Return to the Therran Scenario Page
Summary:
The PCs meet with the killoren elders and must convince them that they are not the cause of the angry manifestations of nature plaguing the region. They then witness a mystic ceremony gone awry and discover that they are the only ones who can assuage an angry and jealous spirit of nature.
Assumptions:
The PCs have taken part in the scenario entitled The Beasts Within.
Location:
Aladur
Historical Date:
701 A.C. Mechinahcatlinatl/Oromoxcoinatl (summer)
DM's Introduction:
The premiere sentient race of the northeastern tip of the Coatlizin Jungle, as well as the land of Aladur, is the killoren, a group of fey native to the region.
The Aladur region was, before the Creation Blast, a wild and unsettled land, and the Lake of Refuge at its center (known as Lake Ithaminoine in Aquan) was inhabited by a powerful and benign water spirit named Talinwique, who named the Lady of Rivers (known to the Azotchlan as Chalchihuitlicue [chal-CHEE-hweet-lee-CUE-eh]) as her mother.
When Okoth and his volunteer army marched south with the a creation cyst to annihilate the Serpent Empire, he passed through lands that he had seen many times before, but always as a sarrukh and never as one whose eyes had been open to beauty and truth. This time, traveling the beautiful lands of the Lake Tir region and the lake that now bears the name Poison Lake, he saw the wonders of the land with eyes anew and its beauty moved him. He knew that the blast unleashed by the creation cyst was likely to decimate this land, and although he had no way to shield the land from the blast, he felt he should at least attempt to save the spirits of the land and the many lakes, rivers, and streams that were in the area. And so, at great risk, he informed the six most powerful and trustworthy of the spirits of his plan and swore them to great oaths of secrecy and instructed them to go to the "land in the bosom of the mountains".
The spirits left, with heavy hearts and arrived in Aladur and found the Lake of Refuge. After speaking with Talinwique and pleading their case to her, they immersed themselves within. And Talinwique bade them to descend to the deepest portion of the Lake, and there to take shelter in a spiritual refuge accessible by a mystic crossroads of nature magic that was at the bottom of the Lake. For only by so sheltering themselves from the blast could the spirits hope to not perish. The danger to the spirits was not physical, for Aladur itself was shielded and distant enough to avoid the main effects of the blast, but rather psychic, for the spirits were all intimately attached to their lands, and devastation of their lands and waters would corrupt, destroy, or drive them mad just as surely as if they had remained in the blast itself. Only by taking refuge in the mystical realm accessed at the bottom of the Lake could they withstand the psychic shock of the loss of their lands and endure.
The blast did not harm Aladur, but even in their refuge, the devastation of their lands and waters affected the collected spirits and filled them with anger and frustration and a desire to protect what was now their refuge. This desire, mingled with some of the creative essences of the blast that did manage to waft their way over the mountains and into the land, caused the birth of the killoren, who are a people directly descended from the land of Aladur itself and imbued with the spark of sentience by the collective will of the spirits that have taken refuge here. Such a feat was unique, for in general only divine beings of godly stature can create new sentient life whole cloth. But the circumstances of so many spirits collected together in one place, their extreme psychic turmoil, and the collateral effects of the creation blast all combined to allow this to occur.
The killoren have, in the seven centuries since their creation, propagated and prospered so that they can truly be said to be the caretakers and guardians of the land of Aladur and the nearby portion of the Coatlizin Jungle that is cradled between Mallar's Peaks and the Lake of Refuge.
For many long decades, the spirits huddled at the bottom of the Lake of Refuge could not stand to emerge into the world again, for their loss was too traumatic, and even emerging to the bottom of the Lake was too much, as they could sense, taste, and feel the lingering distress and death of their old lands even across such vast distances. And so they remained in hiding. But this, too, was no solution, for such spirits thrive on the land and sun and air and cannot remain forever locked in hiding, removed from the world of which they are an inherent part. And so Talinwique and the killoren developed the ritual of Erytimbre (Marriage of Nature) which in essence married a worthy killoren with one of the hidden spirits.
This ritual marriage serves to divert much of the psychic bond that the spirits still hold with their devastated lands. Instead, much (but not all...for if the bond were fully severed they would die) of the bond is redirected to bond with their killoren spouse, and through that bond, an indirect bond with the land of Aladur or the Lake of Refuge itself. In this way, the orphaned spirits become somewhat tied to the healthy and prospering land of Aladur.
Because killoren are effectively immortal (though having been created 700 years ago there is no empirical evidence to this effect, they simply stop aging at about 100 years of age), these marriages to the spirits are permanent and long-lived (which is perfect for the immortal spirits). The only time a new marriage must be made is when a spouse dies due to unnatural causes (accidents, beasts, what have you). As such, these marriages are important and rare events, and the choice of a spouse is a long and arduous process that includes rigourous tests amongst the killoren candidates. In the history of the killoren, other than the initial marriages that took place over 600 years ago, only 3 marriages have taken place.
Recently, one of the Uryltimbri (Spouses of Nature) died due to an attack by a very large and powerful ahuizotl named by the killoren as Ambacras (Most Dangerous). Devoid of its link to her spouse, the spirit married to the Uryltimbre had to withdraw to the bottom of the lake and cross into the mystic realm to await a new spouse. This spirit, whose name is Hlavanaque was born of one of the most serene and peaceful bodies of water in the region of Poison Lake. As such, her beauty, both physical and mystical, transcends almost into the realm of the divine. When she came into the place of refuge, she was espied by the spirit of the land of Aladur (named Gyrmashil) that dwells within the mystic realm and calls it his own. When this same spirit had witnessed Hlavanaque centuries before, he was struck by her beauty and desired to have her. But as Hlavanaque was in the company of five of her fellow spirits, Gyrmashil did nothing and when the spirits left his realm, he thought often upon Hlavanaque's beauty and desired her more and more, jealous that she was married to a mere killoren. This time Gymashil gave into his desires and took Hlavanaque, desiring that she marry him. But Hlavanaque does not desire Gymashil, both for his crude way of abducting her and because he is mystically bound to his realm, which is tied to Sazhansiir but not truly a part of it. A marriage to Gymashil would not alleviate her psychic pain to the same extent that a marriage to the killoren would.
As Gymashil grows more and more frustrated, for he knows the killoren will eventually choose a mate for Hlavanaque and begin to miss her, his anger has become manifest in the lands over which he is guardian, such that strange manifestations of nature have begun to appear throughout the land. These manifestation have caused worry to the killoren, but so far they cannot figure out why they are happening. As guardians of the land, they know that these manifestations are, themselves, natural (though not normal) and so do not suspect corruption or some other profanation that is creating these manifestations directly. Nevertheless, something is wrong, and they are becoming more and more agitated.
Into this comes the PCs, who will receive anything but a warm welcome from the killoren or from the land itself.
What has Gone Before:
In the events of The Beasts Within, the PCs encountered a beast of malice, a manifestation of the land's anger. They also met the killoren and may have aided them or avenged their deaths by confronting the ahuizotl ambacras and her brood in their watery caves. The PCs then, either with killoren escort or not, marched across the Coatlizin Jungle and through the outlying regions of Aladur, encountering the native creatures, before being accosted by a patrol of killoren led by a druid who had divined the PCs' entrance into the land by means of a commune with nature spell.
Whether voluntarily or under duress, the PCs have now been escorted to the shore of the Lake of Refuge and approach the settlement of the Most Sacred Elders.
Note: If the PCs, for some reason, became hostile to the killoren patrol in the previous scenario and/or refused to be escorted to the settlement and, instead, have proceeded their on their own, the killoren will be extremely agitated (as word will likely have gotten to the Most Sacred Elders unless the druid leader of the killoren ambush encountered at the end of The Beasts Within was killed) and at least unfriendly if not downright hostile to the PCs. In this case, the DM is going to have to adjust the reactions of the killoren in this scenario accordingly, as it is assumed that the PCs have agreed to accompany the killoren ambushers to the Most Sacred Elders.
Part One - The Most Sacred Elders
The PCs meet the leaders of the killoren and attempt to convince them that they are not the cause of the angry manifestations plaguing the land. They witness a spiritual marriage ceremony go awry and learn of the anger of Gyrmashil.
The Most Sacred Settlement:
The PCs will not have seen any killoren settlements previous to arriving at the shores of the Lake of Refuge. If escorted by the killoren, they will have purposefully kept the PCs away from such settlements, to avoid any undue confrontations and so that the PCs are not allowed to "scout out" these places pending their judgment by the Most Sacred Elders.
If the PCs have traveled on their own, then it is also just as unlikely that they would have run across any settlements, as killoren settlements are small and usually well-hidden and designed to blend into the landscape.
The settlement of Ilywtrimbre-etel (literally, meeting of the most sacred in Sazhan) sits hard by the short of the Lake of Refuge, along its northwestern tip. The settlement is centered on a massive cypress tree that thrusts up from a jagged outcropping of rock that overlooks the Lake of Refuge.
|
|
The tree is surrounded by 100 ft high stone walls that form a triangular bastion, and within the walls are green grasses a mere 25 ft below the top of the walls that house various buildings fashioned from the still living roots of the great cypress. A massive stone gate on the tip of the bastion that faces north towards the Lake allow egress into the settlement.
The cypress itself, which is known as The Urythilimb (or "main tree") houses most of the settlement, and though it is living, the killoren have somehow managed to have the tree fold and shape its trunk and branches to allow access within the tree, which is well over 600 ft in height and 50 ft in diameter at its base. Within the massive hollow trunk are ladders and staircases fashioned of vines and rope that wind up the great spiral and enter various holes leading to the hollow interiors of branches.
The settlement houses over 500 killoren. These are led by the three Most Sacred Elders, who date back to the original birth of the killoren out of the Creation Blast. The Most Sacred Elders are:
Awarentimbel (NG, Female druid 13/hierophant 2), one of the few killoren showing any signs of age, dressed in a robe of thin hide and woven grasses and reeds and wearing a laurel of flowers, she holds a gnarled staff in her hands and has a look of piercing wisdom and consideration.
Erybrumettig (CG, Male druid 14), a tall killoren, over 6 ft tall and quite lanky, bedecked in a brown robe with hundred of small amber pieces sewn at the hems and with a staff of white bone in his hand and a circlet of copper and turquoise on his brow. His forehead seems constantly furrowed as if in thought or as if always judging what he sees and hears.
Kyrphanitemb (N, Male ranger 6/scout 8), seeming to be the youngest of the three, with piercing eyes and a face that is somewhat pinched. He is dressed in leafweave armour and has a large wooden haft with a sharp, blue crystal axe blade set into it.
The Most Sacred Elders hold court in a grand audience chamber situated about 200 ft up the inside of the trunk, where the main trunk makes its first branchings. The chamber is easily 40 ft in diameter and the ceiling rises to a conical point some 50 ft overhead. Glowing veins of sap decorate the walls and ceiling of the place, and flecks of amber provide a golden starscape for the room. At one end sits three seats formed of branches that have grown through the floor, and leaves and flowers sprout from these branches as would jewels on a more mundane throne.
If the PCs are being escorted by killoren, then they will be escorted through the gate after being challenged by guards (NG ranger 2) and led to the massive cypress and up to the audience chamber. Along the way, many killoren, some young children but most adults, will gawk at the PCs, especially remarking and pointing out any elves or half elves.
If the PCs arrive at the gate unescorted, the guards will attempt to speak to them in Sazhan, asking them why they have come and otherwise questioning them in an unfriendly and distrustful manner, naming them "children of the destroyer". The PCs will need to convince the gate guards to let them in, which will require them to raise the guards' attitude from unfriendly to friendly.
Circumstance modifiers to the Diplomacy check are as follows (all are stackable except the first two bonuses):
At least one elf or fey is amongst
the PCs and is visibly elven = +5
At least one half elf is amongst the PCs and is visibly a half
elf = +2
At least one PC speaks Sylvan in front of the killoren = +4
At least one PC is a druid or spirit shaman and evidences his
affinity to nature by some means (including simply having an animal
companion visible and showing it affection or giving it commands)
= +3
The PCs produce a trophy of Ambacras = +5
Should the attitude of the guards be merely indifferent, then they will tell the PCs to wait without and one will fetch a senior watchman who will let them in with an escort after a wait of about 30 minutes. The watchman will have gone to the main tree to consult with a Most Sacred Elder and the latter will have accepted an audience with the PCs.
If the PCs manage to raise the guards' attitude to friendly or helpful, then they will open the gates and allow the PCs to enter assuming their stated business seems reasonable. If they want to speak to the leaders of the killoren, a senior watchman will be summoned and he will escort the PCs to the Most Sacred Elders' audience chamber inside the main tree.
If the attitude of the guards remains unfriendly, then they will not let the PCs in and will warn them to leave these lands and return to their own homeland. They want no desecrators of the earth here in Aladur. In order for the scenario to continue, the DM will have to adjudicate the PCs' actions, which could include sneaking into the place and demanding an audience with the Elders. The only real way for this to happen in the first place would be that the PCs have evaded a killoren escort and fail to show a trophy of Ambacras and make a very poor Diplomacy check. In short, the PCs will have had to have consciously attempted to not cooperate with the killoren previously and then roll badly. In such a case, they get what they deserve, although even in this circumstance, later events (detailed below) will encourage the killoren Elders to seek out the PCs (who are perhaps leaving Aladur in frustration or anger) and plead with them to enter the Place of Refuge at the bottom of the Lake.
If the attitude of the guards is hostile, they will warn the PCs away immediately and begin to fire arrows if the PCs do not flee. Persistence will be met with ever greater opposition until the Most Sacred Elders themselves become involved. Their reaction to the PCs is up to the DM and should depend on how lethally the PCs have responded to this force.
The remainder of this scenario assumes relations have not gone completely awry and the PCs are, in one way or another, able to gain an audience with the Most Sacred Elders.
Meeting of the Minds:
In audience with the Most Sacred Elders, the PCs will be questioned in Sazhan or, lacking that, in any of the four elemental tongues (Aquan, Auran, Ignan, or Terran). If those cannot establish communication, then in a pinch an Elder will cast speak with animals on a companion of the PCs or on a tame bird present in the audience chamber and invite the PCs to do the same so that the animal can, in a sense, translate. The latter is not ideal, but at least initial communication can be established and the PCs can hopefully explain that with some rest and prayer (or study) they can arrange communication (via a tongues spell, for example). If so, the PCs will be sent to rest in a nearby chamber under guard and another audience arranged for the next day.
During the audience, Erybrumettig will have a true seeing spell running.
The Most Sacred Elders are well-versed in Sense Motive, and Kyrphanitemb has a Sense Motive bonus of +19 (+21 against humans due to favoured enemy ability).
Awarentimbel will do most of the talking. Kyrphanitemb has the most disdain for humans, and he doesn't attempt to hide it such that a DC 15 Sense Motive check will discern this.
The PCs will be yet again questioned as to their purpose in Aladur and why they are so far from their homelands to the north. If any PCs care to reveal that they are not Azotchtla, the killoren will be somewhat taken aback, remarking that they did not know there were any humans who were not Azotchtla and that they cannot easily tell the physical differences amongst humans, not the least because even they have seen but a few humans in their long lives. The Elders will be only mildly interested in the notion that there is a continent across the sea from Sazhansiir, as only the happenings in their own land concern them.
If the PCs tell the Elders of their encounter with (and presumably defeat of ) Ambacras, the Elders will be impressed, though Kyrphanitemb will demand proof (such as a trophy). If any of the killoren from Ambacras' caves (even including the young watcher) are present, they will testify to the PCs' deeds (good or ill).
The PCs can also mention their encounter with the beast of malice. The Elders will nod and confirm that such manifestations have plagued their land of late, growing stronger and stronger. These manifestations have not been known in Aladur before now, but the Elders know of their nature and suggest that some event has occurred that angered the spirit of the land. The PCs or an escorting killoren might suggest that Ambacras was the cause of this anger, for she slew the Uryltimbri (or Spouse of Nature) of Hlavanaque, and that with the defeat of Ambacras the land might be appeased, but the Elders will ask when Ambacras was slain and after some consultation inform the PCs that manifestation have appeared even after Ambacras was slain.
Assuming the PCs speak with the Elders and engage in a dialogue with them, a Diplomacy check can be made. Awarentimbel and Erybrumettig are indifferent and Kyrphanitemb is unfriendly.
At least one elf or fey is amongst
the PCs and is visibly elven = +5
At least one half elf is amongst the PCs and is visibly a half
elf = +2
At least one PC speaks Sylvan in front of the killoren = +4
At least one PC is a druid or spirit shaman and evidences his
affinity to nature by some means (including simply having an animal
companion visible and showing it affection or giving it commands)
= +3
The PCs have produced a trophy of Ambacras or it is known and
believed that they have slain the creature = +5
Kyrphanitemb will suggest that perhaps the land is angry at the coming of and the presence of the "children of the destroyer" marring this sacred land. He will note that the land's anger predates the arrival of the strangers by only a short time. Perhaps the land sensed their coming and seeks to drive them away.
The other two Elders will nod and agree that this may be so, and if it is, then the PCs would best leave Aladur, for their own sake and the sake of the killoren and the land. But Awarentimbel will suggest that perhaps the land's anger will be satisfied once Hlavanaque is married again, for only then will Ambacras' crime be truly erased. She will suggest that the strangers be allowed to stay at least until Hlavanaque is married. Then, if the manifestations still occur, they will be escorted from the land. Erybrumettig will agree with this, as will Kyrphanitemb grudgingly.
If the PCs ask about Hlavanaque and the marriage, Awarentimbel will explain the situation, reciting the history of the refuge of the spirits, the birth of the killoren, and the marriage of the spirits as follows:
|
This land was, before the Great Destruction, a wild and unsettled land, and Lake Ithaminoine at its center was inhabited by a powerful and goodly water spirit named Talinwique, who named the Lady of Rivers as her mother. When Okoth and his hordes marched south with his egg of destruction to annihilate the Serpent Empire, he passed through lands that he had seen many times before, but even to the cold, dead eyes of a sarrukh he finally noticed the beauty of those lands and such beauty even moved his scaled heart. He knew that the blast unleashed by the egg of destruction would decimate this land, and although he had no way to shield the land from the blast, he felt he should at least attempt to save the spirits of the land and the many lakes, rivers, and streams that were in the area. And so, he informed the six most powerful spirits of his plan and swore them to great oaths of secrecy and instructed them to go to the "land in the bosom of the mountains". The spirits left, with heavy hearts and arrived in Aladur and found the Lake Ithaminoine, which we now name the Lake of Refuge. After speaking with Talinwique and pleading their case to her, they immersed themselves within. And Talinwique bade them to descend to the deepest portion of the Lake, and there to take shelter in a spiritual refuge accessible by a mystical doorway at the bottom of the Lake. For only by so sheltering themselves from the blast could the spirits hope to not perish. The danger to the spirits was not physical, for Aladur itself was shielded and distant enough to avoid the main effects of the blast, but rather to their soul, for the spirits were all intimately attached to their lands, and devastation of their lands and waters would corrupt them, destroy them, or drive them mad just as surely as if they had remained in the blast itself. Only by taking refuge in the place of refuge at the bottom of the Lake could they withstand the loss of their lands and endure. The blast did not harm Aladur, but even in their refuge, the devastation of their lands and waters affected the collected spirits and filled them with anger and frustration and a desire to protect what was now their refuge. This desire, mingled with some of the essences of the blast that did manage to waft their way over the mountains and into the land, caused the birth of we killoren, for even now I can remember that day. And we are a people directly descended from the land itself and imbued with the spark of sentience by the collective will of the spirits that have taken refuge here. For many long decades, the spirits huddled at the bottom of the Lake of Refuge could not stand to emerge into the world again, for their loss was too traumatic, and even emerging to the bottom of the Lake was too much, as they could sense, taste, and feel the lingering distress and death of their old lands even across such vast distances. And so they remained in hiding. But this, too, was no solution, for such spirits thrive on the land and sun and air and cannot remain forever locked in hiding, removed from the world of which they are an inherent part. And so Talinwique and we killoren developed the ritual of Erytimbre (Marriage of Nature) which in essence marries a worthy killoren with one of the hidden spirits. This ritual marriage serves to divert much of the soul bond that the spirits still hold with their devastated lands. Instead, much (but not all...for if the bond were fully severed they would die) of the bond is redirected to bond with their killoren spouse, and through that bond, an indirect bond with the land of Aladur or the Lake of Refuge itself. In this way, the orphaned spirits become somewhat tied to the healthy and prospering land of Aladur. Because we are as long-lived as the land itself, these marriages to the spirits are permanent. The only time a new marriage must be made is when a spouse dies due to unnatural causes. As such, these marriages are important and rare events, and the choice of a spouse is a long and arduous process that includes rigourous tests amongst the our candidates. In our entire history, other than the initial marriages that took place over 600 years ago, only 3 marriages have taken place. Ambacras has slain one of the Uryltimbri, or Spouses of Nature, who was wed to a water spirit named Hlavanaque. Devoid of her link to her spouse, Hlavanaque had to withdraw to the bottom of the lake and cross into the mystic refuge to await a new spouse. We have now chosen a new Uryltimbri from amongst the candidates, and in three days we shall perform the ceremony to reunite Hlavanaque with this land that she may emerge from the place of refuge and be whole once more. |
Awarentimbel will now tell the PCs that they may rest and find succor here within the Urythilimb until the ceremony is to take place. They may also roam the settlement and may leave the place to attend to the stunning view of the Lake from the promontory, but must have an escort of killoren with them at all times.
Unless the PCs raise objections, they will now have 3 days to rest or interact with the killoren. An escort of six killoren guards (NG ranger 2/warrior 3) will be with the PCs at all times. If the PCs do object to an escort, then if at least two Elders have an attitude of helpful, they will allow the PCs to tarvel unescorted, but only with solmen oaths given that they will not flee the area.
The Wait (and the Hunt [EL 13]):
During the 3 days until the marriage, the PCs can spend their time however they like within the settlement.
Optionally, on the morning of the second day Kyrphanitemb will come to them and say that he has grave doubts about the intentions of the PCs. Nevertheless, they can prove their mettle to him and their genuine desire to befriend the killoren by helping in a hunt being undertaken by a group of killoren from the settlement. Kyrphanitemb is making this offer both to test the PCs and see if they truly do wish to help the killoren (even despite the fact that they may have already shown this by slaying Ambacras...Kyrphanitemb will say he cannot be sure of the circumstances surrounding that event nor of the motivations for it) and to possibly have the PCs perish in the hunt.
If the PCs refuse, Kyrphanitemb will sneer and remark on the PCs' true lack of desire to befriend the killoren. If they agree, he will lead them to the hunting party assembling near the gate of the settlement. The killoren hunting party consists of a hunt leader, six guards, and a druid. They will tell the PCs that an abomination of the Scaled Ones has been reported in the high moors about half a day journey north of the settlement. The abomination is a many-headed lizard that breathes fire. The killoren will not agree to wait another day in order for the PCs to prepare new spells. They are eager to find and kill the creature before it can wreak any harm or escape back into the hinterlands.
The killoren know the last area the beast was sighted, and so will head to that place, which is an area of moor land about 6 miles north of the settlement. As the PCs approach the area, they will start to notice swaths of burnt grass and the charred remains of trees. The hunt leader of the killoren will begin to track and easily be able to find the trail. An hour later the group will encounter the first hydra (yes...I said first hydra!).
At this time the killoren druid will wild shape into a dire hawk and begin to scout the area. Soon enough he will spot the pyrohydra from a distance of about 1500 ft. The druid will inform the killoren and PCs and remind them that pyrohydras have a keen sense of smell and that they should approach it from upwind.
