Half A League Gone! How can it.. ? You're sure that the torn page describing the landmarks for tracing a solid path out through the swamplands to the overgrown and partly sunken stone- walled enclosure that protected the mining area, and most of all the concealed rocky shaft that was used to stash the treasure abandoned there, had been replaced in your satchel after you'd read it over again just last night. Today, seeing as it has vanished, there's no time to be lost in setting forth and relying upon memory to direct you to the goal before some others can make away with the spoil. However, there's the problem of that one missing item you'd left for checking & reconditioning at the local guild- affiliated workshop. Perhaps it could be retrieved without too much delay. This "roll"- playing programmed adventure is designed for 6 to 8 characters of any experience levels and no larger than mansize. All the characters may be managed by a single player and the module run as a solitaire game if desired, or the characters can be split up among multiple players; but in any case all the characters will compose a single party travelling in concert between encounters. Characters may be drawn from any "old school" sword & sorcery fantasy milieu, with the reference ruleset employed here being the OSRIC2 .pdf file compilation available for free download at www.knights-n-knaves.com/osric/. You'll be keeping track of an hour- based Lag counter to check how far behind the competing group you might be. To start with, initialize the Lag counter at a -2 deficit. You won't be able to spot or locate any of the landmarks you remember from the map if you engage in some means of travel other than afoot through the prevailing overgrown swampy vegetation. And long range Infra- or Ultravisual enhancements get thrown out of whack by the confusion of overlapping growth & decay radiances. Even if you just alter an inherent perception by proceeding as Invisible, Aethereal, Gaseous, or what have you, there'd be no chance to find the signs you're looking for in your bog trotting. Turn to entry {1}.\ [1] Randomly pick one magical item of equipment that a party character would normally wear or carry. This is the item which is currently separated from its owner. And now, as you come to think of it, you remember hearing some talk while you were around the guild's rude premises about there having been a rift between members of the adventurers' guild's Outlandich trading league into an insular and a consular faction: the "Freefounders" in opposition to the "Fairfielders". From what you heard they've disagreed over the requisite conditions for occupation of the areas they exploit and the treatment of the indigenous populations. Might be you've somehow gotten swept up in the squabble. The party can choose to set off immediately {3}, or to visit the equipment shop {2}.\ [2] 2d4 +2 Men AL LG, AC 5 (4 shielded), HD d6 hp, DA d6 -1, SZ M, XP 8 +hp. These local guardsmen wear mail hauberks made of linked silver coins, and carry coiled lashes of the same material doubling as shields. If one of them hits with a roll of 20, or is attacked from in front with an unmodified roll that would hit AC 4.. 6, the weapon against which its lash is acting is snagged and does no damage until the weapon can roll an unmodified 16 or better to hit on a later round, or the restraining figure falls. The peace officers known as "silvertails" have been informed that the party harbors a werewolf. They're set to challenge your party, so neither side rolls Surprise. They fan out to surround you all and demand that a random party member be surrendered to them for examination. At the same time, it becomes apparent that a wizard hidden within the closed shop or one of the other log buildings nearby has cast an Anti- Magic Shell extending over the assemblage, nullifying any magical effects or capabilities. If you accede to their demand, you may wait to learn the outcome of the prisoner's examination & exoneration while retrieving your missing item (lose Lag -d3), or the party may recover the missing item and set forth without that one of your number (lose Lag -1). If you fight them off for d8 rounds and make a roundabout escape, you'll have to proceed without the item in question (lose Lag -2d2 +2). Then hit the trail {4}.\ [3] Those in the party who possess abilities or magical resources for stealthily tracking, detecting, or concealing movements may try to use them; then upon each successful attempt roll a d4 and for the first such roll that results in a 4 the party avoids whatever village signal lookouts might have been set, gaining Lag +1 as you enter the marsh {4}.\ [4] WM 20% Worg AL NE, AC 6, HD 4 +4, DA 2d4, SZ L, XP 75 +3 *hp. If this fiendish beast is encountered, there's a 70% chance it will appear already wounded, having only half its rolled hp (note: play fair & don't roll for any monster's hit points until it's been hit) and doing damage of but d3 +1 (XP unchanged). In any case, it won't check Morale; but Surprise is rolled as it leaps to try for a vantage point. Lurking just beyond the settled precincts, this ravening Dire Wolf acts half- crazed, and if the party's attacked there's only a 1 /6 chance to be able to flee without being reengaged for at least a further d4 rounds of combat, but if it's defeated you can trace its back trail issuing out through the marsh to gain Lag +1. Entries like this with monster stats marked "WM n%" will pose an encounter for the party only if the wandering monster percentage or less is rolled when the entry is visited, though the directions at the end of the entry for further progress will apply whether or no. Entries having either static monster or WM stats will normally require checking for the stated encounter every time the entry is visited, unless simply returned to after having been directed to "consult" another entry. Monsters whose number appearing turns out to be less than 1 are also no- shows, though their described settings still pertain. Until noted otherwise, you can assume that the time elapsed in travelling through the swamp from one encounter to another will be 1 hour: no recording needed, just for purposes of any party periodic/ duration factors. If Lag is now at 0, turn to {14}. From here your path plunges into the wild growth of the swamplands {5}.