Circles Turn: Porky's Visit to Zilgor's Repose

Porky has sent in an intrepid trio of grave-robbers Brave Adventurers to explore Zilgor's Repose. Instead of just doing a play report, Porky is delivering the details of his group's depredations  investigations and vandalization  examinations of this old, old tomb in the form of a serialized short-story.

Part One of his group's exploits can be found at Porky's Blog.

Weird Adventures Is Now Available!

Trey Causey's Magnum Opus Weird Adventures is now ready for immediate download as a PDF at RPGnow and DrivethruRPG both.

It's 165 pages (black and white with 4 full color maps) featuring:

• City Confidential--A guide to the 5 baronies, numerous neighborhood, and weird locales of the City.
• A guide to the Strange New World beyond the City, including the mysterious jungles of Asciana, morbid and insurrection-torn Zingaro, the gambler-haven of Faro City, and much more.
• Thirty new monsters from "Black Blizzard" para-elemental to "Zombie, Cuijatepecan."
• Adventure seeds and a mini-crawl through the City's largest (and weirdest) park.
• Art by old school stalwarts Johnathan Bingham, Chris Huth, and Stefan Poag, plus great work for comic artists Reno Maniquis and Adam Moore, among others.

We highly recommend this book -- it is a highly enjoyable read, even if you never ever use it in a game.

It is simply gorgeous, filled with excellent artwork, and a real pleasure to flip through. Trey's setting truly comes alive before your very eyes and before too long you'll be caught up in his imaginative tour de force. The City is an amazing place. You won't regret your time spent there.

Shell-Back

Shell-Back
No. Enc.: 2d4 (4d4)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 90' (30')
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 1+1 (improves with age)
Attacks: 3 (claw/claw/bite)
Damage: 1d6+2, 1d6+2, 3d4
Save: F2
Morale: 6

Special: Deliberate Adaptation, Closed Gestalt

Shell-Backs are an old, little regarded type of abhuman hybrid left-over from the grim days of the despot Mardalle and her blasphemous experiments in mixing and mingling the life-stuff of countless animals, plants and slaves. Most reputable scholars have long since rejected the methods first explored by Mardalle, but few can avoid the real and significant contributions that she made to science and natural philosophy, not the least of which are several varieties of abhumans and pseudohumans that survive, even thrive, to this very day. But few of them see themselves as any sort of living testament to their creator. Most revile her name and have rejected the society of those who would honor the dubious 'achievements' of the long-dead despot.

To Serve One's Betters
Originally bred to serve as laborers, porters, teamsters and the like within the dismal marshes and other wetland regions of Mardalle's demesne, the Shell-backs were also formed to act as an impromptu militia of sorts. They were intended to not only serve their masters, but to protect them from the giant leeches, bog worms and other dangerous flora and fauna of these areas.

Over time the Shell-Backs proved themselves to be eminently good at their various tasks and duties. Diligent and plodding, methodical and seemingly unimaginative, they served for generations without complaint or even the merest hint of displeasure or restiveness. But this may all have been part of an elaborate ruse...

More Than They Seem...
There are several varieties of Shell-Backs. Some truly are little more than animals, but these are by far in the minority. Most Shell-Backs are not only intelligent, they possess souls, harbor ambitions, and in some cases even develop sorcerous and/or psychic ability. But so far they have revealed only the very least of what they are truly capable of to outsiders. One major ability that few have ever suspected is that the Shell-Backs share a form of closed-loop telepathy, making them a Closed Gestalt -- a group-mind that remains withdrawn, hidden and so far unsuspected by outsiders. Whatever one Shell-Back sees, hears or learns, the rest likewise have access to according to their individual abilities (This is based on WIS).

A Shell-Back also has the innate ability to adapt to whatever natural environment they find themselves in, so long as they make a successful Save against any environmental effects. This takes the form of their shift from amphibian to desert-oriented bipeds who now have the means to store water and survive great amounts of heat, cold and deprivation. This capacity to adapt has not been fully studied, mostly for lack of funding and academic apathy--no one has ever really been all that interested in the Shell-Backs.

Until recently.

The More Some Things Tend To Stay The Same...
The prevailing expert opinion for centuries has been that the Shell-Backs are stable, amalgam-beings composed of only a small percentage of human characteristics, remaining mostly animals. They have been enslaved and taught simple tasks, even used as cannon-fodder (literally) during sieges and other extreme events, but for the most part no one has regarded the creatures as being more than slightly clever animals. This has been a mistake.

Shell-Backs are not just semi-mindless, bipedal animals that can be exploited as cheap labor and trained as simple servants. They are intelligent, very patient and have been extremely secretive about their true natures and capabilities. In effect, Shell-Backs have been hiding in plain sight, learning a great deal about the other races while serving them as slaves, lackeys, and the like.

The More Other Things Change...
The more advanced Shell-Backs have turned away from their ancestral wet-lands and have begun to establish enclaves deep in the dry wastes, deliberately adapting themselves to an alien environment as they master the arts and sciences that they have learned over the course of their long observation and service to the other races.

An army of Shell-Back pike-men is rumored to be forming out past the Ruined Perimeter...