Just before reaching the area, the druid will cast a mass resist energy (fire) on the killoren hunters and a protection from energy (fire) and aura against flame on herself. The hunt leader will cast a resist energy (fire) on himself. These killoren did not know that the PCs would be accompanying them and so the druid has not taken enough spells to protect the PCs from fire. She can, however, use her aura against flame to aid a single PC in this manner.
|
HUNT LEADER CR 6 Manifest Nature's Might (Su) Killoren are forever bound to the raw forces of nature itself, manifesting this bond even in their physical form. A killoren can only manifest one aspect of nature's might at a time. Each morning as the sun rises, a killoren spends 10 minutes in quiet meditation, filling his spirit with the aspect of nature that is most needed for his current tasks. Once a killoren chooses an aspect, he manifests that aspect until the next morning, when he chooses again which aspect to manifest. Many killoren favour one aspect over the others and rarely choose to manifest one of the other two aspects. Aspect of the Ancient: While manifesting the aspect of the ancients, a killoren embodies the deep and ancient secrets of nature itself. With this bond to nature's secret lore, a killoren gains a racial bonus on Knowledge (nature) checks equal to his Hit Dice and gains an additional +2 bonus on saving throws against enchantment effects. This bonus stacks with the killoren's normal racial bonus on saving throws against enchantment effects. While a killoren manifests the aspect of the ancient, his hair turns white and his eyes turn to the colour of a blue summer sky. Aspect of the Destroyer: Many races revere nature for its power to destroy, but none more so than a killoren manifesting the aspect of the destroyer. Once per hour (up to a maximum number of times per day equal to the killoren's Charisma bonus, minimum 1), a killoren manifesting the aspect of the destroyer can make a special smite attack that deals extra damage to the foes of nature. When making this smite attack, a killoren adds his Charisma bonus to his attack roll and deals an extra 1 point of damage per Hit Die. This smite attack works only against aberrations, constructs, humanoids, oozes, outsiders, and undead. If a killoren accidentally smites a creature that is not one of the creature types listed above, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that hour and counts against the total uses per day. While a killoren manifests the aspect of the destroyer, his hair and eyes turn a deep, lusterless black; many find the gaze of a killoren destroyer's coal-black eyes to be unnerving. Aspect of the Hunter: The hunt affects nearly every aspect of nature and claims a place of great prominence and importance in the cycle of life. A killoren manifesting the aspect of the hunt is bound to nature's ancient tradition of the hunt, and his senses sharpen to an amazing degree. While manifesting the aspect of the hunt, a killoren gains a +2 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot checks, and a +2 racial bonus on initiative checks. While a killoren manifests the aspect of the hunt, his hair and eyes turn a deep forest green, and his skin town becomes a deeper brown than when manifesting one of the other aspects. * +1 additional bonus in forest due to Forester feat |
| HUNT LEADER'S
ANIMAL COMPANION CR n/a Female small viper snake N Small viper Init +8; Senses Listen +7, Spot +7 AC 20, touch 15, flat-footed 16 hp 13 (3 HD) Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +2; evasion Spd 20 ft (4 squares), climb 20 ft (4 squares), swim 20 ft (4 squares) Melee bite +7 (1d2-2 plus poison) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +2; Grp -4 Abilities Str 7, Dex 18, Con 11, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2 SQ animal companion (link, share spells) Feats Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (hide), Weapon Finesse Skills Balance +12, Climb +11, Hide +15, Listen +7, Spot +7, Swim +6 Tricks: attack, come, fetch, home, seek Poison (Ex) A viper snake has a poisonous bite that deals initial and secondary damage of 1d6 Con (DC 11 Fortitude save). The save DCs are Constitution-based. |
|
DRUID CR 6 Manifest Nature's Might (Su) Killoren are forever bound to the raw forces of nature itself, manifesting this bond even in their physical form. A killoren can only manifest one aspect of nature's might at a time. Each morning as the sun rises, a killoren spends 10 minutes in quiet meditation, filling his spirit with the aspect of nature that is most needed for his current tasks. Once a killoren chooses an aspect, he manifests that aspect until the next morning, when he chooses again which aspect to manifest. Many killoren favour one aspect over the others and rarely choose to manifest one of the other two aspects. Aspect of the Ancient: While manifesting the aspect of the ancients, a killoren embodies the deep and ancient secrets of nature itself. With this bond to nature's secret lore, a killoren gains a racial bonus on Knowledge (nature) checks equal to his Hit Dice and gains an additional +2 bonus on saving throws against enchantment effects. This bonus stacks with the killoren's normal racial bonus on saving throws against enchantment effects. While a killoren manifests the aspect of the ancient, his hair turns white and his eyes turn to the colour of a blue summer sky. Aspect of the Destroyer: Many races revere nature for its power to destroy, but none more so than a killoren manifesting the aspect of the destroyer. Once per hour (up to a maximum number of times per day equal to the killoren's Charisma bonus, minimum 1), a killoren manifesting the aspect of the destroyer can make a special smite attack that deals extra damage to the foes of nature. When making this smite attack, a killoren adds his Charisma bonus to his attack roll and deals an extra 1 point of damage per Hit Die. This smite attack works only against aberrations, constructs, humanoids, oozes, outsiders, and undead. If a killoren accidentally smites a creature that is not one of the creature types listed above, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that hour and counts against the total uses per day. While a killoren manifests the aspect of the destroyer, his hair and eyes turn a deep, lusterless black; many find the gaze of a killoren destroyer's coal-black eyes to be unnerving. Aspect of the Hunter: The hunt affects nearly every aspect of nature and claims a place of great prominence and importance in the cycle of life. A killoren manifesting the aspect of the hunt is bound to nature's ancient tradition of the hunt, and his senses sharpen to an amazing degree. While manifesting the aspect of the hunt, a killoren gains a +2 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot checks, and a +2 racial bonus on initiative checks. While a killoren manifests the aspect of the hunt, his hair and eyes turn a deep forest green, and his skin town becomes a deeper brown than when manifesting one of the other aspects. |
|
DRUID'S ANIMAL COMPANION CR
n/a Hold Breath (Ex) A crocodile can hold its breath for a number of rounds equal to 4 × its Constitution score before it risks drowning. *A crocodile gains a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks when in the water. Further, a crocodile can lie in the water with only its eyes and nostrils showing, gaining a +10 cover bonus on Hide checks. |
|
KILLOREN HUNTERS (6) CR 4 Manifest Nature's Might (Su) Killoren are forever bound to the raw forces of nature itself, manifesting this bond even in their physical form. A killoren can only manifest one aspect of nature's might at a time. Each morning as the sun rises, a killoren spends 10 minutes in quiet meditation, filling his spirit with the aspect of nature that is most needed for his current tasks. Once a killoren chooses an aspect, he manifests that aspect until the next morning, when he chooses again which aspect to manifest. Many killoren favour one aspect over the others and rarely choose to manifest one of the other two aspects. Aspect of the Ancient: While manifesting the aspect of the ancients, a killoren embodies the deep and ancient secrets of nature istelf. With this bond to nature's secret lore, a killoren gains a racial bonus on Knowledge (nature) checks equal to his Hit Dice and gains an additional +2 bonus on saving throws against enchantment effects. This bonus stacks with the killoren's normal racial bonus on saving throws against enchantment effects. While a killoren manifests the aspect of the ancient, his hair turns white and his eyes turn to the colour of a blue summer sky. Aspect of the Destroyer: Many races revere nature for its power to destroy, but none more so than a killoren manifesting the aspect of the destroyer. Once per hour (up to a maximum number of times per day equal to the killoren's Charisma bonus, minimum 1), a killoren manifesting the aspect of the destroyer can make a special smite attack that deals extra damage to the foes of nature. When making this smite attack, a killoren adds his Charisma bonus to his attack roll and deals an extra 1 point of damage per Hit Die. This smite attack works only against aberrations, constructs, humanoids, oozes, outsiders, and undead. If a killoren accidentally smites a creature that is not one of the creature types listed above, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that hour and counts against the total uses per day. While a killoren manifests the aspect of the destroyer, his hair and eyes turn a deep, lusterless black; many find the gaze of a killoren destroyer's coal-black eyes to be unnerving. Aspect of the Hunter: The hunt affects nearly every aspect of nature and claims a place of great prominence and importance in the cycle of life. A killoren manifesting the aspect of the hunt is bound to nature's ancient tradition of the hunt, and his senses sharpen to an amazing degree. While manifesting the aspect of the hunt, a killoren gains a +2 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot checks, and a +2 racial bonus on initiative checks. While a killoren manifests the aspect of the hunt, his hair and eyes turn a deep forest green, and his skin town becomes a deeper brown than when manifesting one of the other aspects. * +1 additional bonus in forest due to Forester feat |
Creatures: 2 pyrohydras dwell here. They are a rare mated pair, looking for a den in which to nest. Pyrohydras mate in the autumn and lay their eggs in the winter, so that the young hatch during the warm summers, which increases their chance of survival.
 |
The PCs will come across the first pyrohydra, which will be basking in a shallow bog (purple shading) about 60 ft in diameter. The rest of the terrain is rocky land punctuated by large boulders (grey shapes, height roughly equal to diameter) but clear of undergrowth, except for a few patches of light undergrowth (green shading) and a few small trees. The red arrow indicates the upwind direction (i.e. the wind is blowing from west to east), which is the direction the killoren will attempt to use to sneak up towards the pyrohydra.
The second pyrohydra is actually underneath one of the large boulders about 80 ft away from the first pyrohydra. The second has been digging out a nesting burrow beneath the boulder and there is now a 15 ft diameter den under the rock, accessed by a 10 ft diameter hole in the ground. If the PCs and killoren approach the first hydra from upwind, they will have no chance to spot the hole or the second hydra until it comes slithering out of its burrow.
|
TEN- HEADED PYROHYDRAS (2)
CR 11 A hydra can be killed either by severing all its heads or by slaying its body. To sever a head, an opponent must make a successful sunder attempt with a slashing weapon. (The player should declare where the attack is aimed before making the attack roll.) Making a sunder attempt provokes an attack of opportunity unless the foe has the Improved Sunder feat. An opponent can strike at a hydra’s heads from any position in which he could strike at the hydra itself, because the hydra’s head writhe and whip about in combat. An opponent can ready an action to attempt to sunder a hydra’s head when the creature bites at him. Each of a hydra’s heads has hit points equal to the creature’s full normal hit point total, divided by its original number of heads. Losing a head deals damage to the body equal to half the head’s full normal hit points. A natural reflex seals the neck shut to prevent further blood loss. A hydra can no longer attack with a severed head but takes no other penalties. Each time a head is severed, two new heads spring from the stump in 1d4 rounds. A hydra can never have more than twice its original number of heads at any one time, and any extra heads it gains beyond its original number wither and die within a day. To prevent a severed head from growing back into two heads, at least 5 points of fire or acid damage must be dealt to the stump (a touch attack to hit) before the new heads appear. A flaming weapon (or similar effect) deals its energy damage to the stump in the same blow in which a head is severed. Fire or acid damage from an area effect may burn multiple stumps in addition to dealing damage to the hydra’s body. A hydra does not die from losing its heads until all its heads have been cut off and the stumps seared by fire or acid. A hydra’s body can be slain just like any other creature’s, but hydras possess fast healing (see below) and are difficult to defeat in this fashion. Any attack that is not (or cannot be) an attempt to sunder a head affects the body. Targeted magical effects cannot sever a hydra’s heads (and thus must be directed at the body) unless they deal slashing damage and could be used to make sunder attempts. Fire attacks cannot prevent a pyrohydra’s stump from growing new heads (since a pyrohydra has immunity to fire), but 5 points of cold damage does. Feats A hydra’s Combat Reflexes feat allows it to use all its heads for attacks of opportunity. Fire Breath (Su) These reddish hydras can breathe jets of fire 10 feet high, 10 feet wide, and 20 feet long. All heads breathe once every 1d4 rounds. Pyrohydras must make all of their breath weapon attacks at the same time during their turn. This is because the creature has a single set of lungs and so, when it breathes, those heads electing to breathe do so at the same time. In addition, the breath effects from each head overlap; they do not stack. This means a given target can only ever sustain 3d6 damage from a hydra's breath weapon in a given round. Hydras are too unintelligent to delay or ready actions. Each jet deals 3d6 points of fire damage per head. A successful Reflex save halves the damage. The save DC is 10 + ½ hydra’s original number of heads + hydra’s Con modifier. |
Tactics: The first pyrohydra will roar bestially and attack the PCs and hunters. It seeks to defend its mate and the nest (even though there are no eggs yet) and so will not leave sight of the area.
Once the first pyrohydra lets out its roar, the second one will emerge from its lair on the next round. That round it will still be under complete cover, and will not make any noise, giving it a Move Silently bonus of +1. Due to the din of the other hydra roaring, there is a -10 penalty to Listen checks to hear the second hydra emerging from its lair. In addition, PCs not taking active Listen checks are treated as distracted (by the first hydra) and suffer a further -5 penalty.
One the round after it emerges from the hole, the second pyrohydra roars and stomps into the battle. They will use their breath weapons fairly liberally, but when and if they see them ineffective they will resort to bite attacks.
The killoren have a bit of knowledge about pyrohydras. They are very rare in these parts, but tales and oral tradition do tell of previous encounters. As such, they know the combat rules for fighting hydras and they know that they need to do cold damage to seal a neck stump. This is the druid's job in the fight....to use his cold spells to seal stumps. The hunters are armed with slashing weapons and will use their Power Attack feats to attempt to sever the heads.
Developments: The pyrohydras, by virtue of digging their nest, are now instinctually bound to defend it, and so will not flee combat and will fight to the death.
If the pyrohydra is slain, then Kyrphanitemb will be somewhat pleased with the result, especially if there were not inordinate killoren casualties and even moreso if any surviving killoren vouch for the PCs' performance and bravery in combat. Nevertheless, he will still remain suspicious of the PCs.
The Marriage:
On the 3rd day, the killoren will rouse the PCs and an air of electric excitement will buzz through the settlement. The killoren are gathering to perform the ceremony of marriage between the new Uryltimbre and Hlavanaque, and the PCs are invited to attend this rare and blessed event. The ceremony takes place at the very top of the stone promontory, where a stone plinth carved with scenes of the devastation of the Creation Blast and the spirits of land and water fleeing to Aladur to join with the killoren, who are represented as having sprouted from the ground itself.
The plinth is about 12 ft tall and about 3 ft to each of its four sides. Set before the plinth is a large concave bowl cut into the stone of the promontory. This bowl is filled with still water that seems to have strange swirls of silver and gold rippling through it.
At least 300 killoren are present, standing on the rocks and outcroppings of the promontory that look up towards the plinth and pool area. The Most Sacred Elders stand around the pool and before the plinth, facing the Main Tree.
One of the killoren will step forth from the crowd and raise a conch shell horn to his lips and a great blast will sound. The blast is an amazing thing, as the sound reverberates and echoes around the promontory and seems to somehow travel back and forth across the vast lake and, where the sound brushes the Lake, little waves bounce with joy.
With that the crowd will part and a male killoren dressed in long robes of woven leaves and bedecked in a crown of flowers and ivy moves forward solemnly. He steps forward to the edge of the pool, and the three Most Sacred Elders begin to intone a long chant that interweaves elements of all four elemental languages. As the chant is intoned, a breeze picks up, and the ground of the promontory seems to shudder, and the water in the nearby Lake and in the pool jounces and forms tiny whirlpools. And tiny blooms of flame flicker briefly in the air overhead.
Finally the Uryltimbre disgards his robe and steps into the pool, where he is bathed in a swirling, multicoloured radiance. The radiance then congeals over his head and shoots out over the promontory and down into the Lake, where the water boils and froths as the radiance sinks beneath the surface and out of sight into the depths of the water.
The chanting stops and for five minutes or more there is a hushed anticipation in the gathered killoren. Finally, the Most Sacred Elders raise their hands and turn to face the Lake. They place their hands on the plinth and speak in Sazhan:
Oh spirits of the Lake...oh Hlavanaque who waits in the realm of refuge for our succor. Here is your Uryltimbre! He is pure and he is sanctified and he is a willing conduit between you and the land, that by your love you may know ease from your past and take joy in your everlasting future. Come forth Hlavanaque and be wed!
For a minute or two nothing happens, and all are still. But then some of the gathered begin to fidget, and shortly thereafter the Most Sacred Elders will begin to glance nervously at one another. Soon a murmur will ripple through the killoren and Awarentimbel will step forth to the very edge of the promontory and call out in Aquan:
Hlavanaque, your groom awaits! Come forth and be in bliss again!
Again nothing will happen, and now there is clear nervousness, and the Uryltimbre emerges from the pool and dons his ceremonial robe, looking confused.
One killoren will wonder if the Uryltimbre is unworthy and has been rejected by Hlavanaque. Some will assert this is the case, while others will argue that no other Uryltimbre has ever been rejected.
As the din begins to grow louder, Erybrumettig raises his hands and shouts for the crowd to be still:
It is clear something is amiss. We shall go down to the Lake and summon forth Talinwique and let the Lady of the Lake herself tell us what goes here.
The crowd seems mollified by this, and as the Elders pass the bewildered groom, Awarentimbel places a reassuring hand on his shoulder and smiles to him and whispers something in his ear. Meanwhile, Kyrphanitemb will simply glare accusingly at the PCs as the Most Sacred Elders make their way down the promontory. The Elders proceed past the settlement and Main Tree and descend down to the shore of the Lake. The killoren follow in tow, while the groom is taken back into the settlement by a few killoren.
Down at the shore, the Most Sacred Elders remove their robes and enter waist deep into the Lake water, nude excepting their headgear. There they will become a low, humming chant that resolves itself into a plea in Aquan for the spirit Talinwique to appear and hear their plea. After about five minutes of chanting, the water about 25 ft further into the Lake begins to rise and twist in a column. The column grows to a height that is over 10 ft tall before the outer skin of water of the column suddenly sloughs away, revealing a beautiful figure of a female humanoid comprised entirely of water.
This is the spirit Talinwique, and when she speaks her voice is like a hundred water drops tinkling against crystal. She speaks in Aquan, and the Elders answer in that language.
Talinwique: Why have you called me children of the land, awakened me from my eternal sleep and into the waking world of mortals?
Erybrumettig: Oh generous Talinwique, Lady of the Lake and she whose arms welcomed and cradled the refugee spirits during the Day of Destruction, we are loathe to awaken you from your revere in the depths of your demesne, but we are puzzled by what has happened this morning.
Talinwique: What has happened?
Erybrumettig: We have tested and presented an Uryltimbre for Hlavanaque, but when we chanted the ritual of calling, she did not come.
Awarentimbel: We fear that there may be some occurance that has distracted her...
Kyrphanitemb:Or perhaps like the land itself, she is angered at something and refuses to come...perhaps she is displeased with us or distressed by the presence of strangers amongst us...
Erybrumettig: In any event, oh revered Lady of the Lake, we seek your guidance.
Talinwique: You have indicated that the land itself is angry. Of this I was not aware, though my awareness extends little beyond the confines of my Lake. However, even now, as you have mentioned it, I feel the a tenseness in the water and the air, as if a bowstring were pulled taught beyond its normal limits, and ready to snap. This anger even infuses my waters with a bitter spiritual taste...and it is disturbing to me.
But as far as Hlavanaque, I felt her presence when her Uryltimbre died a time ago. She descended into the Lake and entered the Realm of Refuge. I have not felt her presence since, so I can say with some certainty that she remains there still.
Wait a moment...
[about a minute passes as Talinwique concentrates]
The anger I feel also comes from the Realm of Refuge. Such anger...it is potent and powerful and quite ancient. It is, I think, from Gyrmashil, the eld spirit of the land of Aladur who is the master of the Realm of Refuge. That is, I am afraid, all I can tell you. His anger is great and its potency distresses me. I do not wish to remain awake any longer in the wake of such turmoil.
With that, Talinwique dissolves back into the Lake.
The gathered crowd will be buzzing with consternation, and there will be observed some pointed stares at the PCs. A few killoren will have gathered around each of the Most Sacred Elders, conferring with them, and those around Kyrphanitemb will often glance at the PCs.
Eventually, Awarentimbel will call for the gathered to meet in the council chambers and the whole mob will travel back to the settlement and into the Main Tree, ascending to the audience chamber, where the Most Sacred Elders will take their seats and the PCs and the rest of the killoren will be asked to remain outside as the Elders confer. Some of the gathered will eventually tire of waiting and wander back to their daily lives, but at least 50 killoren will remain waiting for the counsel of the Elders.
After about a half an hour the doors will open and the Elders will invite the PCs into the chamber (they will be sent for if they wandered off during this time). About half of the 50 killoren will crowd into the chamber, the rest hovering outside the doors to overhear what they can.
When the PCs enter the audience chamber, a DC 20 Sense Motive check will show that Kyrphanitemb is quite upset, though trying to control his anger.
Awarentimbel will address the PCs:
You are aware of the situation, as you have witnessed it with your own eyes and ears. What you may not know is of Gyrmashil. Gyrmashil is the elder spirit of the land of Aladur. In a sense, he is the land itself...or at least its mystic embodiment. All lands have such a spirit, and these spirits dwell in another realm that is mystically connected to the land itself, but at the same time removed. This realm houses the elder spirit, and like a womb for an unborn child, the elder spirit draws his strength from the mystic realm, and this strength is translated into the land and disseminated throughout the land to keep it vital and healthy. It is such strength that allows our elders to wield their earth powers.
This elder spirit is usually quite removed from direct action in the land. His is a passive role usually. But there are ancient accounts, that predate the killoren, that tell of such elder spirits rousing at great need...and then the power displayed by such entities is awesome indeed. Usually there is no means or way to enter the mystic realms of the elder spirits of the land. Ours is a unique case because Talinwique pleaded on behalf of the refugee spirits and Gyrmashil opened a door into his realm.
These elder spirits are not the same as the spirits of the land and water that we interact with in the mundane world. In a sense, these spirits, even ancient and wise Talinwique, are children compared to the elder spirits. We three are to a killoren child as spirits such as Talinwique and Hlavanaque are to such as Gyrmashil.
It is clear to us, confirmed by Talinwique, that the manifestations of anger in the land of late, including the beasts of malice, are a result of Gyrmashil. He is angry...an anger that has not been felt by us here ever before. And it is clear that Hlavanaque is in Gyrmashil's Realm and for some reason refuses to leave it to marry the Uryltimbre. But we fear for Hlavanaque, for as has been said to you before by me, such spirits as Hlavanaque cannot long abide it in Gyrmashil's Realm, for unlike Gyrmashil, they are tied to the mundane land and must be present in it.
So something is amiss. But there is a problem for us. We killoren are tied to the land. We are borne of it. We cannot leave it. We cannot enter Gyrmashil's Realm. We do not know what would happen if we tried, but at the best we would lose our connection to the land, which is the foundation of our being. At worst we would perish or lose our souls.
But you strangers are not tied to the land as we are. You could, we think, enter Gyrmashil's Realm and try to find out what has happened...what has angered Gyrmashil so and what causes Hlavanaque to remain in that realm and not marry her groom.
This is not your concern strangers. You have already done much for us, and we cannot presume to obligate you to undertake a journey that none of us is willing or able to undertake. We can only appeal to you to help us in our time of need. Some suggest that your presence itself is the cause of Gyrmashil's anger and of Hlavanaque's reluctance to leave his realm. Others of us disagree with this contention, but if it is true, then it would be mete, perhaps, for you to confront Gyrmashil and let him see what is noble and good in you and that you are not desecrators of the land, despite what Okoth may have done in your name centuries ago.
If you refuse to undertake this journey, we understand and you will earn no ill will from us, but we will then have to ask you to leave our land, for we will have to at least try to appease Gyrmashil by removing your presence from the land and hope that will mollify him and Hlavanaque.
If, on the other hand, you will undertake this journey, then we will endeavour to aid you as we can and provide you with the means to reach the doorway to Gyrmashil's Realm in the depths of the Lake.
The choice is entirely up to the PCs. While Kyrphanitemb argued that the PCs should be banished, even he agreed to allow the PCs to undertake this journey because he is certain that Gymshil's anger is caused by the presence of the PCs and that, if this is so, then he feels it will be likely that Gyrmashil will simply destroy the PCs and they will never return and all will be right with the land.
If the PCs refuse to undertake the journey, then the Elders will insist that the next day the PCs leave Aladur. A strong escort, including the 3 Elders, will take the PCs to any edge of the land they like, and they will warn the PCs that they should attempt no further entry into Aladur ever again. And they should warn their kind the same...Aladur is off limits to humans until further notice.
