2

Getting Together
How to Form a Gaming Club

Mem~rs of the PMPl~yers, a~ RPGA"' Network club based in Northern Illinois, pose proudly with the
troph1es they won dunng the f1rst Network clubs competition.

by Jeri McGraw
and Greg Schwartz
In every town, there are garners or
potential garners who do not have a
group to game with. And even people
who belong to a small gaming group
often have difficulty scraping together
enough people to have a session when
their gaming friends are busy with
work, school, or with other hobbies. As
an RPGA"' Network member, you can
promote gaming in your community by
starting a gaming club. One person or a
small gaming group can recruit enough
people to start a club by running an ad
in a newspaper or by putting up
announcements at hobby shops, book
stores, schools, or colleges. For more
complete information on finding garners
in your local area, see Birds of a Feather
in issue 846.
Your initial group could then start
deciding the structure of the club, all
the while recruiting more members.
Unless the club stays very small, a
Board of Directors should be elected by
all members. The directors would then
elect officers from among the Board.
The membership structure, any restrict ions on membership, and the amount of
dues t he club will charge should be

decided early. For example, The Evansville Gaming Guild charges a membership fee of $10.00 per year and has two
classes of members-active and honorary. (An active member is someone who
pays his annual dues; an honorary
member is someone, usually from outside the Evansville area, who has been
recognized for supporting the organization or its activities.) The Evansville
Gaming Guild also has an age
restriction-members must be at least
14 years of age-and requires parental
consent for all members under age 18.
Written bylaws are always necessary.
For help writing your bylaws, look at
bylaws from other social clubs and read
Robert's Rules of Order, available at
most libraries and bookstores. Your club
can be incorporated through your state
government, through the office of the
Secretary of State, and might even
qualify for non-profit status.
You should hold organizational and
planning meetings once a month, and
your club should run gaming sessions
every week at the same time and place.
Gaming sessions could be held in a
room at a local restaurant, university
classroom, nursing home, or at a community center. The dues you collect
should pay for a monthly or quarterly
newsletter to keep members informed
about club business, upcoming parties,

and nearby gaming conventions. Featured articles on gaming are a nice

addition to any newsletter and will help
you r ecruit more members for your club.
If dues do not cover all the club's
expenses, fund raisers such as car washes may be used to make up the deficit.
A gaming club can change the negative image most communities have of
role playing gaming by participating in
fund raising activities for public service
organizat ions. For example, the Evansville Gaming Guild has done door-todoor solicitation for the American
Cancer Society, participated in a bowl-athon for muscular dystrophy, and
manned phones during a PBS station's
pledge drive-which gave the club free
TV publicity.
A gaming club can register with the
RPGA Network as long as 10 or more
club members are members of the Network and the club pays $20.00 annual
dues. In return, the Network sanctions
the club, publicizes its existence, and
supplies the club with one free Network
membership and some free gaming
materials to start a club library. The
club gets an additional free membership
and library materials each year. Registering with the Network will also allow
your club to sponsor Network gaming
tournaments, compete in club tournaments, and participate in other club
competitions. For more information on
sanctioned clubs send a stamped, selfaddressed envelope to:
RPGA Network Clubs
P.O. Box 515
Lake Geneva, Wl53147
The Evansville Gaming Guild would
like to see a gaming club in every city.
Our club was formed two years ago with
about a dozen members (which made
the initials, EGG, a bit of a joke). EGG
now has a dues-paying membership of
85 and holds a yearly gaming convention, Glathricon, which attracts several
hundred attendees. If you are interested
in more information or have any questions, please write to:
The Evansville Gaming Guild
P.O. Box 15414
Evansville, IN 47716

Palylledranm
NEWSZINE

Introductory Issue

SPECIAL MODULE FEATURE

Ghost Righters - by Jean Rabe

Gallant Heroes Opposing Supernatural Threats-G.H.O.S.T., Inc. is hired by

a mysterious client to tackle a haunted castle in this AD&D game scenario
for six player characters.
lllustrations by David Zenz and Ray VanTilburg.

FEATURES

About the Cover

"Sir" Orville and Company strike a
heroic pose after leaving the city to
embark on another adventure,
illustrating The New Rogues Gallery. Art by Valerie Valusek.

Getting Together - by Jeri McGraw and Greg Schwartz

Forming a gaming group can be an adventure. All it takes is some common

sense and dedication.

20

Heroes and VIllains - by VInce Garcia

Adding carefully developed heroes and villains to any role playing game
campaign will add fun for the game master and players.

21

The New Rogues Gallery - by Skip Williams, Valerie Valusek, Bruce Rabe,
Tracy Reed, and Jean Rabe

"Sir" Orville and Company is an adventuring group that has crossed the
continent and crossed paths with a terrible foe.

28

The Living City's Quill and Scribe Shop - by Fran Hart

Hoaten Thee, a scribe with unmatched talent, will translate almost any document.

31

Ravens Bluff Rumors - by Matt Denzler

Traveling by sea to The Living City can be dangerous.

Publisher
Mike Cook

EDITORIAL

Editor
JeanRabe

Notes From HO - by Jean Rabe

Welcome to the RPGA"" Network.

Assistant Editor
Skip Williams

DEPARTMENTS

Contributing Editor
Guy McLimore

With Great Power - by William Tracy

Our columnist offers suggestions for creating your own super heroes.

Production Staff
Angelika Lokotz
Cory Graham
Sylvia Deering
Sharon Simonis
Debbie Poutsch

01 989 TSR. Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Fitting in with the Team

by William Tracy
Hello and welcome to a special edition
of the POLYHEDRON"' Newszine. You
have just joined one of the best super
teams in the world. So far, this column
has been covering the
MARVEL SUPER HEROES,. game
from TSR, Inc., giving statistics on
various Marvel Universe characters,
and occasionally providing campaign
tips and suggestions. In the future I
plan to expand the column so that it
will cover other super hero game systems.
In this special "generic" column}I'rivia: How many people out there kriow
that Marvel put out a one-shot Generic
Comic Book, and how many out ere
actually bought it?), I want to ve a few
tips on creating or picking out c:liaracters for a continuing campaign.

"Real" Heroes vs. Brand X

When players and referees start working on player characters for a regular
campaign, they frrst have to decide if
they are going to create their own
heroes or go with already established
characters. There are good and bad
points for each choice.
When developing your own characters, you have the satisfaction of playing a character you have created
yourself. Just be sure to make a
detailed personality sketch and make
sure you aren't simply role-playing
yourself.
On the other hand, with an established chara~r, you get to play a character whose personality and powers
have been very clearly defined. It is also
fun to run a comic book hero that you
have always dreamed of being. UnfortUnately, this option is rather limiting in
that you do not get to create the character's personality.
There is, however, one way to have
the best of both worlds. If you put
together a group of established characters who have not worked together as a
team before, you have a chance to
change (or add to) a portion of each
character's history to explain how the
team got together. Perhaps this change

in history caused the character's personality to change a little, or to change

radically. Just be sure that the changed
history and personality 'make sense.
Of course, the players could choose a
well-established team, which would
have well-established heroes plus a lot
of background information on their
headquarters and major e emies.
Finally, the most tlexib e pption seems
to be a combination of_ the above. In
other words, they would have an established team with aeveral<Tegillar members, plus members that ~ve not
worked with the group and whose pe
sonal hiatories have changed. and one
or iwo new characters created.;by e
players. This option gives the players
and referees a good, aolid basis for a
campaign, Binc:e the group and its origins, goals, and enemies are well
known, andeacbplayer is free to choose
an established character or a brand new
hero.

The Line-Up
Now you get to pick or create your characters for the super team. It is usually
best to have a group of aboutJive to
seven members on your team. Or you
could take the "Legion" option. In this
opt;ion, you choose a large team of super
heroes Oike the Legion of Super Heroes)
or have each player create two or more
characters. At the beginning of each
adventure, the referee and each player
can decide which character that player
can use during play. This option lets
players use a favorite character most of
the time, and gives everybody a chance
to fry his hand at different characters.
When creating or picking one single
cbal'acter, or choosing from multiple
characters for one adventure, it is best
to 'fBe a variety of types of super heroes.
If you look at any the various established hero teams, you'll see they use a
number of different types of heroes, so
that they can handle different types of
enemies and situations. A list of the
different types of super heroes and some
examples of each type follows. When
creating a super team, the players
should try to limit tl).e group to one
member of each type and try to have as
many different types as possible.

DetectiveNigilante: This character is

a normal human (on the average) who
mostly deals with street crime. While
usually just a normal human, he has
trained himself to be highly athletic
and skilled in a number of different
fields. These heroes usually fight
unarmed, but some have a special weapon they use with extraordinary skill.
ll'hey will also sometimes have a number of gimmicks and devices to help
them. Occasionally, such heroes might
have one super power. This power is
usually a power that increases one of
the five senses, or the healing rate, or a
physical/mental attribute. But even the
increased attribute is not in the superhuman range. This category also
jncludes the Martial Arts Masters. This
type of hero will have above average
physical and mental attributes and will
be an expert in unarmed combat. He
might also have some minor powers,
which are caused by a high degree of
mental/physical concentration.
Examples: Batman, Green Arrow,
Daredevil, Iron Fist
Bich-Thch Wonder: This type of hero
will have average physical attributes,
but above normal mental attributes. He
will be skilled in a number of scientific
and mechanical skills. He usually will
use a battlesuit he built himself, or he
will carry a number of small technological devices with him at all times.
Examples: Iron Man, Mister Miracle
Super Human: This type of character
will have well above average physical
attributes, and sometimes he will have
mental attributes above average. This
character will be the strong man of the
group and take care of the really dangerous foes.
Examples: Superman, Thor, She-Hulk
Wlsarcl: This type of character will

have an origin that is magical in

nature. He could be a spell-casting wizard, an ordinary human in possession of
some magical artifact with defensive
and/or offensive abilities, or he could be
a member of a supernatural race.
Examples: Doctor Strange, Doctor
Fate, Black Knight, Aurora
Continued on page 30

Notes From HO
Welcome to
the Network
Welcome to the ranks of the ROLE
PLAYING GAME ASSOCIATION"'
Network, the largest-and in our
opinion-the best international organization for role playing game enthusiasts.
Members of the RPGA"' Network
range in age from 10 to 70 and come
from the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, Africa, Australia,
New Zealand, throughout Europe and
China, and from other countries where
role playing games are sold. Despite our
different backgrounds, professions, likes
and dislikes, we all have one thing in
common-we enjoy role playing games;
we love to have our imaginations
stirred; and we appreciate the creativity
the games inspire.
We're glad to have you as part of our
family, as we're confident you'll be
pleased that you joined the Network.
As a Network member you will be
able to compete in RPGA Network sanctioned tournaments which are held at
conventions throughout the world.
While many of these tournaments are
open to everyone, only Network members receive points for playing in them
and game mastering them. When you
collect points, which are recorded at
Network HQ in Lake Geneva, WI, you
will go up levels as a player and a
judge, similar to the way a character
goes up levels in the AD&D game.
Players and judges who reach 3rd level
are able to compete in and judge Masters tournaments, and upon reaching
5th level they are eligible for Grand
Masters competitions. This level ranking system is the only one of its kind for
role playing garners.
Network members who do not attend
conventions can still participate in the
point system. Points are awarded for
writing tournaments, writing articles
for the POLYHEDRON"' Newszine,
recruiting new members to the Network, and for a variety of other accomplishments.
There are many other benefits to
being a Network member. You bold one
of them in your hands. The

POLYHEDRON Newszine is sent to all

members and is a vehicle through
which members can express their opinions and share their ideas on a variety
of role playing games. In addition, in
each N ewszine issue you will receive
from now on, you will find a page of
convention announcements promoting
conventions which feature RPGA Network tournaments. That way you can
plan your convention schedule months
in advance. Each regular issue also
frequently features classified ads. As a
member you can submit-at no chargeadvertisements for this section. Many
members try to locate other garners in
their area with these ads, look for pen
pals, promote their computer bulletin
board systems, or sell gaming materials
they no longer use. Thke advantage of
this service. Clearly mark on the envelope that you are submitting a classified
ad, and send it to the POLYHEDRON
Newszine, PO Box 515, Lake Geneva,
WI 53147. Convention announcements
also should be clearly marked and sent
to the same address.
Each issue of the Newszine features
an adventure for a role playing game
system. In the past we've highlighted
the 'fOP SECRET/S.I."' game,
GAMMA WORLD game, BOOT HILL
game, MARVEL SUPER HEROES"'
game, AD&D game Oriental Adventures, BATI'LESYSTEM"' game, Chill
by Pacesetter, and, frequently of course,
the AD&D game. We continue to feature articles on those game systems
plus Paranoia by West End Games, Star
Trek the role-playing game by FASA,
Call of Cthulhu by Chaosium, and many
more.
And all of the articles and adventures
in every issue are written by Network
members.
Guidelines for writing articles for the
Newszine and for writing tournaments
are available by writing to Network HQ
at the same PO Box, 515. The RPGA
Network will also supply writing guidelines for DRAGONMagazine and
DUNGEONAdventures. Just write
and ask for them.
The Network is your organization,
and you will get more out of it if you put
something into it. Volunteer to help at a
local convention, help form a gaming

POLYHEDRON- Newszine (lhe ollicial newsletter

of TSR, Inc.'s ROLE PLAYING GAME ASSOCIATION" Network) is published bi-monthly by TSR,
Inc. The mailing address for al correspondence is:
P.O. Box 515, Lake Geneva, WI 53147. Telephone: (414) 248-3625.

POLYHEDRON Newszine is mailed free to all

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POLYHEDRON Newszine or used in RPGA
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In the event an article submitted for publication in
POLYHEDRON Newszine contains malerial copyrighted by TSR, Inc., to such an extent as to make
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All letters addressed to the RPGA Network or to
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Unless otherwise stated, the opinions expressed
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designates trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.
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01989 TSR, Inc. AI Rq1ls Reserved.

ContiniU!d on page 30

by Jean Rabe

Ghost
Righters

Players' Introduction
"There is no challenge too great, no
task too dangerous, and no house too
haunted that it cannot be overcome
by the Gallant Heroes Opposing
Supernatural Threats (G.H.O.S.T.,
Inc.)" So reads the sign above the
front door of your business in the
town of Deleeven.
For about a year now the six of you
have specialized in eliminating troublesome undead menaces from nearby cemeteries, crypts, farm houses,
and old manors. You have easily
handled skeletons, zombies, ghouls,
and an occasional ghast. You're still
looking for the really tough undead
contracts such as wights, ghosts, and
vampires that could finally prove a
challenge to your cleric and improve
everyone's resumes.
Yes, this is the life and a far more
profitable line of work than what you
used to do-adventuring into deep,
dark, dungeons where all manner of
unknown evil beasts lurk. At least
this way you know what you're up
against. And you're specially
equipped to deal with foul creatures
that need to be put back into the
earth.
Valthyweshia Valliantheart, the
brave and noble fighter, has a sun
blade that helps her make short
work of undead.
Tracylrathomore Oatsmorovich of
the Great Reedwoods, the skillful
ranger, has three arrows of slaying
undead which he has been saving for
just the right occasion.
Jonzeralokite Pikerinizallo ill, the
most-competent thief, and
Geanerlene Moonwillowither, the
fearless druid, each have amulets of
life protection which make them the
force to pit against ghosts.
D' Aveeventhro Coenoentethropiza,
the even-tempered cleric, has a mace
that can make short work of any
undead.
And Ralph, the dashing mage and
self-appointed leader of the group,
has a much-valued, fully-charged
scarab of protection to keep him safe
against life-draining threats.
The six of you have a nice arrangement. You get paid for eliminating
undead creatures, and you get the
creatures' treasure, too.