Low-End Loot II (Random Table/Alternative Treasure)

Low-End Loot: Table II

1. One case of 5d20 arrows, all snapped neatly in half.
2. A wine-skin filled with stale bog water and 1d4 Toader eggs that will hatch into toadpoles within 2d6 hours if kept warm.
3. One half of the bleached-white skull of a very large sea serpent. 2d6 teeth could be extracted, but require making a Save or else suffer 2d4 damage in extracting them. The teeth could be used in making +1 arrows or possibly other weapons.
4. A leaky wooden barrel filled with 37 gallons of rancid oil. It is slightly flammable, but extremely smoky and unsuitable for burning in closed-quarters, unless you want to fill a space with cloying, noxious smoke.
5. A waxed packet containing 1d4 pounds of Shrieker spores.
6. (1d4) broken wooden boxes with enough pieces available to cobble-together one reasonably intact 3'x3'x6' crate, should anyone wish to invest 1d10 turns hammering it together. It will not be water-proof and will fall apart on a roll of 1-4 on a D12 whenever jarred, dropped or struck.
7. (2d6) sharp-edged sea shells covered with blood and what looks like scraped-off human flesh.
8. A small pouch of 1d4 ounces of granulated amber worth 1d4 gp.
9. A torn burlap sack that still smells strongly of potatoes.
10. The left hoof of a war horse. Shoe is still intact.
11. Three disparate, nearly worn out and grievously smelly sandals devoid of any straps or thongs.
12. A drastically crumpled full helm half-buried under a pile of dirt, debris and rubble.
13. A 4' pole of stout maple sheared into a point by what might have been a terrific chop from a battle axe or some other bladed weapon.
14. (1d4) slightly smoldering round shields coated with a caustic digestive acid that is still slowly dissolving the things before your eyes.
15. A small package of 4d4 short, fat, off-white candles. They're only slightly melted together.
16. A large wooded club, broken into three pieces.
17. The leather sheath to a knife that isn't here.
18. (3d6) pounds of wormy flour in a paper sack that has burst at the seams.
19. One studded dog collar, completely chewed through and still dripping with saliva.
20. A slightly dented tin lantern packed inside with what appears to be a compressed micro-colony of yellow mold.
21. A lodestone that can no longer determine which plane it is on, let alone a consistent direction.
22. A set of (1d4) hand-carved wooden bowls.
23. A ladle cast in pewter and stamped with some sort of monogram, mostly worn off and illegible.
24. One intact alembic still packed in straw within a pried-open box.
25. A slightly bent and sand-caked tin whistle.
26. (1d8) bolts of rotten cloth.
27. (2d6) bottles of deep red wine, each one contains a Gore-worm suspended in a blood-derived solution.
28. A heavy, bronze key shaped like a mermaid.
29. A small leather case containing a selection of only partially crushed colored chalk and charcoal pastels.
30. One worm-parchment treasure map inscribed from a Grobbly-Bonk map. The ink on this map can only be seen if it is smeared with fresh blood in moonlight...

Mini-Adventure One: Zilgor's Repose

Available at: http://www.box.com/s/ad31pg5cs9g6v62ah6jf

Zilgor's Repose

Out past the Obelisk Waste and deep within the region known as the Kalaramar Drifts there are countless old crypts, ancient tombs and long-lost burial sites. So many in fact that the profession of grave-robbing and tomb-looting has become an honorable profession within the city-states bordering this area.

One such old burial chamber is Zilgor's Repose. Most grave-robbers know of it and it is usually clearly marked on the more common maps of this region.

It was broken into and stripped to the walls long, long ago and yet it does not stay empty. Old coins, golden ornaments and other wonderful things have been recovered from this place as recently as only a month ago. There are those who believe this to be some sort of sorcery. Others say that it is some weird effect of the Drifts or that perhaps old Zilgor's sarcophagus has become unhinged in time or some superstitious drivel like that. Rumors abound and wild claims proliferate, but the fact remains; those who return from Zilgor's Repose often have some sort of loot to show for it.

Those that return.

Occasionally a caravan will use the place as a refuge from a particularly fierce sandstorm or to set-up camp during the long nights of the cold season when the jackal-apes go on the prowl.

However you got here, why not see what's inside?

Maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones.

