How The Mighty PDF
How The Mighty PDF
by slade
Author: slade
Editor: Jim Butler
Project Coordinator: Thomas M. Reid
Concept: Mark Anthony, Jim Butler, Julia Martin, Steven Schend, and Jim Ward
Cover Illustrator: Nick Jainschigg
Interior Illustrator: Ned Dameron
Graphic Designer: Dee Barnett
Art Coordinator: Bob Galica
Typesetting: Tracey L. Isler
Prepress Coordinator: Dave Conant
Playtesters: Deneen Olsen (DM); John Creech, Robby Duncan, Eran Edwards, Rich Jenkins, Dave Kelsay,
Leonard McGillis, Jeff Pashke, Marty Ruger, Ethan Schazenbach, and Victor Semlek
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TABLE
OF
3
3
3
3
3
T HE G RAND WELCOME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Y EOMANS L OFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
A. Neth Gatehouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0
B. Constable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0
C. Dock Hand Guild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0
D. Taverns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0
E. Hostels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
F. Grocer Cartel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
G. Supply Vendors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
H. Bathhouses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
I. Courthouse/Jail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2
J . T e m p l e o f A m a u n a t o r . . . . . . . . . . . 12
K. Temple of Mystryl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
L. Temple of Tyche. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2
M. Shipwrights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2
N. Oberons Laboratory. . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
O. Spacefarers Guild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2
P. Warehouses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2
TREK THROUGH THE EASTERN FOREST . . . 13
THE JOURNEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
R a n d o m E n c o u n t e r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Eastern Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3
Gods Legion Mountains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
P LANNED E NCOUNTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
The Summons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Varied Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1
F r o z e n B o u n t y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Sound of Glory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2
Elven Proposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
T HE G RAVEYARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
On the Trail of the Dead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
The Orc Retreat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
The Elusive Illithid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 6
S IDE T REKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 7
THIEF IN THE NIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
C e n t r a l C o u r t y a r d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
A T HOUSAND F ISTS K NOCKING . . . . . . . . . 31
B REAKING AND E NTERING . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
IN JAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
THE SEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
The Gold Dragon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Entrance to the Lair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
T h e T a r r a s q u e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
K ARSUS M ARKETPLACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
L i b e r t y o n m y M i n d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Nether Here Nor There . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Quelling the Serfs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 7
Robin Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Scrying the Orcs Through . . . . . . . . . . . 40
T HE L ICHLORDS C ASTLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
E ND OF THE J OURNEY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
D e a d D e n i z e n s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3
Castle Approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
The Lichlords Castle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6
Within the Castle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6
The Array Moves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
The Conversion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Wrath of Karsus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
E P I L O G U E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
S PELLS & M AGIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6
N EW S PELL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Chevics Tracer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6
N EW E Q U I P M E N T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
C o n s u m p t i o n A r m o r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
57
D e f l e c t o r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dr. Killdrums Wand of Fireballs . . . . . . 57
D y i n g W o m a n s L e a t h e r E n s e m b l e. . . . 57
Edies Cloak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Floating Bubble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 8
Krystaufers Spell Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Lichlords Spell Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Neth Tattoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
P r o t e c t o r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
S e p a r a t o r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
T w i n r a z o r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
W a r m t h s t o n e. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 0
RUMORS & H OOKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
THE TIME
HAS
COME
now ye the events before they shall come to pass. Let them lend thy
heart to gladness and ease for in them ye shall know future and
nigh thine heart to concern.
This Adventure
How the Mighty are Fallen allows player-characters
the opportunity to participate in the final days of
Abbreviations
Some of the abbreviations used
within this product might confuse novice DMs during the
course of play. These include:
NPC short-form descriptions, such as Karsus (CN
hm A41): The first two letters
in parentheses refer to alignment (chaotic neutral), the middle
two refer to race and sex (human
male), and the final letter and number
refer to class and level (41st-level arcanist). An extensive list of these are included in the
F O R G O T T E N R E A L M S Campaign Setting.
A#: Arcanists are the wizards of Netheril.
Complete information on them can be found in the
Netheril: Empire of Magic boxed set.
P#: Priests are likewise detailed in the boxed set.
Clerics do not exist in Netheril except as specialty
priests.
Notes to the DM
This adventure is not extraordinarily linear in nature;
players can choose to follow a variety of paths that lead
to the Fall of Netheril. As such, the DM should read the
entire adventure and understand the directions that the
heroes can take before game play begins.
Additional magical items and spells are included
at the end of the adventure. The DM is encouraged to
add additional elements from the Empire of Magic
Synopsis
The adventure begins as characters enter the spelljamming city of Yeomans Loft, the heart of Netherils
Realmspace activities. Here they meet Nopheus, a
jeweler whos looking for some adventurers to
retrieve the body of his wife from her resting place
in the Gods Legion Mountains. Characters can
choose to explore the city, get involved in the
thieves guild, or simply investigating the bargains to
be found in the citys many shops.
The heroes can also take a trip to the floating city of
Karsus for an opportunity to do some Neth-style shopping in the side trek Karsus Marketplace. They can
choose to join the constabulary in Quelling the Serfs
as they attempt to rid the city of rebellious people.
Once all of the enclave business has been taken
care of, the party most likely sets out to locate the
Yeoman's Loft
Lured by reports of great wealth and prosperity, the
adventures have just arrived at the city of Yeomans
Loft, the heart of Netherils spelljamming activities.
From here, merchants distribute rare fabrics, ores,
and other Realmspace treasures throughout
Netheril.
But the people are disgruntled, the result of a
lack of food and the continued decadence
of the archwizards. Riots, once
unheard of in Netheril, are now a
regular occurrence. Murder, a sin
once viewed as a temporary
inconvenience, is now a serious, nightly dilemma that cannot be curedthanks to the
insipid phaerimm and their
magic thats laying waste to
the fields and streams
throughout Netheril.
At the citys main gate, a
large wooden sign with a red
arrow cant help but attract attention to itself. If the characters
inspect the sign, they notice a small
wooden box attached to the post which
reads Touch ye here and receive a gazetteer of
Yeomans Loft. If they do so, they receive a small
piece of parchment with streets labeled and a few
important buildings noted in sepia-toned ink. (See
the map on page 7 for a detail of Yeomans Loft.)
As the players travel through the city, refer to
the Yeomans Loft map. When they approach the
corner of Oak and Pleasance, read the following:
The fierce high-noon sun beats down upon the
streets and buildings of Yeomans Loft. To the
southwest, huge ships hover in the air as workmen carry goods to and from their holds. Some of
the ships look like those youve seen in the
Narrow Sea, while others appear almost insectlike in their construction.
Adventure Flow
him exhume her body, for theyre all too consumed with
their own problems.
If the heroes seem interested, Nopheus invites them all
back to his house, explaining that he can go into more
detail there. Nopheuss house (on the north corner of the
intersection) looks run-down. Made of stonework and
moldering wood, the window coverings are rotting, hanging by a single hinge, and waving in the slight wind.
Nopheus leads the party into his home and silently closes the door behind him. The furnishings within are very
nice but show great wear. All the furniture has small tags
with prices attached with straight pins or stuffed into a
tight corner to assure they are visible. He offers them a
seat before the fireplace in his den.
My wife, Amanda, was the only possession I cared
about. Yes, I had everything a man would want or even
care to have, but without her by my side to enjoy it with
me, it was all worthless and trite. When she died, I had
most of my money tied up in investments. I barely had
enough required to have her body preserved and buried.
In the intervening months, Ive sold my business and valued possessions, liquidated my investments, and rented
this shack because it was the cheapest thing I could find.
I now have the funds necessary to bring her back to life
and to pay those who would help me.
l
If the characters look at the map and do not see any
banks, he says the banks arent listed on the tourist maps
for security reasons.
A. Neth Gatehouse
Netherese gatehouses serve as a port of call for those who
seek magical transport to other Netherese cities. Since
theyre used to seeing a large number of visitors, street
merchants and guards make themselves noticeable to
passersby.
The courtyard is crammed with small cart vendors selling spell components, altered magical items, and preserved meats. The people here are clothed in the finest
clothing youve ever seen. Some people wear robes and
cloaks that seem to shimmer with a power of their own,
producing prismatic effects across their surfaces. Their
hair, perfect in every detail, is neatly combed; the skin is
perfectly toned and free of blemishes.
B. Constable
The Constables office serves as the headquarters for law
enforcement for the city of Yeomans Loft. Its a hectic
place filled with people with problems they cant handle
on their own. Unlike other Netherese cities, the courts
here never closetheres simply too much work to do.
If player characters find themselves here, its most
likely due to one of two reasons. The firstand more
pleasantreason for visiting the Constables is that
theyre looking for work. If thats the case, a gruff human
D. Taverns
Its rare to go more than a few blocks in Yeomans Loft
without running into a tavern or two. The influx of traffic
from spelljamming vessels frequently brings weary spacefarers into the city who are tired of being aboard ship.
The farther away from the docks one gets, the more quiet
the tavern.
There are two taverns quite popular in town. The first
is the Spacers Line, a rowdy establishment right off Helm
Harbor. This is a favorite hangout for the more dangerous
of the citys visitors. Its run by Eleron Mistif (CN hm F7),
a retired spelljamming captain.
At the corner of Harbor Lane and Elm Street, the
Captains Fancy sits alone. Its a calm and restful tavern
surrounded by a garden that serves only the finest drinks
and food available. As the name implies, its a favorite
resting spot for spelljamming captains.
E. Hostels
These are simply single-person sleeping quarters for crewmen weary of life on board spelljamming vessels. The
rooms are generally good quality, but no food or drink is
provided. Most of the hostels provide a hot bath for a nominal fee of 1 silver piece. Rooms go for between 1 and 5
gold pieces a night.
F. Grocer Cartel
With the exception of the headquarters on Helm Road, all
of the other buildings associated with the cartel are used
solely for storing goods collected from the spelljamming
traffic. The Grocer Cartel makes sure that all negotiations
conducted for spelljamming goods are to the benefit of the
city, but its main goal is to prevent price wars that would
be bad for business.
The guild is led by Ravenar Andarlis (LE hm T15), who
also owns Andarlis Transport, one of the largest magical
shipping companies in Netheril. He is a fair but unforgiving
man who favors contracts (but only those agreements
which are favorable to him). Many suspect that Ravenar is
head of the thieves guild of the Loft as well, but thats not
the case. His brother, Silvin, is actually head of the guild.
G. Supply Vendors
These shops hold a variety of spare parts, raw materials,
and other miscellaneous goods that the spelljamming vessels have come to expect. Theyre primarily warehouses
that prefer dealing only with other businesses.
H. Bathhouses
The various bathhouses of the Loft are communal bathing
pools for all manner of folk. Private baths are also popular,
but a great deal of idle gossip and rumors also circulate
through these structures, and the most common way folks
learn whats happening is by listening to others talk about
current events.
Silvin Lissender (LE hm T13) owns most of the bathhouses in town, and he also runs the thieves guild from
them. His real last name is Andarlis, but thats a secret only
he and his brother, Ravenar, share.
No thievery occurs in the bathhouseand its a rule that
Silvin enforces ruthlessly. More often than not, rich
patrons have their belongings checked while theyre taking
a baththen theyre robbed at a more opportune time.
I. Courthouse/Jail
The courthouse is a magnificent structure that was obviously constructed with a great deal of magic. Huge slabs of marble form pillars that form an arc over the entrance. A golden
luminescence surrounds the structure at night, providing an
aura of light that serves as a beacon for the citys residents.
Within the halls are six huge court rooms that are always
busy with cases (each of which take 1d4 hours to hear). Each
court is administered by a sunlord or sunlady (priest of
J. Temple of Amaunator
Located a block away from the courthouse, the temple to
Amaunator is nearly as large as the Lofts hall of justice. The
temple serves not only as the headquarters for Amaunators
religion in the city, but as a school of law as well.
The temple is led by Sunlady Margaress (LN hf P13), an
expert in Netherese and elven laws and procedures. She
seldom participates in cases any more, however, preferring
to teach in the temple.
K. Temple of Mystryl
This building is actually a small structure surrounded by a
garden. Inside its stone walls is a small chamber consisting
of around a dozen wooden pews and a raised stone dais
upon which rests an altar.
The temple is run by the highest-level Dweomerkeeper
who happens to be in the city at the time. This leads to a
wide range of official church policy for the temple, but it
also keeps the faithful apprised as to the activities elsewhere in Netheril.
L. Temple of Tyche
The most popular church in Yeomans Loft, the Lady of Smiles
is a favorite patron for those engaged in the dangerous business of transporting goods into Realmspace. Spacefarers likewise pay at least lip service to Lady Fate, reminding any who
ask that a little luck can mean the difference between survival
and disaster in the skies above Faern.
