Titles

a
1Jreatl
---------------------.,~

T
h e colony of Farsho re h as survived on its own for years, a seclude d and
struggling hamlet perched on the western shore of the tiny island of
Temute.An island dwarfed by the savage land scape acro ss a n arr ow chan -
nel to th e nort h, a land scap e of ru gged mountains, tangled j un gles, and track-
less swamps. TIlls is the Isle of Dread. and its resour ces and hidden treasures
are matc hed on ly by its peril. Yet for all th ese dangers. what m ay bring doom to
Farshore is not an invasion of inhu man monsters from the mainland, but an
invasion ofall- too -hu ma n monsters from across th e sea.
"Tides of Dread" is the fifth chapter of the Savage Tide Adventure Path ,
a com plete cam paign con sisting of 12 ad ventures ap peari ng in D UN G EO N
Magazin e. For addition al aid in runn in g thi s campaign, che ck out D RA GO N
Magazin e's month ly "Savage Tidings" articles, a series tha t help s players an d
DMs prepare for and expa n d u pon the cam paign. Issue # 352 of D RA GON Maga-
zin e featur es ru m ors of Fars bore. a h elpfu l list ofi mp roveme n ts th e p e s can
make to the colony, an d ot her featu res to help get p e s oriented in the ir n ew
home on the Isle of Dread .
The PCs should be oth level when they begin "Tides of Dread."Th ey should
gain enough experience to advance to rot h level at som e poin t durin g the
adventu re, and n th level by its end.

~'----------------------

((1 BY STEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN

(13 BY BEN WOOTTEN AND WAR REN MAHY
® BY ROBERT LAZZARETTI
ADVENTURE PATH ! MID LEVEL (6TH-12TH) " WILDERNESS & MASS BATTLE !
PLAYTESTEDBY ROB ALFORD. STANLEY CRAMER, DAN DEKKER, APRIL GREER, BEN "HUFFSTER" HUFF,
PAUL PHAREZ, TODD ROWE, DAYTON RUFF, BEN WILLIAMS

FEBRUARY2 007 DUNGEON 29

 TIDES OF DREAD BY STEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN I

cal storms wrecked upon th e reefs sur- the victory points arc tota led to deter-
ro undin g the isle, but non e of the se m in e the result of the final batt le an d
visitors escaped to tell tales ofan island Farshore's fate.
ruled by monsters. It wasn't until a few
decades ago, when an intr epi d explorer Adventure Hooks
nam ed Rory Bar bar osa di scovered the If you're running "Tides of Dread" as a
uncha rted island and mad e it back to the stand-alone adventu re or as par t of your
mainland, that pr oofofthe m ythical isle own camp aign , you mi ght ne ed another
reached civilizati on. Rory's first trip to introduction to th e adventure. Any of
the isle reward ed him with great riches th e affiliations descr ibed in the "Savage
plunder ed from ancie nt Olman r uin s, Ti din gs" ar ticle of DR AGON Magazi ne
but he kne w that if the local legend s were #348 may provide a pre text for the PCs
true, even greater rich es waited deeper in to tra vel to Farsb or e, as the y all have
the isle's interior. While RoI)' never made represen tat ives in the colony. Alter-
it back to the Isle of Dread , hi s legacy natel y, you could start your Savage T ide
lives on. Many explorers and advent ur- cam paign with th is adventure, in which
ers continue to seek ou t the isle to this case the PCs are members of Farsho re
day. Most perish. Unt il only a few years already. Ifyou start th em at ist level, use
ago, no one had even dared think about the accompanying Farshore Backd ro p
establi shing a permanent colony on the as in spiration for low-level adventu res
isle. Th is chan ged with Farsho re. before you let th e PCs br ave the terro rs
of th e mainland.
Adventure Synopsis
Th e PCs arrive at Farshore to discover it PART ONE: THE ISLE OF
und er atta ck by pirates. After aiding the DREAD
colony's defense, the PCs are reu nited Over 1,300 years ago, a fleet of Olman
with Lavinia Vanderboren. She tells them princes from across th e eastern sea
of h er own troubles at sea, and of the came upon a bou nteou s land an d
n ew problem facing th e colony. A pirate claimed it as thei r own . They clea red
captu red du rin g the attac k reveals that vast stretc hes of jungle on the island
he and his mate s were merely scouts. to plan t crops, and built a fort ified city
Th e Crimson Fleet knows of th e colo- that dwarfed all oth er sett lements in th e
Adventure Background ny's locati on , and in approximately two region atop a massive cent ral plat eau.
Cen turies ago, the Olman Empire spread mont h s, they will ar rive in force to take Known as Than aclan , this city became
itselfacross the lengt h and br eadth ofthe what they can and bu rn the rest. the heart ofone of the wealthiest king -
Densac Gul f and as far sou th as th e Pearl Before thi s event, the PCs are called do ms of the far-flung Olman em pire.
Sea. On thi s southern verge, its mo st iso- upon to do wha t the y can to prepare After approximatel y 300 years of ru le,
lated kingd om . Tha naclan, also became Farshore for the attack. Some of these the city-state of Than aclan fell prey to
it s mo st prosperous. Long aft er th e rest of tasks can be handled qu ickly an d locally, th e firs t savage tid e. The tide washe d
the Olman Empire succwnbed to warfare bu t th e mos t important miss ions take over the ent ire islan d, bringi ng rui n,
and strife , the Lords offhanaclan thrived th e PCs onto the mainl and of the Isle of mad ness, and death, and what remained
in their opalescent capital, an d their an gry Dread , wher e th ey'll need to forge alli- beca me known as the Isle of Dread .
gods were pleased. Yet th e kingdom of ances with nativ e peop les, secure access The isle itself is a large landmass sur-
Thanaclan was no t destined for immor- to natural resou rces, recover and repair rounde d by treacherous reefs and smaller
tality. A thousand years ago, a great tr ag- the Sea Wy vern, and even face down the islands. Most of the island's coastlin e con-
edy threw down the proud king d om. physical mani festation of an ancient sists of rugged cliffs, but here and there
transforming a prosperous land into what Olman god. Each ofthese missions earns isolated beaches allow safe landing.Most of
is known today as the Isle of Dread. the part y a nu m ber of victory points. the hu man population of the isle, descen-
For hundreds of years, th e Isle of When th e Cri ms on Fleet arrives, the dan ts of the original rulers ofThanaclan,
Dread lay in the vast sea, un visite d and PCs' accom plis hm ents during th e en su- dwell on a southern peninsula, sheltered
unknown save by th e few tribes of'O lman in g batt le earn them add itional victo ry from the mon sters and din osaurs that rule
survivors, who as generat io ns passe d poin ts. In th e final enc ounter they com e th e mainland by a great wall.
looked back u pon the age ofThanaclan face to face with Lavi nia's bro the r Van- Weathe r on the Isle of Dread is, at
with growing wonder and fear. Now and thu s, now th e half-fiend captain of a best, unco mfortably war m and humid.
th en , ships d riven off-course by trcpi - Crimson Fleet shi p. At the battle's end, Along th e coast, tem peratures have been

30 DUNGEON FEBRUARY 2007

 known to dip as low as 64° F,while atop m an ey in th eir bu rial ritu als h as th e certainly not beyond the PCs' capabilities at
the central plateau or in the depths ofthe un fo rtu n ate 'side effect of in cr easing this time,what awaits them ther e is beyond
jungles it often rises above 90° F.The bulk the ,pre sence of dangerous undea d in the scope of this adventu re. Wandering
of the isle is covered with lush , tr opical these regions. enco unte rs for th e central plateau are
j ungles, yet here and there rem inders of Surrounding Waters (4% chance of detailed in DUNGEON Magazine # 145, in
the ancient Olm ans can be found in the encou'nter): The waters surr oundi ng the the adventure "City ofBroken Idols."
form ofcollapsed statues, rui ned templ es, isle are ~nly ma rgi nally safer than th e
and mysterious standing stones. Few isle itself Most ofthe creatures e nCQU TI- Encounter Locations
examples of th e isle's original faun a sur- ter ed here are n't dang ero us eno ugh to T he foll owin g entries give a brief
vive today (mostly limited to MId boars, menace a ship th e size ofthe Hellfish, Blue description of specific areas of the
rock baboo ns, or terror birds),for the isle Nixie, or Sea Wyvern, but those marked by Isle of Dread. Many of these locations
is now overrun with terrible, legendary an asterisk certai n ly cou ld. are de tailed further in th e Savage Tide
creatures. Chiefand largest amon g the se Isle Mainland (15% chance ofencoun- Adven ture Path, bu t ot hers are left to you
are th e din osaur s, or "thunder lizard s," as ter): Th e Isle of Dread itself is rife with to expand u pon.
the Olman natives call th em. Yet th ere are da n gerous creatu res, the m aj ori ty of Aranea Lair: Th is arboreal village of
other mo nsters dwelli ng in lhe hidde n f whic h are dinosaurs . Statistics for sev- cavelike webs is inhabit ed by dozens of
reaches of the isle, monsters that coupl e era! dino sau rs are presented in sidebars aran eas.
their fearsome coun tenances with an in this advent ure. Worse, per iod ic pla- Ashfall Isle: Ashfall is a desolate rock,
equally fearsom e intellect. J nar breaches between th e Isle of Dread const antly in the shadow ofRed Belcher's
As the PCs explore the Isle of Dread an d the Abyssa l layer of Gaping Maw smoky plume. Little lives here.
and Its surround ing Islands and waters, ) in crease the likelihood of en countering Badwall Isle: This is a jagged islet
they'll certai nly run afou l of its dan ger- \ lone demo ns on th e mainland . with little vegetation and no safe sho res
ous denizens. Most of these creatures 1. Central Plateau: The Isle of Dread's u pon which to land. A nest oftwo dozen
are little mo re than an imals, but some centr al plateau is shro uded in mystery and wyvern s claim its peaks.
also possess a degree ofintelligence that -r rumor, the Olmans view the place as taboo, Blackfen: This swamp is th e territory
make them all th e more deadly.Th e Isle and do no t speak of it with outlanders. ofseveral bi ckerin g tribes ofbullywugs,
of Dread is split in to four encounter While reaching th e central plateau is frogli ke human oid s th at rarely vent ure
zones, each with its own table ofwand er-
in g mo nsters. Check for random enco un -
ters four times a day by rolling d%; once
at dawn, once at noo n, o n c ~ at dusk,
and once at midnight. The chance of an 01-02 1 dir e tiger 8 Monster Manual 65
encounter occurring varies according to 03-08 1d4 dire boars 6 Monster Manual 63
the encounter.. z one. The actu al timing of ° 9-10 1 ah uizot l 6 Fiend Folio 14
when a random encounte r occurs is left 11-12 1 weretiger 5 Monster Manua 174
to you; an en ro uhter that occurs at "mid- 1 ffiuffimy 5 Monster Manual1go
night" could take place any time between 5 Monster Manua1280
10:00 PM and 4:00 AM . , (giant con strictor snake )
Note:Th ese wanderi ng monster charts 19- 22 1 giant tara ntula 5 Monster Manual 289 (Huge spider)
differ slightly from those presented in the 23- 25 1d4 wigEts 5 Monster Manual 255
Isle ofDread backdrop in D UNGEON # 1l4. 26-27 1 wraith 5 Monster Manual 258
Thi s is intentional; not onlyare th ese new 28- 32 1de.:jire apes 5 Monster Manual 62
charts tailored for a«"group of cth-iotb- 33-35 Id4 terr or birds 5 Fiend Folio 175
level cha racters, but they incorpo ra te 36-3 8 Id6 rhagoaessas 5 DUNGEO N #13 9:
some addi tional monsters while phasin g 39-44 2d4 gho uls 4 Monstcr Manualu9
out other monsters that shouldn't be as 45-60 2 4 Olman hunters 4 Dunneon Master's Guidc 117
commonly enco untered in th e Savage (hum ar fight er 1)
Tide version ofthe Isle of Dread. 6, - 64 1d4 sh rieki ng spiders 4 Momter Manual 289 (Large spiders)
Islands and Peninsula (10% chance 65~2 2d6 human zombies ~ Monster Manual 206
ofencounter): Dinosau rs ar e on ly rarely 73-77 3d4 dir e rats 3 MonsterManual 64
enco untered here, with the majority of 78=83 3a~ numan SKeletons 3 Monster Manual 226
mo nsters bein g d ire animals or other 84- 88 I quick deat h mamba 3 Mom ter Manual 280 (Huge viper)
large fauna. In add ition, many of th ese 8Q;:Q1 1 wasp' swarm 2 Plena Folio17.2
regions are in habite d by Olmans. The ir 92 -95 1 mo nitor lizard 2 Monster Manual 275
unusua l practices of invo lving necro - 96-10 0 1jungle cobra 2 onster Manual 280 (Large viner)

FEBRUARY 200 7 DU NGEON 31

 TIDES OF DREAD BY STEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN 'I

isle is name d for the numerou s flocks of

h ippogri ffs that nest here.
Hubueteotl 's T hrone: Once a sizable
0 1-02 octopus tree "
1 12 Fiend Folio 13 1 Olma n town , all th at rema ins above th e
03-06 megiloaon'"
1 11 Monster Manual II 147 sunken swampland ofthis forgotten city
• is a black stone ziggura t cap ped by an
0 7- 15 Id 4+2 ichthyosaur s 11 Stormwrack 145
20 1 p;lesiosaur*' 10 Stormwrack l!tO immense thr on e bearing images of the
2 1-2 4 1 shipb reaker crab" 10 Stormlvrack 14 2 (Garga ntuan crab) Olm an god of fire and th e passage of
25- 30 zi:J6 dire lJarracudas 10 Stormwrark 147 time, Hu hueteotl. On certain night s of
31-40 Id S mashe rs 10 DUNGEON #141 the year, sin ister fires bum in the swamp,
4 '-~5 1 giant s~u i d* 9 Monster Manual 281 and strange shapes can be seen cavorting
46-5 0 zd8 dire eels 9 Stormw rack 148 ato p the ru ins.
5' :55 1 dire snarK MonsterManual Oft Kopru Tunnel Entrance (DUNGEON
5(H)5 Id4 elasm osau ru ses* 9 MonsterManual 60 #144): This un assuming coastal cavern
66=75 l a~+1 j ellyfisfiswarms 8 Stonnwrack 101 actually represents the most direct route
76-80 1 gian t octop us*' 8 Monster Manual z76 to the deep cavern s and aberrant reache s
81-<)5 Id6 great white sharks 7 Monster Mnnual2 79 (Huge snark) be low the Isle of Dread, places curr en tly
6--10 0 Id8+!l ixitx ach itl s Monsler Manual II 128 inhabite d by the amphibious and evil
ko pru, but which actu ally far pr edat e
far from th eir mar sh y homes. The The Fangs of Zotzilaha (D UNGEON even them.
lar gest tribe, the Burbalarg Trib e, d wells #143): Twin volca noes that loom over Lizardfol k Lair: Th is partially flooded
in the half-sunken ru ins of an ancient the surr ound ing j ungle, th e Olmans cavern houses the largest tribe oflizard -
Olman town. bold th at the bat god Zotzilaha dwell s folk on the Isle of Dread.
Blisterhill Isle: This island of barr en som ewhere in the numerous caves alon g Los t Citadel: This glitt eri ng ae rie
stony slopes is studde d with dozens of these dangerous peaks. is th e last bast io n of the "gods " that
active geysers. Farsbore (D UNCEON #1 43): Th is col- su rvived the destruction ofThanaclan .
Bloodwat er Lake: This large lake is ony. establishe d by Verik and Larissa The citad el is made of gleaming stone
infested with dangerous menaces ,includ- Vanderboren, is on ly a few years old-its covered in an opalescent shi mmer th at
ing freshwate r reptiles, hu ge schoo ls of future is uncertain. is entirely un spoiled by the ravages of
piranha, and worse. Th e lake is named Fireshriek Isle: Altho ug h this island time.Th e Olma n believe th eir gods sleep
not for the hue of its waters, but for the is dom inated by an active volcan o, the here, awaiti ng the day the isle revert s
fero city ofits deniz ens. erupt ions (while common) tend to be to a paradise and the y can rej oin their
Cankerda rk: Th e noisome pits of thi s relatively minor.The western and south- people again. Legends record that the
large cave network are mor e vertically ern sections are home to many packs of courtyard contained nine stone archways
aligned than horizontal , and are ho me to terror bird s, iso lated fam ilies of dire and two poo ls-Truth (filled with blood)
countless clinging and scuttling vermin. apes, an d smaller prey. and Beau ty (fill ed with crystal-clear
Dark Mountain Pass (DUNGEON # 14 2~ Fog mire (DUNGEON # 142 ): Unt il water}-used to test soul s. Th e temple is
Th is anci ent Olman undergound pass recen tly, t his fog-shrou ded patch of built on an impossibly high terrace cut
also served as a tomb, but is now infest ed jungle hi d a terrible, secret-a shrine into the mountains on the isle's western
with vermin and scavenger s. to Demogorgon built centuries ago by edge. It can sometimes be seen from
Dragonhaunt Holl ow: On ly one tr ue tro glodyte cultist s. th e western sea or from certain angles
dr agon curren tly dwell s on th e Isle of Gargoyle Aerie : Th is inho s pitable on the platea u. A han dful of princes
Dread. Xiu re ksor is a very old gre en reach of ragged m ountains is rid dled did su rvive Th anaclan's destru ction and
dragon who spends most of her tim e with caves that serve as the ho me for escaped to this citadel. Some remain in
sleep ing in a deep cave und er this dozen s of gargoyle tribe s. temporal stasis, alon g with their weapons
boggy jungle. Glasswall Rift: A sizable rent in the and sorce ry.
Embe r Lake: So nam ed for the red , mou nt ain side here glitters by day, its Mantru (DUNG EON #145): The secrets
pho spho rescen t fish that dwell in its razored walls of obs idian an d oth er of this mysterious village are known to
depths, Ember Lake is connected to the volcanic glass ho me to pteranodon ne sts very few beyond the edge ofthe isle's cen-
surro undi ng sea by several submerged and mo nstrous web-spinning sp iders of tral plate au-none who dwell elsewhe re
cha nnel s. Aquatic reptiles like plesio- all types.Tunnel entrance s and pits in the on the island have visited the village and
saurs are common in the se waters. rift's bed lead int o the extens ive caverns returned to tell of it in recent me mo ry.
Emerald Isle This verdantisle is relatively that riddle the isle's foundation s. Olman Villa ges (D UNCEON #143):
safe-its largest predators are dire boars, Griff Isle: Th e large st of the isles Th ese seven villages comprise the bulk
crocodiles, and the occasional anaconda. surrounding the main land, thi s verdant of the Olman po pulation of the Isle of

32 DUNCiEON FEBRUARY 2007

 .... m .
i!
'0 ,0
3c~" i,. .ft{jfu

'0 ~ '0

L,

"J'

}J,.ult...!£ th~
~" fA }!Jvcnr

'Blisltrltill Isle

,
FEBRUARY 2007 DUNGEON 33
h_ -J;" T_IDES OF DREAD
l ... BY STEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN

01- 0 5 Id12 diplodocuses 17 Page 41

01-0 3 01-0 3 1 red sundew 13 Monster Manual IT 17Q
06-10 Id6 triceratopses 12 Monster Manual 61
o -06 11-15 10:1 stegosauruses 12 Page 54
07 04 01 1hezrou 11 Monster Manual 44
08-10 05-12 10-18 IdS p'arasaurolop'huses 11 Page 44
11 13 01 1 retriever 11 Monster Manual 46
12 16 02-09 Id6 an!ITlosauruses 10 Page 37
17- 19 14-18 10-12 1greenvise 10 MonsterManual II 120
20-22 19 - 21 143 t}'J3;unosauruses 10 Monster Manual 01
23- 25 22- 24 13 - 1 5 4 Brotherhood scouts 9 PageJ5
02-1 5 IQA elasmosauruses Monster Manua'160
26--30 25.,.27 33- 37 Id6 megaraptors 9 Monster Manual 60
38-40 Ij).....:ZO 16-18 1 roc 9 Monster Manualz15
3' 28 41 21 19 1 vrock 9 Monster Manual 48
~2-:l4 22-26 20-2 2 Id6 ~e rn s 9.. Monster Manual 259:
32-3 6 29-33 27- 3 IdS araneas 8 Monster Manua/IS
'
37-~1 34-36 45-49 2 it aeinoTIydiuses 8 Monster Manua/60
37-39 1 treeleg spider 8 Monster Manual 289
(Gar gantu an spider)
5"=52 1 allosaurus 7. Page 35
53--:57 32-39 28-3 5 2d4 dire bats 7 Monster Manual 62
~

40-44 1 emperor scorpion 5 Monster Manual 287

(H uge scorBion)
45--:5 2 36--40 1d6 gargoyles 7 Monster Manual 113
43:;:50 al :;5 1d6 giant crocodiles 7 Monster Manual 2 7.1
58-62 53-60 53--:5 2d4 hippogriffs 7 Monster Manuall52
55-61 lail p,iranha swarms 7. Stormwrack: 162

a5-~9.
63--67
6182
61-68 62-64 rdto pteranodons
1d6 terror birds ,
7 Page 47
DUNGEON #142

65-7 2 2d6 bullywugs 6 D UN GEON #14 0

IdS dimetrodons 6 Page ?\:o
2d6 lizardfolk 6 Monster Manual 169
69-76 Id6 s3>\iail scorpions 6 Monster Manualz87
(Large scarp,ion)
53--:57 72-7 6 1 sham bli ng mound 6 Monster Manualzzz
58-60 17-79. 1 tenariculos 6 Monster Manualz ;\1
61- 64 80-87 77- 84 2d6 troglodytes 6 Monster Manualz46
65-69 88-94 73- 86 1 anaconda 5 Monster Manual z80
(gj.an t constrictor snake)
70-7Z 73-77 1 giant tarantula 5 Monster Manual z8g
(Hu ge spider)
73- 80 zd4+~tp:hanaton rangers 5 Page 47.
81- 83 95--97 78-82 Id6 rhagodess as 5 D UNG EON #139
8~-88 83- 8 85-9.2 zu6 neandertnals 5 rostburn 1;\5
88-92 93-0 0 ado baboons 4 Monster Manualz68
89-91 g8-oo 104 slirieking spioers 5 Monster Manua128g
(Large sBiders)
9Z-00 93-00 87-0 0 zd4 Olman hunters 4 Dunqeon Master's Guide 117
(h u m an fighter 1)

34 DUNGEON FEBRUARY 2007

 Dread. Alth ough in dep enden t, the lead - B RO THE RHOOD SCO U T CR 5
ers oft hese villages gene rally look to the Human monk 2/c1eric 3
village of Tana roa for directio n. LE Medium humanoid
Phana to n Village: This vill age of Init +6; Senses Li sten +8, Spot +3
arboreal platfor ms an d cleverl y hidd en Languages Com mon
hu ts is inhabited by nearlyc; o phanatons, AC 16, to uch 15, flat-footed 14
sm all racco onlike hum an oid s native hp 31 (5 HD)
to th e Isl e of Dr ead. Other ph an aton Fort +7, Ref +8"WiII +9; evasion
se tt lem en ts exist in th e nearbyjungles, Spd 30 ft.
but none are as large as thi s o ne. Melee mwk kama +6 (Ide- I} or
Rat's End : This ragged settle ment , mwk kama +4/+4 (ld6+l)
built from ruin ed ships con ver ted into Base Atk +3; Grp +4
poor -quality h uts, has housed nearly two Atk Options Comba t Reflexes, Stunning
dozen pirates for severa l years. After the Fist 2/day (DC I S), smite I/day (+4 attack,
assault on Farsho re at the start of this +3 damage)
adventur e, this village stan ds em pty. Special Actions rebuke undead 2/day(+I , ALLOSAURUS
Red Belch er Isle: An active volcano 2d6+2),turn water creatures or rebuke N Huge animal
makes thi s rugged isle uninhabitable to fire creatures 2fday(-1 , 2d6+2) Monster Manual II 70
all but a few flocks of tenacious wyvems Combat Gear wand ofcure moderatewounds Init +1; Sens es low-light vision, scent; li sten +10,
and pteranod ons. (2d20 charges), l arge scorpion venom (5 Spot +11
Reefs: Six majo r ree fs su rrou nd the doses. DC 18, Id 6 Str/l d6 Str) AC 14, touch 9, flat-footed 13
Isle of Dread- each is infest ed with Spells Prepared (Cl 3rd, +4 touch, +5 hp 78 (10 HD)
dangerous sea creatures like mon stro us ranged touch) Fort +10, Ref +8, Will +5
crabs, dire eels, and mashers. 2nd- lesser restoration, produceflameD, Spd SO ft.
Riven skull Cave: Actu all y several sound burst(DC 15) Melee bite +12(2d8+7) and
dozen cavern s conn ected by narr ow Ist-burniny handso (DC 14), cure/iyh t 2 claws +7(2d4+3)
fissures, Rivenskull Cave is inhabited by wounds, divine favor, sanctuary(DC 14) Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
five warri ng tri bes of savage humans, o--cure minor wounds(2), guidance, resistance Base Atk +7; Grp +22
throwbacks devolved from Olmans due D domain spell; Domains Destruction, Fire Atk Options improved grab (bite), rake +12 (2d8+3)
to exposure to the mysterious primal fogs Abilities Str 12, Dex 14, Con 13. lnt 10, Wis Special Actions swall ow whole, trample 1d8+10
that sometimes visit the island's reaches. 16, Cha 8 Abilities Str 24, Dex 12, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 15,
Scarlet Br otherh ood Encampment: SQ spontaneous casting (inflict spells) Cha II •
Th e large number of dangerou s creatu res Feats Com bat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Feats Alertness, Run,Toughness, Track
dwelling on th is namel ess island have Improved Unarmed Strike, li ghtning Skills lis ten +10, Spot +11
traditionally warde d the Olm ans away Reflexes, Stun ning Fi st, Weapon Finesse Rake(Ex) An allosaurus can make two rake attacks
from settlinghere. Not so for asmallgroup Skills Balance +4, Concent ration +9, Hide against any opponent it successfully grapples,
of Scarlet Broth erh ood missi onaries, evil +7,Jum p +3, Knowledge (religion) +6, provided it begins its tu rn already grappling
priests who follow Pyremiu s, god offire, li sten +8, Move Silently +7, Tumble +7 the foe.
poison, and mu rde r. Th e missionaries Possessions combat gear, masterwork Swallow Whole (Ex) An allosaurus can try to
are a vanguard, evaluating the possibili ty kama, amulet of natural armor+1 swallow a grabbed opponent of up to two sizes
for a future invasion ofthe isle. Altho ugh Scorpion Isle: Th is rugged island is smaller than it by making a successful grapple
detai ls ofthe encam pment are beyond the in fested with all manner of monstro us check. A swallowed creature takes 2d8+8 points
scope of thi s adventure, PCs who explore scorpio ns, in clu ding an eno r m ous of bludgeoning damage and 8 points of acid
th e Isle of Dread are likely to enco unter ancient mo nster the size of a house the damage per round, and can cut its way out
one of the encamp ment's exploration Olm an s call "Cerattakatha,' with a light slashing or piercing weapon. The
parti es befo re lo ng. A Brot h erhoo d Sh rine of Zotzilaha (DU NGEON *'43): allosaurus's sto mach is AC 12 and has 25 hit
exp lo rat io n pa rty cons is ts of fou r This caver n is visite d once every few points. Once a creatu re exits, muscular action
mu lticlassed mo nk/clerics. Th ey scour mo nths by Olm ans who bring offeri ngs closes the hole; anot her swallowed opponent
the Isle of Dread for hidden magic and to appe ase the anger of the bat god. must cut its own way out. An allosaurus's
forgotten Olman relics, and view anyone Skin razer Rock: Like Blisterhill Isle, gullet can hold 1 Medium, 4 Small, 16 Tiny, or
else th ey encounte r as competition fit dozens of geysers can be found on this 64 Diminutive or smaller opponents.
on ly for swift murder. Only if one inhosiptable swath of stone that barel y Trample (Ex) Reflex half DC 22. The save DC is
of th e PCs hap pen s to belo ng to th e
Scarlet Brother hood can a violent clash
rises two dozen feet abo ve sea level at its
hi gh est point. In many places, th e rock .
Strength-based.

