M1 - Into The Maelstrom
M1 - Into The Maelstrom
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
Dungeon Master Background .................................... 2
Raising a Fleet .................................... 3
Monster & Ran ................................. 3
The Sea Machine . . . . . . ...................... 4
Chapter 1: INTO THE MAELSTROM
Encounter Setting .................................. 5
Immortals' Goals . . ............................... 5
Encounter Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............... 5
Aftermath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .............. 7
Editor: Anne Gray McCready Chapter 2: FLIGHT TO THE STAR KINGDOMS
Cover Artist: Jeff Easley Encounter Setting ............................. 8
Interior Artist: Valerie Valusek Immortals' Goals . . . . . . . . . . ................ 8
Cartographer: Dave LaForce Properties of this World .....................
Typography: Betty Elmore EncounterKey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Immortals' Interventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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AELSTROM
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DM Map 3: Star Kingdoms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
DM M a p 4: The Final Battle? . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DM M a p 5: Alphaks' Mountain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DM M a p 6: Flight to the Star Kingdoms . . . . . . . . . . .
DM M a p 7: The Great Sea Spiral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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................................................... 30
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Random Encounters Chart . . . . . .~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sea Machine Combat Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dimensional Guide to the
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Players' Map: Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . outsidecover
2
INTRODUCTION
Raising a Fleet
King Ericall of Norwold decided to attack
Qeodhar and ordered troops and fleets to
assemble. The player characters are sum-
moned to the Royal Court of Norwold, in the
citadel of Alpha. They are to join the fleet,
either as heroes or as commanders, and sail to
the Barony of Qeodhar. Their mission is to
invade the barony and bring Norlan back to
Norwold, dead or alive. Inform the players of
the king’s suspicions about Norlan’s motives
and the council’s fears of war with either
Thyatis or Alphatia. I f the mission is success-
ful, the party and N P C commanders (if any)
are promised a generous monetary reward as
well as some nobility concessions. This is up
to the D M , according to the campaign.
Once a war fleet is raised and the PCs fully
prepare for war, go to Chapter 1 and start the
adventure.
I f the adventure is to be part of a cam-
paign, player characters could already be
rulers of dominions. They are welcome to use
their characters’ land and naval forces, how-
ever, make sure the players’ fleets are of suf-
ficient strengths for this adventure. Since this
expedition takes (game) months, if not years,
to complete, expect casualties and attrition.
Therefore, the following minimums are
advised from the beginning:
MAP KEY Ltl Mountains Lake
Army: at least 4,000 men able to fight (troop Scak: 1 hex = 150miks
class = fair or better, for a total of 8,000 Marshes -nuin Pass
levels or HD o f creatures).
Fleet: any fleet able to transport the army k.cl River lolw
(and mounts if any). Galleys equipped commanders may gather on a flag ship. cargo capacity and speed. It transports either
with ramming devices and artillery are Once the party’s fleet leaves its port, the troops, mounts, supplies, weapons, pris-
desirable. fleets cannot be added to or modified. oners, or treasure.
Destroyed ships that legitimately beiong to a
I f the party is low-level or has few in fleets P C may not be replaced by a prerolled fleet
and armies, feel free to use prerolled charac- once the adventure has started. Monster and Random
ters as NPCs, or some of the fleets suggested Prerolled Fleets: Fleet 1 is a multipurpose
in the Prerolled Characters section, to sup- force. Fleet 2 is a major task force which pri-
Encounter Tables
plement the party’s forces. mary use is offensive. It should be supported Whenever a specific creature is mentioned
I f the PCs have no fleet at all, they may be by a convoy containing supplies for the troop in the adventure, refer to the tables appearing
appointed commanders of the prerolled fleet, if the fleet leaves for a long campaign. Fleet 3 on the inside of the adventure cover. Random
or act as heroes, with no military authority. is a less disciplined invasion force. However, Encounters are also located on the outside
Assign one squadron to each player character it can be used independently on land or at cover. Each column on this table corresponds
that chooses to be a commander. Appoint sea, since the crew can act either as sailors or to a chapter of the aidventure. The chances
extra players as deputy commanders. The fighting troops. Fleet 4 is a convoy type, with and frequencies of Random Encounters are
less offensive or defensive power, but more explained at the beginning of each section.
3
The: Sea Machine p. rowers are seamen (not slaves, or con- are affected in its own force. Repeat procedure i
Many naval Ebattles may occur during this adven- demned prisoners) fleet A has Ship Damagr: as well. Unallocated Hul
ture. Run then1 according to the War Machine
Penalty (reduce BFR instead, if): Points of damage are ignored. For purposes o
rules, but with tlhe following modifications: q. rowers* are less than 1/2 their original combat, damaged ships are considered lost witf
A fleet is compcised of ships, sailors, rowers, and
numbers their passengers.
marine mops. The role of the ships, aside from r. sailors* are less than 1/2 their original Step 6: The winner captures up to 1/4of thc
beiig a transpont, is to carry artillery, or devices able numbers opponent’s lost ships; their passengers take 50%
( * ) Cannot use rowers if reduced to less than 1/4 casualties and surrender. To keep a seized ship
to sink other ships. Sailors do not normally fight,
their original numbers. A ship cannot use its the winner must dispatch a minimum of 12 sail
except to defend their vessel against boarding; as far
sails if sailors are reduced to less than 7 /4of their ors and/or marines to maintain order on board
as this adventure 11sconcerned, rowers never fight
numbers. Otherwise, the winner must either free 01
(unless they are seamen). Marines board and seize
enemy ships, or Idisembark to attack land objectives. step 4: Make an average of both BR s (by add- destroy the captured ship.
Different battlr. ratings should be determined ing both and dividing by two). The total indi- step 7: Determine Extra Casualties for thc
to evaluate thc: lull power of ships and their cates the final FLEET BR. Then determine troops (marines, sailors, rowers) on undamagec
troops. The folllowing steps are suggested to get separate combat modifiers for the fighting ships. Extra Casualties are evenly applied to each
an acceptablem r esult. troops and the fleet. type of troop, rounded down.
For troops: base the ratio on the marines’ total Step 8: Determine Fatigue effects on
Step 1: Deitermine the marines’ Battle Rat- HD or levels rather than the number of creatures. marines, sailors, and rowers. Two consecutivc
ing (BR) in each force. “M” results are equivalent to a “Seriously
For the shipdsailors, determine the ratio from
Step 2:Determine the sailors’ Basic Force the total number of H P involved in each force Fatigued” status. An “S” result for a fleei
Rating (BFR), ignoring Equipment and Special halves the galleys’ oar speed.
(the sailors/rowersare then considered as part of
Troop Factors. Ignore rowers, unless they are The losing force always withdraws. N o winnei
the ship).
not needed to coritrol the ship and able to fight. should ever suffer more than twice the loser’:
Make an average of both combat modifiers
Determine the total Hull Points (HP) of each destroyed HF. Seized ships are not considered
(as above) and add it to the fleethroop BR.
type of ship in i he fleets. damaged. Ignore excess H P of damage.
Resolve the combat with normal War Machine
step 3: De%ermine the ships’ BR, starting rules, using instead the table below.
Likewise, the loser should never suffer more
from the sailors I3FR (see step 2). Use the modifiers than 10 times the winner’s H P of damage. Thir
below. Each tirne a condition applies, add one Naval Combat Result Table is to limit the effects of a suicidal attack from aL
tenth of the origind BFR as a bonus. small Elite force.
Ship Extra
Galleys: Difference Damace Casualties Fatigue
Y
Recovering Losses
a. if20% of fleet’s total Hull Points are gal- WL WL WL
leys 1-8 0:5% - N:N The winning force (or one remaining in the
b. if50% of fleet’s total H P are galleys 9-15 O:lO% - N:N area after battle) may recover up to 1/3its dam-
c. if80% of fleet’s total H P are galleys 16-24 5%:15% O:lO% N:M aged H P or troop casualties (wounded, uncon-
Artillery: 25-30 5%:20% 0:20% N:M scious, or disorganized troops, men at sea).
d. if 20% of vessels have artillery 31-38 5%:25% 1/2X:20% M:S Recovery of Iships is cletermined in HP rathei
e. if50% of vessels have artillery 39-50 10%:30% 1/2X:30% M:S than in number of ships.
Ramming Dev ice: 51-63 10%:35% X:40% N:NF Recovered ships are treated as 10 Hull-Poini
f. if20% of\iessels have a ramming or crush- 64-80 15%:40% 0:30% N:NF wrecks (out-of-combat) until repaired in port.
ing device 81-90 15%:50% X:50% N:MF Those ships must be the type of vessels sunk durins
g. if50% of.vessels have a ramming or crush- 91-100 20 % :60% X:60% M:MF battle. If the amount of recoverable H P is insuffi-
ing device 101-120 20 % :70% 1/2X:50% M:SF cient to allow one ship to be salvaged (at full HF
Magical: 121-150 25%:80% 0:30% N:SF strength), then the ship cannot be recovered.
h. if1% offlleet’s total Hull Points are magi- 151 + 25%:90% 1/2X:70% N:SU The characters have a chance to hire some pris
cally enchlanted oners into their own fleet. For each UOUD of 5C)
i. if 20% of fleet’s total H P are magically W Winner, L : Loser prisoners of Chaotic or Neutral alignment (other
enchanted % = The percent casualties, in H P for ships, in than elite troops or monster types), roll ld20, and
j. if 100% of fleet’s total HP are magically HD or levels for creatures. apply the proposing character’s Charisma bonus/
X, 1/2X = the winner suffers the same amount penalty. With a modified score of 18 or higher, the
enchanted
Flying: or 1/2the loser’s casualties (in HD or levels). moiin
_... of
..r~ -.......ioinc
nrisoners ..... t.
. .-.,.ranks Other-
r nartv’s
h.. -. ~ ~ . ~
N = The force is not fati!p e d .
~
k. if 1% of fleet’s total H P can maneuver in a wise, the part) may freely use them as slave rower:
3-dimensional space* M = The force is moderzitely fatigued. in their galleys.
1. if 20 % of fleet’s total H P can maneuver in a S = The force is seriousl!i fatigued. Ex-prisoners have a 60% chance of deserting ir1
3-dimensional space* F = The force flees to its original port. any port. However, after three months aboard.
m. if 100% of fleet’s total H P can maneuver U = Remaining ships surrender to winner. treat the ex-prisoners as regular sailors/troops.It i:
in a 3-dimensional space* normally not advised to have ships solely mannecI
H o w to U s e the Chiu t by recent ex-prisoners.
(*) Applies to fleets able to fly, move underwater,
or maneuver in another plane.
. .
step 5: Determine the damage the ships
. ..
rUly
A-.. .-:I .L:- ---
---L-.-
.- .
b d l l b l l l p LdIl LUIlldlll LWILC
^^ -2..
l l l d l l y PIIS-
Speed: receive (Ship Damage). Force A chooses what oners as a normal shipload of marines. If desired,
n. if the fleet has an average speed of 150 ft/ types of ships are affected in fleet B, up to the total any ship may contain 5-10extra prisoners in their
round of damaged HP. Ship Damage may be equally bilge. Allow the player characters to hire merce-
0 . if the fleet has an average speed of 300 ft/ divided among different types of ships. Fleet B nary troops and sailors in friendly ports to make up
round chooses which specific ships within the !+en types for their troop casualtiex
4
Encounter Setting The creatures are ancient and huge dragons. return. I f after 24 hours the PCs haven’t
Koryis has magically enchanted them to inspire returned, the ships then set sail to their port.
The party’s fleet leaves one of the ports in I f the party returns home, the King abruptly
absolute panic in anything with 5 HQAevels or
Norwold, sailing northeast. The sky is over- refuses the dragons’ alternative. Once again,
less. I f the party is very powerful, give the
cast and a moderate breeze blows from the the fog rises over the land, spreading death and
dragons a 75% Anti-Magic resistance. The
east. A day after their departure, the gray fog panic. The council sends the fleet back, after
dragons’ orders are to stop the fleet and cause it
dissipates as the winds increase. I f the party greatly humiliating the party.
to turn back to its port.
returns to their port, the fog rises again, until I f the PCs are the major rulers o f Norwold,
Seeing the dragons, all the ships with no
the fleet sets sail again to invade Farend, the
PCs on board are 80% likely to sail back they may abdicate now, in which case noth-
major city of Qeodhar. ing happens. Baron Norlan had nothing to do
home (roll percentile dice for each group of 5
For random encounters, use the first with this situation and probably believes that
ships). The others remain under the orders of
column of the Random Encounters table on Norwold’s letter of abdication is a grotesque
their commanders. As long as the three
the inside of cover. Such encounters should farce from one of his younger nobles in
dragons are there, the PCs do not succeed in
occur once per day when the time seems Farend. But the fog in Norwold gets thicker
rallying the fugitives. O n board the PCs’
appropriate. Avoid them if the party’s fleet and deadlier every day. Magic may be used to
ships, the crew attempts to abandon the ships
has already taken heavy damages. (roll 1-2 on ld10) or run into the cargo hold to decide what must be done, and all indications
This section functions as a programmed are that the fleet must sail again.
shamelessly hide in barrels or cratcs (roll 3-6
adventure. Based on what the party manages to At any time the fleet returns to the icebergs,
on ldIO), or remain at their fighting quar-
do, a different sequence of encounters may occur. ters. Make one such check for eaclh uoua of the dragons reappear and attempt to cause the
After each encounter, write down the points allo- V I
5
Chapter 1: INTO THE MAELSTROM
3 . A Sudden Gale
6
Chapter 1: INTO THE MAELSTROM
considered irrecoverable. T h e storm rages Their strategy is to engage one of the party’s 6. The Mouth of Oblivion
until the fleets reach Qeodhar. All men on fleet before it can land on the beach. I f
board are considered “Seriously Fatigued” encounter 2 has been played, then Norlan’s Slowly, the fleet comes to a complete halt
for Sea Machine purposes, but the fleet merchant ships that have escaped their pre- and starts backing up. Crewmen are rush-
moves toward Qeodhar at triple normal vious battle join the galleys. ing about the ship and the rowers’ drums
speed. The fleet ends up 50 miles off the The other coastal hexes of Qeodhar are not increase their beat.
southwest coast of Qeodhar. defended. I f the party decides to attack The sky has turned purple and a frighten-
If all the party’s ships break free of the another hex than Farend, they may disembark ing roar thunders behind you. With horror
storm, run encounter 2, Meeting the Baron. freely and maneuver on land. you realize your vessels are dragged toward
F o r the ships reaching Qeodhar, run The southern side of Qeodhar (four hexes) a huge gaping whirlpool. Your crews raise all
encounter 5, Clash at Farend. The other benefits from a rare micro-climate permitted sails and row at maximum strength. Finally,
ships sailing toward Farend without other by the proximity of high mountains, a warm the ships slowly move out of the colossal cur-
encounters. The fleet at Qeodhar may with- ocean stream coming from the east, and a pro- rents. Butauddenly the sinkhole widens and
draw until the rest of their force arrives. fusion of hot water springs. The northern side moves behind the ships!
of Qeodhar is affected by a semi-permanent Already some vessels begin to circle
Victory Points for Immortals
polar climate. around the gigantic maelstrom. I n an
I f encounter 2 is next, Koryis scores 2
The city is not fortified. A 1,000-man mili- instant, the entire fleet is caught in the swirls
points.
tia (Troop class Fair, level 2 fighters, BR 75) of dark green water. There is great confusion
I f encounter 5 is next, Alphaks scores 3
defends the city, not counting the galleys. See on board. Despite the stunning rumble and
points and Vanya scores 5.
encounter 2 for more information on Norlan. the cold darkness from the deep of the sea, a
I f the fleets are separated, record scores as
vision appears at the bottom of the mael-
above, adding 3 more to Alphaks’.