The temple is led by Kismetic Shantress Porstalle (CG hf
P15). Shantress won a fortune in gold and platinum at a
gambling den in Karsus five years ago, and she decided to
settle down in the Loft and invest some of her wealth in
Realmspace activities. She currently owns a small spelljamming vessel (40-ton) named Lady Luck that remains in
Helm Harbor for her use.
M. Shipwrights
Each of these buildings is home to a different craftsman
who specializes in the creation and repair of spelljamming
vessels. The facilities in the Loft are capable of repairing
only the more human spelljamming vessels (like hammerheads and wasps), and dont have the resources to
repair elven vessels.
N. Oberon's Laboratory
This small, nondescript building is set apart from others
on the block by a small wooden sign which reads:
Yeomans Loft Historical SiteOberons Laboratory. A
rickety set of steps lead up to a brass-bound wooden door
that is always open during the day.
Upon entering, a visitor immediately realizes that the
interior dimensions exceed those of the outside by a factor
of at least two. On a pedestal at the entryway, a raised
plaque reads:
Oberon (2839-2905) was the founder of Netherils
aerocosmology industry, the father of Realmspace. The
son of a shipbuilder who grew up in Harborage, Oberon
quickly put his magical skills into the creation of spelljamming vessels that sailed over Netheril. A powerful
and respected arcanist, Oberon led the other archwizards
of Netheril into the Skies Above.
This museum is dedicated to what survived of Oberons
work. The one-silver-piece fee for the tour goes to the
upkeep and protection of Oberons legacy.
Yeomans Loft Historical League
Tours begin every half hour, and there are always people
wandering around the laboratory. Hundreds of items lie scattered around, protected under walls of force and stood watch
over by around a dozen guards. These items range from
small, hand-held accelerators (devices which hurl anything
placed within them at tremendous speeds) to portable spelljamming helms (devices draped over the back that provided
movement equivalent to a fly spell). All of the items in the
museum are quasimagical prototypes, however, as Oberon
didnt want to lay waste to his body as he experimented.
Despite all of the advances that Oberon was undoubtedly responsible for, there is no sign of a true spelljamming
helmthe device needed to make a ship capable of travel
through Realmspace. That particular invention was in the
sole realm of the Arcane, who controlled the purchase of
all spelljamming helms during the time of Netheril.
O. Spacefarers' Guild
Much like the dock hands guild, the spacefarers guild is
composed of those who make their living by working on
spelljamming vessels. They have little time for tourists to
ask them questions about how a particular device works.
The guild does accept new members, but learning the
craft of spelljamming is a time-consuming task. It takes
more than a year to go through the course of studies
offered at the guild, and initiates must pay a 500-gp fee for
the schooling. The Complete Spacefarers Handbook has a
complete listing of proficiencies for DMs who incorporate
spelljamming into their Netheril campaign.
P. Warehouses
These large buildings are primarily used as holding areas
for the goods brought in from Helm Harbor. Theyre typically guarded by 2d6 guards at night and 3-6 guards during
daylight hours.
The Journey
With Nopheuss map in hand, the characters can set
off to their destiny. As they travel through the
mountains and the forest, the DM should roll for
random encounters. Remember that parts of this
adventure can be rather lethal, so the DM shouldnt
rely on random encounters to weaken and tire the
characters too much, otherwise no one will survive.
Random Encounters
Not every random encounter results in an armed
attack against the player characters. Intelligent monsters normally try to determine the relative
strength of a party before charging headlong into combat. Likewise, weaker
creatures tend to run the moment
its clear that they are facing a
superior foe.
Eastern Forest
Encounters in the Eastern
Forest are checked once
every four hours by rolling
a 12-sided die; on a roll of 1
an encounter occurs. Roll a
d20 and consult the Random
Encounter table, then find the
creatures listing below.
Ankhegs
Characters get their first warning of trouble when
the lead character nearly falls into a large hole in the
forest floor (successful Dexterity check to avoid).
Within 1d4 rounds, the ankhegs arrive.
Ankhegs (1d6): AC 2/4 (underside); MV 12, Br 6;
HD 5; hp 30 each; #AT 1; Dmg 3d6 (crush) + 1d4
(acid); SZ H (15 long); ML average (9); XP 600 each.
Barbarians
These patrols are either barbarians providing their
children a chance at entering adulthood (by defeating a chosen enemy, most likely orcs or goblins) or a
patrol sent in to retaliate against orcs, kobolds, or
goblins for a previous raid.
The barbarians are led by a 5th-level fighter; the remainder are 1st-level fighters. Theyre not dangerous to the party
unless provoked, but their manner is somewhat distant.
Choke Creeper
Attentive characters have a 15% chance to notice that the
particular trail theyve been following is less traveled than
others. Rangers can detect that no creatures have passed
this way for at least three weeks (the orcs were smart
enough to avoid this area after they lost a few hunting parties). If characters continue, they run across the choke
creeper, which immediately attacks.
Choke Creeper (1): AC 6 (main vine)/5 (branches); MV
; HD 25; hp 200; THAC0 7; #AT 64; Dmg 1d4; SZ G (160
long); ML elite (14); XP 18,000.
At the end of the tunnel stand two men clad in chain mail
armor. The moment they see or hear the characters, one of
them rushes off to inform Cloro that she has visitors. Its
very unlikely that the party can sneak into Cloros lair
undetected.
When the party enters, the dragon confronts them at the
exit to the tunnel, keeping as many people inside the tunnel as possible (that way she can get more of them with her
breath weapon). Shell engage in some idol talk until someone makes a move to attack her, in which case she uses her
breath weapon first as she orders her two charmed servants to attack.
Cloro, very old green dragon: AC -5; MV 9, F1 30 (C),
S W 9; HD 18; hp 104; THAC0 3; #AT 3 + special; Dmg
1d8/1d8/2d10; MR 40%; SZ G (160 long); ML elite (16); XP
18,000.
SA: Can use her chlorine gas breath weapon that delivers 18d6+9
hit points of damage to all creatures in its area of effect, which is 50
long, 40 wide, and 30 high (a successful save vs. breath weapon
reduces the damage to half). Casts all spells as if she was 15th level.
Can cast suggestion, water breathing (at will), warp wood (three
times a day), and plant growth once per day unless otherwise
noted.
SD: Immune to all gases.
Spells (Dragon magic works normally and is not subject to the
rules presented in the Netheril: Empire of Magic set): 1st Level:
charm person, magic missile, shield, shocking grasp; 2nd Level:
mirror image, web
Random Encounters
Eastern Forest
2d4 orcs (Thousand Fists)
1 choke creeper
2d8 gnolls
5d4 orcs (Thousand Fists)
1d6 wyverns
9d6 orcs (Thousand Fists)
5d4 Netherese merchants
5d4 kobolds
2d10 large spiders
6d6 Netherese fighters
2d10 ghouls and 1d4 ghasts
6d6 orcs (Rocktroll)
1d6 ankhegs
2d4 owlbears
1d4 ettins
4d6 goblins
6d4 elves (Cormanthyr)
3d4 barbarians (Angardt)
2d10 ogres
1 very old green dragon (Cloro)
d20 Roll
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
All of Cloros treasure is in a small lake that is at the center of the clearing. About 60 feet down (buried under more
than 23,000 copper pieces) are: 30,000 silver pieces, 16,000
gold pieces, 2,500 platinum pieces, 54 gems (use Table 85
in the DMG to determine value), a mistress mask*, 3 ioun
stones, a rod of multiport*, a ring of protection +3, a long
sword +4 defender a mace +3, and 3 potions of extra healing. Items marked with an asterisk (*) are detailed in the
Encyclopedia Arcana from the Netheril: Empire of Magic
expansion set.
Elves
Each group of elves consists of warriors and mages
(though the Netherese still call them arcanists). Each band
is led by a 5th-level fighter/mage and also has at least two
mages of 3rd level.
Theyre very interested in the activities of the orcs,
kobolds, and goblins in the area. They are aware of the
massive orc city in the Gods Legion, but they explain that
theyre not ready to handle that problem just yet. After
exchanging any information they might have with the
party, they continue on their patrol.
Ettins
These giants have spotted the party from a nearby hill or
clearing and are now moving to intercept the adventurers.
They normally attack only at night, though they could have
been disturbed by the heroes trek through the wilderness.
Ettins (1d4): AC 3; MV 12; HD 10; THAC0 10; #AT 2; Dmg
1d10/2d6 (if disarmed) or 3d6/2d6 (spiked clubs); SZ H (13
tall); ML elite (14); XP 3,000 each.
SD: Surprised only on a roll of 1. Infravision to a range of 90 feet.
Each ettin is carrying 10d4 copper pieces and 10-30 silver. If the characters track the ettins back to their lair, they
discover 2,014 silver pieces, 407 platinum pieces, and three
gems (an amethyst worth 100 gp, a topaz worth 500 gp, and
a fire opal worth 1,000 gp).
Gnoll Patrol
These creatures have a small cave complex theyre guarding against orc incursion. While they dont particularly like
the Netherese, they are more concerned about orcs in the
area. Roughly half of any patrol is armed with polearms
and missile weapons.
Gnolls (2d8): AC 5; MV 9; HD 2; hp 11 each; THAC0 19;
#AT 1; Dmg 2d4 (broad sword), 1d10 (halberd), or 1d6 (short
bow); SZ L (7 tall); ML steady (11); XP 35 each.
Goblins
The goblins guard their area of the forest jealously,
attacking any and all intruders they encounter. This particular group is just a small patrol sent out from their village
to make sure the elves, kobolds, orcs, or Netherese arent
planning an attack against them.
Each force of goblins attacks first by hurling their spears
at the intruders. After that, goblins mounted on worgs
charge in to attack, followed by the remainder of the force.
Goblins (4d6): AC 6; MV 6; HD 1-1; hp 5 each; THAC0
20; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6 (spear and mace); SZ S (4 tall); ML average (10); XP 15 each.
Worgs (6): AC 6; MV 18; HD 3+3; hp 20 each; THAC0 17;
#AT 1; Dmg 2d4; SZ M (6 long); ML steady (11); XP 120.
Each goblin carries 3d6 silver pieces. Back at their village lies the bulk of their treasure, but such an endeavor
would be an adventure of its own, the details of which are
left to the DM.
Kobolds
The kobolds wont attack the adventurers unless they outnumber them at least two to one. Theyre much more concerned about the orcs and goblins in the area (though if the
party has gnomes in it, the kobolds are 75% likely to attack,
throwing everything theyve got at the gnomes).
Kobolds (5d4): AC 7; MV 6; HD 1/2; HP 3 each; THAC0
20; #AT 1; Dmg 1d4 (claws) or 1d6 (weapons); SZ S (3 tall);
ML average (9); XP 15 each.
SA: Infravision to 60 feet.
SW: Suffer -1 on attack rolls when in bright sunlight.
Each kobold carries 3d4 copper pieces and 1d4 silver
pieces. Farther east into the forest is the home of these
kobolds, a community some 300 strong.
Large Spiders
The path the players have been following slowly begins to
fill with thick webs to either side of the trail. Characters
with the observation proficiency can make a check with a
4 penalty to notice the webs; a ranger who makes a successful tracking check likewise detects the webs.
If the spiders presence isnt detected, the lead character
blunders into a thick web that has been set into the shadows. A character in the webs can escape in a number of
rounds equal to his Strength score subtracted from 19
(character with 19 or greater Strength can walk right
through the web). As soon as a character strikes the webs,
the spiders leap out to attack.
Large Spiders (2d10): AC 8; MV 6, Wb 15; HD 1+1; hp 7
each; #AT 1; Dmg 1 + poison (type A); SZ S (2 diameter); ML
unsteady (7); XP 175 each.
SA: Creatures stuck in a web are attacked with a +4 bonus and
lose any benefit from a high Dexterity score.
Hidden nearby under a heavy blanket of webs is the treasure hoard of the spiders (actually whatever they couldnt
eat off of their victims). There are 16 cp, 12 sp, 7 gp, and 11
pieces of electrum.
Netherese Fighters
A force of 6d6 warriors from the nearby cities are making
a patrol of the eastern shores of the Netheril Empire.
They greet the PCs warmly, since theyre the first signs of
human life theyve seen in many weeks. They talk to the
PCs about one or two other encounters theyve had in the
last week (primarily orcs).
The force is led by Lord Grehnar (NG hm R9). The
remainder of the warriors are between levels 24.
Netherese Merchants
A caravan of slow-moving merchants is slowly working its
way up one of the trails. If approached by the player-characters, the caravan is very happy to see such brave souls
scouring the Eastern Forest of evil. They gladly equip the
party with whatever nonmagical items they need and provide a hot meal to the heroes. The caravan is guarded by 50
warriors and arcanists of levels 1-3.