be avoided. it self is searing hot to the touch, heated

FEBRUARY 2007 DUNGEON 35

TIDES OF DREAD BY STEPHEN 5. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN I

Than egtoth River: The mighti est river he remembered its content s-extensive
on th e Isle of Dre ad , the frequent rap- notes on a colony n am ed Far sho re his
id s along thi s waterwa y make it a poor father established on the Isle of Dre ad.
cho ice for expl oration via boat. Eager to appear useful to his new m as-
Valley of Mad n ess: Although th e te rs, Vanthu s took this inform ation to
plant 'known locally as "loco weed" can the m. What Van thus couldn't know was
be fou nd in many places on the Isle of that the Crims on Fleet already had in ter -
Dre ad , the narc oti c plan t grows m ost est s on th e Isle of Dre ad, albeit at th e
thickly in th is seclude d valley. opposite en d of th e isle from Farshore.
Wreck ofthe GaHivant (DUNGEON #44~ Lik ewise, th e Cri ms on Fleet ha d no
The largest sunken sh ipwreck off the inkling that a burgeoning Sasseri ne col-
sho res of the Isle of Dread, th is inunen se ony was located on the isle of Tem ute to
galleon is no w the hom e of an equ ally the south o f the ir own sinister in terest s.
immen se dragon turtle named Emraa g. To show the ir thanks, th e lead ers made
Wreck of the Sea Wyvem (DUNGEO N Vanth us a captain in th eir fleet-after
#143):This is where th e PCs' sh ip wrecked sub m itti ng him to an Abyssal initiatio n
at the end of"The Sea Wyvern's Wake." and tran sformation tha t would change
youn g van d erboren for th e worse.
PART TWO: RAIDERS FROM
RATS END Defending Fanhore
After Van th us Vanderbore n's bot ch ed The pirates of Rat's End are a sorry lot.
robbery in "The Bullywug Gambit," the Led by a m u rde rous scound rel name d
scou nd rel fled the Sasserine region on Slip knot Peet . th ese outcasts from pirati-
a small ship crewed by thugs he'd hired cal fleets acro ss the Vohoun Ocean ha ve
for th ej ob. One thing led to another, and gra ndio se plan s of bu ilding their own
after a bloody mutiny, Van thus was set fleet and tak ing to the seas. Unfortu-
adrift in a longboat to die of starvation. nately, in figh ting and bicker ing take
Yet fate had ano ther destiny in mind for p recedence, and every tim e a pla n to
th e tr each erous cur, and two days later organize com es along, in tern al tre ach -
he was capture d by a Crimson Fleet sh ip ery cuts it down . Slip knot Peet is the
called th e Brine Harlot. latest in a long line of lead er s of Rat's
from bel ow by pockets oflava an d supe r- Over th e next few months, Vanth us's End- the fact tha t he's held the position
heate d steam. skill at lying, tr eachery, an d m isd ire c- for nearly a year is due mo re to hi s lu ck
Skyscar Peak The hig hest peak on the tio n was put to goo d use. The sam e glib and reputation than to any real leader -
Isle of Dread, th e slop es of Skyscar Peak tongu e and willingness to do whatever ship qualities.
are a favore d n esting gro un d for roe s. it takes to get ahead that served h im so When Sli p kn ot Peet was con tacted by
Standing Ston es: Olman ru in s abound well in becoming a ranking member of th e Crimson Fleet (via a crystal ball with
. on the isle, yet few can m at ch the se the Lotu s Dragons saved him from more telepathy)about scou ting out the supposed
immense standing stones in sheer spec- th an a keelha uling , an d by the end of h is col ony, he saw it as an opp ortunity. He
tacle.Two dozen stones stan d here, said to second mo n th aboar d the Brine Harlot bro wbeat the entir ety of Rat's End onto
mark th e lost tombs ofOlman p rin ces. he was a respected and feared member th eir only seawort hy ship, the Hel!fi' h,
Tar Pits (DUNGEON #143): Often vis- ofthe crew. Upo n reaching the Crimson and sailed for Farshore immed iately . At
ited by Olman natives, this immense tar Fleet's hom e port of'Scuttelc ove.Vanth us first, th e scouting mi ssion went withou t
pit provides materi als used to waterp roof wasted no time selling out his captain a hitch; th e pirates obse rved Farshore
boats and the roofs of huts. to the m ysterious lead er s of the fleet , without being spott ed for three days. Yet
Temple of th e Jag uar (DUNGE ON r evealin g the Brine Harlot's hidden alle- Slipknot Peet's greed soon got the best
#143): This m yst eri ou s temple hides gianc es to the Scarlet Brotherhood. Th e of him.
a cache o f m agic weapons left by an re st ofthe Harlot's crew was put to death , Not long befor e the PCs arrived at the
ext in ct tribe of cat li ke hu m anoids and Vanth us was gran ted captainship of en d of "He re There be Monster s," the
known as the rakast as. th e vess el as a reward. Hel!fi'h sa iled into Farsho re. Half th e
Thanacla n (DUNGEON # 4 5): On ce th e Faced with a responsibility to fin d new crew boarded th e BlueNixie while th e rest
heart of the Olm an em pire, th is ru in is venues for pillaging, Vanthus re called a sto rm ed in to th e settle ment. Their plan
known no w as the City of Broken Idols. fat ledger wri tten in his fathe r's hand was sim ple: kill and subdue the weaker
What terri fying me nace now ru les here th at he'd stolen from the fam ily vault. colonists and burn what buildings didn't
is unknown. Alth ou gh he 'd long since lo st the led ger, loo k like th ey held any loot .

DUNGEON FEBRUARY 2007

 The PCs arrive well after the atta ck long to get to them, the enco unte r
on Farsh ore has begun. The Rat's End is automatically lost.
pirate s are focused on the colony itself,
and aren' t paying attention to anything 1. Trapped! (EL 1)
approac hing from the sea. The Olman Burning roof beams block th e
gui des transporting th e PCs want noth- entrance to this buil ding. The
ing to do with th e fight, but are willing on ly windows are at the fron t, an d
to row up quie tly and allow th e PCs to each is en gulfed in flames. A character
debark at the nort hernmost pier of the th at trie s to clamber through the win-
Farshore waterfront. dow take s Id6 point s of fire damage and
m ust m ake a DC 15 Reflex save to avoid
Screams fill the smoke-fil led air as cack- catching fire. He mu st also make a DC 10 AN KYL O SA U RU S • CR 7
ling, howling men dressed in filthy armor Climb check to reach the window, which N Huge animal
and waving rusty, ragged weapons press is six feet off the grou nd . Monster Manual 1170
the attack against Earshore's ,uno rganized Attem pts to bash down th e front door Init -2 ; Senses low-light vision, scent; Lis!en
defense. Up the hill, several buildings take a DC 22 Strength check. With each +7, Spot +7
have been lit on fire, and issuIng from check, a character must mak e a DC 15 AC 22, touch 6, fl at-footed 22
one nearby are frantic screams. Lying in Reflex save to avoid taking Id6 points of hp III (9 HD)
the sand in front of another building is the fire damage. Fort +16 , Ret +4 , Will +4
body of a well-dressed man with a bloody
wound to the chest and a savage gash
The woman trap ped in the building is
Hilde Swenten (NG female human com -
Spd 20 ft.
Melee tail slap +13 (2d6+13) ..
v-
'

across his face. His body is surrounded by

fragile glasswa re spilled from a case he was
mon er 3; hp 10; Fort +1 , Ref +0), an accom -
plished farm er fro m Sasserine who saw
Space IS ft.; Reach I S ft.
Base Atk +6; Grp +23
,.
carrying. His chest rises and falls feebly, in the Vanderboren's plan for Parsh ore Special Actions trample 2dI2.f.13
though for how much longer is uncertain. great oppo rtunity. She hid in thi s stor- Abilities Str 29, Dex 7, Can 26, Int 1, Wis 9,
Further south, a large band of filthy age hut when th e pirates attacked. One Cha 8 , ~
men are happilly smashing in the win- of them tossed a vial of alchemist's fire Feats Alertness, Gr:;at Fortitude, Improved
dows of what appears to be a chapel. through a window, and th e hut went up Tou ghness (+1 hp!HD), Iron Will "
More pirates are busy trying to bash in the like dry kindling. Hild e h uddles at the Skills Listen +7; SP9t'+7
chapel's front doors with a heavy wooden back of the buildi ng, furthest from th e Trample (Ex) Reflex half DC 23. The save DC
beam . Terr ified screams comin g from flames, but is too terrified to atte mpt an is Strength-based. .
within punctuate each of the ram's blows. escape on her own.
Nearby, a hulking half-ore with blotchy, Development: Startin g two roun ds
yellowskin and a leering,toothysmilechases after th e PCs land, H ilde Swenten must
a red haired young woman around a neigh. ma ke a Forti tu de save (DC 15, +1 per lab equi pm ent and tried to flee, only
boring building,shouting lurid propositions. previo us chec k) each rou nd to avoid to stumble in to a passing pira te who
Deeper in the village, a g rou p of choking an d coug hing from the smoke. q ui ckly cut him dow n with a cr it ical
young men armed with swords make If she chokes for 2 consec utive round s, strike to the ches t.
a stand aga inst what appea rs to be she takes Id 6 points of no nle tha l dam- Alt h o ugh he's sta b le, Aldw attle
th e pirate leader, a tall and danger- age. Once she tak es 11 po ints of nonl e- isn' t out of danger. Every five round s,
ous-looking human who laughs as he thal damage, sh e falls un conscious; Id 6 there 's a 2 0% chance a passin g pirate
deflects their attacks with obviou s ease. ro un ds later she begins to suffocate and no tice s th e dying man and takes Id4+1
Finally, a group of colonists desper- dr ops to a hit poin ts. Th e next round rounds to loot hi s bod y before finishing
ately try to extinguish a fire consumin g she d rops to - 1 hit poi nt s, and on the him off.
a large building to the southeast, while third rou nd she dies. Ad-Hoc Expe rience Award: Ifthe PCs
others brave the flames to rescue its con- Ad- H oc Experie nce Award: lf the PCs move Professor Aldwattle to som ewhere
te nts. More commotion can be heard from rescue Hilde, grant the m a CR 2 exper i- safe, revive hi m , or protect him unt il
deeper in the village, but the thick, billow- ence award . the attack is over, grant them a CR 2
ing smoke effectively masks what is trans- experience award .
piring there. '2. Bleeding Out
When th e pirates landed, Pr ofessor 3. Church Crashers (EL 6)
In orde r to successfully drive off the He vrik Aldwatt le (NG h u m an wiza rd Terri fied screams come from within this
pira tes, the PCs must complete five ofthe 5/ex per t 2) was her e in his labo rato ry. large, sim ple ch urch. A gro up of pasty-
following enco unte rs. Some of th e con- As h e saw th e pi rat es racin g up toward skin ne d brutes are th e cau se-two of
flicts are on t imers; if the PCs take too hi s h o me, h e gathe red a bo xfu l of th e five Rat's End pirat es assa ulting

FEBRUARY 2007 DUNGEON 37

TIDES OF DREAD BYSTEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN

the ch urch am us e th emselves by Ad-Hoc Experience Award: If the PCs crow d. An agent of the Cri mson Fleet
b reaki n g out windows an d leer ing in save all of the colonists in the ch ap el, happ ened to be am on g them. Peet 's
at the colonist s cowering in sid e. The gran t th em a CR 3 expe rience award. i n do m ita bl e spiri t im p resse d th e
other th re e use a ma kesh ift battering agent , so wh en Peet dropped, the
ram to b r eak the barr icaded fr on t 4. The Chase (EL 2) age n t sever ed the hanging rope with
do or s down. A muscle -bou nd pirate, his pu s-yellow a well -placed arrow. H e th en helped
Creatures: Within th e cha pel hu ddle skin patchy with wart s, doggedly pursue s Peet es cape and sm uggled h im ou t of
t wel ve d efensel e ss co lo nists who a red haired wom an around this building. th e city.
sought ou t th e church on inst inct Thi s is Anvil, the first mat e ofthe Hel!fish, Peet later becam e a memb er of the
whe n the attack came. The chapel's and he 's been cha sing the woman, Rub y Cr ims on Fleet, ri sing quickl y in ra n k
keepe r, Vesser in Cathe rly (NG male the Weaver (NG female human expert 1), and earning the nickname "Sli pkno t."
half-elfcleric 6), is cu rr ently aiding the for som e time alrea dy. Eventually, his fou l manne r an d loose
Jade Ravens and Lavinia in a prolon ged Onl y 3d4 rounds after the PCs arriv e, t on gue lan d ed him in troubl e wit h
battle with m or e Rat 's End pira te s Rub y stu m bles and falls, exha u sted. the Fleet -not enou gh to h ave him
near th e Claywor ks t o th e sou th , and Anvil's on her immedi atel y, but before exe cuted, bu t en ou gh th at the Fleet
won't be able to mak e it pack here in he can carry out h is plan, Ruby finds a sen t him into exil e to the Isle of Dread ,
t ime to aid in th e chape l'S' d efen se. hidden reserve of stre ng th. She grabs ordering him to take up command ofa
Th e five pi rat es intent on menacin g a splinte red pie ce of wood and jam s it small band of loo sely-affiliated pirat es
th e colonist s h ere ar e una ware o f into Anvil's neck, inflicting 2d4 points of and scoundrels stationed at Rat 's End
th e pes unle ss they call atten tion damage. In a fit of rage, Anvil lashe s back on n earby Eme rald Isle.
to th emselves. at her one round later with hi s scim itar, As the PCs reach thi s fight, Slipk n ot
Every othe r round (starting on th e killing her. Peet cuts down the la st colonist and
r ou nd after the pe s arrive), the pirates Anvil , Rat's En d Pira te: hp 18; see he an d his men turn to face the PCs,
make an att empt to break open th e above (Rat's End Pirate). covered with blood and leerin g with
do ors to the chapel. Working together Ad-Hoc Expe rie nce Award: If the PCs menace. In his bloodlu st , Pcet doe sn 't
with th e improvised batt eri ng ram , they rescue Ruby, grant them a CR 2 exper i- r eali ze that the PCs are unlikely to be
hav e a +9 Str eng th check; it takes a DC en ce award. mere colonists (what with their better
24 Strength che ck to batter do wn th e equipment and likely d iverse m ake up ),
doors. Once they knock down th e doors, Y. Slipknot Peet (EL 10) and brings the att ack to th em as well.
the pirate s begin butchering the colo- A gro u p of swor dsm en surrounds a tall If things start t o go po orly, h e h owls
nist s insid e-every Id 4 rounds, on e of pirate with deep ly tanned, leathery skin . for aid . Any pirate s that r emain ali ve
the colon ists is murdered. He wields a wickedly cu rved rapier in in ar eas 3 and 4 abandon their tasks
one hand and a punching dagger in and qu ickl y come to aid their capt ain .
RAT'S END P,RATES (5) CR2 the other, and coil s of knotted rope are Slipknot Pcet figh ts to th e death .
Hu man rogue l /fig hte r 1 wrapped around his arms and torso in
CE Medium humano id a ta ngled di sp lay. Many of the ropes SLIPKN OT PEET CR 9
Init +1; Senses Listen +1, Spot +1 are fashio ned in to nooses, and hanging Male hum an rog ue 6/d read pirate 3
langua ges Com mon from quite a few are morbid trinkets like CE Medi um human oid
AC I S, tou ch 11, flat-footed 14 j awbones, skeletal hands, an d leathery Complete Adventurer 39
hp 18 (2 HD ) trophie s. From hi s n eck d an gles a Init +7; Se ns es Listen - 1, Spot-l
Fort +6, Ref +3, Will +1 tattered hangman's noo se, and as he languages Common
5pd 30 ft. lead s the fight again st th e colonists in AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 16; uncanny dod ge
Melee scim ita r +4 (l d6+2/18-20) this squar e, he curses and roars orde rs hp 55 (9 HD )
Base Atk +1; Grp +3 to his fellows, who see m alm os t as Fort +4, Ref +11, Will +2; evasion
At k Options s neak att ack +ld6 frightened of him as the colonists he 's 5pd 30 ft.
Abilities Str 15, Dex 12, Con 14, lnt 8, Wis trying to murder. Melee +1 keenrapier +12 (1d6+ 2/15-20) or
This is Slipkn ot Peet, th e cap ta in +1 keen rapier+lo (ld6+2/15- 10) and
13, Cha 10
SQ t rapfinding of the Hel!fish and lord of Rat 's End. mwk punching da gge r +9 (l d4/ x3)
Feats Great Fortitude , Tou gh ness, Weapon Yea rs ago he h ad his own ship an d Base Atk +7; Grp +8
Focus (scimitar) raided along t he coas t n ear Sasse rt n c. Atk Options sneak atta ck +4d6
Skills Balan ce +3, Clim b +5, Int imid ate +4, Even tu ally he was captured and tak en Combat Gear flask of alchem ist's fire (2),
Jump +4, Profession (sailor) +6, Swim +2, to the city s qu ar e in Sasserine t o be potion of cure moderate wounds(2)
Tum ble +3, Use Rope +5 h anged. As h e stood on th e block with Abilit ies St r 13, Dex 16, Con 12, lnt 10, Wis
Poss ess ion s studded leat her a rmor, th e no o se around his neck, he d efiantly 8, Cha 15
scim ita r, light woode n shield spa t at and cursed th e assembled SQ t rapfinding, tr ap se nse +2

DUNGEON FEBRUARY 2007

Feat s Improved Initiative, Imp roved cess exting uishing the hu ngr y flam es Ad-Hoc Experience Award: If the PCs
Toughness (+1 h pfH D), Quick Draw, with th eir bu cket brigade. Aware of th is, put out th e fire, grant th em a CR 3 expe-
Two-Weapo n Fighting, Weapon Finesse, so me colonists dart in an d out of th e rience award.
Weapo n Focus (rapie r) building to rescu e arm loads of books
Skills Appraise +8, Balance +13, Bluff +13, an d other recor ds. The en tire affair is The Smole Clears
Clim b +7, Intim idate +17, Jump +11, orga nize d by a frantic Jera n Emrikad As the PCs fight, ot he r gro ups of
Knowled ge (geog raphy) +3, Profession (LN hum an wizard 2/rogue 1), th e keeper pira tes are bu sy attack ing other part s
(sa ilo r) +13, Swim +9, Tumb le +13, Use of the hall of record s. of Earshore. These pirates arc opposed
Rope +11 If the PCs ac't quic kly, they may be by Lavinia and her mercenary band, the
Posse ssions co m bat gea r, +2 studded abl e to save th e Hall of Record s from Jade Ravens. As lon g as the PCs survive
leather armor, +1 keen rapier, masterwo rk burn in g to the grou n d. Some spells, and defeat the pirates in the pr eceding
punch ing dagger, be lt pouch containing su ch as quench, m ultip le pyrotechnics enco unters, you can assume that Lavinia
a pink crystal frog worth 350 gp , go lden s p ell s, or sleet storm can quic kl y and the rest are equa lly successful. If the
death 's head am ulet wort h 150 g p, seve n extinguish th e flames. Oth ers, suc h PCs fail to defend Fars ho re, the Rat's
je we led silve r and go ld brace lets worth a as haste or summon monster can spe ed End pirates are eventaully defeated bu t
total of 1,000 g p, plat in um ho:op ea rring the buc ke t b riga de or aug me nt th e at the cost of more lives. Th is imparts
wo rth 300 gp, 35 gp numbe r of h elpe rs to the p oint where a -s oo victory point penalty when you
Rat's End Pira tes (6): hp 18 each : see th e fir e can be conta ined . Spells like det er min e the ir overall success at th e
page 38. resist cnerill' or protection fro m encrEY end ofthe adventure..
can als o h elp, granting the colonists On ce th e pirate attack is over,
6. History Aflame (EL 3) the ab ili ty to target bu r ning sectio ns frightened citizens slowly emerge from
The Farsho re Hall of Record s has been withou t fear of harm. You sho uldj udge battered homes an d sh elt ers. Lavinia
put to the tor ch by the pirates. The men th e effici ency ofany pl an th e PCs come appears out of th e smoke ti red an d
and women strugg ling to save th e con- up with-if it seems like th e pla n be wildered, accompan ied 'b y the Jade
tents of th is buildin g gest ure desp er- cou ld extin gui sh th e fire within a few Ravens. She quic kly spots the pe s and
atel y for help, and are havin g littl e sue- m inut es, the building can be saved. r ushe s over to greet them, he r j oy at

FEBRUARY20 07 DUNGEON 39
 BY STEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN

note s that th is su rp ri se is tem pered com pound any ri fts or sense ofcom pet i-
wit h fru st ra tion and perha ps ange r- tio n with the Jade Ravens, and cer tainly
Avn er 's rep utat ion as a trou blem ake r sets up Man thalay Meravanchi's camp
is well kn own to Man thalay, b ut he's as po lit ically opposed to the pe s, but
fam ily. so he's acce p ted with o pe n for now, everyone keeps th eir op inions
'ar -ms nevertheless. to th em selves.
Lavinia soon suggests that every- Lavinia th en inqu ires about the Sea
on e retire to the Farshore Chapel to Wy vern and th e pe s' ad ven tu res since
disc uss ~ot onl y the PCs' arrival but, the y were separated. Allow the PCs to
mo re importantl y, the nature of this re cou nt their exploits, and whe n they're
surprise attack by the pirat es of Rat's End. done Lavin ia promises th em that she'll
Th e PCs, Lavin ia, the Jade Ravens, and the do what she can to aid in the recovery
Meravanchis are j oined by the rest of the an d rep air of the ir ship. At this point,
town cou ncil as well. This includes Pro- several colo nists bu rst in to th e room,
DIMETRODON CR 2 fessor Hevrik Aldwatt le (assu m in g the shouting excited ly and waving a sheaf of
N Medium animal pe s saved him in area 2 above),a tired and pap er s. It seem s th at something dire has
D RAGO N # 318 64 wor ried-looking man named Vesse rin been d iscovered on board the capt ur ed
Init - 2; Se nses low-lig ht vision , sc e nt : Listen Cathe rly (keeper ofthe Farshore Chapel), Helljlsll-this piratical assault was only
+2, Spot +6 a bruised and angry woman nam ed Telda a scouting party. The Cri ms on Fleet is
AC 13. to uch 8, flat-footed 13 Syren (an herbali st, naturalist, and expert com ing to Farshore.
hp 33 (4 HD) on the flora of the Isle of Dread). and a
Fort +7, Ref +2, Will +1 gru ff and shor t-tem pered man nam ed The Interrogation of Lefty the Pirate
Spd 10 ft., swi m 10 ft.; burst of spe ed Ulvar Kabbanj a (leader o f the Far sh orc Fortunately, there is on e sou rce th at m ay
Melee bite +7 (l d8+6) m illita ). Any NPC allies who survived the be able to help. Du ring th e batt le, on e
Space 5 fl.: Reach 5 ft. Sea WY Vfm '.~ wreck and the journ ey south of th e Rat 's End pi rates was capture d
Base Atk +3; Grp +7 with the PCs in "Her e There Be Monsters" alive. Th is should be a pirate tha t the
Abilities Str 18, Dex 6, Con 17, lnt 1, Wis 10 , arc also present. PCs capt u red, but if the y left no survi-
Cha 10 Lavinia's first order of bu siness is to ask vors, the pirate's one that the Jade Ravens
Feat s Alertn ess, Tou ghness th e oth er cou ncil members for a report caugh t. An interr ogation o f the captive
Skills Liste n +2, Spot +6, Swim +15 on the damage to Farshore. Each council is th e be st way to find out m ore about
Burst of Speed (Ex) Up to th ree times per me mber speaks of damage to buildings, the Crimson Fleet's in teres t in Earsh ore.
hour, a d imetrodon can [ncrease its land a few losses to fire, and a few deaths, but and if the PCs don't thin k ofi t, Lavin ia
speed to 60 feet for one round as oil free in the end, Farshore was lucky. On ly ten suggests it.
action. ~ urjng th is ro und, it gains a +2 colon ists were killed (in addition to any T he pirate in qu est io n is a pi tiful
dodge bonus to its Armor Class. th e PCs weren't able to save), resulting in scou nd re l na m ed LeHy. Lefty was pa rt
th e colony's current population of 240 (as of a merchan t ship's crew that m utinied
present ed in the Farsho re backdrop in this and fled south to avoid captur e, only to
issue). The pirates were disorganized and be caught by an ocean cu rre nt on th e
being re un ited washing away the terror seemed to be more in terested in spreading un forgivin g rock s of Scorpio n Isle. He
of the pira te attack. Lavinia and the Jade fear and robbing people thanactuallydoing managed to mak e it south to Emerald Isle
Ravens arc detailed in th e accompanying a lot of damage-s-everyone agrees that the on a hom e made raft, and joined with the
Farsbo re backdr op article, but if you're fortuitous arrival of the PCs may well have pirates of Rat's End after he proved his
playin g the ent ire cam paign , th e PCs been th e keyfactor in weathe ring the pirate reprehensible wort h by killing two ofhis
need no in trod uctions to th ei r patron attack with few losses. crewmates in a violen t bloodsport put on
and the Jade Ravens. No t lon g after Lavini a then ad dresses the PCs, telling for th e pi rate s' en tert ainm ent.
th e PCs are reu ni ted wit h Lavin ia, a them that when their sh ips wer e sepa- Left y's feat u re s are b r u ised and
new figure ar rives on the scene. This rated at sea d uri ng th e storm, Lavini a sunken . Hi s skin is hot to the tou ch ,
is Lor d Mant hala y Meravanch i, a feared the wo rst. She's overjoyed to see o ne of hi s eyes is blackened, and he is
tower ing an d han d some man with that they su rvived, and officially in tro- m issin g his left hand. Only th is last
a well -groo med be ard , clad in a duces them to the rest of the town coun- wound is old. Lefty's initial att itud e is
shin in g suit of mi th ral chain ma il. If cil, calling them her personal heroes an d u nfri en dly- the amoun t ofinfonnation
Avne r Mer avanchi is wi th the PCs, he expla ins to the cou nc il that th e pe s are, th e pe s can ext ra ct from him d epends
im m ediately aba ndons them to greet his in large part, responsibl e for the sup - on h is attitud e, as d et ailed bel ow.
uncl e Man tha lay, wh o seems su rp rised plies and her return to Ear shore. This Lavinia volu n teers to try to interrogate
to see Avn er. A DC 20 Sense Mo tive favori tism, of course, ma y im m ed iately h im usi ng her skill s at Diplom acy, bu t

