On the Wyvern Coast - Part Three

What follows are a few of the encounters set in the map posted a few days ago.

0220 Zhitleg-Yiq: An eye of the deep called Zhitleg-Yiq dwells in a lightless chasm in this hex, ascending from the salty gloom when it senses easy prey above. Its lair is littered with treasures under the guard of crab exoskeletons (as many as the Referee thinks will challenge his players). The monster’s treasure consists of 2,140 gp, 2 x 5 gp gems, 6 x 50 gp gems, an orichalcum brazier (10 gp), a telescope (70 gp if repaired), a silver statuette of a greyhound (50 gp), a silver vase (120 gp), a choker with gold links shaped like dolphins (40 gp), a bamboo scroll (barely legible) on the music of the Mu-Pan Empire (50 gp), a silver vase (50 gp), a suit of +1 chainmail and a pair of bracers of defense, AC 4 [15]. The treasure is kept in a pile surrounded by poisonous sea urchins.

• Zhitleg-Yiq: HD 10 (44 hp); AC 4 [15]; Atk 2 pincer (2d4) and bite (1d6); Move 6; Save 5; CL/XP 10/1400; Special: Blinding light, illusions, hold monster, hold person, regenerate eye stalks.
• Crab Exoskeletons: HD 6; AC 3[16]; Atk 2 pincers (2d6); Move 6; Save 12; CL/XP 8/800; Special: Immune to turning, unaffected by sleep, hold, and charm, immune to non-blunt weapons.

0223 Road of Glass: An ancient road constructed from cobblestones of sea glass runs for 2 miles through this hex, from northeast to southwest. The road is in bad repair. It emerges from tall sand dunes in the northeast and disappears beneath a bed of giant clams in the southwest. Midway along the road’s length there stands a monument that looks like an abstract column of greenish metal filled with irregular holes.

0316 Palace of Phasutep: Phasutep was a minor demon in the service of the demon lord Dagon who constructed for himself a fabulous palace beneath the sea floor in this hex. The entrance is a 20-foot diameter bronze grate that can only be opened by an offering of human blood (1 in 6 chance of attracting sharks).

Beyond the grate there is a sprawling complex of marine caverns crawling with poisonous vermin, giant eels and a were-eel called Ulic and multiple marble statues of Phasutep (a revolting creature that combines the torso of an athletic man, legs that are a mass of serpents, arms covered in chitin and tipped with crab pincers and a head covered in lamprey-like mouths) that randomly teleport creatures from one statue to another. Should multiple persons each touch a different statue, all are teleported to a subterranean vault several miles beneath the sea caves that holds Phasutep’s palace.

The palace consists of several levels of corridors and chambers clad in mother-of-pearl and garish designs in black bronze, and lit with an unnatural, gibbous light. The upper portions are inhabited by semi-intelligent sea slugs capable of causing confusion, bloated, water-logged zombies in silk raiment and armed with serrated swords and a cabal of immortal clerics wearing black robes, each of which bears the claws of a crab in place of their human hands. Deeper levels have corridors and chambers of titanic dimensions that degenerate chuul, fountains of living, primordial ooze and a tribe of fomorians. The deepest level is a grotto of blood-red coral walls inhabited by the spirits of beautiful women who drowned in the Tepid Sea kept as a harem to entertain Phasutep (long since slain) and his lord Dagon (who will appear 1% of the time when the place is disturbed). The grotto contains three shimmering pools, two of which rob a person of their soul, the other acting as a gateway to Dagon’s extradimensional domain.

0604 Shipwrecked Galley: An ancient merchant galley sank to the seafloor here over a century ago. An enterprising dragon turned it into his lair. The dragon, Tupporring, is a huge serpent with blue scales. Tupporring is incapable of speech or spell use. There is a 30% chance that it will be found asleep on its pile of 9,100 gp. It also owns a hyacinth gemstone (50 gp) and four bottles of expensive perfume (100 gp each).

• Tupporring, Ancient Dragon: HD 14 (112 hp); AC -6 [25]; Atk Bite (4d6); Move 12 (Swim 24); CL/XP 17/3500; Special: Frosty breath weapon, spit a wad of phlegm that holds victims fast to surfaces and can only be dissolved by alcohol.