Ogres
These ogres hail from the massive orc city in the Gods
Legion Mountains. Theyve been sent out on their own to
patrol, since they frequently get into altercations with the
leaders of the various orc patrols.
Ogres (2d10): AC 5; MV 9; HD 4+1; hp 23 each; THAC0
17; #AT 1; Dmg 1d10 (fist) or 1d6+6 (clubs); SZ L (9 tall); ML
steady (12); XP 270 each.
SA: Gain a +2 bonus on all attack rolls due to high Strength.
Owlbears
Beholder
These creatures rush out of the underbrush as the characters travel through the forest, gaining a +2 bonus on their
ability to surprise. They do not retreat regardless of the
actions of the party.
Just as the party is climbing a slight embankment, this awesome creature floats into view, letting out a roar. Moments
earlier, it thought it heard something outside its cave. The
players just happened to be in the wrong place at the
wrong time.
Wyverns
As characters enter a light clearing in the forest, these
creatures swoop down and attack. Theyre used to the orcs
in the area, so it takes two failed Morale checks before
they actually realize the danger theyre in by a well-armed
group of adventurers.
Wyverns (1d6): AC 3; MV 6, Fl 24 (E); HD 7+7; hp 50
each; THAC0 13; #AT 2; Dmg 2d8/1d6; SZ G (35 long); ML
very steady (14); XP 1,400 each.
SA: Tail attack injects poison (type F) into the target upon a successful strike. Creatures must make a saving throw versus poison or
die. Prefers to swoop down from the air and carry victims away
(during which time it gains a +4 bonus to all attack rolls).
Barbarians (Angardt)
This group of barbarians is just making a sweep of the
mountains to try and find a band of orcs that raided a barbarian encampment a few days ago. Theyre not aware of
the huge orc city at the northern end of the mountains and
will be quite surprised to learn that the orcs exist in such
large numbers (they thought they eliminated the orc threat
years ago).
Within the lair are seven gems (determine value randomly by using Table 85 in the DMG) and five works of art
(Table 87 in the DMG). There are also a variety of lifelike
statues in the chamber, one of which is an artist who
claims that the pieces of art were his before he was
ambushed by the beholder (assuming the characters try a
flesh to stone spell on the lifelike statue). He grudgingly
gives them up if the party seems affronted, since they did
rescue him, after all.
Dwarves
From time to time, the dwarves of Delzoun sent out groups
in an attempt to establish trade with the various elven
nations in the area. This is one of those groups, returning
home somewhat dour from their latest failure. The
dwarves are all 1st to 3rd level and not in the most talkative of moods.
Galeb Duhr
The party is alerted to the sounds of danger ahead by the
sounds of a boulder crashing into the ground. As they
round a bend, they notice an orc slowly disappearing into
a pool of mud. Within moments, the scene is peaceful.
The galeb duhr dont desire contact with the party. So
long as the party doesnt make an extensive search of the
area, the galeb duhr ignore their presence.
Galeb Duhr (1d4): AC -2; MV 6; HD 10; hp 73, 67, 64, 60;
THAC0 11; #AT 2; Dmg 4d6/4d6; MR 20%; SZ L (12 tall); ML
fanatic (17); Int very (12); XP 10,000 each.
SA: Can cast move earth, stone shape, passwall, transmute rock
to mud, and wall of stone once per day at 20th-level of ability. They
can cast stone shape at will. They can animate 1-2 boulders around
them.
SD: Gain +4 versus fire-based attacks.
SW: Suffer a -4 penalty to saving throws versus cold, in addition
to suffering double damage from cold-based attacks.
Mountain Giants
Gnolls
These are identical to the gnolls listed in the Eastern
Forest section.
SA: Can summon other creatures, but this takes a full turn to perform and requires a wait of 1d6 hours before the summoned creatures arrive.
SW: Strong stench reveals their presence for hundreds of feet
downwind.
Hippogriffs
These creatures are out looking for orcs that raided their
nest, killing one of their young in the process. The moment
they see the party, they take them to be their enemies and
attack.
Netherse Merchants
Hobgoblins
This force of hobgoblins is scouting the trails for orcs, goblins, and kobolds who are infringing on the hobgoblins territory. They more than happily attack anything they think
they can dominate, as they try to demonstrate to the
heroes the moment they catch sight of them (concentrating their initial volley of missile attacks against elves).
Hobgoblins (2d10): AC 5; MV 9; HD 1+1; hp 7 each;
THAC0 19; #AT 1 (melee) or 2 (missile); Dmg 1d8 (long
sword) or 1d6 (short bows with flight arrows); SZ M (6
tall); ML steady (11); XP 35 each.
Manticores
These fierce creatures fly into view, scattering small rocks
and twigs as they land nearby to attack. They always
release a volley of tail spikes as their first attack and then
close with their prey.
Manticores (1d4): AC 4; MV 12, Fl 18 (E); HD 6+3; hp 48,
42, 37, 33; THAC0 13; #AT 3; Dmg 1-3/1-3/1d8; SZ H (15); ML
elite (13); Int low (5); XP 975 each.
Orcs (Rocktroll)
The actual Rocktroll orcs reside toward the southern end
of the Gods Legion Mountains, but they frequently send
out groups to watch the movements of the Thousand Fists
orcs and to make sure armies are not gathering to attack
their own city. There is a 75% chance that these orcs attack
the party; on a roll of 76% or higher, they ignore the heroes.
Orcs (any number): AC 6 (hide armor); MV 9; HD 1; hp
5 each; THAC0 19; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6 (short swords); SW -1 to
attack and morale rolls while in sunlight; SZ M (6 tall); ML
steady (11); Int avg (8); XP 15 each.
Stone Giants
These giants are standing motionless among the rocks as
they watch the party pass. Elves have a 1-in-6 chance (a
roll of 1 on a d6) to notice the giants watching them. The
giants do nothing unless the party begins to move toward
their cave a few hundred yards away.
Stone Giants (1d10): AC 0; MV 12; HD 14 + 1-3 hit
points; hp 95 each; THAC0 7; #AT 1; Dmg 3d10 (boulders) or
2d6+8 (giant clubs); SZ H (18 tall); ML champion (16); Int
average (9); XP 7,000 each.
Werewolves
If this encounter is rolled during the day, wait until the second watch is half-completed that night before the werewolves attack. The werewolves charge into camp and
attack for four rounds, retreating if they havent totally
dominated their targets. Depending on their success, they
trail the party and attack each night.
Werewolves (3d6): AC 5; MV 15; HD 4+3; hp 23 each;
THAC0 15; #AT 1; Dmg 2d4; SZ M (6 tall); ML steady (12); XP
420 each.
SA: Damage caused by a successful attack has a chance to inflict
lycanthrope on the victim (1% per point of damage caused; check at
the end of the encounter).
SD: Can be harmed only by silver or magical weapons.
Wights
Planned Encounters
During their trek, there are five planned encounters that
occur. The Summons occurs first, with the remainder taking place as the DM deems appropriate.
The Summons
Just as the PCs begin their journey, they are met by a group
of arcanists along the trail. There are no tracks anywhere
around the three individuals save on the path itself, seeming to indicate that they used magic to arrive.
Varied Tracks
The party discovers humanoid tracks (dragged boots, bare
feet, and evening slippers) heading east through the snow.
More than 20 tracks can be seen, but if a ranger is in the
group, he is able to determine that exactly 46 humanoids
passed through the area sometime between two and five
days previous.
Frozen Bounty
A frozen skeleton, mostly flayed of its meat, reclines
against an ice-covered evergreen, though fragmented
breeches still cling to his naked hip bones. Rotted clothing
(a coat, a scattered backpack, and a brown, wide-brim hat
bearing the symbol of a snake entwining a scepter of gold)
is also scattered around the snow.
Inside the backpack is a crumbled menu of items the
deceased wished to purchase at the next city, a sevenday
ration pack (partially consumed and showing the scrapings
of small carnivorous teeth), a scroll tube (labeled For
Karsuss Eyes Only) sealed in wax and kissed with the
mark of a signet ring, three folded and unused waterskins,
and a small diary.
The ration pack is safe to eat, in spite of the teeth marks.
The scroll tube is easily opened, having no protective
magic and contains a small map detailing a path to a stash
of hidden nether scrolls in western Netheril. If the characters follow the path outlined on the map, proceed to
Nether Here Nor There on page 37.
The diary contains a variety of letters, characters, and
symbols that dont make any sense whatsoever. Its actually protected by a Raliteffs illusion script spell, which
allows only arcanists from the Karsus Enclave to read it.
Other creatures making the attempt must make a saving
throw versus spell or be affected by a suggestion spell that
causes them to believe that the book is filled with the last
few days of life for the skeleton (and rather boring at that).
The diary is actually a journal of the movements of the
Neth Underground for Freedom as well as a chronicle of
the wrongs inflicted onto the people by the reigning archwizards.
If the characters decide to bring the writings to the
authorities on the Karsus Enclave, proceed to Quelling
the Serfs on page 37.
If the characters read the diary and decide to join the
ranks of the freedom fighters, proceed to the Liberty on
my Mind side trek on page 36.
Sound of Glory
Just before the party is ready to camp for the evening, they
hear loud voices and the clamor of metal against metal
from about 1,000 yards ahead. If the characters decide to
investigate the din, start a fire, or otherwise draw attention
to themselves, proceed to A Thousand Fists Knocking
on page 31.
Elven Proposal
The PCs run into a group of elves who greet the characters
as though they were longtime allies. They invite the heroes
to share their fire with them for an evening of story-telling,
merriment, and safety. The elven group consists of three
rangers, 12 arcanists, four priests of various elven faiths,
and six thieves.
The evening starts out with the elves sharing stories with
the characters. Eventually, the elves bring out some fine
wine and begin playing games, challenging one or two of
the heroes to a game of chance (creyala, a form of elven
poker using cards) or skill (such as darts). Slowly, the
elves begin to try and pry the loyalties from the characters,
deciding whether or not they are loyal to Karsus and the
other archwizards.
If the elves find out that the characters are not of
Netherese origin (time travelers) or that they hold no love
for Karsus and the archwizards, they invite them into a
business proposition. The elves immediately stop their
merriment and get down to discussing the fine points of
their deal with the heroes. Proceed to the Thief in the
Night side trek on page 27.
If the characters are loyal to Karsus (or at least perceived to be), the elves still provide a night of fun and merriment. When morning dawns, they bid farewell to the
heroes and then continue on their way.
The Graveyard
DM Note: The players should have retrieved the spell
components for Karsus by this time, or else have been
warned by Jaston that they are delaying the Archwizards
progress.
Hundreds of years ago, a shaman declared this grove of
trees by the voices of gods in his head to be a holy place,
and he cast a variety of spells across the area in an effort
to shield it from necromantic magic. The area is surrounded by four soft, rolling hills, each being halfway between
the points of a compass rose. In the center of the valley
created by the hills, a huge shadowtop tree (probably as
old as the forest or even the world itself) sits in supreme
dignity; hundreds of animals make their homes in its
branches in complete impunity.
For centuries, the elves of Shadowtop have used this
special and holy area to bury their dead. Since the original
consecration, many elves have been buried here, their
lichen-covered driftwood or stone grave markers telling
the tale of their tragic deaths.
The burial site, some 300-feet in diameter, is surrounded
by a grove of Shadowtop trees so thick that walking twoabreast isnt possible. Weaving and writhing branches, fern
growth, sun-starved underbrush, and oddly placed grave
markers make travel extremely difficult.
Arrival
As the characters pass into the grave site, they behold a
sorrowful sight: piles of dirt next to every tomb marker.
Each of the graves have been unearthed, and some appear
to have been excavated not from the outside, but from
within. Nothing remains in the graves, not even small personal items that would be of no value.
As the characters investigate the area, they suddenly
hear footsteps all around them. Appearing out of trees,
dozens of elves surround the characters. As more elves
appear, one says, See. I reported the truth. Someone has
raised our ancestors to perform malicious deeds. Perhaps
it was these humans, he says, pointing at the party.
The elf suddenly marches stiff-legged and angry
toward [lead human character], reaching up and reddening [his/her] left cheek with a well-placed backhand
slap. The elf is immediately set upon by the other elves
before anyone can react, who tackle him to the ground.
There is a lot of arguing and shoutingall of it in
elvenas the elves restrain one of their own.
An elf wearing elven chain mail and a purple cloak
utters a word and suddenly all of the bickering stops.
Obviously the leader of the elves, he speaks in common.
PCs are in the open, the orcs attempt to run around them
in their panic. If the characters attempt to kill the orcs,
they dodge and parry whatever blows they can in order to
continue their flight.