40 DUNGEON FEBRUARY 2007

cedes the actual wor k to the PCs if they Lefty's fate is left to the PCs to decide.
prefer. Othe r meth od s, such as Intimi- Lavinia would rath er keep him alive
date checks or enchant ment spells, can and give him a chance to redeem
also extract Lefty's lore. him sel f if he's at least made
H ostile (Diplom acy DC 4 or less): fri endl y, ot he rw ise sh e
Lefty curses and threatens the PCs, s u gg ess ts imp ri so n in g
prom ising to return after death to m ur- him un til the Blue Nixie
der them ifth ey don't let him go. can ma ke he r. way back to
Unfriendly (Diplomaey DC 5): Lefty Sasserine, wh ereupon he'll
remain s surly, quiet, and unresponsive. be turned over to the city for
He's pret ty sure the colonists have already justice. Manthalay Meravanchi
decided to execute him, and doesn't see would rather see Lefty executed ,
bow telling th eir leaders anyth ing can arguing that his crimes were committed
change his fate. in Farsho re, so he shou ld be tri ed and
In differen t (Diplomacy DC 15): Lefty pu ni sh ed in Fars hore. Left y could DIPLODOCUS CR 12
begs for h is life, arg ui ng :that he only quickly becom e a poster ch ild fo r the N Colossa l ani ma l
went along with the Rat's Erid pirat es campa ign for lo rd-ma yor of Far sh ore DRAGON # 318 64
because he was a coward. H is eyes widen (see the Backd rop arti cl e for mo re Init +0; Senses low-ligh t visio n, sce nt; Listen
if asked about the Crims on Fleet, but he de ta ils on this politica l event). +21,Spot+22
has nothing to sayabout them other than AC 14 , touch 2, flat-footed 14
to confirm that, "Th ey're com ing ... and Dreadful Exploration hp 406 (18 HD)
ye'd best no t be here when they arri ve!" News of the advan ce of th e Crimson Fort +27, Ref +16, Will +10
Friendly (Diplomacy DC IS) : Lefty Fleet should sen d chills down the PCs' Spd 10 ft.
adm its tha t he and th e othe r pirates sp in es; it cer tainly does to the rest of Mele e' tail sla p +10 (4d8+l S)
came from Rat's End, and that no on e Parsh or e. Th e mag nitude of the th reat Space 30 fl.; Re ach 30 fl.
rema ins there to be a problem now.Their is n o more obvious th an in the fact tha t Base Atk +21; Grp +54
captain, Slipk not Peel, brought everyone preparing Farshore for a defense against Atk Opti on s Awesome Blow, Im proved Bull
on this att ack, which was supposed to be the imminent attack is one of th e onl y Rush , Power Attack
a scouting mission . Slipknot Peet had things th at Lavinia and Manthalay can Spe cial Action s ta il sweep, tram ple 2d8+24
been in con tact with the Crimso n Fleet agree upon. Both hope that the PCs are "Iu-potnt Power Attack
(Lefty's no t su re how, only th at "magic willi ng to help, although onl y Lavinia's Abilities Sir 44, Dex .10, Con 28,Int 2, Wis
was involved"), and they'd promised the not too proud to ask the PCs directly for 11 , Cha 10
Rat's End pirates a place in thei r fleet if their aid. Fea ts Alertness, Aweso me Blow, Great
they scouted out Farsho re for the next In going over the colo ny's defen ses, Fort itude , Im proved Bull Rush, Im proved
few weeks. Apparent ly, a large force of Lavin ia comes t o several concl u sions: Nat ural Attac k (tail slap), lmproved
Cri m son Fleet sh ips is schedu led to Th ere are a lot of places where Far- Toughness (+1 hp/ HD), Power Atta ck,
arr ive in th e region "on othe r business," shore could be improved and fortified. Run, Skill Focus (Liste n), Skill, Focus (Spot)
and at that t ime the y woul d like to Lavin ia's created a list ofpossible places Skills Liste n +21, Spot +22
ransack Farsho re, using the int elligen ce for im provement, includ ing th e cha- Ta il Swee p (Ex) As a st andard actio n, a
gathered by the Rat's End pirates to pel, the harbor, the infi rm ary, the mili- diplodocus ca n swee p a half-circle with
ensure victory, Slipknot didn't reveal to tia, the palisade, and the watchtowe rs. a rad ius of 40 fee) exten ding from an
his crew h ow many Crimso n Fleet ships Oth er areas of Farsh ore can certainly inte rsect io n on the edge of its space. Any
were on the way, but when he decided be improved as well, alt hough th ese creatures smalle r tha n the dip loduc us
to attack Farsho re on h is own , he did impro vements aren't likely to have with in the swept area take 2 d8+2~ points
mention that they had two month s to military applications. DI{A CON Maga- of da ma ge (Reflqx-DC 41 half). The save
loot the place and escape to oth er waters zine #352 presents a full list of these DC is Strength-based .
wit h t heir booty befo re the Crims on improvemen ts, and the Farshore back- Trample (Ex) Reflex half DC 41. The save DC
Fleet got here. drop provides details on how the PCs is Stre ngth-based.
H elpful (Diplo macy DC 40 ): Left y can organize these imp rovements and
reveal s everythi ng (as det ailed abov e what th ey grant.
un der th e entry fo r "fri end ly") and Earsho re's m ilit ia isn 't enough to
h onestly regrets hi s wicked li fe. He defen d against a large-scale attack; the Olm an islan ders who dwell in the
begs for mercy, and ifgrant ed it, could the fact th at it was barely able to near by seven villages, th ings look gr im
become a loyal henchman t o o ne of hold its own against one small ship ind eed. Lavinia need s the PCs to tra vel
the PCs. mak es th is clear. Witho ut help from with all haste to the village of'Tanaroa

FEBRUARY 2007 DUNGEON 41

TIDES OF DREAD BY STEPHEN 5. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN ,

(the largest of the seven \; 1- sou thern pen insula to the mainland of
lages) an d do whatever it the Isle of Dread. Preventin g the passage
take s to gain the support of the terrible beasts of the main land
ofthe Olma n warriors. into this sheltered peninsula is
In additio n, there are th e Great Wall , a fifty-foo t-h igh
ot her, stranger tribes of barricad e th at stretches over two
humanoids d welling in miles. Bui lt during th e height of
the inte rior, tribes whose the Olrnan em pire over 1,0 0 0 years
aid wou ld do ub tless ago, th e Great Wall's original
fu rt h e r sh ore up purpose is long forgotten .Today,
Farshore. The ph anatons it serves as an im portan t barrier,
are on e suc h trib e- pro tecti ng th e seven villages
secu rin g the ir aid can from the monsters that d well
help Earshore's defenses. to the north.
Local legends also tell of <to Tanaroa's proximi ty
race of catlike human oid s to the Grea t Wall is th e pri-
called "rak astas,' The locals mary rea son it is the m ost
believe that th e last of the ' im portant of th e seven vil -
rakastas have died out , bu t lages. They share a sim ilar
the y were renowned for layout- four gro ups of huts
th eir masterwo rk weapo ns . set at four equidistant points
Perh aps hi dden caches of rakasta delineate th e compoun ds of
weapo nry still exist at the sites of fou r clans and surr ound a cen tral
their old temples. pyram id that serves as a temple and
Many su pplies were damaged in the town square. Currently, the four clans are
recent attack, supplies tha t could be the Ape, Tiger, Boar, and Sea Turtl e clans.
replaced by the cargo st ill ca rrie d Lefty Members of a clan hold that these animals
by the Sea Wy vern. For that matter, represent their inn er selves, which has led
if th e Sea Wy vcrn h er sel f cou ld be Du rin g this ad venture, as th e PCs to specialization between th e clans. The
repaired , sh e co uld give Far shore accomplish th eir various m issions, they people of the Boar clan arc th e builders
a huge ad van tage in defending earn victory point s. \Vhen the Cri mson and craftsmen, the Ape clan are farmers
again st pirates . Lavini a ne ed s th e Fleet arrives, the PCs' successes and fail- and entertainers,theTiger d an hunters and
PCs to return to the wreck site, effect u res d uri ng th e batt le also earn them gatherers,and the SeaThrtle d an fishermen
repai rs, and sail the Sea Wyvern back victory points. When the battle is finally and sailors.
with her cargo. over, the total number of victory point s Although each village clan has a male
Th e Isle of Dread itself has resources amasse d by th e p e s throu gh out this leader, comm and of each village falls to a
that could prove helpful. Alar ge tar pit entire adventure is what determines the female chieftain.The only oth er official of
could supply the isle with tar to shore final outcome and Farshore's fate. importance is the village's Zombie Master
up defenses and repair damaged ships (or Mistress)-an advisor to the chiefand
and buildings,bu t only if access to the PART THREE: ZOTZILAHA'S the religious leader ofthe village. Th e ani-
tar pits can be gained. WRATH mation ofzombies is an important part of
On ce th e PCs are fami liar with the Altho ugh Farshore is on good tenns with Olman culture, who view the creation of
situation, the y are fr ee to handl e the ir th e Olmans of the su rrou nding seven "walking ancestors" as a necessary evil to
tasks in any order th ey wish. Farshore villages, the Olma ns havebeen waryabout protect their underground catacombs.
becomes the ir home base for th ese using their own to aid in the defense of Tanaroa (Village): Conventio nal, Magi-
exploratio ns, and the re 's cer tainly a this new colony. Th e villagers of Tanaroa cal; AL NG; Population 418; 200 gp limit;
large amount of work that needs to be in parti cular have been hesitant about Assets 4,180 gp: Islolated (100% humans)
do ne there as well. The accompanying supplying such aid, and since the other Auth ority FiE,,,es: j 'kal. chieftain (NG
backdr op on Farshore pr esent s several six villages look to the Tanaroan s for fema le human ranger 6); Mvembi, zom-
additional advent ures and tasks the pe s leaders hip, the other villages have been bie master (N male human cleric 6)
can take on to prepare for the assault , as falling in line. Ifthe village of'Tanaroa can
well as nu merou s NPCs with which th e be convinced to come to Farshore's aid, Wings of Fire (EL 9)
PCs can interact. TIle rest of this chap - the other six villages will do so as well. Arrivi ng in Tanaroa, the pes find the
ter concerns itselfwith what lies beyond Tanaroa is located at the southern end village in the middle of a religious cer-
Farsh ore 's walls. of the narrow isthm us th at connects the emony. A pulsating rhythm pounded out

DUNGEON FEBRUARY 2007

on hollowed logs accompanies a frenzied word ofhis displea sure by attack ing the
dance by dozens ofwarriors wearing large villagers. There are seven fire bats in all;
masks depicting a monstrou s bat. All the th e villag ers do li tt le but run from the
while, the villagers chant to a charred bat elem entals. Once any PC attacks one of
totem at the center ofa huge flaming pyre the bat s, all of th em focus on th e PCs.
erected at the foot of th e central pyramid.
Th e word they chant is the same one , over FIRE BATS (7) CR 3
and over:"Zotzilaha." NE Small elemen,tal (fire)
The entire vill age of Tanaroa is at Monster Man ual II 102
the ritual, and as the PCs approach, Init +3; Senses blindsense 120 ft., darkvision
the village rs pay them little attention. 60 ft.; Listen +5, Spot +S
Before the PCs can make their presence Langu ages lg na n
fully known or reach any ofthe village's AC 16, touch 14, flat-footed 13
leaders, the effigy flashes with a sudden hp 21 (6 HD); rege neration S
blast of brilliance. A cascade of sparks Immune fire; e lemental t raits
and flame from the burning pyre elicits Fort +1, Ref +8, Will +0
startled screams from the villagers. A Weakness vu lnerable to cold
sh ape becomes momentarily visible Spd 10 ft., fly 50 ft. (good)
in the fire as the effigy itself comes to Melee bite +8 (Ide- I plus Id6 fire)
life. A lean humanoid figur e covered in Base Atk +4; Grp - 1
short black fur rises from the flames, its Atk Options attach , bu rn, devou r
hea d tha t ofa sn arling bat with glowing Abilities St r 8, Dex 17, Con 8 , Int 6, Wis 7,
red eyes. Larg e membranous wings Cha 5
from its back beat against the flame s Feats Dodge, Flyby Attack, Weapon Finesse
like a bellows, sending h ot cinders Skills H ide +10, Liste n +5, Spot +5
swirli ng. The creature shrieks ou t a Attach (Ex) If a fire bat hits with a bite, it
sh ort phrase in Olman-anyone who latches o nto its opponent, effective ly
speaks the language (or who asks wh at g rapp ling its prey, and is co ns idered defend the village and fight off the fire
the creature said later) understands it: flat -footed. An attached fire bat can be bats do they have a chanc e at secur ing
"Zotzil aha hea rs your sniveling pra yers! stru ck with a weapon or grappled itself. Olman aid for the coming Crim son Fleet
You would appease the Great Bat?Then To re move an attached fire bat th rough attack. While the villagers are still too
return what has been stolen or burn!" If g rappl ing , th e opponent must ach ieve a frightened to exit their huts, the chieftain
any ofthe PCs carr ies the bat idol found pin aga inst the fire bat. ofTanaroa, a wizened old woman named
in the city of Tamoachan in "The Sea Burn (Ex) Anyon e hit by a fire bat mus t make j'kal, readi ly approaches the party. j'kal
Wyvern's Wake," he can understand this a DC 12 Reflex save to avoid catching on speaks Common, and she either showers
threat even ifhe doesn't speak Olman- fire. The fire burns for 1d4 rounds, and the PCs with thanks for their role in
further, he kno ws that what th e creature may be ext ing uished with a move action. defen di ng the villa ge or cur ses them for
speaks of is the idol he carries. Creatures hitting a fire bat with natu ral being cowards and standing idly by.
Th e batlike humano id form bursts weapons o r unarmed attack s take 1d6 fire J'kal infonns the PCs that , while the ir
in to flame, sen din g a flight of bats damage, and also catch fire if they fail th is heroic aid against the fire bats certainly
with wing s of fire spi raling into the air save. The save DC is Co nstitution-based. deserves reciprocation, sh e cannot
above the effigy. At th e same mome nt, Devour (Ex)Once atta ched , a fire bat devou rs spare any of her village's warrior s while
a tremor ru mbles through the gro und flesh, automatically dea ling Id6-1 points Zotzilaha is angr y. Recently, the Fangs of
and in th e distance to the northwest , th e of dam age and ano ther Id6 points of fire Zotzilaha have been shaking th e island
two great volcanoes kn own as the Fan gs damage each ro und it rem ains attach ed . with tremors and sending thick cloud s of
of Zot zilaha flash with fresh p lumes of After dealing 6 point s of bite damage, it is ash into the air. Divinations have revealed
f re and sm oke. Th e eruption itself is sated ; o n the next ro und it de taches and that Zotzilaha himself-h as grown angry
minor, one of many the active volcanoes flies away to d igest its meal. over an idol of th e bat god stolen from
con stan tly em it, yet its timing is en ough Reg eneration (Ex) Co ld deals lethal damage hi s shrine in the northern volcano Nex-
to send the village in to a blind panic. to a fire bat. tepeua ("He Who Rains Ashes"). The vil-
Cr eat u res : The PC s ha ve ju st / lagers have tried to appease Zotzilaha with
witn essed a visitation from Zotz ilaha, Appeasing the Bat God offerings, but Zotzilaha's wrath grows. If
the bat god of the Olmans. The fire Ho w the PCs handle themselves in the idol is not found and returned to the
bats that emerged from the fire are his th is fight determines how the villagers shrine, they belie ve that Nextepeua 'will
mi nions, and quickly set to spreadin g respond to them. Only if the PCs help erupt and destro y them all.

FEBRUARY 2007 DUNGEON 43

 BY STEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN I

the th ieves wh o sto le it. With a DC 15 kets to placate Zotzilaha 's an ger-they
Di plo m acy check or a promi se to return bel ieve that do ing so is all th at p revent s
th e idol to the volcano, the PCs can calm a m ore des tructive volca nic explosio n.
Fkal: in any event, sh e promises them Only by the grace and divine san ctity of
th at ifthey retu rn the ido l to th e shrine, Zot zilaha does th is sh rin e remain u nde-
she 'li be more th an will ing to sen d h er stroyed d u ri ng th e volca no's pe riod ic
warriors to Farsho re to defen d it wh en eru ptions. T he niches on the walls con -
the time comes. tain various offerings given to Zotzilaha
The Tanaroans eagerly provide by th e nati ves over the past several year s;
di rections to th e Zot zila ha sh rine n one of the m are particu larly valuab le.
en tra nce on th e lower slo p es of The n iche in th e large bat carving's claws
Nextepeua. Th is en tranc e is a onc e held the bat ido l the PCs di scovered
la rge cave m ou th, its rim ma rke d in Tamoachan .
with bat carvings an d n umer ou s Th e idol was removed and placed in
niches for offeri ng s. Beyond th is the path of the p e s as part of a convo-
en trance.a winding tunnel bores luted scheme to ensure th e pe s would
dee p in to the volcano's core- th e come to th is sh ri ne and d iscover the
Olmans m ake th e pil g rimage to the secr et treasure room beyond the sculp -

,
~
PAR ASAUROLOPH US

N Huge animal
-
.....-.....:: ~k;~~
CR 7
shrine chamber itself only once a year ,
and typically do so under the pro tection
o f endure elements. Tem per atures in the
tu re. The mas termind is none other than
Malcanthet, Demon Queen o f Succubi,
who sees th e pes as a means to an en d.
D RAGON #318 67 tu nn el are severe, rarel y d ipp ing bel ow More abou t her schemes and othe r pow-
Init +0; Senses low-light visio n, scent; Listen 11 0 ° F. See the Dun,gcon Master's Guide, ers in volved will be reveale d in future
+14, Spot +11 I page 3° 3, for th e effects of severe he at. in stallments ofth e Adventure Path.
AC 14, touch 8, flat-footed 14 Th e win din g tunnel climbs th ree mil es Creature: Since the th eft, an aspect of
hp 142 (14 HD) through th e volca no before reach ing the bat god Zotzila ha has guarded th is
Fort +14, Ref +11, Will +6 the sh r in e, so a pa rt y moving at a speed chamber again st more ind ignities. The
Spd 40 ft., swim 20 ft. o f' jo feet can reach thei r goal in about aspect spen ds much ofits time cavorting
Melee slam +16 (l d8+12) an hour. Durin g th is j ourn ey, pe r iodic in the seari ng infern o of the volca no's
Space 15 fl.: Reach I S ft. tremor s shake t he volcan o- n oth in g caldera, b ut alwa ys knows whe n cre a-
Base Atk +10; Grp +26 stro n g enough to knock people down , tures enter thi s cave, and ar rives via on e
Special Actions tram ple I d8+12 b u t enough to remi n d th em th at th ey of the ope n ings to the west on ly 1d4+2
Abilities Str 26, Dex 10, Con 20, Int 2, Wis are ins ide an act ive volcano. ro u n d s afte r the pes arriv e, accom pa -
14, Cha 10 n ied by a flock of seven fire bats he has
Feats Alertness, Improved Toughness (+1 Shrine of Zottilaha (EL 1+) recently su m m one d .
hpJHD), ligh tning Reflexes, Run, Skill Zotzilaha : hp 161; see page 58.
. , ,
Focus ~H i d e) The sloping lava tun nel wide ns into a large Fire Bats (7): hp 21 ; see page 43.
Skills Hide - 5 (+5 in areas '~f heavy roun d cham ber filled with smoke and ash Tactics: The aspect fights to the de at h,
vegetatio n), li sten -+:14, Spot +11 from fissu res riddling the rock walls and pursuing foes from the volcano ifne ces-
Tramp le (Ex) Reflex half DC 25. The save DC floor. A fiery glow and thund erous rumbl e sar, returning to its sh r ine onl y ifit per-
~ is. Strength-based. com es from the west, where rents in the ceives ne w intrud ers or if its prey flees
cave wall open ou t directly into the active more th an a mil e from th e volcano's low-
volcano's throat. The walls of the cave are est slopes.
Of cours e, the sto len id ol is th e same ridd led with niches, so me of which con- The aspect ofZotzilaha is b rut al an d
on e the pe s recovered in "Th e Sea tain offerings of food, trinkets, and animals, violent, much like its divine source, yet
Wyvern's Wake." As detailed there, the se while others are empty or contain only it immediately ceases its att ack ift he pe s
events h ave been orche st rated by th e ash . Throu gh the haze, an eight-foot -tall presen t it with the mis sing bat id ol. It
d emon que en of succ ub i, Malc an thet, bat leers from where it has been carved in res umes its attac k in fou r rounds un less
who ho pes to lu re the pes into a h idd en relief out of th e far wall. The bat's wings so m eon e repla ces the ba t ido l in the
treasu ry in th e Zotzilaha sh ri n e where rise over its head, with its claws meeting ni che on the northern wall. If the idol is
they'll d iscover an item th at will be of at a cu riously shaped niche that appears returned, th e aspe ct of Zotzilaha sighs in
gre at value lat er in the cam paign. to be empty. reli efan d relaxes, sending an y remaining
Revealing to the villagers tha t th e PCs fire bat m in ions bac k into th e volcano as
h ave th e bat idol is best broach ed with This shri n e is where th e Olm ans visit it bows d eep ly to the par ty. In a gra ting
tact, lest the villagers take th e pes for every year to offer treasures an d trin - baritone voi ce, the crea ture speaks in

44 DUNCiEDN FEBRUA RY 2007

h alting Common: "Zotzilaha th an ks you
for r eturn in g h is tr easu re. Kno w, m or -
tals , tha t Zot zilaha r eward s th ose who
serve h im. You may each cho ose some -
thing of valu e fro m his vault. Ifyou h ave
qu esti on s abo ut a p rize, you n eed but ask
m e. Choos e qu ickly, for you m ust leave
th is place befor e I grow hungry ..."
Treasure: The bat carvin g is in fact a
cleverl y h idden secr et do or tha t can b e
d iscovered wit h a DC 30 Search chec k.
The door can b e ope ne d b y a knock spe ll,
th e will of the asp ect of Zotzilah a, or
with a DC 30 Use Magic Device check; it
d oes not op en via conventional m ean s.
(Of course, meth ods lik~ passwall or
dimerlsion door can also allow- access to
the chamber b eyon d.) When op en ed, th e
b at carving rumble s to life, li fti n g its
wings to revea l an ar chway that leads
into a ten -foo t-square room b eyond.
Any item of valu e offer ed to Zotzilaha
is p lac ed in this room r ather than
allowed to sit on d ispl ay on an out er
nic he . Som e of th e tre asures in t h is
cha m ber date back h undred s of years .
Eac h of the following consti tu tes
on e "choice."
• a sm all wooden cotTer containing 500
an cient platinum coins b eari n g a ser pen t
on one side and a crown on the other
• an ivory carving ofan elephant-headed
hum anoid grip ping a larn ished scepter
en cru sted with j ade, worth 3,000 gp in all
• a woo den carving of a tiger with two
small sapph ires for eyes worth 250 gp
• a neckla ce with a single drago n tooth in t he roll ed -up stri p of leath er. It is so hi s wr ath at any st olen tr easures is
worth 100 gp n ot one of Zot zil aha's tre asu re s, and mo re focused . Rath er t han m ani festing
• a masterwork buckler in th e sh ape of d oesn 't coun t as a "cho ice" if th e PCs as a p ossibly exp losive volca n o, an y PC
the h oly sym bol of Olid ammara wis h to keep it. This fan g is in fact a who steals m o re than hi s share fro m
a +4 mithral hrea stplate minor ar tifact known as the Tooth of this cha m b er m ust m ak e a DC 30 Will
aflam e tonnue lon,gsword Ahazu (see Ap p en dix), one of the leg- save; failure in dicat es h is b od y twists
a rin,g ~'invisibility en dary Teeth of Dahlver-Nar. This and deform s in s ome horrible way,
a pearl af power (qth -level spell) ite m was placed h er e b y an agent o f permanentl y r edu cin g h is hi gh est
a stone ~goo d luck Malc anth et , and it can aid the PCs ab ility score b y six p oin ts. This curse is
an amulet of natural armor +3 gr eatly late r o n in th e Savage T id e di vine in nature , and qu ite diffi cult to
a rolled up stri p ofleather contai ni ng Adventur e Path. remo ve as a re sult . The cu rs e fun ctions
a lon g, th in fan g If the p e s atte mpt to take more th an at CL zo th , and m ay only be re moved via
Feel free to adjust th e con tents of the their share of tr eas u re, the aspe ct of a cas te r of eq ua l o r h igher level. If th e
vault to m or e closely ma tch th e abilities Zotzilah a ro ars and att acks, this time stolen trea sure is r et urn ed , any cas ter
an d skills of your players, ch oosing fro m figh ti n g to th e d eat h. If the aspec t is m ay remove it wi th remove curse or
item s wor th 2 0,0 0 0 gpo d efeat ed , taking any of t he t reasure break enchantment.
T h e as pect of Zo tzila h a ca n re veal an gers Zotz ilaha . Un like th e case of the Ad-Hoc Exp erience Award: Ifthe PCs
t he magical p rope r ti es of any item, if bat idol, th oug h, h is atte n tion is turned retu rn the bat id ol an d don't take m ore
asked, bu t d oesn't r ecognize the fang to thi s sh rine wh en the PCs are here, than th ey ar e du e from th e vaul t, award