1905 Workshop of Thros: Thros is an ancient mechanical man, a master leatherworker who specializes in shagreen armor (leather armor made from shark skin). He is made of black bronze, has phosphorescent eyes and his back is covered in barnacles. Thros has a collection of obsidian knives, bone needles and spools of copper wire that he uses as thread. His workshop is an ancient, submerged dolmen.

2603 Crumbling Ziggurat: The vestiges of a basalt ziggurat can be found here. The structure was built by the sahuagin but abandoned decades ago for unknown reasons. At the heart of the ziggurat there are strange machineries that create a area of becalmed winds in a 2-hex radius (marked on map as a shaded circle).

3010 Bathymora: Bathymora is a crystalline dome that contains a village of undines (120 males, 145 females, 9 children). The interior of the dome is filled with airy water. The dome can be entered through massive double doors of thick oak. Within the outer perimeter dome, which measures 1 mile in diameter, there is a stout keep surrounded by manicured gardens dotted with dozens of brightly colored pavilions, each the home of an undine warrior and his family. These pavilions are quite large, measuring 20 feet on each side, and stocked with all the comforts of home. The keep is built of coral blocks of orange and pink. Its master is Cammorvin, who has the abilities of a fighting-man, magic-user and cleric. Cammorvin’s lady-love is Duania. Also living in the keep are Cammorvin’s sons, Milell, Porondams and Anair and their wives and families. Cammorvin also keeps a pack of five barracuda that he uses as hounds, two small squid that fill the role of falcons, and eight hippocampi. The warriors of Bathymora carry spears and daggers and wear armor of mithril scales. The lord of Bathymora and his knights are haughty and ill-tempered, and not disposed toward mercy or chivalry. A knight has 6d10 gp in his purse. Cannorvin’s treasure consists of 3,000 gp, an ivory coronet (75 gp), a golden crown (100 gp) and a cursed scroll that turns readers into barracuda.

• Cammorvin, Undine Cleric/Mage/Fighter Lvl 6: HP 25; AC 4 [15]; Save 11; Special: Cleric and Magic-User Spells (3rd); Scale armor, shield, lance, dagger.
• Milell, Undine Fighting-Man Lvl 6: HP 25; AC 4 [15]; Save 13; Scale armor, shield, lance, dagger.
• Porondams, Undine Fighting-Man Lvl 5: HP 33; AC 4 [15]; Save 14; Scale armor, shield, lance, dagger.
• Anair, Undine Fighting-Man Lvl 4: HP 23; AC 4 [15]; Save 15; Scale armor, shield, lance, dagger.
• Milell, Undine Fighting-Man Lvl 6: HP 25; AC 4 [15]; Save 13; Scale armor, shield, lance, dagger.

3019 Gilram-of-the-Mists: The coast here is clad in a thick fog all year long, night and day. Travelers picking their way through the fog run a heightened risk of tumbling into the sea. Inside the fog one can hear voices, sometimes mournful, sometimes merry, but always seductive. Colored lights bob in and out of the fog, sometimes appearing to be attached to the prows of silently gliding skiffs, other times swooping from the sky in formation and then scattering away into the fog. In the midst of the fog there is a simple tower of basalt blocks with a heavy door painted black. This is the tower of Gilram-of-the-Mists , a master illusionist.

Gilram is a deformed and amoral man. He despises visitors, but will sometimes lead travelers to his tower that he may torment them with his frightful illusions. Gilram has three apprentices, two of them, Galair and Paset, being mere quacksalvers, the other, Sadhu, a prestidigitator. The tower has three levels, the lower level a parlor filled with oddities and cunning (but not deadly) tricks and traps. The second level is a kitchen, Galair and Paset having straw mattresses by the hearth, Sadhu a tiny living cell. The third level is Gilram’s bedchamber and laboratory. The tower is protected by a mihstu called U’llhaib. U’llhaib usually lurks about in the immediate vicinity of the tower, but can be summoned by Gilram (and his apprentices, though they would not dare do so unless threatened with certain death) by speaking its name three times.

Gilram keeps his treasures in plain sight, disguising them as mundane items using permanent illusions. The horde consists of 2,500 gp disguised as barrels of flour. He has four 10 gp gems and two 100 gp gems disguised as shriveled apples discarded in a corner of the kitchen. Gilram wears a spectacular array of jewelry, including a silver toe ring decorated with garnets (100 gp), an iron armband set with an oval hematite (50 gp) that he claims improves the balance of his bodily humors and a silver choker set with chips of rose quartz (25 gp). He also carries a silver dagger. His only other treasures are a dusty bottle of burgundy wine (200 gp), a pound of fine tobacco (100 gp) and an ounce of cloves (200 gp).