Exterior Encounters

1. Rulak (1) [AL C, MV fly180'/slither60', AC 7, HD 3, #AT 1 (spit-beam), DG 1d8+spores, SV F1, ML 9]
2. Pilgrims (Ochre-scale Squamid-hybrids) (1d6) [AL C, MV 120' (40'), AC 4, HD 3, #AT 1 (weapon, wand or bite), DG 1d8, 1d6+1 or 1d4+poison, SV F3, ML 12] Ochre-scale Squamids will attempt to approach anyone they spot hanging about in front of Zilgor's Repose. They are not immediately hostile. In fact, they are lost and are looking for the way to Amdrada's Vortex. They will leave peacefully if unprovoked. Each pilgrim carries a wavy-bladed sword, short bow and a scroll of 1d4 random spells.
3. Sandstorm Reduces visibility to 1d12 feet for 1d4 hours. Save vs Petrification or lose 1d4 random items or suffer 1d6 damage (player's choice).
4. Scrapmongers (2d4) [AL C, MV 120', AC 5, HD 2, #AT 1 (weapon), DG 1d6, SV F3, ML 9] Scruffy-looking humans with patchwork armor and mechanically-augmented weapons cobbled together from wrecked machines. They will attack anyone who appears to have any sort of machine that they can take by force, but if they feel at a disadvantage they will withdraw for 1d4 hours, then come back around to see how things stand then. There's a 30% chance that they will follow the party into the dungeon...
5. Giant Burrowing Worms (3d4) [AL N, MV 180' (60'), AC 4, HD 3, #AT 1, DG 2d6, SV F2, ML 7] There is a 20% chance of burrow collapsing into loose rubble—save or fall into collapsing rubble. Depth of burrow is 10' (+2d10). There is a base 10% chance of sustaining a minor injury (twisted ankle, etc.) by falling down into the tunnel. The worms are otherwise mostly harmless, but edible if roasted.
6. Gray Worm (1d3) [AL N, MV 60' (20'), AC 6, HD 6, #AT 1 (bite), DG 1d8, SV F3, ML 9] The worms will only approach as far as area 2, no matter how tempting the prey. If they know that there is meat inside the place, they will wait for 2d4 hours, after which time they will forget why they are there and move on to look for something to eat.
7. Undead Giant Wasps (4d4) [AL C, MV 150', AC 7, HD 1d6 hit points, #ATK 1 (sting), DG 1d4, SV F2, ML 11] Mindless undead husks come swarming around any open fire-source and will attack anything that moves until they are destroyed.
8. Random Procession of the Damned (see Spell Description for details)

Area 1

This area immediately in front of Zilgor's Repose is heavily packed-down and strewn with the offal, remnants and cast-off bits from dozens of previous camps, caravans, and bandits that have used the place for shelter over the last few months.

If anyone cares to check, or has the ability to determine such things, the last visitor seems to have been here approximately 1d4 days ago. It was a small group. On foot. Moving away from the place.

Checking the immediate area will have a base 20% chance of finding some potentially useful odd-bit mixed in with the trash such as a small sack, some rope, a broken 4' pole, that sort of thing.

Area 1A

This niche holds a spore-pod from a recent victim of a Rulak attack. The pod is wrapped in green gauze saturated with a peculiar, nasty-smelling grease or rubbing compound of some sort that seems to have rendered the spore-pod dormant. For now.

Area 1B

This niche is occupied by the long-dead skeleton of a Drilg. It has been stripped of all possessions and summarily defiled at least twice by recent visitors.

Area 2

There used to be large statues in each of the alcoves flanking this entrance. You can tell by the battered remnants of their feet which are all that remain of the things. The sand from outside will not blow in any farther than this point. Passing beyond this point will cause a slight popping of the ears as everyone adjusts to a slightly different air pressure. Someone might notice that they can no longer hear what's going on outside.

Anyone looking closely will notice that there is a human-sized skeleton lying behind the over-sized statue-feet in one of the alcoves. Their skull was burst apart from inside from the effects of a Cerebral Conception spell. The thing that erupted forth from this unfortunate adventurer might be prowling around in the nearby area (30% chance), otherwise it has probably long gone on to better hunting prospects.

Area 3a

What was once a lovely painted bas relief has been smashed and broken down to reveal the passageway into the rest of the tomb. The gypsum-plaster employed by the tomb-builders contains several wax-coated Gore-worms that have lain dormant here for a long, long time. Passing over the rubble and collapsed mounds of plaster raises a good bit of dust and each person passing this area needs to make a Save (+1 bonus), or else release 1d4 Gore-worms.

Gore-worms (1d4) [AL C, MV 20', AC 9, HD 1d4 per worm, #AT 1, DG 1d4 blood drain per worm or infest, SV F2, ML 4] see entry at Hereticwerks for more details.

Area 3b

After a slight break, there is another mound of rubble and debris from the destruction of another false wall by a previous party of grave-robbers. This area has no real threat, other than to make anyone who encountered the Gore-worms in area 3a to seriously think about how they want to cross this space. There could be a slight (15% base chance) that the debris might shift and subside or collapse a bit more, possibly inflicting 1d4 damage to those caught in the sliding rubble.

Area 4

The Main Chamber. There is garbage strewn randomly about the floor and signs of at least three different camps. The walls are extensively defaced and covered in graffiti in a hundred languages, most of which are completely alien and unknown to the player characters.

This is a reasonably safe spot, though the air circulation leaves something to be desired, so any fire will require some effort to maintain, unless the player characters have magical means to assist in this sort of camp-making effort. Not taking proper precautions will fill the space with choking smoke for 1d4 hours.

Area 5

A small, square room once richly decorated with lots of hammered gold sheets—you can tell by the heavy nails still sticking out from the battered walls and the slight trace of gold here and there—nothing worth scraping up, just enough to tell the tale of former glories. The floor is covered with a foot-deep layer of fine, black sand that seems to be both full of static and slightly magnetized. Lying prone in the far corner is a body. Examining the body reveals it to be a goat-featured hybrid completely riddled with holes that pierce completely through him. Whatever killed this adventurer hit him hard and fast and all at once.