..
An AD&D game adventure
for 4-6 characters levels 6-9
Illustration by David Zens

Your customers have included rich

widows, who believed they were
being haunted by the spirits of their
dead husbands; cemetery caretakers
who have had a few problems with
zombies; and adventuring parties
that couldn't quite handle the dangers of ancient burial grounds. Of
course, there was also the time Sally
Sukorski, the owner of Deleeven's
leather shop, had trouble dealing
with her uncle Frank. Frank, it
seemed, had created a zombie mon
ster in the basement. And there was
the shining moment when you saved
city hall from the small army of
skeletons that an evil cleric had
unleashed. The cleric, you discovered, didn't agree with the mayor's
politics. You tend not to like his politics, either. But he pays well.
Besides, that job netted you the
town's undying respect. They began
to call you the Ghost Righters
because you right the wrongs caused
by undead. The citizens started asking for your autographs, bought you
drinks, and gave you presents.
Unfortunately, the six of you have
become so well known in this part of
the country that most intelligent undead have left the area, and evil clerics
have selected other locations to attack.
So business has been pretty grave
lately, and the bills are piling up.
You were discussing opening a
branch office in another city in an
attempt to drum up new business
when the large sack of coins entered
your establishment carried by a
gray-cloaked dwarf.
" I have need of your services: said
the short figure topped with a broadbrimmed gray hat. "I understand
you are handy with undead. And I
have a little undead problem at my
castle, Castle Dworgon. I think you
can handle it for me. Will this be
enough for a retainer?"
The figure emptied the sack, which
was filled with 500 platinum coins.
"There'll be five times that much
more when you're finished . Money
means nothing to me. But that castle
is everything:
Ralph, who was always concerned
about paying bills on time, was quick
to accept the job. And the small man,
who introduced himself as Dworgon
Axewielder, gave Ralph a crude map
which showed directions to an
ancient castle.

"It should take you about three

days to get there, more if you don't
ride horses: Dworgon said. "Now, if
you can thoroughly clear out the
castle by the end of next week I'll
throw in a bonus. I know I'm paying
above G.H.O.S.T.'s normal rates anyway, but, as I said, money is no big
deal. If you don't damage the castle
in any ensuing fights, I can probably
throw in a dozen or so gems, too. I
have quite a collection of emeralds.
Well, enough of idle chatter. I need to
be going. Any questions?"
Dworgon prefers not to talk to the party
long, as he does not want his nature to
become known to them, and he does not
want them to find out so much about
the castle and his problems with the
current occupant that they would want
to change their minds. He will want to
be on his way as soon as possible. However, if the PCs ask Dworgon, he will
reveal the following information:
The castle was hewn into the face of a
rocky hillside, and because of the terrain there are no inhabitants within at
least two or three miles of the castle.
There are likely a variety of undead in
the castle, but he does not believe any
are free-willed undead. He will tell the
party he doesn't know what, if anything, is controlling the undead, but if
something is controlling them it must
be a cleric. (He does not know that Synevil also acquired illusionist skills.)
The castle has no secret doors or pas
sageways that he is aware of, and he is
very familiar with the building.
There are two main entrances: the large
front gates and an iron gate where the
river flows through the mountain (a lot
of time has passed and it's now a small
stream). The castle's windows have been
bricked up (because Synevil doesn't
want any light coming in).
The party will pass through a small
community and over farmland before
reaching the hilly area around the castle. The people in the community are
friendly and will probably provide
lodging.
Bidding Dworgon Axewielder good
bye, your intrepid band of Ghost
Righters heads in the direction of
Castle Dworgon, the promise of gems
and platinum pieces urging you on.

The Client
Dworgon Axewielder
lOth Level Male Dwarven Shade Fighter
Light Condition

Brt. Ave. Twil. Shad. Drk. C.Drk.

STR:
16
17 18/00 20
19 18/00
INT:
8
9 10
12
11
10
WIS:
8
9 10
12
11
10
DEX: 14
15
16
18
17
16
CON: 14
15
16
18
17
16
CHA:
8
9 10
12
11
10
COM:
7
10
8
9 11
9
Light Condition

Brt. Ave. Twil. Shad. Drk. C.Drk.

AC
Normal:

AC

.a

Rear:
Hit
Points:

SA:
MR(~):

1
1

70

80

90

90

100

50

50

50

50

90

A shade's statistics vary according to

light conditions. Please note carefully
the shade abilities in Monster Manual
II, page 108, which also vary according
to light conditions.
Alignment: Neutral (Evil tendencies)
Magic Items: Bracers of Defense AC 1,
Long Sword + 2, Boots of Elvenkind
Wealth Carried: 2,000 gp in small
gems (Dworgon has much more wealth
on the Plane of Shadow.)
A century ago Dworgon was a member
of a small adventuring band which
explored this area of the continent and
got rich from the numerous treasures
uncovered. The band eventually made
its home in an old, abandoned castle,
which it had cleared of monsters.
It was a good home and a good life for
Dworgon and his friends until a beautiful human woman joined the group. The
others in the band, who were humans,
accepted the cleric. However, Dworgon
didn't like her. He didn't like her at all.
If only the others had listened to him.
But they didn't. So the woman, Synevil
Synders, grew in power and became the
group's leader, a position Dworgon
wanted desperately. Sensing competition, Synevil tried to kill the dwarf, but
ended up killing the other adventurers
in the ensuing fight. Dworgon escaped,
but vowed revenge.

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Magic Items: Bracers of Defense AC 2,
3 clerical scrolls (animate dead monsters), Crystal Ball, Mace + 2, Staff + 2,
Ring of Shadows (allows the shade
wearing the ring to shadow walk in any
light condition)
Wealth Carried: None
Sp ells Carried:
Clerical Spells: Detect good, detect magic, cause light wounds (x2), command
(x2) hold person (x2), silence 15' radius,
enthrall, know alignment, dust devil,
animate dead, dispel magic (x2), curse,
cause serious wounds, cure serious
wounds, spell immunity (fireball), giant
insect, cure critical wounds, flame strike
lllusionist Spells: Audible glamer,
change self(x2), dancing lights, chromatic orb, misdirection, blur, ventriloquism, whispering wind, mirror image,
hallucinatory terrain (x2), spectral force
(x2), vacancy, solid fog, emotion, projected image, maze, permanent illusion,
programmed illusion

Dworgon began traveling the continent waiting for Synevil to die of old
age so he could regain his castle. However, he learned through well-paid
informers that Synevil was employing
potions and other magic items to extend
her life. Frustrated, Dworgon began to
search for a means to gain power and
extend his own life. Eventually, he met
a dark mage who practiced an arcane
and nearly-forgotten force that turned
Dworgon into a shade. This was not
quite the "power" he had wanted, but
he was confident it would allow him to
outlive Synevil, thereby regaining his
castle. Dworgon roamed the Plane of
Shadow for the next several decades
waiting for the woman to die. His existence made him miserable, and he tortured himself with thoughts of revenge
against Synevil. Finally, his revenge
becoming an all-consuming thing,
Dworgon left the Plane of Shadow to
return to his old castle. There he found
Synevil, who also had found a way to
become a shade. Synevil, using her
clerical abilities, had drawn undead
around her to help protect the castle.
The two fought a battle neither could
win because of their shadely-matched
abilities, but Dworgon was repulsed-he
had always hated fighting undead when
he was an adventurer.

During his subsequent travels,

Dworgon learned of G.H.O.S.T., Inc.,
and decided to hire them to deal with
Synevil.

The Adversa ry
Synevil Synd ers
Female Human Shade Cleric/Illusionist
(10113)

Brt.
STR:
INT:

WIS:
DEX:
CON:
CHA:
COM:

Light Condition
Ave. Twil. Shad. Drk. C.Drk.

8
16
16
14
9
14
15

Brt.
AC
Normal: 2
AC
Rear:
2
Hit
Points: 33
SA:
N

9
17

17
15
10
15
16

11

16
17

12

11

18
18
18
13
18
19

18
18
17
12
17
18

10
18
18
16
11

16
17

Light Condition
Ave. Twil. Shad. Drk. C.Drk.

MR (%~

10
18
18
16

-2

-1

46
N

59

85

85

59

60

60

60

60

Synevil had a chaotic neutral alignment

when she joined Dworgon's band of
adventurers nearly a century ago. However, as the years went by she grew
corrupt and evil, and sought to kill
Dworgon because he opposed her bid for
party leadership. She failed to kill
Dworgon, but slew the rest of the band,
which had fmally taken Dworgon's side.
Dworgon fled, and Synevil became consumed with outliving him and finding a
way to defeat him. She used potions of
longevity to extend her life. And in her
search for power she stopped training in
her clerical skills and began to study
with an illusionist. She later discovered
(after killing her instructor) a crystal
ball, which she used to watch Dworgon.
In one of her viewings she witnessed
Dworgon becoming a shade, and shortly
thereafter she located the same dark
magic-user and became a shade, also.
Since she now believed she could not
defeat him, she would do the next best
thing, get revenge. She stayed firmly
rooted in the castle he believed was his
and populated it with undeadcreatures he had hated during his life.
Synevil has been bored lately, having
had no trouble defeating the few adventurers who have stumbled upon the
castle. She would return to the Plane of
Shadow, but that would leave the castle
available to Dworgon, something she
just can't allow.

So she has continued watching

Dworgon via her crystal ball. She knows
he has visited G.H.O.S.T. , Inc., and she
has become excited. These adventurers
might put up a reasonable fight. She
intends to toy with them a little before
they reach the castle. Using her illusions and her undead minions, she will
provide a great game. When she's done
with them, she will gloat to Dworgon.
Maybe then she'll return to the Plane of
Shadow victorious over the "little
shade!'

Encounter l A Grave Situation

The Ghost Righters will reach the small
town of Elkheart early in the evening.
Through her crystal ball, Synevil
learned weeks ago that Dworgon
planned to seek out the Ghost Righters.
She has been monitoring the group's
progress and decided to test them. She
unleashed most of her undead in this
area to terrify the locals and fmd out if
the Ghost Righters can handle the
threat. She is hopeful they can, as she
has been bored lately and welcomes the
prospect of challenging visitors. She has
staged a scene of terror using her
undead and her illusions. The total
number of undead in town is listed first,
followed by the staging techniques
which will help build terror.
The small town of Elkheart lies
ahead, its streets nearly deserted.
Although there are only a few people
walking about, all of the town's business' lanterns seem to be lit.
The people are all indoors, and the
windows and doors locked. When the
undead came for a visit a few of the
town's braver souls tried to fight them,
but that proved futile and deadly. Now
the town residents are hoping the
undead will leave when the sun rises.
There are six zombies on the street who
have orders only to harm people who
stand their ground or make other shows
of force . Synevil knew such people
would be the Ghost Righters or foolish
residents who should be eliminated
anyway. More undead inhabit the general store.

The New Residents

Zombies (36): AC 8; MV 6" ; HD 2; hp
12 each; Kr 1; D 1-8; SD always strike
last in melee; AL N; Size M; THACO 16.

Skeletons (45): AC 7; MV 12" ; HD 1;

hp 5 each; Kr 1; D 1-6; AL N; Size M;
SD edged weapons do half damage;
THACO 19.
Ghouls (20): AC 6; MV 9" HD 2; hp 11
each; Kr 3; D 1-3/1-3/1-6; SA paralyzation by touch, elves are immune; AI CE;
Size M; THACO 16.
Ghasts (4): AC MV 15"; HD 4; hp 21
each; Kr 3; D 1-4/1-4/1-8; SA paralyzation by touch, elves not immune, characters coming within 10' must save vs.
poison or become nauseated and attack
at -2 " to hit"; AL CE; Size M; THACO
15.

Staging
1. When the characters enter town they
will see six "people" wandering about
the alleys and back streets. The people
look like they perhaps have had a little
too much to drink. These are zombies
and can easily and quickly be dealt
with. The zombies' first tactic, as
ordained by Synevil, is to move forward,
acting menacing. If the targets flee, the
zombies will go back to the alleys. If the
targets fight, so will the zombies.
2. Synevil is in the general store waiting and watching for the Ghost Righters. When she sees them fighting her
six zombies she will begin screaming,
" Help! Save me from the undead!" If
the PCs run to the general store, she
will go to the basement, where she has
more undead stashed, and continue to
call for help. She has cast a few programmed illusions in the basement
which show 60 skeletons erupting from
the earth and filling the basement. The
illusions begin when a PC walks off the
bottom step and touches the basement
floor. The illusions are like waves, with
15 skeletons erupting from the floor
each round for four rounds. These skeletons cannot be turned, as they are illusions. However, there also are 20 real
skeletons in this basement and 10 zombies. Synevil will step into the Plane of
Shadow via her ring when the PCs
begin their descent into the basement.
The illusory skeletons act en masse
moving and striking in unison, doing
1d6 damage per successful hit as long as
the PCs really believe they are being
attacked by skeletons. An illusory skeleton "dies" when struck a solid blow by
a PC. There will be no evidence of a girl
anywhere in the general store who
might have been calling for help.

3. When the PCs leave the general

store, either because they defeated the
illusory army or because they fled from
it, they run right into the next wave of
undead coming toward the general
store: 20 real zombies and 25 real skeletons. These undead will do everything
possible to back the PCs into the dead
end alley next to the general store. If
the undead can accomplish this, the PCs
will notice a rope being lowered to them
by a man on the roof. Dworgon has been
watching the PCs and became alerted to
the undead in town (but the PCs will
not recognize him). He is up on the roof
of a building next to the general store.
The rope will be securely fastened to the
roof, so the PCs can use it to escape the
undead. They will not be able to find
the man who rescued them. However,
from their roof-top vantage point they
will be able to more easily deal with the
undead in the alley. Once the PCs reach
the roof, the skeletons begin to climb
the wooden buildings using their honey
fingers.
4. When (and if) the PCs return to the
city streets they see an undead creature
holding a very well-dressed man outside
the stable. The undead drag the man
inside the stable. In front of the stable
is a ditch used as a watering trough for
horses. Synevil has cast hallucinatory
terrain over the ditch, which is now
filled to the brim with undead. When
the PCs come to the stable, the undead
will erupt from the trench, seeming to
erupt from the very earth. This force
consists of the 20 ghouls. Next, the four
ghasts come out of the stable to join the
fray. When the battle is finished the
PCs will find the well-dressed man
inside, severely shaken, but unharmed.
He will introduce himself as the mayor.
In reality, this is Synevil using a change
self spell.
When Elkheart's residents realize the
undead threat is ended, they will come
out of their homes and businesses and
express their gratitude. Many of the
people in town have heard of the Ghost
Righters and have seen sketches of
them. They will ask for their autographs, a few of the ladies will swoon
over Ralph, and the "mayor" will invite
them to stay at his house for the evening. Synevil will take no further
actions against them in this town.
Elkheart never had a major undead
problem before-just a few skeletons
and a couple of zombies that the town

10

residents were able to dispatch. The

people have no idea what caused the
undead to come to town; they are just
thankful the Ghost Righters happened
to be around. The townspeople will even
offer to provide the PCs with office
space if they want to open a branch
office here. If asked about the area, the
townspeople and mayor will reply it is
occupied by a few farmers who own
large areas of land. Some of the citizens
will be concerned about the farmers,
wondering if they, too, were attacked by
the undead army. If asked about Castle
Dworgon, the people will say there is an
old, ruined castle east of here. No one
goes there because they are certain the
castle has been stripped of all valuables
through the years. It is said to be a
dangerous place- it looks like it is falling apart. And, besides, the few townspeople who " adventured" there never
returned. The mayor says he knows no
additional information, but will be
happy to present them with a key to the
city in a formal ceremony one week
from tomorrow.
The PCs can easily spot the undead's
tracks and follow the tracks out of town
to the old farmhouse and the castle
beyond. Do not volunteer the information about the tracks. The players must
ask.