Gilram would like very much to bring Lord Krull to heel, or at least chase him from the Wyvern Coast . They were once adventurer’s together, and competed for the love of the same woman.

• Gilram, Magic-User (Illusionist) Lvl 10: HP 22; AC 7 [12]; Save 8; Special: Spells (5th); Silver dagger, darts (5), grimoire, jewelry (see above).
• Sadhu, Magic-User (Illusionist) Lvl 3: HP 5; AC 9 [10]; Save 15; Special: Spells (2nd); Dagger, darts (2), grimoire, lucky rabbits foot.
• Galair & Paset, Magic-User (Illusionist) Lvl 1: HP 1d4; AC 9 [10]; Save 17; Special: Spells (1st); Club, darts (2), grimoire.
• Mihstu: HD 8; AC -3 [22]; Atk 4 tentacles (1d6+1); Move 6; Save 8; CL/XP 14/2600; Special: Only harmed by +2 weapons, constitution drain, immune to electricity and missiles, stunned by cold.

3103 Crumbling Tower of Kiquarua: Kiquarua was a sahuagin sorcerer who feuded for many years with Arivorth, an undine wizard who dwells in [3108]. In the end, Arivorth came out on top, and Kiquarua’s tower is now a crumbling heap of basalt stone surrounded by a forest of sinewy, reddish kelp. The tower is inhabited by Kiquarua’s three sahuagin apprentices, Zas, Gualt and Iacatuagyorn, and his former imp familiar, and now master of the ruins, Catugern. Most of Kiquarua’s treasure was lost in Arivorth’s final attack, but 4,000 sp and 600 gp still remains, hidden behind a loose stone.

• Catugern the Imp: HD 2 (8 hp); AC 2 [17]; Atk 1 sting (1d4 + poison); Move 6 (Fly 16); Save 16; CL/XP 6/400; Special: Poison tail, polymorph into angler fish, regenerate 1 hp/rd, immune to fire, only hit by silver or magic weapons.
• Sahuagin Apprentices: HD 2+1; AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 weapon (1d6); Move 12 (Swim 18); Save 16; CL 3/60; Special: Magic-user spells (1 x 1st).

3108 Arivorth’s Tower: Arivorth’s tower appears to be a single column of reddish volcanic rock marked with about one dozen crystalline windows that bulge outward. The place is entered through a heavy door of bronze marked with a glyph of warding that delivers an electrical shock (3d6 damage) to all within 20 feet. The interior of the tower is filled with airy water. It consists of a dozen levels, with access between levels via circular trapdoors of bronze. For many decades, Arivorth was locked in a struggle with a rival named Kiquarua (see [3103] for more details), finally destroying him just one year ago. The final eldritch assault cost Arivorth his vigor. He is now a tall, gaunt undine with wispy, silver hair and a single, purple eye with a puckered hole where his other eye should be. Arivorth’s own grimoire is tattooed onto flayed skins rolled into scrolls. Kiquarua’s grimoire is a collection of thin, metal plates etched with glyphs. This was the prize that drove Arivorth to destroy his old enemy, for it contains information relevant to the attainment of lich-hood, which Arivorth desires above all other things. He is now in a race with time to complete his preparations before he expires. Arivorth is assisted in this endeavor by five apprentices, Aernach, Berthach, Bruidian, Mortaig (all adepts) and Tristhiore, a soothsayer. The tower is also protected by the animated remains of Kiquarua, now stripped of his flesh. Arivorth owns 3,530 gp, an obsidian pendant (75 gp) and a huge chunk of turquoise (770 gp) that he plans on using as his phylactery.

• Arivorth, Undine Magic-User Lvl 9: HP 26; AC 9 [10]; Save 9; Special: Magic-User Spells (5th); Copper staff, obsidian dagger.
• Tristhiore, Undine Magic-User Lvl 2: HP 5; AC 9 [10]; Save 16; Special: Magic-User Spells (1st); Obsidian dagger.
• Adepts, Undine Magic-User Lvl 1: HD 1d4; AC 9 [10]; Save 17; Special: Magic-User Spells (1st); Obsidian dagger.
• Kiquarua, Wight: HD 3 (11 hp); AC 5 [14]; Atk 1 claw (1 hp + level drain); Move 9; Save 14; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Drain 1 level with hit, hit only by magic or silver weapons.