Careful examination of the black sand will reveal 1d4 disparate shards of bones, some of them possibly formerly human, mixed into the gritty sand, all of them splintered and pierced at regular intervals by some sort of almost mechanical-seeming series of blades. Just like the body. However, there is also a bone bottle containing a potion that has miraculously survived the horrific trauma that killed the hybrid adventurer.

The potion is a potion of Cure Critical Wounds. It has only one dose left.

NOTE: There are no wandering monsters until after the party enters this room. Once the Player Characters have entered this room, or even only disturbed the black sand, then all wandering monsters will originate from this very room each and every time one is called for by a roll of 1 on a D6.  See the Wandering Monster Matrix (below) for more details. 

Area 6

False Tomb. A heavily pitted and acid-scored dais rests at the center of this room. Atop it is the shattered, broken, burned and otherwise sorcerously defaced wreckage of a false sarcophaus. The wall paintings are barely discernible through the blasting and discoloration from acid. The floor is ankle deep in cold, gray grit. Crossing this floor requires a DEX check, once you succeed, it's no real problem to adjust posture and pace to keep from slipping and falling. Anyone who does fall takes 1d2 damage and will then spot a tumorous mass of wet-looking nodules crusted onto the ceiling. These are the egg-sacs of a small group of down-on-their-luck Arachnomites who've taken refuge in here after escaping from a sorcerer who tried to enslave them as dungeon-exploring cannon-fodder.

Arachnomites (2d4) [AL C/N*, MV 60', AC 6, HD 3, #AT 1 bite, DG 2d6+poison, SV F2, ML 10] Arachnomites are odd, gnome-sized spider-centaurs with a sickly yellow chitin splotched with brown and gray marks that make them seem suitably drab to lurk in dungeons. The Arachnomites are intelligent and if the player characters care to negotiate with the creatures, 1d4 of the things might be convinced to serve as mercenaries—but they will demand weapons, armor and any obvious poisons that they find in the course of their service.

*Note on Alignment: These Arachnomites are on the cusp between Chaotic and Neutral and it wouldn't take very much to tip them one way or the other, so it is definitely possible to sway them over to a more Neutral outlook if the Player characters make any attempt to negotiate, hire them, or parley with the elders.

Those Arachnomites who remain behind will attack anyone coming back this way from deeper inside the tomb. They are protecting a clutch of eggs and cannot take any chances, now that some of their warriors have left to seek their fortunes...

Area 7

A fabulous golden trapezoid hovers serenely above the floor, slowly turning counter-clockwise in a purplish luminosity that seems to be coming from nowhere. Magic is easily detected. The floor is covered with a fine black sand that is slightly magnetic. Just like in area 5. There is also another body here, this one half-buried in the black grit and as with their fellow victim in Area 5, this body is absolutely riddled with holes that go all the way completely through them. Careful examination or simply looking up will allow the party to spot what look like a thousand little apertures cut into the ceiling, each one of the slits exactly the same size as the wounds on both observable bodies.

Anyone entering the room and approaching the golden trapezoid will trigger the trap that has killed hundreds of would-be looters. When anyone is within 1' of the trapezoid 1,000 razor sharp spears of twisted electrum-chased black metal will slam down, impaling anyone who fails any of three consecutive Saves. Each failed Save means one more spear has gone through the victim for 1d6 damage, however making even one of the Saves means that all damage is halved.

The spears will withdraw back into the ceiling after 3d4 turns. This is a wicked, wicked potentially TPK sort of trap. There is a 50% chance that 1d4 of the Archnomites (if they have joined the party) go running into this room to grab the obvious loot...which will graphically demonstrate the workings of this trap without automatically killing or grievously injuring a player character.

Also, as a matter of trivia, any bodies left behind once the spears retract will slowly sink into the black sand, disappearing after 1d4 turns. Any body left to dissolve into the sand is non-recoverable and will eventually re-appear as a skeleton in Area 5 that will serve as a wandering monster in the future.

The Golden Trapezoid is a cross-planar echo of an object on another plane. It is intelligent and observing things. It has a vicious streak and hates clerics in particular, whom it will attempt to kill at every opportunity.

A combined STR of 24 will allow the group to snap off one or more of the spears before they retract. A spear is worth around 2d100 gp to the right buyer--however they are not of this plane and will draw a lot of sorcerous attention. (Double wandering monster checks both inside this place and out in the wasteland surroundings.)

Area 8

Mostly empty. The floor is covered with guano and there are a few dozen cracks that allow bats to nest in here overnight. The cracks are too small for anyone to use to escape. There are obvious indications that a few others have tried to dig their way out through here in the past, but no one has broken through yet. If anyone looks closely enough (use your discretion) they might spot a small parcel jammed into one of the cracks someone was trying to dig out. The parcel contains a half-full bottle of bourbon, some hardened cheese in crumbly waxed paper, 1d4 chunks of meat jerky and 2d4 copper coins.