Encounter 2Undead Livestock

You have walked for a few hours
across well-tended and fertile farmland when you come to a stretch of
ground where weeds grow abundantly among the crops. Barely visible
above the tallest crops and weeds are
three scarecrows, whose rotted pumpkin heads seem to have done little to
keep away crows.
The scarecrows were created by Synevil
and placed on the far edge of Farmer
Johnson's property. Farmer Johnson
does not know they are here. Synevil,
who is aware of the farmer's undead
ruse (detailed below), wants to make the
PCs so jumpy they might attack the
farmer and his livestock. The scarecrows have been instructed to stop the
PCs.

effect; charmed targets stand and gape

as if under a hold person spell. Victims
recover when the scarecrow is killed;
AL CE; Size M; THACO 15.
Farmer Johnson, who lives about a
day's travel from Elkheart, was visited
by the undead before they moved on to
the town. Furthermore, he has encountered an occasional skeleton or zombie
that Synevil discarded because the
undead were too weak. He was able to
dispatch these undead, but the undead
that visited him two days ago were
something he just couldn't handle. The
undead killed some of his prize cattle,
including his most valuable bull (it
wouldn't get out of the the way).
The farmer, who escaped injury by
hiding in the barn, decided he wasn't
leaving his property just because some
dead people were terrorizing the area.
So he hit upon the idea of making his
farm animals look undead in the (foolish) hope that whatever undead were
around wouldn't bother them again.
" Gosh, everybody knows dead people
don't want nothing to do with other
dead things. They only go after what's
living:' He has made himself up to look
a little bit like a zombie, and he has put
wooden fangs on his few remaining
cows (vampiric cows). He has plucked a
lot of the feathers out of his chickens to
make them look undead also, and he
has haphazardly sheered the sheep and
put blotches of green paint on them
(zombie chickens and ghoulish sheep).
In addition, he has let weeds grow up
among the vegetables nearest the road,
and he has let a few vegetables rot on
the vine as an added touch. He is enjoying his ruse, as in his undead disguise
he is able to easily frighten away trespassers and the kids who used to steal
his eggs. He will be very, very angry if
the Ghost Righters kill his animals.
The PCs will reach the farmhouse in
the early evening, just as the sun is
setting.
The road you have been following
continues on through a pasture and
near a run-down farmhouse. The
fences are in disrepair, and the house
is badly in need of painting. The
animals look unhealthy. The chickens you see wandering in the yard
have few feathers. The sheep in a
pen only have wool in splotches, and
their skin is green. The animals look
positively ghoulish. Even the cows
look grim. The cows have fangs.

Scarecrows (3): AC 6; MV 6"; HD 5; hp

30 each; AT 1; D 1-6 plus special; SA
gaze causes save vs. magic or become
charmed, successful hits have the same

Suddenly, the door to the farmhouse

is thrown open and a tatteredlooking man with ragged clothes and
deep-set eyes emerges. He is making
moaning noises, and he waves a
pitchfork in a threatening manner.
Farmer Johnson: AC 10; MV 12"; F1;
hp 6; AT 1; D 1-6 (pitchfork); AL NG;
Size M; THACO 20.
If the PCs move on, nothing will happen. Farmer Johnson will go out and
tend his animals. If the PCs make any
move to attack Farmer Johnson, he will
throw up his arms in surrender and
yell , " Hey, I didn't mean anything. I
was just protecting my property." If the
PCs kill Farmer Johnson, they will
discover a run-down, but very lived-in
farmhouse. On examination they will
discover the animals are all very much
alive-just made up to look undead.
Johnson kept a journal detailing the
arrival of the undead and his attempts
to keep them away. The journal is kept
in the house with 120 gp and a half
dozen books on undead and the supernatural.
If the PCs talk to Farmer Johnson he
will explain about the few wandering
undead he has managed to dispatch and
the army of undead that came by two
days ago. The undead were headed in
the direction of Elkheart. He will want
to know if the PCs were in Elkheart and
if they saw any of the undead there. He
doesn't know what is causing the
undead problem, and he really doesn't
care. He is a stubborn, cranky, old
farmer, and he isn't going to leave his
land for anybody-living or dead. He
will invite the players in for the evening. If they accept he will proudly
explain how he made all of his livestock
look dead to frighten away trespassers
and keep the real undead away. If the
characters explain who they are,
Farmer Johnson will ask their advice
on how to better keep away the undead
and how to make some of his farm animals look like wights and mummies. He
has heard of the Ghost Righters and
respects their expertise. He will even
ask how he can improve his own
makeup. He would like to learn how to
disguise himself as a lich.

11

Encounter 3-The Crumbling

Castle Dworgon
After leaving the farm, it will take the
PCs two days to reach this castle. The
PCs will notice the castle from many
hundred yards away. From a distance, it
looks impressive. However, when the
PCs move closer they will see how old
and abandoned it really is. If they check
for tracks, they will see honey footprints
leading to and from the castle.
A hundred years or more ago the
castle might have looked impressive.
But now it only looks depressing.
The spires are crumbled to gravel,
and the outer walls are in ruins.
Weeds grow in abundance throughout the castle grounds, and vines
thickly cover portions of the walls.
The castle is old, and all of its windows have been sealed shut with
stone and mortar.
There are only two entrances to the
castle, over the rotting drawbridge and
in the front door, or through a sewer
grating by a stream that runs to the
south. The front door will take characters to the front of the castle, while the
sewer will lead them to the kitchen.
Taking the sewer grating will be a tight
fit. Make it clear to the characters that
the sewer pipe smells terrible. Any
character entering it will smell terrible,
also, and must roll under his Constitution on a d20, or must turn back. Most
of the rooms within the castle are empty, the furnishings long since rotted
away. However, Synevil is a master of
illusion and has created permanent
illusions throughout the building. The
descriptions of each of the castle's rooms
detail the illusion she has created. She
has created the facade because she
enjoys fme things and wants this place
to look like a palace inside. Each
" room" is different, but opulent. However, there is one constant. In each room
hangs an illusory portrait of Dworgon
dying in various fashions. In addition,
since she knew the PCs were coming
she has cast a few programmed illusions
to keep them busy.
lliusions: Synevil's illusions are very
complex and detailed, as she has had a
very long time to perfect them. Because
of this, any PC attempting to disbelieve
something within the castle must save
vs. magic at -3. The DM should make

this roll secretly. If any characters successfully disbelieve an illusion-and try

to convince the other characters that
what they see is an illusion-those other
characters can attempt to disbelieve
again without being effected by the -3
penalty.
The two illusory monsters in the castle will actually damage the PCs unless
the PCs have successfully disbelieved
the creatures. The damage is real and
must be healed through cure spells and
resting.
Having prepared a welcome for the
PCs, Synevil sits back, drifting in and
out of the Plane of Shadow, watching
the drama unfold and artfully sculpting
her illusions. At the right moment she
will enter the scene and attempt to
draw the curtain on the PCs' lives.
When and if Synevil confronts the PCs,
remember that her hit points, magic
resistance, and special abilities vary
with the light conditions (usually shadowy within the castle).

B. E legant E n trance
When the characters reach the entry
room, they will see two very large suits
of armor, one on each side of the
entrance. If the PCs touch the armor,
the suits will fall forward, then roll over
on their backs and stop moving. If the
PCs further inspect the armor, the
armored figures (zombies) will attack.
The four other zombies, hidden in the
shadows, will join the battle.
If the characters do nothing with the
armor, and merely stroll through the
entrance, the armored zombies and the
four others in the shadows will attack.
Monster Zombies (6): AC 6 (except the
2 in plate which are AC 3); MV 9"; HD
6; hp 2 @ 36 (in the armor), 4 @ 34; Nr
1; D 4-16; SA These zombies are animated corpses of bugbears. They will
always strike last in melee, and they
are turned as ghasts. Blunt weapons do
half damage. They are immune to
charm, cold, death magic, hold, and
sleep; AL N; Size L; THACO 13.

In side the Ca stle

A. Drawb ridge to Death
The drawbridge is very worn, but
there is evidence it has recently
supported traffic, as many skeleton
footprints lead from it. The wood
smells of age and death, and beyond
the drawbridge is the dark gaping
maw of a doorway. The drawbridge
leads over a dried-out moat. Little
lizards scamper among the deep
cracks in the dried mud below, and
ugly weeds grow out of the cracks in
places.
The drawbridge is relatively sturdy to
walk across, as is the dried-up moat
floor 15 feet below it. However, if the
characters elect to go over the drawbridge, make them nervous by describing the creaking sounds and the bowing
of the wood under their weight. Th
heighten the tension, have the Dave
character fall through the bridge. He
will be able to hang on by his fingers,
but will immediately notice an arm
reaching out to him. If he takes this
arm, it will come loose in his grasp. The
arm is the honey remains of an adventurer caught in the drawbridge. Falling
into the dried-up moat inflicts 1d6
points of damage.

The condition of the castle's entry

room starkly contrasts with the
building's exterior. Deep violet walls
sport elegant sconces. Th your right
and left hang matching pictures of
your client, Dworgon. The picture to
the right shows him being run
through by a bugbear holding a
spear. Th the left he is shown being
trampled by an army of skeletons. A
red carpet unrolls before you and a
gong sounds.
No matter where the characters walk in
this room, the red carpet will roll out
ahead of them. The carpet is one of
Synevil's illusions.
C. Audien celess Ch amber
This room surely rivals any king's
audience chamber. No wonder the
castle means so much to Dworgon.
Three chandeliers hang from a ceiling covered with an elaborate mural
of deer and other wild animals. A
roaring murmur fills the room, but
the audience making the sound cannot be seen. The walls are painted in
a vibrant dark green and are accented by the sconces that hold carved,
ivory-colored candles.
Any PC entering this room disappears.

12

The floor is pressure sensitive. Stepping on each one-foot by one-foot section

releases a minute amount of dust of
disappearance stored above the ceiling,
which is riddled with tiny holes. Once
there are several invisible PCs in the
room they will start bumping into each
other. The DM should continue to comment on the murmuring, which is part
of the illusion, and tell a few of the PCs
they feel something bump into them. If
the PCs swing at what bumped them,
describe to another PC that they see one
of their friends materialize for a
moment (the ultra-light coating of dust
is shaken oft), swing a weapon, and
disappear. The disappearing act continues to happen because the PCs continue to step on the floor, which releases
more dust. For example: the DM tells
Jon he feels something bump into him.
Jon says he swings at the object. Tracy,
who did the accidental bumping, will be
told by the DM he sees Jon materialize,
swing at him, and disappear. It is very
possible for the PCs to damage each
other. If they search the floor they will
be able to recover two uses of dust of
disappearance. If the PCs inspect this
room they will find four large paintings
which mar the elegance of the surroundings. The fu-st painting depicts Dworgon
having his head cut off in a guillotine.
In the second, Dworgon is drowning in a
whirlpool. In the third, he is being torn
apart by dogs as dark as midnight. And
in the fourth he is falling to his knees
amid a burst of blinding light.
D. Don't Tip The Waiter
This dining area is immense. A
dozen long tables, each covered with
linen cloths, fill the room. Each table
is adorned with silver candlesticks
fitted with fine, carved and unburned
tapers. A few sconces on the wall are
lit, producing some light, but not
enough to take away all the shadows.
The smell of rare roast beef wafts at
you from the head table, behind
which is a painting of Dworgon being
eaten by a red dragon. Looking at
the head table you see a veritable
banquet spread out before you. And
more-food is being carried in by
invisible waiters. Plate after plate of
fruits and vegetables and meat drift
past. A murmuring can be heard,
possibly coming from the unseen
guests who lift forks of food to their
mouths.

E. E Stands For ElevatorAs you attempt to take in the scene

more closely, a ghostly image rises
from behind the head table and
moves toward you.
The effects in this room are created by
several permanent illusion and programmed illusion spells. The floor is
coated with grease. PCs entering the
room must make a Dexterity check or
fall. As part of the programmed illusion,
invisible waiters with napkins will
come to help them, blinding them with
napkins in a distorted attempt to wipe
off their faces. The ghostly image in this
room is not an illusion, it is Harold the
Haunt.
Harold the Haunt: AC 0/victim's AC;
MV 6" /as possessed victim; HD 5/ victim's hit dice; Kr 1/1, as 5 HD monster;
D -2 to victim's DEX score with each
successful hit; SA The haunt attacks a
victim with the intent of possessing him
(see description of haunt, pg 74 MMll).
When the victim's DEX is reduced to 0
the haunt can possess him; AL NG;
THACO 14.
Harold the half-ore was one of
Dworgon's best friends. Unfortunately,
he spurned Dworgon's friendship for
Synevil's curves. In the end, Harold
realized the error of his ways and
fought against Synevil. Synevil, of
course, killed him. However, his desire
to see her dead was so strong that he
became a haunt. He cannot leave this
room in which he died. He will try to
take over one of the party members so
he can have a solid form in which to
search for her. He thinks she is some
kind of a ghost, as she was human, and
humans do not live centuries. If he is
able to possess a body, the party can
communicate with him. He will be adamant about his need to do in Synevil.
He will expound upon how he has
remained in this hall for years waiting
to fulfill his mission. He will tell the
PCs he is so filled with remorse because
he let his best buddy Dworgon down.
Although his hatred for Synevil, " the
pretty human-now-ghost who fooled our
adventuring band:' is all-consuming, he
does respect her. She is able to change
the color of paint in this room at least
once a week and merely with the wave
of her hand.

Going Down
This room, though still richly
appointed, is not as fancy as others
you have seen. The paint is a drab
olive-green, and there is little decoration on the walls. Chairs line the
walls, and in the center of the room
is a tiger skin rug. A painting, showing Dworgon hanging from an old
tree, is clearly visible.
Slightly off to the right of the rug is a
large hole. The floor caved in about a
hundred years ago. However, an illusion
will keep the PCs from seeing the hole.
If characters walk over the hole, they
will fall into the crawlspace beneath,
which is the lair of Snyevil's shadow
mastiffs. Because of the special lighting
in this room (courtesy of Synevil), the
fight between any PCs and shadow
mastiffs in the crawl space will be
shown in shadows on the wall in the
room above. Characters looking on will
see their comrades disappear into the
floor, but the illusion of an intact floor
will remain.
Shadow Mastiffs (6): AC 6; MV 18" (9"
in bright light); HD 4 (-1 hp per die in
bright light; hp 3 @ 20, 4 @ 23, 1 @ 30;
AT 1; D 2-8; SA baying causes panic
unless a save vs. spells is made; SD hide
in shadows; AL N(E); Size M;
THACO 15.
F. Step Into The Parlor
This dark, shadow-filled room is
evidently a parlor. Musical instruments lay on chairs at one end of the
room. Sheet music is strewn about
the floor, and blood covers some of
the sheet music. At the center of this
room is a large fountain, with water
flowing from an ornamental horn on
top. 'lb the right of the fountain is a
painting showing Dworgon being
strangled in the strings of a harp. As
your eyes adjust to the room's lighting, you see a man in the shadows
bent over a beautiful, young woman.
The man looks up at you and smiles.
Blood drips from his fangs. The odor
of death wafts heavily in this place.
"Welcome, Ghost Righters:' the vampire says as he floats toward you.

13

lliusory Vampire: AC 1; MV 12" /18";

HD nla; hp nla; Kr 1; D 5-10, plus
energy drain; Size M; THACO 11.
The PCs must hit AC 1 to strike the
illusion, since they believe they are
fighting something that would actually
be that difficult to hit. The illusion will
dissipate three rounds after Synevil
stops concentrating on it or when all the
PCs successfully disbelieve it. PCs
struck by the vampire will believe they
are becoming weaker due to energy
drain. However, their levels will return
after they are healed. The female victim
is Synevil.
The vampire is Synevil's attempt at
fun. She used a spectral force spell to
create the vampire, a very realistic and
horrible-smelling creature. Synevil,
playing the part of the victim to the
hilt, will swoon, leaving the PCs to deal
with her vampire. She will continue to
concentrate on the spectral force so her
vampire can appropriately react to the
PCs' actions.
Synevil is hoping the Ghost Righters
will give her a chance to heighten the
terror by putting a stake through the
vampire's heart or putting it under the
running water in the fountain . If the
former tactic is used, Synevil will have
the vampire appear to die, then open its
eyes and rip the stake out of its body. If
the latter tactic is used, she will have
the vampire emerge from the fountain,
smiling twistedly. The vampire will
make one last attack, turn to mist, and
disappear through the floor. In any
event, she will not let the melee go
longer than ten rounds- she wants to
keep the illusion believable. Before the
vampire departs, Synevil will cast a
change self upon herself and silence 15'
radius on the party, preferably on one of
the spell caster's clothes. Then she will
rise from the floor looking like a second
vampire.
She will follow up this action with a
sapphire chromatic orb on the person
she perceives as the lead fighter, and
then will cast mirror image on herself.
Further tactics include casting giant
insect and any other appropriate spells.
She also will step into the Plane of
Shadow via her ring, move closer to one
of the more threatening members of the
party, and cast cause critical wounds on
him or her. Synevil will melee only as a
last resort. And she will avoid fighting
to the death, opting to retreat to the
Plane of Shadow at any time the battle
is going against her.