Attacking Land Objectives strom.. .an opening.. .night, stars, perhaps
Any fleet that does not win an initial attack an escape. But in this moment of terror,
4. The Messenger against a land objective must withdraw, its your shattered minds refuse this insane
surviving troops remaining on board. The vision, and unconsciousness finally prevails.
A dark silhouette materializes before the loser cannot recover troops lost during a failed
bow of your ship. Its face is hidden landing, unless the objective is captured later. Do not allow the party any other alternative
beneath a hood. A low voice rumbles, Once the initial attack against a land target when this encounter is played. Send all the
“You have challenged my heralds, and succeeds, the troops may maneuver normally characters and their forces down into the mael-
now the fate of nations is even more at on the isle. I f there are no defenders in the hex strom at the same time
stake. You have one very special passenger chosen by the attackers, disembarking auto- Vanya opened a huge gate that actually com-
you must never talk about, for that would matically succeeds. municates with another part of this galaxy. She
cause the destruction of your people. For Norlan’s Home Fleet reserves a more glorious fate for her champions
now, there is nothing I may do to prevent 5 Large Galleys: 110 H P each, Artillery Ram in a distant world waiting to be conquered. The
your imminent fate. When the seas below Troop Class: Good Fleet Class: Good maelstrom ends this section. G o to Chapter 2.
and the sky turns purple, beware of the Av. BR: 120 Av. Speed: 120’lround None of the immorteds gain any points here.
Maul of the Storm.” Total Hull Points: 550
Soon after these last words, the shadow Seamen: 950 (1,900 HD) Aftermath
disappears and two marines sound the I f Koryis scores the most points in this section,
alarm at the stern of the ship. Seamen: 50% long bows, AC4, level 2 fight-
ers. Each ship carries 190 seamen, 180 of he heals 50-100% of‘ the marines’ and sailors’
whom are rowing, 10 others acting as sail- casualties. The men are found clinging to debris,
The figure is an image of Koryis. H e has drifting near the party’s ships, in the other world.
ors. They are all able to fight.
just warned the party of their descent into the They do not rememtier what happened.
Troops: Chaotic.
maelstrom (see encounter 6). IfVanya scores the most points, a brave char-
Commander: Baron Norlan; officers on
As the encounter is played out, Mariella (and acter in the party, preferably a fighter of Neutral
board, level 4 fighters.
the Baron, if still alive) disappears from their alignment, is granted a rod of victor)! While the
quarters. They have been taken away by I f Norlan is executed or captured, play PC is unconscious in the maelstrom, the vision
Koryis to hide Norwold’s involvement in this encounter 4, The Messenger. I f the party fails of a beautiful female.warrior appears in a dream
affair. AU memory of this incident is erased to invade the isle, or if Norlan is released and and says, “Thy have done well my hero! Take
from their memories. I f alive, the Baron is mercy shown to his men, play encounter 6, thine reward, and to further my might, bestow
returned to Farend, and Mariella to the impe- The Mouth of Oblivion. its powers in the name of Vanya!” Upon
rial court. waking, the character realizes the rod is solidly
Run encounter 6 next, The Mouth of Victory Points for Immortals
I f encounter 4 is next, Vanya scores 3 strapped to his belt.
Oblivion. Koryis scores 5 points. I f the baron I f Alphaks scores the most points, the party
points.
is dead, Alphaks scores 2 points. does not gain anything and the two other
I f Norlan is released, Koryis scores 6 points.
I f the invasion fails, Alphaks scores 3 points. Immortals reduce their scores by 5 points each.
5. Clash at Farend In case of a tie, nothing happens. Save the
When the PCs’ ships reach Qeodhar, five final total each immortal scored; they are used
large galleys leave port in the hex containing at the end of the adventure for determining the
Farend. They are part of the city defense. Immortal that rewards the party and perhaps
open a way to Immortality.
Chapter 2: FLIGHT TO THE STAR KINGDOMS
Encounter Setting section. Play the intervention when it seems I f the players do not discover how to con-
Use DM M a p 6 for this chapter. The party most appropriate. trol their ship’s course, then they should find
has just crossed Vanya’s maelstrom into this Koryis: may help the party during this various methods in encounter 2, Paradise
area of the galaxy. Once the party finishes adventure if they avoid violence and destruc- Island.
encounter 1, The Ice Storm, the fleet appears tion (see interventions). Otherwise, he
to be floating in the sky, dark and dotted with ignores the PCs. Encounter Key
stars. There is no sea to sail on, nor land Vanya: expects the party to prove their
courage at every opportunity. I f this is the 1. The Ice Storm
below. In fact, they float in the space between
planets but the atmosphere is breathable. case, she might help the party in a different
way (see interventions). When you regain consciousness, the
The party has entered the ancient empire sound of a storm replaces the inhuman
the Alphatians abandoned. Many centuries Alphaks: is worried about the party’s pres-
ence in his ex-empire. H e desires only their roar of the maelstrom. The ships are still
ago, the Alphatians ruled a planet in this spinning, however, a violent storm of ice,
area. However, they were divided into two quickest and most violent destruction. H e
opposes Vanya’s plan to unveil Alph.atia’sori- snow and sleet prevents anyone from
factions affiliated to a specific school of doing anything more than finding cover.
magic. One was based on the Element of Air, gins (and his) to the party (see interventions).
the other, ruled by the Paragon Alphaks,
worshipped the Element of Fire. The fol-
Properties of This World All the water drained through the mael-
strom froze in the cold air of the void. It cre-
lowers of Air once opened a gate to fill this There is no particular gravity in the void, ates an ice storm over the entire fleet. Have
area of space witlh air. It is now enclosed in a except one generated by large masses. Any the players roll a Saving Throw vs. Spells for
huge bubble of breathable air. non-living body of 20,000 cn of weight or each of their ships. Thte ships save as a fighter
Humiliated, Alphaks started a war against more generates an attraction. Anything else of the passenger’s average level. For each sav-
the followers of Air. The schools of Fire and that is not subjected to a gravity floats in the ing throw failed, the ships suffer 30% casual-
Air waged a crippling war that ravaged their dark void, drifting away in the direction of ties because of the storm. Otherwise, the
entire world. About to be destroyed by the solar winds. losses are 10% .
Alphaks’ fire minions, the school of Air fled For Example: Passengers on a ship are The storm lasts for !O minutes before it dis-
the planet shortly before unleashing their last attracted to the deck. Someone jumping from sipates. Only then do the passengers realize
weapon, a spell of utter power that disinte- the top of the mast would crash on the deck they have enrered another world.
grated the planet. It was thought Alphaks below. A ship that lost all its Hull Points
died, but he survived and exiled himself in because of damage collapses from its own grav-
The light has gone. So has the ocean’s
another and even more distant region. ity (wrecks may be recovered). The ships are
madness. Only a frightening silent void
Swearing he would one day revenge, he attracted to larger celestial bodies, such as plan-
remains above and below the ships. In the
betrayed his normal inclination toward the ets or asteroids, unless they use some kind of
dark, some distant stars twinkle, each of a
Sphere of Energy and attained immortality propulsion (special or magical oars, pulling
different color and bme as a full moon of
within the Sphere of Death. As for the surviv- creatures, sails that catch the solar winds,
your homeland. The air is cold and some
ing Alphatians, some of them colonized magic). A human-size creature cannot “swim”
strange wind flutters through the torn
smaller worlds in the area, and the followers away from another large object’s gravity.
remains of the sails.
of Air settled on a quiet and remote world Ships that are not adapted to this environ-
surrounded with an air atmosphere. It is the ment cannot willingly gain or lose altitude,
All the ships had their sails ripped by the
PCs’ world where once again the Alphatians except as a result of attraction. Such adapta-
built their great empire of magic. The most storm, and the galleys are unable to move
tion would include large wings or similar hor-
with their re<guIaroars. The fleet drifts with
powerful secrets of arcane have been lost, but izontal stabilizers. A pulling creature can
the wind and is stranded on the site of
Alphatia remains a fearsome realm by easily help change the altitude of a ship (rocs,
encounter 2, Paradise Island.
human standards. dragons). Artificial wings are easily made
The party must explore this part of the sky from wooden beams and sails. A strong wind
to find their way home. In the process, they or pulling creatures enable ships to propel a
2. Paradise Island
discover information on the three Immortals ship from the surface of an attracting world.
and Alphaks’ goals. Play the various I f the party maneuvers at less than 10,000 In the way of the drifting fleet, a large cir-
encounters in the order given, or as feet from a large celestial body, the ships start cular platform is sig!?ted, floating motion-
instructed at the end of each encounter. Once drifting toward its surface. Magic, strong less. Strangely, a glowing sphere of light
per day check for a random encounter, or winds, or pulling creatures are sufficient to surrounds the entire platform. It appears
when it is the most appropriate. A n main course immediately to avoid a catastro- to be an island covered with a thick forest,
encounter occurs on a score of 1-6 on ld10. phe. I f an unadapted fleet descends to 5,000 and surrounded by several miles of sea. A t
Use the second column of the Random feet of altitude, then the course cannot be the outer rim of the platform, it seems like
Encounters table on the inside cover. reversed and it crashes on the attracting sur- waves are breaking on an invisible beach.
face in 2d4 turns. Any creature less than 6
Immortals’ Goals HD levels automatically dies in the catastro- The first galleys to reach the waves realize
phe and all the ships are destroyt-d. More it is possible to safely navigate on the sea and
Any time a temporal reaches a score of 15
powerful creatures must make a successful tow the other vessels in the direction of the
points (or a multiple of 15), he may intervene
Saving Throw vs. Breath Weapon at -5 or isle. The platform ha:; its own blue sky which
during the party’s adventure. Several types
die. Survivors remain with id10 hp left. obscures the rest of the void. The air near
of interventions are listed at the end of this
8
Chapter 2: FLIGHT TO THE STAR KINGDOMS
the island is warmer and the smell of the for- may start drifting and not answer orders, 20 ships may stay there, while the rest of the
est more evident. their crew intoxicated by the infamous plant. fleet anchors at larger immobile rocks, 800
Some undisciplined crew may even grow feet away from the oufer ring. A rocky ledge
Hundreds of natives wearing loin cloths, some on board and smuggle them throughout leading to the top can be reached from the
colorful robes, Feathers, and flowers run the adventure. creek of the island.
down the beach, waving at the fleet. Mus- By observing the natives’ canoes, the party Before disembarking, the officers on board
cular natives push dozens of large, winged can understand how to modify their ships so remind the PCs of the risk of sending regular
canoes into the water and already, men they are easily controllable in the void. The troops ahead in unknown lands. The party’s
paddle toward the ships, keeping strange long oars of their canoes end with large vege- powers would be more suited to this type of
feathered oars above the water. Younger tal feathers and their sails are made of a action if disastrous consequences such as on
men and women dive into the blue water strong weblike fabric. The feathers grow on the Paradise Island are to be avoided. I f
and swim behind the canoes. trees in the local jungle and the webs are forced to go, the marines show an obvious
Large baskets of fruit and heaps of mul- woven by colonies of small harmless spiders. discontent. None of them return. I f the party
ticolored flowers fill the canoes. None of T h e party discovers those items if they decides to go, a 20-man escort follows them.
the natives bear any visible weapons. explore the land. They are needed to outfit After a few hours of search, the party finds
the fleet so it can leave the island. the mouth of a huge ca.vern. Read the follow-
T h e natives greeting the armada are I f the rest of the island is explored, the ing to the players.