The bats will pretty much ignore anyone in this room as they prefer the various nooks and crannies in the now exposed ceiling (the original plaster work has long ago fallen into dust and debris underfoot).

Area 9

More rubble and plaster debris. There seems to have been a passage here at one time but it is now a blank wall, as though it simply ceased to exist.

Trapped beneath this pile of debris is the semi-conscious form of Rudom the Peddler, a Hunchback (Grood)  who wanders the Obelisk Wastes bartering and trading with adventurers and caravans. He is carrying 2d4 Potions of Healing, 1d6 Potions of Extra Healing, and 2d4 random potions, some (50%) of which are merely snake-oil, patent medicine or hair tonic. His legs are trapped thoroughly by the rubble and he is willing to make a deal, should someone consider helping him out of this rather tight spot. Removing the rubble takes 2d6 turns and has a base 40% chance to hurt Rudom's legs, necessitating his use of a potion...which could cut down on the supply available for the Player Characters.

Rudom, Grood Potion-Peddler [AL N, MV 30', AC 5, HD 2+1, #AT 1 weapon, DG 1d6+poison (Save+1 or be paralyzed 1d4 turns), SV F2, ML 5] Rudom poisons his short sword, but he carries the antidote with him as well. He will keep his word, but he is rather anxious to get out of this place. If questioned, Rudom knows of a fortified oasis-monastery about one or two days walk from here where the characters might be able to rest-up, resupply and possibly get some help. 

NOTE: if Rudom has already been used or rescued/killed, then consult the Lone Survivors Table at Hereticwerks.

Area 10

A cool breeze blows towards you from this chamber. It is large and obviously slightly off-center, at least to where you are currently standing. The ceiling is a luminous dome of chalcedony tiles. At the center of the chamber is an elliptical black-edged Portal that changes its destination every three hours. This portal grants access to eight dead worlds. One of them presumably holds Zilgor's actual tomb. This is the secret of Zilgor's Repose. Those who return from this place bearing loot went through the portal.

After each hour spent in proximity to the portal, there is a cumulative 20% chance that something will come through from the otherside.

Encounters

1. Snake (1) [AL C, MV 90', AC 7, HD 2, #AT 2 (bite and sting), DG 1d6+poison/ad6+poison, SV F1, ML 6] A 9' long, translucent scaled serpent with a large stinger in the end of its tail. It is not happy to see you.
2. Animated Statue (1) [AL C, MV 30', AC 4, HD 3, #AT 2 (biting maces), DG 1d6+2/1d6+2, SV F3, ML 12] This statue has lost its feet. A quick WIS check will confirm that this is one of the missing statues from Area 2. It seems intent on driving off unwanted intruders and will fight to the bitter end, chasing anyone who flees all the way to Area 2, where it will again take up its usual place of duty. Its partner will appear in 1d10 turns. If this statue is destroyed, it will collapse into large shards, interspersed with diamond dust, which is what it used in place of blood. (There's easily 2d4x100GP worth of diamond dust if anyone wants to recover it.) The Biting-Maces are heavy-duty, +1 magical weapons that bite for an additional 1d6 damage whenever the wielder scores a 19 or better to hit. They are each worth 100 gp in working order.
3. Phorain (1) [AL N, MV *, AC 8, HD 6 (reduced to -6 hit points), #AT 0, DG 0, SV F6, ML 6] A terribly injured Phorain will lunge out of the portal just before it clicks over to another destination. The creature is mortally wounded and will expire within 1d4 turns. It is clutching a solid gold idol of a squatting, smiling monkey worth 1,000gp. It weights six hundred pounds. Light enough for a burly Phorain to lug around, but a real hassle for most adventurers of lesser stature. Attempting to break or cut the Monkey Idol will deliver a nasty electrical shock for 3d4 damage to everyone within a 10' radius. A second attempt will result in 4d4 damage within a 20' radius. It will escalate three times then it will simply explode for 10d8 damage, leaving no sign of it ever having been there.
4. Urglun (3d6) [AL C, MV 90', AC 4, HD 2+1, #AT 1, DG 1d8, SV F2, ML 10] These dim-witted homunculi soldiers will march into the room directly from the other side of the portal and proceed to attack any intruders, giving no quarter. Another group will arrive every fifteen minutes until the portal switches over to the next destination. Their weapons and armor are worth the basic prices in the LL rulebook. They will not negotiate nor will they parley. If the party flees, the Urglun will only follow as far as Area 4, where they will set-up a base camp for their masters, a group of adventurers who discovered a cache of Urglun birth-cylinders left-over from some forgotten war on the world they've been exploring through the portal. These people are 2^nd to 4^th level, and might hire-on a few obviously expendable adventurers to handle some dirty work for them...of course, they'd probably phrase things a bit more enticingly.
5. Roll on one of the Damned Things Tables to see what comes blowing through the portal.
6. Toad Zombies (2d4) [AL C, MV 30', AC 8, HD 2, +ATK 1 (bite), DG 1d4+rot, SV F1, ML n/a] A number of hopping, rotting, mindless toads tumble through the portal, some of them obviously missing limbs or with gaping eye-sockets. These wretched things are mindless and will attack the players, and anyone else within range until they are destroyed.
7. Flytaurs (2d6) [AL C, MV 120' (any surface), AC 5, HD 4, #ATK 2 (claws, weapons or spew), DG 1d6+1, 1d6+1/2d4+1 javelins or 3d4 serrated cleaver/2d6 acid, SV F4, ML 12] These are drone-soldiers, part of an advance guard. There are a lot, a LOT more of these things on the way, with another 1d6 arriving every half hour until the main group reaches the portal on the other side...then it'll be hundreds of the things, and their masters...
8. Drilg (2d4) [AL C, MV 70', AC 5, HD 2+1, #ATK 2 (horn or scimitar), DG 1d4+1/1d6, SV F2, ML 9] These Drilg are muddy, spattered and splattered with stinking black mud and algae from some vast swamp they've just escaped, or at least this group has escaped. Too bad about the magic-users. They got eaten by whatever those shambling vegetable-things were back there. These Drilg are exhausted from their trek through a terrible slough and they'd prefer to sit down and rest a bit before doing anything as strenuous as killing the player characters. One of the Drilg will attempt to hire the player characters to guard them while they rest-up a bit and then serve as mercenary-escorts to help them get back to one of the near-by coastal City-States. The Drilg have a few spare magic items shared between them and 46 GP. They will promise to pay the player characters the rest of their wages once they reach their commander's camp outside the walls of the City-State. They are telling the truth, and are dealing in good faith.