G. Last Stand in the Sitting Room

An illusion keeps this door from being
seen until the PCs have entered at least
five other rooms. Synevil will attempt
to cure herself before coming here, casting dispel magic on the illusion, and
preparing her final assault. Once she is
ready, Synevil will attempt to lure the
PCs here by appearing in the hall and
running here if she has to, slipping into
the Plane of Shadow if necessary to
remain safe. She will use whatever
tactics she deems appropriate to get
them to this room. She has already cast
a programmed illusion, which will go off
when the PCs get half-way into the
room. Synevil has been watching the
PCs for some time now, and is aware of
the cleric's fear. Because of this, the
programmed illusion is directed at him.
This sitting room basks in shadows
which cloak the fine, velvetcushioned chairs and the small
marble-topped tables. As you step
into the room, you notice a woman
hovering in the shadows at the far
end of the room. Immediately to your
right is another picture of Dworgon.
The painting shows him striking a
heroic pose, however, the canvas has
been slashed.
When the PCs reach the room's center,
the programmed illusion starts.
As you advance on the woman, a
booming voice reverberates throughout the room. "Choose the method of
your destruction Ghost Righters.
Reach inside yourself and choose ....
Think of the method. Ah, a fine
choice has been made!'
The programmed illusion shows a large
ghost forming through the floor. The
ghost is tall and menacing. It bears
Dave's face. The ghost will first move to
attack Dave, and next to attack any
characters protecting him. Weapons will
appear to harmlessly pass through the
ghost. After four rounds of combat the
ghost's shape shifts, expanding to nearly fill the room. During the fifth round
of combat, the ghost will be destroyed,
exploding into bits of ectoplasm that
cover everything. However, in the seventh round the ghost reforms, its ectoplasmic parts being sucked together.
This ghost will appear malformed, the
head on incorrectly, an arm where a leg

should be, etc. In addition, a spectral

force spell cast by Synevil during the
fifth round (when the "ghost" exploded)
will make the characters look and feel
"slimed;' which should add to their
terror. During the ninth round Synevil
will begin her personal assault. While
the PCs continue to deal with the ghost,
Synevil, from the shadows, will cast
dust devil, emotion (hopelessness), and
attack with any remaining spells. She
will enter melee if it looks like she has
a chance to slay the PCs.
lliusory Ghost: AC 0; MV 9"; HD n/a;
hp n/a; Kr 1; D age 10-40 years; Size M;
THACO 10.
Characters viewing this illusion (and
not disbelieving) will believe it is a
ghost and must save vs. magic or flee
for 2d6 turns. Dave, the PC cleric, is
immune to this effect because of his
level. Of course, this character might
opt to flee anyway. Geanerlene is + 2 on
her save because of her level. Characters affected by the ghost will believe
they have aged until they rest and thoroughly assess their situation. The illusory ghost cannot be turned.
If it appears the PCs will not be able
to deal with Synevil, they will notice
their client, Dworgon, step out of the
shadows and begin to fight at their side.
If Synevil is defeated, or at the very
least chased back into the Plane of
Shadow, Dworgon will be elated.
The castle will be revealed for what it
really is- a skeleton of its former greatness. Dworgon will despair, as he wanted the building as it was ages ago. Still,
he will pay the PCs and explain a little
about his and Synevil's conditions- if
they haven't figured it out yet. "We're
just shades of our former selves trying
to regain lost glories:' he will explain.
Dworgon then leaves. The PCs will find
Synevil's treasure behind a crumbling
stone in the sitting room. The treasure
is 5,000 gp and a dozen rubies each
worth between 100 gp and 600 gp.
H. Empty Treasures
The door to this room is locked. Synevil
wanted to create the impression that
this was her treasure room. Actually,
her " treasure" inside is zombies. She
found a band of firbolg giants withi n a
few miles of the castle. Killing them,
she used a scroll of animate dead monsters to make them her servants.
Because she carefully chose only the
biggest of the dead giants, the monster
zombies all have maximum hit points.

14

The treasure is made up of permanent

illusions. A programmed illusion is
responsible for the corpses' wailing.
Treasure covers the floor of this
room, sparkling gems and thousands
of gold pieces everywhere. Marring
the scene, however, are the partial
corpses of giants begging to be put
out of their misery.
The zombies are whole. The lower half
of their bodies are hidden by the illusory treasure. If the PCs come within
reach, the monsters will begin attacking, using only their arms. During the
third round of combat they will erupt
from the treasure. The only real items
in this room are three pictures of
Dworgon. The frrst shows Dworgon
being caught in a rock slide, the second
shows him being stoned by a medusa,
and the third shows him nearly covered
with green slime.

Characters who fall into the pit will be

up to their necks in sewage. Each time
they try to call for help the foul water
will fill their mouths. It will be difficult
for the PCs to stay afloat in this muck.
It also will be difficult for the PCs above
to find them unless they carefully probe
the floor and locate the pit. All those
who fall into the pit will suffer 1d6
damage.
The PCs also will likely fall into this
pit if they entered this room via the
sewer tile. In the hollowed out area
beneath, the PCs will only fmd sewage
and the bones of several humans (not-solucky adventurers). On the far end of
the kitchen is a tile sewer pipe. If the
PCs came in through the stream and
sewer grating, this is where they would
emerge.

J. Mirror, Mirror
This richly-furnished bedroom smells
of lilacs. Deep purple drapes and
cushions are accented by gold and
purple-flecked paint. Two large decorative mirrors sit on each side of a
large chest. Next to the right mirror
is a rack with fine clothes. A table
with brushes and vials sits next to
the left mirror. The bed is covered by
a thick purple quilt. Purple rugs of
various tones cover the floor. Above
hangs an ornate chandelier fllled
with violet candles. Above the chest
is a painting of Dworgon. In this
painting he appears to be quickly
losing a fight with a dozen giants.

Monster Zombies (6): AC 6; MV 9";

HD 6; hp 48 each; AT 1; D 4-16; SA The
zombies will always strike last in
melee, and they are turned as ghasts.
Blunt weapons do half damage. They
are immune to charm, cold, death magic, hold, and sleep; AL N; Size L;
THACO 13.

I. Stay Out Of The Kitchen

This room obviously served as the
castle's kitchen. Row upon row of
cabinets hold fine china and goblets.
Large cooking pits occupy the left
half of the room . In the center of the
room a glass bottle teeters on the
edge of a small cutting table, the
foaming liquid sloshing back and
forth. On the wall above the kitchen
table is a painting of Dworgon being
submersed in a pot of boiling liquid.
Nearly the entire floor of this room is a
pit trap. An illusion keeps the PCs from
seeing the room's true condition. A
programmed illusion is responsible for
the bottle. If the PCs rush forward to
prevent the bottle from falling, the
bottle will fall , hit the floor with a reasonably loud crash, and cause smoke to
billow throughout the room. All PCs
who attempted to stop the bottle will
fall into the pit, their exit covered by
the illusory smoke. When the smoke
clears there will be no sign of the PCs.
The pit beneath is filled with sewage.

The chest and mirrors are not part of

Synevil's illusion. The chest is locked,
trapped with a poisoned needle, and
empty.
Right Mirror: This specially-enchanted
mirror makes the person looking into it
appear to have a comeliness of four
points higher than his or her actual
score.
Left Mirror: This is a mirror of opposition. When characters look into this
mirror, there will be a big puff of smoke;
duplicates of the PCs will appear
sprawled out on the floor. The characters on the floor will rise and begin
fighting. The duplicates have all the
capabilities and equipment of the originals. The duplicates and all their items
will disappear when the duplicates are
defeated.

K. Nothing Special

This fancy playroom is filled with all

sorts of children's toys. Balls, stuffed
animals, and small knicknacks are
stacked on dozens of shelves. A large
painting on the far wall shows
Dworgon being strangled by a stuffed
bear.
Several programmed illusions are in
effect in this room. The programed illusions go off in a series when a PC causes
even the slightest disturbance in this
room. When this happens, the PCs will
see a small ball roll off a shelf of toys
and bounce into a tower of blocks. The
blocks will topple onto a small wagon,
causing the wagon to roll into another
shelf filled with stuffed animals. A
stuffed bear will tip off the shelf, striking an army of painted wooden soldiers.
The soldiers will topple like dominoes
and will hit the ball that started the
mess. The ball will roll into a large book
shelf, and the shelf will begin to teeter
precariously. It will be obvious this shelf
is going to fa]l on the PCs. If the PCs
back away from the shelf they will
stumble over a pile of rocks masked by
the permanent illusion. It will look like
they are falling over a pile of stuffed
animals. Each stumbling PC will suffer
1-4 points of damage.
L. Interior Decorations

This room is filled with overstuffed

chairs and plush couches. Dried
flowers fill the many vases lining the
walls. A portrait of Dworgon's headless body hangs on the wall to your
right.
One chair in particular in this room
looks very expensive, its cushions covered with thick velvet. In reality, this is
a mimic.
Mimic: MV 3" ; HD 8; hp 32; AT 1; D 312; SA glue; Size L; THACO 12.
M. Forgeries
There is a " living painting" in this
room. The painting is Synevil, her head
emerging from the Plane of Shadow.
Only one of the PCs will ever see this
painting move. The eyes will follow this
PC, the painting will stick its tongue
out and make funny faces.

15

Ralph

Jonzeralokite Pikerinizallo Ill

Valthyweshia Valliantheart

8th Level Male Half-Elf Magic-user

8th Level Male Human Thief

7th Level Female Human Fighter

STR:
INT:
WIS:
DEX;
CON:
CHA:
COM:

STR:
INT:
WIS:
DEX:
CON:
CHA:
COM:

STR:
INT:
WIS:
DEX:
CON:
CHA:
COM:

14
17
10
10
11
18
19

AC Normal: 4
AC Rear: 4
Hit Points: 21
THACO: 19
Alignment: Neutral Good
Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 150 lbs.
Hair/Eyes: Blond/Green
Age: 58
Weapon Proficiencies: Staff, dagger
Non Weapon Proficiencies: Direction
sense, slow respiration, swimming,
sound analysis, riding Oand)
Languages: Common, Elvish, Gnome,
Halfling, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Orcish,
Gnoll, Dryad, Slyph
Spells/day: 4 3 3 2
Magic Items: Dusty rose loun Stone
(protection + 1), Bracers of Defense A C
7, Cloak of Protection + 1, Ring of Protection + 1, Ring of Regeneration, Staff
+ 3, Belt Pouch of Holding (30 cubic feet
capacity), Scarab of Protection (12
charges)
Other Equipment: 2 vials of holy
water, bedroll, dried fruit and beef, 2
skins of excellent wine, 2 skins of water,
4 empty vials, 3 empty scroll cases, fine
silvered dagger, shaving kit, small mirror, cologne, 2 crystal goblets, linen
tablecloth, 2 silver candlesticks, 2 pastel blue hand carved tapers, 7 cakes of
soap, 3 changes of good clothes
Wealth Carried: 20 gp, 10 pp, 50 gp
pearl

Level 1 Spells

Charm Person
Melt
Detect Magic
Magic Missile
Read Magic
Write

17
16
10
10
18
13
15

ACNormal: 3
AC Rear: 7
Hit Points: 28
THACO: 19
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 175 lbs.
Hair/Eyes: Brown/Brown
Age: 28
Weapon Proficiencies: Short bow,
sling, dagger, short sword
Non Weapon Proficiencies: Tracking,
plant lore, foraging, animal noise, fire
building
Languages: Common, Elvish, Centaur,
Treant, Brownie, Thieves' Cant

AC Normal: 1
ACRear: 5
Hit Points: 63
THACO: 14
Alignment: Neutral Good
Height: 5' 5"
Weight: 120 lbs.
Hair/Eyes: Red/Blue
Age: 25
Weapon Proficiencies: Long sword,
broad sword, bastard sword, short
sword, two-handed sword, dagger
Non Weapon Proficiencies: Endurance, healing
Languages: Common, Elvish, Dwarvish, Ogre, Gnoll, Goblin

Magic Items: Bracers of Defense AC 7,

Short Sword of Quickness + 2,
Keoghtom's Ointment (3 applications), 4
Arrows + 1, 4 Arrows + 2, Potion of
Clairaudience, Bag of Holding (70 cubic
feet capacity), Boots of Free Action,
Amulet of Life Protection

Magic Items: Bastard Sword, Sun

Blade ( + 21 + 4 vs. evil creatures), Shield
+3, Potion of Clairvoyance, Elixer of
Health

Other Equipment: 5 silver daggers,

garlic, wolvesbane, three sharplypointed stakes, four outfits (black, gray,
brown, and green to help blend in with
natural surroundings) 50' of rope, lantern, 3 flasks of oil, book on how to
identify ferns (titled Ferns Are Our
Friends), short bow, 12 arrows
Wealth Carried: two 150 gp pearls,
450 gp emerald, 15 pp, 10, gp, 10 sp
Thief Skills:
PP OL FI' MS HS HN CW RL
75 72 60 72 59 25 96 40

Spell Books:
Burning Hands
Comprehend
Languages
Feather Fall
Precipitation
Unseen Servant

16
12
12
18
13
12
14

Life has not been overly kind to you. It

has presented you with the body of a
thief and the heart, mind, and soul of a
ranger.

Other Equipment: Chain mail, backpack, tinder, flint and steel, lantern,
cologne, ivory comb and brush, silver
neck chain (300 gp), silver and pearl
ring (200 gp), ruby earrings (820 gp),
silver bracelet (80 gp), silver and amethyst armband (310 gp), 2 water skins,
parchment, quill, vial of brown ink.
This is the life! As a member of
G.H.O.S.T., Inc. you are a hero. People
look up to you, respect you. You are an
example to the women in this society, so
you strive to look your best and practice
good manners. You are also evidence
that people aren't born to certain functions or certain layers of society. Your
parents were peasants, and still you
managed to climb out of poverty and
become a high-classed warrior. You wear
jewelry, which you enjoy collecting, to
show off your station.

16

Level 2 Spells

Detect
Invisibility
Knock
Strength
Web

ESP
Invisibility
MelfsAcid
Arrow
Whip

Level 3 Spells

Fireball
Lightning Bolt
Slow
Protection From
Normal Missiles

Dispel Magic
Hold Person
Melfs Minute
Meteors
Water Breathing
Level 4 Spells

Dig
Ice Storm
Otiluke's Resilient Rary's Mnemonic
Sphere
Enhancer

You love battle and the rigors of

adventuring, and being with
G.H .O.S.T., Inc. has allowed you to
pursue a warrior's lifestyle. The treasure has been pretty good, too, except
lately the number of undead in the
immediate area has declined. And that
situation is a little disheartening
because you are itching for a good fight.
Ah, to have your sun blade in your right
hand swinging through the air and
cleaving the foe .
You are courageous and nearly fearless, but you are not foolish and do not
rush blindly into danger. Exercising
your intelligence can be as important as
exercising your sword arm.
You are aggressive and assertive. But
you are not the kind of woman who
considers herself superior to men. You
consider yourself equal to any man, and
you believe male and female adventurers should cooperate rather than try to
prove themselves superior over each
other. When you encounter male chauvinists you simply make it clear that
you are independent and that you are
fully capable of taking care of yourself.
Although you like most members of
the group, you are especially fond of
Ralph, and you carefully try to get his
attention and occasionally flirt with
him. However, you don't want
Geanerlene Moonwillowither, the other
woman in the party, to notice this weakness of yours and your silly behavior.
That wouldn't be setting the proper
example for her.