FEBRUARY 20 07 DUNGEON 45
 TIDES OF DREAD BY STEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN I

them XP as ifthey'd defeated the aspect colonists can certai nly use it to tran s- saur . Only Id 4 hours afte r the y begin
of Zotzilaha in combat. po rt wha t is need ed. thei r patrol of the tar pit s, the sound
Victo ry Poi nts: For return ing th e bat Th e problem lies with the fact th at one of enraged roars and st ra ng ely hi gh-
id ol and securing the aid of the Olman ofthe isle's oldes t and angriest din osaurs pitched shrieks of terror and pain tear
tribes , the pes gain 250 VP. has recently sett led in the regi on . th rough the air. Eme rging from thejun-
gle, th e PCs witness Temauhti-tecuani's
PART FOUR; A TlUP TO THE Temauhti-tecuani (EL 11) wrat h firsthand .
TAR PITS The villagers of'Tanaroa have been unable The Olm ans and the colonists aren't the
The colon ists ofFarsho re have made a few to gath er tar fro m the pit s for seve ral onlydenize ns ofth e Isle of Dread who use
excursions to th e Isle ofDread's im me nse weeks, and are qu ick to warn anyone who the tar pits. A native race of humano ids
tar pit before , but the journey has always in di cates that th ey wish to d o so as well. known as phanaton s also make freque nt
been a harrowing and deadlyone-it's far It seems that a grizzled tyrannosaurus tri ps to the pits to water proof the ir roo fs
easier to sim ply trade with the Olmans (kno wn locally as Temauhti-tecuani ], has and walls. When the PCs arrive, a band
for what tar the colonists need. Yet for claimed th e tar pits as hi s territory. The of a dozen ph anaton tar -gatherers have
the coming attack, Farshore need s a lot di nosaur has learned th at it's easier to been challenged by Temauhti-te cuani.
more tar th an ever before. Obtainin g a sim ply eat creatures that have becom e and the dinosaur is makin g shor t work
large supply to aid in repairing damage stuck in th e tar , and views the entire oft he diminuti ve creatures .
don e to the colony by the first attack or th in g as hi s banquet table now. Althou gh A ph anaton resembles a cross between
to aid in repairin g the Sea \\)' venl would th e tar pits are large, th e d in osau r is a raccoon an d mon key. Th ey pos-
certainly go a long way toward defeating relen tless in his patrols of his territory, sess lon g, prehensile tails and folds of
the Crimson Fleet assault. and not lon g aft er an yone atte m pts skin between thei r arm s an d legs th at
To repair th e Sea Wy vern, damage to to gat he r a significant amount of tar, allow them to glide for short distances.
the Bl ue Nixi e and other ships in Far- the mo nster's arriv al causes panic and Tem au ht i-tecua ni himself is a ho rribly
sho re har bor , an d the dam age to the mayhe m. Before Farsho re can gathe r th e scarred survivor ofcou ntless battles with
palisade and other buildings, th e colo - tar it needs, someone needs to deal with the isle's other pr edators. One of hi s eyes
ni st s mu st be able to tr an sport the tar Tem auhti-tecuani. is mi ssing , and on e of his arms ends in
safely. A well-traveled footpa th bet ween Creatures:The PCs won't need to look a j agged stum p, bitten off long ago by
Tanaroa and th e tar pits exists, and the long to find the cantan kerous dino- another tyrannosauru s.

46 DUNGEON FEBRUARY 2007

TE M AUHTI-TECUANI CR 11 allowing 20 feet of forward t ravel for every
Male elite advanced tyranno sau rus 5 feet of descent. Phanatons fly at a speed
N Huge animal of 20 feet (average) while gliding, but can
Monster Manual 61 never hover (even if their maneuverability
Init +3; Sen ses low-light vision, scent; Li sten imp roves). A phanaton can not glide while
+21, Spot +21 carrying a medium or heavy load, and falls
AC 20, tou ch 11, flat-footed 17 iflt becomes unco nscious or helpless.
hp 337 (currently 320, 25 HD) Tact ic s: Tem au h ti-tecuani is h ungry
Fort +22, Ref +17, Will +11 an d angry, and the PCs wo u ld make a
Spd 40 ft. better m eal than the sm all ph an at o n s. /
Melee' bite +17 (3d6+26JI 9- 20) Once th e din osaur spots the PCs, I.Oi
Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft. he ignores t h e phanaton s (wh o
Base Atk +18; Grp +37 r ace for cover) an d attac ks them
Atk Opt ions Comb at Reflexes, Power Attac k, in s tead . Tema uh ti-tecuani is PrERANODON CR2
improved grab (bite) fan t asti cally territo r ia l, a n d N Medium animal
Special Action s swallow who le : d oesn't know the mean ing o f D""GON 11318 68
*10-point Power Attack r etreat . The d in o sa ur fights Init +3; Sen s es low-light vision, scent; li ste n
Abilities Str 32, Dex 16, Con 26,I nt 2, Wis to the death . +4, Spot +15
16, Cha 8 O nce the p e s enter th e fray, the Pau - AC I S, touch 13, f lat-footed 12
Feats Alertness, Improved Critical (bite), ic ke d phanato n s begin ch eeri n g, qu ickly hp 27 (5 HD)
Im proved Nat ural Armo r (4), lmp roved j o ining t he pe s in th e battl e by th r o w- Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +5
Natura l Att ack (bite), Imp roved Toughness ing their s pe ars and dag gers. They avo id Spd 10 fl., fly 90 ft. (good)
(+1 hpJHD), Power Attack e n gag in g Temauhti-t ecuan i in melee, Melee bite +5 (l d6+3)
Skills Li ste n +21, Spot +21 instead r u n n in g around t he battle fie ld Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
to reclaim daggers and spears that miss Base Atk +3; Grp +5
PHANATON TAR-GATHERERS (12) CR 1 to re u se th em. Atk Options dive
Male and fem ale phanato n ranger 1 The ta r p it pre sents an addit io nal tac- Abilities Str 14, Dex 17, Ca n 12, lnt 2, Wis
CG Small hum anoid tical wrinkl e to th e b attl e. There's a strip 18, Cha 12
DRA GON # 339 62 of o p en ground fort y fee t wide between Feats Flyby Attack, Skill Focus (s pot)
Init +3; Sens es low-light vision; Li ste n +7, the tar pit's edge and the jungle.The first Skills Spot +15
Spot +3 five feet of tar pit is o nly a foot or two Dive (Ex) If a pteranodon ma kes a charge
Lang uages Phanatcn , Olman d eep , but grows d ee per qu ickly. A charac- att ack an d lowers its alt itude by a~ least
AC 17, tou ch 14, flat-footed 14 ter m oving throu gh the tar pit within five 30 feet as part of-the charge , it gains a +4
hp 9 (1 HD) fee t from shore may do so b y sp en ding bonu s o n its attac k roll and deals 2d6+6
Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +1 three sq u a res of m ovement per square. poin;ts of damage with its bite if it hits.
Spd 20 ft.; gliding In the deeper tar, a character m ust make
Melee dagger +2 (l d3JI 9- 20) or D C 25 Swim checks t o m ove through it.
spe ar +2 (ld6/X3) Tn ad d iti on, t he tar is boili n g h o t, and Vict ory Point s: I f the P Cs d efeat
Ranged dagger +5 (l d 3JI 9- 20) or inflict s ld6 poin ts of fi re damag e per 'Iem a u h t i-tec uan i, th e ta r p its become
spear +5 (l d6Jx 3) r o und to anyone wh o move s throu gh safe to h arvest . It 'll ta ke only Id4 days for
Base Atk s-I j Grp c-S it . Someo ne immersed in tar takes 3d6 Fars hore to ga t her all the tar n ecessary
Atk Option s favored enemy +2 (anim al) fir e d amage p er r o u n d . Tar conti n ues for re pairs, a l wh ic h p o int th e PCs gain
Abilities Str 11, Dex 16, Ca n 13, lnt 10, wt s to burn for Id6 rounds after a character 10 0 V?
12, Cha 8 em erges . Removing tar from a creature
SQ forest awareness , wild em path y +0 takes I d 6 co n secutive full -r ound actions. Vis iting the Phanatcns
Feat s Stealthy,Track Spells like prestidigitation ca n cle an the The ph anat on tar -gather ers are am ong
Skills Climb +6, Hide +13, Jum p +0, Listen tar off qnickly. th e b r avest of th eir kind, b u t n aturally
+7, Move Silently +13 (+17 in forested T reas u r e: A searc h o fth e dead tyranno- shy. If th e PCS aid them in fightin g the
areas), Spot +3, Survival +5 sa u rus re veals hundred s o f arrowhead s, tyrannosaurus and an y o f them survive,
Possessions leather armor, dagg er, spear spear h ead s, and o ther proj ec til e we a p · the phanato ns ga ther in a small group to
Forest Awarenes s (Ex)Pha natons gain a +1 o n s emb ed ded in scar tissu e and thick ch att er and wat ch the PCs. If th e PCs can
racial bo nus on all saving th rows while in patches ofscal es o n th e beast's hide. A D C estab lis h communication with th e phana-
a fo rested location. 20 Search ch eck r eveal s a +1 keen cold iron tons, they thank them dozens oftimes for
Gliding (Ex) A phana ton can glide, negating kukri lodged deep in the folds of scales on killing Te mauhti-te cuani. The phana tons
damage from a fall of any height and th e d inosaur's right fo ot. are in it ially fr iendly, an d if they can b e

FEBRUARY 2007 DUNGEON 47

 BY STEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN I

made help ful with a DC 20 Diplomacy tons become j oyful and impressed . Th e Farsho re to do what they can to aid in the
check, they ask the pes to accompany PCs become the gue sts of honor duri ng colony's defen se.
them back 10 their village to the north. an im promptu feast offruits and un usu - The phanaton s also kno w quite a bit
Th e j ourne y to the phan aton village ally tasty fried ins ects. Feel free to play abou t the Isle ofDread, and can give the
from th e tar pits is about 45 mile s- it' ll out thi s feast as much as you like; du r- PCs a fair amount of basic informati on
likely take the PCs a few days to reach it. in g th e feast, have the PCs make a DC 20 abo ut many of the locations in dicated
During the journey, the pha natons gri ll Diplomacy check to determine how the on the map ofthe isle. If asked for advice
the pes ceaselessly for sto ries of their phanatons take to them. Alternately, a on where to look for more resources to
homel and. Their irrepressible curiosity PC that wishes to entertain the ph ana- aid them in the coming confli ct with the
extends to the p e s' gear, an d while the ton s can instead make a DC 20 Perfo rm Cri mso n Fleet, th ey're quick to poin t
phanatons are n't thieves , their habits of check. Success with either check indi- th e PCs in the direction of the Temple
taking items that do n't belong to them cates that th e phanaton s accept the PCs of the Jaguar, expl aining that th e "cat
just to examine them for a few minutes as tribe-friends, and are willing to trade peop le" who once lived th ere were very
before they return th em might set some with them or let the PCs stay in their vil- warlike. They're gone now, but their
pes on edge. As lo ng as the pe s are lage as honored guests. Characters who weapon s m ight remain hidden in the
pat ient (and as lon g as th ey can keep at sleep in the village need fear no wander- ru ins of the ir village som ewh ere.
least one ph anaton alive du rin g any wan- in g monster enco unt ers . Note th at th e pe s could contact th e
dering mo nster fights they have alon g If th e pe s explain Parshore's troubles ph anaton s before visit ing the tar pit.
the way), the arrival at the phanaton vil- to the phanatons, a~d if they've become In this case, th e phanat on s react waril y
lage is one of noi sy excitem ent. tribe-friends of the village, th e ph ana- to the st ran ge vis ito rs and make a
When word of the pes' tri um ph over ton leader Teke tek promises to se nd a proposition . If the PCs can make th e
Temauhti-tecuani spreads, the phana - group of his strongest hunters south to tar pits safe for har vesting by de feating

48 DUNGEON FEBRUARY 2007

Temau b ti -tecuan i, th e p ha nato n s Although the rak asta s are gone, their the skin walker assault on th e last rakasta
promise to aid them as well. work s rema in . H idd en so ut h of the tribe several years ago. The skinwalkers
Victory Points: Secu ring phanaton aid grea t plateau is an aba n do n ed village di d n ot ente r the temple itself-they
for the battl e earns 2 00 VP. of h ut s th at have nearly been reclaimed saw n o n eed , as th ey had slaugh tered th e
b y the j u ngle. Looming ne arb y is an rakastas to a m an.
PART FIVE: TEMPLE OF anc ie n t tem ple whe re th e rakastas Crea ture: A hu ge green anaconda
THE JAGUAR once performed th eir sacred rite s. Now clam bered u p ab ove the en tra nc e to
At the h eight of'Thanaclans power, some overgrown with vegetation, the temple the pyramid several days ago to dige st a
folk aband on ed th e comforts of urban houses a fantast ic cache of weapons th e meal . The enormou s snake h as recently
living for a more tra d itional life style rakastas h ad sto ckpil ed in an ticipation wakened from its torpor, and remains
in th e wild. The m ost prolific of these of th e skinwalker attac k on th eir tr ibe. h idd en until anyone attempts to enter
groups were several cults of shamanistic They were un able to reach the stockp ile the pyramid, at which point it strikes.
sh apeshi fters who emb raced th e ancient wh en the su rpris e attac k fin ally came,
ways and bec ame lycanthro pes. Few of and no w these wea pons may spe ll E MERA LD ANA CO N DA CR 10
these gro up s were as succes sful as th e the differ en ce b etween succ ess an d Advanced elite giant constrictor snake
Cult ofthe Jaguar. When Th anaclan fen to failure in th e coming con flict with th e N Gargantuan animal
the savage tide, th ese cults were sheltered Cri ms on Fleet. Monster Manual 280
from the apocalypse and managed to Init +4; Senses scent; listen +14, Spot +14
live on for several gen eratio ns. In time, Finding the Temple AC 18. touch 10, flat-footed 14
most of th em died out as well, victims Although th e PCs learn of the rumor of hp 230 (20 HD)
of the savage new preda tors th at h ad a rakasta weapons cache early on in thi s Fort +18, Ref +16, Will +6
d arned th e isle. Alone am on g th em , th e adven ture,actuallylocating th e site of their Spd 20 ft.• climb 20 ft ., swim 20 ft.
Cu lt of th e Jaguar su rvived . Over th e temple is mor e p roblematic.The Farsh or e Melee bite +25 (3d6+21)
generations, th ese werej aguars develop ed colonists kno w n oth ing of th e raka stas. Space 20 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
and ch anged, becoming an entirely n ew The Olmans know more, an d observe Base Atk +15; Grp +41
race of creatures known as rakastas. that while they've not enco unter ed any of Atk Options improved grab (bite),
Unfortunatel y, th e Isle of Dread is an the catfolk recently, they were most often constrict 2d6+21
unforgivin g p lace, an d the last known encountered in the jungles northwest of Abilities Str 38, Dex 19, Con 22, Int 1,Wis
r akast a trib e on the is le r ecently fell Bloodwater Lake. Th e phanatons used to 10. Cha 4
vict im t o rai d er s fro m th e ce ntr al trade with the rakastas, an d ifbefriended, Feats Alertness, Endurance, Diehard, Improved
p la tea u - ironica lly, m embers of t h e th ey can easily mark the locati on of th e Natural Attack(bite), Improved Toughness
Cu lt of th e Jaguar who h ad no t escaped rakasta temple on a map. Of course , th e (+1 hp/HD), Skill Focus (Hide). Stealthy
the initial savage tide and h ad , over pe s cou ld also sim ply decide to expl or e Skills Balance +12, Climb +22, Hide +8,
the last 1 ,0 0 0 yea rs, de velo ped int o a the j ungle on th eir own. Each day spent Listen +14, Move Silently +6, Spot +14,
much mo r e d estr uctive rac e offien d ish within five miles ofthe Temple of the Jag- Swim +22
catfo lk. No rm ally co nfin ed t o th e uar, allow the character in th e party with Tactics: The an aconda attacks the firs t
cen tra l plateau, th ese cu ltis t s b ecam e th e highe st Survival check to att empt a DC crea ture to att em pt to en ter the temple
cr eatur es calle d skin walker s, and th eir 30 Survival check; othe r characters can aid fro m its ledge ten feet above. Whil e con-
p eriodi c forays in to the low lan d s to th is roll. Success in d icates that the pe s stri ctin g one foe, it con tin ue s to defend
war agains t th ei r dis tant cousin s came stu mble upon the overgrown rakasta vil- itself from other attacks, bu t it drops it s
to a bitter (fo r the low landers] en d lage and its stony temple. prey and flees if reduced to less than 75
as re cently as a few yea r s ago . The re hit points.
m ay still be sm all groups of rakast as 1. Temple Entrance (EL 10)
d wellin g in h id den reache s of the Isl e '2. The Jad e J aguar (EL 6)
o f Dr ead , an d it' s certain tha t som e Asquat ziggu rat crouches here, embraced in
es cap ed t he isl e entirely to se tt le on the green of the ju ngle. Tall niches along its Shafts of light from broke n portions of
di stan t sho res, b u t as an organ ized wallshold moss-covered statues of men with wall and ceiling thirty feet above illumi-
n ati on, t he rak as ta s are now a jaguar heads. Anatural curtain of thiek vines nate this large open chamber within the
dwindli ng m em ory. and creepers hangs over a wide opening at crumbling pyramid. The walls are covered
The skin walkers ma ke no appearances the base of the southern wall. with faded m urals and bas-relief carvings ,
in this adven ture, but b eco me a p ri mary while the cente r of th~ room is filled with
foe in "City ofBroken Ido ls," th e seven th A DC 25 Search of th e templ e's a variety of antique totemi c statues facing
Savage T id e adven ture. Add ition al perime ter reveals signs of battle; statu es a ce nt ral platform supporti ng a large jade
d eta ils wil l ap pea r in D U N G EO N with deep gouges, strange bone s of catli ke figurine of a jagua r-these statues seem
Magazine # 145. human oid s, and oth er telltale rem nan ts of cu riously untou ched by th e passage of

FEBRUARY 2007 DUNGEON 49

 DES OF DREAD

25 Reflex save to avoid tumbling with mura ls of armored men and women
th rough the illusion in to the pit with the heads of cats fighti ng against trog-
bel ow. Success in dic ate s th at lodytes. di nosa urs, and ot he r, less-iden tifi-
the cha racter catches hi mself ab le demoni c monsters. In so me sce nes,
as h is hand or foot passes th e catfclk ride large sabe r-toot hed tigers,
through the pill ar (also whi le in ot he rs th ey worship at large pyra-
gran ting a DC 17 Will save m ids. Ancie nt pillars carve d in leafy pat-
to disbelieve the permanent t erns su pport the twenty-foot-h igh ceiling
illusion). Carved int o th e and surround a bam boo platfo rm covered
pit's northern wall are in reed mats.
niches, forming a ladd er
that descends to a narrow This in n er sanctum is where the
ledge leadin g to area 3 of rakastas came to offer prayers to their
the temple. anc esto rs and perform sacred rites. Th e
Th e bott om five feet fou r everburnt ng to rches pr ovide th e
of the pit is filled with ambient (and perpet ual) light.
brackish, tain ted water, Creature: Before the savage tid e st ruc k
eno ugh to expose down Tha na dan, th e wilds around th e
anyone who falls into it region were the purvey of creatu res
to blinding sicknes s but sacred to the Olmans-couatl s. These
not enough to cushion a feathered serpents were viewed as ora-
fall. The pit wills within des, advisors, and defenders of the wild.
20 feet of th e wate r's When th e savage tid e stru ck, the couatl s
surface are slippery (DC were spared due to th eir natures (out-
25 Climb check), but above siders are immun e to the effects of a
th at th ey're dry (DC 20 savage tide), bu t could do little to h elp
Climb check). the Olman s. Th ey beca me bastions of
Pit Trap: CR 6; good in the savage new realm. bu t over
mec ha nical; locati on tri gger, time th eir n umbers on the Isle of Dread
autom at ic reset; DC 25 Reflex have dwindled dramatical ly. Some fled
save avoids; 50 ft. deep (Sd6, to other planes, most have been slain
fall); tain ted water (blin d in g by demons. Yet a few, like Tonatiuh, th e
Tonatinh sicknes s, For t DC 16, 1d3 day guar dia n of this cha mb er, remain on the
incub ation, 1d4 Str plu s blind ness); isle out of a sens e of du ty to history.
Searc h DC 20; Disable Device DC 20 . Ton ati uh deeply regrets the loss of
hi s rakasta allie s, even thou gh he only
3. Tunnel Statuary appear ed to th e tribe's relig ious leaders.
When the skinwalkers struc k, Ton atiu h
time, and retain the finest lines of detail, A gently sloping tunn el winds downward di d what h e could to defend th em but
as jf the unknown sculpto r had finished into darkness. The walls of the tunnel are was forced to flee in the end , an act th at
the job only yesterday. riddled with niches filled with ancient stat- has wracked the cou atl with guilt ever
ues of jag uars looki ng down from their since. He emerges now only to hunt
T he st a tues th at su rrou nd the perches. Their eyes glitter with red, blue, for foo d, an d spends much of the rest
cent ral platfo rm de p ict gorillas, sn akes, and g reen gemsto nes . of hi s time aslee p ato p th e central pil-
cr ocodiles, bat s, tigers, and ot he r wild lar of thi s room. If he h ear s th e pe s
an ima ls in p osit ions of rage an d Treasure: The ni ches ho ld a total of 20 ap proa ch , he be comes in visible an d
terr itori al defense. The ent ire cen tra l j aguar statues, each weighi ng approx i- uses detect thoulJhts to study them before
array of statues an d pillar are in fact a mately50 poun ds and worth 150 gp apiece. revealing him self
permanent illusion (CL 15th) intended to Th e 40 gemstone eyes are each lapis lazu- Ton atiuh doe s not in itiate combat, but
lure wou ld-be th ieves into a t rap . lis worth 10 gp apiece. fights to the death to protect this temple
Tra p: A fifteen -foot-wide. fill y- from intruders. Although Tonatiuh is
foot -deep pit is hidden hy the illu sory 4. The Great Jaguar (EL 10) lawful good , he's sus picious ofintruders
pillar- anyone who attempts to climb as long as there's a pos sibility th ey may
onto the pillar to examine the (also Flickering to rches in bam boo sconces lig ht be allie d with the s kinwalkers of the
illusory) j ade jaguar m ust m ake a DC th is tall cha m be r. The wa lls are ad orn ed City of Broken Idols. The couatl's in itial