If the characters capture one of the orcs, hes willing to
talk in order to continue his retreat:
Havent you all heard? The Lichlord, Master of the
Undead, Murderer of the Masses, Dread of the
Archwizards, and Terror of the Earth, is amassing an
army of the unliving in order to kill and take over everything! He believes that only the undead will treat the
world with respect and discontinue the misuse of the
environment. This means the extermination of all orcs,
humans, gnomes, dwarves, and even those vile and irritating wood-huggersyou know, the elves.
Weve chosen life, and were trying to get to our homelands in order to move our families and friends to the holy
lands in the Spine of the World. Hes amassing an army of
dead so vast, it can crush any army it comes in contact
with. It feeds on the war dead, making itself stronger as it
moves west. Nothing can compete with that. If I were
you, Id turn my back on the east and join us in flight.
If the orc is asked where the Lichlord can be found, the
orc points due east and replies, The Lichlord is that way
SAEach successful hit causes an additional 1d4 points of damage unless the creature makes a successful saving throw versus poison.
SD+3 or better weapon to hit (even then, the devourer only
suffers 1 hit point of damage), immune to cerebral parasites and all
mental attacks except psionic blast; immune to normal or magical
fire; electrical attacks cause only 1 hit point per die of damage.
Psionic Summary: Level 6; Dis 3; Sci 3; Dev 11; Att EW, II; Def
M-, TS, IF; Score=Int; PSPs 200.
Psychometabolism Sciences: ectoplasmic form.
Psychometabolism Devotions: body equilibrium, chameleon
power, expansion, reduction.
Psychoportation Devotions: astral projection.
Telepathy Sciences: domination, mindlink.
Telepathy Devotions: aversion, contact, ESP, ego whip, id insinuation, telempathic projection.
SIDE TREKS
eace is the way of the wise man, but is war always the path of the
imprudent? Belief in the lie that one is the only justifiable ruler of
a people is often the path of the folly, and the lie blinds him.
Nor There
Quelling the Serfs
Robin Banks
Scrying
the Orcs Through
66,840
960
5,380+
Central Courtyard
In the central courtyard surrounded by the street
named Central Court, Lady Polaris has her castle,
the Great Library, and the Polaris Vault. Along the
perimeter of the courtyard, a two-man-tall wooden
palisade is a deterrent to keep the common folk
from entering the plush grounds of the palace.
Entrance
Theres one entrance to the courtyard, and thats
through the guardhouse on the northernmost part of
the palisade. Thirty guards (all between 2nd and 7th
level) and seven arcanists with Smolyns seer and
detect lie spells permanently cast upon their eyes
Side Treks
Great Library
The Great Library is an absolute font of information. All
documents (or copies thereof) made since the height of
Netheril in 1964 NY are held here. All known spells, potion
recipes, and religious and philosophical pamphlets and
books created by Netherese are contained herein. As
ordered by Lady Polaris, the library is categorized and
indexed to death, making the location of desired information easy and quick.
During evening hours, the library is left unguarded by
man. Instead, magic is used to maintain security. All windows are protected by an Aksas disintegration spell activated by the decrease in light from the sun (easily overcome with a Brightfingers light spell), the front door acts
as an Oberons extradoor that opens up into a high-security cell in the constabularys jail house about seven blocks
directly north of the Delia Courtyard (easily overcome by
another Oberons extradoor).
Once inside, all the PCs need to do is find the index
books kept by the librarians a few dozen yards away from
the front door to locate whatever information they require.
Polaris Palace
The only way into the Polaris Palace if the front door is not
used, is through the use of a gate spell from another plane.
Any attempt to magically teleport is met with a very
unpleasant jaunt into the 43rd plane of the Abyss. If one
climbs the walls to enter through the windows, they are met
with a very unpleasant side effect: the walls and the roof
are completely covered with an Aksas disintegration
effectsay good-bye to finger tips (or even whole bodies if
one is thrown or pushed into the wall). One way past this is
to a Stocas wings or Yturns levitation spell to a window
or the roof. However, if the window is touched from the
outside, the violator find himself securely glued to the window (much like the effect of sovereign glue); then its only
a matter of time before the magic that got the PC to the window wears off and he falls, striking the wall on his way
down, disintegrating his body (up to the arm, at least, since
his hands and fingers are still be attached to the window).
The front door is continually guarded by five warriors
and one arcanist (again with Smolyns seer and detect lie
spells permanently adhered to their corneas). Five other
groups of guards of equal numbers and profession walk
about the palace, making sure no one attempts to gain
entrance through thieving or magical skills.
Since no one has ever entered Polaris Palace without personal permission from Lady Polaris herself, its unknown to
this day what happens when a thief enter uninvited. One
thing is known, however: seven known attempts from master thieves have been attempted, and the thieves were never
heard from again. The DM is encouraged to be especially
creative and cruel while maintaining one way to succeed
after all, thats one thing Lady Polaris personally made sure
of. (By the way, all information regarding the 11th-level
spells are always kept in her bedchamber. Good luck!)
Polaris Vault
The Polaris Vault has no windows and two doors on the
eastern part of the central hub. Once inside, a visitor finds
five different exhibits: the Warriorward, the Thiefs Den,
the Dweomercraft Auditorium, Divinetabla, and Polariss
Exhibit.
Divinetabla: This section mostly details the gods known
in Netheril, including several worshipped by the nonhuman races Netheril has dealt with in the past. The remaining third of the exhibit details the magic and quasimagical
items in use by the priesthoods throughout Netheril. This
even includes the holy symbols and totems held dear to the
religious icons of the gods followers. Also included is a
synopsis from Karsus of Netheril who claims the gods of
Netheril are nothing more than frauds, which, by no surprise, has caused a great deal of stress among the religious
sects. Many believe this single seven-page writ is the cause
of all unrest in Netheril, since Karsus made it very clear
that all archwizards believe the same thing.
Side Treks 29
Dweomercraft Auditorium: This, the most crowded section of the vault, shows all the items, scrolls, and books
usable by the spellcasters in Netheril. None of the nether
scrolls are included in this exhibit.
Polariss Exhibit: This special section in the center of
the Polaris Vault displays the magical items created by
Lady Polaris herself (though small in number), and all new
exhibit pieces procured by the vault librarians. One interesting thing about this particular exhibit is that there are a
number of books that detail the exact way to create spells
in classic Netherese stylespells that contain no somatic
components (Note: these five book are what the
Cormanthyr elves desire to fulfill their quest.)
Thiefs Den: This section of the Polaris Vault contains
the least number of magical items and its the only one that
contains nonmagical items. Herein are all the items that a
thief would use in his career. A section that takes up a third
of the exhibit in the back contains the magical varieties
known to Netheril. The remaining two-thirds shows the
nonmagical varieties, from lockpicks to fantastic wallclimbing apparati. This is truly a study of the subversive
when one steps in his hall.
Warriorward: This auditorium features all the magic and
quasimagical items useful to the warrior, the soldier, and the
nonspellcasting adventurerat least those that are available in Netheril. Over 3,000 items are on display here, each
with a description of the known functions and the creator.
As an extra level of security, Lady Polaris hired the
help of some planar beings. About seven years ago during
her planar travels, Lady Polaris discovered Mechanus and
gated five decaton modrons from their home plane into the
Polaris Vault, but she just couldnt figure out how to keep
them contained in the building. For some unknown reason,
the decatons would be in place for no less than five days
before theyd disappear. She believed that Primus or one of
the Secundi were responsible for the continual extraction.
She loved their lawful neutral attitudes and decided
theyd be the perfect beings to use as security. The only
thing she had to do was to find some other nonessential
being to use for her security forces. On a return visit to
Mechanus, she discovered the pentadron modron, and
decided these beings could serve her needs. After gating
them to the Prime Material Plane, she trapped them in the
Polaris Vault, and there they remain, seven years later.
If someone enters the Polaris Vault during the off hours
(sundown to dawn), the modrons attack.
Pentadron Modron (5): AC 3; MV 18; HD 5+5; hp 40;
THAC0 15; #AT 5; Dmg 1d4+4(5); SZ M; ML fearless (20);
Int very (11); AL LN; XP 2,000 each.
A Thousand
Fists Knocking
If the heroes investigate the noise, they see a group of 78
orcs10 of whom are of huge stature and three who are
dressed in wild, obnoxiously colorful clothing (shamans).
The orcs apparently are going to sleep under the stars, but
there are nearly 15 fires burning, each with a two-day supply of wood..
Spoken in Orcish, the characters hear these clips of
speech: . . . death to the Neth . . . , . . . the only good human
is medium rare . . ., . . . if we swings south at Yeomans Loft,
we can easily raid Spiel in a fourday . . . , . . . Me hears theys
got pretty no-hairs [human females] there . . ., . . . wish
wedve brought the dogs. . . , . . . me swords hungry; me
needs t feed it . . . , . . . ever tried their eyes served oer iced
gruel?. . .
Orcs (65): AC 6; MV 9; HD 1; hp 6 each; THAC0 19; #AT
1; Dmg 1d8 (sword); SZ M (6 tall); ML elite (14); Int high
(10); AL LE; XP 175.
Orogs (10): AC 3 (plate mail); MV 6; HD 3; hp 21; THAC0
17; #AT 1; Dmg 1d10+3 (sword + Strength bonus); SZ M (67 tall); ML elite (14); Int high (11); AL LE; XP 65 each.
Orc Shamans (3): AC 6; MV 9; HD 5; hp 37, 33, 29;
THAC0 15; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6 (club); SZ (6 tall); ML elite (14);
Int exceptional (15); AL LE; XP 650 each.
Winds available (12/3rd): Transcendent, sporadic, wandering.
Favorite spells: command, protection from good, sanctuary; hold
person; dispel magic.
Side Treks 31
Breaking and
Entering
The characters are at the front door of Nopheuss home.
The front door is the only solid-looking obstacle to the
house. The five windows across the four walls all are covered with single-pane glass and dilapidated slats to help
reduce winter draft.
If the characters break down the door, theyre met with
a glyph of warding that inflicts 20d4 points of electrical
damage to all within 20 feet. If the windows are opened,
one of four things can happen (depending upon which window is broken).
1. An alarm is set off, and the constabulary (1d8 5th-level
warriors) appear within 1d4 rounds.
2. A glyph of warding teleports the violator 20-80
(2d410) feet into the air over the sharp rocks of the harbor. Damage is calculated using a single d6 for every 10
feet the character falls (8d6 maximum for this fall). In addition, the sharp rocks each inflict 1d8 points of damage, and
the character strikes 1d4 of those when he finally comes to
rest.
3. A glyph of warding teleports the violator directly into
a cell of the Yeomans Loft jail house on Helm Road north
of Pine Forest Road.
4. A glyph of warding drains three levels from the violator. The victim is allowed a saving throw for each level
removed.
Nopheus (NG hm F8; 72 hp) arrives (or wakes up), grabs
Twinrazor, a +3 bastard sword (refer to the Spells &
Magic section for information on Twinrazor), and seeks
out those who would rob his home.
If the characters kill Nopheus, theyve successfully
destroyed the adventure, but in the process, theyve
gained Twinrazor, a fairly good Netherese weapon.
They also gain the 2,000 gold he was planning on
rewarding those who would return the body of his wife.
Also, stashed in a safe behind a picture above the fireplace, the characters find three magical daggers, five
other random quasimagical items, three scrolls bound
into a book with five random 1st-level spells and the formulae for six additional cantras, and a gold foil etching
of a beautiful woman (presumably his wife shortly
before her death).
If the characters leave Nopheuss body to rot in the
house, the constables find the remains three days later and
investigate the death by means of a speak with the dead
spell. With it, they discover and formulate well-rendered
drawings of the murderers. If the characters are still in
Yeomans Loft, they discover their likenesses posted on
trees, the doors of every tavern, and on the Neth
Gatehouse. Within another threeday, their likenesses are
scattered all across Netherils enclaves and 30% of the
ground-based cities. Another three days is all thats
required to get their picture scattered throughout every
Netheril city.
32 Side Treks
WANTED
For the murder of Nopheus of Yeomans Loft, the bodies
(dead or alive) of the villains pictured above are desired
by the constabulary of Yeomans Loft; for the price of
1,200 pieces of gold per face pictured herein.
So heinous was their crime of mutilation and death,
these Criminals of Society must be considered highly
dangerous and vile; though alive is desired, death is
viable, for they can be resurrected to face the pain and
long-suffering warranted by their actions in life.
l
Days one to three: the PCs have a 10% chance per day
of being spotted and recognized in Yeomans Loft.
l
Days four to six: Theres a 20% chance per day of
being spotted and recognized anywhere in Netheril.
l
Days seven through nine: The PCs have a 40% chance
per day to be spotted and recognized anywhere in Netheril.
As the days move forward, the characters can expect to
meet more and more bounty hunters hungry for the
reward, all intent upon killing the characters.