\ [5] d4 +2 Giant Bees AL N, AC 6, HD 3 +1, DA d3 +poison, SZ M, XP 100 +4 *hp. If Lag is -1 or higher, reduce the number of Bees by -d6; but if Lag is -3 or less, increase their numbers by +d4. Attacks on Bees strike targets at random. Their poison effect is nonlethal, causing local swelling of a random prior unaffected limb: leg/ s will require the character to make its own personal initiative rolls @-1/ -2, while a weapon or shield arm makes a held item or S component spell casting inoperable on any round in which the character's effective initiative is less than 2. Effects last unitl arrival at the lost mining settlement, or else until Neutralized in each affected limb. Sturdy dangling Waylay Vines will try to wrap about d3 random party characters who, failing a SV Wand, would be picked up & swung through the trees for release over a patch of Giant Bees in the process of abandoning a temporary hive they'd made in a Giant Turtle's carcass. Bees would pursue these invasive characters, who are 50' distant from the rest of the party, while the characters remain on the hive site and for 4 rounds afterwards. If you defeat them, there's a 15% chance to extract some Royal Jelly from the hive once the bees have vacated it. If sold rather than being preserved as a potential magic item component, its worth is 10d10 gp. Then choose to proceed {8}, or, you seem to recall a turning of the trail at this point on the map and you might try cutting off through the foliage to save some time {6}.\ [6] WM 35% Crocodile AL N, AC 4, HD 3, DA 2d4 -d6/ d12 -d6 (surprise 50%), SZ L, XP 50 +2 *hp. After any contact with the nesting Croc's flailing tail & maw (the damage from any attack is reduced by -d6 due to its compulsion to just drive you away), choose one character for a leader and roll an Int check on d24, in trying to wend your way through the brush. If the check passes at Int or less, gain Lag +1 and turn to {8}. Otherwise turn to {7}.\ [7] Hydra AL N, AC 5, HD/ #heads @8 hp= (party size) +(Lag), DA d8+ d12 least max, SZ L, XP 2500 + 12 *hp. You lose the path, but immediately forget about your other troubles as you encounter an ephemeral Nereid who is waiting to point out to all of you the enticing nature of a magic catchup fountain that pools among some rocks here. All males in the party must SV Spell and those who pass (plus the ladies) may each roll an initiative die, taking the highest result against that of the Hydra lumbering out from a darkly looming cave opening, whose heads' attack do only the lesser of the two damage dice. If you lose first initiative you must remain to fight the Hydra for at least d6 rounds, or else or thereafter you may choose to flee although that will take you further off the track (lose Lag -1). If you allow it, the Hydra would retreat when reduced to 3 or fewer heads remaining, for which the XP award would be 1500 +8 *hp. If it's defeated either way, any who wish to use the fountain (but once apiece) roll a d8 for the fountain, and then choose a d4, d6, d8, d10 or d12 to roll to try to exceed the fountain's result, gaining +1 on up to (7 -die sides /2) separate attributes in least order which must each start lower than one's highest attribute; or else lose -1 from one's highest attribute. There's a 10% chance the Nereid rewards the party by taking an arrow and, holding it in the water, she asks you to name its type as an Arrow of Slaying (worth 2500 gp or 250 XP) in regard to some creature not of Good alignment if you destroyed the Hydra, or not Evil if you'd let it go: which as she gives it back it is. From here you can give up the mission and abandon this adventure {34}, or hack a passage out to {8}.\ [8] 2d5 +(Lag) Whipsnakes AL N, AC 5, HD 2 +2, DA d3/ d4, SZ M, XP 70 +2 *hp. A Whipsnake's d3 tail hit requires the target to SV Petrify or be staggered until the execution of the target's next action: which if yet to occur in the round is postponed by 2d4 segments (highest of any other rolls, not additive) & lost if postponed past the 10th segment ending the round. This also applies to fighters' bonus attacks, which would normally follow the snakes' action segment. A snake attacking a still- staggered target, even one so affected the previous round and not yet acted, gains +3 to hit. Their frenetic writhing connotes a need to check Morale every 5 rounds, at 60 +5 *(Lag)% with -20% if the party's demeanor demonstrates the cohesiveness of Freefounders (all party members have remained within 10' of one another during combat). An agitated group of burrowing Whipsnakes erupts out of a sandy bar among the party (check Surprise, but if the party surprises them no weapon attacks may be made during the surprise segments). Here on the sands, a snake's missed attack, or a target staggered by its first (tail) attack in a round, cancels its second (bite) attack chance. However, a character who fails a SV to be staggered is also in danger of lurching into a quicksand Sump Trap (1 /12 chance) when one is vulnerable only to the snakes' bite attacks while trying to extricate itself: each round accrue a d20 roll -11 +(Wis SV Bonus) +(2 for an Elf) +(2 if aided), pulling free on a running total of 12+, but sunk on -13-; with a 40% chance to lose a random slung item on every negative roll result. Should the party flee, every character, not just those directly engaged, would be subject to a rear attack from a snake; with the party being detained if any are staggered, but only by those affecting snakes. Then it's on to the next remembered map landmark {9}, or you can just hang it up and chuck the rest of the quest {34}.