Your father was a thief, and his father

was a thief. Your brothers are all
thieves and are members of your uncle's
thieves guild. You were a member, too,
for a while. But you just didn't fit in so
you told the family you were setting off
for greater pickings in a bigger city.
Actually, you went to live in the woods.
After a few years you learned to speak
Centaur and the languages of other
woodland beings. You always have been
at peace when surrounded by nature.
You learned plant lore, how to track,
build fires, and forage for food . You
acquired the ability to duplicate the
sounds many animals make. You have
many of the necessary skills to pursue
your life's ambition of becoming a ranger. Now all you have to do is build up
your body. You are working hard at it
every day by exercising and eating only
the healthiest offoods.

You are reasonably strong, very intelligent, incredibly charismatic, and unbelievably good looking. You were born to
a wealthy half-elven family on a large
estate several hundred miles from here.
You are evidence that aristocrats are
born, not made.
Forming G.H.O.S.T., Inc. was your
idea. And a splendid idea it was. It
makes much more sense to specialize in
one type of monster-undead-rather
than to adventure into unknown areas
to fight creatures ranging from giant
animals to powerful demons. Oh yes,
putting up the initial capital to get the
group established was a splendid idea.
Until now the returns have been well
worth it.
However, business has slumped
recently. Your group has taken care of
most of the undead menaces in this
area, and there doesn't seem to be much
left. You're going to have to do something, perhaps open a branch office
somewhere.
You lead an expensive lifestyle. You
wear the best clothes, drink the best
wine, and you spend money on the
ladies.
Even though you are concerned about
your well being, you frequently volunteer to help others. Fighting to defend
the poor and helpless, especially the
ladies, comes naturally to men of your
breeding. You fight with flare and
flashy spells. This is only fitting, as you
are a heroic figure who the bards will
sing about and the historians will write
about.

17

Geanerlene Moonwillowither
9th Level Female Half-Elf Druid
12
8
17
15
16
17
14

STR:

INT:
WIS:
DEX:
CON:
CHA:
COM:

ACNormal: 3
AC Rear: 4
Hit Points: 53
THACO: 16
Alignment: Neutral
Height: 5' 1"
Weight: 110 lbs.
Hair/Eyes: Blond/Blue
Age: 41
Weapon Proficiencies: Spear, scimitar, dagger
Non Weapon Proficiencies: Weather
sense, cold survival, heat survival,
riding (land)
Languages: Common, Green Dragon,
Gnome, Nixie, Pixie, Sprite, Treant,
Dryad
Spells/day: 7 6 4 2 1
Magic Items: Bracers of Defense A C 4,
Murlynd's Spoon, Amulet of Life Protection, Boots of Eluenkind
Other Equipment: Heavy cloth backpack, blanket, small ceramic water jug
and ceramic cup, metal comb, small
silver mirror
Wealth Carried: 25 pp, 15 gp, 10 sp,
100 gp pearl
You are not yet comfortable living
among humans, although being associated with the Ghost Righters has
helped.
You were raised by a family of wolves
which lived in the hills many, many
miles north of here. You still carry
many of your wolf-traits, such as baying
at the moon and running through
spring grass. The wolves raised you as
one of their own, and you learned their
manners. They told you they found you
as a cub wrapped in a blanket and laying under a tree.
As you grew, you learned to respect
nature's animals and had a difficult
time accepting the wolves' carnivorous
ways. You swam with the otters,
learned wisdom from the owls and the

D' Aveeventhro Coenoentethropiza

Tracylrathomore Oatsmorovich
of the Great Reedwoods

7th Level Male Human Cleric

7th Level Male Human Ranger

STR:
INT:
WIS:
DEX:
CON:
CHA:
COM:

STR:
INT:
WIS:
DEX:
CON:
CHA:
COM:

14
12
18
16
13
12
14

15
15
15
14
15
10
15

AC Normal: 1
AC Rear: 3
Hit Points: 35
THACO: 16
Alignment: Lawful Good
Height: 6'
Weight: 180 lbs.
Hair/Eyes: Black/Gray
Age: 33
Weapon Proficiencies: Mace, hammer, staff
Non Weapon Proficiencies: weaver,
potter, riding (land)
Languages: Common, Elvish
Spells/day: 5 5 3 2 4

AC Normal: 1
ACRear: 4
Hit Points: 21
THACO: 47
Alignment: Neutral Good
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 190 lbs.
Hair/Eyes: Brown/Blue
Age: 25
Weapon Proficiencies: Long sword,
dagger, long bow, staff, falchion
Non Weapon Proficiencies: Slow
respiration, boating, rope use, mountaineering
Languages: Common, Gnoll, Ore,
Lizardman

Magic Items: Bracers of Defense AC 3,

Footman's Mace +2 ( +4 vs. undead),
Ring of Water Walking, 3 Potions of
Sweet Water, Bag of Holding (70 cubic
feet capacity)

Magic Items: Long sword +3, Leather

Armor +4, Shield +3, 3 Arrows of
Slaying Undead

Other Equipment: Bedroll, dried beef,

2 lbs. of cheese, 3 water skins, wine
skin, llb. of wolvesbane, 100 sprigs of
belladona, 3 lbs. of garlic, 2 gallons of
holy water, 5 empty vials, small silver
mirror, 4 books titled: How 1b Identify
Vampire Bats, Undead I Have Known,
Ghost Stories, and Tips on Turning.
Wealth Carried: 10 pp, 20 gp, 100 sp
Once, you were a 12th level cleric who
commanded respect in the temple of
Athena. That was before you adventured into a nest of vampires. After the
battle you were a 3rd level cleric.
In shame, you left the temple to travel
and rediscover your lost courage. It took
many adventures, but you were able to
gain back four of the levels you lost.
Now, at 7th level, you are a respected
member of G.H.O.S.T., Inc. If only you
could respect yourself. You are truly
terrified of undead, and you would rather do almost anything than fight them.
You're not real pleased about being in
the dark, either. That's where most

Other Equipment: Leather backpack,

bedroll, bullseye lantern, tinder, flint
and steel, three flasks of oil, 20' of rope,
two skins of water, dried meat
Wealth Carried: 50 gp pearl, 100 gp
quartz egg, 10 pp, 20 gp
Leaving your home in the woods and
joining the Ghost Righters was difficult.
But at least the group journeys through
the wilderness frequently on the way to
fight whatever undead menace is plaguing a client. And at least there is pretty
company-Geanerlene Moonwillowither
and Valthyweshia Valliantheart. As a
matter of fact, all the Ghost Righters
are better-than-average looking. Maybe
that's why it was so easy for the lot of
you to become town heroes. You really
enjoy your popularity and the attention
the townsfolk give you.
You'll admit that some of this attention has gone to your head. It is fun to
bask in the admiration others bestow on
you. You even learned how to write so
you could give autographs. And you
have no trouble taking time to pose for

18

sketches with pretty young women in

town. You must give Ralph credit for
starting this little band. If this popularity keeps going you might be able to run
for public office. You're a born leader.
Unfortunately you can't lead the party
when Ralph's around. Everyone seems
to follow Ralph's decisions.
Eventually you hope to save up
enough money so you can move to
another town many, many miles away
and start your own chapter of the Ghost
Righters. This is a natural line of work
for you, as you despise undead above all
else. Undead killed your family when
you were a small child. You swore
vengeance on all that walked which did
not breathe. And you will never turn
down an opportunity to aid someone
plagued by undead. Undead have never
drained you (of course, you have never
met the really tough undead), and you
have never run from them. You will not
rest or retire until all the undead have
been wiped off the face of this continent.
You are an adventurous sort who does
not fear the unknown. You are quick to
jump into any fray or any opportunity
for adventure. Others might consider
you reckless. You just like to have fun.
You enjoy new challenges and exploring
places you have not been before. The
older and less explored the dungeon, the
better.

undead hide. That is why you are with

G.H.O.S.T. You need to overcome those
fears . You need to be able to face the
dark and the undead.
So, you bolster what little courage you
have every time G.H .O.S.T. goes on a
mission . You usually are able to deal
with skeletons and zombies with little
problem. It is the tougher stuff, or
greater numbers of the lesser stuff, that
worries you. Oh well, you try to hide
your fears and act brave in the company
of your fellow Ghost Righters. Unfortunately, sometimes that fear becomes
obvious. You must act brave! You're the
only one in the group capable of turning
undead. And if you can't turn them, at
least you can maneuver away quickly
(and invent a reason why you departed).
Your magic bracers don't slow you
down. You wore plate mail when you
fought the vampires. You won't wear
encumbering armor again.
You are a very proper man, and you do
not like to be called Dave. Your full
name is D' Aveeventhro Coenoentethropiza. It's one of the few things you are
proud of. You favor ceremony, politeness, and good behavior. You like to see
everyone get along, and you disdain
arguments and confrontations among
friends. And above all else, you favor
the cause of good. You value friendship
and would do almost anything to protect
your fellows .
Being a Ghost Righter has helped you
accumulate some wealth, which you
have put in a savings institution. You
plan to build a temple when you are
finally able to conquer your fears . It's
going to take a lot of gold, but you're
patient.
You lack some of the adventuring
skills the other Ghost Righters have.
Instead of hunting and tracking, you
know how to weave and make pottery.
Well, there's nothing wrong with peaceful pursuits. Aggressive behavior isn't
always necessary. Sometimes it's nice to
stop and smell the flowers.

eagles, frolicked with the badgers and

the beavers, and ran with the deer. You
enjoy hopping with the big-eyed frogs on
occasion, playing tag with squirrels,
and bathing in a cool pond with the
robins. You still even wash the food
from your Murlynd's Spoon in water,
like your friends the raccoons taught
you. You sometimes need to stretch out
in the sun-just like your friends the
snakes. And sometimes there's nothing
better after a long day adventuring
than scratching your back against a big
old tree, just like the bears do.
One day, when you were very young
and still with the wolves, a bear, who
was also a man (you later learned he
was a werebear ranger), visited your
family and persuaded the wolves to let
you travel with him. It was a great
adventure. You traveled far with this
man, who taught you much about
humans' society. He even taught you
the Common speech. Eventually you
left him, opting to live with a druid
community for a while.
On one of your adventures you
acquired a Murlynd's Spoon, a perfect
item. Now you no longer have to kill
plants or animals to survive. This item
sustains you. You refuse to wear animal
skins or leather armor. Your bracers
serve a better purpose.
You are the self-proclaimed protector
of nature and make sure your companions do nothing to harm plants or ani
mals. You know they have to eat, but
you do not let them kill for sport. And
you try to show them all the good that
is found in the wilderness. Maybe they
can teach you what is good about civilization, because so far you haven't found
anything you really like about itexcept Ralph.
Sometimes you are naive about
human culture and have problems
grasping everything that is going on.
But so many things are new to you, and
you want to learn about everything. So
you ask questions. Lots of questions.
That's why you came to Deleevan. You
were curious what people found so
attractive in a place that has few trees
and little grass.
You still haven't quite figured people
out. It's a good thing you met Ralph. He
introduced you to the rest of the Ghost
Righters and encouraged you to join
them. It is because of him that you stay
with the group.

19

Players' Map

Two days' travel

by cood horae

...

20

Heroes And Villains

Creating Important NPCs
lains, this article is presented for both
the DM and the player.
There generally are two sorts of
heroes and two sorts of villains. First,
the heroes.

Greater Heroes
Campaigns can be viewed somewhat
like serialized novels. The world can
revolve around the player characters,
who may have land holdings, authority,
occupy the position of the ultimate
champions of good, etc. In these
instances, the heroes occupy such a
position of importance that it is within
the scope of the campaign that they
mold its direction. And without these
individual characters, the campaign
simply ceases to have a firm direction.
In fiction, a good example of a greater
hero would be that ofThlkien's Gandalf.
While not as powerful as his ultimate
enemy, as a greater hero, Gandalf was
in a position to directly challenge
Sauron, albeit behind the scenes.

by Vince Garcia
In any fantasy campaign, two of the
most indispensible aspects are the
heroes and the villains. One problem
frequently encountered, however, is a
lack of proper perspective in both sides'
roles.
Most garners tend to view the opposing groups somewhat onedimensionally. Players, not without
some bit of justification, often assume
that the ultimate end of any given villain is to be vanquished by the heroes.
Frequently, this can result in problems
for the DM, especially when a player
character chooses to pit himself against
an NPC the DM desires to make use of
indefinitely.
Left with the unpleasant choice of
whether the NPC or the PC is to be the
survivor in an unplanned conflict, too
often the DM compromises his plans.
After all, the game should be for the
development of the PCs, not the NPCs,
right? Ultimately, yes. But not to the
extent that the DM should compromise
his principles and position of game
moderator. Thus, to offer a clearer perspective of the roles of heroes and vil-

Lesser Heroes
Contrast his role with that of humble
little Frodo. Even though the saga
revolved around him, and while he was
an indispensible tool of Good, he was
just that: A tool of greater forces .
Most player characters fit in such a
role-that of lesser heroes. While an
invaluable force for Good, lesser heroes
often occupy a position within the campaign where they are merely the instruments of greater powers. Thus, lesser
heroes usually do not find it within
their cast in the campaign to personally
vanquish certain key forces of evil
(although they might well play an
important role in that end). The Ring
Fellowship, for example, stood well
against and defeated many minions and
servants of Sauron. But none could
directly stand against Sauron himself,
and to have directly pitted them against
the Lord of Evil would have been
uncalled for-and deservedly suicidal if
they were foolish enough to try it on
their own.

Greater

Vi~lains

Darth Vader. Sauran. Lord Foul.

Brona. Raistlin. All of these were
greater villains. In much the same way
as lesser heroes, they mold the direction
of their particular ethos. And as most
PCs are not evil, in the majority of
instances, these will be NPCs.
In connection with their position, such
NPCs should not actually come into
direct physical conflict with greater
heroes. Rather, their involvement with
the PCs is usually through minions and
lackeys. Their most proper place within
the campaign, then, is in direct opposition to greater heroes, manifested by
the conflicts of each other's lesser associates.

Lesser Villains
Because most PCs may be considered
lesser heroes, the majority of their opposition is from lesser villains. Whether
existing as the minions of greater forces
or not, these are the enemies player
characters most often will directly contend with. In the case of such NPCs,
their design should be such that the DM
presumes their expendability.
In the final analysis, then, lesser
heroes should only be pitted directly
against lesser villains, and a bit of
thought on the part of a DM goes a long
way in properly matching up adversarial forces. This is especially true of
campaign aids purchased by the DM.
When a publisher lists an NPC in an
important position of authority, such a
character should be, unless it appears
obvious otherwise, considered to have a
greater role in the setting. (Consider the
possible ramifications for the DM if a
Lankhmar campaign PC was "allowed"
to kill off Fafrhd or the Grey Mouser!)
So, if conflict arises with a PC choosing
to assume a role which is not meant for
him, the DM not only is within his
right, but is obligated to step in and
make whatever judgment calls necessary to maintain campaign integrity.

21

The New Rogues Gallery

" Sir" 0Nille and Company
"The New Rogues Gallery" is a continuing feature in POLYHEDRON"'
Newszine through which members may
share their most interesting characters
with the rest of the Network. Referees
may use these characters described here
for random encounters, or euen build a
whole adventure around them. The
Newszine welcomes all member contributions for this feature.
"Sir" Orville and Company is an adventuring group brought together more by
chance (and Tylk's winning smile) than
by design. Inveterate travelers, they
have crossed the continent where they
live four times in the two years they
have been together. Their odd collection
of mounts and pets (three horses, a
rhinoceros, a giant goat, a yeti, and a
cooshee) make them an odd sight on the
open road, especially with Orville's
massive, steel-clad figure towering in
their midst. Nevertheless, they are both
more and less than meets the eye. The
impressive Orville is really a grinning
lackey, and the group's real power lies
in the strong right arms of Lasgalen
and Tylk-with ample magical support
from Neecha and some reluctant, but
useful, assistance from Talf.