friendly and peaceful. There are 1,500 of party finds large statues on the side of a bare
them on the isle. They throw flowers and gar- hill, representing tall slim men wearing long The cave contains a monster-sized bed,
lands on the ships, offering baskets of fruits robes or armor. Some designs can be found covered with mounds of straw. Every-
(zzonga). on their rings or shields, representing several thing in the cave has gigantic proportions;
Though the natives are friendly and have old Alphatian families’ armorial bearings. forks and knives as big as an arm, a chest
no hostile intentions, they do represent a dan- When the survivors of ancient Alphatia as big as a skiff. A t the opposite side of the
ger for the crews. They are zzonga-eaters. fled, they stopped for a time on this island cave is an empty wooden corral. As you
The zzonga, a large strawberry-like fruit, and left the statues as a monumeni of their observe the area, a flock of huge sheep
robs them of ambition to do anything more passing, and as a navigational sign. The enters the cave, each of them taller than a
demanding than an occasional feast. After natives of the island are descendants of the normal man. Behind them, you can hear
eating zzongas, one forgets all about his prisoners the Alphatians abandoned on the
friends, and becomes content to remain the island before they left.
rest of his days iiving an easy life and nibbling The characters can gain no other informa- T h e chest contains millions of copper
zzongas. tion on this island since the occupants are pieces bearing the face of Alphaks and the
Despite eventual contrary orders, 5d20 oblivious to whatever is happening in their words “Alphatia A b o v e A l l - Emperor
crews sneak away from their ships to enjoy part of the sky. When the fleet leaves, the Alphaks I.”
the pleasures of the isle. They do not return. wind blows in the direction of encounter 3, The cavern belongs to a giant beholder. A
After investigating, the PCs realize what hap- The Isle of the Eye. few moments after the party entered the cave,
pened to them. PCs eating the plant must the creature arrives wirh a large flock of sheep.
make a successful(Saving Throw vs. Poison at Victory Points for Immortals It enters and uses its telekinesis powers to roll a
-6 or suffer the same effects. I f the party attacks the natives, Vanya monumental stone slab in front of the exit. The
I f the characters gave immediate permis- scores 5 points. stone weighs five tons, and is 10 feet thick.
sion to disembark, 63-90% (3d10 + 60) of the I f the party loses more than 30% of their The creature is a 10-foot high gargantuan
sailors, seamen, and marines also become men, Alphaks scores 5 points. beholder. The range of all its magical powers
intoxicated. The party must then order the I f none of the above is applicable, Koryis is multiplied by 5. The beholder can lift up to
rest of the crew to return to the ships and pre- scores 5 points. 50,000 cn with its tekkinesis, and cause 2d6
pare rescue squads to bring the victims back Hull Points of damage with its disintegrating
on board. All the victims must be tied up or 3. The Isle of the Eye stalk, if attacking ships. Otherwise, its other
locked up:Otherwise they try to return to the ~ ~~
powers are unchangetd. The sheep are harm-
island. The rescue parties are able to retrieve less, but are of a gargantuan size as well. The
A huge rock appears in your way, sur-
the following percentage of losses: roll ld6; 1 party has few places to hide, so the creature
rounded by a sphere of light. It seems like
= 50%,2-4 75%,5-6 = lOO%.Add5% quickly discovers them. I f a marine escort is
a dry, rocky asteroid, with some vegeta-
to the result, per conscious P C in the rescue present, the creature raises a soldier and eats
tion in several valleys on the top. A multi-
parties. The remaining victims hide in the him on the spot.
tude of jagged stones ring the rock,
forest and cannot be found. I f the percentage The creature then attacks the rest of the
leaving a narrow ZOO-foot long passage to
is greater than loo%, the extra natives are party, attempting to push each of them into a
a small creek.
prisoners. 20-foot-deep pit. Its telekinesis may lift 2d6
The intoxication lasts ld4 days if the vic- characters per round and drop them into the
The fleet can safely approach the rock only
tims are prevented from eating zzonga fruits. pit. Once all the characters are trapped, the
by flying between the series of jagged stones
However, even if the PCs search all the ves- beholder covers the pit with a large stone.
floating near the rock. Moving at half speed,
sels themselves, some hidden loads of zzonga Every day, at sunrise, the beholder opens the
ld6 ships take ldlO H P of damage before
may remain on board. Occasionally during pit and pulls out ld4 men, choosing marines
they reach the creek. Triple the number of
the course of the adventure, a ship or two or NPCs first for breaefast. The beholder is
damaged ships if moving at full speed. U p to
9
Chapter 2: FLIGHT TQ T H E STAR KINGDOMS
gone for the rest of the day. I f the party finds a 4b. Returning to the Keeper of the
way of out, they are able to return to their these clouds. You have sailed far many Winds
ships. Otherwise, the party may attack the days and you have seen many places.
beholder every time it opens the pit. I f the Honor my abode and rest on my world Whenever the bag of air is opened, which
creature feels it is losing the fight, it attempts until the winds are favorable to your desti- may occur upon Alphaks’ intervention, or
to flee, removing the stone at the entrance. nation.” because of a crew under the influence of
The party is then free to return to the ships. zzonga, all the foul winds escape and blow the
I f the party has not slain the creature, it The keeper, King Leosus, gladly welcomes fleet back directly to this encounter. After
comes to the ledge with three more giant the party’s men on his cloud. H e offers food and understanding the causes that forced the bag
beholders, and attacks the ships at the when the shelter for as long as the party desires to remain opened, Kin: Leosus realizes that the party is
on the cloud. King Leosus has the power to up against powerful immortals. Not wishing
party starts to sail awav from the creek. They do
shape the clouds into large caves, beds, and to get involved, he refuses to do anything
not pursue the party beyond the ring of rocks.
tables. H e befriends the party and tries to help more for the party and asks them to leave the
I f the party escapes, a beholder casts a
them. H e knows some information he reveals cloud at once. King Leosus disappears with
curse spell on the fleet, bestowing upon it the
only if the party asks specific questions. his tower, and the clciuds slowly dissipate.
hatred of its creator, Alphaks. T h e player
1. H e knows that a great empire once ruled From this point, the winds blow the fleet to
characters should hear the contents of the
this area, but since then, they have destroyed any encounter the characters avoided. I f
curse and the name “Alphaks.”
themselves. none were missed, the fleet is blown to
I f all the party’s ships in the creek are
2. H e remembers that Alphaks was their encounter 10, The Great Sea in T h e Sky.
destroyed, the beholders leave, ignoring any
survivors. The bulk of the fleet then sends last emperor, and that his people betrayed
skiffs to retrieve them. When the fleet sets him. H e was utterly evil. Leosus does not 5. The Gentle Giantess
sail, the winds blow to the site of encounter know anything about the beholders. They
4a, The Keeper of the Sky Winds. did not exist at the time of the ,4lphatian Several hundred feet ahead, a large flat
empire. cloud drifts in the sky. Sitting on it, her
Victory Points for Immortals 3. H e belongs to the Sphere of Air, and legs swaying in the void below, is a giant-
I f the party attacked and defeated the first Koryis is his master. Koryis currently is ess, waving at the party’s ships. I f the
beholder, Vanya scores 5 points. involved in some quarrel with other immor- party gets closer, she calls for help.
If the party escapes without losing ships, tals over the fate of another world. If the char-
Koryis scores 5 points. acters describe “ T h e Messenger” (see The creature is a female cloud giant. She and
I f the party lost ships in the creek, and the encounter 4 in Chapter l), he reveals that this IJher brothers are much larger than their nor-
beholders have not been defeated, Alphaks is one of Koryis’ many forms. mal kind so treat thern as gargantuan monsters.
scores 5 points. 4. There is a place across the void which The giantess wears a ring of mind barrier
has the ability to send lost voyagers back to that saved her from Alphaks’ control (see
4a. The Keeper of the Sky Winds their homeland. It seems to be like a dense next encounter). She is a sweet, enjoyable
fog. creature who desires no harm to the party.
I f the party asks for directions to reach this H e r name is Kenatha. She was sleeping near
Across from your path lies a large silver fog, he gives them a large leather bag. It con- the shore of her cloudland when the cloud
cloud blocking the way, hundreds of miles tains all the foul winds that would prevent the broke off and drifted away. When she awoke,
tall and wide. O n the top of the cloud party from returning home. Thus, the wind she found herself alone and lost a long way
stands a large glowing tower. now blowing is the one that finally pushes the from home. She begs the party to tow her
fleet to this far place. Leosus explains that back home. Her father is the King of the
The silver cloud is the land of the Keeper of they are in a distant region, far away from Cloudland and would certainly reward the
the Sky Winds. H e is an immortal lawful crea- their home world if they ask. They have been party if they brought her back. She proposes
ture whose sole fiunction is to control the winds trapped here by the whim of Koryis’ ene- to blow some wind into the party’s sails until
of this part of the sky H e is immune to any mies. Leosus knows nothing more they get to the Cloudland. I f the party
physical or magilcal attacks from the party. I f King Leosus is ever attacked, he disap- accepts, she gives directions to her home.
The characters have no problem reaching pears as well as does his tower, only to return Once there, she invites the party to come
the cloud, anchoring their vessels nearby, and when the party has left. ashore and meet her father. I f the party refuses,
setting foot on the silver swirls. The consist- Along the way, the party may stop in vari- she seems disappointled, but does not prevent
ency of the cloud is soft, but it is possible to ous lands to replenish their food supplies. the party from leaving. Play encounter 7 next.
walk on its surface. Read encounter 4b, and run encounter 5 If the party accepts, they all go to the King’s
When the party reaches the base of the next, The Gentle Giantess. palace deeper into the cloudland. Play
tower, read the following to the players. encounter 6 next.
Victory Points for Immortals
I f the party avoids the cloud, Alphaks Victory Points for Itmmortals
A brass door at the bottom of the tower I f the party abandoned the giantess on her
opens and a man dressed in long white scores 5 points.
I f the party gets the bag of air, Koryis cloud, Alphaks scores 5 points.
robes appears. After studying the party I f the party tows the giantess to the
for a few moments, he raises one hand and scores 5 points.
Vanva scores nothing in this enrounter. cloudlands and then decides to leave immedi-
says, “Welcome to my kingdom, noble ately, Koryis scores 5 points
travelers. I am King Leosus, the master of I f the party decides to follow the giantess to
her father’s palace, ’Vanya scores 5 points.
Chapter 2: FLIGHT TO THE STAR KINGDOMS
6. The Palace of the Cloud Giants 7. The Isle of the Turkeys dering in the forest as turkeys, and she will
turn them back into men as soon as the party
manages to recover them, if she is asked.
Several hundred yards away from your You see the familiar shape of a sky island Meanwhile, the rest of the crew has been
ships, you follow Kenatha as she steps onto a in your path. It is very small, perhaps 10 hunting turkey to resupply their ships. In the
huge stairway leading down into the clouds. miles in diameter at most. The sea sur- absence of the PCs, they have started a great
Thunderous voices echo in the hallway rounding the island extends 50 miles from feast. For each hour the PCs are gone, id10
below, singing and laughing loudly. the beaches. of the missing crew perish as a main course of
Shortly after, you enter a large hall the banquet. The troops may fill the ships
where a dozen o f Kenatha’s mates are The isle is similar to Paradise Island. It is with extra supplies of turkeys or fruit, repair
having a feast. She walks directly to one at inhabited by a powerful magic-user, Kersy, damage, and get some rest.
the center of a long table who is wearing a who polymorphs people into animals, espe- The PCs believe they are permitted to stay
crown. H e raises his hands and asks for cially turkeys. She lives in a cave concealed in Kersy’s cave for as long as they wish. It is a
silence. Kenatha introduces the party. on the flank of a small mountain. small comfortable abode.
If the characters explore the isle, they should
The king suddenly takes a huge fork and not find the cavern right away, however, it Kersy (30th level magic-user): AC 9, h p 60;
tries to spear the fa.ttest looking character. At becomes obvious that there are many turkeys MV 40’ (120’); AT 1 gaze or spell cast-
once, the giants rush the. party, claiming their everywhere on the isle. In the PCs’ absence and ing; D charm + polymorph others, or
share of dessert, as Kenatha hopelessly despite eventual orders to remain on board, spells; Save M U 30; 4 L N; St 9, In 18, Wi
attempts to stop them. several officers disembark with their crew. To 1 7 , Dx 14, C o 14, Ch 19. No magic items
T h e giants in this encounter are gargan- avoid agitation on board, they organize lead or weapons.
tuan cloud giants. They do not listen to teams to get much-needed food, repair wood, If the party stays to let the crews rest, Kersy
Kenatha, their hunger for fresh meat over- and fresh water. Many (5d20) do not come advises them to sail to the Underworld, where
coming their kindness. Their sudden reac- back. The PC’s are informed of the missing they should mert the soul of the ancient monk
tion is caused by Alphaks who is trying to men when they return. Theyraz (or of a missing PC). The soul, wear-
avenge his beholdler sons. Kenatha is not The party may set up a rescue team and ing a long red, hooded robe, tells the party what
affected because of her ring o f mind barrier. leave to find the missing men. If Koryis has a dangers to avoid before they can return to their
The party must fight their way out or defeat sufficient score (15 or more), he may inter- homeland. Kerey tells the characters to do the
the giants, with the help ofKenatha. One dis- vene now (see interventions at the end of this following once they reach the Shrine of Death
pel magic spell frees one giant who ignores section), as the party crosses the forest near (encounters 8a. -8d.):
the party but immediately defends Kenatha the cavern. About an hour from the beach,
against the other giants. they should discover Kersy’s cavern. “Dig a small trench a.nd fill it with liba-
If the party is defeated, captured charac- tions of milk, honey and barley meal.
ters are eaten. The other giants reach the Bring a young ram and a black ewe to the
ships at the moment the fleet tries to evade. rock, a n incredibly beautiful maiden altar. Restrain the other dead spirits from
Each giant has a d’ozen huge harpoons they greets your arrival. She stands and having their share. of the offering, until the
hurl toward the ships. Each successful hit motions you to follow her in. proper spirit arrives.”
inflicts 2-40 (2d20) Hull Points of damage ~
and kills ld20 normal men on board. As they The maiden is Kersy, a temporal in mortal There is a 50% chance that the fleet may
get out of range, the ships may use their artil- form. She is of Neutral alignment, and close have the two animals. If none are available,
lery against the giants. to the Sphere of Earth. Though her mortal Kersy offers to create them, smiling kindly at
If the party wins, Kenatha apologizes for form is one of a 30th level magic-user, she has two marines standing nearby.
her kin’s bad manners. She grabs a handful of special powers she uses when she encounters The party may wait ldlO days more, until
treasure from her father’s pocket and gives it men or humanoid creatures on her domain. a favorable wind blows to the Underworld
to the party. It contains 10,000 pp, a magic If they follow her or not, the visitors must roll gate. If the party reveals their mission to the
sword f 5 , a wand o f negation, a staff o f a Saving Throw vs. Spells at -10 or be charmed. troops or their officers, ithe men refuse to go.
harming, and a large flying carpet. She then A second roll is then necessary since Kersy uses They declare that they will wait one month
escorts the party back to their ship and bids a gaze weapon that polymorphs other crratures. for the party to return on Kersy’s island.
them farewell. R u n encounter i next, The Her gaze can affect any number of creatures Then they will set sail to the mists King
Isle of the Turkeys. looking at her. If a player states his character is Leosus mentioned. However, one small sail
Soon after leaving, it is noticed that the not looking at Kersy, he is not affected. Victims ship with a few men agrees to go to the
food supplies on board are severely depleted, are usually turned into turkeys, howe\rer, she Underworld with the player characters.
some of it because of negligence from careless may choose another form. During the adven-
zzonga-intoxicated crew. Victory Points for Immortals
ture, Kersy can use any spell described in the
rules (one per round). If the party destroys Kersy, Vanya scores 5
Victory Points for Immortals If anyone threatens Kersy with a weapon, points.