\ [9] 3d3 +(Lag) Giant Leeches AL N, AC 9, HD 1, DA d4 (disease), SZ S, XP 30 +hp. When a Leech's bite hits, its attachment will drain an automatic -1 hp per subsequent round in place of further attacks, and the target must SV Poison -(bite #hp) or contract a hemorhagic disease in which one is subject to a 25% chance every hour for occasional bleeding: losing -1 hp per round for d4 rounds unless Cure Light (etc) Wounds is cast, when there's a 25% chance for full remission of the disease; but at each occurrence if no such spell is cast, or an alternative (even Cure Disease) is used, the progress of the disease is accelerated with a 25% chance to lose Con -1 permanently as it resolves itself giving no further effects. When reduced to half their numbers, they must check Morale at 50%, and upon failure, if cut down to 3 or fewer remaining, the party's staunch aspect makes the Nixies offer a bribe to keep you from decimating their husbanded Leeches: they'll release an enthralled Freefounder hostage who can help you on a quicker route before setting off alone, so you'll gain Lag +1 and note an extra +25% to the Reaction roll of your next encounter with any group of NPCs. You are slogging through the watery shallows around the reedy margin of a pond, passing a stand of tall fronds like cattails & papyrus that appear to have been woven into odd growths, when a hidden coterie of Nixies begins to chant a Charm spell aimed at a member of your party having the highest Cha. If the target fails SV Spell -2, it and any who move to restrain it (Dispel Magic gives a 75% chance to break the Charm; other such effects are also subject to the Nixies' MR 25%) or who move to attack toward the sound are diverted into a clot of Giant Leeches which have been incited by the Nixies to converge on the party. Afterward, waiting while the Charm wears off would cause you to lose Lag -1. If the SV is passed, the character gains 50 xp and the party may veer off, or use ranged attacks prior to engaging the Leeches if desired. If Lag is now at 0, turn to {14}. You could put a stop to all this and terminate the adventure now {34}, or else move out onto drier ground {10}.\ [10] WM 50% 2d4 Huge Birds (Eagles) AL N, AC 5, HD 2, DA d4/ "/ 2, SZ S, XP 40 +hp. A diving Eagle is -2 to be hit with missiles, gains +2 to hit and damage with talons, and on a diving hit roll of 17+ its target is tangled in its clutches, with an additional -(d2 -1) hp here to both the Eagle and the character by fall onto/ from the rock shelf. Being thus grappled wouldn't impede strikes against it, but gives it normal talon to hit rolls and +2 to hit with its beak for 1 round, after which it makes to break free. Further badgering attacks are made normally, although there's a 1 /3 chance each for an individual attack to be unusable within a round. A missed strike against an Eagle grappling another figure won't hurt the figure. The party emerges from cover briefly to cross a rocky shelf, noting a flight of Eagles circling overhead that consists of eaglets escorted by mature birds. Rolling a wandering monster indicates that the eaglets' curiousity or hunting instinct is excited by the appearance of the party, causing them and their apprehensive & protective guardians to wingover in a diving echelon. On Reaction (roll +30% if party members adopt a nondefensive posture, giving up assigned first initiative to act toward/ be perceived by the impressionable eaglets as Fairfielders) 75%+, the birds just buzz you and return to the heights on watch for you: allowing you to favorably halve a future WM probability before rolling for one such possible encounter when you so choose. On an Eagle's grappling hit score of 20 or better, its target suffers a distractingly bothersome slash about its head, face or neck that causes its individual Dex Surprise modifier to change to a penalty of -1, lasting d2 days. Proceed on into the marshland backcountry {11}, or halt at this point and forget about the remainder of the adventure {34}.\ [11] d3 Volts AL N, AC 3, HD 2 +1, DA (2d6)/ 2d4 least max, SZ S, XP 50 +3 *hp. When each Volt is damaged for the first time, add +Lag (ie subtract if negative) to its total hp. One gains a tail attack for 2d6 electric damage (SV Wand reduces potential damage by 2d6), which would be made vs AC 10 without a save if the target wears metal armor, but only when it has attached itself by a bite hit (does just the lesser of the damage dice), whereupon automatic bite damage is sustained every round. A hit upon one which is attached with a rolled 17+ causes it to release its hold, but a missed attack on one attached to another figure has a 40% chance of dealing d2 damage to the figure. They won't check Morale here. At the 30'- tall stump of a giant beanstalk now brown with age, whose top is obscured by what looks like a misty canopy of magical cloud in an ozone- laden atmosphere, one or more will- o'- wisp wannabes descend from the shrouded height upon you. On Reaction (roll +40% if you try to demonstrate you're with the Freefounders by a chosen character striking one with a barehanded hit for d3 +Str mod -2 damage, but -10% if missed) of an otherwise unmodified 80%+, they'd retreat into the mist if you let them. If you defeat them, you may opt to climb the beanstalk for access to this obvious lair: select characters to both pass a Climb Wall check (70% chance for other classes) and also orient to feel about in the cloud by passing a Wis check on d24, and if neither of the first two characters to try succeed at both, you've been delayed (lose Lag -1); while if any one of the first three succeeds, to see what you find note this entry number and consult {25}. If Lag is now at 0, turn to {14}. If you've had enough of this creepy adventure you can bail out {34}, or get back on track {12}.