Tii-Kyrmeldur ap Puirdoch
(Tylk)
Male Half Elf Ranger/Druid 516
Player: Skip Williams
STR:
WIS:
DEX:

CON:
CHA:
COM:

AC Normal: 0
AC Rear: 3
Hit Points: 51
Alignment: Neutral Good
Age: 29
Weapon Proficiencies (ranger): Long
Sword, Lance, Short Composite Bow,
Dagger
Weapon Proficiencies (druid): Spear,
Staff
Sp ecial Abilities: Musician (recorder),
Healing, Riding Oand mount), Swim-

Magic Item s: Long sword + 11+ 3 us.

undead, 16 arrows + 1, banded mail
+1, shield +1 , ringofbeauty*, ring of
warmth, dust of disappearance (one
packet), boots of eluenkind, oil of slipperiness, two potions of superior animal
control*
*New magic item
Mount: Tylk rides a bay light war
horse named Parzifal. AC 7; MV 24";
HD 2; Hp 14; #At 2; D 1-4/1-4. Tylk
keeps Parzifal under an animal friendship spell. In addition to the abilities of
normal war horses (Unearthed Arcana,
page 76), Parzifal will come when Tylk
whistles, stand still and wait for Ty lk,
or lay down on command.
Pet: Tylk is usually accompanied by an
adult cooshee named Sir Gawain. AC 5;
MV 15" ; sprint 21" ; HD 3 + 3; Hp 22;
#Kr 1; D 7-10. Gawain is wholly loyal to
Tylk and will sit, guard, fetch, or speak
(bark) on command. When guarding,
Gawain will growl or bark as necessary
to warn away intruders or alert Tylk to
danger.
Preferred druid spells: Faerie fire, detect
magic, entangle, speak with animals,
cure light wounds, goodberry, protection
from fire, pyrotechnics, cure disease,
neutralize poison, cure serious wounds

17
13
18
15
16
13 (15)
16 (18)

INT:

ming, Half Elf Abilities, Ranger Abilities, Druid Abilities

Languages: Common, Elf Languages,
Druid, Centaur, Treant, Faun
Spells/day: 6 5 3 2

Ap pearance: Tylk is 5'7" tall and

weighs 142 pounds. He is very muscular
and even stronger than he looks. Tylk
has a strong, square chin, high cheekbones, and almond-shaped, green eyes.
His hair is silver blond and wavy and
falls to his shoulders, covering his pointed ears. Nevertheless, his elvish heritage is obvious. Ty lk usually wears
armor covered with a brown patina (a
chemical treatment applied by a smith)
to keep it from rusting or glinting in the
sun. Tylk's (non-magical) boots and
gauntlets are green, as.is his cloak.
Tylk usually carries his magical long
sword, his bow and magic arrows, and

four daggers. His daggers are strategically placed behind his neck, at his left
wrist, behind his right thigh, and in his
right boot. His left boot contains a purse
which holds most of his wealth, currently 1,022 gp in gems. He also carries a
few copper and platinum coins in his
belt, and unobtrusively wears any jewelry he owns, currently a gem-studded
gold armband worth 1,000 gp. When
stealth is required, Tylk dons leather
armor and his boots of eluenkind.
Background: Ty lk was born and
raised on his human father's farm near
Delmar. His mother was married to his
father for a time, but grew tired of living among humans and quietly slipped
away one evening. Tylk never really
missed her, as his father was wealthy
and Tylk always had a nurse or nanny.
Despite his father's affiuence, Tylk was
not a happy child. As soon as he grew
old enough to play with the children on
the next farm he learned-and was not
allowed to forget-that his mother ran
away. He also learned he was different.
Even worse, he was slow to mature
because he was a half elf, and was
always a little weaker, a little slower,
and a little less clever than human
children his age. Even Tylk's father
tended to be impatient with him
because he didn't understand that Tylk
needed a little extra time to develop.
Pressure from his father and competition from his peers forced Ty lk to grow
up at a nearly human pace. Now he has
become a successful adventurer well
before he has reached his prime.
As an adolescent, Tylk did a favor for
a crusty old human ranger who became
his mentor and teacher. This man
taught him not to be ashamed of his
race, and not to allow himself or anyone
else to be mistreated; he also taught
Tylk the rudiments of combat, outdoor
skills, and druidical magic.
Although the ranger passed away,
Tylk has not forgotten him, and he
fondly remembers some of the old bear's
most cogent quotes, such as: "It may be
a sin to mistrust your fellow beings, but
it's seldom a mistake:' "Good instincts
will give you the right answer long
before your mind will:' "Never underestimate an enemy nor overestimate a
friend:' And many others. Tylk is fond

22

that Neecha's alignment has changed.

He cannot ignore Orville's vanity, and
periodically takes it upon himself to put
the gnoll in his place. Until recently he
ignored 'Th.lrs advance-to-the-rear mentality, assuming the little fellow knew
his limitations. Now, however, Tylk.
knows what a formidable fighter 'Th.1f
really is and has resolved to enlist
Galen's help in getting 'Th.lf into
combat-even if the halfling has to be
dragged. Tylk. thinks well of Galen; he
is the only party member who has
really made an effort to become Tylk's
friend, and Tylk. admires the cavalier's
sense of duty and noblesse oblige.

Lasgalen Taur Hithui

5th Level Male Elf Cavalier
Player: Valerie Valusek

of quoting his teacher whenever he

remembers (or invents) an appropriate
line.
Tylk. also remembers lessons learned
in childhood. He is race blind, seeing
every person as a unique individual. He
is not easily fooled or bluffed, and he
can never be bullied. He respects
authority, but only when it acts nobly.
He cannot abide boorishness, snobbery,
or presumptuousness. He weighs everything against his own personal morals
and ethics and acts accordingly-no
matter what the situation. This led him
to spare an unusually intelligent gnoll's
life on one occasion, and to literally
shake some sense into an obtuse city
official another time. Tylk prefers to be
outdoors and dislikes cities. He loves
animals and will not tolerate people
who are cruel to them.
Tylk's self-confidence can be irritating, but his natural good looks and
general good nature (augmented by his
ring of beauty) tend to keep him out of
trouble. Although he is very wise, Tylk
is not as smart as he thinks. Friends
and strangers alike tend to accept his
arguments and suggestions, but not, as
Tylk thinks, because he is usually right;
his honey tongue is at least as persuasive as his logic.
Tylk spends little time thinking about
his comrades, he is thankful for their
strengths and accepts their foibles as
unavoidable; he hopes the party will
likewise appreciate his talents and
overlook his faults. However, Neecha's
devious nature once bothered him a lot,
and Galen's dedication to her bothered
him more. Ty 1k. breathes easier now

STR:
INT:
WIS:
DEX:
CON:
CHA:
COM:

16/20
16
11
16/29
16/44

13
11

AC Normal: -1
ACRear: 3
Hit Points: 55
Alignment: Neutral Good
Age: 256
Weapon Proficiencies: Long Sword t,
Lancet, Short Composite Bow, Macet
t Weapon of choice
Special Abilities: Blind-Fighting,
Tracking, Animal Training (hawks), Elf
Abilities, Cavalier Abilities
Languages: Common, Elf Languages
Magic Items: Long sword + 1 auck
blade), long sword + 1, shield + 1, heel
of reunion *, amulet of the hero *, potion
of spider climbing
*New magic item
Mount: Lasgalen rides a white medium war horse named Fleet. AC 7; MV
18" ; HD 2+2; Hp 15; #At 3; D 1-611-6/13. Fleet has been trained to come when
Lasgalen whistles.
Appearance: At 5'11", Lasgalen is
very tall for an elf. He has a youthful
appearance, and at 160 pounds has a
slender, muscular build. He has dark
blond hair, which falls to his shoulders,
and violet-edged blue eyes. Galen prefers to wear plate mail on campaigns.
However, at restful times he wears
doeskin breeches and a soft gray tunic

over a full-sleeved, white, laced shirt.

He has a wide-brimmed gray hat with a
white feather and high, soft boots. In a
leather belt pouch he keeps about 700
gp worth of gems. In addition, Galen
wears a silver wedding band set with an
emerald. At his side he wears a luck
blade + 1, which was a wedding present
from his bride, Neecha Nightmoon.
Background: Lasgalen, or Galen to
his friends, is a cavalier serving Heritz
Calderman of Saxon. When in the area
he reports to his liege for training. He
tithes half of his wealth to Heritz. There
were whispers during his adolescence
that there might have been human
blood in his ancestry to account for his
height, but since his father was a nobleman, no one dared to speak this aloud.
Galen never acknowledged the rumor,
and nothing ever has been proved.
Galen believes it is his duty during
adventures to defend his party, whatever the cost. He is first into combat. He
also will go to great lengths to provide
for Neecha and to defend women, even
those he finds distasteful.
Galen likes animals, especially horses
and hawks. He has trained his small
female hawk, Dagger, to fmd his friend,
Tylk., who can speak to her. Tylk can
also instruct the hawk to find Galen.
Galen dislikes intolerance, although
he has been guilty of it himself at times.
When Galen first joined Tylk's party, he
disliked Neecha, distrusted Talf, and if
it hadn't been for his instant friendship
with Tylk, probably would not have
continued traveling with the party.
Now, however, he has a very strong
loyalty toward the party, and he will
travel with them for as long as he can.
Because of the rumors that he had
human blood in his family tree, Galen
feels a special bond with his friend ,
Tylk, a half elf and the acknowledged
leader of the adventuring party. Galen
also has a particular fondness for halflings, especially for his comrade, 'Th.lf,
and will often look the other way if he
knows Talf is engaged in a lightfmgered activity. Galen also has learned
to be tolerant ofTylk.'s follower, a gnoll
named Orville.
When Galen met Neecha Nightmoon
for the first time he instantly disliked
her. She was a drow, and she was throwing herself at Tylk. shamelessly. Galen
thought of her as a common trollop or
strumpet. As he got to know Neecha,
however, he realized that she was
attempting to use her feminine charms

23

on Tylk. in order to gain his protection.

His racial intolerance toward her disappeared once he started thinking of her
as a woman, not a drow. Eventually
they fell in love and were wed.
Although he has been a bit rough
around the edges (especially concerning
Orville), Galen is a gentleman. He is
courtly and tries to be fair minded.
Galen is very courageous, and if he is
defending his party or Neecha, he will
continue fighting even when he doesn't
believe he can win. Honor, bravery, and
gallantry are ideals to which he aspires.
Galen doesn't mind letting others make
decisions and usually follows Tylk's
lead.
Until Lasgalenjoined the party, he
soldiered for his liege, Heritz Calderman. His liege always was generous
with Galen, providing for his needs and
training, and then allowing Galen the
freedom to leave his service to go adventuring and gain experience.

Talf (the Bold)

Male Tallfellow Halfiing
Fighter/Thief 516
Player: Bruce Rabe

Mount: Talf rides a white and gray

giant war goat named Alexander. AC 6;
MV 18" ; HD 2+1; Hp 8; #At 1; D 2-7.

STR:
INT:
WIS:
DEX:
CON:
CHA:
COM:

Appearance: Talf is impressively

large for a halfling, standing 4'3" tall
and weighing 77 pounds. His face is
framed by wavy brownish-blond,
shoulder-length hair. His steel gray eyes
nearly match his leather clothing and
his cap. A black neckpiece accents his
attire, but it is actually a sap. Talf never leaves his faithful giant war goat far
behind. Talf wears a dark green cloak
when such is needed.

17
15
12
18
17
12
9

AC Normal: -1
ACRear: 3
Hit Points: 41
Alignment: Neutral (Some good
tendencies)
Age: 51
Weapon Proficiencies (fighter): Long
Sword, Short Bow, Spear
Weapon Proficiencies (thief): Dagger,
Sap
Special Abilities: Alertness, Carpenter, Swimming, Rope Use (x2), Riding
Oand mounts), Thieving Skills, Halfling
Abilities
Languages: Halfling Languages
Thief Skills:
PP OL FI' MS HS HN CW RL
75 67 55 77 67 25 87 25
Magic Items: Bracers of defense AC 4,
ring of protection + 1, boots of eluenkind,
long sword + 2 dragon slayer (white
dragons), two potions of healing, two
potions of sweetwater

Background: Talf was raised in the

large halfling village of Rhamen. He is
the son of Ralf the Innkeeper. He began
his career as a helper for his father and
a member of the local militia. Talf also
served as the bookkeeper and handyman for his father's inn. Talf also has an
eye for a good buy, and is a very good
haggler and salesman.
As he got older, Talf saw that one
cannot get rich by being an innkeeper,
or even a militiaman, so he decided to
seek his fortune by other means. On his
first adventure, he went to work for a
merchant, tracking down some thieves
and leading several mercenaries to the
thieves' hideout. His group received
half of the booty that the thieves had
stolen. Talf was quite pleased with his
share of the spoils, and even more

pleased with himself for outthinking

and outfighting the thieves. Talf likes
winning.
Talf is very fond of Orville and his
" helper" Tylk. Tylk. is an all-right fellow in the wilderness, but Talf thinks he
understands why rangers don't like
urban areas. Tylk never fails to infuriate the local establishment and ultimately causes the group to be run out of
town. Galen, Neecha, or "Sir" Orville
would certainly make a better spokesperson for the group. Th Talfs calculating eye, Galen is an elf who has some
connections to wealth or knows wealthy
people. After all, Galen is some sort of
knight who never is surrounded by
lackeys like other knights Talfhas seen.
Talfhas never trusted Neecha completely, but will gladly accept cures
from the lady cleric.
Talf thinks he is very honorable in his
own way. If he gives his word on something, he will try to stand by it best he
can. Promises are of great importance to
him; he does not give them often, but
seldom breaks them.
Talf sees himself as very brave, but
thinks has been given a bad reputation.
Recently he has been in the wrong spot
at the wrong time (usually safely up a
tree during melee), and has been called
a coward. These epithets get under
Talrs skin, and if he is insulted constantly about being cowardly, the
offender might wake up in time to find
his jugular vein slit wide open.