3119 Corsair Cove: Corsair Cove provides a safe haven for pirates. There is no authority in the village, though an unwritten law forbids fighting and theft. It is a rare pirate who will break that law, for Corsair Cove is the only haven on the Tepid Sea not under Ophir’s control. The village is centered on the House of the Blood Red Skull, an inn owned by Old Thom, an ex-corsair. Thom employs several wenches and a temperamental boggart named Scraps as a cook. The inn is a raucous place with gambling, wrestling and competitive darts on Thursdays. The village also has a barber, leatherworker, jeweler (and fence), smith and shipwright.

• Old Thom, Fighting-Man Lvl 3: HP 22; AC 9 [10]; Save 16; Cleaver.

3221 Bothazamast the Reaper: A deep, black pool, placid and cool, rests amidst the barren hills. Stinging flies swarm along the shore over bunches of purple coneflowers. The pool is the lair of Bothazamast the Reaper, a creature of chaos. Bothazamast appears as a 12-foot tall black mantis. It walks on its two rear-most legs, using the other four to attack. The creature’s arms are tipped with great scythes. The touch of these scythes corrodes and destroys non-magical metal. Bothazamast can charge into combat, dealing double damage if it attacks successfully. If its attack rolls beat its opponent’s Armor Class by more than 4, it deals an additional dice of damage. Bothazamast is immune to mental attack and to all spells except those involving light. It cannot be surprised. Bothazamast feeds off of the chaos and panic its appearance causes. It guards Qualag, a +3 shield once used by the forces of law. Qualag is surrounded by a faint golden aura in a 10’ radius. This aura suppresses all magical effects other than its own. In addition, the bearer’s sixth sense becomes so acute he cannot be surprised. Unfortunately, this effect also causes terrible insomnia, with the bearer only able to fall asleep each night on the roll of 1-2 on 1d6. After one week without sleep, the bearer must succeed at a saving throw each day to avoid insanity (per the spell of the same name).

• Bothazamast: HD 12 (84 hp); AC 18; Atk 4 scythes (2d6); Move 12 (Climb 12, Swim 12); Save 3; CL/XP 17/3500; Special: Immune to mental attack, immune to magic, never surprised, charge, corrode metal.

3413 Citadel of Arkad the Humble: This crumbling vestige of the rule of Arkad, one of the most infamous of the Purple Kings, is now inhabited by a band of 76 red-robed religious fanatics (fight as berserkers) led by the warlord Xaathan. Xaathan and his men are devotees of the cult of Oanne, an unorthodox cleric whose body is interred in the winding catacombs beneath the citadel. Oanne lost his life exploring the catacombs in search of the Vessel of Mandukh, a relic of Dagon’s cult said to give prophetic powers to those who inhale the smoke of frankincense burned in the vessel. Xaathan is assisted by two fighters, Sumya and Dauruss, and a ritual chanter called Harath. The fanatics range along the coast (avoiding the fog-covered hex 3019) and into the interior, waylaying caravans for supplies. Their treasure, kept in stone caskets discovered in the catacombs, consists of a necklace of blue diamonds (900 gp) and 5,320 gp. They also have 2d6 weeks of standard rations and 2d6 vials of poison that deals 1d6 points of damage.

• Xaathan, Fighting-Man Lvl 12: HP 56; AC 1 [18]; Save 7; Battle axe, platemail, shield, light crossbow, 10 quarrels (poisoned).
• Sumya, Fighting-Woman Lvl 6: HP 40; AC 3 [16]; Save 7; Hand axe, chainmail, shield, light crossbow, 10 quarrels (poisoned).
• Dauruss, Fighting-Man Lvl 5: HP 20; AC 3 [16]; Save 7; Hand axe, chainmail, shield, light crossbow, 10 quarrels (poisoned).
• Harath, Fighting-Man (Bard) Lvl 4: HP 12; AC 3 [16]; Save 7; Long sword, chainmail, shield, longbow, 20 arrows (poisoned), harp.