50 DUNGEON FEBRUARY 2007

attitud e to ward the PCs depend s on He doe s not atte mpt to slay tho se who Be Mo nsters," the wreck d id n't re main
th eir alignment. Norma lly,his att itude is he su ccessfully renders uncon scious, unin habi ted for lo ng. At ab out the
indifferent. IfTonatiuh cann ot dete rmine and is quick to accept su rre nd er. Still time the PCs sta rte d thi s adventu re ,
all of the PCs' alignments, he ass umes wrack ed with gu ilt over hi s per ceived Ske phili pika claime d th e wreck as his
t he wo rst and h is init ial atti tude is failu re to defend th e rakasta s, Tonatiuh n ew hom e. He an d hi s eIasmosauru s
u nfriendly; likewise, ifthere are no good doe s 'not flee any conflict h ere . an imal companion ha ve d wel t here
characters in the group, he is u nfri en dly. Treasure: A DC 30 search of the cen- ever since.
If there are an y evil characters in the tral platform's north side reveals a hid-
group, h is initial att itu de is ho stile. And den button; pressing it causes the entire The Wreckvd Wyver. (EL 10)
if everyone in the gro up is lawful good , platform to rise ou t of th e ground, reveal- The Sea Wy vern sits on the reef just
his initial attitude is helpful. ing a hollo w re gion within the risin g o ffshor e from the north easte rn coas t
On ly if the PCs can befri end pillar filled with racks of weapons. The of the Isle o f Dread , just as the PCs
Ton atiuh and adj ust his attitude to rakas tas were m asters of weapon craft , left her. Lavinia re commends tha t th e
fri endly do es the couatl re vea lth at an d the se weapons represent the pin - PCs u se th e Blue Nixie to rea ch the
hi s rakasta "childre n" were recen tl y nacle of their art. 'The weapons in clude si te rath er than tr avel over lan d , b u t
slaug h tere d b y d em oni c h u man oi ds 4 0 m asterwor k war claws (spiked gau nt - al so re commends t hat they scout ou t
known as sktnwalkers from the cen tral lets fashioned to look like tig er claws), th e site before they attem p t repair s or
pl ate au . H e goes on to say tha t t he 20 ma sterwork longbows, 600 arro ws, 10 expos e the Blue Nixie's cr ew to possible
rak ast as knew th e attack was co m ing , ma sterwork shortspears, 1 0 mas terwor k peril - sh ip wreck s tend to be qui ckly
and spen t many years crafting and long spears, and 30 m asterwork javelins. inhabit ed by dangerous monst er s, and
stockpili ng magi c weap ons to figh t the Additionally, three potent magic weap- it's been some time since th e Wyvern
skinwalkers , but whe n the attack fin ally ons are stored he re as well, each resting arrived. Who kn ows what mi gh t dwe ll
came it was swift and with out warni ng . on a low plin th in the center of the vault in its hold now?
The r akasta didn't have a cha nc e to These include a +I wourldin,g war claw, C r ea tu res : Ske philipi ka s pen ds
ge t to the cache of weapons hidden in a +2 evil outsider bane lon.gbOlll, and a +I m uch of his time in the sub me rged aft
thi s room. hory ,greatslVord. secti on of the Sea Wyv ern, and of lat e
If to ld abo u t the situation with the Victory Po in ts: De liveri ng th e has been focused on cre ating a periapt
Crimson Fleet, and as long as he's been ma ste rwor k weapons to Farshore earns of\Visdom +4, a ta sk that has consu me d
made fri endly, Tonatiuh shows the pe s 200VP. the kopru's waking mo m ents (or days.
how to op en the hidd en cache und er Wh ile he works , hi s elas mosau rus
the cen tral platform, and allows them PART SIX: RECLAIMING animal companion Bloodtooth patr ols
to take what they wish fro m the stock- THEWYVERN the su rro u nd ing water s. If Bloodtooth
pile with in. He regret full y informs the T he kopru are a ra ce of am p hibious noti ces th e app roach of a sh ip or ot her
PCs that he can not help them in th e monsters th at have long d welt in the in tr ude rs , she qu ickly alert s he r master
batt le-he ha s de cid ed he must return subme rg ed caverns belo w the Isl e an d joins him in the d efense of h is
to th e outer plan es to seek aton emen t of Dread-they have been th e isle 's new h om e.
fo r his failur e. Once the weap on cach e true m asters for m u ch of the la st A kop ru is only hum ano id fro m th e
is go ne from th is place, h e sees n o 1 ,00 0 years. While the n ext adventu re, torso up. It 's lower body is serpentine ,
fu rt her re ason to remain on th e Mate - "The Ligh tle ss Dep th s; ' delves inlo wit h a tail consisting of three powe rful
rial Plan e. He does grant a boo n to th e th e kopru's u n d ergrou n d em pire in fluk es, each end ing in a cru el hook. The
party before leaving, giving the m three de tail, not all of the ko pru adhe re to crea ture's taloned hand s are webbed, and
brightly colo re d feathe rs from hi s ta il. the sa me beliefs. T he r e are ou tcast s its head is tha t of a horrible large-eyed
If one of th ese feath er s is used as an am ong their kind, m em bers who see k fish with facial tentacl es su rrou nd ing
ad d itional m at eria l component in cast- other ways to exert their evil and ne ed a p ucker -li ke m a w fille d with tiny
in g planar ally to call Tonatiuh for aid, for d om in ation . One such ou tc ast is sharp teeth .
the spe ll costs no XP to cast. the d rui d Skephi lipika, a kopru who
To na tiub , couatI: hp 58; Monster Man- has beco m e obsessed 'with the savage S KE PH llI P IKA CR 10
ua137· ecology of the island's su rface re gions Male kopru druid 8
Tac tics: If forced to fight, To natiu h and believes th at in these region s lie th e NE Mediu m mo nstrous humanoid (aquatic)
mak es lib er al use of charm monster an d secrets for true power . His beli efs were Mon ster Manua l II 134
scorchinB ray, avoiding melee until the at odds with th e res t of hi s ki n, and so Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 fl.; Listen + 1~ ,
odds are on e-an-o ne. One of his favor- Skephilipika left the eldrit ch city deep Spot +12
ite tactics is to us e his plane sh!fl spell- below for the wate rs abo ve. Langu ages Aq ua n, Olrnan
like ability to cast int ruders in to out er After the PCs abando ne d their sh ip AC 17. touch 14, flat-footed 16
planes be tter suited to their alignment. Sea Wyvern at the start of "H ere T he re hp 104 (16 H D)

FEBRUARY 2007 DUNGEON 51

 TIDES OF DREAD BY STEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN

Fort +12, Ref +9, Will +15; resist nature's lure SQ am phi bious, track less ste p, wild em pat hy Bloodtooth, ela smosaurus an imal
Spd 5 fl., swim 40 ft. +10, woodland str ide companion: h p Ill; Monster Manual 60.
Melee tail sla p +18 (l d6+4) a nd Feats Ability Focus (do m inate person ), Tactics: Skep hilipika casts fieedom of
2 claws +16(l d4+2) and Craft Wondrou s Item, Great Fo rtitude , movement, barkskin, and bear's endurance
bite +16(l d4+2) or Multiattac k, Natural Spe ll, Practiced pr ior to combat if possible. He then
flame blade +17/+12/+7 touch (ld8+6 fire) and Spellca ster (+4 to dru id caster level) casts speak with animals in preparation
ta il slap +16 (ld6+2) and Skills Conc e nt rat io n +21, Knowledge for spon taneous summon nature's ally
claws +16 (l d4+2) and (nature) +10, Listen +12, Move Silent ly spells. If th e PCs app roach in the water,
bite +16 (l d4+2) +12, Spot +12, Survival +6, Swim +11 Skephi lipika prefers to summon Huge or
Base At k +14; Grp +24 Possess ions ring of protection +2, amulet of Large sharks. If red uced to 20 or fewer
Atk Options improved grab (tail slap). mightyfists +1, dustyrose prism ioun stone. hit points. Skephilip ika wildshape s into
co nstri ct (3d6-+4) necklace of pea rls and sha rk teeth wo rth a squid and jets out to sea to escape,
Speci al Actio ns d om inate pe rson, wild shape 350 gp leaving Bloodt ooth to cover h is flight.
3jday(Large) Domin ate Person (Su) Once per da y, a The elasmosaurus fights to the death .
Druid Spells Pre pared (CL 12t h) kopru can produce an effect like tha t If he escape s, Skephil ipika calls a new
1
4th-dispelmagic,jreedom of movement of a dominate person spe ll (Cl I0th, DC elasm osa urus an ima l compan ion the
3rd-calllightning(DC 16), cure'moderate 16 neg ates) to a range of 180 feet. Thi s next day, an d then ret urns to the 'wr eck
wounds (2), person (DC 16) effect lasts fo r 8 days. The save DC is site to att ack the PCs agai n as they
2nd-barkskin,j/ame blade, bear's Cha rism a-based. att empt repairs.
endurance, resist energy Imp roved Grab (Ex)A kop ru has a +7 racial
rst-c-cure lightwounds (2). entangle, bon us on gra pple checks. If a kopru hits Repairing the Sea Wyvero
longstrider, speak with animals a n op ponent its size o r sm alle r with a tail The SeaWy vern is significantly damaged .
o-cure minor wounds (2), detect magic, attack , it can attem pt to gr ap ple the foe bu t rests high enough on the reeftha t it is
know direction, read magic, resistance as a free act io n t hat do es not pro voke an effectively dryd ocked except during high
Abilities Str 17, Dex 12, Co n 14, Int 10, Wis atta ck of op portunity. If it establ ishe s a tid e. As long as th e pes have secu red the
17, Cha 14 ho ld, it co nst ricts its foe. tar pits an d b rough t along eno ugh repair

S2 DUNGEON FEBRUARY2007
 mater ials in th e Blue Nixie, th eir ship can thi s point, they m ay well mi ss the entire push, thi s time with Vanthus Vanderboren
be repaired with some work. att ack. Not only does this m ean th at they himselfatthe -lead ofthe assault. Vanthus
Th e Sea \\)'vern took a beating du ring m iss out on the opportunity to earn addi- confronts Lavinia, and without the PCs
the storm th at wrecked her, and over tio nal Victory Poin ts during the battle, aid, he may well murder their patron.
the past several weeks she's been slowly but their absence itselfim parts a penalty The following several encount ers rep-
falling to pieces. Ofher 24 hull sections, 9 of -400 Victory Poin ts to their total. If resent key battlefield events th e PCs can
are comp letelydestroyed. Additionally,all th e PCs have done well in preparin g for tackle to aid in Farsh ore's defense.
thr ee ofher rigging sections are destroyed. th e att ack, they' may still have enough
Th ese 12 sections must be repaired before th at Farshore can survive th e attack, but Fighting Pirate. (EL 9, VP Zr)
th e ship can be sailed again. Repairing a th e battle will be close indeed. Creatu res: At th e start of the battle, the
hull section require s a day of work and a The at ta ckin g fleet con sist s of five PCs have a chance to fight a group of six
successful DC 2 0 Craft (carpentry)check- caravels (TIlc Hag, Sea Witch's Curse, The pirates on thei r own. Th ese pirates cou ld
up to thr ee sections ma y be worked on in Kraken, th e Stygian Shark, and the flag- be att em pting to set fire to a b uilding ,
a day. Use of spells like wood shape and ship-th e Brine Harlot), each with a full chasing defenseless colon ists, or sim ply
makc wllDIc grant a +5 circums tance bonus co m pli me nt of blood th irst y pirate s prowling the stree ts looking for a fight.
on th ese rep air checks. If rione of th e itch ing for a fight. Vanth us hims elf, now
PCs is an accomplished carpe nter, th ey transformed by the leade rs of the Crim - C RIM SO N FLEET PI RATE S (6) CR 4
can bri ng alon g an NPC ally like Amelia son Fleet int o a hal f-fiend , captains the Male human fighter 2/rogue 2
venka lie (Craft [carpentry] +7) or Dran ys Brine Harlot. CE Medium humanoid
Sellis from Sellis'Woodworks and Smithy Each ship boasts a crew of thirty pirat es, lnlt +6; Senses Listen +1, Spot +1
(Craft [carpen try] +9) to aid in repa irs. but you don't need to run a full-scalebattle Language s Common
Rememb er to check for wandering between 150 pirates and 240 colonists.The AC 15, tou ch 12, flat-footed 13
monsters each day; if an enco unte r battle's resolution is ins tead determined hp 30 (4 H D)
occur s, it is an aquatic encounter 50% of by a combination of what th e PCs and Fort +7, Ref+5, Will +1; evasion
the time, otherwise it's aj ungle encount er the colonists have d one to prepare for the Spd 30 ft.
as a creat ur e stumbles onto the beach just battle, and what "mini-missions" the PCs Melee mwk rapier +7(l d6+2/1&-20)or
60 feet from the wrecked ship. accomplish during the battle. Once the mwk rapier +5(ld6+2/18-20) and
Once all 12 sectio ns ar e repaire d, it's scouts return to report on the approach- mwk dagge r +5(ld4+l/1Cj-20)
sim ply a matter of waiting for high tide, in g fleet, find out from the players how Ranged mwk light crossbow +6(l d8/19- 20)
whereu pon the Sea Wy vern is lifted off th ey plan to aid the colonists during the Base Atk +3; Grp +5
the reef and can fin ally com plete h er conflict. Use their res pon ses to decide Atk Option s sneak attack +l d6
j ourney to Farsho re. which of the encounters below take place Abilities Str 14, Dex 14, Con IS, Int 10, Wis
Victory Po in ts: Repairing the Sea during th e battle. Th eir success or failu re 12, Cha 8
Wyver n earns the PCs 200 VP. in each determ in es the final total of Vic- SQ trapfinding
tory Point s earned d uring the adventu re, Feats Great Fort itude, Improved Initiative,
PART SEVEN: CRIMSON and thus th e outcome of the battle (see Two-Weapon Fight ing, Weapon Focus
SUNSET Concludin g the Adventu re). (rapier), Weapon Focus (dagger)
Th e PCs have about two months to pre- Skills Balance +9, Climb +7, lntimidate +6,
pare for th e Crimson Fleet; onc e th is The Fleet's Attack .Plan Profession (sailo r) +7, Swim +7, Tum ble +7
tim e has passed, the characters woul d Th e Crimson Fleet attack comes in four Possess ions masterwork studded leather,
be well-advised to stay close to Farshore, waves. When the five ships first arr ive in masterwork rapier, masterwork dagger,
so the y'll be th ere to aid in its defen se. th e harbor, they launch their attack with masterwork light crossbow with 20 bolts,
Lavin ia em plo ys several small and fast cata pults and ballistae. Longboats of 50 gp in jewelry and coin
fish ing boats to patr ol the waters su r- pirates swarm the beaches an d docks of
round ing th e souther n islan ds. The Farsho re. A group of flesh golems con- Amphibiou. A..ault (EL 11, VP 100)
Cr im son Fleet ha s neither th e desi re troll ed by the yuan-ti V'sesslin joins the Creatures: The Crims on Fleet bro ught
nor th e capability to hide its advance battl e on th e shore at this time . along four flesh golems stitched together
with m agic, instead o pting for a more Th e Crimson Fleet then pushes deep from the part s of disobedient crewmen
menacing ap pr oach. Th e scouts return into Farshore, drivin g back th e defend ers to aid in the assault. A yuan-ti sorcerer
to Farsho re with news of th e app roa ch- to higher ground. The yuan-ti V'sesslin name d v 'sesslin is the creator of th ese
ing fleet approximately two mo nt hs after launches fi reball aft er fireball in to the four golem s-defeat ing him and hi s kin
th is ad venture begins. Once th e scou ts colony. As th e colonists make a desper - is th e focus of th is battl efield event.
make this report, the colony has onl y a ate attempt to repel the pirates, Vanth us Before the battle begins,V'sesslin orders
cou ple ofho ur s to prepa re. Ifthe PCs are releases a flight of vrocks in to the streets his four flesh golems to leap into Farshore
on the other side of th e Isle of Dread at ofFarshore. Finally the pirat es make a last Harbor and walk due southeast until they

FEBRUARY 2007 DUNGEON 53

 ES OF DREAD BY STEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN ,

reach land, at whi ch point they ar e to dis- AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 13
mantle any buildin gs they encounter.The hp 66 (80 with false life, 13 HD)
golems' emergence from the waves causes SR 23
swift panic as the defenders quickly real- Fort +6, Ref +12, Will +11
ize that their weapons are doing littl e Spd 30 ft.
damage to them. The PCs mu st intervene Melee +1 shock dagger +8/+3 (l d4 plus
and destroy the four golems before they Id 6 elect rical)
can tear apart the colony's b uildings Base Atk +8; Grp +7
and defenses. Special Actions alternatefo rm
Fles h Golem s (4): hp 79 eac h; Combat Gear wandofenlarged fireballs (38
Monster Manual 13S. charges)
Spells Known (CL9th, +11 ranged touc h)
ST EGOS AURU S • CR 10 Take Out the Snake . (EL 11, VP at h (s/day}-animate dead, enerv~tion
N Huge anima l 100 or 200) jrd (7/day)-j1y, haste, lightning bolt (DC19)
DRAGON # 318 68 Creatu res: The majority of the Crimson and (8/d' y)-bull's strength,false life,
Init - 2; Senses low-light vi s io n ,~ scent; Liste n Fleet's assault force are infantry-pirates mirror image, scorchin!] ray
+26, Spot +3 ' who swarm the beaches and attack anyon e 1St (8/day)-animate rope, charm person

\ AC 21, touch 6, flat-foot ed 21; dorsal plates th ey meet. A few remain behind on the (DC 17), identify, magearmor, shield
hp 250 (20 HD) shi ps to man the catapu lts and ballistae. o (6/day)-acid splash, arcane mark,
Fort +21, Ref +10 , Will +9 but on the Sry,gia n Shark., anoth er menace detect magic, mage hand, mending,
Spd 30 ft. altoget her has come to Farshore. prestidigitation, read magic, resistance
Melee tail slam +24 (2d6+16/19- 20) A yuan-ti pu reblood sorc erer named Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 fl. Vsessltn has hired the services of himself I/day-animal trance (DC 18), causef ear
Bas e Atk +15; Grp +34 and his th ree halfblood bodyguar ds to th e (DC 17), darkness, entangle (DC 17)
At k Option s toss Sty,gian Shark for this mission. V'sesslin Abilities Str 8, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 12, Wis
Abilities 5tr 32, Dex 6, Con 24, Int 2, Wis 12, belongs to a yuan-ti slaver ring based in 12, Cha 22
Cha 10 Scutt lecove, and hopes that by offeri ng SQ detect poison, summon familiar (Tiny
Feats Alertness, Great Fo rtit ude, Im proved his services to th e Crimson Fleet for this viper named Zarlian]
'Critical (tail slam), Improved Toughness mission he can cemen t a str onger alliance Feats Alertness, Blind-Fight, Craft Magic
(+1 hp/HD), Iron Will , Run, Weapon Focus between their two organizati ons. Arms and Armor, Craft Construct, Craft
(tail slam) , v 'sesslin and his guards rem ain on the Wondrous Ite m,lm proved Initiative,
Skills Liste n +26, Spot +3 Sry,gian Shark (whic h is anc h ored only )0 Light ning Reflexes
,
Dorsal Plate s (Ex)Asa move action, a feet offshore) and provide what amo un ts Skills Bluff +16, Concentration +18,
stegosaurus can lower its body to place to art illery suppo rt. Th e yuan-ti readies Knowledge (arcana) +8, Listen +3,
its dorsal plates between it and a Single his wand of enlar,gedji reballs, and whenever Spellcraft +12, Spot +10
creature. This grants t he.stegosaurus a +4 one ofthe pirates on land activates a red - Possessions combat gear, +1 shock dagger,
armor bonus to its Armor Class against tinged smokestick,V'sesslin fires a fireball cloak of Charism a +4
the chos en creature. Additionally, if the into th e targeted area one round later (in Yuan-T 'i Ha lfhl oo ds (3): h p 38 eac h ;
chosen creature attacks the stegosaurus theory,giving the pirate wh o gave the sig- Monster Manual 26 4.
with a light weapon o r natural weapon, nal time to get out ofth e bl ast rad ius], In
the sharp do rsal plates inflict Id l 0 points thi s manner, V'sesslin targets buil dings, Scuttle a Ship (EL 10, VP 100 per ship)
of slashing damage (DC 18 Reflex half). large groups of colonists, and other key Creatures: The five Crimson Fleet ships
The save DC is Dexterity-based. areas. Taking him out removes a poten t no t o nly provide art illery su ppo rt with
Toss (Ex) Acreature that is at least two sizes force from the fleet's offense. their ballistae, but serve as a symbol for
sma ller t han the ~ e g ~s a u ru s t hat is hit If t he PCs defeat the yuan -ti, the y can the pira tes. Scuttling one of th ese shi ps
by its tail slam must Imake.
a DC 31 Reflex gain an additional 100 Victory Points by can severely damag e the pirates' morale.
save or be th rown 30'feet in a random scut tli ng th e Sry,gian Shark. In orde r to sin k a Cri mson Fleet ship
directio n awayfrom the stegosaurus. outright, th e PCs mu st either enga ge
. r , ..
The creature takes 1d6 pomts of damage V 'S ESSL IN CR 10 it with th eir own ship or use powerful
from acing tossed, plus'an additional Ide Male yuan-ti pureblood sorcerer 9 mag ic. In thi s case, you sho uld refer to
points of damage if it strikes a solid object CE Medium monst rous humano id Stormwrack for ru les on naval com bat.
before it t~avels the full distance. The Monster Manual 263 Alternately, the PCs could si m ply board
tossed creature is prone when it lands. Init +7; Senses da rkvisio n 60 ft.; lis ten +3, one of the five shi ps and attack the skel-
e save DC is Strengt h· based. Spot +10 eto n crew left behind to defend it. On the
La nguages Abyssal, Commo n, Yuan-ti Srynian Sllark, thi s crew consists of the four

54 DUNGEON FEBRUARY 2007

yuan-ti detailed in th e previous encoun- to reveal himself to th e pes and hi s months after his transformati on,and once
ter. On each of the other ships, a gro up sister Lavinia. he discovered she was here on Farsho re.
of seven Crimso n Fleet pirates await the Creature: Vanthus has changed since his primary goal became her abductio n.
pes; if they can be defeated, th eir ship the pes last enco un tere d hi m at th e start
is rendered helpl ess. It's a sim ple matte r of this cam paign-as a reward for his V ANTHUS VANDERBOREN CR 14
to bu rn th e flag, set fire to th e ship, set it services to the Crims on Fleet, he h as Male le rno ria n aristocrat l / rogue 5/fighter4/
adrift int o th e rocks, or otherwise scuttle been tr an sformed into a specific breed tempest 2
a ship once it's undefended . ofhalf-fiend known as a lemorian. Alook CE Medi u m o utside r (native)
Crimson Fleet Pirates (7): hp 30 each; ofho rrified recognition crosses Lavinia's Monster Manual 148, Complete AdLJenturer 81
see page 53. face as she recogniz es her brother. Sh e Init +5; Se nse s da rkvisio n 60 ft.: Listen -1,
cries out hi s name in shock as he swoops Spot -l
Kill the Vrocks (EL 12, VI' HO) do wn from the sky to land n earby. Lan gu ag e s Co mmon
Before the battle began , Vant h us was vanthus 's low profile du rin g the battle AC 27, to uch 17, flat- foote d 22; Dodge,
contacted by the Cri mso n Fleet via a is engin eered so that he'll have the advan- Mob ility, u nca n ny d od ge
crystal ball with telepathy. Hi s report of tage of shock and surprise when he reveals hp 106 (12 HD); DR lOjmagic
the failure of th e Rat's End 'pirates and hi mself-his un healthy obsession with Immune poiso n
what appears to be some fortifications his sister has only magnified during the
and greater -than -antici pate d defen ses at
Farsho re encouraged th e Fleet to send a
little more help, and three vrocks called
up from the Abyss were allowed to peer
into the crystal ball and then Ereater tele-
port to Vant hus' side.
Vanthus keeps th e vrocks a secret for
m ost of the battle, or deri ng them to
teleport int o Farsho re on ce the battle
reaches its he ight. The demo ns app ear
with a shriek and immediately attempt
to sum mon mo re vrocks before turning
to th e task of killing as many coloni sts
as th ey can . Once batt le begins, th ree of
th e vrocks begin a dan ce of ruin ; ifone of
them is stunned, paralyzed, or slain, th e
remain ing vrocks focus their wrath on
the one fooli sh enough to disrupt th eir
dance.Th e vrocks are bound by powerful
ma gic, an d do not try to flee-they fight
to the death .
Vrocks (3): hp 115
eac h ; Monster Man-
ua1 48.