Neecha Nightmoon
Taur Hithui
Female Drow Magic User/Cleric 5th/5th
Player: Tracy Reed
STR:
INT:
WIS:
DEX:
CON:
CHA:
COM:

13
15
16
12
10
12
12

ACNormal: 2
AC Rear: 2
Hit Points: 28
Alignment: Chaotic Good (presently)
Age: 115
Weapon Proficiencies (cleric): Footman's Mace, Footman's Flail
Weapon Proficiencies (magic-user):
Dagger, Staff
Special Abilities: Animal Noise (x2),
Riding Oand mounts), Fungus Identification, Swimming, Animal Training,

24

Blind-Fighting, Drow Abilities

Languages: Elvish languages
Spells/day (magic-user): 4 2 1
Spells/day (cleric): 5 5 1
Magic Items: Pouch of accessibility,
wand of wonder (50 charges), footman 's
mace + 1, continual light gem, chain
mail + 3, heel of reunion *, scroll of one
spell charm person, potion of healing,
two potions of superior animal control *,
potion of flying Neecha also carries the
party's tent, an extra-dimensional,
temperature-controlled space filled with
10 cots, 10 stalls for mounts, a fountain,
and a tree bearing fresh fruit
*New magic item
Mount: Neecha rides a jet-black medium war horse named Midnight. AC 7;
MV 18" ; HD 2+2; Hp 9; #At 3;

D 1-6/1-6/1-3.
Pet: Neecha is usually accompanied by
an immature female yeti named Moonlight. AC 6; MV 15"; HD 2 + 2; Hp 12;
#AT 2; D 1-3/1-3.
Spell Books:
Can trips

Color
Dry
Hairy
Change
Blue light
Present

Fire finger
Sweeten
Warm
Tangle
Palm

Level 1 Spells

Armor
Jump
Mending
Read Magic
Spider Climb
Charm Person

Identify
Magic Missilet
Protection From
Euil
Shocking Graspt
Write

Level 2 Spells

Deeppockets
Knock
Locate Object
Webt

Inuisibilityt
Leomund's Trap
Strength

Level 3 Spells

Lightning Bolt
Melfs Minute
Meteor

Fireball

tFavorite spells
Preferred clerical spells: Cure light
wounds, detect magic, hold person,
silence 15' radius, speak with animals
(so she can converse with Midnight and
Moonlight), spiritual hammer

Appearance: Neecha is very slender

and delicately built. She has ink-black
skin and sparkling violet eyes. Her
flowing silver hair is waist length; she
usually braids it on the left side, where
she wears a hawk feather. When adventuring, Neecha wears a fine, long chain
mail shirt and buckskin breeches. Frequently she also wears a blue-green
tunic. Her high, soft leather boots are
trimmed in white rabbit fur and nearly
match the leather of her belt, where she
carries her pouch of accessibility. When
visiting a town, she wears a long, hooded, brown cloak trimmed in silver to
hide her drowish nature. She usually
wears a mace and four throwing daggers, one on each hip and in each boot.
On special occasions Neecha wears a
blue and silver veil and a midnight blue
silk dress embroidered with silver crescent moons. These were wedding
presents from her husband, Las. Neecha
is very fond of jewelry and often wears
the treasure she acquires, until she is
forced to sell it to pay for training or
cover other expenses. In her left ear she
wears a silver crescent earring, and on
her left hand she wears a silver wedding ring set with an emerald-both
presents from Las.
Background: Neecha was born in the
underdark. Her father, Nathellien
Nightmoon, was a magic-user of high
standing in the drow community, and
Neecha at a very early age showed
interest in magic. Her father was proud
of this and encouraged her. One day, her
father took her above ground to show
her where various spell components
come from and how to collect them. The
pair was discovered by several adventurers who killed Nathellien and took
Neecha prisoner. Later, she was sold as
a slave to the 'Thmple of Poseidon. At
the temple, she learned the ways of
Poseidon and became interested in
clerical spells. The clerics in the temple,
seeing her potential, granted her freedom and saw that she was trained as a
cleric and as a magic-user.
Neecha, however, wasn't satisfied
staying at the temple. She needed to see
the rest of the world. The temple clerics
allowed her to leave, encouraging her to
spread the teachings of Poseidon. She
has no interest in returning to her drow
homeland (she no longer remembers
how to get there, anyway). During her
travels she met a group of
adventurers-Las, Tylk, and Talf, whom
she quickly fell in with. She plans to
stay with them until she starts a family.

In the beginning Neecha did not like

Las; he called her a strumpet (a few
worse names when she was out of earshot) and looked down on her because
she was a drow. However, one evening
he saw her in a different light after he
had too much to drink. Neecha made
sure the rest of the party learned of Las'
amorous nature so he would be embarrassed. However, the jest soon blossomed into a real romance.
N eecha considers herself very independent, but doesn't refuse help from
others or pampering from Las. She
enjoys adventuring because it affords
her many opportunities to use her wand
of wonder and her spells. Her wand of
wonder, a present from Las, is her favorite magic item. Her battle tactics
include casting spells from a distance,
and then closing in to melee the foe
after he is weakened.
Among Neecha's more notorious
accomplishments was reading a cursed
scroll while the party was at the top of a
frigid mountain. The spell transported
the party-and the baby yeti she
acquired after the party killed its
parents-to a tropical island in the
middle of nowhere. It took a carefullyworded wish from a deck of many things
to get the party back. Neecha hopes to
train the yeti to be her bodyguard. She
also hopes to fmd a familiar. Her first
familiar, a crow named Nightengale,
left when Neecha was killed by a
dragon during an adventure in a
swamp.
Las, crushed by Neecha's death,
rushed her body to the largest city on
the continent, where the party agreed to
perform a mission for the king in
exchange for having Neecha brought
back to life. The king was very displeased to learn he had agreed to revive
a drow, but Tylk was able to persuade
him to honor the bargain. When Neecha
was revived, she and Las were married
in the biggest wedding the city had seen
in years. (Orville, Tylk's follower, paid a
few hundred coppers to the city's poorer
residents in exchange for their presence
at the wedding.)
Neecha's second familiar-acquired a
year after her marriage-was a quasit.
Neecha had picked up a book ofuile
darkness (carefully planted by the
group's arch enemy, Scardo Linden) and
turned from chaotic neutral to chaotic
evil; her misadventure with the cursed
scroll had not taught her to be careful
with unknown magical writings. Las
used the wish from his luck blade to
alter the incident, and this changed

25

Neecha's alignment to chaotic good,

causing the quasit to disappear. Now
Neecha must wait another year to try
again for a familiar, much to her chagrin.

Orville (Sir Orville, Knight

Extraordinaire)
2nd Leuel Male Gnoll Fighter
NPC, DM Jean Rabe
ACNormal: 2
AC Rear: 2
Move: 6"
Hit Points: 24
#Nr: 1
Dmg: 1-10 (3-18 to large creatures) +3
(strength and magic sword bonus)
Intelligence: Average
Alignment: Chaotic Good (strong selfish tendencies)
Size: L (7 112' tall)
Age: 19
Weapon Proficiencies (fighter):
Bardiche, Two-Handed Sword, Long
Bow
Special Abilities: Foraging, Cooking
Languages: Gnoll, Common
Magic Items: Two-handed sword + 2,
ring of protection + 1, potion of healing,

two potions of superior animal control*,

potion of climbing (but he thinks it's a
potion of healing)
*New magic item
Mount: Rhino (produced by Neecha's
wand of wonder and subsequently trained at considerable cost) AC 6; MV 12";
HD 8; Hp 41; #AT 1; D 2-8. Tylk keeps
the rhino under an animal friendship
spell to keep it (and Orville) from getting out of control. It will stop, come,
and kneel at Tylk's command.
Appearance: When dressed in his full
suit of plate mail, Orville presents a
striking image-even more so when
mounted on his rhino. He frequently
wears a long, dark red cloak. Orville
always wears his armor, with the faceplate of his helmet down, in public. When
not in armor, his canine qualities are
readily apparent.
Background: Orville ran with a large
band of gnolls which specialized in
raiding farm houses and preying on
travelers between raids. He was very
good at bullying people- because he
could speak Common-and finding out
where their valuables were kept. However, well over a year ago a band of

adventurers came upon a farm the

gnolls had taken over. The gnolls had
chosen this particular farm because it
had a large barn to stash rabbits in. (A
local paladin had been turned into a
rabbit and all manner of evil creatures
were rabbit hunting to fmd him.)
Orville was stationed in the barn,
guarding the rabbits, while the majority
of the band was out gathering more
rabbits. Tylk, Talf, Lasgalen, and
Neecha captured Orville, freed the
rabbits, and quickly dispersed the rest
of the gnolls (who had returned to find
the adventurers in the barn). Orville,
being of reasonable intelligence, quickly
switched sides and threw his lot in with
the adventurers.
He soon grew to admire Tylk and
became the ranger's first follower. He
sometimes thinks ofTylk as a big brother and would lay down his life to protect
him. Orville enjoys the life of an adventurer because it nets him a goodly
amount of treasure and magic items. He
has no intention of ever leaving Tylk's
side and going to live with gnolls.
On one town adventure, two of
Orville's haUling associates helped him
purchase armor and a mount (which has
since been discarded in favor of the
rhino). They gave him copper pieces to

26

throw to the peasants and preceded him

through the city streets, beating drums.
This started Orville's reputation as a
famous knight. This reputation has
spread throughout a large portion of the
continent. And people who see his large,
striking figure atop his rhino believe
him to be the leader of the adventuring
band. Most people call him, "Sir
Orville!' This treatment has swelled
Orville's already considerably big head
and considerably bigger ego. He now
believes himself to be second only to
Tylk in the group.
He plans to stay with the group as
long as Tylk is around. He has been
saving the jewelry and gems he finds
and otherwise acquires so he can one
day build a castle for himself and his
best friend, Tylk. 1b date, he has collected 524 gp, 10 pp, 45 cp (for the peasants), and 7,500 gp in gems and jewelry.
Whether he ever saves enough to build
a castle is an open question, as he tends
to forget himself and spend extravagantly on clothing, food , and equipment.
Orville also hopes to raise a family
someday. He has an eye for the ladies,
but they quickly run away when he
raises his visor.

0, ring of regeneration, crystal ball,

scarab of protection (8 charges), wand of
lightning bolts (12 charges), ring of free
action, dust of disappearance (two packets), staff + 2, mace +2, boots of
elvenkind, two potions of clairaudience,
two potions of clairvoyance, potion of
gaseous form

and weighs 160 pounds. His charcoal

black hair extends nearly to his shoulders, covering up his pointed, halfelvish ears. Furthermore, he wears a
fake beard and mustache to make him
look more human. Scardo prefers dressing in brown, gray, and black-these
colors match his moods.

Spell Books

Background: Scardo, whose given

name is Sky Randon Clear of the Linden Woods, was born of a human father
and a wood elf mother. Scardo liked
neither the idyllic setting of the forest
glade where he lived, nor the rigid moral and ethical rules his strict, but kind,
parents imposed. Scardo ran away from
home at a very early age and was taken
in by a group of bandits called the Red
Hand. The bandits used him as a servant boy, forcing him to cook for the
group and take care of the horses. However, as the years wore on he began to
be accepted as one of the bandits and
adopted the name Scardo Linden. And
in a combat for leadership of the group,
Scardo won (by cheating) the title of
Leader of the Red Hand.
Harboring a deep hatred for demihumans, Scardo's band plundered elven
communities. On one of these raids, his
band captured a high elven magic-user
after several of the bandits died in a
fireball . Scardo, through coercion and
threats, persuaded the mage to teach
him magic, while at the same time the
bandit lieutenant, an evil cleric, taught
Scardo clerical spells. Scardo reveled in
this new-found power and soon left the
bandits to join a series of adventuring
groups that helped him gain magic
items and wealth.
After several years, Scardo found that
he could progress no further as a spell
caster because of his race. This fed his
hatred for demi-humans. However,
Scardo refused to accept his situation,
and after exhausting several ill-gotten
wish rings and magical tomes, and
making a few dark promises with evil
creatures from other planes, Scardo was
able to attain his present ability.
Scardo loves power of any kind.
Because gaining more spell casting
power became increasingly difficult and
dangerous, Scardo has begun to experiment with political power, taking the
mayorship of a seacoast town by charming key citizens. He is a corrupt mayor
who has imposed harsh laws on his
people and requires the people and all
who visit his town to purchase licenses
to keep mounts, pets, children, and jobs.
The fees from these licenses flll Scardo's

Level 1 Spells

Affect Normal Fires Burning Handst

Charm Persont
Comprehend
Detect Magic
Languages
Enlarge
Erase
Hold Portalt
Magic Missilet
Identify
Read Magic
Message
Spider Climb
Write
Level 2 Spells

Darkness 15'
Radiust
ESP
Invisibilityt
Know Alignment
Locate Object
Stinking Cloud

Detect Invisibilityt
Forget
Knock
Levitate
Mirror Image
Webt

Level 3 Spells

Scardo Linden
Male Half Elf Cleric/Magic-User 11111
NPC, DM J ean Rabe
STR:
INT:
WIS:
DEX:
CON:
CHA:
COM:

15
18
18
11
16
10
10

Dispel Magic
Fireballt
Haste
Lightning Boltt
Slow

Level 4 Spells

AC Normal: 0
AC Rear: 0
Hit Points: 62
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Age: 110 (appears late 40s)
Weapon Proficiencies (cleric): Mace,
Flail, Club, Staff
Weapon Proficiencies (magic-user):
Dagger, Dart
Special Abilities: Alertness, Blindfighting, Swimming, Riding (Land
Mounts), Riding (Air Mounts), Endurance, Half Elf Abilities
Languages: Half Elf Languages, Troll,
Hill Giant, Black Dragon
Spells/day (magic-user): 4 4 4 3 3
Spells/day (cleric): 7 6 5 4 2 1
Magic Items (carried): two bags of
holding (250 lbs.), bracers of defense AC

Blink
Feign Death
Flyt
Hold Persont
Phantasmal Force

Charm Monster
Dispel Illusion
Hallucinatory
Terrain
Massmorph
Polymorph Selft

Dimension Door
Fear
Ice Stormt
Polymorph Other
Wall oficet

Level 5 Spells

Airy Water
Cone of Coldt
Teleportt

Cloudkill
Passwall
Wall of Forcet

tFavorite spells
Preferred clerical spells: Command,
cure light wounds, detect magic, protection from good, augury, hold person,
resist fire, speak with animals, animate
dead, continual light, dispel magic,
prayer, curse, cure serious wounds, cause
serious wounds, giant insect, speak with
plants, cure critical wounds, flame
strike, insect plague
Appearance: Scardo Linden appears
to be human in all respects. He is 5'7"

27

coffers, while public needs fall by the

wayside.
Scardo loves wealth almost as much
as power and usually carries a great
deal of money with him. Typically, he
has 3,000 gp in assorted gems, 5,000 gp
in jewelry, 10 pp, 40 gp, and 40 coppers
(to toss to the peasants) as pocket
money. Scardo is also the principle owner in a chain of businesses called the
Golden Dragon Inns. There are 12 such
inns remaining. Three inns were
burned to the ground in the past year.
Scardo has acquired many enemies
through the years, but the greatest
among them is a group of mid-level
adventuring demi-humans led by a half
elf. The group has thwarted many of his
key plans. They have prevented him
from capturing a powerful local paladin
who had been changed into a rabbit,
blocked his first attempt to become
mayor, and are probably responsible for
the burning of the three inns (since they
were in each inn that burned). He has
sent several groups of henchmen after
the heroes, but his efforts have been
unsuccessful, ending in the heroes
becoming more powerful because they
picked up his henchmen's magic items.
Now Scardo is furious and would like to
deal with the group personally, as he is

confident they cannot withstand his

magical onslaught. However, Scardo
fears that if he leaves his town he will
lose his mayorship-and he isn't ready
to give up control. So, he is biding his
time and watching the group when he
can with his crystal ball. He has grown
tired of sending henchmen after the
group and plans to contact a few of his
evil acquaintances from another plane
to take care of the matter for him.

New Magic Items

Amulet of the Hero: This amulet generates three heroes who are eighth level
fighters, have 80 hit points, and are AC
2. When the command words, "My
Hero: are spoken, the hero appears,
ready to do the bidding of the amulet's
owner. Once a hero is called, a new hero
cannot be generated until the old one
dies. However, the hero cannot hit anything, nor successfully accomplish any
task-he always fails. The hero will not
leave until he is slain by an enemy. The
amulet's owner cannot strike the hero,
nor can the hero strike himself. All
damage to the hero is permanent, and
cannot be healed by any means short of
a wish. The hero always remains within
300 yards of the owner of the amulet. In

addition, the hero must always walk; he

will not ride a mount.

Heels of Reunion: These are a matched

pair of heels that can be affixed to any
footgear. When both heels are used, the
wearer can always tell which direction
he is facing. However, the heels are
more powerful if separated. If one heel
is worn by one person, and the other
heel by a second person, the two individuals always will be able to find each
other. They will not know where the
other is, but the heel will point the
individual in the right direction, and
following the heel will lead one individual to the other.
Potion of Superior Animal ControL
This magical elixer works just like a
normal potion of animal control, except
that control is not limited to only one
type of animal, and the duration is 24
hours.
Ring of Beauty: This magic ring
increases the wearer's Charisma and
Comeliness scores by two points, to a
maximum of 18, or to the character's
racial maximum, whichever is higher.