If the characters are still in Netheril after 12 days, an
arcanist-turned-bounty hunter places a Chevics tracer
spell on the characters, allowing other hunters to gate right
behind (or in front of) the characters at inopportune times.
This treatment continues until they finally leave Netheril.
In Jail
If the characters end up in jail, chances are very good they
deserve it. Below is a synopsis of the jail-term possibilities,
depending upon the reasons they ended up in the jail in the
first place.
l If they attempted to rob Yeomans Bank, they were subjected to an Oberons teleportation spell and transported
to jail, arriving in a special cell dedicated to the thieves of
that bank. When they appear there, they find seven others
in the cell with them. The cell is cold and damp, with moisture clinging to the walls and a small pool of murky water
sitting in the corner. Its safe for them to assume theyre
underground. The seven others (five males and two
females) say theyve been there for various terms: three of
the men have been there for six months, the female and
one male have been there for two years, and the remaining
two have been there for five years. Each of the seven
believe they have a full 10-year term to suffer through.
l
If the heroes got involved with the assassination
attempt on Karsus, they spend only three days in prison,
for thereafter, they are rendered unconscious, all information about the underground sapped from their brains, and
their essences (or whats left of them) relinquished to the
planes of their deities.
When the cell door is inspected, a lock is discovered, but
the lock isnt engaged. It doesnt need to be; two bars on
the outside of the cell door have been welded into place in
seven spots each, and an iron golem sits idly, across the
hall, constantly vigilant, watching the prisoners with
unblinking eyes.
SA: Breathes out a cloud of poison gas once every seven rounds
(save vs. poison or die) that fills a 10-foot cube directly in front of
it.
SD: Can be struck only by weapons of +3 or better enchantment.
Immune to all spells except those based on electricity (which slow
the golem for 3 rounds) and fire (which heal the golem on a one-toone basis).
The Search
To activate his 12th-level spell, Karsus needs the stonefilled gizzard of a gold dragon and part of the epidermis
of the pituitary gland of the Tarrasque just to enchant one
of the material components of the spell. Depending upon
how evil the DM wants to be, he can choose to either
send the PCs after the gold dragon or the Tarrasque (or
even both).
Side Treks 33
34 Side Treks
The Tarrasque
On their way to the Angardt lands, the PCs run into
groups of barbarians that can easily direct them to the
lair of the sleeping beast. Angardt legends claim that the
creatures awakening spells doom to their people, and in
recent months the barbarian shamans have been predicting the beasts awakening.
If the heroes state that they are returning from
Dracolnobalens lair with a gift from the dragon to make
sure that the beast continues its sleep, the barbarians
cheerfully lead the party to the burial mound containing
the Tarrasque. The barbarians attack the heroes immediately if the PCs relate how they killed Dracolnobalen,
whom they view somewhat as their protector.
The lair of the Tarrasque is an underground chamber
surrounded by barbarian totems (set there to warn of the
great evil within the mound). The site can be viewed from
many miles away, as it sits on the low grasslands of the
Neth Southwest. A variety of barbarian tents are situated
around the lair of the Tarrasque.
These tents house shamans and warriors of the
Angardt barbarians. Their duty is to keep an eye on the
Tarrasque, fleeing to warn the rest of the tribe should it
awaken. Part of their task entails keeping the torches in
the beasts chamber burning, and this feat has grown into
a test of bravery for both warrior, shaman, and arcanist
alike.
There are 100 warriors, shamans, and arcanists at the
mound, and theyre not simply going to let anyone hop
into the beasts lair and risk waking it up. PCs can convince the eldest shaman there to let them relight the
torches. If theyre arriving as part of an entourage with
Dracolnobalens gift, the shaman quickly agrees to let the
heroes enter the lair. Of course, as the characters enter,
most of the guardians withdraw a safe distance.
Once characters enter the mound, read the following:
A giant chamber opens up into the earth below, a flickering of torch light casting haunting shadows along the
walls. A slow, heavy breathing reverberates throughout
the chamber.
Laying upon a large dais in the center of the room is the
huge form of a scaled creature. At least 50-feet long, its
scales reflect the light of the torches and both of its white
horns look strangely out of place in the gloom of the
chamberyet deadly.
The pituitary, located in the neck, can be accessed from
the Tarrasques current sleeping position, but if the characters begin to cut away at the creature with a nonmagical
weapon, they discover that the only thing they do is wake
the beast up. Magical weapons are required to affect the
monster.
Notes: The tarrasques bite acts as a sword of sharpness, severing a limb on a natural attack roll of 18 or greater; once every turn
it can rush at MV 15, doubling horn damage and gaining a trample
attack causing 4d10 points of damage; on sight, the tarrasque causes beings of less than 3 HD are paralyzed in fright and 3 HD or
greater get a save vs. paralyzation to keep from fleeing in panic; its
carapace reflects lightning bolts, all cone spells and effects, and
General Maticks missiles one in six reflect back at the caster
causing normal damage; its immune to all heat and fire: it regenerates 1 HP per round; only weapons enchanted + 1 or higher can successfully strike the beast; its immune to all psionics; the tarrasque
must be brought below -30 HP for it to truly be dead and then a
wish; spell must be used (the wish spell isnt created until a century after Netherils fall, so its impossible to effectively kill the tarrasque at this time).
Side Treks 35
Karsus Marketplace
The marketplace in the floating city of Karsus is full of
vendors selling a multitude of goods. The streets are filled
day and night; during the day, there are hundreds of people, while during the night, there are simply dozens.
People of all standard PC races are found here as follows:
Below is a list of the types of vendors one finds here:
l
Most prominent are peddler of quasimagical items
(items that function only on floating cities). All these
items can be bought for half the price listed in the
E NCYCLOPEDIA MAGICA volumes. These vendors allow a
bit of haggling, but never reduce their price more than
10%. Ninety percent of all vendors are magically protected versus charms and enchantments that force them to
negotiate in a fashion positive to the buyer; 70% have
audible alarms that activate a siren that screams whenever a spell or spell-like effect is activated against the vendor, which brings the city guards within 1d4-1 rounds.
l
Real magical item vendors sell their items for 50%
more than the price stated in the E NCYCLOPEDIA MAGICA
tomes. They have audible alarms and protection just like
other merchants.
l
Exotic meats and vegetable sellers sell their meats
for one-tenth the Experience Point total for defeating the
creature for each pound. This price is negotiable by 25%.
l
Spell component distributors sell their wares by
spell level. Simply tell the vendor what spell is desired,
and the components for that spell are sold in a small
wrapped-and-tied packet at the price of 10 gp per spell
level per spell. If specific components are desired, determine which spell the component is for and charge 2 gp
per spell level for the component (ingredients bought in
this way are sold loose). Spell components like gems are
purchased elsewhere.
l
Weapon vendors are somewhat popular, but whats
for sale differs from enclave to enclave. Yeomans Loft,
for instance, does not allow the sale of polearms. Karsus
Enclave allows the sale of all weapons, since its so near
the western frontier of Netheril.
l
Clothes wholesalers are commonplace here as well.
All the clothes are priced three-times the value stated in
the Players Handbook. The enchantments cast on the
clothes reduce wear and tear, cause prismatic effects to
dance across their surfaces, emanate magical colors,
have magical properties to protect the wearer, or cause
magical effects at the will of their wearer. (All such
enchantments are quasimagical; treat the cost as 50 gp
per spell level per spell).
In the marketplace, a number of opportunities arise for
the characters:
36 Side Treks
Liberty on my Mind
Theres a group of people on Karsus whove been looking
for peace and freedom for nearly a decade, and their
efforts have been fruitless. Only recently have their
attempts turned desperate and violent. (The DM should
refer to Quelling the Serfs on page 37, for these two
adventures, though diametrically opposed, share much of
the same information.)
If the characters have been sought-out by the constabulary, the Underground searches the heroes out and
invites them to join their ranks. To prove their validity as
freedom fighters, the characters are asked to perform a
few jobs.
l
A corrupt politician named Hrothard (NE hm F10)
needs to be silenced, for hes forever spitting venomous
rhetoric about the Underground and how theyre nothing
more than ruthless vagabonds without a goal. Adrian
Freeman gives the characters a magical apple that theyre
to feed to the politician.
Once consumed, the politicians vocal chords are permanently silenced and his hands forget how to write. This
effect is permanent and cant be removed short of deific
intervention or the casting of a wish or alter reality spell
(which havent been invented yet).
l
An important member of the Underground has been
captured and his torture and mental probe is imminent.
To maintain the security of the Underground, the PCs are
asked to break the woman out of prison. Unfortunately,
the jail house is manned by five members of the constabulary (NG hm F13, NG hm F12, LG hf F9, CG hf F8, CN hm
F12) and one spellcaster (NG hf Variator10) who fight
until their Morale (13) is broken. If the combat exceeds
12 rounds, the constabulary gains reinforcements of 2d4
more warriors of 2d4 levels and 1d2 spellcasters of 1d6+4
levels.
If captured, the characters gear is taken and theyre
placed under heavy guard and sentenced to death (with
the lethal task taking place in three nights). However, the
Underground comes to their aid by digging a tunnel under
the street to the cell. Theres an 80% chance that the eight
guards in the jail house notice the characters as theyre
leaving and they pursue them. A warrant and bounty for
the PCs arrest is issued.
Side Treks 37
38 Side Treks
l
Four priests, one in each corner of the bedroom, cast
silence 15 radius on themselves. Once cast, they all
approach Karsuss bed and stand at each corner, effectively silencing the Archwizard.
l
The five burliest warriors of the Underground each
grab one of Karsuss appendages (each leg, two arms, and
the head) and hold them down so he cant move or cast
spells.
l
An amulet of life protection is placed around Karsuss
neck.
l
Adrian Freeman, using a magical dagger +5, assassinates the Archwizard.
l
Once death occurs, Karsuss essence is transferred
from the body into the amulet. The amulet is then
smashed, utterly and irrevocably destroying the psyche of
Karsus.
Side Treks 39
Robin Banks
Nopheuss bank is located on the corner of Shadowtop
Road and Aeroroad. The building looks rather small; a
two-story stone-framed business with thickvery
thickwindows on the store front and none on any other
face. The second story contains two windows on each
wall and a fire escape on the southeastern wall (the fire
escape can be reached if a character can jump up or be
boosted nine feet in the air).
The front door is locked with a lock which imposes a
-20% penalty to a thiefs open locks skill check. All the
windows are thick glass that require 20 hit points of bludgeoning or 40 points of slashing damage to break. If the
PCs break the glass on the first floor, they set off an alarm
in the office of the nearest constabulary (eight 4th-level
fighters), who respond to the intrusion in 2d4+8 rounds.
If the characters merely slip tools into the door lock or
break the windows on the second floor, theyre able to
gain entrance.
If the characters break into the second floor, theyre
relatively safe. Nothing can get them into trouble here.
They can root through the desks, shuffle the books about,
and walk down the stairs in complete safety. If they have
lamps and pass by any of the windows, however, theres a
5% chance per incident that a guard notices the light in
the window and sets off a general alarm.
If the characters are downstairs, things become a bit
more dangerous. Behind the teller windows they find
three, two-tiered cabinets. They can safety rifle through
these, finding papers about the personal finances of those
who use the bank to store their personal property.
The main safe has a tumbler lock mechanism that is
magically enhanced, which creates an additional -20%
penalty to any lock picking attempt. If the thief fails, hes
immediately teleported to the jail. Anyone who reaches
into the safe to pull out a set of 266 keys, 1,500 gold, 1,000
platinum, 4,575 copper, or 2,800 silver pieces without first
whispering I work for Yeomans Bank, is likewise teleported to jail.
In the main lobby, the characters see a metal grating
door that protects the main vault. Through the grating,
they can see hundreds of safety deposit boxes. Theres
40 Side Treks
Contents
Paper (deeds, contracts, wills)
Paper (business documents)
2d20 gold pieces
1d4 platinum bars (5,000 gp each)
3d100 sp, 2d100 cp, 1d100 gp
1d4 gold bars (each worth 1,000 gp)
1d4 random, yet small, magical items
2d100 Gold, 4d20 platinum pieces
Empty
Side Treks 41
Going in as themselves: If theyre spotted by sentries, the orcs scream out an alarm that would wake the
dead, alerting all of their compatriots to the whereabouts of the human invasion. Half of the orcs in the
camp move toward the heroes while the other half surround the tent of their leader, filling the tent with about
70 orcs to protect Graskar in case teleportation magic is
used against them.
If the character are careful and sneak in like good little thieves, they can elbow up a small tor to look down
upon the camp and use their divination items given them
to find out exactly where the leaders arethe leaders
are about seven tents from the exact center, in the third
largest tent in the camp. From this vantage point, the
characters can either use Oberons teleportation spells
to enter the leaders tent, or await darkness to enter and
perform their task.
When they enter the tent, they find one huge orc (the
leader), eight large orcs (shamans) and 10 normal orcs.
Graskar, Orc Chief: AC 4 (10); MV 9 (12); HD 3; hp 21;
THAC0 17; #AT 2; Dmg 1d10/1d10 (sword); SA +2 Strength
bonus on all attacks; SD 45% hide in shadows and natural
surroundings, +1 save bonus to charm-related effects; SZ
M (6 tall); ML champion (16); Int exceptional (16); AL LE;
XP 65.
Orc Shamans (8): AC 6; MV 9; HD 5; hp 27 each;
THAC0 15; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6+1 (mace); SA +2 attack bonus
when they have surprise and/or their opponents are on
lower ground, spell use; SD 45% hide in shadows and natural surroundings, +1 save bonus to charm-related effects;
SZ (6 tall); ML elite (13-14); Int exceptional (15); AL LE;
XP 650.
Spells (12 winds/3rd): Treat the orcs as priests of Targus.
l
If the PCs manage to kill all of the leaders without
setting off an alarm, the orcs are sufficiently demoralized and the scheduled attack is averteduntil next
year.
l
If the PCs attempt to murder the leaders but fail, the
orcs move up their attack to pre-winter, launching their
assault from boats instead. During this time, all the orcs
have a 16 Morale.
l
If the PCs slay the leaders but are caught, theyre
beset by every orc in the community. They send out the
call to all the other orcs in the Rengarth Tundra, telling
them of the atrocity. This doubles their number, and they
march on Netheril, beginning their assault in nine days.
42 Side Treks
End of the
Journey
By the time characters arrive at this point, they
should have already been given the opportunity to obtain Karsus spell components for his avatar spell. As noted
previously, Karsus sent a number
of adventurers out to retrieve
spell components; if the party
refused to work for Karsus
then one of the other adventuring groups succeeded in the
heroes stead.
Dead Denizens
As the characters near their destination, they run into three spellcasting followers of the Lichlord.
The arcanists, intent on stoppingor
at least delayingthe characters, have
covered themselves in dust of disappearance.
Even with this advantage, the arcanists still hide in
the trees and for the first few rounds, project spells
and magical item effects toward the PCs from the
safety of height to weaken them and make their
chance for success that much greater.
Dr. Killdrum, hm, Inventor 15: AC 0 (bracers of
defense AC 2, cloak of protection +2); MV 12; hp 45;
THAC0 16; #AT 1; Dmg 1d4+3 (dagger +3); SZ M (6
STR 14, DEX 13, CON 18, INT 19, WIS 17, CHA 11.
Special Equipment: Dr. Killdrums wand of fire (see
the Spells & Magic chapter) is imbedded in his right arm,
a wand of lightning (16 charges) hides under his tunic, and
a staff of the magi (20 charges) serves as a walking stick.
Spells (94/7th): 1st General Maticks missile,
Primidons burners, Carburys servant, General Maticks
armor, General Maticks shield; 2nd Tolodines stinking
cloud, Primidons sphere, Polybeuss illumination,
Fahrens darkness, Shans web; 3rd dispel magic,
Edie Savage was the apprentice and lover of the archwizard Ioulaum, but a spat over the dispensation of overpaid taxes rendered their relationship useless. Once they
split up, Edie still haunted Ioulaum, pulling petty pranks in
order to get the people of his enclave to distrust or hate the
Father of Netheril. Still angry with the split and the fact she
received nothing in the breakup, she takes her anger out on
anyone who poses as a victim.
l
l
Round 5:
l
Dr. Killdrum casts Noanars fireball.
l
Krystaufer casts Keonids forgetfulness on a PC.
l
Edie Savage casts Quantouls slowmorph.
Round 6:
l
l
l
Round 7:
l
Dr. Killdrum casts Veridons cone.
l
Krystaufer casts Prugs dominate on a PC to force him
into performing unusual tasks, like attacking someone in
the PCs party.
l
Edie Savage casts Aksas disintegrate on a player-character weapon.
Round 8:
l
Dr. Killdrum casts Noanars fireball, centering the
effect on as many PCs as possible.
l
Krystaufer casts Berthots blunder.
l
Edie Savage casts Luckes contagion.
Round 9:
l
Dr. Killdrum casts Tolodines cloudkill.
l
Krystaufer casts Enollafs aimlessness.
l
Edie Savage casts Quantouls othermorph hoping to
transform the PCs into snails.
Round 1:
l
Dr. Killdrum casts Noanars fireball. He moves onto a
different branch in case someone noticed him, but he stays
in the same tree.
l
Krystaufer casts Trebbes invulnerability on himself.
He jumps downquietlyfrom his tree and approaches
the PCs from their left flank.
l
Edie Savage casts Tolodines gust of wind shortly
before the effect of Dr. Killdrums fireball has ended. This
helps fan the flames as well as its normal effect, allowing
the flames to engulf more of the forest. She climbs down
and approaches the characters from their right flank.
Round 10:
l
Dr. Killdrum casts Detheds spell.
l
Krystaufer casts Keonids fear.
l
Edie Savage casts Quantouls manymorph, hoping to
turn the PCs into harmless rabbits.
Round 2:
l
Dr. Killdrum casts Polybeuss illumination, on a spellcaster (someone not wearing armor).
l
Krystaufer casts Smolyns blindness.
l
Edie Savage casts Hamrings enfeeblement.
Round 3:
l
Dr. Killdrum casts Mavins stonewall.
l
Krystaufer casts Smolyns eyebite.
l
Edie Savage casts Mavins stone-flesh transmution in
its reversed form.
Round 4:
l
Round 11+
Castle Approach
As the characters begin ascending a large hill in the forest,
they come across a battalion of 12 undead, all lead by a
ferocious (once-female) human. She has long and tangled
brunette hair, whose tresses are held together by the web
of some forest spider whose home is deep within her
disheveled mane. Her clothing, resembling harlot livery, is
a tattered and dirty gown of white. She displays a beautiful necklace over her crumbling frock that possesses a
large blood red ruby surrounded by the silvery web of a
black widow.
Capturing Amanda
A. Entrance
The
feet
The
bies
mass of zombies part to reveal a pathway roughly 10wide that stretches off into the heart of the castle.
strange blue light that hovers within each of the zomprovides the only means of illumination.
The first large cell to the left of the entrance hall is barely visible as the player-characters walk past. Treat the
entrance into the cell as a concealed door.
B. Throne Room
The mass of twisted zombie bodies parts to reveal a large
chamber that is mostly empty of furnishings. A huge, skeletal
throne wrapped partially in rags is its only object of interest.
Seated upon the throne is a skeletal creature dressed in
a tattered gray robe. Its eyes blaze with an orange-red
light and rings adorn its fingers. Its voice, ancient and
commanding, echoes forth in the eerie chamber.
What can I do for my esteemed and brave visitors? I
falls, it shall be subjugated under my control, and the gluttony that threatens the nations very existence will be put
to death and Netheril will forever live.
Why do you hate Karsus: Karsus is the prime
example of magical greed. His vices far exceeds any
10,000 people you can lump together. Hes currently
experimenting with magic far exceeding his power to
control. Should he succeed, he will surely cause the
whole nation to crumble and fall, killing everyone in his
precious nation with a single breath.
Who are you: My name has been forgotten in historyI am the oldest living human in history. In lich form, I
have lived thousands of years alreadyand I plan to live
thousands more. Who better to rule a nation of magic
than someone whos nearly seen the whole evolution of
human magecraft? Even if I knew my real name, I could
never tell you, for that would give you a certain amount
of power over me.
If the characters do not attack the Lichlord, he finally
grows bored with them and teleports them to the hill at the
edge of the glade. If the characters attack and kill the
Lichlord, his essence is transferred back to a specially prepared amulet deep below the castle. In a matter of minutes,
the Lichlord has taken control of a Neth zombie and is using
his special abilities to teleport the characters out of his castle to the hill where they met Amanda. Once teleported, the
DM should refer to The Army Moves on page 51.
The Lichlord: AC -3; MV 9; HD 28; hp 196; THAC0 9; #AT
1; Dmg 1d10 (frigid touch); SA save vs. paralysis with touch
or be unable to move until dispelled, creatures less than 5
HD must save vs. spell or flee in terror for 5d4 rounds, the
Lichlord can unleash a death ray after enduring 50 points of
magical damage that requires those within 20 to save vs.
death or be permanently killed (once per day); SD at least +1
weapon or 6 HD (or levels) to hit, immune to charm, sleep,
enfeeblement, polymorph, cold, electricity, insanity, or
death spells; SW 13th-level priests and 15th-level paladins or
greater can attempt to turn the lich as though they were five
levels lower; SZ M (6 tall); ML fanatic (18); Int godlike (22);
AL neutral evil; XP 10,000.
Notes: The Lichlord can see with normal vision even in complete
darkness and is unaffected by bright light (even the magical variety). He radiates a 20-radius aura of cold and darkness (darkness
equivalent to dusk, even in magical light) forcing all his opponents
to suffer a -2 on their Morale checks.
STR 13, D EX 13, C ON 18, I NT 22, W IS 19, C HA 1.
Personality: The Lichlord no longer carries any humanity (in
the sense of sympathy and understanding) in his magically
enhanced essence. He has one goal, and one goal only: to increase
in power and knowledge at the expense of alleven at the expense
of Prime Material existence.
C. Cell, Occupied
These locations are jail cells that contain a prisoners that
the Lichlord has not dealt with as of yet. The table below
depicts who (or what) is in the cell.
Roll Prisoner
1
D. Cell, Empty
Empty cells are difficult to spot within the castle; treat
each of them as concealed doors. Theres a 25% chance
(rolled each time the party passes one of the doors to the
empty cell) that the cell is actually occupied by one of the
Lichlords minions, who immediately attacks with a +2
bonus on its surprise roll if the PCs havent discovered
the door. The DM is free to select one of the creatures
below or roll randomly.
Roll Creature
1
E. Mythallar
This room holds the Lichlords mythallar. If the characters
enter this room and stay longer than 10 seconds, the zombie
walls and ceiling close in for the attack. Seventy zombies
gain attacks from all sides and from the floor and ceiling,
giving them at least four attacks per character. As zombies
are destroyed by the PCs, others from different parts of the
castle merge with the attackers, maintaining their overwhelming numbers. Meanwhile, the zombies form a wall
between the characters and the mythallar, making sure they
dont gain any opportunity to strike the mythallar at all. If
the PCs back out of the room the attacks stop. To destroy
the mythallar, the characters must inflict 100 points of nonmagical damage (all magical damage is absorbed).
F. Laboratory
This is the Lichlords laboratory. It contains tables, cupboards, shelves, and a single chair made of living zombie
bodies. Alchemical equipment, three traveling spell books
(they contain the same spells as his master spell books hidden below the castle), and two vats of unholy water are all
that remain in the chamber.
If characters investigate, they get the distinct impression
that whatever magical research was being conducted here
has recently been completed. A few experiments look like
theyve just begun, but its hard to tell what their ultimate
goal is supposed to be.
The Conversion
He arms himself with his polearm, Separator, and prepares for battle. Ive brought 57 people over to the
Lichlords side, and now its your turn. Ive been looking
forward to this for many days now. Prepare to meet the
bliss of rebirth. Anointus truly believes hes doing the
characters a favor by converting them to unlife, and hes
going to do his best to assure their alteration. Whenever a
character falls in combat, he immediately uses his raise
dead ability to bring defeated characters into the
Lichlords fold.
As the characters prepare to battle Anointus, they
notice that the front ranks of the Lichlords army have
arrived. All characters are immediately faced with fighting creatures on every exposed front. Waves of undead
(wights, wraiths, spectres, Neth zombies, and others)
engulf the player-characters.
The PCs should feel like theyre fighting for their life;
that no matter how good they are or how many spells they
have in their arsenal that its just a matter of time before
the undead overcome them. Keep track of hit points for the
undead normally, but as one falls another immediately
takes its place. During the battleat its darkest moment
Karsus sends the characters a message.
Wrath of Karsus
Your minds fill with a vision of the Archwizard Karsus
standing on a podium that overlooks his enclave. His
voice fills your minds.
I have joined your battle. Prepare to see a sight so
wondrous and joyous that your hearts will burst with
pride!
The vision of Karsus begins to flicker and swell before
your eyes, but you doubt the Archwizard has any idea
what is happening to his body; his thoughts and energies
are focused elsewhere. With a wave of his hand, the
mythallar carried by the Lichlords army explodes, sending a cascade of blue fire and ash everywhere.
As the Lichlords source of power explodes, there is a
numbing surge of electricity that sends chills down your
spine. Your vision of Karsus suddenly winks out, and you
hear the Archwizards scream fill your minds.