A Family Matter (EL H, VI' 300)

As the bat tle for Ears ho re draws to a
clos e, the outcome should be fairly
ap parent. If the p e s h ave amasse d
en ough Victory Point s already, the
pir at es may be in a figh ting retreat
or even a full rout. Alt erna tely, th e
pirates migh t have capt ured most of
the colo ny, forcing th e defenders into
th e sma ller complex surr oun ding the
two manor hou ses. In an y event , the last
battl e of th e assa ult is as persona l as Vanthns Vanderboren
it is deadly, for Vanthus fina lly cho oses

FEBRUARY 2007 DUNGEON S5

 TIDES OF DREAD BY STEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN ~

SQ am bidexterity, te m pest d efense +1, m elee, activatin g h is boots (if speed as h e

trapfi ndi ng , t rap sense +1 do es so.
Feats Dodge, Im proved Two-Weapon Fighting, Althou gh Vant hus d oes n ot flee, he
Mobil ity, Skill Focus (Bluff), Spring Attack, do es h ave on e last trick if faced wit h
Two-Weap on Defense,Two-Weapon de feat , Once h e's b rou gh t bel ow 10
Figh ting , Weapon Focus (Ion gswo rd), h it p oints, h e glare s at the nea r est PC,
Weapo n Specialization (Iongsword) reach es into a pouch, and pull s ou t
Skills Balance +1,1, Bluff +15, Diplom acy +7, someth in g he m anaged to steal fro m h is
Forge ry +10, Intim id ate +18, Ju mp +10, supe rio rs b efore h e left Scutt lccove-a
Knowled ge (local) +10, Profess ion (sailo r) bloo dstained shadow pearl.
+7, Se nse Mot ive +8, Swim +6, Tu m ble +17 TIle PCs have seen what a shadow pearl
Po sse ss io ns +3 mithral shirt, +3 longsword, can do during "Th e Bullywug Gamb it."To
+1 keen sickle, m asterwo rk dagge r, ring of activate th e pearl,Vanthus must retri eve it
protection +2, amulet of health +2, boots of from his pouch (a move equivalent action
speed, shadow pearl, 4 gold ea rrings worth that pro vokes an attack of opportu nity)and
300 gp each an oint it with blood (also a m ove equiva-
Ambidext erity (Ex)vanthus's penalties for d ual- lent action). He th en drops the pearl on the
wield ing weapons are lesse ned by 1 when groun d (a free action ),wh ereup on it cracks
he's not wearin g me dium or heavy armor. open an d activates. if a character is within
Poiso n (Ex) Inju ry, Fortitud e DC 20, init ial five feet of Vanthus when h e drop s th e
an d seco ndary d am age 1d6 Wis. vanthus pearl, the char acter can attempt to catch
can po iso n a melee weap o n with this it b efore it falls by makin g a DC 20 Reflex
venom as a stan dar d action. The save DC save, bu t doin g so provokes an attack of
is Co nst itution-base d . opp ortunity from van thus. If th e PC
Tempe st Defense (Ex)Wh en wieldin g two makes the save and isn't slain or kn ocked
we ap on s, Vant h us gai ns a +1 bo n us to h is out by Vanth us's attack of opportunity, h e
Arm o r Class as lo ng as he's not wearin g pre vent s the pear l's activation. As long as
me di um or heavy armo r. h e hold s it, thou gh,Vant hus can activate it
Tac tics: Wh en Van thus arr ives, h e by successfully sundering the held pearl.
gree ts the PCs with a sneer, th en demands If the pearl is activated , it shatte rs and
that Lavin ia join h im , If sh e agree s, h e unleashe s a cloud of choking green gas in
prom ises to leave Farsh ore in pe ace. Of a zo-foot spread. Any creature in thi s area
course, he ha s n o r eal in tent of do in g takes ido points of acid damage per round.
so, and Lavini a knows it, re plying to hi s The cr ush ed pearl smokes and sp utte rs
"invitat ion" with a cu rse, telling him h er in this ma nn er for on e minute before
bro th er died th e same ni ght the ir par - exploding in to a one -mile-radius tide of
Resist acid 10, cold 10, elect ricity 10, fire 10; ents di d-th e m ockery stan ding before gree n energy. All corpo real aberrati ons,
SR 22 h er n ow is no thin g but filth wearing hi s anim als, dragons, fey, giants, humanoids,
Fort +12 , Ref +10, Will +3; evas ion skin li ke some monstrou s par asite. magical beasts,and m onstrous hu manoids
Spd 30 ft., fiy 30 ft. (average) Van th us does not take thi s well, and in this area must mak e a DC 15 Will save.
M elee +3 longsword +16 (l cl 8+8j 19-20) or attem pts to dominate her-with the Jade Success indicates th e creature is naus e-
+3 longsword +15/+10 (ld8+8/19-20) and Ravens locked in combat with other pirates, ated for one ro un d, but failure in dicates
+1 keen sickle +12/+8 (l d6+2!19- 20) and it falls to th e PCs to interve ne and prot ect th e savage tide washes away the victim's
tail +8 (l d6+1 plus poison) Lavini a from h er demoni c brother. sani ty and transforms him in to a savage
Base At k +9; Grp +12 Vanth us USes h is flight to stay at range creature. See D UN C EON #14 0 for details
Atk Options Spring Attack, smite good l /d ay at the star t of a battle, usin g hi s spell- on thi s tem plate, bu t if it com es to this,
(+12 damage), sneak atta ck +3d6 like abili ties to cause chaos am ong the Farshore is likely doom ed. In any event, if
Spell. LikeAbilities (CL 12t h) PCs. H e uses suggestio n to try to make the savage tide engu lfs Farsh ore, the PCs
3/day-chorm monster (DC 18), command the PCs aban don Lavin ia to go aid the su ffer a -2,000 Victory Poin t penalty.
(DC 1S) othe r col onist s against the p irat es, or On ce activated, the PCs h ave a m inu te
I/day-dominate person (DC 19),fear (DC to get the m to fight him "like men" by to d eal with the shadow pearl. Its effects
18), moss suggestion (DC 20), sU9gestion casting asid e th eir weapo ns and armor fun ction at Cast er Level zo th : if th e
(DC 1)) to fight unarmed and unarmo red . After magic can b e di sp elled , the savage tide
Abilitie s Str 16, Dex 21 , Co n 18 , Int 12, Wis a few rounds of this, Vant hus loses his is aver te d . Placi n g the activated pea rl
8, Cha 18 pati enc e and swo ops in to att ack in in an an ti magic zon e u ntil th e m inu te

56 DUNGEON FEBRUARY 2007

pas ses also prevents th e savage tide. 5,000 gpoEach PC gains a share Ofl ,OOO Recovery
Othe rwise, the on ly real option may be gp of th e loot (3 characte r that forgoes Th e Savage T ide Adventure Path assumes
to use magic to trans port the shadolV this awa rd can increase Farshore's assets that th e PCs an d Fars ho re survive the
pearl to a re latively un in habited a rea so by this amount). Award th e PCs expe - Crimson Fleet attack (by havi ng earned at
t hat when it detonat es, th e savage ti de rien ce p oints as if they had de feat ed a least 1,000 Victory Points). If not, you can
doesn't affec t as m an y so uls. CR il creatu re. contin ue th e campaign, but now th e PCs
If the act ivated pearl is put into a n must escape the burning colony. Eventu -
obje ct tha t can wi ths tan d its aci d ic 1,000-1,399 Yictory Point. (Survival) ally, they ma y learn tha t th e Crimson Fleet
vapo rs (such as a bail of holdinil' a bead T he Cri mson Fleet p irat es are d efeated ha s more interests in th e region tha n Far -
of fo rce sp h er e, or even j ust a stro ng with severe damage and loss of li fe to shore, and can move on to the next adven -
co n tai n er), th e savage ti d e em be Fars hore and it s alli es. One u nscu tt led ture (alth ough withou t the support of a
effectively contain ed . The bl ast ofsavage enemy ship is ca ptu red and taken as a nearby base of operation s).
ene rgy d issipates quickly on ce the pearl pr ize, but the r em aind e r escape . Severa l Assu m in g th e PCs a re victo ri ous ,
explo d es, a nd on ly a round lat er, all that n amed NPC alli es are slain (in clu d in g though, the ne xt few days in Farshore
remains are the non ma gical , fragments some that may h ave beco me importan t are filled wi th celeb rat ion ma rred on ly
of a large black pear l. to PCs- on ly Lavin ia esca pes th is fate ), by fun eral s fo r th ose who fell to the
Although vant hus' dea th ' doe sn't an d Farsho re's po pul atio n is red uced to assa ult. The coloni sts have grown st ron-
necessarily ensu re victory for: the PCs, 2d20+100 . Incr ease Farsbore's assets by ge r by su rviving the ordeal, and the pe s
it does signal the end of the assault on 1,000 gpo Each PC gains a sha re of 500 are now held as local heroes.
Farshore, one way or another. gp of th e loot (a charact er th at forgoes Lavini a put s on a brave face during
thi s awa rd ca n in cr eas e Far s ho re 's those d ays, b ut the revel ation of he r
CONCLUDING THE ass e ts b y th is a mou n t). Award th e b rot he r's fate has given her much to pon-
ADVENTURE PCs ex pe ri e n ce po ints as if they had de r.With the supp ort ofthe PCs, she soon
With Van th us's defeat, the Crimson Flee t defeated a CR 8 cr ea ture. recovers an d is stro ng er tha n before, bol-
p irate s ei th er flee for their lives o r begin stered by th e knowledge tha t Vanthus can
the task of pill agin g th e colony. At this 600-999 Victory Points (Defeat) no longer cau se pain to h er or her frien ds
time, add up all o f the Victory Poin ts The Cr imson Fle et pirates defeat Far - and eager to get on with her life. Vanthus'
th e P Cs have ea rn ed to determine the ir sho re, but take n oticeable losses oftheir body is bu ried in Farshore cemetery, in
su ccess or failu re. own. They sack th e co lony an d b u rn a lonely plot to th e sout h ma rke d on ly
m an y build in gs, then retr ea t to Rat's by a simple woo den stake carved with
1,400 or more Victory Points En d to re group a n d re cove r. Lavinia the vanderboren family cres t-s-Lavinia's
(Triumph) survi ves, as do 1d3 Jade Raven s an d Id4 so le concession to any remaining shred
Th e Crimson Fleet pirates are destroyed ot h er n amed NPCs fro m the col o ny. of humani ty tha t migh t have lingered in
with minimal damage or loss oflife to Far- Award no loot or experi enc e poin ts to her brother's corrupted soul.
sho re an d its allies. All non-scuttled Crim- the PCs . Ru ined a nd at a loss, Lavin ia After the batt le, you are free to have
son Fleet ships are claim ed as the property . an d the su rviving colon ists limp onto as much d ownti m e as you wis h . Give
of Farshore, and word ofthe defeat, when the Blue Nixie a nd try to return to Sas- the PCs time to recover, craft ma gi c
it reaches Scuttlecove,convinces th e Crim - se ri n e, aba n d o ni ng Fars h ore to the item s, contin ue to imp rove Par sbore .
son Fleet to leave Farshore alon e. Increase pirates, who return to Far shore in 2d 6 es tab lish trad e rou tes, an d explo re th e
Far shore's asse ts by 20,000 gpo Each PC days an d cla im the colo ny in the n ame Isle of Dread to the ir hearts' con ten t.
gains a share of5,000 gp ofthe loot (achar- o f the Crims on Fleet. One ma tt er sh ou ld in tri gue the PCs
acter that forgoes th is award can increase du r i n g t h is ti m e, thou gh. It ta ke s
Farshore's assets by th is amo un t). Award Less than 600 Victory Points seve ral days to sort through th e loot
the PCs experi ence points as if they had (Slaughter) ca p tu red from the pir ate s, bu t pa pers
defeated a CR 13 creature. The Crimso n Fleet pira tes raze Fars ho re recovered from th e Brine Harlot indicat e
to the gro un d after looti ng anythi ng that th e Cri m so n Fleet has bee n to
1,400-2,399 Victory Points (Victory) remotely ofvalue. Those n ot sla ugh te red the Isle of Dread b efore, to m eet in
T he Crimson Fleet p irates are d efeated in th e stree ts are captured an d become a cove on the n orth ern coast with a
with mode rate damage and loss of slaves; an yone who disti nguishes grou p referre d to on ly as th e " Lords of
life to Farsho re a nd its allies. Id4 uns - th em se lve s as " he roes" du r in g the D read." Furt h e r investiga tio n reveals
cuttled enemy shi ps are captured an d battle is exe cuted . If Van th us survives, somethi ng ch ill ing-it woul d see m tha t
ta ke n as pri zes, b u t the rem aind e r he claims Lavin ia as h is per sonal slave; there ar e more shadow pearls ou t the re,
escape. No nam ed NPC alli es are slai n , ot h e rwis e she is exec u te d pu bli cly at and th at their sou rce is so m ewh ere
bu t Ear sh or e's po pulation is red uced to dawn along with any ca p tu red PCs or in the li gh tless depth s b elo w the Isle
2d 20+l90. In crease Ear shore's asset s b y Jad e Raven s. of Dread .

FEBRUARY 2007 DUNGEON 57

TIDES OF DREAD BY STEPHEN 5. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN I

A DC 35 Knowledge (th e planes) che ck cruel claws, and its body radiates waves of
is enough for a character to re call that the intense heat.
dem on lord Ahazu th e Seizer was known
for h is obsession with abdu cting powerful ASPECT OF ZOTZILAH A CR 12
abyss al cr eatu res (th e m ore po werful t he CE Medium outs ide r (ch aot ic, evil,
better)'and impri soning them in a place ext rap lana r, fire)
called the Wells of Darkn ess. Iro nically, Init +8; Senses darkvislon 60 ft., see in darkness,
Ahazu h ims elf is row impriso ned there. speak with bat; Listen +23, Spot +23
To employ th e tooth cifAhazu, you must Langu ages Abyssal, Common, Dracon ic,
remove one of your own te et h and fit the Ig nan, Infe rnal, O lman; telepathy 100 ft.
tooth of Ahazu in its place . This bloody AC 28 , to uc h 14 , flat -foote d 24 (+4 Dex,
process re quires a full-round action and +14 nat u ra l)
deals 1 point ofda mage. Replacing a too th hp 161 (14 HD): DR S/ep;c
with th e tooth cifAhazu doe s not affect b ite Immune fire, pa ralysis, po iso n, so nic
da mage or give you a bite att ack if you Resist acid 10, e lect ricity 10; SR 22
no rmally lack one. Fort +16, Ref +13, Will +15
You m u st have the tooth ofAhazu in your Weakness vu lnerable to co ld
mouth for one firll day before you can u se Spd 30 ft.: fly 50 ft. (average)
its ability. After thi s time , the tooth allows Melee* bite +19 (ldS+15 plus I d6 fire plus
you to m ake grapple chec ks as if you were Id6 Stre ngth d rain) and
one size category larger th an your act ua l 2 claws +17 (l d6+1o plus Id6 fire plus Id6
size, effec tively granting you a +4 size Strength d rai n)
bonus o n all grapple ch ecks. Space 5 ft.: Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with claws)
As lo ng as hi s tooth is in your mouth, Base Atk +14; Grp +24
the fell influence ofAhazu se eps th rough Atk Options Flyby Attack, Power Attack
your b ody. Your skin be comes cold to th e Special Actions breat h weapon , summon bots
tou ch ,an d th e ins ide ofyour m outh turns *S-po int Power Attack
black. Ahazu's avar ice infec ts you, encour- Abilities str 3D, Dex IS, Ca n 25,Int 7, Wis
aging you to ste al small, precious obj ects 22, Cha 25
wh enever th e op portunity presents itsel f. Feats Cleave, Flyby Attack, Improved
You may choose to ign ore Ahazu's infl u - Initiative, Multiattack, Powe r Attack
ence , bu t if you do you take a - 1 penalty on Skills Hide +21, Int im idate +26, Listen +23,
attack rolls,saving throws, skill checks,and Move Silently +21, Search +23, Spot +23
ab ility ch ecks as lon g as you continu e to Breath Weapon (Su) 3D-foot co ne of un ho ly
resist hi s influ en ce an d the tooth rem ains fire, once every I d4 ro unds, damage 8d6
in your mou th. (half fire, half unholy), Reflex DC24. A
The on ly way a foe can get your too th cha racter that fails to save agai nst this
APPENDIX 1: THE TOOTH
is to render yo u h elp less and phys ica lly attack has his fles h scou red away by t he
OF AHAZU
remove it. Such a removal dea ls no dam- raveno us unho ly fla mes, a nd m ust make a
The tooth ofAhazu is an an cient magic arti -
age.The too th ofAhazu does no t occupy a DC 24 Fortitu de save to avoid taking I d 4
fact that gran ts a physical link to a long
m agic it em b ody slot. po ints of Co nst itut ion damage. The save
dead demon lor d.This sin gle to oth is part
Mo derate transm utation; CL otb: Pric e DC is Co nst itut ion -based.
of a larger collection known to scho lars
gpo Heat (Su) An asp ect of Zotzil aha is infused
and sages as th e teeth of Dahlver-Nar. Lat er 6,000
wit h the fire of the volcano. It inflicts
in th is campaign, the tooth could give the
APPENDIX 2: NEW a n additional I de po ints of fire damage
pe s an advantage in their qu est, as lon g
MONSTER. wheneve r it strikes a foe with its bite or
as th ey're willing to trust the heirs of
claws. A foe t hat strikes the asp ect with a
the Abyss.
Aspect of Zotzilaha natural weapo n or an unarmed st rike also
This humanoid-shaped creature takes Id6 points of fire damage.
has the head of a monstrous bat, See In Darkness (Ex)An as pect of Zotzilaha
razor-sharp f anES, and orange can see pe rfectly in dark ne ss of any kind ,
,glowin,g eyes. Membranous bat even th at created by deeper darknes s.
wings covered in thin blackJUr Speak With Bats (Ex) An aspect of Zotz ilaha
the color of coal jut out rif its can speak with animals with all bat s and
back. Its hands end in lonE, batlike creatu res.
Strengt h Drain (Su)Any creature damaged any oth er cause. The manifestation ofan th em folded in front of him like those of
by an aspect of Zotzilaha's bite or claws aspect in his shri ne on the Isle of Dread a ma nt is. ~
takes Id6 points of Strength drain as he is is relatively recent, spurred by th e th eft of Stephen S. Greer is proud to have been able
inflicted with feverish tremors. an idol from the shrine several weeks ago to contribute to the Sava,ge Tide Adventure
Summon Bats (Sp)An aspect of Zotzilaha may (see D U N GEON #141). Path alonBside so many talented writers. TIle
summon 2d6 fire bats or dire bats once In comba t, the aspect uses his breath thauEht of helpin,g killoffcountless characters
per day. The bats appear immediately and weapo n at the start of any fight. He then on the IsleafDread makeshimfeel all warm
servethe aspect for up to 1 hour. This su m m ons fire bats (if in a crampe d area andfuzzy inside.
ability is the equiva lent of a eth-level spell. such as the shri~e in th is adventure) or Gary Holian is deliEhted to see the hIe (if
Zotzi laha often dispatches aspects of dir e bats to aid him. His arms have a sur- Dread sprouta,gainflom the seeds he planted
his divine might to his shrines, as m uch pr isingly long reach tha t his foes ofte n in DUNGEON #114. May it buryanother mil-
to disp lay his wrath an d power as for un derestim ate since h e us ually kee ps lion adventurers in s1wlloLV ,graves.

Aspect of Zotzilaha

FEBRUARY 200 7 DUNGEON 59

 TIDES OF DREAD
by Stephen S. Greer and Gary Holian
The destruction of a pirate ship signals the
beginning of a Crimson Fleet invasion. The
PCs must race against time to prepare for the
onslaught before an old enemy can release
another savage tide. A Savage Tide Adventure
Path scenario for 9th-level characters.

Ben Wootten

Dungeon #143 Map & Handout Supplement © 2007 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
5 DUNGEON 143 Supplement Permission to photocopy for personal use only. All rights reserved.
 Chris Trevas

Dungeon #143 Map & Handout Supplement © 2007 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
6 DUNGEON 143 Supplement Permission to photocopy for personal use only. All rights reserved.
 Ben Wootten

Ben Wootten

Ben Wootten

Warren Mahy

Warren Mahy

Dungeon #143 Map & Handout Supplement © 2007 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
7 DUNGEON 143 Supplement Permission to photocopy for personal use only. All rights reserved.
 Robert Lazzaretti

Farshore
PCs’ Approach

N
nw ne 1

W E
sw se 2
S

4 3 6

0 150 300

feet
Robert Lazzaretti

Dungeon #143 Map & Handout Supplement © 2007 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
8 DUNGEON 143 Supplement Permission to photocopy for personal use only. All rights reserved.
 Aspect of Zotzilaha

Warren Mahy Lefty

Ben Wootten

Tooth of Ahazu

Ben Wootten

Dungeon #143 Map & Handout Supplement © 2007 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
9 DUNGEON 143 Supplement Permission to photocopy for personal use only. All rights reserved.
 Warren Mahy

Ben Wootten

Warren Mahy

Dungeon #143 Map & Handout Supplement © 2007 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
10 DUNGEON 143 Supplement Permission to photocopy for personal use only. All rights reserved.
 Ben Wootten

Dungeon #143 Map & Handout Supplement © 2007 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
11 DUNGEON 143 Supplement Permission to photocopy for personal use only. All rights reserved.
 Robert Lazzaretti
Robert Lazzaretti
E
ne

se
N

S
nw

sw
W
Shrine of Zotzilaha
Treasure

Additional
Room

Tunnels
Fissure

One Square = 5 feet

Volcanic
Shaft

Dungeon #143 Map & Handout Supplement © 2007 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
12 DUNGEON 143 Supplement Permission to photocopy for personal use only. All rights reserved.
 Robert Lazzaretti

Dungeon #143 Map & Handout Supplement © 2007 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
13 DUNGEON 143 Supplement Permission to photocopy for personal use only. All rights reserved.
 Temple of the Jaguar Area 2 Trap Detail

50
feet

1
3
4

One Square = 5 feet

Robert Lazzaretti

Dungeon #143 Map & Handout Supplement © 2007 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
14 DUNGEON 143 Supplement Permission to photocopy for personal use only. All rights reserved.
 Tonatiuh

Vanthus Vanderboren

Ben Wootten

Ben Wootten

Dungeon #143 Map & Handout Supplement © 2007 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
15 DUNGEON 143 Supplement Permission to photocopy for personal use only. All rights reserved.
 BY STEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN !

v
-.
ars Cit
~.ftl'I.lt~ . _

g BY STEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN

o BY BEN WOOTEN
® BY ROBERT LAZZARETTI

60 DUNGEON FEBRUARY 20 07
T
he Isle of'Drcad has lon g been th e we re lost in the attem pt. Unt il, that is, band Verik Vand erboren of her j ourney,
stu ff of legend. Tales of its exis- Capta in "Mad" Mad sen Atirr, one ofBar- an d the two h atch ed an out rageou s p lan.
ten ce, dating back to th e Age of b ar osa's original crewme n, b raved the Th ey would not on ly retu rn to the Isle,
the Explor er Kin gs, were used to spook southern waters again in h is infamous but wou ld settle it, establish ing a colo ny
ne w deckhand s and fascinate ch ild re n sh ip, th e Morninflstar. In th e p roc ess, he on the island.
in seasi de por ts. Yet the Isle was on ly a cre ate d the first accura te seacha r ts to Four years ago, after considerable prep-
mys tical m irage un til recen tly, wh en th e th e Isle of Drea d . aratio n, the van derbor ens outfitt ed two
discover y of fam ed expl or er Rory Bar - Accom panyin g Atirr was an ad ven - ships for the journey. Th ey assem bled a
baro sa'sjournal brough t it back to prom - tu ro u s young woma n name d Lari ssa crewof explorers, sailors, and colonists,and
inen ce an d sparked a d esire among the lom un di, who becam e on e of only a few secured th e aid of Lord Manthalay Mera-
ad venturous to locate its distan t sh ores . to own a copy of thi s high ly prized m ap. van ch i, a veteran explore r of the Amcd io
Hid d en d eep in th e v oh ou n Ocean, After the successful j ourney to th e Isle of Jun gle an d one of the few Meravan chis to
tho usands of m iles fro m th e civiliz ed Dread an d her subsequent return to Sas- escape his family'sreputation for debauch-
lands to the nort h, those who atte mpted seri ne, Larissa was u nable to forge t th e ery.After an arduo us passage,th e colonists
to use Barbaros a's journ als to fin d the won dro us sights and exotic locales sh e'd finally reached the Isle of Dread. Un like
is le of Dread fou nd the un d er taking exper ien ced . Several years later, after oth ers drawn in by lurid tales from Bar-
excee d ingly d ifficu lt , an d m an y sh ips marryi ng into n ob ility, sh e told her hus- barosa's diary,th e Vanderboren Exp editi on

FEBRUARY 2007 DUNGEON 61

 BY STEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN I

Shopping in Farshore Metal was in short supply. Eventu ally,th e Authority F(gures: Lavin ia Vanderboren,
It's likely that Farsho re will be the vand erboms decided to return to Sasser- nominee for Farshore lord mayor (NG
on ly "p lace the pes have to se ll trea- ., ine to orga nize a re -pro visioning, leaving fem ale human ari stocrat 2/swashb uckler
sur e and purcha se gear for sqme Lord Man thalay in char ge of the colon y. 6), Lord Man th alay Meravan chi, nomi-
time. Althoug h the colony's gp Iirhit.
One of the ships, The Merwria l, was lost at ne e for Far sh ore lord m ayor (LN m ale
and assets are higher than most set-...
sea after an attack by a m on strous levia- hum an aristocrat 3/figh ter S), Professor
tlements its size, they're still qu ite a"
bit lower than what the players might th an , but th e Blue Nixie managed to return Aldwatt le , Council Memb er (CG m ale
expect. This should force pe s to adapt. to Sasserin e safely, ifonl yjust. It took sev- hu m an wizard s/expert 2), Vesserin Cath-
to the treas ure they find during the eral month s to repair the badly damaged erly, Cha plain an d Coun cil Mem ber (NG
course of the adventures. As a result, ship, and after tha t, oth er developm en ts m ale half-elfcler ic 6),Telda Syren , Coun-
.- you should stronglyconsider custom- kept the Vander borens from returning cil Mem ber (CG female half- elfexp er t 4),
izing some of the treasure found in to Farsho re with m ore su pplies. The y Militia Captain Ulvar Kabba nja, Cou ncil
th is advent ure path to your particular rem ain ed in peri odic contact with Lord Member (LG ma le h uman fight er 4).
campaign. If your party's fighter hap- Manthalay via spells like sending, but every
pens to have Weapon Focus (falchion) atte m pt to return met with failure for one FARSHORE
and Weapo n Specialization (falchion),
reason or another. Andj ust as they'd pur- Farshore was established as a perma nent
you should consider altering a mag ic
chased a new shi p to accom pan y the Blue base from which to explore the Isle of
weapon here or there so that he can
take advantage of it. lik ewise, if your Nixie on a return voyage, tr eachery laid th e Dread and export its resources to Sasserine.
party wizard is a necroma ncer who vanderboren s low. Their own son , Van- Th e colonists chose a small harb or dubbed
can't use co nj urati on ma g ic, you th us, burn ed th em and the ir new shi p to Verik's Cove on th e western face ofTemute
might cons ider changi ng that wand ashes on its maiden voyage. as th e colony site,since two natu ral seawalls
of stinking cloud into a wand of vam- Farsho re has th us spent the last several would provid e shelter from storms and
piric touch. years on its own. Local Olman villagers, attack from sea. Afive-member Expedition
As the PCs aid in the colony's devel- att racted by th e wonders the northerners Council meets weekly to direct colony
opm ent, upgr ading its resources and produced, aided them in expanding and affairs,but as Farsh ore has grown, the need
helping to establish trade routes, Far- bu ilding, and taught th em many secrets for a leader has grown as well.
shor e's gp limit and assets increase.
abo ut their new ho m e. Expeditio ns to The colon y is still a work in prog ress,
On ce trade routes with Sasser ine and
the mainlan d of the isle were common, bu t is built to last. App roximately sixty
other no rthe rn cities are esta blished ,
it's possible to purchase goods worth although m ost of th ose that attem pted b u ild ing s n estle wit hin th e palisad e,
up to 40 ,000 gp, with signifi cant to exp lore the interior never returned. built primarily from local materi als with
de lays in de livery. Cha racte rs with .' Withi n two years, the colony was near ly cons iderable add itio nal labo r su pplied
access to teleport and othe r powerful completed, and a hard-won com munity in barte r by th e local natives. The stru c-
of
t ravel spells can course make the in was establish ed on Temute. Flushed ture s ar e wooden, as ston e is difficult to
own jou rney b'ack home to Sasserine to with potential, but with need of further qu arryand reserved for th e colony's rain -
shop, but keep in mind tha t Farshore sup plies, Far sh ore no w waits pa tien tly wate r collection wells. The buildings are
'is about 1, 8 00 miles from Sasseri.o~ fo r m ore reso u rces fro m Sasse rin e m ostly single-story stru ctur es composed
and the terrai n between.the two'loca
be fore it can finall y become the self- of tigh tly spaced h orizontal logs cut from
tions is far from hosRitable.. . (
, sustaining trading post envisioned by th e the su rro undi ngj ungle.The exterio rs are
vanderborens so man y years ago. covere d in red dish-hued adobe con sist-
didn't seek to pillage or exploit th e Olman "T id es of Drea d" begi ns and ends ing of clay, wate r, and dried vegetation
natives living there. Instead,th eywon their in Ear shore, and its citizen s can to give the b uildings a sm ooth su rface
tru st and grudging respect, returning at become close allie s of th e PCs as th ey that keep s them cool during th e day an d
least as mu ch value as th ey took in trade. con tr ibu te crafts and su ppli es, p rovide war m at ni gh t. Th e roo fs are covered in a
After m uch bargaining, th e Vande rborens inform ation, and aid in its defen se. Th is d arker red tile that is fired within town.
forged a treaty with th e people ofthe Seven d etaile d d escription of the colo ny and Farshore was originally d esigned as
Villages an d won con trol of the 2s-square- its reside n ts offers endl ess roleplaying a tradi ng post. Several short wooden
mile islet ofTemu te on which to build th e opportu nities and adventures for you r pi er s of various heigh ts an d len gths jut
colon y. players. Welcom e to Earsh ore! ou t into Veri k's Cove from the Fars ho re
Tem u te ("th e ab andoned place" ) Farshore (hamle t):Conventional; ALNG; waterfront, and lon g war eh ou ses near
becam e the site oft he first tru e northern Population 240; 8 00 gp lim it (Farshore's th e d ocks are used for sto rage. Stone
settlem ent in th e arch ipelago. Th e initial resources and lack of real com petition j ett ies extendin g from th e cliffs flank-
effort was challenging. Temute had been grant the haml et a higher gp limit tha n ing th e cove provide protection against
uninhabited by the Olman for years, and no rmal]; Assets 9,600 gp; Isolated (220 sto rms and erosion .
coaxi ng the m to its shores to ass ist in h umans. j half-elves,6 halflings.a dwarves, Fifty-th ree fam ilies live in Farsho re,
con structin g the colony proved di fficult. 3 gnom es). the majori ty o f whi ch are forme r resi-

62 DUNGEON FEBRUARV 2007

dents of Sasseri ne who have cast th eir
lot with th e colony. A handful of Olman
natives have taken up semi-permane nt
residence in Farsho re as well, but most
of them are tr ansient day laborers and
traders who live in the seven surr ound-
ing vill ages. The colony economy is
primarily sustained th rough tr ade with
the Seven Villages, and food and cloth-
ing are provided for locally. Fishing is
a daily activity, and hunting is plentiful
on Tem ute and the surrounding islands.
Th e natives trade pea rls and preciou s
cor al with Farshore for manufac tured
goods. Rare wood s, plant s, an d spices
are collected from within the j ungle and
stored in the warehous es for e ventual
shi pment back north. Overall, the sett le-
ment has very good pr ospects if it can
establish a trade route with Sasserine.
With Lavinia vanderboren's arri val in
Earshore, the political scene in the colony
becom es complex.A thi rd ofthe colony's
citi zens are staunch sup po rte rs of the
Vande rboren name, and are overjoyed
to have a scion back in town. Anot her
third have grown embitte red at a per-
ceived abandonment ofthe colony by the
Vande rboren s, and are strong support-
ers of Lord Mant halay Meravanchi and
hi s plan to an nex several of the Olm an
villages for Sasse rine. The final third of
Farshore 's citiz ens remain und ecided.
By the time the PCs reach the colony,
plans are alr ead y afoot by the Expedi -
tion Council to set u p a vote to deter -
mine who should serve as Farshore's lord
mayor: Lavinia Vanderboren or Mantha-
lay Meravanch i.