The remainder of this scenario presumes, of course, that the PCs agree to undertake the journey to Gyrmashil's Realm.
Part Two - The Realm of Refuge
The PCs enter Gyrmashil's Realm and learn of the reason behind his anger and Hlavanaque's disappearance. They must then choose one of three means to free Hlavanaque: To defeat Gyrmashil in combat, to convince him of the hollowness of his angry love, or to trick him into letting her go.
Gyrmashil's Realm Overview:
Gyrmashil's Realm is actually the Plane of Faerie. In Therra, such planes are actually demi-planes coexistent with the Material Plane. In Jerranq, which is, due to its history and the presence of the gods themselves, Faerie is a series of relatively large and populous realms, such as the Seelie Realm. In Sazhansiir, which has much less of a fey presence, Faerie consists of a myriad of minor pocket planes that are generally coexistent with a single geographical swath of land (e.g. Aladur). These pocket planes vary in size, but none are as vast as Faerie on Jerranq. In general, there is no access between Sazhansiir and Faerie (again, unlike Jerranq, where many crossroads exist that provide gates to Faerie). These pocket planes essentially house the embodied consciousness of the land, and the plane feeds the mystic energies that sustain this consciousness and infuses the land with earth energy, the same that powers druid and ranger divine spells and gives life to the more mundane spirits of the land and water that actually dwell on the Material Plane.
These pocket planes generally reflect the nature, thoughts, and whimsies of the spirit that dwells within. In some ways, this is a synergistic process, in that the nature of the spirit affects the nature of the plane, but also the nature of the plane affects the nature of the spirit. Into this circular process, the nature of the land tied to the spirit also affects the plane.
As already mentioned, Gyrmashil was convinced to open a gate to his realm to allow the refugee spirits to take shelter during the Creation Blast. This opening takes the form of a crossroads situated in the very center of the Lake of Refuge at a depth of some 500 ft.
Getting There (EL 12):
The Most Sacred Elders will urge the PCs to make due haste in attempting to resolve the situation. Awarentimbel will place her hand on the shoulder of the PC that seems most sympathetic to the killoren and will say:
We urge you to make what haste you can, for we do not know how long Hlavanaque can abide being away from the land. Her time of refuge was unexpected and the time appointed to find a spouse has already passed. And every passing day the land's manifestations of anger grow more frequent and more potent, and more killoren and creatures of the land are slain by its own fury.
The killoren will offer to help the PCs get to the entrance to Gyrmashil's Realm however they can. They know that the doorway is at the bottom of the center of the Lake, some 125 miles away from the settlement and 500 ft deep. They cannot say what to expect in Gyrmashil's Realm. They do not even know if the realm is entirely underwater or not.
As a hierophant, Awarentimbel can transfer her wild shape ability to the PCs using her power of nature ability. Normally a druid of her level would have the wild shape ability 4/day, but she has also taken the Extra Wild Shape feat and so has the ability a total of 6/day. This should be enough to accommodate the PCs and an extra cohort or familiar. She can grant this ability to each PC for up to a week, but each PC has the use only 1/day and only for 13 hours. Even the most rapid fish swim at about 70 ft, which translates into 56 miles per day. The PCs could forced march for an extra 5 hours by taking no rests during their 13 hours of wild shape and traveling an extra hour beyond that. This would net them another 35 miles of travel, at the cost of 5 Fortitude saves (DC 12, 14,16, 18, and 20 respectively) or suffer 1d6 nonlethal damage and, if any such damage is taken, become fatigued.
91 miles will not allow the PCs to reach the center of the Lake. However, other means can allow this strategy to work, such a swimming on the surface and using the wind at back spell. Or the PCs can effect some means to sleep the night while on or under the lake and complete the journey the next day (e.g. using a rope trick spell).
The killoren can also cast spells like water breathing and transformation of the deeps on the PCs, including extended versions of these spells, but they will only last for a limited amount of time. Up to 3 persistent wings of the sea can be cast by the Elders as well, but this will likely not encompass all of the PCs.
Finally, the killoren can provide up to six water breathing potions, although these are at caster level 5.
Certainly, the PCs may have their own means of getting to the doorway.
Otherwise, the PCs can attempt to fabricate a raft of some sort. The killoren do not use boats and do not sail on the Lake, so they will not be able to help in this regard, but fabricating a crude raft is a DC 5 Craft (boatbuilding) check and such a raft has a 50 gp value for purposes of determining the time it takes to make one. A well-made raft is a DC 10 check and has a 100 gp value.
A well-made raft is as described in Stormwrack on page 102. The well-made raft will have a small shelter to rest in that can accommodate up to 4 Medium-sized beings at one time. A crude raft has no such shelter.
Raft: Huge vehicle; Seaworthiness -4; Shiphandling +0; Speed oars 5 ft (poor); Overall AC 3; Hull hp 30 (hardness 5); Ram 2d6; Mounts -; Space 15 ft by 10 ft; Height 2.5 ft (draft 2.5 ft); Complement 8; Watch 1 plus 2 rowers; Cargo 2 tons (Speed oars 5 ft if 1 ton or more); Cost 100 gp.
A crude raft is as follows:
Crude Raft: Huge vehicle; Seaworthiness -6; Shiphandling -2; Speed oars 5 ft (poor); Overall AC 5; Hull hp 15 (hardness 4); Ram 1d6; Mounts -; Space 15 ft by 10 ft; Height 2.5 ft (draft 2.5 ft); Complement 6; Watch 1 plus 2 rowers; Cargo 1 tons (Speed oars 5 ft if .5 tons or more); Cost 50 gp.
If the killoren are asked what creatures live in the Lake, they will say that many normal fish dwell within. As far as large or dangerous denizens, they know of two. First, a rare giant gar-like fish dwells in the depths of the Lake. Also, on very rare occasions observers have seen a large, reptilian creature breach the surface of the Lake.
If asked how the PCs will locate the precise position of the doorway, the Elders can tell them that at night, a distant deep glow will be seen on the surface from the depths below. This will be the doorway.
The journey to the middle of the Lake will actually be quite uneventful and peaceful, whether on a raft or swimming on or under the surface.
Finding the precise spot under which the doorway is located will not be easy, due to a lack of landmarks visible from the center of the massive Lake, unless it is at night. In this case, as mentioned by the Most Sacred Elders, a DC 18 Spot check (modified only by distance above the surface of the Lake) will locate a spectral glow coming from the depths of the Lake. This glow marks the location of the doorway (or the cryptoclidi, see below).
Descending into the depths around the doorway will involve pressure dangers. The water is 500 ft deep here, meaning no light will penetrate that far even in daylight (refer to page 11 of Stormwrack) and PCs without the aquatic subtype will suffer 1d6 per 100 ft of depth from pressure damage each minute unless a Fortitude save is made (DC 15 +1 for each previous check made).
While descending to the doorway, when the PCs approach to within 300 ft of the doorway, they will be attacked by a small school of massive cryptoclidi that dwell near the doorway. These beasts seems to enjoy being near the glow of the doorway, and consider this area their territory. In fact, the creatures have apparently absorbed some of the magic emanating from the doorway, and have the guardian template as a result. The creatures patrol the area, and with their heightened senses are likely to detect the PCs at some point unless they have taken extraordinary precautions.
Each cryptoclidus' eyes glow with the same radiance as the doorway, and, in fact, the DM can assume that the if the PCs spotted the glow of the doorway from the surface, that they really saw the glow from one of the creatures' eyes. The actual glow is somewhat farther below the surface and requires a DC 23 Spot check to see. If the PCs made their Spot check of 18 but not 23 then they saw a cryptoclidus' glow and not the doorway. If they made a DC 23 check then they saw multiple glows...in close proximity to one another.
If the PCs instead have approached from beneath the surface of the water, then they will certainly spot multiple glows, and note that half a dozen of them are located about halfway down the depth of the Lake while the other is at the bottom of the Lake.
Creatures: A school of 6 advanced guardian cryptoclidi dwell here and will attack any intruders into their territory. These creatures were not specifically bred as guardians, despite the template's name, but rather the template represents powers the creatures have gained from years of dwelling very near to the doorway. The spirits that travel to and from Gyrmashil's Realm are immune to the creatures due to their incorporeality.
|
ADVANCED GUARDIAN CRYPTOCLIDI
(6) CR 7 Improved Grab (Ex) If a cryptoclidus hits an opponent that is at least one size category smaller than itself with a bite attack, it deals normal damage and attempts to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it gets a hold, it can try to swallow the opponent. Alternatively, the cryptoclidus has the option to conduct the grapple normally, or simply use its jaws to hold the opponent (-20 penalty on grapple check, but cryptoclidus is not considered grappled). In either case, each successful grapple check it makes during successive rounds automatically deals bite damage. Swallow Whole (Ex) Cryptoclidus can swallow a grabbed opponent that is at least two size categories smaller than itself by making a successul grapple check. Once inside the gullet, the opponent takes 1d8+4 points of bludgeoning damage plus 1d6+2 points of acid damage per round from the dinosaur's digestive juices. A successful grapple attempt allows the swallowed creature to climb out of the gullet and return to the mouth, where another successful grapple check is needed to get free. Alternatively, a swallowed creature can try to cut its way out with either claws or a light piercing or slashing weapon. Dealing at least 25 points of damage to the digestive tract (AC 12) in this way creates an opening large enough to permit escape. Once a single swallowed creature exits, muscular action closes the hole; thus, another swallowed opponent must cut its own way out. A Huge cryptoclidus' gullet can hold 1 Medium, 4 Large, or 16 Tiny or smaller opponents. |
Tactics: While normally such creatures might be content to eat and consume a PC or two, these creatures are especially possessive of the doorway and will guard it against all intruders and, even if one successfully swallows a PC and its gullet is full, it will continue to fight.
If the PCs, once they intrude to within 300 ft of the doorway and rile up the dinosaurs, then flee, the dinosaurs will follow to within 500 ft of the doorway before breaking off pursuit. This means were the PCs to swim up to their raft to flee the creature, it would follow and likely attack the raft.
The Doorway (EL 12):
The doorway is a crossroads, as
described in Magic of Faerun page 44, although with some
differences as noted below.
| The doorway to Gyrmashil's Realm appears as a hole in the bottom of the lake bed about 20 ft in diameter. Despite the hole, no water seems to be draining down into it, and instead a bright golden light emanates from the hole. Surrounding the hole are various strange-looking plants that seem to be a combination of vines and kelp. These plants grow over a ring of flat stones framing the hole. The flat stones are carved with strange whorls and rune-like engravings. |
The glow from the doorway illuminates in a 60 ft area around the opening.
Creatures: Guarding the doorway is a massive crossroads guardian. The guardian appears as an amorphous argent shape with a vague head-like portion that bears wispy curled ram horns.
The guardian is charged with keeping unwanted creatures out of Gyrmashil's Realm, including the various creatures of the Lake as well as annoying mortals.
The guardian will observe with amusement the fight the PCs have with the cryptoclidi (see above) while hiding inside the lake bed surrounding the doorway and only when the PCs finish that battle or approach to within 50 ft of the doorway will it emerge. If the PCs are still tangling with the cryptoclidi, the guardian will telepathically urge the PCs to take care of or drive off that annoying creature so that they may communicate in peace.
In any event, the guardian will announce that it's charge is to ward the doorway into the realm of its master, the living spirit of the Land of Aladur, and it will inquire as to the PCs' reason for seeking entry to that realm to possibly disturb or annoy the master.
The PCs can make Diplomacy checks or Performance checks (though the latter would have to work underwater). Performance checks gain a +2 circumstance bonus as the guardian appreciates being entertained as a relief from the drudgery of its existence.
The guardian begins with an unfriendly attitude. This is in contradiction to the rules in Magic of Faerun, but reflects both the initial distrust of strangers (especially humans, if there are any amongst the PCs) and the anger of Gyrmashil, which affects the emotional state of the guardian as well.
A single Diplomacy check may be made by a single PC on behalf of the entire group of PCs. Each PC does not have to convince the guardian individually. If the guardian is made hostile, it will attack the PCs. If it remains unfriendly, it will deny them entry and speak no further to them. If made indifferent, the guardian will deny entry, but will offer to let the PCs through if they will do it a favour (see below). If made friendly, the guardian will allow the PCs to pass. If made helpful, the guardian will allow the PCs to pass and pronounce them "Friends of the Land". This blessing grants the PCs a +1 circumstance bonus on all Charisma-based skill checks when dealing with fey and lasts for each PC until he somehow desecrates the land or harms innocent fey.
The doorway cannot be passed through (whether my magical means or mundane) without the approval of the guardian or its demise.
|
ADVANCED CROSSROADS GUARDIAN
CR 12 Summon Giant Gar (Sp) Once per day, a crossroads guardian can attempt to summon 1d3+1 large giant gar (treat as large barracudas) with a 35% chance of success. This ability has a duration of 1 hour and is the equivalent of a 4th level spell. *Due to the depth of its location, this crossroads guardian has darkvision as a bonus special quality. |
|
GIANT GAR (Advanced Large
Barracuda) CR n/a *This gar is a deepwater variety that has darkvision as an additional special quality. |
Tactics: In combat, which the guardian is reluctant to undertake but will do so if the PCs press him, it will first summon the giant gar, then using its exceptional reach to inflict touch attack damage on its foes. The guardian will never surrender, though it will urge its foes to give up the fight. If reduced to half of its hit points or less, the guardian will simply sink into the lake bed and wait there, as it knows its foes cannot pass through the doorway as long as it lives.
If the guardian is hiding beneath the lake bed, the PCs may have to get creative in order to attack it. The loam of the lake bed is rather soft and since the guardian has to remain adjacent to the surface of the lake bed, the lake bed should be treated as concealment rather than cover to piercing and slashing weapons. The fully hidden guardian is assumed to have total concealment (50% miss chance [checked before incorporeal miss chance is checked] and the PCs must designate a square to be attacked) against such weapons. As the guardian can move around under the lake bed, the PCs will have to guess what square(s) it is in unless they have some means of detecting it beneath the loam.
With regard to spells and magic effects, the DM will have to adjudicate. Effects that roughly duplicate piercing or slashing attacks should have full effect, but rays, spells with bludgeoning-like effects and other effects would treat the lake bed as providing total cover. Even if a spell does affect the guardian through the loam, it will receive a +4 cover bonus to Reflex saves.
If the guardian is being effectively attacked beneath the lake bed, it will strike back, using the loam as cover. In this case treat the loam as normal cover for all purposes.
Developments: If the guardian is defeated or it allows the PCs to pass, then they are free to step or swim into the hole. A flash of light will envelop them and they will be translated into Gyrmashil's Realm.
The Favour (EL 11):
If the guardian is indifferent to the PCs, it will consider for a moment and then say that it might be willing to let the PCs through if they will grant him a boon. If the PCs seem amenable, the guardian will explain that centuries ago, one of the refugee spirits of earth presented the guardian with a beautiful chunk of crystal. The crystal was itself beautiful, but something of its structure allowed the glow from the doorway to be refracted by the crystal into all sorts of wondrous patterns and colours.
The guardian is sure the crystal has no magical powers. But due to its lonely, solitary existence as guardian of the doorway, the crystal provided him much amusement and diversion from its tedious task.
However, whether capriciously or in an act of jealousy, one of the water spirits eventually came to the guardian and engaged it in a contest. The guardian lost and the prize was the crystal. While the guardian admits that it was foolish of it to have wagered the crystal, it never thought it would lose the contest to the spirit (the contest happened so long ago that the guardian doesn't even remember what the contest involved). The spirit took the crystal and, knowing that the guardian cannot leave far from the doorway, it dropped it in a thick bed of kelp, close enough so that the guardian can see the kelp bed, but far enough that it cannot reach the crystal.
The guardian simply wants the crystal back, and sees no reason why the PCs could not simply go over there and retrieve it. The guardian knows of no dangers in the kelp if he is asked by the PCs.
If the PCs agree, the guardian will lead them to one edge of the radius it can stray from the doorway and will point to a kelp bed that begins about 60 ft away. The guardian will indicate that it saw the crystal drop amongst that kelp, somewhere towards the center of the bed.
The kelp bed is fairly thick, covering a radius of about 60 ft and fronds float up a good 20 ft to 30 ft and wave lazily in the underwater currents like bushes in an above-water breeze.
PCs should treat the kelp bed a heavy undergrowth for purposes of movement and combat and other skills.
Creatures: Within the kelp bed are six large patches of strangle weeds. They will attack any prey that they can reach. While the strangle weeds are mobile, they have been here for a few months and have found the feeding good enough to remain.
|
ADVANCED STRANGLE WEEDS (6)
CR 6 Constrict (Ex) A strangle weed deals 1d8+12 points of damage with a successful grapple check. Improved Grab (Ex) To use this ability, a strangle weed must hit with its slam attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple check without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can constrict. |
Tactics: The strangle weeds will attempt to grab and squeeze a victim each and will not let go until the victim is dead or unmoving, in which case they will then defend themselves against other attacks. The plants will fight to the death, as their speed does not allow them to flee from threats.
Treasure: Within the kelp bed is the crystal that the guardian seeks. It does not radiate magic, and although other light sources are refracted somewhat by the crystal, it is only the glow of the doorway that causes it to burst with amazing patterns and colours. The crystal is about the size of a human fist and weighs 5 lbs. It will take a DC 20 Search check to locate the crystal.
The Faerie Realm:
Gyrmashil's Realms has the following planar traits:
DMs (and players) familiar with another version of Faerie (the Seelie Realm in Jerranq) will note that Gyrmashil's Realm does not possess the enhanced magic trait. This is because there is no connection in Sazhansiir between the fey and arcane magic.
Gyrmashil's Realm is essentially very much like the land of Aladur and the surrounding region in miniature. By miniature is not meant that such features are tiny, but rather they are packed into a small, 10 mile radius. In addition, PCs who arrive in the Realm will note that there is a sort of heightened reality to the place. Colours are more vibrant, light is a little brighter, shadows a little darker, mountains a little steeper, and water a little clearer. Overall the effect is as if the PCs have stepped into a very realistic painting of a landscape.
The climate in the Realm is mild, and is not at all humid, as it reflects the conditions of the land before Kyuss changed the climate to a tropical one. Forests and trees are of the temperate variety, and not the jungle type that comprises the nearby Coatlizin Jungle. Day and night pass in 12 hour cycles as on the Material Plane, but there is no sun or moon. Light in daytime is simply a sort of bright glow that suffuses the sky and dims when night approaches, and at nighttime there are a great many stars that provide a gloaming light equal to a night of a full moon. During the day, there are shadows cast, as the daylight is brightest in the center of the top of the sphere and so shadows are cast relative to that position.
The Realm is a 10 mile diameter sphere, and technically, that includes the sky and underground as well. Beyond these boundaries is essentially nothing. Nothing can pierce these boundaries, and they appear as opaque blue crystal that is impervious to any sort of interaction and radiates no magic. If PCs insist on flying up to the top of the Realm, they will note that the stars are simply bright glowing crystals that are implanted into the top of the sphere. These crystals cannot be removed and are impervious to any sort of interaction.
Should the PCs engage in any sort of teleportation magic and end up off course in such a way that they would be placed outside of the crystal sphere, they will instead appear inside the Realm at the edge of the sphere closest to their off-course point of arrival.
 |
The map above shows Gyrmashil's Realm. The terrain features in the Realm are briefly described below. Note that there is really no "north" in this Realm, but for convenience of description that direction has been arbitrarily assigned.
Below is a player's map that the DM can hand to the players to aid in their exploration of the place.
 |
Mountains/Hills = These are designated in brown and each shade represents an increase in elevation of 500 ft, so that the tallest peaks are about 2000 feet high. The topmost elevation bears snow on it. Lower elevations have coniferous trees, in some cases gathered into small woodland areas. For purposes of overland travel, the highest two elevations should be treated as mountain and the lowest two as hills.
Forests = These are designated in dark green and are temperate deciduous forests similar to Irin Forest near the Azotchtlan Lands. They should be treated as sparse forest on any hex that is only partial forest, medium forest in any hex that is completely forested.
Marshes = These are designated in pink and are considered to be swamp if completely pink. Any hex that is partially pink and partially green is considered a moor.
Lake = The single large lake here is formed of placid, crystal clear water. The water is cold, as if it had just come from wintry runoff from the mountains above. The lake is shallower at its north end, but the other banks are fairly steep and drop precipitously t the lake bed below. The lake descends to a depth of about 200 ft.
The two rivers of the Realm are formed in the mountains, one from the Mirror of Loice (see area 6 below) and one simply from collected runoff of snow. The two join together about halfway down the mountains and then wind their way through the marshes and into the lake.
Both rivers are about 30 ft wide individually and range from 15 ft to 20 ft deep. They generally proceed at a fairly swift pace down the mountains and should be considered fast (DC 15 Swim check and a flow rate of about 30 ft per round) with occasional rapids (DC 20 Swim check and a flow rate of 70 ft per round). When the rivers join together they retain the same Swim DCs and flow rates, though rapids are somewhat scarcer and the river itself is now about 45 ft wide and 20 ft to 25 ft deep. When the river finally reaches the flatlands, it widens to over 60 ft wide and 30 ft to 35 ft deep and moves at a more placid pace (DC 12 Swim check and a flow rate of about 15 ft per round). When the river enters the marshes, it slows even further, widening out considerably and can be considered equivalent to still water.
Grassland = Light green areas represent normal grasslands. These are areas of rolling undulations of grass-covered terrain, including meadows, small valleys with streams and pools, and occasional copses of trees.
The fact that the Realm is only 10 miles in diameter will not, at first, be apparent to the PCs, since the blue crystal sphere enclosing the Realm will appear like sky that meets the horizon. It is only until the PCs come within about 2 miles of the edge of the Realm that they will have a chance to realize that the "sky" is actually a physical barrier. At 2 miles this requires a DC 25 Spot check. For each half mire closer, subtract 5 from the DC, so that at 1/2 mile away the DC is 10. From a quarter of a mile away the nature of the barrier will be apparent to anyone who can see it without a die roll.
DMs should note that many denizens of this Realm do not have statistics presented for them. This is because it is assumed that the PCs will not be fighting them, and therefore there is no need to present statistic blocks. If such are needed, the DM can refer to the appropriate source material and, in the case of spellcasters, choose spells on the fly.
Wandering Encounters:
Gyrmashil's Realm contains creatures that reflect the flora and fauna of Aladur as well as other creatures that were present in Aladur before the climate changed, though these creatures are not normal animals, but rather mystic reflections of these creatures. For each hex entered or traversed or for each 2 hours spent stationary in a hex, a wandering encounter check should be made. There is a 10% chance of an encounter, and if an encounter is indicated, another check should be made to see if a second encounter occurs in the hex or in the two hour period in question. If a second encounter is indicated, then a third check is made and so forth until a check is failed. Multiple encounters can be spaced randomly in time and/or space or they can be worked into combined encounters, as the DM prefers. If the PCs are resting in a manner that precludes encounters (i.e. in a rope trick), then the DM should forego encounters during this period of time unless the PCs are actively watching for them.
To consult the chart below, the DM should roll a d10. Lake includes any hex partially filled by the lake (so includes the shore as well). River only refers to an instance when the PCs are traveling on or under a river. If the PCs are traveling right next to a river, then assume a 50% chance an encounter is a river encounter and a 50% chance it is an encounter of the type of terrain through which the river flows.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1 |
|
|
|
|
|
| 2 |
|
|
|
|
|
| 3 |
|
|
|
|
|
| 4 |
|
|
|
|
|
| 5 |
|
|
|
|
|
| 6 |
|
|
|
|
|
| 7 |
|
|
|
|
|
| 8 |
|
|
|
|
|
| 9 |
|
|
|
|
|
| 10 |
|
|
|
|
|
For each animal or vermin, there is a corresponding set of letters that reveals the possible subtypes, usually templates, that the animal may possess. The fact that some of the above animals are not allowed to be encountered in their normal version should not indicate that such versions are not present in the Realm. Instead, it simply means that the normal version of the animal is of no threat or interest to the PCs and so is not included in the tables above. The DM should assume such normal animals are common to the terrain in question should the PCs seek to find one.