28

The Sign Of The Quill And Scribe Shop

by Fran Hart
"The Living City" is a continuing feature in the POLYHEDRON" Newszine
through which members can share their
best fantasy city material with the rest of
"the Network. All accepted submissions
will eventually become part of TSR,
Inc.'s series ofLIVING CITY fantasy
play-aids. If you have a building, business, encounter, or personality that adds
some spice to your campaign's "town
business" we'd like to see it.

Hoaten Thee, the proprietor of The

Sign of the Quill And Scribe Shop, is
Ravens Bluff's most talented linguist.
He is highly respected by the citizens of
Ravens Bluff for his abilities and discretion.
He is as courteous to the housewives
and paupers who come to request a onepage letter written to distant kin as he
is to the wealthy nobles and busineBBmen who engage him to write contracts
and wills.
Hoaten has a reputation for being
able to read, speak, and write any language known in Ravens Bluff. Sometimes citizens have wagered on his
abilities with visitors new to the city.
The visitors would preaent a document

in an obscure language to Hoaten, who

would provide a translation. Hoaten
always has been fair and only pocketed
his normal fee, never taking a percentage of the winnings of any wager. Many
citizens look on him as a sort of natural
resource and often bring him all sorts of
written documents they have found.
Some people say that Hoaten can even
read magical writings, though this
speculation is not confirmed by Hoaten
Thee.
The Sign of the Quill And Scribe Shop
is located in one of the wealthier busineBB districts in Ravens Bluff. A modest, clean building front presents a
small sign that reads: "HOATEN
THEE, SCRIBE-DOCUMENTS
WRITTEN, READ, TRANSLATED:'
The shop door opens onto a brightly lit
room. Three writing tables with stools
behind them are cluttered with piles of
documents, parchments, bottles of colored inks, and quill pens. A set of
shelves contains bundles of charcoal
pencils and unsharpened quills.
Another shelf contains dictionaries and
reference books. The door at the rear of
the room leads to the living quarters of
Hoaten Thee and two granddaughters,
who also help in the shop. Another door
leads to Hoaten's private study-a room
dominated by a large oak desk and a

comfortable chair. Shelves line the

study's walls from floor to ceiling, and
are filled with books, tomes, and manuals. Curled scrolls and stacks of maps
and documents are tucked helter-skelter
into any available space. The smell of
books, paper, and musty hides pervades
the room.
The Sign of the Quill And Scribe Shop
always has the following items for sale:
slates and chalk, wax tablets and styluses, charcoal sticks, pens, brushes,
various colored inks, parchments, blank
bound books, and cured hides.
Services include copying and illustrating letters, contracts, and documents,
reading and writing letters, translation
of languages, and preparing copies of
notices. Prices are fair and reasonable,
and a waiting time of one day is standard unleBB the job is urgently needed.
No one has ever questioned Hoaten's
integrity, and confidentiality is part of
the service.

Hoaten Thee
5th Level Male Human Magic User

STR:
INT:
WIS:
DEX:

11
19

18

CHR:

10
10
17

COM:

14

CON:

AC Normal:8
AC Rear: 10
Hit Points: 18
Alignment: Lawful Good

Weapon Proficiencies: Dagger, Sling

Special Abilities: An intrinsic ability
for languages, a wonderful memory of
anything heard or read, an almost mesmerizing ability to tell tales.
Magic Items: Helm of Comprehending
Languages and Reading Magic, Ring of
Spell Turning, Potion of Evil Dragon
Control, and two Potions of Eztra
Healing
Languages: Common, Orcish, Goblin,
Hobgoblin, Harpy, Centaur, Selkie,
Elvish, Dwarvish, Pixie, Gold Dragon,
Red Dragon, Haltling, Locathah, Merman, Stone Giant

29

SpeD Book:

Cantrips
Dust

Shine

Levell Spells
Read Magic*
CompreMnd
Languages
Fmnds
Message
Unseen Servant

DeUel Magic*
Ert~~~e*

Hold Portal
Read Magic
Write

Level 2 Spells
Wuard LocJc

ESP
Magic Mouth

DeUel Evil*
Locate Object
Strength

Level 3 Spells

1bngues*

Clairaudience

Clairvoyance

Hold PerBOn

Hoaten Thee is a spry, energetic, affable human in his mid-seventies. He

stands 5'10" tall, weighs 157 pounds,
and frequently wean blue robes that
match his ink-stained fingers. He
appears taller because of the high turban he habitually wears-a turban that
conceals his prized poeaession, a Helm of
CompreMnding Languages and Reading Magic. He speaks with an impeccable upper class accent and is courteous
to all.
Hoaten Thee is a magic user retired
from adventuring, who always has been
fascinated with the written word and
new languages. His quests were always
for knowledge, not gold or jewels or
fame or glory-those he left to his
adventuring companions.
He is a good soun:e of information
about the area and a good judge of character. He is not a goesipmonger and
never repeats information gained in
confidence. Hoaten has an eidetic memory and can draw or write many interesting documents and maps from
memory. He cares deeply for his granddaughters and is supportive of their
accomplishments and amused by their
antics.
Hoaten is respected in Ravens Bluff
and enjoys the protection of the authorities. Many young guards in the city stop
in the scribe shop to chat or to try to
catch a glimpee of his attractive granddaughters. Hoaten enjoys learning and
sharing his knowledge. He could be a

=2

feet

valuable ally to any newcomer to Ravens Bluff.

He was fortunate in his youth to have
read a 7bme of Understanding that
increased his Intelligence, and therefore
improved his ability with languages.
Hoaten has twin 19-year-old granddaughters, Solandra and Zylara, who he
has taken care of since they were age
four. Their parents died in a boating
accident. Both girls have inherited
Hoaten's gift for languages and know
many tongues, since they grew up in a
home where a different language was
spoken at the dinner table every night
of the week. Solandra and Zylara are
competent scribes and help in the shop.
Solandra has an aptitude for business
and has taken over the ordering and
inventory of supplies. She is the more
domestic of the twins and handles most
of the cooking and household chores.
Zylara is more interested in magic, and
under the tutelage of her grandfather
she has mastered the cantrips and can
read and write magic. Because the girls
are twins, they sometimes confuse the
patrons. But the girls enjoy this.
Solandra and Zylara have brown hair
and brown eyes. They are both attractive girls and are very popular among
the citizens of Ravens Bluff.

Sciandra Thee
0 Level Female Human
STR:
INT:

WIS:
DEX:
CON:
CHR:
COM:

10
16
17
13
15
15
17

AC Normal: 10
AC Rear: 10
Bit Points: 5
Alignment: Lawful Good
Weapon Proficlencles: None
Special Abilities: Cooking, singing,
juggling, ventriloquism
Languages: Common, Orcish, Goblin,
Harpy, Elvish, Dwarvish, and smatterings of Halfling and Pixie.
Solandra stands 5'5" tall and weighs
120 pounds. She is very cheerful and
has a knack for getting others to smile.
She is happy to be working for Hoaten
and considers no task too menial. Her
pleasing disposition and friendly nature
are assets to the business.

30

Solandra has a beautiful voice and

has learned ventriloquism and juggling
skills. She often amuses her family by
juggling eggs, potatoes, utensils, or
other objects while making it seem that
the water bucket is singing.

Zylara Thee
1st Leuel Female Human Magic User
STR:

9
17
15
15
15
14
17

INT:
WIS:
DEX:
CON:
CHR:
COM:

Zylara has mastered the cantrips and

has learned both the read magic and
write magic spells.
Zylara is 5'5" tall and weighs 121
pounds. Although Zylara is shy, she
delights in pulling pranks and making
her sister laugh. Zylara enjoys taking
customers in the shop by surprise and
startling them by making it seem that

AC Normal: 10
AC Rear: 10

With Great Power

Continued from page 4

Psychic: This type of character will

have unusually high mental attributes,
allowing him better control over his
powers. This does not necessarily mean
the character will be scientifically
inclined. This type of character will
usually possess various mental abilities
such as telekinesis or telepathy.
Examples: Saturn Girl, Invisible
Woman, Professor-X
Alien: This type of character can have a
wide range of powers. This type of character is usually the member of an extraterrestrial race, or a member of a
hidden race that dwells on the earth.
Examples: Aquaman, the Inhumans,
Martian Manhunter

Notes from HO
Continued from page 5

club, write tournaments for the Network or articles for the Newszine, and
help the hobby by teaching new fans
your favorite role playing techniques.
And consider submitting a building,
personality, or adventure for Ravens
Bluff, The Living City. 'Thke out a copy
of the FORGO'ITEN REALMS"' campaign setting and look for "The Living
City~' That city belongs to the RPGA"'

Hit Points: 5
Alignment: Lawful Good
Weapons Proficiencies: Dagger
Special Abilities: Ventriloquism, singing, perfect pitch, folklore, and story
telling.
L&Dguages: Common, Orcish, Goblin,
Harpy, Selkie, Elvish, Dwarvish, Centaur, Pixie, and the rudiments of Gold
Dragon.

Shape Changer: This type of character

is able to affect his physical shape in
some manner. This includes growing/
shrinking, elasticity, and changing to
an animal or inanimate shape.
Examples: Hank Pym, Elongated
Man, Changling, Warlock
Mutant: This is a special category.
Mutants are humans who have been
changed genetically, chemically, or by
radiation. Such a character can have
any type powers (except magic and
high-tech). It is usually best to have this
character be able to shoot some sort of
beams of energy and to fly. On the other
hand, mutants might have control over
one or more of the basic elements and
also be able to fly.
Examples: 'Thmpest, Celsius, Storm,
Sunfrre

Network, and the city and the land

around it is ours to develop and explore.
Each issue of the POLYHEDRON"'
Newszine includes a Living City feature. In addition, RPGA Network Living City products are being planned.
Like The Living City, the Network
will continue to grow through the years
and will shape itself to meet the members' needs. Its evolution will be an
adventure that we want every member
to be a part of. Stay with us and share
the adventure.

books and inkpots are talking. Lately

Zylara has been wondering if there isn't
more to life than what she knows within the confines of Ravens Bluff and is
starting to daydream of an exciting life
as a wandering adventurer.
She attempts to overcome her shyness
when adventurers come into the shop,
asking them about their latest exploits
and encouraging them to tell her about
their feats. A few groups of young
adventurers have asked Zylara to join
them. She has sheepishly declined.
However, Zylara hopes to learn more
spells from her uncle and eventually
take a group up on the offer.
0

Final Notes
When creating the super team try to be
sure that at least one third of the characters can fly by some means. And if
they don't have some sort of long distance vehicle, such as the Avenger's
Quinjet or Titans' T-Jet, make sure that
one or more characters have the ability
to transport most or all of the characters, for example Dr. Fate's 'Thleport or
Green Lantern's Ring.
Finally, one tip that all super teams
need to know (and that most have trouble remembering), when faced with
opponents whose powers cancel the
powers of certain team members in the
middle of battle, switch opponents. 0

'Thke Care,

JeanRabe

RPGA Network Coordinator

31

Ravens Bluff Rumors

An Adventure for Seafaring PCs
by Matt Denzler
Many roads lead to Ravens Bluff, The
Living City. But not all of those routes
are by land-some are by sea. Even by
sea the journey can be dangerous for
lone or inexperienced adventurers.
Many stories are told aboard ship about
monsters rising from the deep to swallow whole ships and crews, never to be
seen again. Then, there are the ruthless
pirates of the high seas, who plunder
ships, kill the weak, and sell the rest
into slavery. These happenings are the
perils of ocean travel. However, most
player characters are brave enough
souls and are willing to take up the
challenge of traveling across The Sea of
Fallen Stars to The Dragon Reach, on
the shores of which sits The Living City.
Thus, the journey begins. The following is presented for Dungeon Masters
running Living City Campaigns who
would like to role-play the PCs' traveling to the city.
Being short of money, and looking for
adventure, you decide to embark on a
journey to Ravens Bluff, where you
are certain quick wealth and rousing
adventure can be found. You soon
find that you can't afford passage on
a large ship to the city and must
settle for something less. You decide
to sign on a ship as a man-of-arms to
protect a merchant cargo being
transported to the city. Unfortunately, all the large vessels have
enough such workers, and the only
ship that will take you is one of the
smallest merchant vessels you have
seen, The Black Scalawag. It seems
fairly sea-worthy, so you sign on,
anxious to reach your destination .
If the player characters decide to talk to

anyone on the docks or on board the

ship, they can hear the following
rumors. Roll 1d8 and consult the following table. Dungeon Masters might wish
to add their own rumors to this chart.

Rumor Table
1. A storm giant is angry with the local
ship merchants because they dumped

2.

3.
4.

5.

6.

7.
8.

garbage into the sea. The giant has

begun sinking all ships in the area
and will not stop until restitution is
made. (False)
Seals are often seen before a ship is
sunk. (True) These seals are a pack of
seawolues that attack and sink the
ships to steal the cargo.
A whirlpool leading to another plane
has opened and swallows ships.
(False)
A giant squid has risen from the
depths to seek food and is terrorizing
fishing vessels and merchant ships.
(False)
A lone survivor of a ship wreck was
found near death. Sailors rescued him
and took him in. However, he disappeared the next full moon. (True) The
suruiuor had been in a battle with a
pair of seawolues. He lost more than
50% of his hit points and contracted
lycanthropy. At the first full moon, the
transformation took place and he
jumped into the sea.
Before vanishing, the lone survivor
had reported to the sailors that his
ship was attacked by a pack of werewolves. (True) These were lesser seawolves able to take on a wolfman
form.
The waterlord, Istashia, has come to
sink all ships which have crews who
do not worship him. (False)
There has been an increase in
attacks by sea devils carrying various weapons. (True) A tribe of
sahuagin haue been following the
seawolues and are scauanging what
remains of the ships, including taking all remaining weapons. These
sahuagin also haue been attacking
lone ships which haven't attracted the
attention of the seawolues.

The following information is provided

for DMs who want to run an encounter
with the seawolves.

The Black Scalawag

Ship type : Cog
Hull value : 40
Length: 45 feet
Width: 20 feet
Drought: 10 feet
Speed: normal sail 5 mph; maximum
sail 7 mph; normal oar .5 mph; maxi-

mum oar 1.5 mph

Crew: 15
It has been six days since you left
port, and already strange things
have happened. During the second
night, two men who were on watch
disappeared. On the following evening, two more men on watch disappeared. The fourth night nothing
happened, but on the fifth night, four
men mending the sails apparently
jumped ship. This left a crew of only
seven and yourselves. The captain is
panicked, but does not know what to
do. No other ships are in sight to
provide assistance, and turning back
could be futile. As the sun begins to
set, it occurs to you that it is your
group who will be on watch tonight.
If the player characters decide to inves-

tigate the vanishing crew situation,

they can find bits offur and a few spots
of blood. They can learn nothing by
talking to the remaining crew members,
who truthfully did not see anything.
Allow the PCs to take any precautions
they want during their watch. At midnight, a pack of lesser seawolves will
attack in force. The seawolves have
been picking off the crew to reduce the
ship's forces, and now believe the odds
are in their favor. The seawolves will
take on their wolfman form and climb
up the sides of the ship. Since the PCs
will be on guard, the chance for surprise
will be normal.
Seawolves Oesser): NA 10; AC 6 (7); MV
301112; HD 2 +2; hp 18 each; II AT 1 (3);
D 2d4 (1-2/1-2/1-4); THACO 16. The
numbers in parentheses are the statistics for the seawolves' wolfman form .
DMs can alter the number of lesser
sea wolves to fit the strength of the
player characters. Player characters
who have a means to travel underwater,
and can learn the location of the
sea wolves' lair by questioning the monsters, can recover the treasure. It consists of 22,000 copper, 16,000 silver, 700
gold, 14 gems each worth 100 gp, 10
gems each worth 150 gp, and a + 2 short
sword. The captain will insist the PCs
share their wealth so he can compensate the families of his lost crewmen. 0

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