stay out of sight
whose former bodies have been thrown into an un until they can approach creatures in the water.
secrated, watery grave after they have died of acute
stress and exhaustion. The callous way in which they Remnants are not always hostile, and they may
have been disposed of after a torturous and miserable even help creatures who fight the creatures that mis-
life leaves them in a state of such sorrow that they treated the remnants. Remnants can even convey
cannot completely leave the Prime Material plane be- what amounts to water breathing upon corporeal crea-
hind, and they lurk in the pools and rivers where their tures by grasping their hands, pulling them under the
bodies were abandoned. They appear as melancholy water, and briefly performing “mouth-to-mouth resus-
faces with eyeless sockets and pale floating hands. citation.” (Actually, the remnant is drawing the living
Combat: Remnants are related to ghosts (see the creature partly into the Border Ethereal.) Thereafter,
Monstrous Compendium)and as such, they are Ethe- so long as the corporeal creature holds the semi-
real monsters that can be seen by non-ethereal crea- material hand of the remnant, it will not drown.
tures. At will, their cold, wet touch chills a corporeal Ecology: Remnants remain trapped in the Border
being to the bone, inflicting no damage, but draining Ethereal until ritual burial services are performed
1 point of dexterity per successful attack. Any crea- over their remains. They do not hate material life as
ture whose dexterity reaches 0 succumbs to acute hy- their ghostly cousins do, but they will not hesitate to
pothermia and drowns. Lost dexterity points return at attack any member of the race which caused their
the rate of 1 per hour. Victims of remnants do not be- condition.
come remnants themselves.

In order to attack a corporeal creature, remnants’
hands must become semi-materialized, during which
time their Arrhor Class drops to 8. Semi-materialized
remnants can be hit only by silver weapons (half dam-
age) or magical weapons (full damage). While on the
Ethereal plane, they can only be attacked by others in
an Ethereal state.

Remnants are turned as ghosts and can be dam-
aged by holy water while in their semi-material form.

Habitat/Society:Remnants are confined to bodies of
water connected to their graves. If a living creature
looks into the water where a remnant resides, they
have a 10% chance to spot a reflection in the water
that is not theirs. Knowing of the remnant’s presence
raises the chance to 80%. Remnants are flickering,

Uampiru, lllithid Thoughts of Darkness

“1992TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

CLIMATEnERRAIN: Any
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitarv

ACTIVITY CYCLE: Nocturnal
DIET: Blood/life energy
INTELLIGENCE: Insane (1)

TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil

NO. APPEARING: 1-4
ARMOR CLASS: 1
MOVEMENT: 12

HIT DICE: 8+3
THACO: 10 (unadjusted)
NO. OF ATTACKS: Special

DAMAGEIAITACK Special
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Energy drain, mind blast
SPECIAL DEFENSES:
+ 1 or better magical weap-

on needed to hit

MAGIC RESISTANCE: 90%
SIZE: M (6‘ tall)
MORALE: @ Fearless (.20),
X P VALUE: 10,000

Vampire illithids are the result of evil experiments stunned for ld6 rounds. Affected victims must also
that were meant to be terminated. They were first cre- make a madness check (see the introduction of this
module or consult the Forbidden Lore boxed set), also
ated by Lyssa Von Zarovich and the High Master II- with a -4 penalty.