The letters are as follows:
N = Normal (this means either
a normal version of the creature and/or a giant or monstrous version),
in the case of bat meaning a swarm version of the creature
D = Dire Template (from Tome of Horrors 3.5 page 386) or
the separate dire version of the creature
E = Element Template (from Manual of the Planes page 191),
sometimes of the normal version and sometimes of the dire version
and most creatures may only have access to some of the element
types
H = Half-Fey Template (from Fiend Folio page 89), sometimes
of the normal version and sometimes of the dire version
L = Legendary Animal (this is not a template, but found in Monster
Manual II page 136)
S = Spirit Animal (from Frostburn page 155); statistics
presented are as against non-ethereal opponents
W = Woodling Creature (from Monster Manual III page 197)
Normal creatures are treated as normal animals or vermin in all ways, though even to the untrained eye they seem, like the landscape here in Gyrmashil's Realm, a little too perfectly shaped and a bit too vibrant in colour and their calls a bit too loud or hitting a too perfect note or timbre. These are the normal denizens of the Realm and tend to behave like normal versions of their species.
Dire animals in this Realm are a manifestation of Gyrmashil's anger. In other words, normally such creatures are not found in Gyrmashil's Realm. As they represent his anger, they will tend to attack on sight and to the death. Where other templates are based on the dire version of an animal, the description of the temperament of the animal matches the description of the non-dire template.
Element creatures (air, earth, fire, and water) are manifest from the mixture of elemental influences and "leaks" of elemental essences into the Realm (via the elemental weird pools) that merge with Grymashil's essence and form these creatures. Despite their strange natures, these creatures will tend to act as their normal counterparts. Wood element creatures are mergings of the plant and animals natures of Gyrmashil and are not elementals, despite being based on the element creature template.
Half-Fey are animals that have more fully integrated with Gyrmashil's nature. In fact, most are or were created when the various spirits of refuge abided in Gyrmashil's Realm and the spirit mystically mated with them, producing these half-fey as offspring. They are generally mischievous but usually not downright hostile unless strangers show themselves to be aggressive or mean harm to the Realm.
Legendary animals are instances whereby a very powerful reflection of an animal has come into being, usually by being imbued directly with some of the essence of Gyrmashil himself. This occurs usually when the spirit of the land possesses one of the animals of his Realm for some time and leaves within the body a bit of his immortal will. They tend to be very protective of their territory and wary of strangers, but will usually not attack unless it is in their nature to do so or strangers do not show deference to their posturing.
Spirit animals are the reflections of animals that have lived and died in Aladur, whether now or in ancient times before Kyuss changed the climate. These beasts will often shadow or follow intruders for some time to see if they mean any harm, and will aid any denizens of the Realm against intruders, even if the denizens are the aggressors. The DM can assume that spirit animals follow the PCs for up to 1d6 hours or until they enter a terrain type that the animals cannot be encountered.
Woodling creatures are manifestations of the fertile nature of Gyrmashil. They would normally tend to be at peace with the Realm and decidedly non-hostile to strangers, but Gyrmashil's anger has manifest in these creatures and, as such, they will attack any strangers to the Realm.
The brief descriptions of the dispositions of the creatures encountered refer to the "Normal" variety, even (as in the case of the ibis) if none is given as an encounter. DMs should then modify this disposition for other types of that creature as described above. For example, a water element dire ibis would act like a normal ibis, not a dire ibis. It will not be as aggressive as a dire ibis, despite being based on the dire template.
DM's should note that, for the most part, these encounters are not meant to be a serious threat to the PCs. Rather, they should serve the purpose of representing the strangeness of the place and as reminders of the anger being manifested by Gyrmashil.
Ant, Giant Soldier:
These soldier ants will tend to be aggressive towards anyone they encounter.
01-33 = Giant Soldier Ant (2d6)
34-66 = Earth Element Giant Soldier Ant (2d6)
67-00 = Fire Element Giant Soldier Ant (2d6)
|
|
|
Ape:
Normal apes are shy and reclusive (albeit curious) unless threatened or surprised at close range.
01-33 = Ape (1d6)
34-42 = Dire Ape (1d6)
43-51 = Earth Element Ape (1d6)
52-60 = Fire Element Ape (1d6)
61-69 = Wood Element Ape (1d6)
70-75 = Half-Fey Ape (1d6)
76-80 = Legendary Ape (1d3)
81-90 = Spirit Ape(1d6)
91-00 = Woodling Ape (1d6)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Badger:
Badgers are irrascible, aggressive creatures.
01-36 = Badger (1d6)
37-48 = Dire Badger (1d6)
49-58 = Earth Element Badger (1d6)
59-68 = Fire Element Badger (1d6)
69-78 = Wood Element Badger (1d6)
79-84 = Half-Fey Badger (1d6)
85-92 = Spirit Badger (1d6)
93-00 = Woodling Badger (1d6)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bat:
Even in swarm form bats are generally not aggressive unless roused or threatened.
01-36 = Bat Swarm (1d4)
37-48 = Dire Bat (1d8)
49-58 = Air Element Dire Bat (1d8)
59-68 = Fire Element Dire Bat (1d8)
69-78 = Wood Element Dire Bat (1d8)
79-84 = Half-Fey Dire Bat (1d8)
85-92 = Spirit Bat Swarm (1d4)
93-00 = Woodling Bat Swarm (1d4)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bee:
Giant bees are usually not aggressive except when defending themselves or their hive.
01-50 = Giant Bee (2d6)
51-70 = Air Element Giant Bee (2d6)
71-90 = Fire Element Giant Bee (2d6)
91-00 = Half-Fey Giant Bee (2d6)
|
|
|
|
Beetle:
Giant bombardier beetles are aggressive if approached or threatened.
01-52 = Giant Bombardier Beetle
(1d12)
53-68 = Air Element Giant Bombarider Beetle (1d12)
69-84 = Earth Element Giant Bombarider Beetle (1d12)
85-00 = Water Element Giant Bombarider Beetle (1d12)
|
|
|
|
|
Boar:
Boars can be quite aggressive if approached or surprised.
01-42 = Boar (1d8)
43-60 = Dire Boar (1d8)
61-68 = Earth Element Boar (1d8)
69-76 = Fire Element Boar (1d8)
77-84 = Wood Element Boar (1d8)
85-92 = Spirit Boar (1d8)
93-00 = Woodling Boar (1d8)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Centipede:
Huge Monstrous Centipedes are consummate hunters and are almost always aggressive.
01-40 = Huge Monstrous Centipede
(1d6)
41-55 = Earth Element Huge Monstrous Centipede (1d6)
56-70 = Fire Element Huge Monstrous Centipede (1d6)
71-85 = Water Element Huge Monstrous Centipede (1d6)
86-00 = Wood Element Huge Monstrous Centipede (1d6)
|
|
|
|
|
Crayfish:
Monstrous crayfish are usually hungry and opportunistic hunters.
01-50 = Monstrous Crayfish (1d6)
51-75 = Earth Element Monstrous Crayfish (1d6)
76-00 = Water Element Monstrous Crayfish (1d6)
|
|
|
Crocodile:
Crocodiles can be quite placid or aggressive as their hunger and circumstances dictate.
01-40 = Crocodile (1d12)
41-60 = Dire Crocodile (1d6)
61-70 = Earth Element Crocodile (1d12)
71-80 = Water Element Crocodile (1d12)
81-90 = Wood Element Crocodile (1d12)
91-00 = Spirit Crocodile (1d12)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deer:
Deer are normally shy and reclusive and quick to flee from danger.
01-60 = Deer (1d20)
61-85 = Dire Deer (1d10)
86-92 = Spirit Deer (1d20)
93-00 = Woodling Deer (1d20)
|
|
|
|
Dragonfly:
Monstrous dragonflies are aggressive hunters of prey smaller than they.
01-50 = Monstrous Dragonfly (1d6)
51-65 = Air Element Monstrous Dragonfly (1d6)
66-80 = Fire Element Monstrous Dragonfly (1d6)
81-95 = Water Element Monstrous Dragonfly (1d6)
96-00 = Half-Fey Monstrous Dragonfly (1d6)
|
|
|
|
|
Eel:
Eels are voracious predators, but only of prey smaller than they.
01-60 = Eel (1d3)
61-80 = Dire Eel (1d2)
81-92 = Water Element Eel (1d3)
93-00 = Spirit Eel (1d3)
|
|
|
|
Fly:
Giant flies are opportunistic scavengers.
01-60 = Giant Fly (1d12)
61-70 = Air Element Giant Fly (1d12)
71-80 = Earth Element Giant Fly (1d12)
81-90 = Fire Element Giant Fly (1d12)
91-00 = Water Element Giant Fly (1d12)
|
|
|
|
|
Gar:
Gar are aggressive hunters, and will attack creatures even as big as themselves if in sufficient numbers.
01-45 = Gar (1d6)
46-70 = Dire Gar (1d6)
71-85 = Water Element Gar (1d6)
86-00 = Spirit Gar (1d6)
|
|
|
|
Hawk:
Hawks are inclined only towards prey that are smaller than themselves (although this can include prey in the Tiny size category).
01-35 = Hawk (1d2)
36-58 = Dire Hawk (1d2)
59-66 = Air Element Dire Hawk (1d2)
67-74 = Fire Element Dire Hawk (1d2)
75-82 = Water Element Dire Hawk (1d2)
83-87 = Half-Fey Dire Hawk (1d2)
88-95 = Spirit Hawk (1d2)
96-00 = Woodling Hawk (1d2)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ibis:
Ibis are normally non-aggressive and tend to prey on smaller creatures.
01-50 = Dire Ibis (2d6)
51-70 = Air Element Dire Ibis (2d6)
71-90 = Water Element Dire Ibis (2d6)
91-00 = Half-Fey Dire Ibis (2d6)
|
|
|
|
Lion:
Lions are dangerous when hungry, but can be quite placid otherwise.
01-40 = Lion (1d8)
41-60 = Dire Lion (1d4)
61-70 = Earth Element Lion (1d8)
71-80 = Fire Element Lion (1d8)
81-85 = Wood Element Lion (1d8)
86-95 = Spirit Lion (1d8)
96-00 = Woodling Lion (1d8)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lizard:
Giant lizards are aggressive hunters and will tend to attack any creatures smaller than themselves.
01-49 = Giant Lizard (1d3)
50-58 = Earth Element Giant Lizard (1d3)
59-67 = Fire Element Giant Lizard (1d3)
68-76 = Water Element Giant Lizard (1d3)
77-85 = Wood Element Giant Lizard (1d3)
86-95 = Spirit Giant Lizard (1d3)
96-00 = Woodling Giant Lizard (1d3)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Snake:
Both types of snakes (constrictors and large vipers) are aggressive against smaller prey but otherwise prone to attack only in defense.
01-22 = Constrictor Snake (1)
23-44 = Large Viper Snake (1d3)
45-56 = Dire Snake (1d2)
57-60 = Earth Element Constrictor Snake (1)
61-64 = Earth Element Large Viper Snake (1d3)
65-68 = Fire Element Constrictor Snake (1)
69-72 = Fire Element Large Viper Snake (1d3)
73-76 = Water Element Constrictor Snake (1)
77-80 = Water Element Large Viper Snake (1d3)
81-84 = Wood Element Constrictor Snake (1)
85-88 = Wood Element Large Viper Snake (1d3)
89-90 = Legendary Snake (1)
91-93 = Spirit Constrictor Snake (1)
94-96 = Spirit Large Viper Snake (1d3)
97-98 = Woodling Constrictor Snake (1)
99-00 = Woodling Large Viper Snake (1d3)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spider:
Large Monstrous Spiders are generally aggressive and opportunistic hunters, and will certainly tend to attack creatures as large or smaller than themselves. Web-spinning spiders will be encountered in Forest encounters and diving spiders in Lake/River encounters.
Forests:
01-50 = Large Monstrous Web-Spinning
Spider (1d6)
51-75 = Earth Element Large Monstrous Web-Spinning Spider (1d6)
76-00 = Wood Element Large Monstrous Web-Spinning Spider (1d6)
Lakes/Rivers:
01-65 = Large Monstrous Diving
Spider (1d6)
66-00 = Water Element Large Monstrous Diving Spider (1d6)
|
|
|
|
|
Tick:
Giant ticks are aggressive parasites.
01-64 = Giant Tick (1d12)
65-82 = Earth Element Giant Tick (1d12)
83-00 = Wood Element Giant Tick (1d12)
|
|
|
Toad:
Toads are normally aggressive against creatures they are capable of swallowing whole.
01-52 = Dire Toad (1d20)
53-64 = Earth Element Dire Toad (1d20)
65-76 = Fire Element Dire Toad (1d20)
77-88 = Water Element Dire Toad (1d20)
89-00 = Wood Element Dire Toad (1d20)
|
|
|
|
|
Wasp:
Wasps are very aggressive hunters, usually carrying prey (or bits and pieces of it) back home to their nest.
01-50 = Giant Wasp (1d6)
51-70 = Air Element Giant Wasp (1d6)
71-90 = Fire Element Giant Wasp (1d6)
91-00 = Half-Fey Giant Wasp (1d6)
|
|
|
|
Weasel:
Weasels are crafty opportunistic hunters who will attack opponents smaller than themselves or who appear unwary or otherwise vulnerable.
01-50 = Dire Weasel (1d2)
51-65 = Earth Element Dire Weasel (1d2)
66-80 = Wood Element Dire Weasel (1d2)
81-90 = Half-Fey Dire Weasel (1d2)
91-00 = Spirit Weasel (1d2)
|
|
|
|
|
Wolf:
Wolves can be aggressive when hungry, and are clever pack hunters in that case. However, they are smart enough to recognize tough prey and unless outnumbering such prey, will tend to back off or watch and wait for a moment of vulnerability.
01-40 = Wolf (1d20)
41-60 = Dire Wolf (1d8)
61-67 = Earth Element Wolf (1d20)
68-74 = Fire Element Wolf (1d20)
75-81 = Wood Element Wolf (1d20)
82-86 = Legendary Wolf (1d20)
87-93 = Spirit Wolf (1d20)
94-00 = Woodling Wolf (1d20)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Realm Locations:
Refer to the Realm map above.
Note: If the PCs attack any of the elemental weirds here, the rest of the weirds will instantly know about it and will be hostile to the PCs, making the chance of the PCs completing this scenario slim to none.
1. Entrance
It is here that the PCs will arrive through the doorway at the bottom of the Lake of Refuge at about 10 AM (no matter what the time was on the Material Plane. While time progresses on this demiplane at roughly the same rate as on the Material Plane, the two planes are not in sync when it comes to day and night. If it becomes necessary to calculate the relative time of day between the two planes, the DM can simply compare 10 AM in the Realm to whatever time it was on Therra when they entered and then establish a correspondence between the two from that. However, it is desirable that no matter when the PCs enter the Realm, it is daylight so that they can get their bearings and a lay of the land.
When the PCs first arrive, the
DM should read the following to them:
|
You have appeared in a blaze of golden light with green grass under your feet and the smell of lavender in the air. You stand on a grassy knoll overlooking rolling meadows and plains of lush green grasses that sway in a cool breeze. The temperature is quite mild and the humidity normal to Sazhansiir seems to be gone. Overhead, it is bright daylight, though you can see no sun; the very air itself seems suffused with golden light. and there are no clouds to mar the strangely deep blue sky overhead. Behind you is a pair of stone megaliths each 25 ft tall and spaced 15 ft apart. Another megalith lies horizontally across the top of these, forming the upper lintel of the doorway. Between the megaliths, the air crackles with a lavender energy. You seem to be standing in a wide vale between two large forests. The forests, though thick, appear to be normal forests of the temperate variety and not jungles. To your right, the forest continues behind and away from you for miles as it curves around a large lake. A wide river seems to flow into the lake through a marshy area after emerging from a set of hills to your left. The forest on your left climbs into the foothills of a range of mountains that dominate the horizon to your left, eventually rising several thousand feet into the air, the peaks of which are dusted in white snow. Straight ahead, about a mile away and set midway between the two forests, is a tall stone structure that looks like an impossibly narrow and tall needle of stone that must rise at least 300 ft into the air. Beyond that, an strange curved mesa-like structure of stone rises steeply from a set of hills about 500 ft into the air before levelling off, though what is on top of the structure and whether the mesa is actually a circle cannot be determined from only this direction. Overall, the place seems...perfect. Too perfect in some sense. The colours are normal, but a bit more vibrant than normal. Trees are a bit taller and straighter than normal. The sky is too deep and rich a hue of blue. Shadows are darker and more distinct. The mountains rise up in angles that are a little too steep and come to peaks that are a bit too narrow. On the whole, it seems like you have stepped into a very realistic painting. |
Anyone passing through the megaliths, which is a crossroads just like the one at the bottom of the Lake of Refuge (albeit there is no guardian here) will appear in a flash of purple haze outside of the doorway at the bottom of the Lake of Refuge.
2. The Pinnacle of Air
When the PCs approach this structure
to within about a quarter of a mile, they will begin to notice
more details.
| This is a tall stone structure that looks like an impossibly narrow and tall needle of stone that must rise at least 300 ft into the air. A stone staircase seems to spiral its way up the spire, beginning at ground level and facing southwest and apparently proceeding all the way to the top. The bottom of the spire is 50 ft in diameter and the top is about 30 ft in diameter. The stairs appear to be cut into the rock and are a precarious 5 ft wide with no rail facing the sheer dropoff on the left as one ascends. |
When the PCs reach the top of the spire (likely after a long and exhausting ascent), they will arrive at a 30 ft diameter flat top, of which the central 20 ft is taken up by a a circle of billowing, gusty grey mist, leaving a narrow 5 ft wide ring of stone around the misty area.
This misty area is actually a pool of mist 40 ft deep etched into the top of the stone spire. The bottom of the pool is a portal to the Elemental Plane of Air.
Creatures: Within the pool dwells a air weird (Monster
Manual II page 91). A round after the first PCs arrive at
the top of the spire or flies to the top of the spire and within
30 ft of the pool, the air weird will appear. Should any being
try to enter the pool or touch it, he will hear a strange, ghostly
female voice urge them to "Halt! Do not touch the mist!"
in his own native language. If any being insists on still touching
the vapour pool, he must make a DC 20 Fortitude save or be irrevocably
translated into mist, gone forever.
| The vapours in the center of the circle start to ripple and billow and suddenly a ghostly, translucent woman composed of flowing vapours rises up out of the mist. Her eyes are deep blue and her hair appears windblown. The lower half of her body is a tendril of mist that trails back into the vapour pool. |
As such, she is an excellent resource for the PCs who seek guidance as to where to go or what to do next in this Realm. Suggestions to the DM as to what her responses might be to various questions the PCs have are dealt with below and in later sections that deal with specific quests the PCs might undertake.
Developments: The weird will introduce herself and pronounce her name, which is comprised of syllables that are merely gusts of wind and others that are fluting and piping sounds. In short, her name is unpronounceable, but she will allow the PCs to think of a name to call her that they can pronounce. If the name is flattering, she will be most pleased. If it is insulting, she will be angry and refuse to help the PCs unless they can change her attitude from unfriendly to friendly by way of Diplomacy and provide her with a sincere name.
Assuming she is not displeased, she will speak to the PCs. When she does, it is apparent to the PCs that she is physically speaking, and not using telepathy, and the PCs can hear her voice speak in a myriad of languages simultaneously, but they can only make out the words of the language that is their native tongue.
Now that you have named me, I welcome to Gyrmashil's Realm travelers! You come to this hidden place seeking answers to questions, some you know and some you have not yet even thought to ask. This is well, and a noble task you undertake. I am privileged to name some of the orphaned spirits from lands now ravaged as my friends, though I have not seen most for years beyond reckoning. But even though I know the reasons for your journey, it is still appropriate that you name them and tell me what you seek.
She will then wait for the PCs to answer. She does, indeed, know exactly why the PCs have come...to find out why Gyrmashil is angry, and to find out what has happened to Hlavanaque. If the PCs divulge this to the weird, she will continue. If they lie precipitously about their reasons, she will become displeased and refuse to speak to the PCs further until they make a Diplomacy check and change her attitude from unfriendly to friendly and divulge the true reason of their presence in the Realm.
The answers you seek are one and the same, as I am sure you suspected. Gyrmashil's anger and Hlavanaque's disappearance are related to each other.
Other Questions will be answered as follows:
Q: Is Hlavanaque here in the Realm?
A: The betrothed is indeed here. That is the problem is it not? She is here and not there, where she is needed and needs to be needed.
Q. Where is Hlavanaque?
A: She is grasped protectively in love's embrace.
Q: Is she with Gyrmashil?
A: Indeed she is with him, though she is not with him.
Q: Is she held against her will?
A: She is held by his will and her will is as a breeze in a tornado.
Q: Where is Gyrmashil?
A: This is his Realm, and so he is the Realm and the Realm is he. But he is also with her, and that part of him, his love for her, dwells in his fane, high upon the plateau of the standing stones [and she will point to the northeast].
Q: Do you have any advice as to how to deal with Gyrmashil?
A: Very carefully, as an insect with a hurricane.
Q: Do you know how we can free Hlavanaque?
A: That is a question you are not prepared to ask, though ask it you do. I, on the other breeze, am prepared to answer, though I shan't. Return to me when you are prepared, and ask it you shall and answer it I shall.
[Note: By this answer she means for the PCs to first travel to Gyrmashil's fane and speak with him and then return to her.]
Q: Is there anything else we should know?
A: There is limitless knowledge that is beyond your grasps. You should know it all, though it would surely kill you. But as far as your current needs, only you can answer that question for yourselves.
She will respond to other questions, though if not related to this scenario they will be fairly cryptic and useless. If she is asked to elaborate or explain one of her answers, she will say:
It is not my privilege to change the course of a gale. I merely observe its path and sing its song.
If the PCs return to the air weird after having met with Gyrmashil (in area 2), then proceed to the section below entitled "Choosing a Path".
3. The Fane of Gyrmashil
The Fane of Gyrmashil sits atop a steep mesa that rises from lush green hills. Below is the view of the mesa from the southwest
 |
The hills are about 500 ft in height and the mesa rises another 500 ft above it. The mesa itself is about half a mile in diameter, though its top is somewhat irregular, being shaped like a circle with the southern side collapsed in towards the center.
Ascending the hills to the base of the mesa is not too difficult, but the mesa itself has no stairs or any other means of egress beyond climbing its walls. The climb is a 500 ft ascent and abut half of the climb is a DC 15 Climb check and the rest a DC 20 Climb check (assume these are spaced in alternating bands of 100 ft beginning with the DC 15 check).
Once the PCs can see the top of
the mesa, they will be able to see the Fane.
|
The top of the mesa is relatively flat, bare stone. There are few plants visible. mostly small shards of grass and a few low bushes. A large ring of stone menhirs is present, being about 350 ft in diameter and some 30 ft tall. The menhirs are shaped like leafless, twisted stone trees or , alternatively, stone lightning bolts blasting out of the ground and forking skyward. Within the ring of menhirs is a dolmen, comprised of three large flat stones some 15 ft high topped by a 20 ft wide stone roof. |
 |
The dolmen is pictured above.
The top of the mesa was once quite green and lush, but Gyrmashil's recent anger has permeated out of his Fane and onto the mesa, and this anger has caused most of the lush greenery to wither away.