\ [12] WM 50 +5 *(Lag)% Giant Jackal AL NE, SV P5 AC 5, HD 4 (in 4ths), DA 4d4 2 best max (as F4 +d4), SZ M, XP 175 +4 *hp. This only quasi- natural creature is the embodiment of a pack. It is compartmented into four physical quarters, each having a fourth (rounding up) of its total hp. Once a quarter has been reduced to 0 hp, any further hits on that quarter have no effect on the Jackal, yet all quarters must be zeroed to fell it. It must be approached from behind to hit its 2 rear quarters, and it exhibits the jackal's resistance to encirclement (a melee hit on it from in front or behind strikes a random head or rear quarter, and the party must win initiative to have chosen characters attack its rear). Its bite hits as the F(4 + d4) level rolled on each attempt, dealing just the two highest damage dice rolled. It gives out with a multi- voiced yowling (as Ventriloquism) during each round, causing any characters who aren't in melee striking at it directly, but attempt an action targeting it to SV Petrify (individuals' @+1 for every prior passed save) or be distracted for that round. You happen upon an outsize effigy statue built up in the form of a jackal; when the hulking maneater may appear, expecting you've come to appease it. On Reaction (roll +25% if party members comport themselves as Fairfielders by appearing to recognize the image's establishment in this locality, as opposed to using it as cover giving the Jackal -4 to hit on its first attack) 80%+, it will slink off to await some more subservient envoys, if you let it. Should the party affect it with a Turn/ Dispel (as Type 4), then instead of its being Turned roll 2d6 (or if using Protection From Evil roll just a d6) and for each die showing 3 or more, the rear or then the front quarters are recombined, plus 1 damage pool die is removed (up to 2), and its d4 for incidental level to hit is lowered to d3 or then d2. After any encounter, carry on with the quest {13}, or back out & end the adventure now {34}.\ [13] 2d4 +(party size) Mongrelmen AL LN, AC 5, HD 1, DA d4 +d3 best max (poison), SZ M, XP 20 +hp. A continuous Bless +1 is operative on them in this location, thus they've a Morale check of 75% when half their number are laid low. They wield wavy- bladed daggers doing just the better of the two damage dice, which the party may acquire; plus each of them who rolls 1 on d20 before combat has a blowgun firing tiny darts aimed at the neck with a range mod of -2 on the first two rounds, causing just -1 hp on 18+ to hit but treated with a hallucinogenic swamp concoction requiring anyone hit to SV Spell to disbelieve on subsequent rounds of this encounter or see an extra d2 Mirror Images of a target figure (unaffected by True Seeing & such). While moving between some overgrown raised earthen mounds, if any in the party pass a 10% roll to avoid surprise (gain 40 xp), you can zigzag out of harm's way; otherwise you're challenged from both sides. On Reaction (roll +30% if you try to persuade them you're aligned with the Fairfielders by a chosen PC passing a Cha check on d24, but -20% if fail) of an adjusted 70%+, they'd let you go by. There's but a 1 /6 chance you can flee without them blocking you for at least a further d6 rounds combat, but at any point you may pay a toll of 2d6 *(5 +Lag) gp value to pass. If the toll is paid out of a larger store of coins (or such is purposefully displayed), you are invited to be presented to the Prince of Thieves at their reiving campsite. If you accept, before your departure a separate Pick Pocket attempt is made against each party member by T(d6 +5) for a single snatch quantity of up to d6 *10 random coins and/ or gems, then there's a 60% chance to be conducted on the shortest path to the next landmark (gain Lag +1). And you're on your way again {15}, unless you want to call it all off & quit instead {34}.\ [14] d3 +d2 3rd Level NPCs AL unk, AC (9 -n), HD (n /2 +1), DA (d3 +n /2), SZ M, XP 75 +2 *hp. In combats, roll & record n =d6 for each NPC figure. A figure would attack one of your characters which attacked it, if any, or else would pick a random accessible party character. They all hit as Fighters in accordance with the effective HD of each, but there's a 50% chance a figure's attack will instead be an attempted spell effect determined per its n as: 1) Shocking Grasp (vs AC 10 if target in metal armor), 2) Color Spray, 3) Entangle, 4) Levitate (SV or lose a round & take 2d6 fall damage), 5) Burning Hands, 6) Faerie Fire. This group of antagonists are dispersed in the concealing foliage, but you can recognize the badge of the Outlandich league on one or two. They're unsure of your party's reason for being here, and will call out to ask which faction you're in favor of. On Reaction (roll +40% if you prefer the Freefounders, or +25% if you declare to hold with the Fairfielders, or +15% if you claim disinterest) 85%+, they won't fight unless you initiate it; and if you'd advocated for the Fairfielders they'll stop to parley with you (gain Lag +1). If the party flees from combat, none of the ordinarily- allowed bonus departing attacks will be made against it by these opponents. Upon resolving the encounter, if you were locatated at the beanstalk, you'll walk out to {12}; or if you were by the pond, you'll depart to {10}; or else you'll trek on into the swamp {5}.