lithid of Bluetspur in an attempt to create a creature In combat, a vampire illithid employs its mind blast
that could successfully convert the High Master into a once per round until it is engaged by an opponent in
vampire (conventional methods were not viable). physical melee. Thereafter, it attempts to hit an adver-
When the hatchlings proved insane and completely sary with each of its four tentacles each round, inflict-
uncontrollable, they were destroyed and thrown into ing ld6+4 points of crushing damage per hit, in
the common water dump, where all victims of mind addition to its life energy drain. Both insane and im-
flayers are thrown after they expire. The vampire il- mortal, vampire illithids always fight to the “death”
lithids regenerated, however, and were washed out of and then find the nearest shelter within 250 feet in
the mind flayer complex. Now they run free across the which to recwerate.
surface of the realm. HabitatISociety: Vampire illithids are a recent devel-
Combat: Vampire illithids combine the battle tactics opment and are not known to the general populace of
of both vampires and conventional mind flayers. They Bluetspur yet, but they are sure to find their way back
have vampiric strength (18/76)and receive a bonus of into the complex as their deepening hunger drives
+2 to hit and +4 to damage, which improves as they them to sniff out life wherever it hides. Also, they are
grow older (see Von Richten’s Guide to Vampires for in- quite likely to penetrate the misty borders and invade
other realms of Ravenloft-such a monstrosity is sure
on vampire age categories). to thrill and delight the Dark Powers.
ir undead cousins, vampire illithids exist on
ositive and Negative Material planes at the In the meantime, they run wild across the expanses of
same time. Their powerful negative energy essence Bluetspur, seeking out and attacking any living thing.
allows them to drain two life energy levels from any- Since there technically is no “day” in Bluetspur, they are
one they strike. If they successfully do so, they also not constrained by the clock and sleep whenever the
gain two Hit Dice worth of hit points back from previ- urge to rest overcomes their ravenous appetites.
ously assessed damage (but they cannot gain more hit Ecology: Vampire illithids mature in a matter of
points then they started with). Furthermore, they re- weeks, rather than years, thanks to their undead sta-
generate 3 hit points of damage per round. tus. They enjoy dining on both blood and brain mat-
While their lack of sanity prevents them from using ter, and they receive sustenance from both as well.
mind control techniques such as the vampiric charm- They are not the least bit picky about their quar.ry, so
gaze, their illithid heritage~allowsthem to use a spe- long as it is alive.
cial psionic mental blast that spreads in a cone 60 feet
long, 5 feet wide at its base, and 20 feet wide at its
end. Anyone caught within a mind blast’s area of ef-
fect must successfully save vs. wand at -4 or be

Shattered Brethren Thoughts of Darkness

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Subterranean -“1992TSR, Inc. All Riahts Reserved.
FREQUENCY: Rare
ORGANIZATION: Fraternal

ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Varies
INTELLIGENCE:
Low (5-7)
TREASURE:
ALIGNMENT: 1, K,M
NO. APPEARING:
ARMOR CLASS: Neutral evil
MOVEMENT:
5-30
~~~ ~
Varies
HIT DICE: Varies
THACO:
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
17
DAMAGE/ATTACK:
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Varies
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Varies
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
SIZE: Regeneration/psionics
MORALE: Nil
XP VALUE:
M (4’-7ta’ll)
Unsteady (5-7)
250

The Shattered Brethren are largely the same as com- them, but usually use combat techniques relating to
mon broken ones-they are the result of the cruel ex- their animal traits. A lionlike broken one may claw and
periments of mind flayers. The main difference bite while a spiderlike one may use a poisonous bite.
between Bluetspur’s broken ones and their cousins is HabitatBociety: Bluetspur’s broken ones are the
that the Bluetspur brethren have developed innate de- lucky few who have developed ways to avoid the mind
fenses that prevent psionic intrusions. They also pos- flayers’ psionic means of control over them. They es-
sess random wild talents (see The Complete Psionics caped their former masters and fled into the fissures
Handbook or assign a random wizard spell from the that honeycomb the walls around the complex, where
Player’sHandbook as an innate mental power). Not all they have formed their fraternity. The only tenet that
Shattered Brethren are so endowed, but those who binds them together is a mutual desire to survive.
fail to develop these defenses usually die under the Their shared skills allow them to steal goods and
stress of slavery. scavenge sustenance from the illithids.

Bluetspur’s broken ones resemble the animals that Their mutual hatred of their former captors also
they have been magically and genetically linked with; brings them together. Given the chance, they will am-
they favor their animal half over their human half. bush a lone illithid and murder him, but whether they
They include a wide variety of animal types because derive more pleasure from exacting revenge or from
the mind flayers are constantly looking for combina- having a good dinner is hard to tell. The broken ones
tions that make useful slaves. Common animal forms aid enemies of the mind flayers as they can, but they
useful to the illithids include: the bat, for sonic navi- will remain fearful and distrustful of all strangers.
gation and flight; the horse, for its speed and
strength; any rodent, for breeding more slaves. Thirty broken ones live in the fissures of Mt.
Makab-their numbers shift as more escape from the
The broken ones know the languages they spoke mind flayers and others die in numerous ways.
before their conversions, but they also speak a secret
language peculiar to them, a mesh of all the mem- Bluetspur’s broken ones tend to forget their former
bers’ languages, plus terms they have adopted to de- lives and take new names that reflect their condition.
scribe things in their closed environment. The broken For example, a lionlike broken one might be named
ones’ conversation sounds like a mixture of street “Snarler.”
slang and foreign languages, incomprehensible to
even the most talented linguist. The dietary needs of Bluetspur’s broken
Combat: Bluetspur’s broken ones are stronger than ones are largely dictated by their animal natures. The
their common counterparts because the natural selec- limited access to vegetables in the caves results in
tion is so fierce among them. Also, while common bro- better survival rates and thus larger numbers for car-
ken ones are the result of failed experiments, these were nivores. They eat anything they can steal, but a cap-
purposely altered, so they are more “successful.” There- tured illithid is considered a delicacy.

fore, they always have a minimum of 7 hp per Hit Die. In
addition, they regenerate 3 hp per round.

They wield weapons if they can get their hands on

So seductive her words, I
sladly bared my neck.

I as ed as she touched my
Flesg. Phen an instant OF
pleasure so piercin ,it was
like pain. My heart eat raced
with hers. I was one with the
creature.’’

he most feared characters in
Ravenloft are back: VAMPIRES!
The new Van Richten’s Guide to
Vampires is the ultimate Gothic
horror vampire guide.
This 96-page treasure is a
comprehensive collection of
Baron Van Richten’s findings on
these dark lords. It details how
vampires live, think and act; and

Iwhat their strengths and weak-
nesses are. It also includes new
rules for running vampires in
your game.
Find it at book and hobby
stores everywhere before it’s
too late!
I

ADVANCED DUNGEONS8 DRAGONS is a registered trademark owned
TSR. Inc. RAVENLOFTand the TSR logo are trademarks owned by TSR,

I n 0 1 a 9 TCR I- All Rinhir R e s r r u d









$4





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-

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Game Adventure

THOUGHTOSF OARHNESS

f a l l the inhospitable domains in the level of dark immortality.A pair of heroes
RAVENLOFT@campaign world, has stolen the key to his success, but they
Bluetspur is the cruelest and most have paid a heavy price for their bravery
gruesome. Nothing grows in the endless and are in desperate need of aid unlooked
night, and lightning periodically falls like for.
rain. The only place to escape those storms
is inside the mind flayers' complex under Meanwhile, the Lord of the Realm
Mt. Makab, but that is the last place where watches over the proceedings and plays
any sane person would want to go. havoc with the wits of both sides, sapping
The High Master Illithid has been strength and will with all-powerfulthoughts
hatching black plots by hatching vampiric of darkness. A party of adventurerswill
mind flayers in his laboratories! His need all of their skills to escape this black
prodigies are horribly insane, but if he can domain without the loss of life, power, or
complete his plans, he will achieve a new sanity!

For 4 to 6 players, levels 12-15.

By David Wise

TSR, Inc. TSR, Ltd.
POB 756 120 Church End
Lake Geneva Cherry Hinton
WI 53147 Cambridge C B l 3LB
United Kingdom
USA

Fl

mI

u-l

m

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$9.95 U.S. ADVANCED DUNGEONS E DRAGONS and RAVENLOFT are registered trademarks owned by zId7
CAN $11.95 TSR, Inc The TSR logo IS a trademark owned by TSR, Inc. c m
f5.99 U.K. "1992 TSR, Inc All Rights Reserved Printed in the U.S.A.
co (/1

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