Within the dolmen is a set of
15 ft wide stone stairs descending into the ground. The stairs
descend at a steep angle for some 60 ft before turning to the
right and descending another 60 ft. They then turn right again
for another 60 ft and right one more time for another 60 ft, until
it is relatively certain that the stairway as a whole has returned
to a spot directly under the dolmen (by about 120 ft). The last
flight of stairs opens into a chamber.
| The chamber at the foot of the staircase is hemispherical, being 60 ft in diameter and 30 ft high at its center. The floor and walls are all completely smooth. In the center of the place on the floor is a 20 ft diameter hole that is filled with a purple miasma. A mauve glow emanates from the miasma, lighting the chamber, but strangely the glow seems to lose its colour as it emanates from the hole, such that most of the room is bathed in white light. Hovering above the miasma is a clear pillar of crystal. The pillar is cylindrical, and about 20 ft tall and 10 ft in diameter and it floats 5 ft above the miasma and a pulsing glow seems to ripple up and down its length. Within the crystal can be seen the shape of a translucent woman some 15 ft tall and composed entirely of what appears to be skin the colour of water. Despite the woman's odd appearance, her face and form is stunningly beautiful, almost painfully so. This beauty is not just from her physical appearance, but seems to actually radiate as a palpable force from her very being. |
Creatures: Gyrmashil is a spirit of the land (Monster Manual II page 189). His combat capabilities are likely far beyond the ability of the PCs to handle. Fortunately, Gyrmashil is not looking for a fight. Instead, he will rise up invisibly out of the miasma (appearing to those who can see invisible objects as a shapeless mist) and will telepathically converse with the PCs.
Developments: Gyrmashil's telepathic voice is deep and resonates with power. He is somewhat haughty and more than a little angry and frustrated, though currently his emotions are not directed at the PCs. He will inquire as to why the PCs have come to his Realm and intruded upon his inner-sanctum.
Gyrmashil does not, by any means, intend to dissemble with the PCs. He believes his actions are right simply because of his power and status and because he believes the fact that he is in love to justify his actions from a moral point of view. Sample questions and Gyrmashil's answers are given below, but the DM should use these to extrapolate other answers to other questions.
Q: Are you Grymashil?
A: Yes, I am He, who is the spirit of the land of Aladur. I am the land...and the land is me.
Q: Where is Hlavanaque?
A: Ah, she who is the most beauteous being in the entire multiverse? She is here with me, as my guest.
Q: Is that being inside the floating pillar Hlavanaque?
A: Yes, that is she. Is not her beauty beyond measure?
Q: Is she being held here against her will?
A: She came into my Realm of her own free will, and now I seek to convince her of my undying love for her, so that we may be side by side in my Realm for eternity.
Q: Is that pillar her prison?
A: There is no prison! She is sheltered within a protective blanket, enfolded by my power in the caress of my love for her.
Q: Has she expressed a desire to leave your Realm?
A: Like a child she wishes to return to that which she knows, but like a child she must follow her own destiny and learn to give into her passions.
Q: Do you know that if Hlavanaque remains in your Realm she will eventually perish or be driven mad?
A: Preposterous! My Realm is a place of beauty and serenity...it is a reflection of myself. And our love will sustain her more than any other food or any other sight or any other sound. In the face of a love such as this all is overwhelmed...all reduces to insignificance.
Q: This is not true love. You cannot force someone to truly love you.
A: What do you know of the truth of anything? You are mere mortals...your understanding of cosmic forces and true emotion is as limited as your lifespans! Do not question the depth of my love! And do not question the depth of her eventual love for me. What you perceive, perhaps, as an inordinate amount of courtship and persuasion is of no consequence to beings to persist forever.
Q: The killoren need to consummate the marriage between themselves and Hlavanaque, for her own good.
A: The killoren marry the spirits because the spirits do not have anyone or anything to whom they can assuage their eternal grief. Hlavanaque will have a marriage to me. And I cannot die. She will never be alone again. And she will know the joys of union with the immortal to which a union with mortals cannot compare.
Q: Why is the land angry? Why are angry manifestations appearing throughout Aladur?
A: I am the land, and although I may grow angry at these questions from such as you, I am not wroth. I am, perhaps, somewhat frustrated by my beloved's refusal to give into her passions and surrender to our love, but I am patient and will persist.
In short, Gyrmashil believes without a doubt that, given enough time, he can make Hlavanaque love him. Should the PCs ask too many questions or press the spirit too much, or make any importune demands, Gyrmashil will grow angry and the air in the chamber will begin to smell of ozone, as the air does on a balmy day just before a thunderstorm. He will demand that the PCs leave his sanctum and trouble him no more. He will instruct the killoren to fear not for Hlavanaque, for she is safe with him and will eventually be married and, when this happens, then peace will return to the land of Aladur and all will be well.
The PCs may now remain or leave. If they leave the sanctum, Gyrmashil will not hinder them in any way. If they remain, Gyrmashil will not care unless they provoke him. Refer to the section below entitled "The Path of Battle" for details on conflict with Gyrmashil.
4. The Well of Water
As the PCs come within viewing
distance of this location they will espy the well from a nearby
grassy ridge.
| Near the shore of the lake, perhaps 200 ft to the north, is a 40 ft diameter hole in the ground. A small stream runs from the lake into the hole, which is surrounded by a 5 ft tall stone wall. |
When the PCs get near the hole and the opening, they will notice a set of stone stairs carved in the side of the well that spiral down from the opening into the depths. The stairs are 5 ft wide and steep and there is no rail to ward against the sheer dropoff to the right as the stairs descend.
The well is 80 ft deep, and at the bottom the stairs end in a circular ledge 10 ft wide that surrounds a pool of water 20 ft in diameter. The stream from above falls gently down the side of the well and into the pool with only a slight ripple.
The pool is 40 ft deep. The bottom of the pool is a portal to the Elemental Plane of Water.
Creatures: Within the pool dwells a water weird
(Monster Manual II page 91). A round after the first PCs
arrive at the ledge at the bottom of the well or flies to within
10 ft of the pool, the water weird will appear. Should any being
try to enter the pool or touch it, he will hear a strange, burbling
female voice urge him to "Halt! Do not touch the water!"
in his own native language. If any being insists on still touching
the pool, he must make a DC 20 Fortitude save or be irrevocably
translated into water, gone forever.
| The water in the center of the pool starts to ripple and bubble and suddenly a translucent blue woman composed of water rises up out of the pool. Her ankles just break the surface of the pool and her feet remain hidden beneath the water. |
Developments: The weird will introduce herself and pronounce her name, which is comprised of syllables that are merely the burbling of water over rocks and others that are as of the crashing of waves. In short, her name is unpronounceable.
If the PCs are coming to this weird at the direction of the air weird (area 2) in order to find a way to convince Gyrmashil of the futility and hollowness of his supposed love for Hlavanaque, then the water weird will guide them as outlined in the section entitled "The Path of Enlightenment" below.
On the other hand, if the PCs are merely wandering the Realm, then the water weird will answer their questions by saying:
The questions you seek are bidden on the air. Look on high for the wisdom you seek in the whispers in the winds.
5. The Cave of Earth
When the PCs top a ridge and enter
this hex they will see the following:
| A tall, thin pole of what appears to be rock rises up from a craggy vale. The pole is only about a foot thick and towers some 200 ft into the air. The base of the pole seems to sprout from the floor of the wave, and the top of the pole branches off into crystalline-like structures, giving the whole the appearance of a strange, elongated and horribly thin petrified tree. |
A DC 20 Listen check will hear what sounds like grinding of stones upon stones...many such...echoing from deep within. The DC of this check will decrease by 1 for each 10 ft the PCs come closer to the source (which is the elemental pool mentioned below).
The opening leads to a 5 ft wide passage that winds into the mountainside for about 120 ft before opening into a cavern about 60 ft in diameter that is replete with beautiful mineral structure, including glistening stalactites and stalagmites, fluted columns, and crystal trees.
The center of the cavern is dominated by a 20 ft diameter area where the floor of the cavern is dominated by a pool of churning mud, rocks, and earth. The clashing rocks make a fairly loud din in the cave.
The pool is 40 ft deep and held in a pit in the cavern floor.
Creatures: Within the pool dwells an earth weird
(Monster Manual II page 91). A round after the first PCs
enter the cavern and come within 15 ft of the pool, the earth
weird will appear. Should any being try to enter the pool or touch
it, he will hear a strange, rumbling female voice urge them to
"Halt! Do not touch the mud and rocks!" in his
own native language. If any being insists on still touching the
pool, he must make a DC 20 Fortitude save or be irrevocably translated
into mud, gone forever.
| The mud and rocks in the center of the pool start to shudder and congeal together and suddenly the body of a beautiful human female rises up out of the pool. The woman has gemstones for eyes and hair the brown colour of earth, streaked with veins of gold and silver. Her lower body is a shifting column of stone and dirt that connects to the earthen pool. |
Developments: The weird will introduce herself and pronounce her name, which is comprised of syllables that are merely the rumbling of earthquakes over rocks and others that are as of an avalanche. In short, her name is unpronounceable.
If the PCs are coming to this weird at the direction of the air weird (area 2) in order to retrieve the rare gems that the fire weird (area 7) desires in order to fashion a simulacrum of Hlavanaque, then the earth weird will guide them as outlined in the section entitled "The Path of Deception" below.
On the other hand, if the PCs are merely wandering the Realm, then the earth weird will answer their questions by saying:
The questions you ask are laden with the doom of the land of Aladur. But your doom is a fickle thing, as if decided by which way the wind blows. Seek ye to see which way the wind blows, for in that lies the answers you seek.
6. The Mirror of Loice
The Mirror of Loice is located here. Details about this location are presented in the section entitled "The Path of Enlightenment" below. If the PCs are not following this Path but manage to stumble onto this place anyways, the DM should allow them to enter the cave and face the creatures therein, though they will not likely know of the powers of the Mirror and, if they try it out, they will likely not make the connection of its use against Gyrmashil. Nevertheless, it is possible that the PCs could essentially come to the solution to the Path of Enlightenment by accident, and if so the DM should allow them to pursue it.
7. The Mound of Fire
A column of smoke can be seen rising from behind a spur of the mountains when the PCs are within 2 hexes of this location (or 4 or more hexes if airborne depending upon the altitude).
When the PCs get close enough
they will observe the source of the smoke.
| A cone of black rock rises from a spur ridge of the hillside. The cone is curve inward, so that it resembles a mound, and is some 50 ft high and 150 ft in diameter at its base. At its top, a 20 ft wide ledge of black rock surrounds a 20 ft diameter area of dancing flames. The smoke rises from the flames. |
The flames dancing in the center of the area rise up about 15 ft into the air. Anyone coming within 5 ft of the flames will begin to suffer 1d6 fire damage per round from the heat. Non-damaging heat can be felt from as far as 20 ft away from the flames.
The flames fill a pit in the lava mound that is 40 ft deep.
Creatures: Within the pool dwells an fire weird
(Monster Manual II page 91). A round after the first PCs
come within 20 ft of the pool, the fire weird will appear. Should
any being try to enter the pool or touch it, he will hear a strange,
crackling female voice urge them to "Halt! Do not touch
the flames!" in his own native language. If any being
insists on still touching the pool, he must make a DC 20 Fortitude
save or be irrevocably translated into flame, gone forever.
| The flames in the center of the area start to flicker and writhe and suddenly a feminine humanoid form of flickering flames rises up out of the pool. The figure is wreathed in smoke and her lower body snakes away in a fiery trail into the hazy, flame-filled pool. |
Developments: The weird will introduce herself and pronounce her name, which is comprised of syllables that are merely the crackling of flames and others that are as of a conflagration. In short, her name is unpronounceable.
If the PCs are coming to this weird at the direction of the air weird (area 2) in order to fashion a simulacrum of Hlavanaque, then the fire weird will guide them as outlined in the section entitled "The Path of Deception" below.
On the other hand, if the PCs are merely wandering the Realm, then the fire weird will answer their questions by saying:
A fire burns brightly, but the smoke that rises up into the air is carried by the wind to lands unknown. The smoke is seen for leagues even if the fire is seen for only a matter of feet. Your ignorance is as wide as the smoke carried aloft, and it is fitting, then, that you seek your answers aloft.
Part Three - Freeing Hlavanaque
Choosing a Path:
There are three different ways to free Hlavanaque and resolve the killoren's predicament. Each of these is called a path. There is the Path of Battle, the Path of Enlightenment, and the Path of Deception. Any of these three methods can be chosen by the PCs, and they can even begin one and then, circumstances permitting, switch to another.
The Path of Battle involves, basically, attacking Gyrmashil and defeating his physical manifestations in order to free Hlavanaque. This is a very straightforward method for those players that prefer combat. While Gyrmashil, as a whole, is far too strong to defeat (he is a CR 23 creature, after all), the PCs are fortunate in that much of the spirit's energy and capabilities are allocated to maintaining the prison of Hlavanaque and in trying to woo her. As such, the PCs will face manifestations of Gyrmashil, rather than Gyrmashil himself in his entirety.
The Path of Enlightenment involves the PCs convincing Gyrmashil that his love is obsession and not true love. To do this, the PCs must travel to the Mirror of Loice and return to Gyrmashil with water from that mirror, which will allow Gyrmashil to see his own horrific behaviour clearly and to see how his actions have hurt the one he professes to love.
The Path of Deception involves the PCs having a simulacrum of Hlavanaque fashioned and then using it to replace her, so that the impostor can be the object of Gyrmashil's misguided love.
It is unlikely that the PCs will become aware of these three options on their own. Of course, they can always just decide to fight Gyrmashil, but presumably the warnings of the killoren and Gyrmashil's obvious power will likely make this an unpopular choice without advice. The other two Paths are even less likely to be divined and attempted by the PCs on their own.
Fortunately, the PCs have the air elemental weird (from area 2) to advise them. When the PCs return to her after having met and interacted with Gyrmashil, she will ask them if they spoke with the spirit of the land and if so, what he said and what they said. After this is relayed, she will ask the PCs what are their inclinations and what do they plan to do next.
From this information, the air elemental weird will choose one of the paths and advise the PCs on it. The weird will essentially choose whichever path seems to fit the PCs' mood, inclinations, etc. If no indication is at all given, then the air elemental weird can simply choose a path at random or the DM can choose a path depending upon his own inclinations or whichever he thinks the PCs will find most enjoyable. If, after being advised of a path, the PCs ask if there is another way, she will choose another of the paths. If they ask a third time, she will inform them of the final path. After that, she will indicate that there are not other ways of which she knows.
If the PCs embark on a path and then decide not to complete it (or cannot complete it, they can return to the air weird and she will advise them on another path.
Note: One all three paths there is a chance for PCs to gain bonuses to their characteristics. These bonuses are inherent bonuses and the DM should refer to the description of the wish spell for details on inherent bonuses, including their limits.
The Path of Battle (EL 15*):
* Note that the EL of this encounter is reduced because the manifestations occur sequentially instead of simultaneously.
If the Path of Battle is indicated, the air elemental weird will say:
You cannot hope to slay such as Gyrmashil, for he is the land and the land is he. He is as mighty as a tidal wave, as staunch as a mountain, as swift as the air, and as destructive as a conflagration.
However, much of his will is, I think, bent towards Hlavanaque. It is not easy keeping a spirit trapped against her will, for the harder you grasp water, the more quickly it slips through your grasp.
Therefore, can you have a chance to prevail, and in prevailing, perhaps take within you some of what makes him mighty. But know you that you will face him more than once, for each of his natures manifests and must be defeated, and each manifestation is a deadly and taxing foe. Only then can the prison be broken and can you flee with your prize. And flee you should, for his recovery will be swift and his wrath great once he does recover, though this will fade in time.
No more will she say on the matter, and it will be up to the PCs whether they want to implement this plan.
If the PCs do decide to pursue this path, then they must simply return to the Fane of Gyrmashil and descend into the chamber below. There they must provoke and challenge Gyrmashil. Given his state of mind, this should not be too difficult. The PCs can simply insult Hlavanaque or disparage her beauty or her nature. This will drive him into an absolute rage and provoke his manifestation. Similarly, threatening to take her from Gyrmashil will also provoke him into conflict, even despite the fact that she can only be taken in this manner through combat with his manifestations.
Creatures: In combat, Gyrmashil will manifest as a large elemental-like creature. He has four such manifestations, and will manifest as each one in turn after the preceding manifestation is destroyed. A destroyed manifestation will break up into pieces of its component element and scatter around the entire chamber and then fade away in 1 round. The time to form between manifestations is 1d3+1 rounds. The order of manifestations can be determined randomly or placed in the order given below.
|
EARTH MANIFESTATION CR 12 Earth Mastery (Ex) A spirit of the land manifested as earth gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls if its foe is touching the ground. Telepathy (Su) A spirit of the land can communicate telepathically with any creature within 5 miles that has a language. |
|
AIR MANIFESTATION CR 12 All-Around Vision (Ex) A spirit of the land is a part of all the terrain that surrounds it, so it sees from all directions at once. Because of this ability, it gains a +4 racial bonus on Search and Spot checks, and it cannot be flanked, regardless of its form. Flight (Ex) A spirit of the land manifested as air is naturally buoyant. At will as a free action, it can produce an effect like that of the fly spell (caster level 5th), except that the effect applies only to itself. This ability gives it a fly speed of 120 feet (perfect). Telepathy (Su) A spirit of the land can communicate telepathically with any creature within 5 miles that has a language. |
|
FIRE MANIFESTATION CR 12 All-Around Vision (Ex) A spirit of the land is a part of all the terrain that surrounds it, so it sees from all directions at once. Because of this ability, it gains a +4 racial bonus on Search and Spot checks, and it cannot be flanked, regardless of its form. Telepathy (Su) A spirit of the land can communicate telepathically with any creature within 5 miles that has a language. |
|
WATER MANIFESTATION CR 12 Telepathy (Su) A spirit of the land can communicate telepathically with any creature within 5 miles that has a language. Water Mastery (Ex) A spirit of the land manifested as water gains a +1 bonus on its attack and damage rolls if its opponent is touching water. |
Tactics: With most of his spell-like abilities being used to maintain Hlavanaque's prison and to bend her will to his, Gyrmashil's tactics are relatively limited. He will not leave his chamber to pursue the PCs, though in reality he could as there is no way for the PCs to penetrate the pillar even if he is not in the vicinity. Instead, he will rely on his fast healing ability to negate hit-and-run tactics.
Developments: When all four manifestations of Gyrmashil are destroyed, he will be incorporeal for 24 hours and unable to maintain his hold on the pillar prison of Hlavanaque. The glow on the pillar will fade and the pillar can be shattered fairly easily (hardness 10, 320 hp). Hlavanaque will awaken and accompany the PCs as long as she is relatively sure they are attempting to rescue her.
If the PCs manage to destroy one or more manifestations of Gyrmashil, such destroyed manifestations will return in 24 hours.
Treasure: When each manifestation of Gyrmashil is destroyed, the PCs can gather pieces of his essence before they fade away and consume them. Each PC can only consume one piece of essence from any and all of his manifestations. Consuming a bit of essence is a full round action (a move action to pick up and a standard action to consume). Doing so will cause a strange sensation to wash through the PC's body. The PC must then make a a DC 20 save (of the type specified below). If the save is successful, the viewer will gain +1 inherent bonus to a given characteristic. If the save is failed, then he will gain a permanent -1 penalty to that characteristic. This penalty cannot be cured or reversed by any means, though it can be effectively negated by increasing the characteristic by a point when the PC next is allowed to increase a characteristic by advancing every 4th level. Once a piece of a manifestation is consumed (whether positive or negative), no further benefits or penalties can be gained or incurred from consumption of any further pieces of any manifestations. Where the sensation is given below, first the sensation of swallowing the piece is described. Then S tell the sensation on a successful save and F on a failed save.
| Manifestation |
|
|
Characteristic |
| Air | You feel a rush of chill air through your body. S The chill sweeps through your muscles, making them twitch and feel alive and vigourous. F The chill freezes your muscles, making you feel somewhat heavy and slow. | Reflex | Dexterity |
| Earth | You feel your muscles harden like rock. S Your muscles seem capable of withstanding strain as if your sinews had hardened. F Your muscles feel somewhat brittle, as if made of crumbling stone. | Fortitude | Strength |
| Fire | A painful wash of flame sweeps through your body. S The pain passes and your body feels cleansed and reborn. F The main fades, but a lingering memory of it remains and makes your actions a bit more tentative. | Reflex | Dexterity |
| Water | Your body feels as if it were plunged into an ice cold pool of water. S The water seeps into your skin and through your bones, cleansing your body and purifying it. F The water leeches a bit of the vitality of your bones and muscles and carries them away out of your body. | Fortitude | Constitution |
The pieces of manifestations must be consumed in the round after the manifestation is destroyed, or it, too, will fade away like the rest of the manifestation.
The Path of Enlightenment:
If the Path of Enlightenment is indicated, the air elemental weird will say:
Gyrmashil is a wise and intelligent being, but he has spent untold centuries alone in his Realm. True, he has visitors such as us to speak with from time to time, but otherwise most of the beings in his Realm are merely reflections of, or pieces of, himself. This is why Hlavanaque is so enticing to him. To one who has spent years in the dark, even a smallest flickering candle is as a noonday sun. And she is no flickering candle, but a beacon of spiritual beauty.
Her beauty blinds him in his darkness. He does not see what is truly to be seen. You must help him. You must help him to see that possession of a thing is not true ownership. Love must be given freely...it cannot be taken.
But how does one make a blind man see? How does one describe the concept of colour to one who has always been sightless? Gyrmashil has only known himself for these long aeons. And so you must show him himself. I cannot do this. I do not know how. For what is the air but a transparent thing? I know how to see through things. I do not know how to show someone himself. But as most living creatures first catch a glimpse of themselves in a lake or stream, so, too, do I believe that in water can be found the truth.
Visit you my sister, who dwells by the shore of the lake yonder, and perhaps she can guide you, for she knows the words of healing and in her reflection can often be seen a better way when there is little hope or chance.
No more will she say on the matter, and it will be up to the PCs whether they want to implement this plan.
Visiting the Water Weird:
The water elemental weird can be found at area 4 (see above for a description).
The water elemental weird will address the PCs as follows:
I know why you have come. It has been whispered on the winds that brush my surface. Whispers of a love that is a cruel mockery of love. Whispers of one who is blind to his true nature and his actions. Whispers of torment by one imprisoned and of wounds that will never heal.
One such as Gyrmashil will not hearken to your words, no matter well spoken. What can a mortal know of love that is immortal between spirits? The blade of your words will fall upon a heart of adamantine.
But there is a way. Within this very Realm is a sacred place, a gift to Gyrmashil given to him by the many spirits of water whom he gave refuge in ancient times. It is a sacred pool known as the Mirror of Loice and its waters have the power to reflect back not physical images but images of the soul...of the true nature of a thing. Gyrmashil must be shown the true nature of his supposed love for Hlavanaque. Only then is there any chance he might relent and release her.
If the PCs agree and ask where the Mirror is located, she will say:
The Mirror of Loice is at the headwaters of a tributary of the river that feeds this lake high upon the tallest peak, within a cave there. You must take the water in a covered container and make haste, for the potency of the water loses its effect over time...moreso when exposed to light, but even in complete darkness once removed from its source.
She knows nothing of what guardians might be present at the Mirror.
The Mirror of Loice:
The Mirror of Loice is located
in a cavern set into the tallest peak in the Realm. When the PCs
come within view they will see the entrance.
| The river plunges out of the cavern opening some 20 ft wide and 15 ft tall and down a 75 ft sheer cliff face to form the river below. To the left of the waterfall a series of narrow and steep steps forms a set of switchbacks that rise up the face of the cliff to the cave. |
The steps are treated as steep steps and are a mere 5 ft wide. They are also somewhat wet and although a person proceeding carefully will not slip and fall, anyone running or charging must make a DC 15 Balance check, with failure by 5 or more indicating a fall. In addition, for each size category beyond Large, add +5 to the DC and even proceeding carefully, any creature above Medium size must make a DC 0 Balance check, with +5 to the DC for each size category above Medium. Thus, a Large creature attempting to proceed up the steps carefully will have to make DC 5 Balance checks, and on a modified check of 0 or lower will fall.
The cave is of unworked stone walls (DC 15 Climb check) and natural stone floor (it takes 2 squares of movement to enter a square with a natural stone floor, and the DC of Balance and Tumble checks increases by 5; running and charging are impossible). Unless otherwise indicated, there is no light inside the cave.