\ [15] WM 30% @(+d6 <11) 4th Level NPCs AL unk, AC (7 -n), HD (n /2 +3): 4 *n +3 hp, DA (d4 +n -1), SZ M, XP 100 +4 *hp. If Lag is now greater than 0, don't check for a WM but reduce Lag by -1. Each time the party checks for a WM at this entry, the WM % for any future encounters here gets decremented by a cumulative -5%. The stated number of NPCs appearing is the tally of d6 rolls made while the sum of the roll results is less than 11: record each roll result to use as the n for each NPC figure. In combats, calculate the stats for each NPC figure using the n rolled for it. One of these well- spread- out figures will attack one of your characters which attacked it, if any, or else it will pick a random accessible party character. They all hit as Fighters in accordance with the effective HD of each, but there's a 50% chance a figure's attack will instead be an attempted spell effect determined per its n as: 1) Web, 2) Ray of Enfeeblement, 3) reversed Enlarge, 4) Hold Person, 5) Trip, 6) Magic Missile (2d4 +2). Looking over a clearing from the rim of the jungle, you see that you are arrived at the lost mine environs. Within view are some scattered traces of broken- down ore carts, a rock- built furnace, and a dismantled setup for stamping coinage. As you'll be exploring around the mine from this point on, you can assume that 1 hour elapses on each revisit to this central entry. One of these wandering groups of competing NPCs may be persuaded to leave you alone: if a chosen PC passes SV Wand, you'll be able to note which faction of the Outlandich league they're in sympathy with and need just 30%+ to pass a Reaction check, otherwise you can take a guess as to their being for either or neither, with a 50/ 50 chance of needing 50%+ or 85%+. If they're still inclined to hostility, you can barter your way clear by giving them a Tribal Talisman should you have one. If your party flees an encounter here, you'll have to give up any further involvement in this adventure {34}. Should you defeat the NPC group, you can choose either to search through their belongings and the immediate area {16}, or else you can go on about exploring the settlement beyond its ramshackle outbuildings {17}, probing the dark opening of the mine workings {20}, or tracking down the vicinity of the treasure pit {23}. Once you're through taking stock at this end, that's all there is: you can wrap up the adventure whenever you want {33}.\ [16] They brought no coins into the swamps with them, but there's an overall chance of 10 *(#NPCs in group)% for the group that you'll find 1 secreted gem with a base value of 100 *3d6 gp which you can then roll for on the Changing Gem Value From Base table if you wish. If Lag is less than 0, there's a 40% chance you'll find they had d4 purses holding 200 ep each; plus note this entry's number and roll 2d6 6 times & on every even roll result consult the item entry as indicated: 2) {27}, 4) {28}, 6) {29}, 8) {30}, 10) {31}, 12){32}: and only if you've already marked the referenced entry with a minus ("-") in the margin, change the mark to a plus ("+") as you acquire the noted item. If any party member has the Poltergeist in tow, it prompts you to look in a concealed pocket to find just the once a treasure map held by one of the NPCs, by which the next lair treasure hoard the party recovers might (90%) include a Deck of Many Things. You'll now have to make another WM check as per rote upon your return to {15}.\ [17] WM 40% Otyugh (lesser) AL N, AC 3, HD 7, DA d8/ "/ d4 +1 (disease), SZ M, XP 400 +8 *hp. Just one of these monstrosities lurks here, retaining its initially- rolled hp total minus any lost hp (though it recovers up to 2d4 hp when it's left alive); so the party would have to check for an encounter at every visit to this entry until it's been defeated. As it emerges from in or around a hut's rubble, it can't be surprised. Its tentacles' grappling attack for d3 +1 damage may be made in place of their strike damage attack (50% chance). Further equivalent automatic constriction won't impede strikes against it, but gives it +2 to hit with its bite, and requires an Open Door check to escape: when, if it hits before that figure's next action, it tramples with its 3 massy legs for 3d3 damage. One of its rotten & loose teeth is embedded upon a bite hit roll of 16+ if the target fails to SV Poison; resulting in eventual gangrenous putrefaction & possible limb amputation unless the tooth can be removed quickly on a d12 roll of 7 +(number of rounds passed) or more, with -d2 hp per failed try. It will depart for now if its eyestalk is hit (1 /8 chance per missile or thrown attack) while it isn't grappling anyone. The mouldering settlement ruins hereabout consist of a tumbledown stone ring wall surrounded by the remains of dilapidated huts. Looking into the enclosure, all you can make out is a pair of fungus & lichen- spotted debris piles. Clamber over what's left of the wall {18}, or return to the edge of the wilds {15}.\ [18] 2d4 Tribesmen AL N, SV F3 AC 7, HD 1, DA d4 +d2 -1, SZ M, XP 10 +hp. They're armed with springy hide shields, used in conjunction with clubs of bone & horn having elaborate handguards. If they win initiative, unless they win by 3 or more, they'll allow party characters first attacks, but after each & every such attack if its Tribesman target passes SV Death it remains standing even if reduced to 0 hp, and gets an immediate counterattack with +2 to hit if the party attack missed, and in addition to damage, on its score of 20 or more the party character must make a check roll of its own unmodified hit roll or less or else drop the attacking weapon which is unrecoverable for d3 rounds, and if the drop check roll was 20 must pass an unmodified item SV Fall or it will be broken. Any of them who hadn't already made an attack would then act at the end of the party's action phase. Gingerly treading across the walled- off expanse, you steer clear of the patches of reeking refuse around you. This encounter occurs as the party visits this entry up to three times, but if any of you has a Tribal Talisman then the Tribesmen just greet you and let you go on about your business unless you attack them. If the party parleys with them (sides are then in melee contact range), and either you give them the Amber Pronghorn (whoever gives it up gains its claim xp) or you get an adjusted Reaction roll of 90%+ (75%+ if Lag is greater than 0), they'll turn friendly and bestow upon the speaker (who gains 100 xp) a Tribal Talisman necklace with a pendant like twined roots. Once free of any Tribesmen, you can go rummage through the debris piles to see what the Otyugh might be hoarding in its lair if you brave the fungus {19}, or, fall back beyond the wall {17}.\ [19] 2d3 Firefly Fungi AL N, AC 6, HD 1 /2, DA nil (coating), SZ S, XP 30. Assign a random party member to each Fungus. When one of these globular growths is approached, it begins to gyrate for d3 -1 rounds previous to ejecting a gout of spore clusters that drift downward in pulsating luminescence. A Fungus may be struck to obliterate it, or an assigned figure may move out of range of d3 of them on SV Wand. Otherwise, all within 10' (assume just the one) must SV Breath or be lit upon by d4 (d6 if the figure's using any magic) clusters which lose their glow and become undetectable as they permeate a figure's dress & belongings. One who accumulates 4 or more clusters will be affected over d2 days by a one- round combined Faerie Fire & Feather Fall activating randomly, with a 1 /6 chance at the start of each round during combats or upon any attempt to use an item or perform a task, and requiring an unmodified SV Spell to keep from aborting all figure actions for that round/ attempt. After you've searched both debris piles, there'd no longer be anything to find here and you wouldn't run into any more Fungi. As you root through one pile, threre's a 70% chance to find one of a pair of Gloves of Arrow Snaring (any: worth 4000 gp or 400 xp for a pair only). Then, if you find one and choose to try to check the remaining pile at the same time, there's a 50% chance you'll have to stop searching instead in order to investigate a threatening noise. When you break off searching, if you were interrupted return to another potential tribal encounter {18}; or else try to slip out past the roving Otyugh {17}.\ [20] WM 40% Steam Mephit AL LE, SV D5 AC 7, HD 3 +3, DA d4/ " (breath 1/ 2 rds: 1 tgt -d3 hp & 50% stun 1 rd), SZ M, XP 125 +3 *hp. A Mephit encoutered here has no Gate ability, but is a renewed specimen until the sum of all WM d% rolls here (tally in margin) reaches 140+, when nothing further will appear. A melee attacker takes damage of the hit AC# from contact with it on an unmodified strike roll that would hit AC 1.. 4 (replaces its touch damage 1 & 50% stun 1 rd). In the outer cavern it can bring Black Rain 1/ day (incorporates its Boiling Rain & Contaminate Water abilities) in a 40' square: an especially corrosive acid rain (ref Orb of Storms) that causes -2d6 hp (SV Breath halves), & exposed items (1 worn & 1 carried at random) must make an item SV Acid if the owner's Breath save failed. Each Mephit carries 3d12 pp. You enter the eerie confines of an old mine dugout, opening out into an irregular domed cavern with tunnels radiating off into the earth and rock. Any Mephit encountered here is flying through the accessways of the mine from and to a venting fissure out of a remote sidewall, and can dodge aimed items & missiles if it passes SV Petrify. It may be paid off to leave the party in peace with 3d12 pp from any prior defeated Mephit, or the party may opt to try to rush in & close with the vent, when there's a 40% (70% if you've visited this entry before) chance it wouldn't be able to dodge or use its Black Rain but gets first initiative and would be allowed to use its breath weapon on alternate rounds in addition to, rather than in place of, its claw attacks against targets of your choice. Delve deeper into the mine's recesses {21}, or return to the open {15}.\ [21] 3d4 Revolting Skeletons AL N, AC 8, HD 1, DA 2d6 least max, SZ M, XP 15 + hp. Out of the darkness erupts a rampaging collection of Skeletons of what had been enslaved miners in revolt, which you'll encounter here once only. They each swing a 2- handed mining pick (so have a shieldless AC) doing damage of the lesser of the two dice rolled; which causes structural degradation instead to an opponent's shield if the hit roll equals the score required to hit its shielded- only AC (or ACs in the case of a magic shield bonus) and the damage result is 3 or more, permanently worsening the shield's bonus or AC adjustment by 1. Rather than being turned or dispelled, these particular Neutral undead who are so affected will lose the points of light that burn in their eye sockets, becoming 40% likely to blindly hit another nearby Skeleton or nothing (60% if the party opts to redistribute themselves: which would require the characters to pick their future Skeleton targets at random). Skeletons take half damage from edged wpns, & but -d2 hp from piercing wpns (including picks). Holy Water deals -2d4 hp. You're prowling among all the detritus in the dimness of the winding mine tunnels when your lights fall upon a propitiatory or curse totem wall painting depicting interlacing roots; typical of a tribal shaman and having an appreciable aura of elemental earth mana. It might have been placed to mask an unexposed ore vein, although the wall here, even if somewhat fractured, looks like it's a crucial ceiling support. Tossing objects at the wall produces no apparent reaction. If one of you tries touching or striking the wall painting, turn to {22}. Otherwise, you'll scrounge up a sufficient number of picks & shovels to do some proper excavating, as you make your way out of the interior tunnels {20}.\ [22] Should the party strike or similarly attempt to break out a section of rock, the wall would collapse away from the tunnel, falling backward and down through a sinkhole opening to be absorbed into the clayey swamp substrate. Hopefully, this won't initiate a cave- in necessitating an Indy- style bugout. If you've visited this entry before, the Glyph has discharged and is no longer effective in any manner, so nothing unusual happens when contact is made with the wall. If anyone in the party has a Tribal Talisman, a character designated to touch the painting finds it covered by a Glyph of Warding that simply activates a Stone Shape spell upon the wall, allowing his hand to slide through into a lode of chalcedony gemstones and withdraw d3 of them with an individual fixed value of 10 *d100 gp, including a 30% chance for one to be a once- only mystic stone (make a note of this entry's number and consult item entry {26}). A second grab may be attempted, but there's a 40% chance of instead receiving some nerve damage to the hand lasting d12 days, making any roll of 1 to hit or save cause one- handed activities only, at -3 to hit and damage for 10 rounds. All xp for these gems is allotted to the touching character alone. Without any Talisman, the character in contact is subject to a Petrifaction that acts progressively (the Glyph's been here a long time) causing SV Petrify each round for 4 rounds or until the save is passed, and if all 4 fail then the figure is turned to stone; or else the effect wears off in an equivalent number of turns: which will give an added WM +10 *(# turns rigid)% for the Steam Mephit upon next revisiting its entry. Go on back to {21}.\ [23] WM 20% Carbuncle AL CN, AC 2, HD 1, DA nil, SZ S, XP 5 + hp. After one of these telepathic varmints is encountered, no more will appear. It tags along trailing a PC who's in possession of a usable potion, or if it's invited, and will intrude upon party combats with its ruby snout aglow, starting at round d10, when it has a 60% chance of foisting itself on a random party member who must SV Petrify upon all remaining rounds or lose its action for a round; or else getting underfoot of an opponent who would lose that round, but afterward has a 40% chance of attacking the Carbuncle, rather than attacking the party at -2 to hit. Only if it's fed an entire magical potion is there a 20% chance it will give up its ruby, which can then magically replicate the potion's effect for one who holds the gem in one hand, usable once per day until an unmodified item SV of (#past uses) after use fails: worth 2 *(potion's value) gp or 200 xp. You discover the location of the sealed- off treasure shaft. If Lag is less than 0, you find it to have been opened already and quite recently. If it's still blocked and you haven't possessed yourselves of the requisite tools or magical wherewithal for some serious excavating, you'll be stymied for the time being as you can't dig now. If the party sets about the job of digging out the blockage to open the shaft, the WM % must be checked again, and then there's also a 60% (25% for Dwarves or Gnomes) chance that a random digger you assign will disrupt the underlying scaffolding, requiring SV Wand (with a -3 penalty if the Carbuncle is present to distract you) to dodge the Pit Trap or fall into the collapsing fill until being dug out by the rest of the party: typically causing damage determined by rolling a d4, d6 & d8 immediately and on every succeeding round until the remaining party members can pass 2 SV Spells among them; taking damage of the half of the highest double in all rolled (0 if none). One who thus suffers more than 3 hp in damage must SV Poison or gradually subside into a desperately morbid mania akin to alcoholism, necessitating taking a strong drink, self- flagellating or cutting, violently swearing or cursing one and all, or some such substitute action on occasional combat rounds at random (10% chance: Parry in a Fighting Retreat if engaged), in order to incite oneself to sustained activity. Proceed down the decline if the shaft is open {24}, or hike back toward the site locale {15}.\ [24] Poltergeist "Elix" AL LE, (Ag/ +1 wpn req) invisible: AC 10 if seen/ AC 6 if detected, HD d4 hp, DA fear (hit as F6), SZ M, XP 35 + hp. This lone undead denizen appears here until destroyed or removed. He once had declared to draw two cards from a Deck of Many Things, but his first card was a Skull and he was drained of life by a Dread Wraith (and so it can't be turned or warded away). Now it exists with the longing to use its manipulative powers to aid someone in drawing one more card (provides a PC a 97% chance to draw one specified card from any d/ Deck before it dissolves). It would accompany the first character located in the chamber who guesses the tarot suit it poses (individuals' 25% chance per entrance): thence becoming an otherwise inactive possession, and leaving all treasure items here free for the taking. If any in the chamber attack the Poltergeist, it invokes a Spiritual Weapon (a capability it acquired in life) just once that attacks as C7 for d4 +1 damage; and, noting this entry's number for return, you must consult item entry {32}: marking it in the margin with a plus ('+') as now eliminated. At the end of the shaft is the treasure chamber, its opening screened by a hanging curtain of beaded wire strands behind which is concealed a Blade Trap (deals damage of a cumulative +d6 up to a halting roll result of 4.. 6): both of which are maintained by the resident Poltergeist. Nonmissile spells may be cast through the doorway. The Poltergeist tries to hit with the beads anyone entering or exiting (ACs may use shield or Dex bonus, not both) who hasn't previously saved. For as long as the Poltergeist remains, the dread of an unspeakable curse bars any attempting to enter who fail to SV Spell upon being hit. One of those who do enter at random must SV Wand (with -2 & otherwise unmodified if you'd just been hit by the Poltergeist's beads, or else a +2 adder if you'd been in here before) to dodge the blade (unless & until it malfunctions= cumulative +5% chance per operation) which the Poltergeist would reset after each group that tries. Any of those exiting who haven't saved and are hit by beads must save or be likewise barred, and that group has a 50% chance per failure to relinquish back to the chamber one of its erstwhile treasure items noted below. For treasures (gaming note: this is a mapped cache, not a lair hoard) you find a monetary stash of electrum pieces in purses of 200: make a one- time roll for an initially existing quantity of 5 *2d6 purses. Then, if Lag is less than 0, or each time after the first the party revisits this entry, deduct as many as 2 *2d4 purses from any remaining; and rolling a d6 six times, at each roll result consult the indicated treasure item entry listed here and if you haven't already marked the item's margin with a '+' or '-', mark it as minus ('-'). Finally, you can mark with a plus ('+') as the party acquires them, all of those items which haven't already been noted with a plus or minus sign, that you manage to spirit away from the treasure vault: 1) {27}, 2) {28}, 3) {29}, 4) {30}, 5) {31}, 6){32}. When done, retreat back up the shaft {23}.