Farshor e Map Location s

Listed below are no tes for several key Not everyone in th e colony is a skilled comes from the Farshore or affiliation
location s in Farshore. Each location is labor er, but there are enough to field up treasury-the p e s don 't have to pay the
also given an upgra de task; if the PCs to 4 at a time. Addit ional workforces can workers from thei r own fund s.
accomplish the task listed to u pgrade the be gathered from allied Olmans (this Each upgrade is assigned a n umber
building or ar ea, the colony improves in requi res a visit to the Seven Villages and of Victory Points ("VP")--each time the
the manner indicat ed. In som e cases, a DC 30 Diplom acy check---each check PCs complete an u pgrade. add the indi-
the se upgrades have little or no sh ort - takes 1d4 days to atte m pt), or from any cated number of points to the ir tot al
term im pact on Farsho re, but all oft hem affiliations the PCs belon g to. If a PC when determining their level of success
can increase the mo rale and defense of has an affiliation score of 15 or hi gher, agains t the Crimson Fleet assault at the
the colony. he can organi ze a single workforce to end of "Tides of Dread." Most upgrades
Manyofthe upgrades require time and toil on a project. A workforce assigne d also have a workfor ce requ irement ("WF'')
labor in order to take effect. As a gen- to an upgrade pr oject cannot be used on and a tim e requ irement listed, while oth-
eral ru le, one group oflaborers (a work- a second project at the same time. You ers sim ply say "Adventure," ind icating
force ) con sists of a crew of 2 0 peop le. can assum e tha t payment for the laborers tha t the u pgrade must be handled by

FEBRUARY 2007 DUNGEON 63

 BY STEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN i

the Pe s-the amo unt of time such an week ofwor k is required. Each week work bas e, greased walls, a low moat, and other
upgrade takes depends entirely upon con tin ues, the PC gains a cumulative + 2 chang es th at can fort ify th e wall. This
their methods and solutions. If the pe s bo n us on h is Knowledge ch eck. charac ter must spen d at least two hour s
are on good terms with th e Jade Raven s a day for a week supervising the work. At
(see page 69), the y can assign an adven- '2. Warehouse s the end oft he week, he mu st m ake a DC
ture upg rad e to them. You can assum e A few long warehou ses line th e sh ore, 25Kn owledge (architecture and engineer-
th at it takes the Jade Ravens Id 6 days to storing good s re ady for trade wit h the ing) check; success in dicates that the pali -
complete and recover fro m an adven- Seven Villages or awaitin g expo rt to th e sade improve ments are sound , while fail-
tur e upgrade. An upgrade listed sim ply ci ty of SasseriiJe . Th e ware h ouses are ure indi cates tha t at least another week of
as "Check" or "Spell" ind icates th at a PC n early full after three years ofstorage, an d work is requ ired. Each week work cont in -
must spend the listed amo unt of tim e the exot ic lumber, pre served spice s, and ue s, the PC gains a cumulative +2 bo nus
working on the upgrade, at which point oth er b ulky boun ty harvested from the on hi s Knowledge check.
h e makes a specific skill check or casts isle are ready to go as soo n as trade rou tes
a spell to ach ieve success. A skill check are establishe d. 4. Watchtowers
m ay be attempted numero us time s, bu t Desp it e increased gu ards , som eon e In all, fou r watchtowers stan d on th e
on ce successful, additional checks can not continues to steal sup plies and equip - Farshore pali sa de , two eac h over the
furth er enhance the location. If th e pe s ment from the wareh ou ses. A relatively gates into town . Curr en tly, each tower is
have a good relation ship 'with an NPC, he re cen t d evelopme nt, the se th efts have manned by a single gua rd (human war-
can be con vin ced to spend this time and confou n ded all security att empts to date. rior 1). In cases ofem ergency, an iron bell
make th e app ropriate skill check instead Stolen item s come in all sha pes and sizes, hangs from the guardp ost's ceili n g.
with a DC 15 Diplomacy check. b ut the thi ef has yet to leave any trace of Upg ra de (so VP per watcht ower, 1 WF
hi s passage. Several colonists have b egun each; 3 week s each): The watcht owe rs
1. The Docks to su spect tr eache ry within the Far- serve well for any da ngers that appro ach
Th e Earsh ore waterfront b ustles with sh ore council, and violenc e cou ld break Earshore from the east an d sou th, but
activity most of th e day, as over h alf out soon. n ot so well for att acks fro m th e no rth
the colo nists ha ve som e in terest in Upgrade (0 VP; Adven ture):The thi ef or th e west. A new watchtower could be
wha t go es on h er e. Fish ing b oats an d is n ot one of the colonis ts, but a gre edy con stru cted in the n orthea stern corner
laun ches de part da ily, the latter destin ed ethereal filche r that has be en sne akin g of th e pali sad e, an d one could b e buil t
for n eighbori ng isles, includin g th e Isle into the settlem ent, taking things, and on th e so uthwestern bluff th at over looks
of Dread. At any time of day, two gu ards stashi n g th em in its cave on th e north - th e h arbor.
(human warrior 1) keep watch h ere, an d east sho re ofTem ute. The creatu re stages
signal fires atop the jetties are lit at night its attacks at diffe ren t times in th e night, 1. Sooth Gate
so that stragglers at sea can find their n ever st ri kin g more th an onc e a week. The road lea di ng south from Parsho re is
way h ome. If th e PCs don't set up a sting to catch us ed m ost often b y labo rers who wor k in
Upgrade (50 VP; I WF, Check; I week or th e aberration, ru m or s of a four-armed on e of several gems tone mine s furt he r
more):The ent rance into Farshore harbor hoppin g m ons ter soon start to sp rea d in lan d on th e isle ofTemut e. The m ine s
is a nat ural bott len eck that serves well th ro u gh out Farsh ore. produce a steady outflow of gems , bu t
to prot ect th e colon y from att acks from Ethe real Filche r: hp 22; Monster Man- they aren't parti cularly efficient.
th e sea, yet th ere is certainl y more that uall04· Upgrade (0 VP; Check; 1 week):With a
can be do ne to sh ore up th ese defe ns es. DC 25 Pr ofession (m in er) check, a char-
A charac ter trained in Kn owled ge 3. Palisade acter can inc rease the gems tone m ines '
(archi tectu re and engin eering) can plan A Is-foot -h igh wood en palisad e su r- efficiency. This in cr eases Ears hore's
several changes and enh an cem en ts to the ro und s th e land ward approach int o Far- assets b y 10,000 gpo
ha rbor en tra n ce, such as install ing sieg e sh ore. Wh ile fun cti on al, the for tification
engines or sn iper posts alon g th e cliffs, was bu il t by coloni sts who d idn't ha ve an 6. Far ahore Cemetery
creating art ificial san d bars or sub me rged experie nc ed engineer to lead them , and a Farsho re 's ceme tery is tend ed by cha pel
traps to slow th e advance of en em y ships, DC 15 Know ledg e (architectu re an d en gi- priests, an d is surr ou n ded by a par tially
and estab lish ing m ore efficien t patrol nee ring) ch eck reveals tha t th e wall isn 't com plete d low ston e wall. The colon y
routes.This character must spen d at least ne arly as stron g as it could be. ha s held its own over th e last three years,
two hours a day for a week su pervising Upg rade (so VP; 1 WF, Che ck; 1 week an d as a resu lt th e ceme te ry only h as two
the work. At the end ofthe week, h e m ust or more]; A characte r tra ined in Knowl- dozen graves so far, mostly fish er men
make a DC 20 Knowledge (arch itecture edge (architectu re and engin eering) can an d hu nt ers slai n by troglodytes or
and engineering) chec k; success in dica tes plan several cha nges and en han cem en ts wild beast s.
th at th e im provem en ts are sou nd, wh ile to th e pali sade, in clud ing adding sha rp- Upgr ade ('5 VP; Spell): Altho ugh Far-
fail ure ind icates that at least an oth er ened poles atop it and j utting from th e shore has not h ad m any problems with

DUNGEON FEBRUARY 200 7

undead , there are no clerics in the colony barracks can house three dozen with ease. LAV INIA VA N D ER B O REN CR 7
capable of castin g hallow on th is site. A Militia Captain Ulvar Kabbanja (LG male Fema le h uma n a ristocrat 2fswash buckle r 6
PC who casts hallow here increas es the human fighter 4), a member of Farshore's NG Med ium humanoid
co m m u n ity's m orale , re su ltin g in a town council and the mercenary company Complete Warrior 11
stronger drive to defend the colony from known as Zelkaru ne's Horns, has done his Init +7; Se ns es listen - 1, Spot-l
attack when the ine vitab le occurs. The best to recru it for the militia , bu t he's not la ng uages Common, Elven, Halfling
ad d itio nal protection affo rded to the a very charis matic man. With the arrival AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 14; Dodge +2
ceme tery frees up th e priests ofFarshore ofthe Blue Nixie,Ja de Raven Tolin Kientai hp 53(8 HD)
Chapel to focus more tim e on providi ng (see Appen dix)j oined th e militia and h as Fo rt +7, Re f +7, Will +S
services and crafting m agic items rather managed to attract th e interest of several Spd 30 ft.
th an gua rd ing the cemetery-as a result, othe r Farsh ore citizens, but if the militia M.I ee +1 ropitr+ll!+6 (l d6+3!18-20)
Farshore's gp limit in creases by 1 ,0 0 0 gpo is to become an actual force, they'll need Ranged mwk dagger - Ll (l d4+2!19- 20)
more h elp recru iting. Bas e Atk +7; Grp +7
7. East Gate Upg rade ('5 VP; Ch eck: 1 week) : A Atk O ptions acrobat ic charge, imp roved
The road leading east from Farsho re is characte r who spe nds a week tryi ng to flanking
used mos t often by hunter~ an d far m - re cruit people to the m ili tia can increase Combat Gea r potion of cure moderate wounds
ers of th e outlying region s. Tem ute is far th e militia by 5 wit h a DC 2 0 Dip lom acy (2), potion of hoste
eno ugh from the mainland th at.danger- ch eck. This up gr ade can be repeated Abilities Str 10, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis
ous predators don't overrun its wilds, yet each week (for u p to four additional VP 8, Cha 16
the island is far from safe. awards), but each time the DC of th e Feats Dod ge, Im prove d Initiative,
Upgrade ('5 VP:Adventu re):Asmall but ch eck inc reases by 5. Negotiat o r, Skill Focus (Diplo macy),
ten acious tribe of troglodytes that dwells Weapon Finesse
near the center ofTemute has lon g been 9. Vanderboren Manor Skills Appra ise +7, Balance +10, Bluff +10,
prob lema tic for the colonists. Th ese trog- Not qui te as big as Lord Manthalay Diplomacy +25, Gat he r Informatio n
lodytes dwell in a sizable cave overlooking Meravanchi 's Estate , this struc ture is still +10 ,j um p +7, Knowledg e (local) +7,
a forest of banana trees an d oth er speci- larger th an oth er hom es in the settle- Know ledge (no bility &: royalty) +7, Perfor m
men s th at are ideal for lumber, especially ment. Asmall dom e set with stained-glass (st ringed inst rume nt) +8, Professio n
sh ipb uilding and repa irs, but the colo- windows d epi cting fair seas and sailing (sa ilo r) +6, Sense Mot ive +7, Tumble +16
ni sts cannot enter the urea without being sh ips gives the struc ture a memorable Posse ssio ns co m bat gear, +1 leather armo r,
viciouslyattacked bythe fiercelyterritorial look. Buil t by Lari ssa and Verik Vander- +1 rapier, maste rwork dagge r, ring of
m onsters. Worse, in the last few months, bore n several years ago and main tained protection +1, gloves of Dexterity +2, cloak
attac ks have cre pt increasingly closer to in the ir abse nce by fou r loyal servants, of resistance +1, go ld ea rrings (100 gp
the colo ny's bo undari es. If th e pe s can this sim ple yet elegan t manor h as on ly each),jade signet ring (80 gp)
defea t the warlike trogs an d their giant recen tly come back in to use with Lavinia Acro batic Charge (Ex) Lavinia ma y cha rge
lizard pets, the colony's increased safety vanderbor en's ret u rn to Farshore. This thro ug h d ifficult te rrain that wo uld
and new access to lumber and exotic fruits ma no r feat ures six guest rooms, all of no rmally slow movement. She may charge
inc reases Earshore 's assets by 5 ,000 gpo which Lavinia makes available to any PCs through sq uares occupied by allies.
Furthe r, the access to shipbuilding mate- who do n't want to stay elsewhere. Dod ge Bo nu s (Ex) Lavinia may design ate an
rials makes establishing trade ro utes mu ch Mem ber s of the Dawn Cou ncil who opponen t du ring he r action and rece ive
sim pler. Three months after th e PCSdefeat d on't wish to involve th emselves with th e a +1 do dge bo nus to AC against mel ee
th e trog lodyte tribe, Farsh ore 's gp lim it Meravan ch is can tak e care of affiliation attacks from tha t oppon ent. This bon us
increases by 1,000 gp as th e colony begins business here as th ey wish. stacks with that g ranted by the Dod ge
making cont.act with seagoing me rchant s Upgrade( Special):Th e PCs can campaign feat , but Lavinia loses this bon us whe n
and othe r settlements to th e n orth. for Lavinia Vanderboren, encou raging Far- she wears med ium o r heavy armor or
Troglodytes (20): b p 13 each; Monster sh ore's residents to vote for their patron in ca rries a me d ium o r heavy load.
Manual 2.46. the coming election for lord m ayor. Initially, Im proved Flanking (Ex) Lavinia ga ins a +4
Monitor Lizards (6): hp 22 each; Mon- 80 citizens are undecided on who to vote bo nus to attack a flanked o ppo ne nt .
ster Manual 275. for. After a week ofcampaigning, a PC may Insightful Strike (Ex) Lavinia appl ies her
make a DC 20 Diplomacy ch eck. Success Intelligen ce bon us o n dam age rolls with
8. Militia Barracb ind icates that he's convinced rdi o of these weapo ns that can gain the be nefit of
Fars ho re's militia con sists of a mere 18 citizens to vote Vanderboren. For every 1 0 Wea po n Finesse. This add itiona l damage
h um an guards (hu m an warrior 1), of point s by which he exceeds this check, tdio does not a pply to target s imm une to sneak
whic h six are on d uty for 8-hour shifts m ore join th e Vanderboren camp. Failure atta cks or critical hits. Lavinia loses th is
during mo st hours of the day. Only half indi cates that rdro citizens decide to vote bo nus whe n she wear s med ium or heavy
of the se guards live here, although th e for Meravanchi ins tead. armor o r carries a medium or heavy load.

FEBRUARY 2007 DUNCiEON 6S

 BYSTEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN I

10. Mcrauochi Manor to Sasserinc and wre st control of th e and his staff of carpente rs and sm iths.
Th e larg est hom e in the colony, Mera- fam ily from his broth er. Dran ys and his workers almost single-
van chi Manor is surrounded by an Over th e past severa l years, Manthalay handedlv pro vide th e raw mat eri als for
immaculate garden an d boasts two sto - h as be co me th e de facto lead er of buildi ng and ar ming Farsh ore, and are
ries and an atta ched tower used mainly Farshore; Lavinia's arrival has disru pte d gene ra lly thought to be the hardest -
as a museum for the eccentric tro phies hi s plan s and left him in a part icularly working folk in the colon y. A tr easure
of Lord Manthalay Meravan cht's (LN fou l mood. Ifthe PCs manage to deliver seeker at heart, Dranys awaits that "one
Male human ari stocrat 3/fighter 5). Man- his nephew Avner (see "Here Th ere Be big strik e" on the island s th at could make
th alay cho se to accompany Lavinia's par - Monsters") safe and soun d, Manthalay hi m rich beyond his wildest dr eams.
ents on th eir expedition to the Isle of qui ckly pu ts him in charge ofgathering Upgrade ( 0 VP; Check; 1 week): With a
Dread parti ally because he was intrigued votes for the coming electi on. DC 25 Craft (arrnorsmithing, carpentry,
by the exotic n ew discoveri es promised Manth alay also rep resents Zelkaru ne's or weaponsmithing) check, a cha racter
by such a locale, and parti ally because he Ho rns in Farshore. Cha racte rs who can increase the efficiency of th is opper-
had grown disgusted with the excessive belong to the Sasserin e-based mercenary ation. Each on e ofthe three checks made
deb au ches of his brother Zebulah. th e gu ild can use Man tha lay as a point in creases Earshore's assets by 2 ,000 gp,
family head of the Meravanchis in Sas- of contact. for a tot al of a 6 ,0 0 0 gp increase if all
serine. His not-so-secret goal is to build Upgra de (Specia l): T he PCs ca n three are mad e.
enough wealth, resources, and pow er in campaign for Manthalay Meravanchi ,
Farshore so tha t someday he can return encouraging Earsh or e's res ide nts to 11. Tehrik's Tannery
vote for him in the comi ng election for The colon y's hunt m ast er, Te h rik
lord ma yor, as detailed in area 9 abo ve. Arre lion (CG ma le h uman ranger 3),
Lavinia
Avner Mera vanchi spen ds his week s doubl es as Earshore's chief'leatherworker
cam paign ing for his uncle, maki ng and furri er. Hi s two sons, Gerriss and
Diplo macy +9 checks to gather votes. If Dant ri k, and wife Galliana help him run
he ever fails two conse cutive checks, he the bu sine ss.
be come s frust rated with the pro cess and Upgrade (0 VP; Adventure): Th er e
gives up. are cou ntless sou rces for exotic leather
and fur on th e Isle of Drea d, but many
11. The ctayworks of the m are too dangero us to ha rvest.
Clay tile s, ear the nware cro ckery, The megafauna of the isle can provide
adobe b ri ck s, an d eve n glass quality component s if a PC can harvest
are manufact ure d in th is large th eir hides witho ut too much damage.
building. Th e raw materi als for H arvesting a hide takes a Survival check
these pr ojects (most of which (DC 10 + the creature's CR). Hides from
go tow ard the u pkee p of creatures of CR 5 or less do no t notice-
old stru ctures and the ably aid Teh rik. Each CR 6 to CR 10 hide
cons truction ofnew delivered to th e tannery increases Far-
ones) ar e gat hered sh ore's assets by 25 0 gp (to a maximum
loca ll y. Gre ffo ld in crease of 2,0 0 0 gp). Each hi de from
"Redfoot " Fidd lebitter (CN male a creature of CR II or hi gher delivered
halfling exper t 3) man ages th e in creases Farshore's assets by 1,0 0 0 gp
claywork s with his family. (to a maximum increase of 10,0 00 gp).
Upgrade (0 VP; Check; I weeku
With a DC 25 Craft (pott ery) 1+. The Last Coconut
check, a characte r can in crease This cozy gathering place within earshot
th e Claywork s' efficiency, of th e doc ks is th e colony's on ly tavern
increasing Farshore's assets by and inn. A do zen round tables an d a
3.0 0 0 gp. small ba r fill the airy common room. It
serves tast y fare an d pot ent drinks in a
11. Scllis' Woodworks and warm an d invi ting atmos phere pr ovided
Smithy by its gregario us prop riet o r, Malfu s
Th is large build ing Fairwind (N male hum an bard 3) who
is home to Dranys often takes up hi s lut e to provide rou sing
Sellis (N ma le music for h is clien telle. The Cocon ut
d war f expert 2) is a place for relaxat ion and recreation

66 DUNGEON FE8RUARV2D07
for the hardwor king co lon ists and is dei ties ven erated here are Ehl onna (the Casting Vote.
oft en the firs t des t ination of visi to rs. patron ofthe chapel 's cu rre nt caretaker), Atsome point during "Tides of Dread "
The second floor featu res a half-dozen Pelor, and Fharlanghn, although all of when the PCs are in town but at least
do ub le room s and on e four-guest suite th e non-evil dei tie s listed in the Play er's a few weeks before the Crimson Fle~et
attack, the Farshore Expedition Council:" Jl
(currently rented by the Jade Raven s). HatJ dbook
, ha ve shrines here. holds a public meeting du ring which ,::
One ofthe gue st rooms is also currently The resident cleri c and caretake r of
all citizens of the colony are invited to
in h abited by Ame lia Venkali e (CN the chapel is Ves serin Catherly (NG cast votes on who should become lord
fem ale h u man rogu e 4), assu min g she m ale hal f-el f cleri c 6). H e is a sho rt, mayor. When "Tides of Dread" begins, f
survived the pr evious two adven tures. wiry, and emi nently pleasant man who .rou gblv 1/3 of Earsho re is undecided,
Upg rade (0 VPj 1 WFj 24 week s): h as ma n aged to serve as Fars hore's and the PCs can choose to influence
Lavinia Vande rboren is eager to load s pirit ual gu ide wit hout ostraci zing the result if they wish, as detailed in
up the Bille Nixie with trade goo ds for an y on e parti cul ar fait h, a tas k he is the upgrades for areas 9 and to-the
Sasse r ine to establish t he trade rout e rightfully proud of PCs need only convince 41 colonists to
between the two location s. With the Vesserin is a m ember of the Church vote one way to determine the victor.
possible exception of one of the PCs, of the Whi rling Fury, although thi s If t he PCs do not take part in either
upgrade, this adventure assumes that
Amella Venkalie's th e best candidate to is not public knowledge . He cho se to
Meravanchi wins the election.
captain the Blue Nixie on such at rip. By travel to th e Isle of Dread after hear in g
If Mant haly Mer avanch i wins,
giving her a workforce of sailors and rumor s of de monic influ enc es in the h e reorganizes much of Ea rshore's
labore rs, she can be off to Sasseri ne at region , and ho ped to be able to spend ' r fforts at becomin g a well-defended
any time. (Sh e bids a stoic farewell to some time in vestiga ting (and po ssibly trading post and focuses on an nexing
any PC sh e has become roman ticall y qu ashing) such in fluences. So far, he's the Seven Vi llages. AfterId6 months,
in volved with , and pr omises to re turn not had a chance to do so, as tending to Farshore's gp limit increases by 5,000
as soon as she can ). Th e Blue Nixie's Earshor e's needs have taken up most of gp, but the loss of focus on defense.
return in about six m on th s (alo ng with his tim e. If any PCs are members of the red uces the PCs' VP total by 250,Th'e
a half-dozen mo re trading ships filled Church, Vesserin contacts them soon Olmans are unl ikely to take the se
with colonists and good s) is enough to after they ar rive to recru it their aid. developments well, and such actions
could incite some of them to violent
bring Farsho re's population u p to 450 Only four acol yte s (huma n cleri c 1)
rebellion against Earshore.
so uls. More im po rta nt ly, th e PCs can serveVesserin, although with the arrival of
If Lavinia vanderboren wins, the
purchase or sell good s at th is point as the Blue Nixiehe gained a m ore powe rful colony cont inues on its cou rse of
if they were in Sasserine (4°,000 gp follower as well. The last time the PCs becoming a well-defended trading post
limi t, Assets 3' ,300,000 gp), albeit with a spoke wit h Liamae Teslikari a of the Jade ~ that exists in peace' with the Olmans.
six-month del ay. Raven s, th e capricious h uman sorcerer This grants the pes I SO VP, but may
may not have seeme d overly religious, ma ke an enem y out of Ma ~t haly
H . Far sbc re Chapel but a ncar-death experience duri ng the Mera vanch i, which. cou ld have
A smartly fini shed building of adobe storm that separated th e Blue Nixie from repercussions later in the carTlpai~n .: :
stan ds nea r th e cen ter of the colon y. the Sea wwem in "The Sea Wyvern' s .;,
This sing le-s tory chapel features a Wake" put her in a co ma, from wh ich
bel lt ower that rises hi gh er tha n any she was lucky to em erge. Since regaining pre paring for his mi ssionary work here
other bu ilding in Farshore, a bell that her sens es in the chapel, Liamae found in Farsh or e be fore sett ing off into the
no t on ly an nounces the start ofservices th at she's developed an entirely new set island's in terior. He ha sn 't been seen
but also serves the colony as a warnin g of magical skills. Her lucky escape from sin ce, and Vesserin hopes he still lives.
bel l. Th e large pe w. lined com mo n death drew the atte ntion of (or perh aps He asks the PCs to keep an eye ou t for
ro om doubles as a meeting plac e for was d ue to the inte rvent ion of) Rudd, the signs of the m iss ing mi ssion ary when
meeti ngs of th e Expedi tion Cou nc il or god dess ofl uck. Now a favo red soul of he learns thcy intend on exploring the
other public gat herings. Rudd, she looks to Vesserin for advice- Isle of Dread them selves. Noltu s's fate is
The primary purpose ofthe buil ding is if any pes are divin e casters, sh e may revea led in the u pcoming Savage Ti de
as th e reli gious center ofthe settl ement. look to the m in a si milar way. adventure, "City of Broken Idols."
The colony 's ini tial size pr eclu ded the One thi ng t hat 's been gnawing at Upgrade (Z5 VP; Check; 1 week): Ves-
cons truction of mu ltiple tem ples, so the vesse ri n's cons ience for nearl y a year is seri n welcomes any clerical aid he can
colonists agr eed tha t the various faiths th e fate of a Pelorian missionary named get in hand ling the day-to-day cho res of
would share one roof The main worship Noltu s Innersol, who cam e to Farshore running the chapel. Any PC that can cast
room is non -denominational, wit h over a year ago independ ent ofthe other healing spells can spend a week help-
numerou s small sh rines in alcoves alon g colonis ts. Nolt us so ught to spread the ing him in vari ou s tasks such as healin g,
the walls tha t contain small stat uettes teachings of his faith up and d own th e maint enance, sermons, and oth er spiri-
of vario us deities. The mo st po pul ar Olrnan peninsula, and spen t several da ys tual matters. At th e end ofthe week, a DC