If the characters are in hand-to-hand combat with the
zombies, they are bathed in the intense heat. They must
save vs. death magic or suffer a loss of 1d4 levels each.
Whether they save or not, they suffer 4d6 points of magical
fire damage.
At this point, all magic upon Faern ceases to exist.
Spells wink out, magical items lose their enchantments,
and quasimagical items are rendered forever inert. Even
creatures that normally require magical weapons to be hit
are affected by normal weapons.
When the cascade of blue fire clears, the players see that
all of the undead have been turned to ashexcept the
Lichlord. Stumbling through the landscape in a daze, the
Lichlord begins to run away from the heroes.
The Lichlord has lost half of his hit points and can only
move half as fast as human (Movement Rate 6) under the
best circumstances. Without his spells and magical abilities to help him, he has more to lose than to gain by challenging the player-characters. And if he dies now, his phylactery wont do him any good (his spirit wont be able to
go from his ruined form to another; hell be dead forever).
For the next five rounds, the player-characters have a
chance to destroy the Lichlord forever. Its going to be a
straight melee combat, with the Lichlord reduced to striking physically with his bone-chilling touch (which still
works because his tie to the Negative Material Plane
remains intact). If the Lichlord survives for five rounds, he
regains the use of his spells and fear aura and teleports
away at the earliest possible opportunity.
Epilogue
With the heroes standing among the charred ashes of the
Lichlords army, a great calm descends over the battlefield.
Everyone gets the feeling that something significant has
just happened. Priests lose contact with their gods, all
spellcasting is impossible, and quasimagical items are rendered inert. Character abilities are likewise altered.
Classes
From the moment Netheril falls, the rules that allowed Netheril
to rise to such fantastic heights are changed forever For spellcasting classes, these changes are viewed as catastrophic.
Level
1
2
3
4
5
6
Level Title
Rhymer
Lyrist
Sonnateer
Skald
Racaraide
Joungleur
1
1
2
3
3
3
3
40,001
60,001
85,001
110,001
150,001
200,001
400,001
600,001
800,001
1,000,001
1,200,001
1,400,001
1,600,001
1,800,001
2,000,001
2,200,001
3,000,001+
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
Troubador
Minstrel
Muse
Lorist
Bard
Master Bard
Master Bard
Master Bard
Master Bard
Master Bard
Master Bard
Master Bard
Master Bard
Master Bard
Master Bard
Master Bard
Master Bard
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
1
2
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
5
1
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
5
5
1
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
5
College
None (Probationer)
Fochlucan
Fochlucan
Fochlucan
Mac-Fuirmidh
Mac-Fuirmidh
Mac-Fuirmidh
Doss
Doss
Doss
Canaith
Canaith
Canaith
Cli
Cli
Cli
Anstruth
Anstruth
Anstruth
Ollamh
Ollamh
Ollamh
Magna Alumnae
Additional
Languages
Arcanists
Those most responsible for the Fall are stripped of spellcasting ability until they figure out how the Weave works
again. This time period is a base of 30 days, modified by
their Intelligence score. Thus, an arcanist with 18
Intelligence requires 12 days of hard work to figure out
how the weave has been changed by Mystra.
During this time, the arcanist struggles to rework his
spell book, memorize the arcane runes required to cast
spells, and generally re-orient himself with the magical
world around him.
Arcanists also change the name of their profession to
match that of the elves, and they begin calling themselves
mages. This was brought about by the intense hatred many
arcanists faced after the Fall by those who blamed them
for the catastrophe.
Arcanists now use the spell memorization tables as listed
in the Players Handbook. While there are still no damage
caps on spells, 10th-level and higher magic no longer exists.
Arcanist spells merge together to become mage spells;
specialization in a particular school of magic doesnt exist
until the Time of Troubles.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Charm
Percentage
15%
20%
22%
24%
30%
32%
34%
40%
42%
44%
50%
53%
56%
60%
63%
66%
70%
73%
76%
80%
84%
88%
95%
Legend
Lore
0%
5%
7%
10%
13%
16%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
55%
60%
65%
70%
75%
80%
85%
90%
95%
99%
Priests
Priests immediately lose all of their special abilities, the
gods having removed specialty priests granted powers.
Until the Time of Troubles, only clerics and druids walk the
land (though specialty priests begin to emerge about 30
years before that time). Quest spells are likewise stripped
from priests.
The priests of former Netheril begin to pray for spells
each morning, but the lengthy relearning process that
arcanists face requires but a single week for priests, who
are guided by their god. After that week, clerics of Netheril
discover that they have access to only the Transcendent
Winds; druids have access to only the Terrestrial Winds.
Clerics and druids advance as detailed in the Players
Handbook, memorizing spells and gaining bonus spells for
high Wisdom as detailed.
The priests of Netheril are the ones responsible for
telling the people the truth behind what happened to the
empire. While the arcanists tried to hide from the public
view, priests were there to tend to the survivors both physically and emotionally. The dedication of the priests paid
off in terms of magnificent temples and a healthy following
for their gods.
Rogues
Thieves mostly celebrated after the Fall, grateful that the
powerful archwizards had been removed from power. They
migrated south with the other survivors, blending into the
new civilizations that formed in the wake of Netheril.
Of course, there were a great many enemies that survived the Fall, and assassins were hired from the ranks of
the thieves guilds to perform these dark deeds. Soon, the
assassins had a guild of their own.
The reformation of the bards after the Fall of Netheril
nearly destroyed the profession. Bards left their dependence on wizard spells behind, instead opting to learn a
bit about everything. They became fighters (until 5th level
or so) and then became thieves, remaining so until they
had achieved at least 5th level in their new class. Finally,
they left thievery behind to study with the druids, gaining
druid spells as they advanced.
Player-character bards who survived the Fall advance
as detailed below, but they gain druid spells instead of
mage spells.
Bards begin as Rhymers, but they dont gain any hit
points for achieving first level. Instead, they use the hit
points they acquired as a fighter and thief. Upon achieving 2nd level, bards get to roll a single six-sided die for hit
points. After achieving 10th level as a bard, they gain one
hit point per level.
Bards also belonged to colleges based on their level.
These colleges served as a matter of great personal
achievement for a bard, and they hardly ever associated
with bards of a lesser college. The exception to this rule
were the Magna Alumnae bards, who freely offered
advice and suggestions to bards of all levels and colleges.
Bards also gained the ability to cast a charm person or
charm monster spell through music. Saving throws apply
(as does magic resistance).
As students of the world, bards learned many languages. Their travels frequently brought them into contact with many races and different cultures, and those
that learned new languages brought back the information
and passed it along to others. As a bard advanced in level,
he learned these languages.
The final ability that bards gained was legend lore, the
ability to know something about an item from merely
handling it. This worked exactly like the wizard spell of
the same name.
The chart below details the colleges, charm percentage, bonus languages, and legend lore percent as the bard
advances in level.
Warriors
Fighters, rangers, and paladins were mostly responsible
for Netherils survival. Gathering the people together,
these brave souls led them through the Wildlands to the
more tame lands of the south. Still, rangers and paladins
were affected by the restructuring of magic.
Paladins benefited a great deal from the change in
magic, being allowed to cast any cleric (Transcendent
Wind) spell available to them after they achieved 9th
level. Like clerics, they were required to pray each morning to have their spells bestowed to them.
Paladin
Level
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20*
Casting
Level
1
2
1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
1
1
1
1
2
3
3
3
1
1
1
1
2
3
Paladin Casting
Level
Level
1
9
2
10
11
3
4
12
13
5
6
14
15
7
8
16
9
17
10
18
11
19
20*
12
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
1
1
1
1
2
3
3
3
1
1
1
1
2
3
Spell Names
Mages quickly tried to forget about the arcanists of
Netheril, dropping their names from spells and magical
items. Noanars fireball became known simply as fireball,
and other name spells suffered a similar fate. This made
room for a new class of mages to make their mark upon the
world, including such notables as Tenser, Bigby, Elminster,
the Simbul, Khelben, Mordenkainen, and others.
Where to?
Where the player-characters go from here is largely a matter
of personal preference. If they travel north into the heart of
the empire, they run across battered refugees fleeing south.
Many of the survivors are running from bloodthirsty tribes
of orcs that are preying upon them during their flight.
To the east, the elves of Cormanthyr offer a brief, unwelcome refuge for the survivors. Arcanists unknown to the
elves receive a bitterly cold welcome (with some downright hostility in some cases), while those who are friends
of the elves are received slightly better. After all, the elves
arent happy about the changes brought about by Karsuss
arrogance either.
West of Netheril is the Savage Frontier. Some floating
cities, which never really considered themselves part of
the empire, fell to the ground there as well. Many of the
survivors chose to build small communities instead of
migrate with the other Netherese survivors.
Since the player-characters are already in the south,
waiting for survivors to arrive takes around two weeks.
From there, the survivors split to form the countries of
Anauria, Asram, and Hlondath. Of course, it will take
strong leaders to bring the people together again (and
those nations have their own fates that a wise and just
ruler has to deal with).
55
New Spell
As terrifying and powerful as high-level spells are,
much of the true research in spellcasting occurs at
lower levels, at a depth in the weave that a
common spellcaster can achieve.
These are also the spells that the
common people talked about
with more spirit, having witnessed their effects from time
to time in arenas, schools of
magic, or happenstance.
Chevic's Tracer
(Divination/Alteration)
Level: 4
Field: Mentalism
Range: Touch
Components: V, M
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 7
Area of Effect: One Person
Saving Throw: Neg.
The tracer spell was designed by a bounty-hunting arcanist who was tired of running into a mark
and having them escape at the last second, only to
have to hunt them down again. The spell he
designed allowed him to spot a target and place a
dweomer on the victim. Once the tracer was set,
Chevic was able to teleport to within 10 feet of the
victim in order to try and bring the criminal in to
face justice.
Up to one tracer can be placed on victim for
every five levels of the spell caster. By simply willing it, the arcanist is able to break the tracer, freeing up a spell for yet another bounty target. The
spell requires vocal components as well as a cube
of lodestone.
New Equipment
A few pieces of equipment in the adventure are oneof-a-kind items, while the remaining were known to
be in wide use throughout Netheril. Unless
otherwise noted in the items description, all of these magical items operated at 12th level of ability.
Consumption
Armor
This armor can be of any type,
from plate to leather. When
its used in defense against
normal, nonmagical attacks,
treat consumption armor as
normal armor. When it defends
against magical attacks, however,
its true nature becomes apparent.
When a magical attack strikes the
user of this armor, the armor gains the ability to ward later damage. For each level of spell cast
at the wearer, the armor stores one point of physical
damage. The user still suffers normal damage from
the magical attack, however (standard saving
throws apply).
For instance, a Noanars fireball cast at the user
of the armor stores three hit points of damage. If an
orc later causes 5 hit points of damage with a club,
the damage is reduced to 2 hit points. If only 2 hit
points of damage was inflicted, the wearer wouldnt
suffer any damage.
The amount of damage that consumption armor
can absorb and the length of time that the damage
can be stored is based upon the level of its creator.
Armor can absorb up to one points worth of damage
per level of its creator, holding it for a number of
days equal to one-third its creators level. Some commonly found sets of armor appear below:
Armor
Absorption Storage
%
Points
Time
Roll Type
15
5 days
01-20 Banded mail +2
15
21-30 Leather +3
5 days
18
6 days
31-35 Chain mail +3
20
36-42 Plate mail +1
6 days
24
8 days
43-45 Plate mail +3
15
5 days
46-52 Scale mail +2
15
5 days
52-60 Ring mail +2
24
8 days
61-70 Leather +4
5 days
7 1 - 7 7 S t u d d e d l e a t h e r + 3 15
7 8 - 8 5 B a n d e d m a i l + 3 21
7 days
21
7 days
86-92 Scale mail +3
24
93-97 Chain mail +4
8 days
21
98-99 Any available +4
7 days
40
13 days
0 0 Plate mail +5
Once the armors absorption capabilities are reached, it
affords its wearer no further protection.
Deflector
Anointuss shield, Deflector, is a beautifully restored body
shield from the earliest days of Netheril. Many antique
dealers believe the shield was forged in the year 14 NY, but
art and weapon collectors believe the date to be about 20
years later.
Deflector has a small engraving on its lowest point
showing a symbol of a hammer crossed with a sword,
believed to be the sigil of the master craftsman Yryic
Friothyn. Most historians agree that the shield was probably never held by Nether the Elder himself, but by his
son, Nether the Young.
Deflector is the envy of many art, antique, and weapon
collectors. Its surface is engraved with the original sigil of
Nether the Elder, the first king of Netheril. Its believed by
scholars and collectors alike that Nether the Young commissioned the work to have something to instill pride in his
warriors during time of battle.
Deflector has a time-looping effect on it that constantly
returns the shield to its original condition and look. No
amount of tampering, hammering, or slicing has a permanent effect. Within minutes, any gems, studded emblems,
or melee-induced marring disappears, and the original surface shines through.
Due to its incredible history, the shield is a heavily
sought-after item. Many collectors have sent scores of
mercenaries looking for Deflector, and many have succeeded. At least 17 collectors (and their heirs) have held
the shield in their collections, only to be stolen by lecherous peddlers and craven warriors (usually at the expense
of the previous owners life). Anointus gained ownership
of the shield when he was on his first adventuring tour
with his father, who was a prized ranger in Ioulaums
court. His father was commissioned by the Father of
Netheril to take a group of businessmen who desired a
prized piece of property in Ioulaum.
Where Deflector ended up after the fall of Netheril is
unknown. Anointus was killed shortly before the Fall, and
the whereabouts of all his gear is unknown. Its believed
Edie's Cloak
A gift from Edies teacher, Ioulaum, this cloak was a magical item that continued to gain power as it aged. When
she first received it, the magic in the cloak was a simple
cloak of displacement. Since its creation, Edies cloak has
gained the following powers:
Acts as a ring of spell storing
It has seven permanent Undines extra portal pockets
scattered throughout the inside of the cloak.
It acts as an elemental compass
The wearer is rendered invisible to those who are
invisible, displaced, or planar (ethereal and astral).
Twelve weapons of small size, six medium weapons,
four large weapons, or any combination thereof, can be
hidden away in the sleeves of the cloak. (Use the following guide to determine if theres room in the cloak: 1
large=3 small; 1 medium=2 small.) All hidden objects cannot be discovered by a casual search.
Acts as a lens of charming
Whenever death magic (magic that could cause
instant death) is used against the wearer, theres a
chance that an ability score is raised (assuming the
wearer survives the death magic attack). Roll 1d6 to
determine which ability is affected (1=Cha, 2=Con,
3=Dex, 4=Int, 5=Str, and 6=Wis). Once the ability is
determined, the wearer must roll a 1d20 against the ability score. If the die roll is greater than the ability score,
the score is raised one point. (No score can be raised
above 19 in this manner.)
Floating Bubble
Floating bubbles are a common way to transfer objects or
living beings from one location to another. When they
were originally made, each one, depending upon the purpose it served, had a different opaque color. For instance,
chocolate floating bubbles carried precious cargo, and
both fuchsia and walnut held animals. When thieves discovered the color schemes, they took advantage of this
knowledge and often chased the bubbles downoften
for hoursin order to capture the cargo (or release it in
the case of transported prisoners). Floating bubbles alter
their size to the cargo they carry (theyre all perfectly
spherical).
When thieves began stealing transit cargo, the bubbles
were improved, given better speed and evasive capabilities (all this is taken into account with Movement Rates,
Hit Points, and Armor Class).
The first table below depicts the original meaning of
the colors. This information, however, is effectively useless after 2107 NY when the color scheme was given up
and random colors attached to each bubble.
The second table shows the changes and improvements
made on the floating bubbles throughout Netherils history. This information should be given to players using
characters created specifically for the Netheril setting.
1d8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Color
Almond
Chocolate
Cobalt
Ebony
Fuchsia
Iris
Raspberry
Walnut
Purpose
Personnel transportation
Precious cargo
Nonperishable products
Prisoners
Animals (horses)
Perishable products
Nonprecious cargoes
Animals (food)
Year (NY) HP AC
2068-2107
5
7
2108-2574
15
2575-2980
30
2981-3166
50
3167-3520
75
Special
MV 12; Moves directly
toward target.
MV 12; +1 AC
bonus vs. bludgeoning.
MV 15; +2 AC
bonus vs. bludgeoning;
+1 vs. spell saves.
MS 18; +2 AC
bonus vs. bludgeoning;
+1 AC vs. slashing and stabbing
weapons; +2 vs. spell and
rod/staff/wand saves.
MV 21; immune to nonmagical
attacks; +3 bonus vs. all
magic-related saving throws.
Poison
312.3512
Adelaines
Causkrys
Centipoison
Delabonna
Evileac
K-Juice
Krysalis
Mercurine
Number 17
Paralye
Plaguerrilla
Primer, The
Taintake
Toxingest
Venom 12c
X-Venom
Method
contact
ingest
contact
inject
ingest
contact
inject
inject
ingest
contact
contact
inject
contact
inject
ingest
contact
inject
Onset
1d3 hrs
2d6 hrs
1d4 min
2d6 min
1d4 hrs
2d12 hrs
Immediate
1d4+1min
2d6 min
2d4 min
1 min
10d3 min
2 min
Immediate
1d4 min
2d4 min
1d2 min
Fail
Debil
2d10
2d8
Debil
20
Paraly
Death
25
50
Para
Death
Debil
Death
Death
Death
Paraly
40
Save
20
1d10
2d4
30
10
Debil
20
10
25
Nil
25
Nil
30
15
20
Debil
2d12
Neth Tattoo
Designed in 3150 NY and perfected in 3490 NY, the Neth
tattoo is a magically inscribed drawing. Usually placed on
the forearms or the exposed flesh of the neck, chest, or
legs, the tattoo is designed to release a magical effect at
the will of the wearer. Only a few documented instances
show the use of a Neth tattoo, so the complete process is
a relatively secretive one, though its known that several
archwizards and many other high-level arcanists (as well
as their trusted friends) used them.
When a Neth tattoo is placed on the skin, it takes the
form of a moving shape desired by the recipient. Often,
the shape seems bathed in mist, making it appear as a
noncorporeal silhouette. As the tattoo is inscribed, additional spellcasting is done in order to give the tattoo life
and power; any arcanist spell can be inlaid into the tattoo.
To release the spell effect, the recipient simply activates
it by mental command, and points at a target with his
eyes.
Up to one Neth tattoo can be safely placed on a body
per two points of Constitution. The magic thats inherently active in the tattoo can cause great physical stress
should more be attempted, requiring a Constitution check
(modified as a penalty by the number of tattoos placed on
the body). If this check fails, the spell effect contained in
the Neth tattoo is immediately released.
Skull of Quietusmagia: This is a protective enchantment that disables magic that touches the flesh (or enters
the body) of the one emblazoned with this Neth tattoo.
For instance, enchanted weapons (blessed or cursed)
lose their bonuses when used against one with this tattoo.
Personal-effect spells and effects are rendered impotent
against the character possessing this rune. Each quietusmagia tattoo placed on the body renders the character
immune to magic for one hour. The tattoo is activated
when the wearer is attacked by a magic effect, and the
one-hour-long protection begins at that time. If more than
one quietusmagia is tattooed on the body, only one activates at a time. Note that magical healing, invisibility,
and similar effects arent possible while protected by this
rune, so its ownership is somewhat of a mixed blessing.
Any tattoo placed on a creature exacts its price, however, permanently reducing that creatures Constitution
score by one. The procedure for placing a tattoo requires
1d4 hours plus one hour per spell level.
Protector
Separator
Anointuss weapon is an axe-headed polearm standing 6
in length. The head is forged from pure adamantine,
given to him as a gift from the dwarves at Delzoun in
appreciation for his work in an assault by fiends in the
year 3500 NY. Enchanted by an archwizard (some believe
this friend was none other than Lady Polaris herself), its
a true magical item, as opposed to being quasimagically
bewitched. Being a +2/+3/+5 weapon, the polearm grants
a +5 attack and damage bonus vs. gated or summoned
creatures, +3 vs. evilly aligned targets, and +2 vs. all other
nongood targets.
The polearm is not intelligent, but it possesses the ability to perceive the emotions of the wielder (used to prepare itself), granting the possessor a +2 Initiative modifier in the first round of combat (so long as the opponent is
nongood). By mental command, while the shaft of the
weapon is in direct contact with skin, the wielder can
have Separator empathically perceive the emotions of
any one target and transmit the results to the owner. Only
one target can be chosen in any round, and only five such
readings can be done in an hours time.
Twinrazor
This is a +3 bastard sword that can easily be wielded one
handed due to its near-weightless properties. When the
sword is brandished before a battle and before it draws
its first blood, it leaves long, drawn-out traces of light and
releases a terrifying tone requiring all who oppose the
wielder to make a saving throw vs. spell or run in fear for
1d4+2 rounds.
Twinrazor has the following additional powers: it
allows the wielder to attack first in every round (as a
scimitar of speed) and allows the wielder to call upon a
haste spell once per day.
Warmthstone
The warmthstone is a three-inch-diameter rock created
by an unknown arcanist about 150 years before the Fall.
The warmthstone creates the heat of a medium-sized
campfire when activated by voice command for as long as
its in use. It creates no light, though infravision detects
the rocks presence. When deactivated, the stone immediately disperses all of its heat and its owner can safely pick
it up and place it in a pack. The stone weights three
pounds, comes in any natural stone color, and is generally flat on one end to keep the warmthstone from rolling
about.
Rumors
After the Fall
Characters who seek to continue adventuring in the remnants of Netheril can continue exploring the fragments of
that society. Many of the rumors and fears of the survivors are unfounded, the product of nightmares brought
on by long days and nights of worrying for ones own survival as the survivors of the Fall set up new kingdoms.
An arcanist from one of the old enclaves was working on a completely new style of magic before the Fall
and is in the process of setting up a brand new enclave
with it. The source of the magical power will be even
more potent than a mythallar, allowing quasimagical
items to function at ten times the distances of before,
This arcanist is planning to create the most massive
enclave Netheril has ever seen and rule the entire nation
from it.
The DM can use this hook in one of several ways. The
information could actually be true, and the arcanist might
hire groups of adventures to spread the word and encourage the people of Netheril to flock to him and return to
the life they knew and loved. The arcanist might also
need protection from rival arcanists who want the secrets
of this new form of magic, or from the phaerimm, who
obviously do not want to see the arcanists get back into
power.
Alternatively, the arcanist might be particularly
unpleasant and has hired thugs to act as press gangs and
force citizens to join this new enclave. The heroes then
might be urged to protect the common folk from these
thugs. Other arcanists might hire the PCs to help them
steal the new magic or to destroy it.
If the information is only a rumor, there is still quite a bit
of chaos that will certainly ensue, and the characters might
get caught up in something of a range war between former arcanists who each think their rivals have this new
magic. The phaerimm might show up en mass and begin
seeking out this new form of magic by whatever means
they deem necessary. In fact, one of the rumors might be
that this new type of magic is so radically different that it
is undetectable by the phaerimm. This would certainly
cause that race to take drastic action.
Netherese Zombie
CLIMATE/TERRAIN:
FREQUENCY:
ORGANIZATION:
ACTIVITY CYCLE:
D IET :
INTELLIGENCE:
TREASURE:
ALIGNMENT:
NO. APPEARING
Any
Rare
Nil
Any
Nil
Avg (8-10)
Nil
Neutral evil
2d8
ARMOR CLASS:
M OVEMENT :
HIT DICE:
THAC0:
NO. OF ATTACKS:
DAMAGE/ATTACK:
SPELL A TTACKS :
SPECIAL DEFENSES:
MAGIC R ESISTANCE:
S IZE :
MORALE:
XP VALUE:
6
9
6
15
2
2d4/2d4
Raise dead, control undead
Spell immunities
Nil
M (6 tall)
Special
650
Netherese zombies are undead creatures resembling normal zombies that move about the surface of Netheril on
various errands for their master, the Lichlord. While a few
of these creatures are independent of their creator, most
are known to serve the Lichlord in one manner or another.
These undead are frequently encountered wearing the
same clothing as they did in life. Its not uncommon for
Neth zombies to be wearing fine robes and jewelry, death
shrouds, or other clothing that they happened to be wearing before they were converted into undeath.
Theres a sparkling of intelligence in a Netherese zombiethe last vestige of humanity left in its body. Each
zombie speaks whatever languages it knew in life (typically common) and also communicates telepathically with
the Lichlord.
Combat: Neth zombies typically attack in force, seeking
to overwhelm any opposition quickly. While a few servants
of the Lichlord have been known to hurl daggers or flaming oil, most Neth zombies prefer the direct approach.
Once a direct attack fails, however, the Lichlord is quick to
inform other bands of his zombies to attack with ranged
weapons, wait until night to attack, or simply ambush
opponents. Netherese zombies are turned as spectres and
attack during their normal Initiative (they dont always
attack last in a round).
While engaged in melee, these zombies seek to pummel
or claw their opponents to the ground. The Neth zombie
that defeats an opponent can then choose to raise dead on
that creature, transforming him into a Netherese zombie in
1d4 turns. As the transformation comes to fruition, the skin
slowly turns a pale white, fingernails become sharp, and
the eyes sink in a bit.
Netherese Zombie 63