The river is fast flowing, at a rate of 30 ft per round (Swim DC 15) and the channel through which is flows is approximately 8 ft deep. The level of the river is 4 ft below the level of the cave. In the passageways the dry cave floor drops straight down into the channel. In the wider caverns, the ground slopes down to the channel. The water is cold and pure.
 |
1. Entrance
| The narrow steps lead up to a very narrow ledge, some 2.5 ft wide, the skirts into the south edge of the cave entrance. Just beyond this narrow ledge, the river flows out from the west and plunges down the cliff face. Within, the cave passageway is between 15 ft and 10 ft high and proceeds more or less in a westerly direction. Within the passage, along the southern wall there is a stone ledge that is approximately 5 ft wide that skirts the edge of the river, which races in its channel about 4 ft below the ledge. Along the north wall, the ledge is much thinner, varying from 2.5 ft in one spot to as narrow as 6 inches. |
Any creature failing a Balance check by 5 or more will slip and fall. Such a fall will have a 50% chance of being towards the river. In this case, a DC 15 Reflex save is needed to grasp onto the ledge and cling there. A Climb check (DC 15) will be needed then to clamber back up fully onto the ledge (or assistance from someone) and if the Climb check fails by 5 or more the person will fall into the river.
Falling down the waterfall will result in 4d6 damage from the fall and then another 2d6 from the rocks below.
The river is quite loud here, and so there is an overall -5 penalty to Listen checks as well as a -2 penalty to Listen checks for every 10 ft of distance (instead of the normal -1 per 10 ft).
2. First Cavern (EL 13)
Light sources brought into this
cavern will illuminate a myriad of phosphorescent crystals embedded
into the floor, walls, and ceiling of this chamber. Such crystals
will effectively double the shadowy illumination radius of any
light sources. The crystals are not active without the presence
of light sources, and so darkvision will not benefit from them.
The portion of the below description that assumes the PCs are
using a light source is denoted in red.
These crystals are natural to the Realm and have no phosphorescent
powers outside of Gyrmashil's Realm. They are otherwise not valuable.
|
This large cavern's ceiling arcs some 25 ft overhead in the center of the place, down to around 10 ft toward the edges. A myriad of what seem to be crystals seem to react to your light source and reflect it in soft glows around the cavern. The river emerges out of a 15 ft wide and 10 ft tall passageway to the west and roughly bisects the cavern before continuing down a somewhat taller passageway to the east towards the entrance. Several large columns of calcified minerals and stone stretch from floor to ceiling, and many stalagmites and stalactites dot the place. The passageway to the west seems to be entirely taken up by the river, at least at one point. |
Creatures: A colony of shadow dire bats is here. These are not normal residents of the Realm, but are, in fact, created by Gyrmashil in a subconscious attempt to deny access to the Mirror of Loice. In essence, Gyrmashil doesn't want to be forced to look at his true current nature, and although the spirit of the land has not consciously thought about being exposed to the Mirror of Loice, it is a subconscious worry and that worry has created these creatures. Although they have the shadow creature template, they are not actually from or of the Plane of Shadow. Rather, their nature reflects the dark and brooding state of mind of Gyrmashil when he created them. These creatures do not need to eat or drink, though they can engage in both activities.
The bats will initially be hanging from stalactites on the ceiling and using their shadow blend ability. Eight of the bats are hanging along the north wall of the cavern and four are along the southern wall.
|
SHADOW CREATURE ADVANCED DIRE
BATS (12) CR 6 Shadow Blend (Su) In any conditions other than full daylight, a shadow creature can disappear into the shadows, giving it total concealment. Artificial illumination, even a light or continual flame spell, does not negate this ability, but a daylight spell will. * Dire bats have a +4 racial bonus on Spot and Listen checks. These bonuses are lost if its blindsense is negated. |
Tactics: The dire bats will charge to the attack, using their fast healing and shadow blend abilities to withdraw from combat, in general on whatever side of the river the PCs are not on, and heal and then rejoin the fray. They will relentlessly pursue any intruders anywhere in the cave, though they will not exit the cave and enter the outside, even at night. While the bats will withdraw in order to heal, they will otherwise fight to the death and will never surrender.
Developments: The passageway to the west narrows to varying degrees, and in many places is a mere 6 inches wide. The DM should have PCs crossing along either ledge make Balance checks as appropriate, adjusting for the severely slippery conditions.
3. Second Cavern (EL 14)
Towards the end of the passageway leading into this cavern from the east, both the north and south ledges narrow until they briefly disappear and the cave wall drops straight down into the river. The gaps formed by these drops are small, being no more than 2 ft wide, but they will require an extra DC 15 Balance check to negotiate.
Light sources brought into this
cavern will illuminate a myriad of phosphorescent crystals embedded
into the floor, walls, and ceiling of this chamber. Such crystals
will effectively double the shadowy illumination radius of any
light sources. The crystals are not active without the presence
of light sources, and so darkvision will not benefit from them.
The portion of the below description that assumes the PCs are
using a light source is denoted in red.
These crystals are natural to the Realm and have no phosphorescent
powers outside of Gyrmashil's Realm. They are otherwise not valuable.
|
This large cavern's ceiling arcs some 25 ft overhead in the center of the place, down to around 10 ft toward the edges. A myriad of what appear to be crystals seem to react to your light source and reflect it in soft glows around the cavern. The river emerges out of a 15 ft wide and 4 ft tall crack in the wall to the west and roughly bisects the cavern before continuing down a somewhat taller passageway to the east towards the entrance. Several large columns of calcified minerals and stone stretch from floor to ceiling, and many stalagmites and stalactites dot the place. To the north, natural stone steps lead up a passageway that proceeds out of sight. |
Creature: A pair of shadow dire lions dwell in this cavern. These are not normal resident of the Realm, but is, in fact, created by Gyrmashil in a subconscious attempt to deny access to the Mirror of Loice. In essence, Gyrmashil doesn't want to be forced to look at his true current nature, and although the spirit of the land has not consciously thought about being exposed to the Mirror of Loice, it is a subconscious worry and that worry has created these creatures. Although it has the shadow creature template, they are not actually from or of the Plane of Shadow. Rather, their nature reflects the dark and brooding state of mind of Gyrmashil when he created them. These creatures do not need to eat or drink, though they can engage in both activities.
The dire lions normally lounge in the northern portion of the chamber, flanking the entrance to area 4 and behind the stones column there, using their shadow blend ability to remain under total concealment.
|
SHADOW CREATURE ADVANCED DIRE
LIONS (2) CR 12 Mirror Image (Sp) As the spell 1/day, caster level 5th. Pounce (Ex) If a lion charges a foe, it can make a full attack, including two rake attacks. Rake (Ex) Attack bonus +22 melee, damage 1d6+6. Shadow Blend (Su) In any conditions other than full daylight, a shadow creature can disappear into the shadows, giving it total concealment. Artificial illumination, even a light or continual flame spell, does not negate this ability, but a daylight spell will. * In areas of tall grass or heavy undergrowth, the Hide bonus improves to +12. |
Tactics: They are unable to use their pounce ability, due to the natural stone floors, but will patiently wait until prey passes the stone columns to the north, at which point they will attack. The lions will relentlessly attack any intruders in the cave, but will not emerge outside, even at night.
If sorely pressed, the lions will leap over the river (which they can do automatically if they get a 20 ft running start) and use their shadow blend ability to hide and heal, rejoining the fray when they are better able to fight. This could mean that the lions attack the PCs in area 4 or as they exit that area and pass through area 3 again. Under no circumstances will the lions allow the PCs to leave area 3 and head towards the cave entrance without re-engaging them in a fight to the death.
4. The Mirror of Loice
| At the top of the natural stone steps, which rise up 10 ft above the floor of the cavern to the south, is a small natural chamber 15 ft high and devoid of mineral growths. In the center of the floor of the place is a pool of water roughly 10 ft in diameter. The water of this pool is absolutely still and calm and seems to give off the faintest tinge of a silvery hue. |
The water feels cold to the touch and, if tasted, tastes like normal pure water, though bitingly cold and with a strange thickness that verges on the consistency of a fine oil.
The pool is 20 ft deep and the sides are sheer. There is no obvious source for the pool, and although it is likely beyond the scope of this scenario, the pool refills itself every night at dusk.
The water can be gathered into containers, and it pours strangely, again as if it had a viscosity that verged on that of the fine oil.
Water from the Mirror gathered into a container will remain potent for 24 hours if kept out of exposure to any light source. If exposed to light, then the rate of loss of potency is quadrupled during the time it is exposed to any light source more than starlight (the nighttime of Gyrmashil's Realm is comparable to a full moon and thus would qualify as exposing the Mirror water to light).
If a PCs glances into the Mirror of Loice or looks at its potent waters in a container suitable for viewing one's reflection, the PC will be exposed to his true self, his soul stripped bare for him to see (as well as anyone else looking over his shoulder). For the one being reflected, this is almost always a highly traumatic experience, even for one who has led an exemplary life. The reflected person will be held by his image in a trance for 10 rounds. He will not react in any way to outside stimuli unless attacked for lethal damage (this has to be an attack, not damage caused by environmental conditions or conditions such as thirst or starvation), in which case he will gain a DC 20 Will save to pull himself away from his reflection. This save can be made each round in which he takes damage.
Otherwise, at the end of 10 rounds, the reflected person must make a DC 20 Will save or be entranced for another 10 rounds. Every 10 rounds he can make another DC 20 Will save to pull away from his trance. In theory, it is possible for a person to literally die of thirst staring at his own reflection, though the DC of the Will save makes this very unlikely except for the very weak-willed.
Once a person has pulled away from his trance, he can view his reflection again, but the same trance-like state will occur, except that for each time the reflected person has been in a previous trance of 10 or more rounds the DC of the Will save decreases by 1 as the person becomes accustomed to seeing himself in this fashion.
The first time a person stares at his reflection for 10 consecutive rounds, he will gain an insight about his inner nature. This insight can either make the viewer wiser or drive him just a tiny bit insane. After the 10th round of viewing, the reflected person must make a DC 20 Will save. If the save is successful, the viewer will gain +1 inherent bonus to his Wisdom score. If the reflected person fails the Will save, then he will gain a permanent -1 penalty to his Wisdom score. This penalty cannot be cured or reversed by any means, though it can be effectively negated by increasing Wisdom by a point when the PC next is allowed to increase a characteristic by advancing every 4th level. Once an insight is gained (whether positive or negative), no further insights can be so gained.
Note: DMs should not allow the PCs to, in any way, exploit the powers of the Mirror of Loice. Gyrmashil and the killoren and the spirits will not allow it and would eventually use force to stop the PCs from doing so. Exploitation would include such actions as encouraging others to enter the Realm and partake of the Mirror's waters, or trying to bottle the water and use teleport spells to get it to persons in order to increase their Wisdom.
Retreating from the Cave:
The shadow creatures within the cave are creations of the subconscious will of Gyrmashil. As such, if slain they will reform in 24 hours. In addition, each time one more more creatures of each type are reformed, there is a 10% chance that an additional such creature will appear, reflecting Gyrmashil's subconscious bolstering of his defense of the Mirror.
Returning to Gyrmashil:
If the PCs return to Gyrmashil with water from the Mirror of Loice, they will then need to either convince him to gaze into the water, or simply present the water to him in a manner in which he can see his own reflection.
It should be noted that the Mirror of Loice will reflect the "internal image" even of a normally invisible and/or incorporeal being like the spirit of the land.
If the PCs wish to convince Gyrmashil to view himself in the water, they will have to present a good reason for him to do so. Appealing to his arrogance and pride is a good way to do this (e.g. in simple terms to name him "afraid of his own shadow"). For the purposes of this situation, Gyrmashil will begin with an attitude of either unfriendly or indifferent, depending upon how angry he became at his first meeting with the PCs. He must be made friendly in order to convince him to voluntarily look into the water of the Mirror. Strong appeals to his pride and arrogance will grant a +2 circumstance bonus on the Diplomacy check.
If Gyrmashil agrees to view the waters, he will cause a portion of the floor of his chamber near the pillar to rise up a foot and then curve downward to form a bowl. He will instruct the PCs to fill the bowl with the water. Gyrmashil will then hover over his image, instructing the PCs to back away from the bowl.
Gyrmashil will then hover quietly over the bowl for 10 rounds. During this time, PCs that can observe invisible creatures will see Gyrmashil's shape shudder periodically during this time. After 10 rounds, a telepathic wail will be heard coming from the spirit of the land. He will lament his greed and arrogant pride and rail at his folly at trying to force that which cannot be forced and contain that which should not be contained. He will then acknowledge his true nature and inform the PCs that he only needs to learn one more thing.
With that, he will cause the earthen bowl of water to separate from the floor and hover near the top of the pillar. The top of the pillar will then peel down almost like a banana revealing Hlavanaque's head. Gyrmashil will tilt the bowl slightly towards Hlavanaque and ask his beloved to gaze into the waters. She will do this, and Grymashil will hover behind her, looking at her reflection over her shoulder. While Hlavanaque is entranced by the Mirror water for 10 rounds, Gyrmashil will once again wail and sob telepathically, saying that he sees his beloved's true image and now sees that she is withering away in his Realm and that she would, in truth, fade into nothing or into something much less than herself were she to stay here with him. Furthermore, seeing her true inner self, he realizes that Hlavanaque does not love him and likely never will love him, though he marvels even now at her capacity to forgive him despite his heinous actions.
If the PCs cannot convince Gyrmashil to voluntarily look into the water, they will have to get him to do so. This will not be difficult, if the PCs have some sort of bowl or bowl-like container in which to pour the water. There is no way to use a waterskin or similar container to do this, nor a bottle or vial or flask of any sort. The water, to function, must be viewed as a flat surface and of enough size to encompass a good portion of the reflected being's face or body. Simply splashing the water onto the ground of the chamber will not suffice, as the water will scatter even in its slightly oily form. In theory, the PCs could simply find some sort of hoop or other barrier to form a circle on the floor to contain the water and then pour the water into the circle. A steel shield or buckler will also suffice if flipped over, though a wooden one will not as the water will tend to dribble through the seams of the wood.
If the PCs do not have a bowl or other container sufficient to make a suitable viewing surface, then they will have to exit the chamber and, at worst, craft one from the nearby woods.
If they have a sufficient container, then the PCs merely need to engage Gyrmashil in conversation and thrust the water in front of him. Determining exactly where is face is might present a problem if the PCs cannot see him while he is invisible, but some adroit questioning could determine his location or a simple ruse could entice him to come close to the PCs. The DM should not make it too difficult for the PCs to get the spirit of the land to glance into the Mirror waters.
Once they get him to glance at the water, then events will proceed as described above.
Once Gyrmashil has seen his own true inner self and that of Hlavanaque, he will be full of remorse. He will thank the PCs for showing him his folly and for saving Hlavanaque from a horrific fate. He will inform the PCs that they are his friends and are always welcome to his Realm and that they should now take Hlavanaque back to the killoren, for he does not wish to cause her even a moment's additional distress. He also asks the PCs to convey his sorrow at his actions to the killoren, and that he commends them as guardians of the land and he will double his efforts to make sure they and the land prosper and that no outside influences threaten Aladur.
The Path of Deception:
If the Path of Deception is indicated, the air elemental weird will say:
It is possible to deceive one into giving up the object of his desire. Many are the fiends who have convinced mortals to give up their very souls. But deceiving an immortal is no easy task. Only one steeped in the ways of lore can possibly tell you how to manage this. You must seek the light of knowledge...the burning flame of insight to aid you in this task. My sister who dwells in this Realm knows such lore, or if she does not then there is no such lore to be had.
Seek her out where the hills reach towards the water. There you will see the grey column of her existence and it will guide you to her.
Visiting the Fire Weird:
The fire elemental weird can be found at area 7 (see above for a description).
The fire elemental weird will address the PCs as follows:
I know why you have come. It has been told to me by the breeze that feeds my flames and the zephyrs that cause me to dance and flicker.
You seek to deceive the spirit of the land, so that he will release the object of his desire. I am the diviner of hope, the illuminator of lore that has been long lost but which can guide the suffering and ignorant to their goals. I have a way, though it will be not easy and will require your perseverance and bravery.
I can fashion for you a duplicate of Hlavanaque, for though she is of water and I of flame, still I know her from centuries ago when she abided here. And I know the lore of magic to fashion a duplicate, a simulacrum, of her. And I know the way to fashion such a thing without the need of a piece of her body. But even with my lore, it is not enough, for to fashion a convincing duplicate of such a being as her requires great magic and an expenditure of my own powers, to be lost to me forever. Even these are not enough, for the simulacrum must be bound together with the power of certain gemstones, and to bind her form in such a fashion requires the rarest and most valuable of these.
I require a great many rubies, of flawless composition. But even moreso, I need special rubies, known as fire-star rubies, for they harness within them a bit of the essence of fire that formed them. These rubies are rare indeed, and I do not know where to find them, but I will need at least four such rubies of proper size [and she will gesture the size with her finger, about a quarter inch in diameter] to fashion the simulacrum. In addition, I will require nineteen more in recompense for the power I must sacrifice to animate the form.
Bring me these twenty three gems and I will make for you the simulacrum you require.
Seek you my sister who dwells deep in a cave near the tree of stone. She can guide you to where these gems might be found, or no one can. Follow you the bane of my existence to its source and do not deviate from this path, and you will find the tree.
With that, she will say no more, simply urging the PCs to bring her the gems.
Visiting the Earth Weird:
The directions given to the PCs by the fire elemental weird should be sufficient to direct them to the earth elemental weird at area 5 (see above). The reference to "follow the bane of my existence" refers to the water of the river that flows down out of the mountains and into the lake. Following the river to its source, and not deviating by following the tributary to the west (which will lead to area 6 and the Mirror of Loice) will lead the PCs to find area 5.
The earth elemental weird will address the PCs as follows:
Welcome to my cavern mortals, who seek their destiny with me. What is it you seek, though I have an idea already I should hear it asked from your own lips, so as to set more firmly in stone your fate as writ.
Assuming the PCs tell her that they seek fire-star rubies, she will say:
You seek a very rare prize. For my sister of flame takes great satisfaction in the belief that all earth was originally born of fire, and she believes the evidence of this is in the presence of the fire-star rubies. But I believe that those gems show that fire is subservient to and contained by the forces of earth.
But no matter, for you have not come to debate theosophy. You seek the gems. Yet they cannot be found anywhere in this Realm, nor anywhere on Therra.
But I know where they can be found. And I will guide you to this place if you will agree to provide to me three such gems for my own pleasure.
If asked where this place is, she will say:
It is in my home, which is not here in this cavern in which I reside.
She will not elaborate on this statement.
If asked why she cannot gather for herself such gems, she will say:
All actions have consequences, and even for the same action, the consequences are different for every being.
She will not elaborate on this statement.
Assuming the PCs agree to her request (and if they don't they cannot complete the Path of Deception), then she will float to one side of her pool and raise her hands and concentrate upon her pool for a full minute. The pool will start to swirl in a single direction, instead of the random undulations previously, and within a few rounds a whirlpool of earth will be formed. If any PCs wish to closely observe her ritual, they can make a DC 22 Spellcraft check to identify the casting of two limited wish spells during her ritual.
The earth elemental weird will turn to the PCs and say:
Into the maelstrom you shall go, and into the maelstrom shall you return. But be warned, for this shall abide for a day's time and no more, and then it will shut and you will be lost.
The PCs can now jump into the maelstrom and enter the Elemental Plane of Earth. The weird can hold the portal open for 24 hours, and so if the PCs wish to delay their entrance they can, but that will take time off of their 24 hours. Normally, an elemental weird cannot allow others to use her portal, but in this case she is casting a limited wish spell to alter the portal to open it for 24 hours and another limited wish to guide the portal to the desired location on the Elemental Plane of Earth. Once the 24 hours period is ended, the effects of the limited wish spells will end and her portal will close and snap back to its original location on a far distant part of the Elemental Plane of Earth.
Should this happen, the PCs will find themselves not only trapped on the Elemental Plane of Earth, but without access to any oxygen, as they portal itself is allowing air to flow from Gyrmashil's Realm into this location of the Elemental Plane of Earth. Once closed, the air will leech away fairly quickly through small cracks in the earth walls and PCs will begin to have to hold their breaths in a matter of an hour or so. Of course, PCs with access to spells like plane travel can attempt to flee the plane and PCs with the means to survive the lack of oxygen can remain on the plane indefinitely.
Note: DMs should note that in Therra, creatures with the earth subtype can breathe on the Elemental Plane of Earth even without the presence of oxygen.
The Elemental Plane of Earth:
The Elemental Plane of Earth of Therra has the following traits:
In all respects the Elemental Plane of Earth is as described in the Manual of the Planes.
The area that the PCs will have entered through the weird's maelstrom is a fissure area of the plane where a known network of cracks exist, forming tunnels through the earth. Several pockets to the Elemental Plane of Fire exist in the area and contribute to the fissures as well as its unstable nature. Certainly, the presence of the pockets also explains the presence of the fire-star rubies.
This network is also the feeding and nesting ground of a large colony of crysmals, which have become quite enamoured with the fire-star rubies and feed on them from time to time in order to reproduce. The fire-star rubies and their inherent nature may explain the large size and prodigious capabilities of this group of crysmals.
Fire-star rubies are uniform in size and shape. All are about 1/2 inch in diameter and spherical. They are a deep lustrous red with a tiny spark of orange flame flickering deep within and are worth 1000 gp.
 |
The above map shows the network of tunnels in the region. For convenience, the top of the map will be referred to as "north", despite the fact that no such designation technically applies.
The tunnels are generally between 20 ft and 35 ft wide and just as tall, though these are not rounded tunnels by any means, but tend to narrow significantly as one approaches the sides or center of the ceiling. The floor is also anything but even. Numerous small niches, cracks, and even side tunnels of less than 50 ft length pierce the walls, floor, and ceiling of the network. In all cases floors should be treated as natural stone floors (it takes 2 squares of movement to enter a square with a natural stone floor, and the DC of Balance and Tumble checks increases by 5; running and charging are impossible) and walls are unworked stone walls (DC 15 Climb, per 5 ft: hardness 8, hp 900, break DC 65).
There is no light in any of the network except for the two fire pockets (FP).
There is a 1 in 12 chance of a wandering monster encounter, to be checked for each square traversed or for every hour stationary. If an encounter is indicated, the DM should keep checking for additional encounters in that square or hour until an encounter is not indicated. Multiple encounters can be combined or spaced out randomly or as the DM desires.
|
|
|
| 01-22 | Earth Elemental |
| 23-44 | Earth Elementite Swarm |
| 45-51 | Geodite Elemental Steward |
| 52-72 | Mephit |
| 73-86 | Stone Spike |
| 87-00 | Xorn |
Earth Elemental:
Encounter will be with with a single elemental of a type as follows:
01-40 = Small
41-70 = Medium
71-85 = Large
86-95 = Huge
96-99 = Greater
00 = Elder
Earth elementals are not particularly aggressive creatures and will tend to disregard the PCs unless the latter make themselves a threat or an annoyance. If the PCs can communicate with the smarter elementals, they may parley with them and, if friendly or helpful, may agree to assist the PCs for a small time. Earth elementals do not eat and do not particularly value gems and precious metals. They will not consent to search for fire-star rubies even if friendly.
It is quite possible for the elemental to come right out of the walls, floor, or ceiling of a network tunnel.
Because the PCs are unlikely to actually get into conflict with an earth elemental, no statistics have been provided. Should they be needed, the DM can refer to the Monster Manual.
Earth Elementite Swarm:
Encounters will be with 1d4 swarms. Elementite swarms are not aggressive at all unless harmed, but they do cause damage simply by moving into a PC's square, and the swarms are curious enough to stop for a round to examine an living creatures they encounter. Such curiousity is likely to be viewed by the PCs as an attack, since it will cause damage, and if the PCs then attack the swarm(s), they will regard the PCs as enemies. Otherwise, after pausing for 1 round at each living being they encounter, the swarms will move on. It is quite possible for the swarms to come right out of the walls, floor, or ceiling of a network tunnel.
|
EARTH ELEMENTITE SWARM CR
4 Earth Glide (Ex) Earth elementite swarms can glide through stone, dirt, or almost any other sort of earth except metal as easily as a fish swims through water. The swarm's burrowing leaves behind no tunnel or hole, nor does it create any ripple or other signs of its presence. A move earth spell cast on an area containing a burrowing earth elementite swarm flings the swarm back 30 ft and stuns the swarm for 1 round unless it succeeds on a DC 15 Fortitude save. |
Geodite Elemental Steward:
Encounters will be with 1d20 geodites. These creatures are curious and seek to press themselves into the service of a worthy psionic manifester. If none of the PCs are psionic, then the geodites will certainly converse with them, but will offer no other help and will quickly grow bored of the PCs and move on.