FEBRUARY 2007 DUNGEON 67

 BY STEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN

20 Know ledge (religion) check ind icates a careful search of the ru ins reveals a 18. The Greenhouse
that the spiritual well-being ofthe colony treasu re trove of ancient Olman cultural This unique building is located behind
in creases morale, granting th e listed VP art ifacts, includ ing so me very valuab le the infirm ary, and sports a peculiar roo f
award . This award can be earn ed up to carved stones, a favor ite of the ancient com pose d of a wooden frame overlaid by
eight time s for a to tal award of 200 VP« , "gods." No sign of the ape ido l can be cru de glass tha t allows sunlig h t in and
fuund, but a DC 25 Search of the ruins provide s a decen t shelter for the plants
16. Farshcre Hall of Records uncovers a gold and jade necklace (worth and herbs withi n. Until recently, Telda
This m odest build in g serves Farshore as 40 0 gp) bea ring a st range sym bol of a Syren ma in tained th e greenh ouse on
a lib rary and a hall of records. All impor - circle sur rounding twoj agged lines.A DC her own , but with the Blue Nixie's arrival,
tant docu ments are kept here, protected 25 Knowledge (religion) check reveals thi s Jade Raven Kasku s Kid has taken it upon
by two iron safes, while other books and to be the holy symbol ofZagyg, a dem igod himselfto help. Ifhe survives the previous
idle works ofart lin e shelves in th e mai n of eccentricity and m isch ief How it came two adven tu res, Urol Forol also ends up
room . The hall is under th e watchfu l cye to be here is a m ystery. spend ing mu ch of his time here.
of [eran Em rika d (LN human wizard 21 If the Olman artifacts are ret urned to Upgrad e(o VI'; Check; 1 weekj With a DC
rogue I), an energetic and bright-eyed Parshore, they can be sold to northern 25 Knowledge (natu re) check, a character
man in his late forties who fancies him - co llectors. Once tr ad e ro u tes are can increase th e greenho use's collectio n
self an explore r. established, this increases Farshore's gp of exotic spices, herbs, an d ot her plant s.
Upg rade (0 VP; Adve~turc) : [eran limi t by I,SOOgpo Once trade rou tes are establish ed with
rece ntly learned a local legend of a Wights (6): hp 26 each : Monster Sasserine, thi s inc reases Farsh ore's gp limit
m ysterious eighth Olma n village said Manual 255. by 1,0 0 0 gp o
to once have been located on Tem u te.
As th e legend goes, the Kawibu sas had a 17. The Apothecary's Infirmary 19. Aldwatrle'e Laboratory
marke d taste for warfare. Their warriors Th is build ing ser ves Fars hore as a Th is b uild in g hou ses the laboratory of
and zombie-m aste rs braved the jungles si ckhouse. T he few cle rics in Farsho re an eccen tric al ch emis t and naturalis t
beyond the Great Wall o ften to explore can 't be cou nted on to d eal wit h every fro m th e ma in land na m ed H evr ik
th e ruins of the island's old "god s." On illn ess, an d while th ey pay regu lar Ald wattle (NG hum an wizard s/e xp er t
one of their fora ys, they un covered a visit s to the in firm ar y, day-t o-d ay care 2). Thr ille d at the op p ortun ity to b e
sunken temple deep within the j u ngle that of th e s ick and wound ed generall y the firs t to catalo gue and resear ch
contained an idol of a great ape, carved f.111s to Telda Syren (CG fema le h alf- the m ine ra l s, s u b s t a n c es , an d
from a thi ck piece ofobsidian en crus ted elf exp er t 4), a skill ed h erbal ist wh o's ema n ati o ns o f th e isles, Aldw att le
with gemstones. The Kawibusas proudly al so spe n t he r tim e st ud yin g the was an eager me m be r of the orig inal
carried th e stolen idol to th eir home and island flora and fauna in h o pes of Van de rboren Expe dition. Hevri k is
placed it at th e center of their village. discovering ne w medi cines, foods, an d also a member in good stan d ing wit h
Th at very n ight, a great fog rose up and h erbs. She was a close fr iend of Lar issa the Wit ch war dens, and PC m embers of
engulfed the ir settlem ent. By dawn th e Vand erb oren, and has taken news of th is affiliatio n may use him as a poi nt
enti re tri be had m ysteriously van ished. her de ath h ar d . o f contact.
Olman visitors who came to the site Telda ha s been stu dyi ng the Olman Upgrade (0 VP; Ch eck; 1 week ): The
several days later found the Kawib usa tri bes since her arriva l and has learn ed lab is a treasure trove of com pou nd s,
village empty, save for the omi no us ape mo st of the ir lan guage and pictograms. h erbs, and ch emi cals. Any PC th at has
idol. They buri ed the id ol, hop in g to en d Sh e is conce rned for th eir plight, at least on e item creation feat who
its curse, and never returned. Since then, considering the inherent dangers of spends a week with Hevrik Aldwattle
th e story ofthe eighth tribe has become a the isle and the cultu ra l d isruption that can attem pt a DC 25 Spel lcraf check-
pop ular tale am ong the DIm an. the p resen ce of the colonists no d oubt success indicates he's taug h t Ald wattle
[eran very much wants to discover th e pr esent s. Her arg u ments wit h Lord some t im e-saving tech n iq ues. Th is
site ofthis lost village and the strange ape Mant halay an d Professo r Ald watt le on in crea ses Farsho re's assets by 5,000 gpo
idol,a1though the site has proven difficult how best to interact with the Olrnans
to locate, as th e j un gle has reclaim ed it are lege nd ary in Earsho r e, as she 20 . Farms
in the decades since th ey vanishe d. The advises caution and non -inter ference in Alth ough seve ral sma lle r farms sup -
site itself is located a mile inlan d from native affairs. port Far shore be yond its walls , these
the northea stern coast o f Temute- Up g rad e (so VP; Check; 1 week): two far ms are the closest and therefore
discovering its location based on [eran's With a DC 25 H eal check, a cha racter mos t im por tan t to main tainin g th e
notes takes a DC 30 Su rvival check (one can in crease th e infir m ary's efficie ncy colo ny 's food su pplies . If he su rvived
ch eck may be attempted every Id 6 days). so tha t when the attack com es, more o f th e previo us ad ventu re, Tavey Nesk is
The empty ruins are now haunted by SLX Earshore 's resi den ts will be in better taken under the wing of one of these
wigh ts. Once the u ndead are dea lt with, sh ape to help defend the colony. farm ing fam ilie s.

68 DUNCEDN FEBRUARY 2007

c
 Upgra de (0 VP; Check; 1 week); With a alt ho ug h if a PC takes Leadership one good looks have served hi m well ove r
DC 25Profession (far m er) check.a cha rac- could become a cohort. They can be the yea rs. H e m ay take an in terest in
ter can in crease the farm s' efficienc y.This used to hand le m inor tas ks requ ir ed an att ra ctive fem ale PC, altho ugh hi s
increases Farshore's assets by 5.000 gpo by adventu ro us types on Tem ute, an d eg o m igh t m ake h im di ffic ult to ge t
d u ring t he Battle of Farsbore , th ey along wit h.
THE JADE RAVENS play an importan t ro le in the colo ny's As Toli n adve n tured , he cam e to
T he p e s aren't the on ly ad venturers defense , prot ectin g parts o f the colony realize that what tr uely app ealed to him
in Lavinia's emp loy. The Jad e Raven s th e p e s ar en 't. Eac h Jad e Rave n abo ut his lifest yle was looking good in a
consist of a gr oup of me rce na ries an d u nabl e to take part in the de fense of figh t. Growing less and less en amoured
adventu rers who ha ve served the Van- the colony d uring thi s ba ttle (d ue to with the na tural wor ld, in pa rt d ue
d erboren s for m an y yea rs. Du rin g "T he d eath o r oth er reaso ns) caus es a - 1 0 0 to Kasku s Kid 's somewha t zeal o us
Bu llywug Gambit," th e Jad e Raven s VP penalty. str eak of crusading for the sam e, Tolin
we re ca p t u r ed by t he m onstrous The stat blocks given below rep resen t abando ned the ranger class and began
invad er s ofVa nde rbo ren Manor- the the most li kel y ways in whi ch the Jade to foc us solely up on pe r fectin g hi s twin
pe s had a cha nc e t o resc ue th em Raven s p ro gr esse d to 7th level over short swo rd fight in g style.
du rin g th e co urse of th at ad ven t u re. the course of the last few adve n tu res. Tolin's obsess io n with Lavin ia is not
Sin ce the n, the Jade Raven s have had If, in your campaign, the y have made as secret as h e sus pects. Certain ly, the
litt le con tac t wit h the pe s. How the y diffe rent choices. yo u sh o uld alte r rest of the Jad e Ravens know that he's
react to the re tu rn of Lavin ia's favored th em to mo re clo sely adh ere to your been pi ning for th ei r bea utiful patro n
h er oes d epe nd s in la rge par t on how pr eferred vers ions . for many m on ths, if n ot years. Lavini a
th ey were treat ed by the party du ri ng herself has alr ead y mad e it clear th at
"T he Bull ywu g Gamb it." Tolin Kicntai th e feelin gs ar en't m u tual, so Toli n's
T he Jad e Ravens arc un likely to Tolin is as vain and b rash as he is been forced to su press hi s feeli ngs. If
acco m pany the PCs o n ad vent ures , handsome, a ru gged ma n whos e ru st ic Lavinia is rom anticall y involved with a

FEBRUARY 2007 DUNGEON 69

 .- - 'C BY STEPHEN S. GREER AND GARY HOLIAN

PC, Toli n 's jealousy might fo rce h im to ma e h ad a ro u gh er t ime on t he jou r - Possess ions combat gear, +1 studded leather,
do something rash , like challenge that n ey h ere, Za n h at ed ev ery mome nt of +1 buckler, +1 rapier, shortbow with 20
PC to a duel, att em p t to frame h im for it wi t h a pa ssi o n . H e m iss es th e press arrows, 8 masterwo rk daggers, gogglesof
some sort of m inor crime, o r even seek of t he city crowd , the wi d e ran ge of minuteseeing, 14 gp
o ut Meravan chi ai d in finding a way to choi ces whe n it co me s t o ente rta in-
on e-u p his rival. m ent and alcoh o l, a n d t he raw sen se Kad:us Kid
of civiliza t io n t h at Sass e r i ne offers. Kasku s has a d eep an d no isy lo ve of
TOLIN KIENT.....I CR 7 O n ly h i s e rod ing se ns e of lo yalty t o mou n tains a n d caverns, a nd longs t o
Male human ranger 3/fighter 4 Lavin ia an d th e Jad e Rave n s got him ret urn there some day after he's re paid
LN Medium huma noid on t h e Blue Nix ie, an d n ow h e r eg re ts a deb t ofloyal ty to Lavi nia, whose father
Init +6; Senses Listen +7, Spot +7 that ch o ic e bitt erl y. Hi s sit uatio n i s re scu ed Kaskus from slavery to the Scar-
langu ages Com mon co m pou n de d b y an irrat i o n al fea r o f let Br otherhood n earl y a year ago.
AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16; Dodge, t he j u ngle. H e 's h ad sever al glimpse s Kaskus Kiel's loyalt y t o the Jade Raven s
Mobility ofwh at d well s in i ts d ept h s, and wa nts is m atc he d on ly by h is loyal ty to Lavin ia
hp 39 (7 HD) n o th i ng to d o wi t h t he Isle of D ead . and the n atu ral world. Although he spent
Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +6 As a r e sult , h e increasing ly sp en d s h is mu ch ofthe voyage seasick, he's fallen in
Spd 30 ft. t i m e at t he Las t Cocon ut, d rin kin g love with the Isle of Dread and its exo tic
Melee +1 short sword +12j+7(l d6+6jl 9-20) or away the weeks a nd growing angrier environs. One of the fir st things he did
+1 short sword +10/+5 (1d6+6/19-20) and an d a n g r ier. It 's qu ite li kely he comes u pon arriving was to for ge a bond with
+1 short sword +10 (l d 6+4/19-20) to se e th e PCs a s sy mbol s of h i s si tu- an a n imal co mpanio n fro m a nearby
Ranged mwkcomposite longbow+6 (l d8+3j,3) at ion , and as t he wee ks go on , they lagoon- a ca n ta nkerou s giant cro co -
Base Atk +7; Grp +10 b e co me th e p r i m a ry t a r get o f h i s d ile Kaskus h as n am ed Kruthk u r. Afte r
Comba t Gear potion of cure moderate pran ks and t ric ks . seve ral u nfortu n at e m isunders tan d in gs,
wounds, potion of haste Kasku s no longer allows Kru thkur ins id e
Abilities Str 16, Dex 14, Con 10, lnt 8, Wis ZAN OLO..... VIN CR 7 of Farsho re; t h e crocod ile h as inste ad
13, Cha 12 Male half-e lf ro gu e 7 tak en to living in the ri ver j ust west of
SQ wild empathy +6 N Medium huma noid (elf) th e colony.
Feats Dodge, Endura nce, Improved Init +3; Sens es low-light vision , Li ste n +0, Kask us h as bee n try ing to co nvin ce
Init iative, lron Will, Mobility,Track, Two- Spot +0 th e Jade Raven s to make an exped iti on
Weapon Defense, Two-Weapo n Fighting, l angu ages Com mon, Elven, Ore into th e Isle of D read 's in te r io r, but
Weapon Focus (sho rt sword), Weapon AC 19, to uch 13, flat-footed 16; unca nn y so far, h e's o nly been ab le to convinc e
Specialization (short sword) d od ge Liamae to join h im . H is obse ss ion with
Skills Handle Animal +7, Intimidate +5, hp 41 (7 HD) th e natu ra l wo r ld h as a ll but blinded
Knowledge (nature) +5, Knowledge Imm une slee p him to th e fact th at the Jade Raven s a re
(d ungeoneering) +5, Listen +7, Ride Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +1; evasio n close to di so lving as a g ro u p. When he
+8, Spot +7, Surviva l +7 (+9 nature or Spd 30 ft. lea rn s t hat th e PCs are planning o n an
underground) Melee +1 rapier +9 (l d6+l j I 8- 20) exped it io n in to the ma ini land , h e m ay
Possession s combat gea r, +1 chain shirt, 2 Ranged mwk dagger +9 (l d 4j I 9- 20j x3) o r vo lu nt ee r his aid (especially if yo u
+1 shortswords, masterwork composite short bow +8 (. d6jx3) feel that th e pe s co uld use so m e help
longbow (+3 Str) with 40 arrows, cloak of Base Atk +5; Grp +5 wit h what awaits them in th e d ept hs of
resistance +1, S6 gp Atk Option s Combat Ex pert ise, sne ak the isle).
atta ck +4d6
Zan Oldavin Co mbat Gear potion of cure moderate KASKU S KIEL CR 7
A j au n ty, fla m boya n t m an who take s wounds, potion of invisibility Male dwarf d ruid 7
p erhap s too keen a n int er e st i n h i s Abilit ies St r 10, Dex 16, Con 14, Jnt 13, LN Medium humanoid
dag ger collection , Za n's car efree an d Wis 8, Cha 12 Init +1; Senses darkvisio n 60 ft.; Listen +0,
so m e t i m es irre sp on s ibl e a ttitude SQ t rap sen se +2 Spot +0
tend s t o get all four ofth e Ja de Ravens Feats Co mbat Expertise, Improved Languages Common, DwaIVen, Druidic, Sylvan
in t o trouble wit h the au thoritie s. Of Disarm, Weapon Finesse AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 17
co urse, Zan doe sn't vi ew his pran ks Skills Balance +12, Diploma cy +3, Disabl e hp S6 (7 HD)
a n d s tun ts as a n yt h i n g m ore t h a n Device +8, Escape Artist +10, Gath e r Fort +8, Ref +3, Will +7; resist nature's lure
cha r mi ng attem p t s t o ke ep th in gs Info rmat io n +3, Hide +10, Move Spd 20 ft.
li vel y and i ntere st i ng. Silen t ly +10, O pen Lock +10, Search Melee +1 scimitar +6 (l d6+1/18-2 0)
O f t h e Ja de Ravens, Za n is th e least +14, Tumb le +10, Use Magic Base Atk+5; Grp +S
ha ppy wi t h Fa rsh o r e. Al tho u g h Lia - Device +8 Special Actions wild shape 3/day

70 DUNGEON FEBRUARY200 7
Co mb at Ge ar wandof cure moderate wounds
(35 charges), potion ofexpeditious retreat
skill , Rudd. Her newfound faith h as
softened he r cyn ical an d bi tt er ed ges
Mt.I09'on
Spell s Pre pa red (CL 7th, +2 me lee touch , +3 to a great exte n t , and if sh e tr eated GOKK , I FELT BAD ABOUT
ranged touch) any of th e PCs poorl y before , sh e takes KILLING YOUR PARENTS ,
4th-spikestones pa in ,s to mak e am end s. Of cou rs e, SO I REINCARNATED THEM .
ARE YOU
3rd-cal/ ligh tning (DC 16), meld into stone, since she may in vit e her new friends
HAPPY?
stoneshape o n any n umber of d ang ero us an d
2nd-bull's strength, cure moderate wounds, frivil ou s ad vent ure s just to "test th eir
holdanimal (DC 15), lesser restoration luc k" agaisn t th e isle, her attenti on
ist-c-ccre light wounds (2), longstrider, ma y quic kly grow old.
produceJlame,speak with animals
o-create water, cure minorwounds (2), L I A M AE TES LI KARI ACR 7
guidance, light, purifyfo od and drink Female human sorcerer 4jfavored soul 3 (Rudd)
Abilitie s Str 10, Dex 12, Co n 16, Int 13, Wis CG Medium humanoid
16, Cha 6 , Complete Divine7
SQ animal com panio n (g iant croco di le lnit +1; Sen se s Darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +3,
na med Kruthkur), trackless ste p, 'wild Spot +3
empathy +7, wood land st ride Lan gu age s Com mon, Dwarven , Dru idic,
Fe ats Aug me nt Summon ing , Natural Spell, Sylvan
Spell Focus (co njuratio n) AC 13, to uch 13, flat-footed 11
Skills Co nce ntrat ion +10, Handle Animal +5, hp 32 (7 HD)
Knowle dge (nature) +10, Listen +9, Spot Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +10
+9, Survival +4 (+6 nature) Spd 30 ft.
Posse ss ion s combat ge ar, +1 hide armor,+1 Melee mwk dagger +4 (l d 4- l f I 9- 20)
hea uj wooden shield, +1 scimitar, pearl of Ran ged mwk sho rtbow +8 (l d6fx3)
power(2nd level), 35 g p Base Atk +4; Grp +3
Combat Gear wand of mage armor(lS charges),
Liamae Tealikaria wandof spiritualweapon (32 charges)
Liam ae is a reb el aga in st her nob le Favo red Soul Spe lls Known (CL 3rd, +6
paren t s who ran away from home ranged tou ch)
to the exotic south to expe ri ence 1St (6fday}-command (DC 13), curelight
wh at li fe h as t o offer. Sh e may wounds, divinefavor, shield of f aith
become ro mantically involve d wit h a o (6j day}--eure minorwounds, guidance,
hand some PC, but h er capricious an d mending, resistance, uirtue
somet ime s se lf-destruct ive life style So rce rer Spell s Kno wn (CL 4th, +6
h abi t s (r an gin g from a fond ne ss ra nged to uch)
fo r exp lor in g danger ous regi on s o n and (4fday}-Tashas hideous laughter(DC 17)
h er own t o an inc reasingly morbid ist (7jday}--charm person (DC 16), magic
fascina tion with how lucky sh e really missile, shield
is) m igh t put long-term relation shi ps o (6fday}-acid splash, daze (DC 15), detect
unde r undue st rain. magic, light, prestidigitation, (ead magic
When th e Blue Nixie was caugh t Abilitie s 5tr 8 , Dex 14, Con 13, lnt 10, Wis
in a stor m du ri ng "The Sea Wyver n's 12, Cha 18
Wake ," Liamae was struc k by a bolt of SQ summ on fam iliar (s nake named Irradar )
WHILE I WAS
lightn ing an d n earl y kill ed. She woke Feats Alertness, Brew Potion, Great WAS LAUGH I N G ,
from her coma at Pars h ore. h er only Fortitud e, Iro n Will, Mart ial Weapo n AT THE JOKE , A
m em or y of th e incident a vis ion of an Proficie ncy (sho rtbow), Spell Focus GIANT SPIDER
ATE HIM .
athlet ic woma n weamig tig ht cloth ing (e nchan tme nt), Weapo n Focus (sho rtbow)
and a flowing blu e cloak. In th e vision, Skills Bluff +7, Concentratio n +8. Knowle dge
the woman defied all manner of pe ril, (a rcana) +7. Knowled ge (re ligio n) +4,
relying on wh at seem ed to Liarnae Spellcraft +7
to be a de li ght fu l combination of Posse s sio ns co mbat gear, mwk dagge r,
phy scia l prowes s an d pure du mb lu ck. mwk sho rtbow with 20 arrows, ring of
She 's since come to reali ze th at th is protection +1, cloak of Charisma +2, silver
visio n was of th e goddess of lu ck and holy symbol wo rth 50 gp, 78 g p ill
.....T ON Y MosE.l£.Y Z OC;ON IA . CO M

FEBRUARY2 007 DUNGEON 71

 Ben Wooten

BACKDROP: FARSHORE
by Stephen S. Greer and Gary Holian
The burgeoning colony of Farshore needs the PCs’ help if it’s going
to survive the perils of the Isle of Dread.

Dungeon #143 Map & Handout Supplement © 2007 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
16 DUNGEON 143 Supplement Permission to photocopy for personal use only. All rights reserved.
 Robert Lazzaretti

Dungeon #143 Map & Handout Supplement © 2007 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
17 DUNGEON 143 Supplement Permission to photocopy for personal use only. All rights reserved.
 Farshore Island Colony
Temute

Farshore
1. The Docks 11. The Clayworks
2. Warehouses 12. Sellis’ Woodworks and Smithy
3. Palisade 13. Tehrik’s Tannery
4. Watchtowers 14. The Last Coconut
5. South Gate 15. Farshore Chapel
6. Farshore Cemetery 16. Farshore Hall of Records
7. East Gate 17. Apothecary’s Infirmary
8. Militia Barracks 18. Greenhouse
9. Vanderboren Manor 19. Professor Aldwattle’s Laboratory
10. Meravanchi Manor
manor 20. Farms

N
nw ne

W E
sw se

1
19 18
17 S
2 16

14
15

20 4
13 7

20 8
12
10

11
3
9
4
6
5
0 150 300
feet

Robert Lazzaretti

Dungeon #143 Map & Handout Supplement © 2007 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
18 DUNGEON 143 Supplement Permission to photocopy for personal use only. All rights reserved.
 Ben Wooten

Dungeon #143 Map & Handout Supplement © 2007 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
19 DUNGEON 143 Supplement Permission to photocopy for personal use only. All rights reserved.
 Lavinia

Ben Wooten

Dungeon #143 Map & Handout Supplement © 2007 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
20 DUNGEON 143 Supplement Permission to photocopy for personal use only. All rights reserved.