Wandering Monster Matrix

1. Skeleton (1d4) [AL C, MV 60', AC 7, HD 1, #ATK 1, DG 1d6, SV F1, ML 12]
2. Skeleton (2d4) [AL C, MV 60', AC 7, HD 1, #ATK 1, DG 1d6, SV F1, ML 12]
3. Skeleton (3d4) [AL C, MV 60', AC 7, HD 1, #ATK 1, DG 1d6, SV F1, ML 12]
4. Skeleton (4d4) [AL C, MV 60', AC 7, HD 1, #ATK 1, DG 1d6, SV F1, ML 12]
5. Ape Skeleton (1d4) [AL C, MV 90', AC 6, HD 1, #ATK 2 (claw/bite), DG 1d6+1/1d4, SV F2, ML 11]
6. Deformed Skeleton (2d4) [AL C, MV 40', AC 9, HD 3, #ATK 1, DG 1d6+1, SV F3, ML 6]
7. Cyclopean Skeleton (1d4) [AL C, MV 120', AC 5, HD 6, #ATK 1, DG 2d6, SV F4, ML 10]
8. Onager-folk Skeleton (1d4) [AL C, MV 90', AC 6, HD 1, #ATK 2 (kick, bite, weapon), DG 1d6/2d4/1d8, SV F2, ML 12]
9. Four-Armed Humanoid Skeleton (1d4) [AL C, MV 60', AC 7, HD 1, #ATK 2 (weapons), DG 1d6/1d6, SV F3, ML 12]
10. Serpentine Humanoid Skeleton (1d4) [AL C, MV 60', AC 7, HD 1, #ATK 3 (claws, bite, or tail-lash) DG 1d6,1d6/1d4/2d4 (+constriction for 1d4 additional on failed Save), SV F2, ML 12]

Notes
Wandering Monsters have no treasure. Their weapons are corroded and barely effective for them, and when pried loose from their bony grip, the weapons tend to fall to pieces (base 70% chance of crumbling to bits).

All Wandering Monsters originate in Area 5 and will not appear until after the Player Characters enter or disturb the contents of that room.

Playable Races: Rhinocerenary

Rhinocerenary

Requirements: STR 10, CON 10
Prime Requisite: STR and CON
Hit Dice: 2d6 at first level, 1d12 per additional level of Fighter
Maximum Level: No limit as Fighters, all other classes limited to 8th level

Rhinocerenaries as monsters are detailed in This Post.

No matter what class they are progressing in, all Rhinocerenaries know 1d4 random spells. They can cast at least one/day, possibly more depending on WIS, INT or CHAR. They can and do sometimes multi-class as Fighter/spell-casters, but must meet the requirements of the second class in order to do so.

A Rhinocerenary has several natural attacks, their fists do 1d4+1 (plus any STR bonus), they can Gore with their snout horn for 2d4 (plus STR bonus) and then attempt to Trample for an additional 2d4 damage if successful.

They can use nearly any weapon and can wear most forms of armor after spending time adjusting it to fit their massive frames. Most Rhinocerenaries know a thing or two about black smithing and armor-making/repair.  They need to; they aren't always in places where they can just get someone to work on their armor for them. So they tend to learn how to take care of things themselves.

Rhinocerenaries are always open to new and better offers. They might not turn on their previous employers, at least not right away, but they are certainly open to being hired away, should the offer be suitably generous. Some Rhinocerenaries might have a bit more scruples about these matters, but they are seen as bad at business and rarely lead more than a token force.

Rhinocerenaries suffer a -1 penalty to Morale for every week they go unpaid.

Rhinocerenaries do not build Strongholds. Instead they form Companies and seek to out-do their rivals in carrying out sieges, assaults, and other such services for their patrons, often gaining terrifying reputations based upon the atrocities they allow to be committed, but that's just good for business. There are some Companies that have adopted a stricter, morally upright code of conduct, but they do not generally strike fear into the hearts of their opponents, and so rarely get called in to handle the really dirty jobs...

Playable Races: Zaldrim

Zaldrim Player Characters

The Zaldrim as monsters are detailed in This Post.

Requirements: INT 12
Prime Requisite: INT and DEX
Hit Dice: D8/level regardless of class
Maximum Level: no limit as Magic User, all other classes to 10th

Zaldrim progress primarily as either Magic Users, Magic User/Fighters or Magic User/Thieves. In any case they never wear armor, but can use just about any magical weapon, device or item. They are never Clerics.

Zaldrim have a form of telepathy that they use in order to communicate with others in their own languages, but they cannot/will not use their own language away from their home plane under any circumstance.

Zaldrim use a form of clairvoyance to see into adjacent planes and are sensitive to both planar and temporal reality streams.

All Zaldrim use Detect Magic, Read Magic, and Analyze Device at will. They are immune to the effects of Trap the Soul, and cannot be hypnotized, charmed or possessed.

Zaldrim can burn-up CON points to shift themselves across Planar Levels, but prefer to make use of Transfer Mechanisms instead.

A Zaldrim can drain the enchantment from a magical weapon, piece of armor, or device in order to heal themselves. They gain 1d8 hit points for every +1 bonus that they drain. Potions of healing do double healing for them. Scrolls deliver 2d4 hit points of healing for every level of the spell thus consumed (and unlearned).

Likewise, a Zaldrim so inclined can invest their own hit points into items/weapons/devices to enhance them, but this takes time, effort and tends to be done within the safety of a stronghold (typically after 10th level). It generally requires an investment of no less than 60 hit points to begin the process.

They begin with the maximum number of spells known and can begin researching spells immediately at first level.

Magical Vulnerabilities

• Zaldrim suffer damage from Dispel Magic spells (treat Dispel Magic as a fireball effect that only affects the Zaldrim, this includes devices that radiate this effect.) They also cannot cast this spell themselves.
• Holy/Unholy Word will send the Zaldrim back to their home plane for 1d100 years.
• Magical Confusion causes 1d8 damage/level of the Zaldrith. A Zaldrim destroyed by magical Confusion explodes into a purplish fire ball inflicting 1d6 damage per level of the Zaldrim on all within a 20' level across 2d4 planes. If the unfortunate Zaldrim makes a second Save, they will regenerate on their home plane after 1d10X100 years, but will begin all over again at first level.
• Zaldrim cannot be Raised nor Resurrected by Clerics.

Lone Survivors: Table I

Lone Survivors of Previous Expeditions (D10)

1. Joramindre, Rhinocerenary [AL N, MV 90', AC 4, HD 4+1, #ATK 1 (gore, spell or weapon), DG 2d4+Trample, or by spell or weapon , SV F5, ML 4] Joramindre is a mercenary. He was hired to serve as back-up muscle for a party that got wiped out by a wicked, wicked trap that he only just escaped. His left flank is ragged with a series of regularly-spaced wounds that look like the work of a lot of very sharp blades descending all at once, with extreme prejudice.
2. Barm 11-23, Urglun [AL C, MV 90', AC 4, HD 2+1, #AT 1, DG 1d8, SV F2, ML 10] Something happened. Something bad. Bright. Bright and bad. Very bad. A shock of some sort has awakened a crude form of sentience within the brain of this homunculi and it is still trying to process just what it means to be capable of independent thought for the first time in its existence. It is in shock.
3. Padasha Greenfinger, Gronk (Dissenting Malcontent) [AL N, MV 40', AC 5, HD 4, #ATK 1 (Mace), DG 1d6+1, SV F4, ML 4] Padasha Greenfinger speaks of itself in third person and picks its over-sized nose in public, often while conversing with others. It is a deserter from the great Gronk Army. This Gronk has taken heavy damage to its brain-case and is slightly delusional, but far more tractable than a typical Gronk. He is on a one-Gronk mission to bring down Gronk Central Command.
4. Glood, Koponu 'Living Torchette' [AL C, MV 40', AC 7, HD 1, #ATK 1 +slime, DG 1d4 +poison, SV 0-level human, ML 3] Glood is down to 3 hit points and wants desperately to go home. He was originally serving as a living torchette for a party that was ambushed from behind by masked hybrid warriors who were hunting around for body-parts to sell to the grafters in one of the caravans passing through this area.
5. Boj, Liboorean Acephali warrior [AL C, MV 10', AC 8, HD 1, #ATK 1, DG 1d4 or by weapon, SV F1, ML 6] Boj is now blind in one eye and his left leg is partly turned to stone. His movement is reduced to 10'. He remembers getting ambushed by some sort of chicken-thing. It turned his leg to stone. He hates chickens.
6. Jalm, Pseudohuman merchant [AL L, MV 90', AC 5, HD 2, #ATK 1 (Light crossbow), DG 2d4+2,  SV F3, ML 12] Jalm is unharmed, not even dirty, but they survived the complete massacre of their own group of explorers who were poking about in this place...
7. Daldrea, Jaladari Trinket-Seller [AL C, MV 160', AC 5, HD 4, #ATK 3 (weapon or spell), DG 1d6+1 or by spell, SV F4, ML 6] Daldrea has lost one of her arms, her Umbra-Blade, and most of her stock of trinkets and charms. What weapons she has, she scavenged from the corpses of her companions and bodyguards. Her group were simple merchants who took shelter here during a storm only to be set upon by a band of roving Onager-folk who butchered them in the night without warning. She has 1d6 random charms hidden in the folds of her robes that she will attempt to use to bargain for some assistance.
8. Rutius, Marmot Scribe [AL N, MV 120', AC 7, HD 2, #ATK 2 (Bite or weapon), DG 1d6 or by weapon, SV F2, ML 3] Severely wounded, Rutius can only barely keep his pet Blatherer Yildimere in its bent and partly broken cage.
9. Jalajamadal, Human thief [AL N, MV 120', AC 6, HD 2, #ATK 1 (Sabre), DG 1d6+1, SV F2, ML 8] Horribly wounded, bleeding profusely, Jalajamadal stumbles in front of your party, delirious and on the very verge of death. If saved, he knows the location of a cache of loot left from his previous party.
10. Vug, Scrapmonger [AL C, MV 120', AC 5, HD 2, #AT 1 (sword), DG 1d6, SV F3, ML 9] Unconscious but breathing, this masked hybrid (goatish features, hooves instead of feet, haunches, otherwise reasonably almost-human) lies atop a mound of dead bodies, mostly insect-things that have been chopped to bits and pieces. He is poisoned and requires a lot of medical care, or else he will expire. Rescuing this creature will cause the other Scrapmongers in the area to hold off on killing your group outright and could open the doors to some form of negotiation or exchange.

Gloomswallow (Wermspittle)

Gloomswallow
No. Enc.: 1
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 90'
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 3+3
Attacks:
Damage:
Save: F4
Morale: 11

Special: Passwall, True Seeing, Discern Emotion, Locate Dreamer, and ESP at will. Most can also cast Shadow Theft, as well as 1d4 random spells, usually those of an Oneiric, Umbral or Ectoplasmic nature.

Gellid and tentacular masses of noisome oneiric filth, the Gloomswallows are only vaguely aware or in any means sentient. More than anything they are rancid parasitical prowling-things that move around at the very peripheries of consciousness, seeking to scavenge fragments of dreams, cast-off figments and vulnerable memories or denied sensations. They are drawn in particular to repressed memories, suppressed urges and deeply buried emotions -- denial is nectar and meat to them and they seek it out in all its myriad forms.

These creatures move freely through the lower astral/ethereal regions, the Oneirium and related zones. Physical barriers mean nothing to these writhing horrors who mock natural bilateral symmetry in their every motion due to some twisted and abstract expression of reflection. This mockery of the natural order leaves these things vulnerable to mirrors and the sorcerous predation of dopplegangers, contrarials and other such reflectomorphic beings and beasts.

Gloomswallows attack with their spells until such time as they feel they can score an easy hit with their translucent tentacles. Should the Gloomswallow's tentacles hit their target, the victim must make a Save or have the tentacles infiltrate their flesh and begin to drain away their emotions. It generally takes only 1 turn per level/hit die of the victim to drain it of all emotion. This effect will persist each day that the victim fails a Save. Each day of being devoid of emotion there is a cumulative -1 penalty to the Save. Those victims who fail more than four such Saves are rendered permanently emotionless, requiring them to re-roll their WIS with a -2 penalty, and re-roll their INT on 4D6 with a +1 bonus (discarding the lowest roll), and they become cold, calculating, logical and rational to an extreme--and utterly devoid of all emotion, warmth or affect.

It is hinted at in certain texts that it may be possible to restore or recover the emotions ripped away by the Gloomswallow's attack, but it requires the cooperation of the victim and many of them are so changed by their ordeal that they see no reason to make the effort, indeed some are quite a bit better off than before the attack, as they see it. Their friends, family and associates may not agree.

Gloomswallows are especially attracted to lonely mathematicians, monasteries, convents and prisons all of which they prey upon with vigor and great appetite. There are also those driven to achieve greatness in fields of intellectual endeavor who willingly seek out these things that they might gain some edge over their rivals. Most of the time this ends in tragedy. Truly emotionless beings are not completely human any longer, and society is ill equipped to accept them as anything other than freaks, emotionally deformed caricatures, or bogey-man villains. Far from being a boon to research, the soul-deadening embrace of the Gloomswallow tends to kill creativity, stifle invention and impair the imagination.

ESP and strong emotions unhindered by doubt, denial or artifice can be used to inflict damage upon a Gloomswallow and will often be enough to drive them off, for a while. But anything intense enough to drive them off is also exactly the sort of thing that they most wish to prey upon given half a chance.