3611 Bbhal-Epho: A tribe of 80 oktomon warriors, 50 females and 70 young dwell in a large seamount riddled with caves. In the middle of the sea mount is a geothermal vent, giving these oktomon (who apparently have developed a resistance to the caustic and poisonous fumes) access to metalworking. The tribe is led by a warlord called Bhaegos and his four subordinates, Dhot, Rynghot, Bhagg and Boboguta. The tribe also has a cleric of Tiamat called Phalashu and a sisterhood of five psychics led by Hathotho. The tribe is served by 100 skum slaves. The deepest portion of their mountain lair, kept quite hot by its proximity to the vent, holds the tribe’s treasure of 4,160 gp is kept in scavenged amphorae. The tribe’s warriors carry bronze socket axes and bronze-tipped hooked swords*.

• Bhaegos, Oktomon Fighting-Man Lvl 8: HP 70; AC 6 [13]; Save 11; Shields (2), battle axe, hooked sword.
• Subordinates: HD 4; AC 6 [13]; Atk 4 weapons (1d8); Move 12 (Swim 18); Save 14; CL/XP 5/240; Special: None.
• Phalashu, Oktomon Cleric Lvl 6: HP 34; AC 4 [15]; Save 11; Special: Cleric spells (3rd); Shields (2), battle axe, hooked sword.
• Hathotho, Oktomon Psychic Lvl 6: HP 36; AC 4 [15]; Save 12; Special: Astral Travel, Clairaudience/ Clairvoyance, Mesmerism, Mind Blast; Hooked swords (2), shields (2).
• Sister Psychics: HD 3; AC 4 [15]; Atk 2 weapons (1d8); Move 12 (Swim 18); Save 16; CL/XP 5/240; Special: Mind Blast.
• Skum: HD 2; AC 6 [13]; Atk Bite (2d6); Move 9 (Swim 18); Save 16; CL/XP 2/30; Special: None.

* Hooked swords grant a +1 bonus to make disarming and overbearing attacks to warriors skilled in their use.

3623 Maze of Pharos: In a broad valley of salt flats there is a maze dug directly into the hard-packed earth and lined with blue tiles. The maze is all that remains of the catacombs of an ancient city that thrived during the time of the Nabu Empire. The catacombs are patrolled by giant scarab beetles and cobras. Shelves in the walls of the catacombs hold urns that contain the ashen remains of the ancient city’s dead. Secret passages in the walls lead to narrow flights of stairs and private tombs protected by glyphs of warding and cunning poison gas traps. At the center of the maze there is a gaping hole over 100 feet deep. This was a once a well fed by an artesian well. At the bottom of this hole lie the remains of King Pharos, a necromancer of great repute in his time. He lies atop a magical seal that, if broken by an agent of law, will open a crack in the hillside above and release an undead army under the command of Old King Pharos, now a specter.

• Pharos, Spectre: HD 7 (39 hp); AC 2[17]; Atk 1 spectral weapon or touch (1d8 + level drain); Move 15 (Fly 30); Save 9; CL/XP 9/1100; Special: Drain 2 levels with hit, immune to non-magical weapons.

3711 Lord Krull: Perched above the sea is a motte-and-bailey castle, the stronghold of Krull, a merciless warlord who defies the lords of Ophir at every turn. Krull’s orcs include 20 crossbowmen, 30 heavy infantry, 10 sergeants-at-arms to keep them in line, an artillerist and crew for his cannon (5d6 damage) and a cleric called Perduc. Huddled around the stronghold is a village of 50 shepherds and their families living in simple hovels built of stone. Krull’s arms are a field or with party per pall sable emblazoned with a wyvern gules (memorializing an adventure he once had in the mountains of the Wyvern Coast ). Krull is especially moody these days, for he is mourning the loss of his love, away far too long exploring the Palace of Phasutep in [0316]. Krull’s treasure amounts to 2,850 gp.

• Shepherd: HD 1d4; AC 9 [10]; Atk 1 weapon (1d4+1); Move 12; Save 18; CL/XP A/5; Special: Expert slinger (+1 to hit and damage).
• Orc: HD 1; AC 6 [13]; Atk 1 weapon (1d8); Move 9; Save 17; CL/XP 1/15; Special: None.
• Perduc, Orc Cleric Lvl 5: HP 23; AC 4 [15]; Save 11; Special: Cleric Spells (3rd); Mace, chainmail, unholy symbol.
• Lord Krull, Orc Fighting-Man Lvl 9: HP 72; AC 2 [17]; Save 10; Bastard sword, platemail, javelin of lightning.

Krull's heraldry made possible by the generous programming of Inkwell Ideas.