If the party defea.ts the giants, Vanya scores she surrenders and promises not to harm If the party hefriends Kersy, Koryis scores
5 points. anyone with the PCs. She restores the charac- 5 points.
If the party flees, abandoning characters If the party lost 40 men or more on this
ters’ original form and offers hospit.Lity to
behind them, Alphaks scores 5 points. island, Alphaks scores 1 point.
the party. She says the missing crew are wan-
Koryis scores nothing in this encounter.
12
Chapter 2: FLIGHT T O T H E STAR KINGDOMS
If the party leaves before Kersy mentions the the party uses the longship beyond the gate, it ~~ ~
journey to the underworld, play encounter 11 moves only 90’hound (sail speed). “Hear me now, my friends, for your path
next, The \Toice of Death. is difficult and many forces oppose your
8c. The Shrine of Death endeavours.
8a-d. Journey to the Underworld “Alphaks has become immortal after
betraying his primary philosophy. H e is
8a. The Black Gate Rising out of the dull black water, a small the one who desires the destruction of
island of dark earth appears. It is no more mankind in your homeland. H e is the one
than 90 feet in diameter. In the middle who plots vengeance against his kin.
Far ahead of your route, a n odd black stands an altar in front of a round pit dug Beware of his wrath, for you have drawn
spot, so dark it appears in the night, rips into the earth. The sides of the pit are cov- upon yourselves his eternal hatred for
the sky open. Small electric blue lightning ered with a glistening black, greasy slime. offending his son, the giant eye.
surrounds the gap. As you get closer, the Stalks ooze up to the outer rim of the pit, “If you survive his desire for your deaths,
wind rises, colder, blowing small stones and crawl back down, releasing a nauseat- you may return to Norwold, alone, in a for-
and dust into the darkness. ing stench of death and decay. eign ship. Do not h a m Vanya’s sheep on
the isle of Tharl. Her revenge would be as
The gate is not directly connected to the If the party arrived with the demon, they awesome as Nphaks’ .”
Sphere of Entropy lbut to an intermediate plane. are stranded on the island and the longship
The party may safely enter or exit the sate. sails away, unless the party attacks and The ghost then heads back to the pit. If a
destroys the demon. cleric uses a raise dead fully or equivalent
8b. The Keeper of the Underworld T h e pit opens directly to the Sphere of spell on the ghost, the undead form is
Death, which explains why the pit isn’t destroyed and the remains of the former mor-
flooded. Anyone touching the slime in the pit tal body appear on the bare earth. The
of your ship as you plunge deeper into this loses one level of experience. Those entering corpse can then be normally raised. If the
world of darkness. About 300 feet in front the Sphere of Death are considered dead. ghost is not one of the PCs, use the following
of your ship appears another ship, a black If the party does what Kersy described, statistics for the NPC.
longship with its sails taken in and its oars various undead creatures appear from the
pit. All of them attempt to drink from the Theyraz (14th level Mystic): AC -4; H D
motionless. 14****; AT 4 fistr‘foot; D 5d6x4; Save
trench unless the party holds them at bay
with their swords. T h e creatures d o not F14; M 10; A L L ; St 14; In 14, Wi 15; Dx
The Keeper of the Underworld, a roaring 17, C o 16; C h 13 No magic items, no
demon (see New Monsters), commands the attack the party, but instead, they try to creep
between the party to reach the blood trench. equipment.
longship and a crew of 80 shadows. The long-
ship remains motionless if the party sails in its O n e h p of damage causes an undead to back When the conversation ends, the presence
direction. If so, the demon says the following: off and hesitate for 2 more rounds. It takes 12 of living men on the island triggers jealousy
rounds for one creature to consume the and hate in the rankls of the undead. The
trench’s contents. If the number of rounds characters must flee or be attacked by l d 4 + 4
plus the number of undead total 6 or more undead, chosen at random. They do not fol-
Leave your ship, for from here, only this
(six undeads during 1 round, or one during 6 low the party beyond 300 feet of the pit. The
black vessel can sail to your destination.” rounds, etc.), the meal is spoiled and the others crawl about the trench to get their
desired spirit does not appear. share of milk and honey.
The demon haa been instructed to trap the The arrival of the desired spirit takes 3d4 If the party is stranded, they must flee or
party in this plant.. T h e demon lies. It tries to rounds during which l d 8 other creatures fight hordes of undeacl pouring from the pit.
convince the PCs to order their ship back to emerge from the pit. The clerics have their The party can flee using the flying carpet (if
the gate. If this happens, it ferries the PCs for normal chances of turning them, however, they acquired it in encounter 6 ) , or spells
1 cp each to Shrine of Death and leaves them none of the undead can be destroyed this way. such as flx teleportation, or gate. The water
stranded. Turned undead simply return to the pit. surrounding the isle is poisonous to touch
If the party attempts to avoid contact with Determine each creature appearing on the (Saving Throw vs. Poison at -5 or die). Oth-
the longship, the demon immediately tries to table below. erwise, either Vanya or Koryis may inter-
intercept them. Whipping its shadows to vene, if they have an intervention left to be
hurry them up, the longship catches up and id20 Creatures Appearing played (see page 21). Either could provide
the demon launches its boarding attack transportation (such iis an undersea boat-
1 Wight
against the party and the sailors. The demon see Companion rules; however it should not
2-3 Wraith
may use slow spell-like powers to affect the be able to submerge in this plane).
4-10 Spectre
crew, and ultimately the PCs during the
11- 13 Phantom (Apparition) Victory Points for Immortals
melee. Its ship is magical and can move at
14-17 Haunt (Ghost) If the party destroyed or neutralized the
200 feet per round in this plane. It is consid-
18-20 Spirit (Revenant) demon, Vanya scores 5 points.
ered to be AC2 and has 200 HP.
If the party destroys the demon, the shadows The soul the characters expect appears as a If the party has no way of leaving the
disappear in the darkness and do not return. Lawful ghost, wearing a long red, hooded robe. Shrine of Death, Alphaks scores 5 points.
The characters can then sail the longship to the It immediately drinks the milk and honey. It If the party can leave on their own and suc-
desired location, and return safely to the gate. If then reveals the following to the party. cessfully raised the body of the lawful ghost,
Koryis scores 5 points.
13
Chapter 2: F L I G H T TO T H E STAR KINGDOMS
Time moves much slower in the under- have no trouble reaching the water and sail- I f the party successfully crosses the wan-
world, compared )tothe prime material plane. ing, toward the center of the spiral. I f the dering rocks, Vanya scores 5 points.
Since the party left Kersy’s island, six months party attempts to sail in the empty space I f the party finally chooses the other way,
have passed. I f ships were waiting at the gate between the flat spiral and the stones, the spi- Koryis scores 5 points.
or on Kersy’s island, they are now gone. Play ral’s current pulls the ships back to the great
encounter 8d next. sea. No amount of magic or wind prevents 11. The Voice of Death
this from occurring.
--
8d. Return to Kersy’s Island I f the party attempts to pass “under” the This encounter occurs in one of the two hexes
sea spiral, the ship hits the liquid surface numbered 11 on “The (Great Spiral Map.”
When the party returns, the winds blow
upside down and sinks through it to reappear
them to Kersy’s island. The PCs discover T h e wind has been dowly dying for one
floating on the other side. Characters cling-
their fleet is gone. Kersy is surprised and full day. The surface of the sea is now as
ing to the ship easily survive, however, the
happy to see the clhararters. She explains that smooth as oil. The heat and the silence are
others must be able to swim to follow the
they have been gone for six months and no more oppressing with every hour.
ship. Heavily armored characters remain
one expected them to return. You have observed strange eddies and
between the two surfaces and drown if not
She offers her hospitality again, for as long as bubbles popping out of the glassy surface.
rescued. Once the party sails on the upper
the party wants to stay During that time, the T h e few bubbles become a multitude
surface of the great spiral, run encounter 11.
party may build a raft or a small sailboat if their when the entire sea around the ship starts
I f the party chooses to cross the crushing
other ship has been destroyed. As time passes, bubbling as though it were boiling.
stones, run encounter 10.
Kersy warns them of dangers lying in their way:
Immortals do not score points during this If the characters listen, they hear strange
“First, you must sail on the great flat sea encounter. notes and voices each time a bubble bursts. The
that lies between here and three small bubbles and the voices .we created by sea hags
kingdoms. Avoidiny the sea is not advised 10. The Wandering Rocks (see Masters Set). The hags’ songs and pleas
since you would face the wandering rocks. reach their maximum intensity when the sea lit-
They exist in most of the breathable space A multitude of jagged rocks floats in the erally boils. Some characters hear voices of their
of this sky. Theiir speed is incredible and dark sky, endlessly filling the void. Occa- King or Koryis if they have already met him,
they kill whatever they hit. sionally, a spherical flaming stone dashes waming them that the sea is an illusion and the
“There is only one area that canbe crossed in between, bumping into another rock only way back home iy to dive into the sea.
to reach the other side. The region is infested and shattering it. Thousands of small Some zzonga-mtoxicated crew could unplug
with monsters. Their singing is deadly and no razor sharp shards then ricochet in all their ears to listen to the songs, causing their
one must listen to their voices. directions, like deadly daggers. own doom and their ship to drift aimlessly.
“Beyond, in a dangerous strait, lurk Any characrer with unplugged ears at that
two horrid monsters. Qne dwells under This region of the void is filled with .asteroids time dives into the water and is dragged down
the water. Keep away from its whirlpool. and small meteorites. I f the party decides to by the hags (no saving throw). The victim is
The other hides in a mountain and always venture through them, they do not have any totally unconscious and unable to fight or cast
attacks by surprise. X o one has ever been difficulties avoiding the motionless asteroids. spells. The creatures devour the victim unless
able to observe any of them, so I cannot However, once every hour, a meteorite is likely he is rescued. PCs with plugged ears may
help you more. to hit the ship (hit roll as fighter level 1, normal attack the sea hags if they find a way to
“Perhaps the people of the three king- ship’s AC) or, if it misses, has a 10% chance of breath. The victims are free once all the sea
doms can help you find what you seek.” hitting a nearby asteroid. hags are killed or neutralized.
The ship takes 5d6 HP of damage (impact There are 20 sea hags 50 feet below the
Play encounter ‘3 next, The Great Sea in the and fire) each time a meteorite hits it. See ship. They attack anything swimming, how-
Sky. The players may choose their course then. Special Attacks rules on fire, page 26 of the ever, they do not pursue the ship beyond 300
Master Players Book. All damages to ships feet ofthis spot. At 150 feet below is their lair,
9. The Great Sea in the Sky are treated as Hull Points. an old ship wreck containing 50,000 gp,
I f the meteorite hits an asteroid, the ship takes masses of various skeletons, and rusty equip-
5 H P of damage and all the passengers, whether ment. The creatures use huge conches to cre-
Beyond the remaining space ahead of you ate the bubbles and to amplify their songs.
extends a titanic horizontal spiral of water, inside or exposed on the deck must make a Sav-
ing Throw vs. Spells at -5. If the saving throw The shells are not magical.
spreading several curviny arms on its outer
rim. The center forms a great flat sea that fails, the victim suffers 5d10 points of damage. If Victory Points for Immortals
seems navigable. As usual, the center sea is it succeeds, damages are halved. The shards pen- I f the party destroys all the hags, Vanya
covered with a dome of light and heat, as etrate the hull as though it were paper. scores 5 points.
though it were a separate world. The journey across the wandering stones takes I f the party sails past the hags, ignoring
Several miles above and beneath the 2d4 days. If the party successfully crosses that their songs, Koryis scores 5 points.
great spiral, as well as on both sides, area, play encounter 15. If the ship is destroyed, If the party loses any of their members and
extends an endless region filled with vast the party drifts back to Kersy’s Island, eventually are unable to raise them1 (they abandoned them
floating clusters of rough stones churning taking more damage from the shards. or lost their clerics), Alphaks scores 5 points.
and crashing toqether. Victory Points for Immortals Run encounter 12 next, Whirlpool and
I f the party’s ship is destroyed, Alphaks Stone Jaws.
I f the party chooses to sail on the sea, they scores 5 points.
14
ved. Printed in U.S.A.
-I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~ _ _ _ __ _ _-
%:ale: 1 square = 250 feet
dAP KEY
.+; I
D Jb Area 2
Chapter 2: FLIGHT TO THE STAR KINGDOMS
12. Whirlpool and Stone Jaws of the heads bite the stem and aft of the ship to The creatures are able to invert the vortex for
stop it, and the four others attack the passengers. a limited time.
Near the center of the sea spiral, two coasts Once the party has freed the ship from the During their conversation with the party, the
form a narrow strait a half mile wide. hydra’s hold, it takes 2 more rounds to sail out of creatures may reveal they are followers of Vanya.
range of the heads. They say she is a powerful temporal of the
Sheer vertical cliffs overlook the sea as
far as the coast can be seen. O n the west The giant hydra has a treasure containing Sphere of Time, and the patron of Conquerors.
side of the strait, a large whirlpool proba- 10,000 pp and a bastard sword +2, + 5 vs. She is busy right now dealing with a possible war
bly marking the center of the spiral, demons. It is engraved with runes that say, “The in another world, however, they say they been
drains roaring blue waters into a dark Strength of Vanya Protects the Conquerors.” ordered to help the party If the party shows the
opening. A narrow path, no more than The sword, of Neutral alignment, is intelligent rod of victory (see Chapter l), the creatures say
100 feet wide, exists between the bottom and speaks Common, Elf, any water elemental that Vanya had the same one once.
languages, and Storm Giant. It reads magic and
of the east cliff and the edge of the whirl- Victory Points for Immortals
can detect invisible, detect creatures from the
pool where the current is weaker. If the party attacks the creatures, Alphaks
Sphere of Death, and teleport back to Vanya if its
bearer is destroyed or killed. scores 5 points.
If the party attempts to land elsewhere and If the party discovers the nature of Vanya,
The sword knows Vanya’s nature and pur-
climb the cliffs, they discover that the land is she scores 5 points.
poses but only reveals them if the party scores
a bare, dry rocky desert. From both sides of If the party leaves this plane by their own
over 25 points for Vanya in this chapter. It
the strait, the desert extends to the outer rim means, Koryis scores 5 points.
does not reveal anything else, however it does
of the spiral where it crumbles into rough
tend to direct its owner toward Alphaks, thus Go to encounter 14 next, Vanya’s Flock.
stones. There, they become wandering rocks,
through the Magic Mists, a region on the
floating in the sky.
opposite side of this world (see Chapter 3) 14. Vanya’s Flock
The temperature in the desert is over 100 and to Alphaks’ mountain.
degrees fahrenheit, and no water exists on its sur- The trip to this area should take long
face. Every 10 turns in this desert, some explo- Victory Points for Immortals enough so the party runs low on food sup-
sive gas leaks fmm under the rocks, creating an If the party fails to cross the strait, and/or plies. The sea currents in this area of the spi-
explosion at contact with air. Each explosion is shuts the gate to the Plane of Water, Alphaks ral are awesome and storms are common.
equivalent to a 10d6 fire ball and ha5 a 50% scores 5 points. However, despite rough waters, the party
chance of affectingthe party. The party Fhould be If the party successfully crosses the strait should reach this encounter without excess
allowed to find a few wrecks to build a raft. without losing any crew members, or without casualtics or damage to the fleet. Meanwhile,
This entire sea on which the party is sailing destroying the giant hydra, Koryis scores 5 Alphaks foils any attempt to use magic in
was once created by the Alphatians when points. order to make food (except zzongas) in the
they opened vortices from the Elemental If the party destroys the hydra, Vanya form of contamination, pests, zzonga, or
Plane of Water. The desert is all that remains scores 5 points. fungi. The Chaotic temporal is trying to
ofAlphaks’ world. His rivals destroyed it and starve the party so they attack Vanya’s sheep.
If the party crosses the strait, either on land
left only the huge spiral of water and rocks. When they arrive at the site of the encounter,
or on ship, go to encounter 14. By the time
Since then, creatures of the other plane read the following.
the party’s fleet crosses the sea spiral, the food
inverted this vortex and closed all others. The supplies on board should be seriously
waters are gushing back to where they came reduced. If the party fails to cross the strait, After a long and difficult navigation
from. At that rate, however it will take sev- against opposing currents, you reach a
they drift into the Elemental Plane of Water.
eral centuries before the sea totally disap- small island near the other end of the sea
Then run encounter 13 next.
pears. Anyone sucked into the whirlpool spiral. It is partially covered with an oak
enters the Elemental Plane of Water forest. Between the beach and the trees
13. The Plane of Water
(encounter 13). This is one ofthe “monsters” extends a wide hilly area, covered with
Kersy mentioned earlier. Since the party entered through a vortex, thick green grass. Dozens of sheep peace-
The other monster hides in a cavern above they are now made of water. They do not fully graze in front of the trees.
the narrow pass in the eastern cliff. At first need breathing devices to survive in this
the creature looks like huge stone columns dimension. The PCs cannot go up the vortex If crew members still remain, they refuse to
carved in the cliff. It can surprise ships sailing because of strong currents. weigh anchor before supplies are stocked in the
below on its first attack. It is able to cast one For every round the party remains in this ship or on the raft. They wait until the PCs are
illusion spell per day to distract its victims. plane, the party has a 10% chance of encoun- busy exploring the forest or fishing elsewhere to
During this encounter, the illusion is of a tering 3d10 water elementals. They slowly attack the animals and make a feast.
large multi-headed dragon flying toward the circle around the party for a turn, observing Run encounter 15 newt.
fleet from the west cliff. them with their cold gray eyes before they
The creature is a giant hydra (treat as a gar- decide to parley. If the party attacks them, Victory Points for Immortals
gantuan equivalent). It has only six heads; how- they have no chance to return to the strait If the sheep have been harmed, and/or the
ever, each head has 128 hit points. One head other than a wish spell or their undersea boat crew rebels against the party, Alphaks scores
inflicts 4-40 (4610) points of damage to a PC or (if it was provided earlier by an Immortal). 5 points.
NPC, or, it grabs ld6 normal men off the ship’s Vanya, closely related to the Plane of If the sheep are not lharmed and the party
deck. The only way to kill the creature is to cut all Water, has sent these creatures to help the avoids a mutiny, Koryis scores 5 points.
party return to the strait and cross it safely. Vanya does not score points in this
its heads off. As the PCs’ ship passes below, two
encounter.
19
Chapter 2: FLIGHT TO THE STAR KINGDOMS
~ ~~
20
Chapter 2: FLIGHT TO THE STA.R KINGDOMS
from giving more details to strangers. How- immortal may intervene to help or cause Alphaks: Alphaks always opposes the party
ever, Yorrick suggests the party use one of his trouble to the party. Those interventions may Since the adventurers go against all of his plots,
small sailships if they want to leave. be played at the moment chosen by the DM, chances are Alphaks has fewer chances to inter-
They will be granted shelter in the port of when time seems most appropriate. vene than the two other temporals.
Delthar if they bear the peace flag. From there Alphaks must intervene at least once
they can meet the city authorities and explain Koryis: Koryis usually intervenes to help before the party reaches the great sea spiral.
their problem. I f the party has nothing to hide, the party, either healing them, raising fully a I f at that time Alphaks does not have 15
help will probably be offered. Yorrick gives the lost character, or repairing their ship. One of points yet, he intervenes anyway, but he loses
party a written permit to sail in Delthan skies. Koryis’ possible interventions occurs just all the points he scored in this chapter, up to
before the party encounters Kersy for the first encounter 9.
Victory Points for Immortals Alphaks’ first intervention against the
time (see encounter 7). I f this happens, read
I f the party decides to wait for the next Del- party is to tear up their wind bag (see
the following to the players:
than ship, Alphaks scores 5 points. encounter 4a). H e does so by teleporting a
I f the party attacks and seizes the tower, revener near the bag. This happens when the
Vanya scores 5 points. A handsome glowing man materializes in
your path, and says, “Welcome, my sons. characters least expect the encounter. It then
I f the party thanks Yorrick and sails on rips the bag open and attacks the party as all
immediately. Koryis scores 5 points. As I had foreseen, you have not escaped
your fate. However, I must warn you of the foul winds turn against their ships. T h e
I f the party waits for the next Delthan ship, again of the dangers and rewards awaiting storm blows the party and any accompanying
go to the Aftermath section at the end of this beyond this forest. Look near your path, ships back to encounter 3b.
chapter. The next encounter then occurs in and pluck the blue flowers. Eat their roots Otherwise, Alphaks intervenes with vari-
Chapter 3. for they will protect you against a sorcer- ous curses such as:
I f the party immediately leaves the tower, ess’ powers. Force her to swear loyalty All the party saves at -5 until the end of
run encounter 17. and she will become your ally.” the adventure.
The apparition fades and the natural All the appointed commanders in the
17. The Return of the Armada life of the forest reawakens, as though you fleet are treated as if their Charisma was 5
woke from a dream. points lower. This affects only the reaction
~~ ~~
21
Encounter Setting Magic Items: plate armor + 4 , shield +2, marine force in this fleet.
The PCs’ goal in this chapter is to reach the bastard sword + 5 defending. Other items Troop Transports: each carries 100 marines.
Magic Mist on the opposite side. Crossing are at the discretion of the DM. Commander: the leader has a Leadership
with their fleet provokes reactions through- Factor of 78, and has trained 3 weeks with
out the region. The PCs must either ally or An elite body guard ofpaladins protects King his men. Pi11 troops are Lawful.
defeat the various powers in this region to Korwald at all times: (*) Flat Tops are equivalent to large Troop
reach the Mist. 10 Royal Bodyguards (10th level lighters): Transports, with large flat platforms on their
Three roughly hemispherical realms AC -4; F10; hp 70; M V 90’(30’); AT 1 stern and aft enabling flying cavalry to take
two-handed sword/longbow; D 3-12/1-6; off easily. However, that type of ship moves
occupy this part of the sky. When the party
Save F10; AL L only 90 feet per round. instead of 120.
arrives, a fragile truce is in existence, how-
ever, any unexpected event may cause a con-
Delthar Forces If the party arrives in Delthar without their
flict. These petty realms have survived their
The holy realm has dozens of small towers fleet, shelter in the fortified port is granted.
many wars became of the length of a siege
floating in the sky (see encounter 16, previous When the party’s armada discovers the pres-
warfare and the reluctance of the powerful
chapter). Delthar is the capital city of the holy ence of a powrrful realm, they come to a halt
Guild of Merchants to get involved.
realm. It is strongly fortified and defended by and parley. For political reasons, Delthar
The arrival of the party’s armada provokes
the following garrison. authorities refuse their passage across Del-
a significant reaciion. Let the players handle
all of the forces on their side, including their than sky territory, and demand they turn
Force: Delthar’s Guard BR: 165 back. If the party does not return to their
new allies, without letting them abuse the
Leader: King Korwald fleet, the subsititute commander orders the
privilege (capital cities do not send their
Location: Within 3 hexes of Delthar armada to attack Delthar’s fleet and attempts
home garrisons to war).
When moving in the Star Kingdoms, use
No. Troops: 3,250 (4,550 H D with mounts) to sail past their realm. From that point, the
Type: 650 longbowmen, 200 artillerists, king offers a reward for the capture of the
Map 2A. Map 2B should only be used to vis-
1,100 swordsmen/pikemen, 65C horse- PCs, now considered enemies. They must
ualize the party’s position if they change their
men, 650 cleric adepts. secretly flee Delthar and regain their fleet as
altitude. All three worlds and the Merchant
soon as possible.
Guild are approximately at the same level, so
If the land is invaded, some of the popda- If the party returns to their fleet, they
the players may ignore the three-dimensional
tion can be raised to defend their homeland: resume command and choose their next
movement if they find it too complicated. Use
course of action. The party may attack Del-
DM Map 3 when the party reaches one of the
Force: Church’s Militia BR: 74 thar, or avoid them, in which case they would
Star Kingdoms.
Leader: Sir Haarlow, 18th level fighter sail toward one of the other territories. To
After the PCs reach their goal, the Magic
Location: any land hex in Delthar attack Delthar the party’s fleet must first sail
Mists, read the Aftermath section at the end
No. Troops: 4,000 (4,800 HD) onto its sea because of the gravity force. One
of this chapter. Alllying or conquering realms
Type: 3,200 peasants with crude weapons, of the three ski7 territories must be crossed to
may generate extra troops for the next chap-
800 cleric adepts reach the mist area. the realms extends to the
ter, Back into the Maelstrom.
breathable limits of the sky.
The port in the capital city of Delthar holds If the PCs’ fleet has been totally destroyed
Delthar before this chapter, the party may gain the
their war fleet. It defends the city, intercepts
This realm occupies a huge island similar invading forces, or carries invasions against king’s sympathLy by saying they are on a quest
to Paradise Island. Most of the country is other lands. against Alphaks. The Icing would then offer
covered with rich farmlands with several vil- them a ship so they can pursue their adven-
lages located at key points. Their economy is Force: Delthan War Fleet ture. With a single ship, the party may reach
based on agriculture. It is sufficient to feed Battle Rating: 184 Av. Speed: 123’/rd the Magic Mists directly (see end of this
the population and some products are traded Fleet Class: Ex. Troop Class: Ex. chapter) without intervention from Gammar
to outside realms. The population, called 3 Lg. Galleys: 120 H P each, Artillery or Belthar.
Flatlanders, reaches 50,000 people; 30% are Ram. Belthar and’ Gammar immediately ally
located in or near the capital city. 8 Sm. Galleys: 100 H P each, Artillery against Delthar. Spy reports of a large uni-
A powerful church council and a king rule Ram. dentified fleet anchored near Delthar cause
Delthar. The religious order is Lawful and 6 Flat Tops*: 180 H P each the two other nations to believe the religious
backs the cause of paladinhood. The land is 3 Troop Transports: 150 H P each realm is plotting an invasion. If the party’s
currently under the control of King Korwald, fleet sails past llelthar, Belthar and Gammar.
one of the finest examples of what a knight Total Hull Points: 2,930 Only after this does Delthar permit the
stands for. If anything happens to the king, Marines: 910 (2,120 HD, including mounts) armada to cross their aerial space.
the church takes over, until a proper knight of Sailors: 320 Rowers: 1,020
the order becomes king (there is no royal Men in Fleet: 2,250 (300 hippogriffs) Belthar
descendance). Belthar occupies the top surface of a planet
Marines: 30% long bow, level 1, AC4 shard. From a distance, it appears to be a
King Korwald (33th level paladin): AC -5/-10; All marines on small galleys are level 2 long rough cone of rock, with a semi-
F3 5; hp 110; AT 1 bastard sword; D ld6 + 2 clerics. BR on land is 192. spherical surface, opposite the pointed end.
(ld6 + 7); Save F33; M L 11; AL L; St 17; Flat Tops: each carries 50 marines mounted High mountains and numerous green valleys
Wi 16, In 13, Dx 12, Co 14, Ch 16 on hippogriffs, included in the global
Chapter 3: FOR THE GLORY OF THE WARLORDS
cover the land. Rivers reaching the rim of this A secret cavern holds the Belthan war fleet. smaller islands are scattered within the Gam-
world gush down into the void, several miles I t is used the same way the Delthans do. marian air-space.
below. Vast masses of clouds form and slowly Gammar is an authoritarian magocracy
rise back to the sky above Belthar. Force: Belthan War Fleet devoted to Chaos. One powerful wizard
Most of the villages are on top of steep Battle Rating: 172 Av. Speed: 300’/rd assisted by a few lesser mages control the
slopes, on the sides of mountains. The econ- Fleet Class: Good Troop Class: Good country. The current ruling wizard, His
omy is based on mining and underground Radiance Halzunthram, is plotting the
resources. A great deal is traded to other 30 Sm. Galleys: 90 H P each, Artillery destruction of Delthar in order to exert a
nations. Agriculture is barely able to support firmer political control within the Star King-
the population and Belthar sometimes relies Total Hull Points: 2,700 doms. However, his government is plapued
on Delthan or Gammarian food. The popula- Seamen: 2,100 (2,370 HD, including with internal frictions and rivalries between
tion reaches 150,000 people and 15,000 dragons*) schools of magic.
dwarves. Men in Fleet: 2,100, 30 blue dragons
Belthar is a republic representing most His Radiance Halzunthram (35th level
activities (military, religious, magic, etc.). Seamen: 20% long bow, level 1 fighters, magic-user): A C 3; hp 70; AT 1 dagger; D
Their society is based on Neutral concepts of AC6. B R on land is 137. 1-4 + 2; Save MU35; M 8; AL C ; St 11;
life and do not normally support a particular Galleys: each is pulled by a small blue In 18; W i 16; D x 12; C o 12; C h 17
philosophy other than their freedom. Belthar dragon. Troops may act as rowers with Magic Items: ring ofprotection i- 5, dagger
is represented by the General Secretary of the their magical oars if their pulling dragon + 2 o f draining, amulet ofprotection vs.
Republic, Lord Rawn-Driz. is dead. The dragons may use their breath ESPand crystal balls, staffoffire element.
weapon. Other items are at the discretion of the
G.S.R. Lord Rawn-Driz (28th level thief): Commander: the leader has a Leadership DM.
A C 3; hp 65; AT 1 normal sword; D 1- Factor of 65, and has trained 2 weeks with
6 + 4; Save T28; M 9; AL N; St 12; In 15; his men. All troops are Neutral. Gammarian Forces
W i 12; D x 17; Co 15; Ch 10 (*) The dragons’ tactic is to land on enemy To reach Gammar, invaders would have to
Magic Items: ring of protection i- 3, long vessels to attack passengers and to allow sail onto any sea of the planet, and reach the
sword + 3 o f deceiving, amulet ofprotec- friendly troops to perform boarding attacks. coast. Gammar, the capital city, can be reached
tion vs. ESPand crystal balls. Other items They are as much a part of the fleet as of the sailing up the Shain river. Gammar is fortified
are at the discretion of the D M . fighting troops (marines). and 10,000 people normally live within its
walls, including the following garrison:
Rawn-Driz secretly is the master of the Events
Thieves’ Guild in Belthar. U p to 500 thieves I f the party defeats the Belthan war fleet Force: Gammarian Elite Phalanxes B R : 207
of various levels in the country work under once, the republic’s authorities agree to par- Leader: His Radiance Halzunthram
his orders. ley. I f the party agrees to sign a separate Location: Within 5 hexes of Gammar
peace treaty and not attack them further, then N o . Troops: 2,000 (7,200 HD with mounts)
Belthar Forces Belthar breaks its coalition with Gammar. Type: 400 mounted longbowmen, 100 artil-
Belthar is the capital city of the republic. The party’s fleet may then leave. Otherwise, lerists, 500 swordsmen, 1,000 magic-
Most of the city is buried inside a mountain, the Belthans seek revenge with the help of users (all troops are level 3).
at the center of Belthar. The only part that Gammarians. Soon the party realizes t.hat the
remains visible is a cluster of 50 high towers rest of the Belthan area is impassable without I f the land is attacked, the following force
on the mountain side. At least 8,000 people a full knowledge of the asteroid clusters. The may be raised against the invader:
live below. The city has the following garri- only way to gain Belthan cooperation is to
son. invade them. Force: Gammarian Hordes BR: 100
Only Belthan navigators know the few Leader: Lord Yrnsteph, 20th level MU
Force: Belthar Republican Guard B R : 97 channels to cross the asteroids safely, but that Location: any hex in Gammar
Leader: Lord Rawn-Driz is a State secret. I f the party invades their No. Troops: 2,000 (2,200 HD)
Location: Within 5 hexes of Belthar capital, Belthar surrenders and gives up the Type: 1,900 peasants with crude weapons,
No. Troops: 3,800 (3,800 HD) vital navigation maps. The Thieves’ Guild 100 3rd level magic-users.
Type: 200 longbowmen, 300 artillerists, then organizes a guerrilla movement until the
2,000 swordsmen, 1,300 dwarves. party leaves or they are destroyed. The par- Gammarian Fleet: Shark-Pack Battle Forma-
ty’s troops lose ld20 men per day VS. ld6 for tion
I f the mountain ranges are invaded, the the Thieves’ Guild.
local population can be raised to defend their Battle Rating: 273 Av. Speed: 120’lrd
homeland: Gammar Fleet Class: Elite Troop Class: Elite
23
Chapter 3: FOR THE GLORY OF T H E WARLORDS
Crew: Level 5 Fighters, AC 8; fight as nor- 36 Sm. Sail Ships: 60 H P each and the Merchant Guild should then turn
mal troops if boarded. BR on land 207. 12 Lg. Sail Ships: 160 H P each, Artillery against Gamm;u and ally with the party.
Phaseships: Unless the ship is destroyed, the
crew never suffers (extra) casualties. Sky- Total Hull Points: 4,080 Pirate Fleet
sharks engaged in a Sea Machine combat Sailors: 600 Marines: 240 (480 HD)
take triple damage in Hull Points. Men in Fleet: 840 Battle Rating: 71 Av. Speed: 150’/rd
Commander: the leader has a Leadership Fleet Class: Below Av.
Factor of 55, and has trained 5 weeks with Marines: F2, AC 4; 50% long bows. Troop Class: Below Av.
his men. BR on land 176. 50 Sm. Sail Ships: 80 H P each, Artillery
(*) See New Monsters Section on the sky- Ship Loads: 5 marines per ship plus 500-
sharks. Gammar has 3 shark-pack squad- Total Hull Points: 4,000
3,000 (ld6 x 500) gp worth of merchan-
rons. Pirates: 1,500 (1,500 HD)
dise on small vessels. Larger ones carry up
to 1,500-9,000 (3d6 x 500) gp in goods.
Events Pirates: H D 1; AC 7; BR on land 53.
Commander: the leader has a Leadership
If the party defeats Gammar, Belthar (if Ship Loads: 30 pirates, each who can be used
Factor of 50, and has maximum training
still free) sends its fleet to intercept the party. as sailors or fighters, plus ( l d 6 x 200) g p
with his men. Troops are Neutral in
worth of treasure.
They attack as the party leaves for the Magic majority.
Commander: the leader has a Leadership
Mists. Gammar forces never surrender, and
Factor of 40, and has negligible training
fight until the last man is destroyed. Events
with his men. Troops are Chaotic in
Gammar normally does not use their sky- For its defense, the guild relies on its trea-
majority.
sharks in open confrontations. Those ships ties of mutual assistance with the three other
are designed to operate as spies or against realms. If Kabarkhand is attacked by one of
vulnerable forces. The third shark-pack is the realms, the other two are compelled to
The Magic Mists
This area is located opposite the great sea
never available for a major (Sea-Machine) come to its rescue. If the attacker is an out-
spiral, near the breathable limit of the Star
battle since it is spread out in the Star King- sider, all three realms must unite against the
Kingdoms. It looks like clouds of star dust.
doms. The two others remain near the planet invader and crush it. If two realms ally
The gateway is triggered by the thoughts of
for its defense and as an early warning sys- against another, the voting power is in favor
the characters or commanders in charge of a
tem. The skysharks can fly above any land of the coalition, meaning that they may
fleet. When the ships reach the other side of
without restriction. They intervene only if request the help of the guild to transport their
the fog, they instead appear at the area
the capital city is threatened. Only then troops. In exchange for these rights, the guild
thought of, or desired. In the case of the
would they fight a major naval encounter. may freely trade and transport any merchan-
party, the magical effect is distorted by the
dise between the three realms.
immortals observing the armada. Once the
Guild of the Merchants The party’s fleet is always denied entrance
party sails across the fog, they appear in the
to the port. Otherwise, the Merchant Guild
The Guild of Merchants is a large city Alphatian Sea, in their own world, near
ignores the armada, as long as they do not
enclosed in a fortress, on top of a small rock. Alphaks’ volcano.
attack the city or their ships. The guild is
It is major commercial port where most of the
guild’s business must pass through. The city
aware of the presence of the Magic Mists and
sometimes use them for trading with other
Aftermath
is incredibly wealthy. The Thieves’ Guild of
worlds. This is a State secret. Victory Points for Immortals
Belthar has an important branch in the city.
Koryis: scores 20 points for each realm that
The population is around 15,000 people.
A guild of merchants controls Kabarkhand,
Sky Raiders the characters ally with.
Vanya: scores 20 points for each realm the
along with most of rhe trade between the three At least once in the game, have the pirates
party successfully invades.
other realms. Up to 50 wealthy families own attack one of the party’s fleets. They operate
Alphaks: scores 20 points for each realm
this place and create all the laws. from the asteroids in the Delthan air space.
the party actually destroys (local army
The pirates have a lair that is equivalent to
reduced more than 80%).
Guild’s Forces: Though it is fortified, the Kabarkhand (in appearance and by military
city is poorly defended. standards), but called Tortuga. It is said to If Koryis wins this chapter, 50% of all
contain hundreds of gp. Only pirate!$know casualties in the PCs’ armada and allied
Force: Kabarkhand’s Warden BR: 97 where it is. If the party decides to attack it, forces, including ships, are restored to life.
Leader: Merchant Prince Mohamed Abdula- they must interrogate prisoners to find its While the fleet is in the Magic Mist, the
ziz Zhawat-El-Sth’razzXIV, normal man. location. They have only a 1 % chance per 10 destroyed ships, and their crew, appear first
Location: city’s walls prisoners of finding a navigator. The naviga- as ghosts, then materialize totally. None of
No. Troops: 1,500 (1,500 HD) tor does not willingly reveal the secret, how- these crew remember what happened.
Type: 1,300 archers/swordsmen, 200 artil- ever, it should not be impossible for the If Vanya wins, the allied or conquered
lerists. players to get the information. population treat the RCs as heroes and
The pirate lair should contain 2d6x100,OOO demand they become rulers of their lands.
Merchant Gui1.d gp and a treaty signed between them and Gam- If Alphaks wins, he scores 20 points more.
mar about a possible attack on Belthar. If the I n case of a stalemate, nothing happens.
Battle Rating: 153 Av. Speed: 142’/rd Add this chapter’s scores to the previous
party manages to bring that back to Belthar and
Fleet Class: Ex. Troop Class: Elite totals and note the results for future use.
offer their help to deal with the threat, Belthar
Chapter 3: FOR THE GLORY OF THE WARLORDS
25
Chapter 4: BACK INTO THE MAELSTROM
Encounter Setting fleets are engaged in combat, secretly roll M resterly do not affect the undead. If a party’s
3d4; the result indicates the length of the fl eet withdraws or attempts to flee, the iron-
This chapter is divided into three sections.
The first part involves the naval conflict combat in battle rounds. Resolve combats Clads pursue it until one of the two fleets is
normally according to the Sea Machine rules; d estroyed. LJndead do not take prisoners,
between the party’s armada and Alphaks’
fleeing or withdrawing units may not attack SIeize enemy vessels, or recover any of their
undead fleet. As soon as the party crosses the
other fleets for the remainder of the day. 0wn losses in ships or creatures. Human
Magic Mist in the Star Kingdoms, Alphaks’
Have the PCs role play part of the battle, fl eets fighting in the poison fog fight with a
fleet comes out of his mountain to intercept
such as the boarding or the sinking of an iron- 20 BR penalty. Ships that are stranded there
the party. Regardless if the party is defeated
during the ensuing battle, the P C s can clad during the clash, or a well-executed fcor more than a day are destroyed.
maneuver. The ship the PCs choose to attack If an ironclad squadron is defeated, treat
explore Alphaks’ mountain. Read the boxed
text in section A, and run the battle. Use D M should contain the fleet commander. If PCs a11 the undead on board captured ships or
accomplish heroic feats, their fleets’ BR or Mrrecks as destroyed. Captured ships may be
Map 4 for this encounter.
modifiers in the Sea Machine resolution should U sed as described in the Sea Machine system,
The second part covers the exploration of
be accordingly modified. Let the PCs unleash Mrith a normal number of rowers. Defeated
Alphaks’ mountain, the dungeon below, its
all their power or lose the battle as heroes. SIquadrons withdraw to the underground port
destruction and the party’s return home.
tco replace their casualties in creatures (see
Finally, the Epilogue determines which
Force: The Dreadnoughts of Death a rea 6 below) which takes 2d4 hours, and
Immortal wins, along with the party’s reward
tlhen return to combat.
or demise. Because of the direct involvement Battle Rating: 214 Av. Speed: 18O’/rd
of Alphaks in thk chapter, neither Koryis nor Considering the superior strength of the
Fleet Class: Elite Troop Class: Elite
U ndead hordes, there is little chance the par-
Vanya may intervene directly.
120 Ironclads*: 200 H P each, Artillery Ram. t’y’s armada will survive. However, the more
Encounter Key Total Hull Points: 24,000
d amage the PCs and their fleets inflict on the
I ronclads, the more XPs the party should get.
Undead: 12,000 (21,480 H D )
A. The Final Battle? I n any case, allow the party to survive by hid-
Undead per ship: 50 skeletons, 20 :zombies, iii g among wrecks or floating debris, until
15 ghouls, 7 wights, 5 wraiths, 3 spectres. tlhey are washed ashore Alphaks’ mountain.
Slowly, the star ,mist clears and you feel the
BR on land is 156. Pit the end of the battle, the ironclads sail
familiar pitching of the sea below the
Commander: lich, Leadership Factor: 60. Ifthe black behind the mountain where the party
ships. The fresh salty winds are back,
fleet is divided to match the number of Cannot see thrm (see area 2 in section B).
swelling the s d s . T h e red sun is low
enemy fleets, the extra units are com- If the party manages to destroy the undead
above the horizon, partially hidden
manded by druj spirits, with a Leadership of flleet, then they may freely land on the moun-
behind a large conical mountain. From its ain shores. If the players decide to return to
45. The training factor does not change. t<
crater, large clouds of gray fumes swirl
out, slowly drifting west. The sickening (*) Ironclads: Treat the ironclads as Large
PJonvold instead, remind them the poison
nnist is blowing in that direction and that it
yet alarmingly familiar smell reminds you Galleys, except that they have 180-220 Hull
nnust be neutralized. If that is not enough to
of the poison over Nonvold. Points, 180’/round speed, and AC 2.
Convince them, Alphaks causes the poison fog
Suddenly, thie look-out signals sails
Ironclads are magical ships that are not tlD drift toward the PC’s fleets, leaving them
coming from the mountain. Silently, black
normally available in human worldr. These 0inly the option of securing their ships and
ships cut through the waves, forming a
have been summoned from the Sphere of Crews behind the isle, near area 2. Koryis’
battle line. Already, the alarm is sounded
Death. Their hulls are covered with plates of Eace could also appear among the clouds tell-
and the crews crank up their artillery. iing the PCs ihat if they go further in that
black metal (AC 2), and enchanted to enable
the ships to float on a liquid surface. The Clirection, their men will perish in the fog,
Knowing the party crossed the mists back ironclads are also capable of maneuvering in a nd all hope will be lost for Norwold.
to the Alphatian sea, Alphaks summoned the another dimension, or in worlds like the one
fleet of the underworld. It is an awesome described in the previous chapter. 11is their I3. The Mountain of Death
force, made of thousands of undead creatures magical power that also enables them to sail
sailing ironclads, large galleys covered with a at 180 feet per round.
..
1 Alphaks’ Mountain
dark metal. Their mission is to destroy the
party’s armada, a.t any cost. Undead Strategy This dry rocky mountain is bare ofvegeta-
At the beginning of the encounter, the Their orders are to intercept and engage tion. A narrow path leaves the shore,
wind blows from ithe east at normal strength. enemy vessels. All undead fleets are aware of rounding the base of the crater. There is
The party’s fleets start the encounter within 3 the reefs surrounding the mountain and try to no visible activity.
hexes of area A, the ironclads, within 3 hexes trap the opponents in them. Each ship crossing
of area B. One fleet occupies 1 full hex in bat- a reef hex has a 60 % chance of being stranded. Use D M M,ap 5 for this encounter. Random
tle formation. Combat occurs when two fleets Affected ships remain immobile until towed encounters may occur anywhere on the surface
occupy the same hex. and properly repaired. Undead fleets may C)f themountain. Studying the tracks in the dirt
For movement purposes, each battle round attack those ships with a + 20 BR bonus. Allow Sbould reveal a small path to area 4. Inside the
is equal to 15 minutes. Divide the average a chance (roll using Intelligence, or 95 4b chance Clungeon, random encounters may only occur i n
movement per round by 12, rounded down. if a player indicates his character is observing ma 4,6, and 9. Random encounters occur once
The result indicates the numbers of hexes the the sea) for the party to spot the reefs. <:very hour with a roll of 1-2 on a d6.
fleet can move in one battle round. Once two Fatigue, routs, and the poison fog blowing
26
Chapter 4: BACK INTO THE MAELSTROM
2. The Secret Gate time of day. I f Alphaks lost the battle, he is ture. A secret portal in the northeast corner
A narrow ledge goes down to the water aware of the party’s presence on this isle. connects with area 9a.
level, where a large secret passage connects Otherwise, he is not looking. H e can cast any
spell, one per round, directly from area 11, 6a. Row Boat
with the undead’s underground port. The This simple craft is used to check the hulls
large portal appears as a rocky cliff, however, against anyone approaching.
of the dreadnoughts after combat. The party
the stone feels chilly there. It can only be may use it to explore the passage to area 7.
opened with a knock spell, or by applying at 5. The Charnel Pit
least 70 points of Strength. - 6b. The Upper Gallery
When the gate is opened, read the follow- The stairs abruptly end at the center of a The passage climbs up above the canal to
ing to the players: area 7, overlooking the port. Several slits
large square room, 40 feet away from an exit
open on the east wall. enabling an observa-
on the west side. The floor is a creeping mass
tion of the canal to area 7, The False Island.
~ ~~
A fair portion of the doors remains of rotting members, heads, and other fleshy
beneath the surface of the water. A foul or bony material that beggars human 6c. The Mechanism
rotting smell blows out of the cavern pas- description. The dreadhl stench nearly pre- A large crank extends from the wall. It is
sage extending beyond, into the darkness. vents anyone from breathing. Unnameable used to open or close the portcullis in area 7,
The vault is so high it would allow the pas- horrors already crawl out, stretching their The False Island. Cranking up the portcullis
sage of a large ship. arms and clawing in your direction. alerts the dragon turtle, if it has not been
destroyed yet. It swims into the port and
Opening the secret gate has an 80% The pit contains 640 zombies, 128 ghouls, attempts to surprise the party. I f someone
chance of alerting its guardian, a dragon tur- 6 wraiths, and one spectre, all stacked on the pays attention to ripples in the water, he
tle (see area 7). In that case the party has no floor of this room. They attack anyone notices the dragon turtle
chance of surprising it when enters that area. attempting to cross the room. The spectre
and the wraiths only attack characters flying 7. The False Island
3. The Crater above the zombies.
Each 10-foot-square area one character
crosses, 10 zombies and 2 ghouls attempt to calm water. The middle is occupied by two
You have reached the ridge of the mountain, crawl over the trespasser. Unless they are fly-
and a vast gloomy crater now extends small islands. A huge portcullis blocks the
ing, characters cannot move more than 1 passage on the opposite side of the cavern.
below. From a black opening at the bottom, square each round. Furthermore, only one
large swirls of stinking fumes blow out into character at a time can enter one square
the sky, obscuring.your vision. The two islands are the head and the back of
because of the creeping crowd of undead.
a dragon turtle. It immediately attacks those
The zombies and ghouls do not pursue living climbing on it or tampering with the portcullis
The fumes are the same ones that are poi- creatures beyond the secret door leading to
soning Norwold. The party discovers this or the secret panel (area 8). The mechanism to
area 6, however, the wraiths and the spectre
open the portcullis is located in area 6c.
immediately. For every hour the partv mem- will. N o turning attempts work in this room.
bers stay in the fumes, each loses 1 point of A 12-foot-wide secret panel opens on area
A small secret passage on the east wall con-
Constitution (recoverable after a day of rest, 8, on the north side of the cavern. The water
nects into area ga. It opens with a push.
or with a neutralize poison spell). near the portal is shallow and the PCs may
brace against the rails beneath the water, to
I f the party climbslflies down into the black 6. The Underground Port
push the portal open. They need a combined
opening, they reach area 9, The Mouth of
Strength of 70 or better to push it open. I f the
Death. Otherwise, allow the party to find the
A huge cavern extends west of your loca- party examines the rails, they also see a thick
entrance.
tion, as far as you can see in the semi- steel chain and a cart similar to those used to
darkness. It appears to be a huge port, with pull ships onto dry docks.
4. The Entrance
iron ships, stone piers and a dark unrippled The passage to the east of the cavern con-
water. A 20-foot-wide passage rounds the nects with area 2, The Secret Gate.
A rough round entrance opens on a large cavern, climbing above a large opening on
stairwell descending into darkness. Above the east side. Spheres of feeble blue light 8. The Dry Dock
the opening is a human-size skull carved hang from the vault above the water.
into the mountain stone. Its eyes are glow-
The floor in this roughly rectangular area is
ing red and thin fumes stream from its The spheres are continual lights. This area slightly slanted. The southern half is covered
mouth. is the dreadnoughts’ base. I f the party with water. The room contains nothing
destroyed the undead fleet, only ld4 iron- more than a set of rails and a thick metal
The head is a trap that can be deactivated clads should still be there. Otherwise, all the chain extending from the northern wall
with a dispel magic spell. Otherwise, a 10d6 ironclads that survived the naval battle are at down to the other side, under the water.
fireball blows up in the entrance, every two their piers. The undead are returned to the
rounds, as long as a living creature remains at vortex in area 9 after each battle. The rails extend into area 7, through a
less than 30 feet from the entrance. Beyond the I f Alphaks is aware of the party’s presence, small opening under the southern secret
entrance are stairs leading down to area 5. two apparitions attack them. One remains panel. It may be pushed open with a com-
I f not magically dispelled, the skull’s eyes hidden in the closest ship until the party bined Strength of 50 or more.
enable Alphaks to observe the passage, at any thinks they are dealing with only one crea-
27
Chapter 4: BACK INTO THE MAELSTROM
The rails are used to haul the ironclads into ooze, 2d20 feet below into the vortex. Follow-
and out of the vortex in area 9. The cart in ing the heaviest character in the party and You see the rest of the party standing on a
area 7 is pulled up the rails by the chains from holding on a rope enables the party to reach similar hand, but facing the wall instead of
a mechanism located in area 9a. The secret the other end safely. the room. O n the opposite side stands a 10-
panel in area 9 may be opened like the south- foot-tall hourglass with white sand flowing
ern one, however, pushing characters must Ledge 9c.
This ledge is trapped with a large spring down and turning black at the bottom. Two
roll a Dexterity check to avoid falling into the large windows to the sides of the room over-
device. Anyone stepping on it must roll less
vortex as the panel opens. look the sea 3,000 feet below.
than his Dexterity or be thrown into the vor-
tex. If the character has no flying abilities or In the center of the room stands an old
9. The Mouth of Death man smiling at you: “Welcome, mortals!
was not attached to a rope, he plummets
down into the Sphere of Death. Fmally you have reached the end of your epic
This appears to be the bottom of the journey You have served my purposes well.
mountain’s crater. T h e mouth of the vol- 10. The Corridor of Death Now it is time for your reward, at last!”
cano is nothing more than a n opening into
oblivion. There is n o lava, but an aura of T h e characters in astral form appear as
You are standing on a narrow ledge, small spheres of light levitating in the room.
cold air with thick fumes blowing out.
approximately 15 feet above a thick fog, at T h e y can only communicate mentally
The opening is over 200 feet in diame-
the beginning of a large tube-like hallway. between themselves. The other characters
ter and its walls are coated with a shining
Ten feet ahead of you, levitating in mid- are unaware of their true nature. The D M
black ooze crawling with disgusting stalks
air is a square glowing slab of unidentifia- must be careful not to betray the identity of
and tentacles. There are three narrow
ble material. Beyond, the fog rises up to the spheres. Characters in astral form may
ledges on the west, north, and east sides.
the circular vault, blocking any sight. attack and (cast spells against Alphaks nor-
There are no other exits.
mally, the attacks performed from the Astral
Any magic used here has only a 1 % chance Plane. They are otherwise totally immaterial.