On the other hand, if a psionic PC is present, the geodites will clamour for him to remember each geodite's name and to one day call him personally to the Material Plane to act as an elemental envoy (see the feat Elemental Envoy in Complete Psionic). Such a PC could convince one or more geodites to accompany him on his quest in this tunnel network. If the PC requests aid and the geodites are indifferent (which is what they start the encounter as), then a single geodite will help. If they are made friendly, then 2 will offer to help. If made helpful, then 4 will offer to aid the PC while on the Elemental Plane of Earth.
Geodites are only aggressive if threatened or attacked, and even then will attempt to flee after using their energy rays by burrowing into the ground.
They are not particularly adept at locating gems and will refuse to do so.
| GEODITE ELEMENTAL
STEWARD CR 2 Complete Psionic page 131 N Small elemental (earth, psionic) Init -1; Senses darkvision 60 ft; Listen +0, Spot +0 Languages Terran AC 17, touch 10, flat-footed 17 hp 16 (3 HD); DR 5/- Fort +4, Ref +0, Will +1 Spd 30 ft (4 squares), burrow 10 ft (2 squares) Melee slam +6 (1d4+4) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +2; Grp +1 Atk Options Power Attack Psi-Like Abilities (ML 2): 2/day - energy ray (sonic, +2 ranged touch, 2d6-2 damage). create sound, stomp (DC 12) Abilities Str 16, Dex 8, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 11, Cha 12 SQ elemental traits Feats Combat manifestation, Improved Natural Attack (slam), Power Attack Skills Concentration +7, Craft (stonemasonry) +7, Psicraft +7 |
Mephit:
Encounters will be with 1d12 mephits of the following types:
01-40 = earth mephit
41-70 = glass mephit
71-00 = salt mephit
Mephits are a wildly unpredictable species, and the DM should basically roll a d100 to determine the initial attitude towards the PCs:
01-15 = Hostile (they will attack
on sight)
16-35 = Unfriendly (they will threaten the PCs and warn them away;
if the PCs react belligerently or do not leave they become Hostile)
36-70 = Indifferent (they will basically ignore the PCs, or speak
if conversed with)
71-90 = Friendly (they will be curious about the PCs and ask questions
and examine their items and basically make a nuisance of themselves,
but will not harm the PCs unless they are threatened by the PCs)
91-00 = Helpful (they will offer to help the PCs find fire-star
gems and will accompany the PCs as they journey through the tunnel
network)
The PCs can have only one encounter worth of mephits accompanying them at one time. If another group is Helpful, the PCs can choose to accept the new group and dismiss the old group or retain the old group.
Mephits of a given type look down on other mephits, and will insult them and disdain them, though outright hostilities are rare.
|
EARTH MEPHIT CR 3 Change Size (Sp) Once per hour, an earth mephit can magically change its size. This works just like an enlarge person spell, except that the power works only on the earth mephit. This is the equivalent of a 2nd-level spell. Fast Healing (Ex) An earth mephit heals only if it is underground or buried up to its waist in earth. Summon Mephit (Sp) Once per day, a mephit can attempt to summon another mephit of the same variety, much as though casting a summon monster spell, but with only a 25% chance of success. Roll d%: On a failure, no creature answers the summons that day. A mephit that has just been summoned cannot use its own summon ability for 1 hour. This ability is the equivalent of a 2nd-level spell. |
|
GLASS MEPHIT CR 3 Change Size (Sp) Once per hour, an earth mephit can magically change its size. This works just like an enlarge person spell, except that the power works only on the earth mephit. This is the equivalent of a 2nd-level spell. Fast Healing (Ex) A glass mephit heals only if it is touching molten glass or a flame at least as large as a torch.. Summon Mephit (Sp) Once per day, a mephit can attempt to summon another mephit of the same variety, much as though casting a summon monster spell, but with only a 25% chance of success. Roll d%: On a failure, no creature answers the summons that day. A mephit that has just been summoned cannot use its own summon ability for 1 hour. This ability is the equivalent of a 2nd-level spell. |
|
SALT MEPHIT CR 3 Draw Moisture (Sp) Once per day a salt mephit can draw the moisture from an area in a 20-foot radius centered on itself. Living creatures within range take 2d8 points of damage (Fortitude DC 14 half; caster level 6th). This effect is especially devastating to plant creatures and aquatic creatures, which take a -2 penalty on their saving throws. This ability is the equivalent of a 2nd-level spell. The save DCs are Charisma-based. Fast Healing (Ex) A salt mephit heals only if in an arid environment. Summon Mephit (Sp) Once per day, a mephit can attempt to summon another mephit of the same variety, much as though casting a summon monster spell, but with only a 25% chance of success. Roll d%: On a failure, no creature answers the summons that day. A mephit that has just been summoned cannot use its own summon ability for 1 hour. This ability is the equivalent of a 2nd-level spell. |
Stone Spike:
Encounters will be with 1d6 stone spikes.
These creatures will tend to ignore any beings that do not molest them. They feed on rocks of various sorts and are unconcerned with gems. However, if spoken to in Therran or Dwarven, they can be convinced to help the PCs if their attitude is changed to helpful. They begin the encounter as indifferent. If a dwarf is amongst the PCs then they will begin as friendly. If a PC speaks to them in Dwarven, that PC will gain a +2 circumstance bonus on his Diplomacy check. They dwell in these fissures, as they cannot easily burrow or earth glide like many of the other denizens of the Elemental Plane of Earth.
If a stone spike is friendly to the PCs, it can be convinced to go and search for fire-star rubies. Allow each stone spike a 15% chance of locating a ruby after 4d100 rounds of searching and if a roll indicates success, then roll another 15% chance to indicate whether a second one was found during this time and keep rolling 15% chances indicating additional fire-star rubies found during the search period until a chance is unsuccessful.
A given stone spike will only search once, no matter its attitude.
| STONE SPIKE
CR 2 Monster Manual II page 191 N Medium elemental (earth) Init -1; Senses darkvision 60 ft; Listen +6, Spot +4 Languages Terran, Dwarven AC 18, touch 10, flat-footed 18 hp 25 (3 HD) Fort +7, Ref +1, Will +1 Spd 20 ft (4 squares) Melee 2 slams +6 (1d8+4) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +2; Grp +6 Atk Options Alertness, Power Attack Abilities Str 18, Dex 8, Con 19, Int 4, Wis 11, Cha 11 SQ elemental traits Feats Power Attack Skills Listen +6, Spot +4 |
Xorn:
Encounter will be with xorn as follows:
01-50 = 1d6 minor xorns
51-90 = 1d6 xorns
91-00 = 1d3 elder xorns
Xorns will be passing through the region looking for gems to eat. They can be quite aggressive if the PCs are carrying large quantities of gems, likely demanding whatever gems the PCs carry (including gem dust for spell components) if the amount is more than 100 gp worth unless it is sealed away in airtight containers. Diplomacy or Intimidate can be used to lower the amount demanded. Xorns that smell gems will begin unfriendly. If made indifferent they can be bargained down to demanding half of the germs, and if made friendly can be bargained down to 25%. If made helpful, they will not demand any gems.
Even if helpful, the xorns consider all gems on this Plane to be more rightly theirs than creatures from the Material Plane and they will resent such beings coming to their home plane to plunder their gems, especially gems as tasty as fire-star rubies. They will never consent to actually mining and retrieving such gems from the PCs even if helpful. Only some sort of magic compulsion will accomplish this.
If somehow the PCs do compel the xorns to search for gems, use the chances given above for stone spikes but the time to search is decreased to 4d10 rounds.
| MINOR XORN CR
3 N Small outsider (earth) Init +0; Senses all-around vision, darkvision 60 ft, tremorsense 60 ft; Listen +6, Spot +8 Languages Terran AC 23, touch 11, flat-footed 23; all-around vision (cannot be flanked) hp 22 (3 HD); DR 5/bludgeoning Immune cold, fire Resist electricity 10 Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +3 Spd 20 ft (4 squares), burrow 20 ft (4 squares); earth glide Melee bite +6 (2d8+2) and 3 claws +4 (1d3+1) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +3; Grp +1 Abilities Str 15, Dex 10, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 10 Feats Multiattack, Toughness Skills Hide +10, Intimidate +3, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +6, Listen +6, Move Silently +3, Search +6, Spot +8, Survival +6 (+8 following tracks or underground) Earth Glide (Ex) A xorn can glide through stone, dirt, or almost any other sort of earth except metal as easily as a fish swims through water. Its burrowing leaves behind no tunnel or hole, nor does it create any ripple or other signs of its presence. A move earth spell cast on an area containing a burrowing xorn flings the xorn back 30 feet, stunning the creature for 1 round unless it succeeds on a DC 15 Fortitude save. |
| XORN CR 6 N Medium outsider (earth) Init +0; Senses all-around vision, darkvision 60 ft, tremorsense 60 ft; Listen +10, Spot +10 Languages Terran AC 24, touch 10, flat-footed 24; all-around vision (cannot be flanked) hp 48 (7 HD); DR 5/bludgeoning Immune cold, fire Resist electricity 10 Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +5 Spd 20 ft (4 squares), burrow 20 ft (4 squares); earth glide Melee bite +10 (4d6+3) and 3 claws +8 (1d4+1) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +7; Grp +10 Atk Options Power Attack Special Actions Cleave Abilities Str 17, Dex 10, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 10 Feats Cleave, Multiattack, Power Attack, Toughness Skills Hide +10, Intimidate +10, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +10, Listen +10, Move Silently +10, Search +10, Spot +10, Survival+10 (+12 following tracks or underground) Earth Glide (Ex) A xorn can glide through stone, dirt, or almost any other sort of earth except metal as easily as a fish swims through water. Its burrowing leaves behind no tunnel or hole, nor does it create any ripple or other signs of its presence. A move earth spell cast on an area containing a burrowing xorn flings the xorn back 30 feet, stunning the creature for 1 round unless it succeeds on a DC 15 Fortitude save. |
| ELDER XORN CR
8 N Large outsider (earth) Init +0; Senses all-around vision, darkvision 60 ft, tremorsense 60 ft; Listen +18, Spot +22 Languages Terran AC 25, touch 9, flat-footed 25; all-around vision (cannot be flanked) hp 130 (15 HD); DR 5/bludgeoning Immune cold, fire Resist electricity 10 Fort +13, Ref +9, Will +9 Spd 20 ft (4 squares), burrow 20 ft (4 squares); earth glide Melee bite +21 (4d8+7) and 3 claws +19 (1d6+3) Space 10 ft; Reach 10 ft Base Atk +15; Grp +26 Atk Options Power Attack Special Actions Awesome Blow, Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush Abilities Str 25, Dex 10, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 10 Feats Awesome Blow, Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Multiattack, Power Attack, Toughness Skills Hide +14, Intimidate +18, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +18, Listen +18, Move Silently +18, Search +22, Spot +22, Survival+18 (+20 following tracks or underground) Earth Glide (Ex) A xorn can glide through stone, dirt, or almost any other sort of earth except metal as easily as a fish swims through water. Its burrowing leaves behind no tunnel or hole, nor does it create any ripple or other signs of its presence. A move earth spell cast on an area containing a burrowing xorn flings the xorn back 30 feet, stunning the creature for 1 round unless it succeeds on a DC 15 Fortitude save. |
Finding Gems:
Note: The below rules are not meant to be an accurate treatise on gem mining, nor is it meant to be carefully play balanced should the PCs decide to remain in the fissure or return to it and begin mining operations. The DM should, in this case, come up with workable mining rules that do not unbalance the game. The chances below of finding gems are meant to be a somewhat blended chance for the PCs to find gems and for such gems to be present there in the first place. DMs should not take these percentages as being indicative of the overall dispersal of fire-star rubies in the fissure.
The PCs have a chance of finding fire-star rubies during their wandering through the network. Fire-star rubies to be found in encounter locations are dealt with in those locations. However, there is a 2% chance that a fire-star ruby is simply lying around in any given square on the network map (further consecutive rolls of 2% mean multiple gems in the same square). These are generally dislodged by the earthquakes and tremors that plague the fissure, though occasionally they are left behind by burrowing creatures that either missed them or do not care about them. There is no chance of finding other gems here. There are plenty of crystals and semi-precious quartz and other stones here, but only the fire-star rubies are valuable. All fire-star rubies are of the same size, spherical, and worth a base 1000 gp. They cannot be cut, as this will extinguish the fire within.
If a fire-star ruby is present in a square, the PCs will need to make a DC 35 Spot check if moving at normal speed and not really trying to find them. If moving at normal speed but keeping their attention focused on the ground and walls looking for rubies, then they will be more likely to be surprised by wandering creatures, but only need a DC 25 Spot check to find them.
If moving at half speed and searching, then a DC 20 Spot check is needed.
If a square contains no fire-star rubies, then it will not contain one during the 24 hours the PCs have to explore the fissure. Should the PCs somehow remain here for a long period of time (after the maelstrom closes), then the DM can allow a new chance for such gems to appear every 30 days or so. If the PCs are determined to return here later to mine gems, the DM should feel free to lower the frequency so that the PCs do not end up making bag loads of gold pieces by retrieving and selling fire-star rubies.
If the PCs, instead of simply trusting to serendipity to stumble across the gems, actually make an effort to look for gems, they may do so. The ability of a PC or summoned creature smart enough to recognize gems, to travel into the walls of the fissure tunnels will help here, as will mining equipment or capabilities.
Basically, just taking hammers or improvised tools or weapons and smashing at the walls will tend to be unproductive. Allow, only for the purposes of this adventure, a 1% chance per 10 ft cube of stone smashed through that a fire-star gem will be found (further consecutive rolls of 1% mean multiple gems in the same cube). Given that the walls are unworked stone, it will take 1800 hp of damage (after hardness of 8) to mine such a section. If another PC is not available to sift through the rubble, then at least 100 rounds will be needed to sift through and find the gem(s). Needless to say, this is not the best way to find gems.
If a PCs has the Profession (miner) skill, then he can make a skill check in each network map square while traveling at half speed. During this time he is examining the walls, floor, and ceiling for telltale signs as to where a gem lode might be. A DC 20 Profession (miner) check is needed to locate 1d8-1 potential gem lodes in a square. Once a square is checked, it can be rechecked, but there will never be more than the 1d8-1 potential lodes in the square. The chance of a potential gem lode actually having gems is equal to 5% plus an additional 1% for every point by which the Profession (miner) check exceeded 20. Thus a Profession (miner) check of 35 will allow each node to have a 20% chance of actually panning out.
A given lode will be 1d10x10 ft deep in the walls, floor, or ceiling of the fissure (assume 30% floor, 60 % walls, and 10% ceiling [the latter simply because it will be more difficult to note lode indicators on the ceilings]). If a lode pans out, it will contain 1d3 fire-star rubies.
If the PCs have applicable treasure-finding magic to aid them, the DM should set a Profession (miner) skill level appropriate to the magic being used and then use this skill check to locate lodes as detailed above.
Note that any mining done by means other than earth glide or the like will result in a potential collapse (see below).
Collapses and Earthquakes:
Collapses:
Collapses can occur in the fissure area if creatures not native to the plane attempt to carelessly dig into the walls, floor, or ceiling. Any smashing or digging into the stone walls has a chance of causing a collapse. For each 10 ft cube dug, allow a 25% chance of a collapse. A Knowledge (architecture and engineering), Craft (stonemasonry), or Profession (miner) check can mitigate this chance by the amount of the check result. The stonecunning racial trait applies to this check as well.
A cave-in buries anyone in the middle of the collapsing area, and then sliding debris damages anyone in the periphery of the collapse. A collapse will occur with a bury zone of d10 x 5 ft radius from the point of disturbance and a slide zone of half that amount (rounded up).
Characters in the bury zone of a cave-in take 8d6 points of damage, or half that amount if they make a DC 15 Reflex save. They are subsequently buried. Characters in the slide zone take 3d6 points of damage, or no damage at all if they make a DC 15 Reflex save. Characters in the slide zone who fail their saves are buried.
Characters take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage per minute while buried. If such a character falls unconscious, he must make a DC 15 Constitution check. If it fails, he takes 1d6 points of lethal damage each minute thereafter until freed or dead.
Characters who aren't buried can dig out their friends. In 1 minute, using only her hands, a character can clear rocks and debris equal to five times her heavy load limit. The amount of loose stone that fills a 5-foot-by-5-foot area weighs one ton (2,000 pounds). Armed with an appropriate tool, such as a pick, crowbar, or shovel, a digger can clear loose stone twice as quickly as by hand. You may allow a buried character to free himself with a DC 25 Strength check.
Earthquakes:
DMs should allow a 5% chance per hour that an earthquake occurs in the fissure. 95% of the time such quakes will be minor tremors that the PCs note but have no other effect.
5% of the time such quakes will be big, acting like a earthquake spell in a 150 ft radius. In addition, characters in caverns or passages must make Reflex saves (DC 17) or wind up in the bury zone of a cave-in (see above for details, those PCs caught will then get the DC 15 Reflex save mentioned in the previous section to take half damage from the cave-in).
The frequency of earthquakes here is heightened due to the presence of the maelstrom and the rush of air that is coming into the fissure from it. Normally, earthquakes are much less common that indicated here.
C. Crysmals (EL varies)
These are three caverns some 60 ft to 80 ft in diameter and about 35 ft tall.
Creatures: Within each cavern are 1d4+2 crysmals. These creatures have widened the fissure here in order to find fire-star gems and are quite possessive of their caverns. They will tend to attack intruders on sight, though if any PC can speak Terran he can attempt to change their attitude from unfriendly to friendly by speaking out and convincing them to stop and listen long enough to make a Diplomacy check (DM's discretion).
Friendly or helpful crysmals will allow the PCs to pass through, but will not allow them to mine for gems in their caverns or to retrieve gems from their cavern. They will not trade their fire-star rubies, even for other gems, as these rubies are useful for reproducing large crysmal specimens that other gems cannot. Indifferent or unfriendly crysmals will threaten the PCs and unless they retreat out of sight the way they came they will be attacked. Hostile crysmals will simply attack.
A close look at the crysmals (Spot DC 20) will show that inside of each, below the eyes and past the mouth, is a tiny orange flicker of flame reminiscent of the flame inside a fire-star ruby. A DC 35 Knowledge (planes) check will reveal that crysmals reproduce with gems and that normal crysmals do not have such a flickering flame within their bodies.
|
ADVANCED CRYSMAL CR 7 * Includes augmentation for the crysmal's manifester level. |
Tactics: The crysmals will attack en masse, using their mind thrust ability from range while closing to use their sting. They will use their dimension door to surround or catch up to enemies, as opposed to fleeing.
Treasure: Each crysmal has in its center a fire-star ruby. In addition a casual search of the cavern will turn up a pile of 1d3 fire-star rubies, which the crysmals have gathered in order to later reproduce.
E. Entrance
This is a small cave about 30 ft in diameter and 20 ft tall. The maelstrom is present on the east wall and a passage leads west out of the chamber.
EG. Earth Glider (EL 12)
The PCs will hear the sounds of fighting when they come within 250 ft of this cavern.
The cave is about 60 ft deep and 40 ft wide and 40 ft tall.
Creatures: An earth glider has just burst into a cavern that was being mined by a group of pech (companions to those in area P). The earth glider has just slain two of the pech here and rendered two more unconscious and bleeding (at -2 and -4 hit points respectively) and is now going after the rest of the pech, who are reluctant to flee and leave their dying comrades. The earth glider is between the peches and the entrance to the cavern, with its back to the PCs as they approach.
|
EARTH GLIDER CR 12 Poison (Su) Bite, Fortitude DC 22, initial and secondary damage 1d6 points of Charisma damage. An opponent deduced to 0 Charisma by the earth glider's poison is petrified, as if by the flesh to stone spell. |
|
PECHES (8 + 2 unconscious)
CR 3 Light Blindness (Ex) Abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight or a daylight spell) blinds a pech for 1 round. On subsequent rounds, they are dazzled as long as they remain in the affected area. Stone Knowledge (Ex) The extensive knowledge of stone that a pech possesses grants it a +1 racial bonus on attack and damage rolls against creatures made of stone or earth (such as earth elementals, stone golems, and so on). |
Tactics: The earth glider will attack the peches remorselessly, until and unless it is attacked by the PCs, in which case it will respond to the greatest threat. The peches know they are quite outmatched, despite their damage resistance, and if left to their own will eventually decide to retreat after more of their number fall by rushing past the earth glider and then trying to make their way to their comrades in area P. Given the speed and capabilities of the earth glider, this is likely to be a futile endeavour, and so it will be up to the PCs to save the peches.
If the earth glider is reduced to 15 hp, it will flee, using its earth glide ability.
Developments: The peches are here mining fire-star rubies. If the PCs intervene and save them, they will be very thankful, though mourning the death of their comrades. They will offer the PCs their fire-star rubies and advise them to come with them and speak with the rest of their group, whom they believe would also gratefully give up their rubies to the PCs.
On the other hand, if the PCs allow the peches to die and remain hidden from the earth glider, it will begin to feed and, if allowed to feed, will take 2 hours to do so, not consuming all of the pech bodies, before gliding out of the fissure area.
Once the pech have survived the earth glider attack, they will wish to warn their comrades that there may be more earth gliders afoot and the whole group will wish to beat a hasty retreat from the area (using their stone shape ability and stone to flesh ability to tunnel out of the area and to a nearby tunnel that leads eventually back to their homes).
Treasure: There are a total of a dozen fire-star rubies amongst the peches here (including the unconscious and dead peches). If the earth glider is allowed to feed for 2 hours, then it will have swallowed four of the gems, leaving 8 behind. If it is necessary to determine how many rubies a given pech has, roll 1d3-1 and assign that many rubies to that pech (including the dead and unconscious ones). When the total number present have been allocated, the remaining pech have none.
FP. Fire Pockets (EL varies)
PCs will begin to feel the air heating up in the square adjacent to these locations.
These are locations where permanent pockets from the Elemental Plane of Fire have opened. These locations are comprised of a floating sphere of magma some 30 ft in diameter from which flames shoot out up to 20 ft. The sphere floats in a 100 ft diameter spherical cavern whose walls are made of blackened glass (caused by the heat from the pocket).
The cavern is hot. Just entering the place will subject PCs to 1d6 points of fire damage per round. Approaching to within 20 ft of the magma sphere will cause 3d6 points of fire damage per round.
Touching the magma is exactly like touching normal magma, except that the PC will also take the 3d6 points of fire damage from being within 20 ft of the sphere. Lava or magma deals 2d6 points of damage per round of exposure, except in the case of total immersion (such as when a character falls into the crater of an active volcano), which deals 20d6 points of damage per round.
Damage from magma continues for 1d3 rounds after exposure ceases, but this additional damage is only half of that dealt during actual contact (that is, 1d6 or 10d6 points per round).
An immunity or resistance to fire serves as an immunity or resistance to lava or magma. However, a creature immune to fire might still drown if completely immersed in lava.
Within these caverns, in addition to the planar traits of the Elemental Plane of Earth, some traits of the Elemental Plane of Fire also apply:
Creatures: Each fire pocket contains a group of creatures.