\ [25] Jewelled Bits Box - This elegant box seems designed for portablility like a compact, but is rather oversized; filling a hand instead of just a palm. It has an airtight seal snap lid with a mirrored inner surface, and slight traces of powder within. It safely handles and can act as an Identify spell on a sample up to a single dose of some dust of any kind (cursed too): which might be gold, gem or diamond dust, an object disintegrated into dust, rust or soot, pulverized snuff or bone, or even mummy dust. Any magical Dust poured into it (the box radiates no magic unless its contents are such) can't be repackaged, but if not operated on by its Identify function, is then capable of a double application. Worth a fixed 2d8 *100 gp or 300 xp.\ [26] Wisp Ioun Stone (any) - This yellow prism has the nature of a touchstone. It's activated when the user grasps the whirling stone by hitting AC -5 +(Dex AC bonus only), requiring a round's action. The user's form then appears to blur & waver, giving to it the Will- o- wisp's AC -8 while the Stone is kept hold of in one hand, although it will try to escape one's grip by passing SV 13 (ie as an opponent I10 vs Paralysis) at the end of each alternate round, or until it's used to try its electric shock attack against one target as F10 for -2d8 hp at 10' range. Worth 2500 gp or 500 xp.\ [27] Amber Pronghorn (any) - This druidic relic, when woven into a forelock of one's hair so that it seems to project out of the head, gives its user a Reaction bonus of +20% in lieu of any character Cha bonus and/ or locally- applied antipathy adjustments toward all Dinosaurians; even to visitation of communal hatcheries & graveyards, migrations and territorial taboos. If the modified d% roll is more than 100, the user and any party members following are accorded riding privileges for d6 turns, whereupon Reaction would be checked again. Worth 3000 gp or 700 xp.\ [28] Damage Control Potion admixture (any) - This apparent Healing Potion when drunk in its entirety whilst the user is under the influence of any other potion type becomes (unerringly) effective in place of either; lasting 3d6 turns. The effect makes any attack type on the imbiber that's determined by rolling damage dice use assumed results of 1s for all dice in his case. Worth 1300 gp or 250 xp.\ [29] Cursed Cancellation Rod (any) - Became cursed as it had been used to try to eliminate a cursed item. When it activates, the Rod must SV 9 (ie as M8 vs Wand) to be destroyed as usual, or else its wielder must SV Wand or be drained of half a life energy level (half the xp lost in a full level drain) not restorable beyond further xp accumulation. If the cancelled item was a cursed object however, should the Rod save, it instead loses its curse to revert to a typical example of its type; though otherwise the curse effects would accompany any xp loss until one's current level, if ordinally lost, is regained. Worth 2000 gp, but no claim xp.\ [30] Ward of Witchery Scroll (any) - Read in 1 round & lasts 10d6 rounds, affecting the user only. A user subject to encroaching bewitchments by which his body tends to behave contrary to the dictates of his own better judgment (asleep, held, petrified/ stoned, charmed/ controlled, lovelorn, truthful, etc) succumbs only for the fraction of a round of such casting, and will then know the source & intent of the suggestion or command as those effects dissipate. Doesn't resist the abduction/ displacement of one's mind or spirit nor the special effects pertinent to Ward of Possession. Worth 1800 gp or 200 xp.\ [31] Byrd Feather Token (any) - This miniature figure made of Couatl feathers has the typical carrier pigeon appearance and usage; plus it acts as a familiar if activated by a mage who hasn't one, bestowing a temporary +4 hp bonus without the potential hp penalty if it's killed, lasting until it's employed to send a message or a day passes. When on the wing, the familiar can return to signal d2 rounds' warning of the approach & direction of creatures through the air or aether, including elemental air based as well as most invisible. Worth 400 gp or 100 xp.\ [32] +1 Trip- Hammer - A wielder of this Light Hammer (d4 +1/ d4) who has proficiency is considered as +5 class levels higher than actual for purposes of determining the number of attacks per round allowed; and even non- Fighters gain similar bonus attacks after an adjusted 7th level with this item (compare Ranger). Against demi-/ human/ -oid opponents (but not NPCs), damage from only one hit per round to an individual is dealt, and any added hits upon a target in the same round require it to pass an individual Morale check or fall stunned for 1 round. Worth 3000 gp or 500 xp.\ [33] The party would now end the adventure prior to departing for other climes. If you'd not done exploring the lost mines, continue without the requirement for the usual WM check this time at {15}. If you have the Tribal Talisman, the party divides 4000 xp. Turn to {34}.\ [34] The party quits the adventure in progress. If you began the adventure without going to try to collect the party's missing item, the party divides 2000 xp. If Lag is now 0 or more, the party divides 3000 xp. You divert your course to the swamp hermit's hovel, where the 7th level Cleric can see to your injuries and allow you to rest up before you move on to greater adventures.\