Because of the fumes, eyesight is limited to
of functioning per level of the caster within Vanya originally gave the hourglass to
50 feet. The opening is a vortex into the
this area. This does not include magic items. Alphaks. It ir a powerful artifact able to keep the
Sphere of DeathL. Anyone entering that world
There are seven such floating squares across large vortex open. Only Vanya can destroy it. If
is considered lost for the remainder of this
the fog. To jump on each of them and reach the the party causes the sand to flow from black to
adventure. Touching the slimy ebony ecto-
other side of the passage, each character must white (by turning the hourglass upside down or
plasm causes t h e loss of one level of experi-
roll under his Dexterity. Failure means the char- levitating thr sand up), the vortex is inverted
ence per roun(d. T h e ooze is capable of
acter falls into the pit below. It is filed with ecto- and the island self-destructs 20 melee rounds
creating Id6 stalks per round (each lasts Id4
plasm from the vortex. Anyone who falls into from this pomt. The room then shudders and
rounds). They attack (as lOHD creatures)
the pit and fails a Strength check, is sucked into starts to crumble. The characters may step out
any living flesh within 10 feet of the hole, or
a chute connected to the vortex in area 9. The through one o f the magical mirrors (the window
20 feet above the opening. When they hit a
next round, the victim is allowed a second illusions) on the side walls to the sea near the
character, he must roll a Strength check to
Strength check at the other end of the chute to mountain (see encounter 12). It takes 50 points
avoid being pulled ld20 feet below, into the
crawl back up to areas 9a or 9b. Climbing up of Strength or powerful magic to move the
ectoplasm. A character clinging to the slime,
takes another round. hourglass.
trying to climb back to the ledge, is dragged
Only one character at a time may step on a The man in the room is Alphaks’ mortal
15 feet deeper per round until he climbs out,
square. T h e square levitates for one more form, a roaring demon in human shape. See the
is rescued, or totally drained of energy.
round when someone stands on it, after New Monsters section about the creatures. If
The vortex cannot be closed unless the which it starts sinking. The square reaches
party tampers with the artifact in area 11, the party refuses to join him for the cause of
the bottom of the pit after 3 rounds Unoccu- Chaos, he tiirns into a roaring demon and
The Hourglass of Time. pied squares return to their original location. attacks the party (in physical and astral forms).
Ledge 9a. At the other end of the passage is a huge Alphaks may cast any spell described in the
The mechanism opening the two secret stone hand sticking out of the wall, with a rules up to the limits of his Mind Power (see
portals to area 7 and controlling the dry dock round black dot on its palm. It radiates a per- New Monstrrs section). For each round the
rails is located on this ledge. When the portals manent silence spell that includes the last hourglass is inverted, Alphaks takes 5 points of
are opened, andl if the dragon turtle has not floating square. Only characters who stand damage. If he is reduced to 1/4 his original hit
been destroyed, it crawls up the rails and uses on the hand see the dot. Those who observe it points, he tdeports back into the Sphere of
its breath attacks against the party. It then for more than a round apparently “faint” (no Entropy. Alphaks takes full damage from the
retreats back to area 7. save) and are sent into area 11 in astral form. sword of demon slaying and his anti-magic is
Secretly inform involved players what hap- reduced to 30% within 30 feet from the Holy
Ledge 9b. pened. Those who step on the dol are tele- Flask (the party may have acquired these items
A secret passage in the north wall connects ported wid1 their gear into area 11. The earlier in the adventure).
with area 10, The Corridor ofDeath. It opens
teleporta tion only works one way. Once Alphaks has fled, the characters in
with simple pressure.
cmrglass of Time
11. The H astral form are returned to their bodies
The corridor beyond is trapped with a
remaining on the hand in area IO. They can
strong permanent magical wind. Any charac- Read the following to the players whose now teleport back into room 11 in physical
ter caught in front of the entrance must roll characters are in astral form. form.
less than his Strength or be blown into the
28
_________I_-...- ~- .- . . - _. . ... ...
__
12. Back Into the Maelstrom C. Epilogue Vanya: Each character gains 20,000 XP
Once the party steps out through one of the If Alphaks fled his mountain or has been and is granted 1 extra ability point. Any lost
magical mirrors or area 11, read the follow- destroyed, Koryis scores 20 victory points levels are immediately restored. A messenger
ing: (and Alphaks automatically loses). may contact them and let them know Vanya
If the party destroyed the undead fleet dur- also grants them a divine force they may call
ing the naval battle, Vanya scores 20 points. upon during any war. The force is available
YOU cling to debris floating in the sea
If Alphaks defeats the party in the only once per character and contains 50
from the last battle. A tremendous earth-
dungeon, he scores 40 points. dragons from the Wyrmsteeth range (BR =
quake shakes the mountain and it sud-
Add up all the victory points the immortals 503). Vanya may contact the Neutral charac-
denly sinks into a huge maelstrom. In
scored in this adventure to determine which ters in the party and indicate that they may
horror, you realize y ~ are
u being dragged
one has the highest total. Then choose the fol- start their quest to Immortality for the Sphere
into it. Suddenly, everything stops in a
lowing corresponding entry. of Time.
blinding flash. The sea is calm, and the
mountain is gone. Several hundred feet Koryis: Brings back to life all dead charac- Alphaks: Surviving characters, if any,
from your location, a ship bearing the col- ters and those who fell into the Sphere of gain only the XP generated during the
ors of Qeodhar slowly approaches Entropy, and bestows upon the characters’ adventure. Norwold is ravaged, and weak-
dominions a n unprecedented prosperity ened to the point all the dominions become
The hourglass destroyed the island (along (treat as Ideal conditions for 10 years, unless rebellious. Taking advantage of this sudden
with any surviving fleet) and has returned to the character mismanages his dominion). weakness, Thyatis invades Norwold.
Vanya. In order to save the party, she trapped Each party members gains 20,000 X P and, if Another party may be created to deal with
them in a short time warp that brought the desired, Koryis contacts all the Lawful char- Alphaks during another quest, in another
party back to when the adventure started, acters in the party and indicates to them that world, at another time.
except that Alphaks is banished from this they may start their quest to Immortality for
plane. No one besides the party will ever the Sphere of Thought.
know what has actually happened, Norwold
is as prosperous as usual and the party’s
armada (and other forces) are back safely in
their respective ports, since the expedition
New Monster cally described for demons) at 36th level of
Roaring Demon magic-use, but that costs him double the spell
never occurred! Armor Class: -5
For the same reasons, the Baron Norlan level in PP (for example, a fire ball would cost
Hit Dice: 16 * * $ * * * * * *
does not know the party yet, and drops them him 6 PP).
Alphaks hp: 110 The demon has the following abilities:
in a port of their choice after he saves them Power Points: 180
from the cold northern sea. Baron Norlan is speak to any living or non-living creature (1
Move: 60’(20’) PP); control undead as a 32 H D undead* (1
on his way to Alphatia to meet Mariella. If Flying: 150’(50’) PPIHD); 120 ’ infravision; entedexit astral
the party manages to convince him ((oneway Attacks: 1 sword/l whip at + 3 and ethereal planes l/day (9 PP); regenerate
or another) to leave the princess and return to Damage: 1-10 + 3/1-2 + 3 or special 1 hp per hour (1 PP/hp); immune to all mind
Farend, they should gain an extra bonus in No Appearing: 1/(Unique)* reading, disease, aging, death rays, and
XP. Alphaks plan is then totally foiled and the Save As: M U 16/(MU 36)* energy drains; and teleport without errors
party has accomplished their epic mission. Anti-Magic: 80% within 5 feet (within the prime material plane, 6PP; or
This completes the underworld’s prophecy Morale: 12 from or back to its outer plane, 9PP). (”)
that the party will return home, alone and on Alignment: Chaotic Alphks may control his undead servants
a foreign ship.. . XP Value: 11,750/(15,000) within a 100 mile radius.
* Alphaks’ special statistics. The demon does not need air, water, or
The roaring demon, Alphaks, is a creature of food to survive since it is an immortal crea-
the Sphere of Death. Upon attaining his tempo- ture. Only maqical weapons with a + 2 bonus
rality, Alphaks became such a demon in addi- or better can affect it. Anytime dice is rolled
tion to retaining his magic-user abilities. for damage against it, the result is always the
Alphaks is one of his many names. This fear- lowest possible score. For example, on 2d4,
some demon has a human body, though large the damage is automatically Iimited to 2
(12 feet tall in demon form). Sharp horns pro- points. Holy water thrown on a demon
trude one foot from either side of its forehead, enrages it to the point it charges the culprit.
and huge leathery bat wings rise from its back. Treat Alphaks’ physical abilities as St 18,
Mind Power: All of the demon’s special In 20, Wi 15, Dx 17, C o 18, C h 19/0. To mor-
powers are created via its Mind Power. This tals, the roaring demon appears loathsome,
includes the capacity to create spell-lie effects except if it chooses to assume a form more
from mental abilities. Only one effect per round attractive to humans. All physical attacks
can be so created, even while the demon is physi- should reflect the strength of the demon ( + 3
cally attacked or is moving. Mind power requires to hit and to damage).
the use of power points (PP) that can only be Alphaks is a reasonable creature who
restored by rest (never magically), up to 1 point rarely attacks by surprise, preferring to allow
per turn when the demon sleeps. Alphaks cam the victims a chance to surrender (totally and
cast any spell (other than those powers specifi- unconditionally, of course). If the victim does
29
NEW VESSEL
.
not surrender, AJphaks usually roars to sum-
mon its two special weapons ( 7 power
points), a two-handed sword of slicing + 5,
+ 10 vs. humans, and a whip ofdrainingwith
the same bonuses. Roth weapons appear in
the demon’s hands. If the demon drops them,
they vanish, returning to the demon’s plane.
T h e demon can use both weapons one-
handed at the same time.
If Nphaks is “killed,” its body dissolves and
its Chaotic soul returns to the Sphere of Death.
If the demon survives or if it flees to its plane,
several weeks later it mercilessly stalks the party
until they are all dead or bound to its will. If this
happens, Nphaks becomes a Celestial.
31
PREROLLED CHARACTERS
If your players do not have high-level char- Geoffrey has spent most of his career help- cessfully accomplished all he set to, and has
acters, you may use the prerolled characters. ing the poor and the sick in his native carved himself a niche in one of the northern
Encourage the players to add personality to Heldann Freeholds. Because of the constant elven communities. H e has returned to
these descriptions. Only the minimum equip- challenge and growing evil, he left his ances- human lands from time to time and occasion-
ment and armlor has been listed for these tral home for the new lands of Norwold. H e ally carries important messages to the king of
characters. Make sure that each has the fol- has been summoned by King Ericall to join Norwold. H e also keeps in touch with his
lowing: the battle fleet. human friends, and has become especially
Geoffrey is a serious, intense character. An interested in the advanced combat techniques
500,000 gp in gems, jewelry, or coins awesome force to behold in battle, he is capa- his friends have developed.
6-12 potions ble of great tenderness and kindness in times
1-3 magical rings of peace. H e spends much time quietly medi- Brogahn of the Steppes
2-5 miscellaneous magic items tating by himself.
Lawful 28th level knight
1-4 loyal henchmen (if the player wants them)
Weston the Tall Strength 15 Dexterity 11
When necessary, use dice to determine how
many of the above items a character has. A
Neutral 28th level thief Intelligence 9 Constitution 16
Wisdom 15 Charisma 7
random roll on the magic items list in the
Strength 12 Dexterity 16
D&D Basic, Expert, or Companion rules
@
32
II TO
DIMENSIONAL GUIDE
THE
STAR KINGDOMS
KSOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
1985 TSR Inc. All R i R ~ a e ~ ePrinted
d. in U.S.A.
NAVAL COMBAT RESULT TABLE
Extra
Difference Ship Damage Casualties Fatigue
W L W L W L
1-8 - N:N
-
-
16-24 5% 15% 010%
25-30 5% 20% 0:20%
- x
31-38 5% 25% 112X:20'
39-50 10%.309 112X:30:.
5 1-63 10%:35% X40% N:NF
15%.409 ".30% N:NF
15% 50%
20% 60%
101-120 20% 70%
121- 150 25%:80% N:SF
151 + 25%:90% 112X70X N:SU
W Winner L Loser
% = The percent casualties, in Hull Points for Ships, in HD or Levels for creatures.
X.MX = The winner suffers the same amount or 112 the loser's casualties (in HDllevels).
N = The force is not fatigued.
M = The force is moderately fatigued.
S = The force is seriously fatigued.
F = The force flees to its original port or to a safe place.
U = Remaining ships surrender to winner.
COMBINED MONSTERS STATISTICS CHART
J'iAME AC HD hp AT D MV AL THACO BOOK SA SD
Apparition' 0 IO*** 45 2 3-8/3-8 180'(60') C 10 Comp. Yes Yes
Beholder, Giant -4.-3.-2 88(7*) 400 1 8-64 60'(20') C 1 Comp. Yes Yes
Cloud Giant,Huae
IDolphin
n
.-
-,
..
. n
utugon, White
4 104.
15**'*
468
120
'
o
2446
bpecial
240'(80')
150'(50')
N
N
2
8
X.lC Yes
2 ~~1
No
comp. Yes No
360'(120')
Dragon Turtle 30. 240 3 1-8/1-8/10-60 30'(10') C 2 Comp. Yes No
W'(30')
I pecial 90 C 8 C Yes Yes
pecial 90 Var. 8 C Yes Yes
11-3/1-3 90' C 18
0 162 3 3-1 8/8-48 480'(1f L 2 Yo No
Hippogriff 5 15 3 1-6/1-6/1-10 180'(60') N 16 Yo No
360'( 120')
Hvdra. Giant 168 6 440x6 240'(80') C 2 les No
. Yes Yes
Revenant**
Reverter
Roaring Demon'
I -
Sea Hag No
Shadow* Yes
Skeleton I 1 5 1 1-6 ' W'(30') C 19 Basic ho Yes
Spectre 2 6" 36 1 108 + Special 150'(50') C 14 Exp. Yes Yes
300'(100')
Sperm Whale 36. 162 1 3-60 180'(60') N 2 Comp. Yes No
No No
,'. No No
Wraith* 3 I** 18 1 Special .120'(40') C 16 Exp. Yes Yes
240'(80')
Zombie 8 2 9 1 1-8 90'(30') C 18 Basic No Yes
(79(9.) indicates 7 or 9 asterisks after the creature's HD.
Pirate Fleet
0i-90 Revenant (1 -4)
51.7 Skyshark (1 -4)
MAP KEY
Mountains n Lakes
Hills Sea
Rivers U City