The eastern most fire pocket contains 4 magma paraelementals. Like all paraelementals, their dual nature makes them unstable and dangerous, as a DC 20 Knowledge (planes) check will reveal. The elementals will attack any non-fire and non-earth creatures they see, bellowing in a combination of Ignan and Terran of intruders from the profane world encroaching on their domain. There will be no parleying with these creatures.
| HUGE MAGMA PARALEMENTALS
(4) CR 7 Manual of the Planes page 182 N Huge elemental (earth, fire) Init -1; Senses darkvision 60 ft; Listen +9, Spot +10 Languages Ignan, Terran AC 17, touch 7, flat-footed 17; burn hp 152 (16 HD); DR 5/- Immune fire Vulnerable cold Fort +15, Ref +4, Will +5 Spd 30 ft (6 squares) Melee slam +19 (2d10+13) Space 15 ft; Reach 15 ft Base Atk +12; Grp +29 Atk Options burn. Power Attack Special Actions Cleave, Greater Cleave, Improved Bull Rush Abilities Str 29, Dex 8, Con 21, Int 6, Wis 11, Cha 11 SQ elemental traits Feats Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack Skills Listen +9, Spot +10 Burn (Ex) Those grappled by a magma paraelemental or hit by its slam attack must succeed at a Reflex save or catch fire. The fire burns for 1d4 rounds (see Catching on Fire, page 86 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide). The Reflex save DC is 17. A burning creature can take a move equivalent action to put out the flame. Creatures hitting a magma paraelemental with natural weapons or unarmed attacks must likewise make a DC 17 Reflex save to avoid catching fire. |
The westernmost pocket contains 10 magmin. These beings have just come through the pocket from the Elemental Plane of Fire and are looking for some sport. They are certainly not expecting to encounter the PCs, and will be quite amused and apt to tease them, threaten them, play pranks, or other make themselves annoying. They will not, however, attack unless threatened, and they know nothing about the fire-star rubies (though they are apt to claim they do and make the PCs go through any number of humiliating or pointless antics in exchange for the supposed location of a motherlode of such gems). If left to their own devises, they will explore this isolated section of the fissure and remain playing around for 24 hours before retreating back into the fire pocket.
|
MAGMIN (10) CR 3 Fiery Aura (Ex) Anyone within 20 feet of a magmin must succeed on a DC 12 Fortitude save or take 1d6 points of heat damage per round from the intense heat. The save DC is Constitution-based. Melt Weapons (Ex) Any metal weapon that strikes a magmin must succeed on a DC 12 Fortitude save or melt away into slag. The save DC is Constitution-based. |
Treasure: The easternmost fire pocket contains 1d6 fire-star rubies half buried into the floor, walls, and ceiling (determine randomly). There are no further rubies to be had deeper in the walls of the cave.
The westernmost fire pocket has no rubies anywhere within it.
G. Gem Lode
Note, this area is not directly connected to the network of tunnels emanating from the entrance cave (area E) and the PCs, to access it, must somehow dig or travel through stone or teleport to reach the passages that lead to this place.
This cavern is actually an intersection of several cracks and faults in the rock. It is a large lode of fire-star rubies, and upon entering the place 6 will be visible sticking out of the walls. 8 man-hours of searching and lightly chipping away at the walls will turn up another 6, plus 1 for every 5 points that a Search check exceeds DC 20 (one cannot take 20 on this check). A Profession (miner) check will also add 1 for every 5 points that it exceeds DC 20.
Actual mining here has a double chance of turning up additional gems, and there will be an additional 2d8-2 gems to find, but the place is somewhat unstable (a DC 20 Knowledge [architecture and engineering] or Craft [stonemasonry] or Profession [miner] to note this fact) and the chances of a collapse are doubled.
P. Peches
PCs will hear the sound of mining (rhythmic metal on stone) from adjacent squares on the network map.This is a small widening at the junction of several cracks and fissures.
Creatures: 12 peches are here mining away for fire-star rubies. They are the compatriots of the peches in area EG.
They will be surprised to see the PCs and will be very wary, though they will neither attack nor flee unless threatened. The peches will initially be indifferent to the PCs and rather guarded, suspecting that perhaps the PCs intend to steal their gems. If made friendly they will relax and speak more openly with the PCs and mention that this is an ideal area to find fire-star rubies and even admit that they have had some luck in finding some. They will also mention that another group of their folk went south to look for a promising lode there. The peches will be willing to sell half of their fire-star rubies to the PCs at a rate of 2000 gp in gems, coins, or useful magic items in exchange for each fire-star ruby. They will not haggle or bargain from this price.
If made helpful, the peches will offer to give the PCs 2 gems and trade up to half of the remainder at a rate of 1500 gp in gems, coins, or useful magic items per fire-star ruby. They will not haggle or bargain from this price.
|
PECHES (12) CR 3 Light Blindness (Ex) Abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight or a daylight spell) blinds a pech for 1 round. On subsequent rounds, they are dazzled as long as they remain in the affected area. Stone Knowledge (Ex) The extensive knowledge of stone that a pech possesses grants it a +1 racial bonus on attack and damage rolls against creatures made of stone or earth (such as earth elementals, stone golems, and so on). |
Developments: If the PCs have intervened on behalf of the peches in area EG and at least one pech who was conscious when the PCs intervened is still alive, then the peches here will offer the PCs their thanks and, if they find out that the PCs seek fire-star rubies will gladly hand over all they possess.
If the PCs return only with peches who were unconscious before the PCs intervened against the earth glider, then the peches will at first be suspicious that the PCs somehow harmed or robbed them. Upon reviving one of the peches (which will require healing by the PCs), that pech can confirm the attack by the earth glider, in which case these peches will thank the PCs for bringing the wounded to them and offer the PCs 1 fire-star ruby for each pech they have returned to them alive.
The pech will not, even if helpful, do any mining for the PCs. A few hours after they meet the PCs they will begin to wonder about their companions and head to area EG where they will find the aftermath of the attack there or, if the PCs never visited that area yet, they will join their fellows for a little extra mining and rest and be attacked by the earth glider when the PCs do arrive.
Once this group learns about the earth glider attack, they will worry that there may be more earth gliders afoot and the whole group will wish to gather up all thier folk and beat a hasty retreat from the area (using their stone shape ability and stone to flesh ability to tunnel out of the area and to a nearby tunnel that leads eventually back to their homes).
Treasure: These peches have a total of 8 fire-star rubies (if it is necessary, assume a given pech has 1d3-1 such rubies and once all 8 are allocated the rest have none).
Returning to the Earth Weird:
When the PCs return through the maelstrom, they will arrive back in the cave of the earth weird. She will welcome them and ask them if they have succeeded.
If the PCs have not succeeded, the earth weird will not open another portal for them, but will advise the PCs that there is always another way and tell them to speak to her sister of the air. The air elemental will then advise the PCs on one of the other paths (The Path of Battle or the Path of Enlightenment).
If the PCs have gems, then the earth weird will demand her 3 for opening the portal. She will demand this even if the PCs do not have enough gems to complete this path and even if her taking the 3 gems would render them unable to satisfy the fire weird. The earth weird will simply say that this failure is their destiny and advise them to speak to her sister of the air.
It will be very difficult for the PCs to lie to the weird and sneak gems by her. Her Sense Motive skill is +13 and she has access to a great many divination spells, such that the DM can assume she will use detect thoughts and various other spells to determine if the PCs carry fire-star rubies. The DM can either game this out by choosing which spells she might have, or he can simply assume she knows precisely how many gems the PCs obtained (this is not unreasonable due to her connection with the earth).
If the PCs refuse to turn over the gems she will be quite angry and will threaten them, eventually attacking them. If the PCs do not submit and pay the gems, or if they attack her back, or if they flee with the gems, her sisters will instantly know of this and be hostile to the PCs, effectively diminishing any chance that the PCs can finish this scenario.
Assuming the PCs pay the earth weird and have enough gems to satisfy the fire weird, she will then say the following to them:
Now take the rest to my fiery sister, that you may set the land aright.
Returning to the Fire Weird:
If the PCs return to the fire weird with enough rubies (22 in total), the fire weird will be quite pleased. She will take her 19 in payment and immediately begin to take three of them and gather up magma from her pool and, using the three as a sort of crystalline heart, will begin to shape a simulacrum. The weird will remark that it will take her 12 hours to fashion the being. Normally a simulacrum needs ice or snow, but the fire-star rubies and the fire weird's very nature allows her to form the duplicate from magma, even despite the fact that it is a water spirit being duplicated!
The fire weird knows the Eschew Materials feat, which allows it to fashion the duplicate without the need of body parts from Hlavanaque. It is enough that the fire weird knows her and has met and seen her.
After 12 hours, the duplicate will be complete. The fire weird will finish the last bits of the spell and then admire her creation, which is an amazingly beautiful duplicate of Hlavanaque (refer to the section below entitled "Hlavanaque" for details of her appearance).
The fire weird will speak to the duplicate:
You are not Hlavanaque, the spirit of water. You are her sister, a twin in all respects who is also called Hlavanaque. Your sister is captive of the spirit of the land of Aladur named Gyrmashil. Gyrmashil is enamoured of your sister, but she is not in love with him. Even moreso, she will perish should she remain captive, and the land will suffer.
You, however, love Gyrmashil. He is the only thing worthy in your existence and only to such a wise and powerful being such as he could you ever give your love. You desire to give it to him more than anything you have ever felt. You feel you will fade away and die should you not love him for an eternity.
It is your destiny to be one with Gyrmashil. That this destiny means your sister should be released and the land be healed is merely proof that even the fates want your love to happen.
These good folk you see with me will take you to Gyrmashil's abode. There you will pledge your undying love to him and plead that your sister be released, for your love will be all-consuming and allow no place for your sister. You will not rest until you and he are one. Do you understand?
The duplicate will nod and speak in Aquan:
I do understand milady and I thank you from all my heart that you have made my deepest desires bear fruit. I am eager to go and take my place beside my love for ever!
The fire weird will nod in approval and then turn to the PCs:
If fortune as well as fate has smiled upon you, and an extra bounty of the gems are in your grasp, I can grant a book to you, for I can manipulate the flame within each gem in a special way. You can each once gaze into the heart of a stone and crush it quickly and consume the flame within before it fizzles away. If you do so, I will cause the flame will burn your heart and mind and if you can withstand it you will gain greater insight and compassion. But there is a danger that such fire will consume you and you will live in memory of its pain and your loss forever.
Each PC can do as the weird has described. This ritual must be performed in the presence of this fire elemental weird, and she will only make this offer once, now. Each PC will require a gem to perform the ritual. On swallowing the flame, the PC will feel its heat flash up and down his body.
If the save is successful, the eater will gain +1 inherent bonus to his Intelligence and Charisma scores. If the person fails the Will save, then he will gain a permanent -1 penalty to his Intelligence and Charisma scores. This penalty cannot be cured or reversed by any means, though it can be effectively negated by increasing Intelligence and/or Charisma by a point when the PC next is allowed to increase a characteristic by advancing every 4th level. Once an insight is gained (whether positive or negative), no further insights can be so gained.
Making the Switch:
Making the switch should be relatively easy. The PCs have already done the hard part, and so the DM should allow them to make the switch with a bit of thought. The simulacrum speaks Aquan and Sazhan.
The PCs should return to Gyrmashil's chamber (area 3), and the simulacrum will be extremely eager to do so as quickly as possible, convinced of her immense love for the spirit of the land and of his love for her and a bit jealous of her "sister".
When the PCs do return to Gyrmashil's chamber, he will emerge in his amorphous and invisible form and ask the PCs what trickery is this (referring to the simulacrum)?
A dialogue of what comes next is set forth below, but the DM should feel free to allow the PCs to chime in and alter the dialogue accordingly. The simulacrum will speak Aquan during the below dialogue.
Gyrmashil: What trickery is this? How is it that my most beloved appears before me, and yet still remains within my loving embrace?
Simulacrum: I am Hlavanaque, twin sister of Hlavanaque that you hold. You have chosen the wrong sister. I have come here to offer my unconditional and undying love for you, that I may join with and be one with you and sit by your side for eternity. It is a desire that infuses my very being. It is a desire that, should you refuse me, I would perish from grief.
Gyrmashil: Hah! I find this difficult to believe. How could you come to know me so that you have such a desire for me?
Simulacrum: I and my sister are two facets of the same gem. We are as a one and its reflection gazing at each other in a placid lake. We are two, but are also two halves of the one. In having me, in some real sense, will you also have her. And because of this sharing between us, I have known of you as much as my sister. And every entreaty made to her that she has rejected has instead pierced my heart and my soul.
Gyrmashil: This is a trick...and illusion or some magic done by you mortals to dupe me. But I am not fooled so easily. I shall embrace her, and if she prove false, your lives are forfeit!
With that he will hover over to her and surround her with himself, and a translucent pillar similar to the one enfolding Hlavanaque will appear, though this is not solid. The simulacrum will tilt back her head and moan in ecstasy for a minute while he enfolds her.
Gyrmashil: She...is...real. Her beauty is that of Hlavanaque's. Her soul is that of Hlavanaque. And her love for me is abiding and deep!
But why should I not keep two where I had one?
Simulacrum: My love for you is all-consuming. I will not share you. I am worthy of you, she is not. She rejects you, I embrace you. Would you hold in your grasp two who will not love you or one who will? Are two, who want you not, really the measure of one who wants you more than anything?
Free my sister that my love for you is not diminished and your love in return is not diluted. Let us revel in each other forever!
Gyrmashil: Yes! I cannot be fooled. I feel your love. It is genuine. It is real. You are real. I do not need your sister! She is hard and cold like water turned to ice, but you are the lilting of waves against a serene shoreline. You are the gentle rain on the meadows. You are the clean, pure lake that cleanses. Come and be with me my love. Your sister shall leave.
And with that the pillar around Hlavanaque will dissolve into tiny shards. The real Hlavanaque will be a bit bewildered, and will ask in Aquan what is going on (repeating it in Sazhan if necessary).
Grymashil will tell her she is free to leave, as her sister has provided him with the love that she has denied. It is her loss that she will have to satisfy herself with the love of mortals.
Even if the PCs cannot understand her, they will see Hlavanaque's bewildered state and a DC 10 Sense Motive check will reveal that she is likely to say something that will possibly ruin the current resolution (e.g. "But I don't have a sister!") if the PCs do not immediately hustle her out of there.
If the PCs do not do this, then the DM should have her stutter and come near to asking damaging questions or making damaging pronouncements, to give the PCs a chance to react. If they still do not, then she will deny having a sister and the simulacrum will be offended, asking how she could deny her own twin simply out of jealousy. Again, Hlavanaque will protest and begin to suggest that Gyrmashil has been duped. Gyrmashil will helpfully repeat everything Hlavanaque says telepathically, mainly in disbelief.
If the PCs still don't get the hint, then they get what they deserve. At some point the DM will have to rule that Gyrmashil becomes suspicious and entraps both of them inside pillars. At this point, the PCs will either have to use Diplomacy (consider Gyrmashil indifferent if he is not completely convinced in the deception and unfriendly otherwise) and some very good arguments to explain why Hlavanaque does not acknowledge her own sister or they will have to accept that the Path of Deception has failed and resort to one of the other paths. If the PCs manage to make Gyrmashil hostile, then he will attack as outlined in the Path of Battle (and the PCs can free Hlavanaque in that fashion).
Note: PCs might worry when resolving the Path of Deception that Gyrmashil will find out about the deception and the manifestations of his anger will not subside (and might actually grow!). This is not the case, as the spirit of the land's infatuation with Hlavanaque was not true love but "skin deep" and the simulacrum is just as beautiful as Hlavanaque and just as long-lived. So, in a sense, he will be quite satisfied!
A final note: The PCs could, in theory, try to pass of the simulacrum to the killoren as the rescued Hlavanaque. The killoren will be overjoyed initially, but when the marriage ceremony is performed (see Denouement below), the simulacrum will melt and the deception exposed. The killoren will be quite unfriendly to the PCs and will ask them to leave their lands at once. Only some extremely fast talking and Bluff checks will allow the PCs to wriggle out of this one (i.e. somehow concocting a story that the PCs themselves were duped by someone or even Gyrmashil). If they do wriggle out of their deception, the killoren will ask them to return to Gyrmashil's Realm and rescue the real Hlavanaque.
Hlavanaque:
Hlavanaque is a spirit of water, native to the lands near Tir Lake. Such spirits occupy a grey area in the hierarchy of Dungeons & Dragons creatures. They are not technically gods, in the sense that their level of power does not rise even to a Divine Rank of 0. Nevertheless, they are divine beings in that they are immortal and possess some of the powers and traits of divine beings, albeit on a much smaller scale. Such spirits are essentially minor reflections of the gods with whom they are associated, where that god's creative forces were concentrated in such a way that a bit of their divine essence lingered and merged with the stuff of the land and became a conscious entity.
Because such beings are somewhat
outside of the normal scope of the game and its rules, no statistics
are presented for Hlavanaque. Any means to harm her or destroy
her or imprison her would have to involve epic level or unique
methods and circumstances (such as the means Gyrmashil has used)
that are best left as plot points.
| The being before you is extraordinary. She appears as a Large, 15 ft diameter cloud of water spray that ripples and foams in place. At some point in the cloud is a feminine face that shifts from place to place within it almost as if being tossed about by some internal current or perhaps at whim. The face is amazingly beautiful, the eyes and expression combining an almost divine sense of innocence, joy, purity, and insight. The rippling water drops and foamy spray emit a sonourous watery sound into which laughter seems to be interwoven. |
Leaving the Realm:
The PCs are free to leave and return to the Realm. Having slain or convinced the guardian of the crossroads to let them pass, the PCs may now come and go as they like. In theory, a new guardian (if this one was slain) will arise in a year, at which time the PCs will be treated as hostile by the new guardian (though they may attempt to convince it anew).
The killoren hold a vigil at the side of the lake, waiting for the return of Hlavanaque. Sighting the PCs will cause a cry and hue to be raised and the Most Sacred Elders will hurry down to the lake shore to speak with the PCs.
If the PCs leave to return to the killoren and explain the situation, the killoren Elders will assure the PCs that Gyrmashil is wrong. Hlavanaque cannot remain forever in his Realm before she will lose her connection with the land. She will eventually either fade away or go mad. Marriage to Gyrmashil might even delay this for a time, but not for long, as Gyrmashil is not of the Material Plane and while his consciousness and essence feeds the land and vice versa, his connection to the land is too intimate and too all-encompassing, so that there is no distinction between the two and no way for Hlavanaque to share in that bond. Gyrmashil could not share his bond in the same way a human could not share his actual heart with another.
The killoren Elders will urge the PCs to attempt some way to return Hlavanaque from Gyrmashil's Realm, though they have no advice to give the PCs as to how to accomplish this.
Finally, the killoren will urge the PCs to make some haste in their endeavours, for they worry that Hlavanaque cannot long abide her time away from the land. In addition, the manifestations of anger grow stronger and more pronounced with each passing day, and the elders read ominous portents from the land itself.
The Price of Delay:
There is no set time limit for this scenario, but the DM should have transmitted the killoren's eagerness to complete the task and their anxiety at the current state of affairs persisting, that the PCs feel a need to press forward with some haste. Nevertheless, if the PCs take too long in or out of Gyrmashil's Realm, the DM can feel free to give the PCs signs of continuing and growing manifestations.
If the PCs leave Gyrmashil's Realm and spend too long back at the Settlement, the DM can have a beast of malar attack the Settlement, slaying a couple of killoren. The Elders will be astonished that the land's anger has struck at the very heart of the killoren, and they will become quite worried and anxious. If the PCs remain ensconced in the Settlement, then the DM can up the number and frequency of beast of malar attacks until a literal horde of beasts of malar (say two dozen or so) attack the Settlement, slaying many killoren. At this point if the PCs do not embark and complete the quest at once, the killoren will assume the PCs are the cause of the land's problems and will order them to leave Aladur forever.
If the PCs, on the other hand, dawdle or take too much time in Gyrmashil's Realm or out in the wilderness of Aladur or on the Lake of Refuge, then the DM can have manifestations of Gyrmashil's anger begin to appear directly in the land or the Realm. These can, at first, be ominous signs such as strange thunderstorms or angry winds coming out of nowhere. If this does not suffice, then there should be a single one of Gyrmashil's manifestations as described in the Path of Battle, determined randomly or (for example, water or air forms if the PCs are on the lake) whichever form(s) prove most logical or effective, appearing and attacking the PCs. Such manifestations should grow in frequency until the PCs get moving towards their task.
Denouement:
The killoren hold a vigil at the side of the lake, waiting for the return of Hlavanaque. Sighting the PCs with or without Hlavanaque will cause a cry and hue to be raised and the Most Sacred Elders will hurry down to the lake short to speak with the PCs.
If the PCs somehow fail at all three paths (though in the case of the Path of Battle they will simply have to give up and conclude that Gyrmashil is too tough for them), then the killoren will be downcast but will thank the PCs for their efforts. The killoren as a whole will now be indifferent to the PCs unless they slew ambacras, in which case they will be friendly. They will remain one level of attitude lower to humans as a whole than they are to the PCs. They will allow the PCs to remain in Aladur and the Settlement as long as they desire and will welcome them to return to visit them. They will also present each PC with a single potion of his choice from the following:
potion of bulls' strength (CL 3)
potion of bear's endurance (CL 3)
potion of cat's grace (CL 3)
potion of fox's cunning (CL 3)
potion of owl's wisdom (CL 3)
potion of eagle's splendour (CL 3)
And if friendly, they will also present each PC with a potion of cure serious wounds (CL 5).
If the PCs free Hlavanaque, the elders will be overjoyed. They will bow to the spirit and will ask her if she is ready to be married to the Uryltimbre. She will agree and be most eager to do so after her confinement in Gyrmashil's Realm. A hasty gathering will be called and within an hour or so a new marriage ceremony will take place, as described at the beginning of this scenario. At the end of the ceremony, Hlavanaque will arise out of the pool and her form will merge with the Uryltimbre. The merged form will hurtle off of the cliff and into the Lake, where it will sink amidst a churning froth of water. The assembled killoren will cheer, and if asked the Elders can tell the PCs that the Uryltimbre will emerge in a few days unharmed by his immersion.
The killoren will now be very grateful to the PCs. They will be helpful to the PC if they also slew ambacras, or friendly otherwise, and they will remain one level of attitude lower to humans as a whole than they are to the PCs.
The PCs will be invited to remain with the killoren for as long as they like and to return whenever they like.
The killoren will treat the PCs as honoured guests and query them as to their homelands. They will also offer to make the PCs Alanilwyi, or "Boons of the Land", a status of friendship and honour amongst the killoren. Should any of the PCs agree to this, the killoren will perform a ceremony at the next full moon at midnight on the promontory. This ritual will take several hours and at the end of it the PCs will gain the following:
Whether or not the PCs accept the ritual, they will also be presented with the items listed above (the various potions) and, in addition, each Most Sacred Elders will present the PCs with a torc.
Awarentimbel will step forward with a jet-black torc crafted in the form of clasped hands. She will say:
You proved yourselves willing to sacrifice your own lives on behalf of my people. In thanks, we give you this, which will put such selflessness to good use.
And she will hand to the PCs a torc of heroic sacrifice.
Erybrumettig will step forward with a green glass torc that is partially silvered. From some angles it is perfectly transparent; from others it reflects like a mirror. He will say:
Heroes such as you, who wander strange lands, are often the target of violence, whether meant or inadvertent. Use this in such times, that you can then slay your enemies or speak with potential friends.
And he will hand to the PCs a torc of displacement.
Kyrphanitemb will step forward with a thick golden neck ring covered with dramatic but simple images of clouds and lighting bolts. He will say:
I will not deny that I mistrusted you at first. Your ancestors did great harm to the land, though I know you will claim it was done for good reason. But you have proven the strength of your goodwill, and in exchange I give you this, to prove the strength of your sinews to be as strong as your goodwill.
And he will hand to the PCs a torc of the titans.
With that, the PCs will be free to remain with the killoren as honoured quests. In addition, the DM should now feel free to allow PC and NPC (cohorts, etc.) killoren in the campaign.
The manifestations of anger plaguing the land will stop once one of the paths is resolved. In the case of the Path of Battle, the manifestations will stop for several days as Gyrmashil recovers from his defeat, then increase with a vengeance for a single day, and then cease Gyrmashil's fury is spent and he comes to the self-realization that his love for her was not true love (the DM can even have beasts of malar attack the Settlement en masse during that one day and then suddenly disappear just as the battle reaches its apex). In the case of the other two paths, the manifestations will stop immediately.
Experience Points:
In addition to normal experience (which in Therra is half of that recommended in the DMG), each party member should be rewarded as follows: