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| Introduction | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Evermeet | |
| Shadowlords: | |
| Introduction | |
| The Message | |
| Hill's Edge | |
| Skull Gorge | |
| The Bone Miners | |
| Enter the Shadow | |
1. You'll get used to it. There's a lot of death in my company. (bye)
2. Anera, you have not said much about how you came to serve Kelemvor.
It is a hard story to tell <FirstName>. I have not always be the person I am today.
1. Perhaps you're right. Let's not discuss it. (bye)
2. We all have a past. You may trust your tale to me.
When you are born good, truly good, it is sometimes a hard thing. When I came of age, I rebelled against my celestial blood.
First there was the boy, dying in a senseless test of valor I set for him. After his death, I slipped further down, taking up with a reckless mage all the girls fluttered over.
It wasn't for months that I discovered he was a practitioner of dark magics. Girls began to go missing. I found clues to suggest he was much older than he appeared.
When I finally put two and two together, I told my mother. When she and the other celestials burned him to to the ground, I knew what I must do.
On that day, I took a vow to serve Kelemvor and uphold the balance between life and death. I would tend to the dying and strike down those that pervert the natural passing to the beyond. I left my family and travelled to Waterdeep to serve the temple there.
1. It is not your mistakes, but what you learned from them that truly matters.
I was afraid you would think less of me, <FirstName>. I am glad my trust was well placed. (ANERAROMANCE++)
2. You were in love with a necromancer? That's sick.
I . . . was afraid you would feel that way.
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Entrance
The lower levels of the temple appear to be in better condition. While there are occasional signs of orcish intrusion, the masonry has few flaws and a few tattered tapestries still hang on the wall.
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Keeper's Room
This austere chamber contains a small bed and a chest in the corner. Muddy orcish footprints can be seen before the chest, as well as a few brownish stains on the floor.
A sign outside the door reads: "Keeper". A locked, trapped chest is here (DC15, 2pts needle), containing a single, masterwork dagger (worth 302gp):
This ornate dagger is beautifully balanced and encrusted with small sapphires. Tiny letters spell out a prayer to Jergal, "To move from this life with dignity and propriety."
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Keeper's Room
A small plaque on the wall of this dusty room reads "To Keep and Preserve". A small bed rests in the corner, the mattress nothing more than a dusty heap of rubbish.
The secret door in this room can be found by a DC15 spot check.
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Hidden Storage
This small chamber appears as an afterthought to the rest of the complex. Though well-made, it disturbs the symmetry of the architecture.
Lying on a table are two healing potions and the Cavern Key:
This brass key has a surprisingly complex series of teeth at one end. The handle contains small runes spelling out the phrase, "Thou Shall Not Duplicate".
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Entrance
This appears to be another entrance from the level above. Fresh muddy boot prints can be seen coming down the stairs. A dead orc is here as well, the blood still drying on the stone floor.
A single orc is here, his body stripped of all valuables by other orcs.
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Hall of Minor Oddities
This huge chamber is lined with doors on either side. In the center of the chamber are tables and bookshelves in surprisingly good condition, perhaps preserved through some magical means.
A plaque on either side of this hall reads "Hall of Minor Oddities: Please contact a Keeper if you require assistance with your research."
Several of the bookshelves, if disturbed, will release spiders (or other vermin) into the chamber. In some bookshelves can be found a Scroll of Magic Weapon (arcane) and a Scroll of Cure Light Wounds. Several other books are here as well:
The Dawn Cataclysm
It has been foreseen that there will come a time when the future of the Seven Gods will become threatened, and the very life of Jergal will be in question. It is this time that we must guard against, preserving knowledge and serving our god. As mortals pass from the land of the living, so too must gods in their own way. Should we be called upon to send our god to his resting place, we must be true to our duty.
Sparrow's Fall
It is said that in ancient times, our god of Death was a greedy god, gathering the living as a farmer would slaughter cattle for a feast. As millennia passed, Jergal grew bored and chose to take human form to walk among the living. He came across an old man and a girl, resting near a stream. Jergal took the girl, cutting her throat and watching the patterns her blood made in the water. The old man stared, but did not move.
"Do you not fear me?" asked Jergal. "Your death is at hand and you will not live through the day."
"I am an old man, and have seen much. The girl was my only granddaughter and you have taken the only thing in the world that I lived for. Nothing in this life holds me now."
Jergal held up his blade to strike the man down, but his silent gaze stopped the god's swing. Jergal reached out to the mind of the old man, reading his experiences and feelings. Overwhelmed by a lifetime of human joy and suffering, he gasped and collapsed in the grass. He found himself lifting the dead girl in his arms, tears streaming from his eyes for the first time. The girl stirred, wiping away the god's tears.
Jergal fled the river and returned to the Bone Castle. For months, he could not bear to take the life of another and chaos ruled the realms. Men pierced by blades would not die. Old women caught in a storm would be buried in snow, endlessly suffering. Only when the god could bear to look back upon the land of the living could he see what he had wrought.
Quickly, he brought the dead and dying to his realm, ending the suffering he had caused through negligence. Jergal sought men and women of the realms to assist in his new cause. They were to treat the dying with respect, caring for them in their passage to the afterlife. The families left behind would draw comfort that those they loved would be treated with dignity into the realms beyond.
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Ring of Knots
The Ring of Infernal Knots rests on a pillar:
This ring appears to consist of metallic strings, twisted and knotted in an almost maddening fashion.
A plaque before the pillar reads:
The Ring of Inferal Knots appears to be a unique item with no special powers to most mortals. To outsiders, especially demons, it holds a magical fascination. It is thought that there may be a way to bind the power of outsiders to the ring, though no one has dared attempt the experiment.
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Automaton
A strange automaton stands in this dusty chamber, its eyes following your movement. Although wear marks on the wall show it once had a plaque attached, it seems to have been removed.
(AUTOFIX=0) Automaton: Query? Fatal discrepancy. Input required.
1. Uh, hello? (end)
2. Stop your nonsense, stupid machine.
3. (INT >= 10) Status?
Automaton: One is not one. Assumption error. Manual correction required.
1. I've got your manual correction right here, you bucket of bolts. (bye)
2. What is the error?
Automaton: Postulate - a false sentence is not true. True sentences cannot be false.
1. I think I know where this one is headed. Go on.
Automaton: Statement - this sentence is false.
1. The sentence is true.
If the sentence is true, it must be false. Which makes it true, then false. Count zero interrupt. (bye)
2. The sentence is not false.
If the sentence is not false, it must be true. Which makes it false. Count zero interrupt. (bye)
3. The sentence is false. However, that doesn't mean the opposite is true.
Revising postulate. One moment. (SET AUTOFIX=1)
(AUTOFIX=1) Automaton: Instructions?
1. (AUTOFOLLOW=0) Follow me. (follow, set AUTOFOLLOW=1)
2. (AUTOFOLLOW=1) Stay here. (stop following, set AUTOFOLLOW=0)
The automaton will not attack enemies, even if attacked. He has, however 100hp and an AC of 18. If a trap is detected, he will state, "Anomaly detected. Attempting repair." He removes traps as a level 5 rogue.
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Immortal Squirrel
A small woodland animal scurries about this room.
A plaque reads:
The remnant of a mad mage's experiments in immortality, this small squirrel appears to know nothing of disease, hunger, or growing old. Unfortunately, the mage evidently could not duplicate his feat in humans, as his tiny pet far oulived his master.
Anera (after reading plaque):
I can sense the wrongness in such an act. To live beyond one's time is not a gift, but a curse.
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Armor of the Shadow Realm
This small, dusty chamber has a strange suit of armor resting on a pillar.
A plaque reads:
The Armor of the Shadow Realm was thought to be manufactured in some universe adjacent to the negative material plane. The very shadow nature of the armor makes it easily pierced by normal weapons, though it is thought to function differently in its native land. The full plate armor is cursed, -2, but provides Shadow (+10 Hide checks) as well. When actually worn in the Shadow Realm (module 5), it becomes +2 Full Plate permenantly.
This suit of armor seems almost insubstantial. Though it weighs as much as a normal suit of full plate, portions of the armor appear to be immaterial, like shadows in torchlight.
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Gauntlets of Death's Rage
A plaque here reads:
The Gauntlets of Death's Rage were thought to be created for arena combat between gladiators. Our interest in this item is the manner in which it was created. The souls of northern barbarians were trapped in the gauntlets and all attempts to safely free them have proven futile.
An orc is wearing the gauntlets. They provide +4 strength, but cause berzerk rage (and are cursed).
These massive gauntlets appear to be made of the numerious bones of small creatures. It could be said that they way that they carefully interlock is almost beautifully artistic, were the material not so gruesome.
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Device of Disappearance
A strange contraption rests on a pillar, knobs and levers protruding from various surfaces.
A plaque reads:
This device was found in an ancient temple, apparently dedicated to Moander. After an acolyte disappeared while testing the controls, all experimentation on this device was stopped.
Moander is the forgotten god of rot and decay. Playing with the controls will teleport the person to a small maze, filled with skeletons and zombies. In the center is a Priest of Morander (L3 - may have undead minions depending on the party level). He carries two potions of healing, a gold necklace, a scroll of Lesser Restoration, and a +1 morningstar, Decay:
The head of this morningstar is fashioned to be just that: a human head. Instead of spikes, animated grubs writhe on the weapon's surface. A greenish light emanates brightly in all directions.
He will greet the player, "Ah, more minions! Your bones will serve me once I strip your flesh clean!" Behind the priest is a portal back to the exterior of the device.
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Emergency Door
This large hall ends in what appears to be a massive stone portcullis. The passage is currently blocked, and two men are standing near a broken lever.
"What do you mean, it can't be opened?"
"The lever was rotten through. It broke after I pulled it."
"How's she going to get back?"
"Um, I dunno."
"Why'd she want her path barred anyway?"
"She says it's because of those adventurers, trying to follow us."
"Paranoid woman."
"Uh oh, it's them."
Two fighters are here (L3) and will fight the party. They carry longswords and chain mail.
A sign here reads, "If the emergency door is closed, DO NOT OPEN. Contact a Keeper immediately."
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Storage
Crates, barrels, and boxes are stacked around this large chamber.
Among the ruined crates and barrels is an Orcish Rogue, carrying miscellaneous junk in a Minor Bag of Holding.
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Storage
This large chamber has a large range of boxes and crates stored about haphazardly.
One barrel holds a potion of healing. Another crate is trapped and holds a Wand of Color Spray.
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Entrance to Cavern
This small room's most noticeable feature is a well-fortified door on the far wall.
A sign here reads, "If you require access to the caverns, please contact a Keeper."
The Cavern key found in the hidden storage room next to the keeper opens this door.
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Spider Lair
The room of this floor is covered in a thick dust. Recent webbed footprints lead to the middle of this chamber, then disappear.
If the party moves to the center of the room, a Giant Spider will appear. Killing it reveils the body of a Kuo-Toa, a platnum necklace, and a pearl.
When the spider dies, Anera will say: Ah, I love the smell of ichor in the morning.
1. Smells like victory.
2. Smells like teen spirit.
3. Smells pretty bad to me.
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Pool Room
Shimmering reflections on the ceiling of this cave is the first clue of the pool nearby. The water seems exceptionally deep, the rippling surface suggesting river currents far below.
1-3 Kuo-Toa are here, scouting out passages to the surface. They will attack on sight.
(triggered if TALNASHDEAD=1) Orrick's Sending: Now, now. Perhaps we can be more reasonable.
1. What do you want?
I imagine much the same as you. Power and knowledge, primarily. Perhaps we can compromise.
1. Why do you wish the boy dead?
The boy is not all he seems, as you may have discovered by now. What he is represents a threat to my plans, and I will not tolerate interference. If you would eliminate this threat for me, I would reward you richly.
1. So how much for me to slit his throat?
Perhaps 1,000 gold pieces?
1. Kill him now? How would you deliver your prize? You're not even here.
I hope you will reconsider. I am not a patient man.
Jered: [FirstName], I do hope you were just trying to get information out of him. Your talk makes me nervous.
2. I will protect his life to the last, Orrick. Your offers fall on deaf ears.
Consider my words. I am not a patient man.
2. I'm not speaking with you, a coward who hides behind phatasmal sendings.
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Shriekers
The scent of moldy cheese overwhelms your sense of smell as you enter this chamber.
Several shriekers are here, attracting nearby monsters (e.g. those at 21).
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Barrel Rooom
Several large barrels are stuffed in the corner of the room. A strong salty smell is present, as if meats were being pickled.
The barrels contain the body of a Kuo-Toa, recently killed by the Merrow (Aquatic Ogre). At the bottom of the barrel is also a masterwork spear.
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Merrow's Den
Fish heads litter the floor and refuse has been pushed against the cavern walls.
1-3 merrows (aquatic ogres) are here and will attack the party on sight. In a pile in the corner can be found a gold necklace, a potion of Cure Serious Wounds, and several gems.
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Downward Passage
Roughly hewn into the native rock is a stone passageway leading further down into the earth.