A tournament adventure for the AD&D game
 

Adventures	-	Dragon magazine	-	1st Ed. AD&D
-	-	The Twofold Talisman	-	-
Ground level map	Upper level map	-	-	-

Players' introduction
The travels of your party have brought
you to Jalkive, the capital city of a small
kingdom. The 8 members of your party <link>
are close companions; you trust and rely on
each other completely. In Jalkive, you plan
to take a break from the rigors of adventure
and spend some of the wealth you have
gathered. Entertainment is plentiful here --
for those who can afford it. The local citizenry,
however, has little wealth; the residents
of Jalkive live in poverty under the
rule of the city's powerful guildmasters.

While you relax at a local inn, chuckling
with your companions over great exploits
past, a hooded stranger slips quietly into a
chair at your table. "I must speak with
you," he whispers, "on a matter of gravest
urgency. I am the servant of the wizard
Mekkari, and I, contact you on his behalf  --
for the good of the city of Jalkive.

"You must know that the guildmasters
exert great power here. They tax us outrageously,
and only those accepted by the
guilds can hope to attain wealth or power.
My master Mekkari is a powerful magician
who rebelled against the guildmasters. For
this, they banished him from the kingdom
and confiscated his belongings.

"Some of his possessions were special
indeed. My master owned 2 gems of
extraordinary power, the Heart of Light and
the Ebon Stone. People say that these talismans
maintain the balance of good and evil
in Jalkive. I cannot say whether this is true,
but I do know that with the gems, my master
may be able to undo the guildmasters'
power.

"The unfortunate thing is that Mekkari
does not have either of these stones now.
For all his good qualities, he is more than a
little forgetful. Although he knows the
Heart of Light is hidden in his country
mansion, he. has forgotten where he put it.
The guildmasters don't know about the
failure of his memory, and they have set
guardians before the estate to prevent him
from returning, but have not ordered their
soldiers to enter his home for fear of the
traps and guards within. As for the Ebon
Stone, the guildmasters have seized that
gem and carried it away.

"Mekkari has authorized me to assemble
a group of stalwart souls who would attempt
to enter his mansion and recapture the
Heart of Light for him. In the name of
Mekkari, will you help us?"

The stranger tells the truth; of that, you
are sure. Whether for a possible reward, for
the lure of adventure, or simply to assist
someone in need, you decide to undertake <do you decide?>
the mission.

DM's introduction
The servant gives the adventurers 2
drawings. The first portrays a white gem of
tremendous brightness; the second shows a
deep black stone that suggests mystery and
danger. Players do not need actual drawings
of the gems, but characters who have
viewed the drawings will recognize the real
Heart of Light and Ebon Stone when they
see them.

The servant also gives the party directions
to Mekkari's mansion, located in the
hills several miles from Jalkive. If this module
is played as part of a campaign, the
adventure may end at the conclusion of the
quest or may be continued in any manner
the referee sees fit. In tournament play, the
1st adventure ends when four hours (real
time) have passed, or when the characters
escape from the mansion and think they
have obtained the Heart of Light.

The servant doesn't know how, or
whether, Mekkari may reward the adventurers
for the quest, but in response to a
question on this topic, he will say that his
master is generous to those who serve him
well. He asks the PCs to leave
at dawn the next day. The DM may invent
an appropriate reward if using this adventure
in a regular campaign, and may invent
his own NPC version of the wizard
Mekkari, if desired. The servant is a 0-level
human, AC 10, with 4 HP.

The DM should distribute character
information to the players before the Players'  Introduction is read to them; players
should make spell selections for their characters,
using the lists of available spells at <link>
the end of the module, after the introduction
is finished. The character information
sheets list the equipment the characters
carry; nothing more may be added before
the adventure begins. The spell lists contain
those spells available to the magic-users,
clerics, and the illusionist; no other spells
may be substituted in tournament play. In a
campaign setting, spell-casting characters
should select and obtain their spells for the
day before the adventure begins.

The players should be told that the saving
throws on their characters' sheets reflect all
bonuses for constitution and magic items.
However, the "to hit" information shows
only the characters' base scores; bonuses for
strength and magic must be added when
appropriate.

The approach
The following text should be read aloud
to the players to start the adventure:

"When the sun rises, the gates of Jalkive
already lie far behind you. Ahead, the wide
main road curves gently through lightly
wooded hills. A few miles from the city, a
narrow lane branches off from the main
road; you follow it, leaving the merchants
and other travelers behind. The lane,
poorly maintained, twists steeply upward
through the woods. No other travelers come
into view. The lane narrows even more as it
continues to wind sharply upward. Then, a
large house suddenly looms into view as the
party rounds a sharp corner in the path. A
10-foot-high wall is visible about 100 feet
away, and from what you can see the wall is
still quite a distance from the mansion
itself."

Players may now decide to either have
their characters: 1) leave the path and scout
around or 2) follow the path toward the
wall.

Scouting around
If they scout around, characters will
discover that the 10' wall completely encircles
the mansion, except for where a large
front gate is set into the stone, at the point
where the path intersects with the wall.
Thieves can attempt to climb the outer wall,
and when they make it up to the 2-foot-wide
top edge, they can help others up with a
rope. When the characters get to the top
edge, the DM should provide players with a
hand-drawn sketch similar to the crosssection
diagram reproduced here, depicting
a rough-textured slope on the inside of the <WSG>
wall that extends down into an empty moat.
This sketch should not be identical to the
diagram printed on this page, because that
would give away the illusionary aspects of
the sloping wall and the moat.

From the vantage point on the top of the
wall, the characters look down upon a complex
illusion. The rough wall is actually
smooth, as indicated by the gray area on the
diagram, and water and fish fill the moat to
a depth of 10 feet. If characters touch the
rough wall, it will feel smooth; the illusion is
not removed by physical contact. Only
dispel illusion or dispel magic will make the
wall appear as it actually is (if the dispel is
successfully cast against 14th-level magic).
A dispel magic cast upon the ditch will
reveal the water, but the fish will remain
hidden beneath its murky surface. Detect
illusion will show what appears to be an
empty ditch with a very smooth slope dropping
into it from the wall. (In tournament
play, all dispel magic will be successful
automatically.)

The fish are quippers (AC 8; MV 9";
HD 1/2; HP 1; D/Att 1-2). Whenever a
character slays a quipper, another quipper
comes to take its place. The DM doesn't
have to keep track of the fish, since hundreds
live in the moat, and hundreds will
still be there to attack no matter how many
the characters kill.]

The sharply sloping inner wall is completely <slope=x>
frictionless. Unless descending characters
hang onto a rope or somehow secure
themselves, they will slide down into the
water as soon as they move out onto the
sloping surface. After a character lands in
the water, 1-20 quippers will attack that
individual in the next round. If any quipper
attacks successfully in the 1st round, a full
20 quippers will attack in the following
round, biting twice each round. If all the
quippers attacking in the 1st round fail to
hit, it is only 40% likely that they will attack
the same character again on the next
round.

If a character wears leather or magical
armor, he can swim to the opposite side of
the moat and climb out in 1 round. He
cannot climb back up the frictionless wall
without a rope, but the opposite wall of the
moat is rough; a character can climb that
side without assistance.

A character who wears any non-magical
armor other than leather will automatically
sink to the bottom of the moat in the same
round that he falls in. In 1 round afterward,
he can make his way to the rough
slope on the other side and then climb up in
1-4 more rounds.

At the start of each round after the 1st,
the DM should roll 1d20 for each character
in the moat to check for drowning. If the
result surpasses the character's CON,
the character drowns. After 5 consecutive
rounds in the moat, a character will drown
automatically, even if he passes all of his
CON checks. Characters can be
rescued before they die, of course.

Note: Quippers will 1st attack characters
who sink underwater. An underwater character
can counter-attack only with a spear,
dagger, short sword, or similar thrusting
weapon; swimming characters can only use
a dagger. No other weapons work in the
water (as per underwater combat rules in
the DMG).

Approaching the gate
If characters come along the lane and
approach the front gate directly, the first
things they will notice are 2 large statues
of apes, apparently made of pink stone,
standing before both sides of the front gate.
The statues -- actually stone golems -- will
notice any character who comes along the
lane to within 60 feet of the doors. The
guildmasters had these golems installed here
to keep Mekkari and his allies away, and
also paid to have magic mouth spells cast
upon each of them. Once and once only, to
each character who approaches, the golems
will ask, "Friend or foe?" For good results,
the character should answer as if the question
were "Friend |or| foe of Mekkari?" If
the character answers "foe," the golems will
TURN and push the doors open, allowing that
character to pass without resistance. If any
character answers "Friend," the golems will
stand blocking the doorway, and will attempt
to keep the "Friend" from entering.
No 2nd chances are possible where this
answer is concerned.

The golems will NOT hinder any character
who scales the outer wall and gets across the
moat (see "Scouting around," above),
regardless of how that character may have
answered the question. Anyone who doesn't
answer and then tries to get through the
doorway is treated as a "Friend."

The golems will not attack "FRIENDS" with
intent to kill, but will stand blocking each
side of the double-doored iron gate. If a
"friend" attempts to get past them or tries
to attack one of them, that golem will throw
off a slow spell that affects the offending
character for 20 rounds. Each golem can do
this only once, and the magic offers no
saving throw.

Then, with the slowed character and each
offender encountered thereafter, the golems
will try to grab characters and throw them
away from the gate, needing an 8 to hit
(grab) AC 0. The grab does no damage, but
the toss will be a distance of 10-60 feet, and
the character will suffer 1 point of damage
for each 10 feet thrown.

The golems serve primarily to harass the
party; none of the PCs in the
tournament game can effectively attack a
stone golem, which forces them to take the
tougher route into the mansion (over the
wall). In any event, if the golems are somehow
neutralized, none of the tournament
PCs (singly or in a group) are strong
enough to force open the massive iron
doors. If a "friend" somehow manages to
slip past the golems and move through the
gate after they have opened it, the golems
will not pursue that character into the area
inside the wall.

The path to the mansion
After characters overcome these obstacles
(moat, gate, or both), they will notice a
path parallel to the inner bank of the moat.
This path encircles the mansion grounds;
other paths diverge from the main route
periodically, leading off into the woods.
These secondary paths appear to have been
designed for scenic walks, and wind lazily
through the trees.

The trees stand 20' to 50' high. The
paths measure 5' across, and are somewhat
overgrown with weeds. Eventually all of the
secondary paths run into another inner
path, which circles a smaller moat. The
mansion lies beyond. Clear water fills this
moat, revealing fish swimming below the
water's surface.

If a PC approaches the inner moat, fish
congregate in the water like a small mob,
gazing up with open mouths and following
the character as he walks. The fish resemble
quippers, but they're a harmless species.
The moat is 10' deep, like the outer moat.
If anyone tries to swim across, the fish act
just like quippers, nibbling frantically at the
character but inflicting no damage. (DMs
should roll dice as if the fish were attacking,
but ignore the results). The PCs may cross
this moat like the previous one, except that
either bank can be climbed. Otherwise the
situation is the same, including chances for
drowning.

The characters cannot jump across this
moat. If they don't want to swim it, they
can try to cross the wooden bridge leading
to the front side of the mansion. An unarmed <link>
elf stands on the other side of the
bridge, dressed in green clothes. For reasons <clothes=xi>
detailed below, the elf cannot be surprised.
Unless characters attack him, he will
act in a carefree, casual manner. He offers
absolutely no response to questions, though
he watches the characters carefully. If a
character casts a spell on the elf, see the
description below. Detect evil/good has no <link>
effect. Detect magic reveals that the elf is
magical

.

As soon as a character sets foot on the
bridge, the elf will point at him, and instantly
the PC must save vs. spell (as for
will-force magic) or be seized with fear for 6
rounds. Once stricken by fear, the PC will
run into the woods to hide; he won't come
out until the fear wears off or a remove fear
spell is CAST upon him. The elf can inflict
fear once per round within 180', affecting
1 victim at a time.

Anyone who reaches the other side of the
bridge finds the elf facing him at a 30'
distance. The elf will shake his head and
motion for the party to leave the area. If
this order is refused or the elf is attacked,
the "elf" shows his true nature; it is actually
a polymorphed green slaad. The slaad will
attack fearlessly until the characters flee or
die, or it is slain.

The slaad?s statistics are: AC 3, MV 9?,
HD 9+3, HP 35, D/Att 2-1 6 bite/3-8 claw/
3-8 claw. A +1 or better weapon is needed to
hit it. Its special powers include: ESP
(which prevents surprise in tournament
play), cause fear, polymorph self and detect
invisibility. Other slaad powers have been
constrained by spells that Mekkari's enemies
placed upon the creature. The slaad
can use 1 of its powers once per round at
will. It has 50% magic resistance.

The green slaad cannot enter the mansion
or cross the moat; it is forced to stay on
the inside of the moated area next to the
mansion. If slain, the creature disappears
completely. It has no treasure.

The Manshion
A set of heavy oaken doors serves as the
only entrance to Mekkari's mansion. The
outer walls are enchanted to be super-slick,
but they appear rough. They cannot be
climbed.

A knocker with an imp's face is bolted to
each of the oaken doors. If the characters
approach, one "imp" asks the following
questions of the lead character:

    1) What is your name?
    2) What is your quest?
    3) What is your favorite color?

The character's answers do not matter;
the doors are not locked, and they can be
opened at any time. Attacking the knockers
has no effect; they are here to DELAY the
party. The PCs can safely ignore them.

Special notes on the interior
1) Everything in the mansion radiates a
magical aura, though most objects do nothing
unusual. Magical effects, where they
exist, are at the 16th level of ability.

2) All ceilings are 10' high.

3) Characters must roll to open doors as
usual, but all inhabitants of the house may
open doors just by touching them. If a door
is left open, it closes in 1 round.

4) Locate object will NOT reveal the location
of the Heart of Light, but will work on
any other nonliving object in the house.

5) When random items are called for,
turn to the list at the end of the adventure
and roll for a result listed there. In non-tournament
play, extra items may be added.

6) Characters cannot cut through walls,
ceilings, or floors in the mansion, though
they may damage or destroy any of the
thick oaken doors in the interior if they
want to.

1: Entry hall
10' x 40' ; 4 doors; thickly carpeted.

    In this room, footsteps make no sound. A
10' wide stairway leads up to a landing,
then branches up to the left and right. A
door stands on each side of the entry hall;
both doors are closed. A continual light
spell illuminates the hallway from above the
center of the hall. Oil paintings of men and
women line the walls; anyone who touches
them discovers they are wet and smear
easily. In each picture, the eyes of the subject
seem to follow the party.

West alcove: A full suit of plate mail armor
including a closed helm stands here. A
halberd is clutched in the glove. If a PC
touches the suit, he takes 2-8 points of
electrical damage. Then the armor falls
apart, and the halberd tumbles into the
alcove. Neither the suit nor the halberd is
exceptionally valuable.

East alcove: A huge stuffed wolf, 4' high
at the shoulder, stands in this alcove. The
wolf does nothing but look dangerous.

A thorough SEARCH of the entry hall produces
1 random item after 10 minutes,
but nothing else.

2: Library
15' x 15', plus tower 20' in diameter; 2
doors; thick carpeting.

Bookshelves line the curved wall in this
room, extending from floor to ceiling.
There seems to be no way to reach the
higher shelves. A 5' diameter circular table
rests in here, over which a continual light
spell has been cast. 6 chairs line the walls <chair=x>
in the square part of the room (2 in each
corner).

Standing right where the "2" is on the
map is an animated ogre skeleton (9' tall;
AC 7; MV 12"; HD 5; HP 30; D/Att 1-10;
immune to sleep, charm, hold, or cold
attacks; fire does normal damage; blunt
weapons do full damage, but sharp ones do
half damage; holy water does 2-8). The
skeleton wears black robes and an iron
crown, and carries a huge staff. The creature
strongly resembles a huge lich. <Priests>
cannot TURN the skeleton, because of the
special enchantments placed upon it.

When the party enters the room, the
skeleton looks down on them, awaiting their
orders. The skeleton only follows orders to:
1) retrieve books from the shelves; 2) attack
intruders (if told to do this, it attacks the
party); or 3) keep standing and do nothing.
If the party gives no commands, the skeleton
just stands and watches. If attacked, the
skeleton defends itself with the staff.

The books in the library are written in
common, elven, and dwarven, and concern
history, geography, and politics. Like practically
every other object in the mansion,
they're covered with dust.

If the PCs search the library, they discover
1 random item after 10 minutes, or
2 after 20 minutes. <link>

3: Parlor
15' x 15'; 2 doors; thick carpeting

Pink silk wall hangings adorn the walls of
this room. A long couch sits against the
west wall, facing a huge mural of field
flowers to the east. If anyone sits on the
couch, the doors in the room swing shut
and become wizard locked. Flying insects
begin to pour out of the enchanted picture,
attempting to sting everyone in the room.
Characters cannot effectively swat the insects,
because too many of them appear.
Only smoke |or| fire drives the insects away.
After 10 rounds, the little pests return to the
enchanted picture to wait for their next set
of victims. They will not leave the room. If
characters search the room for 10 minutes,
and look under the couch during that time,
they will find 1 random item. <link>

4: Great hall
10 ' x 50 '; 5 normal doors, 1 secret door;
hardwood floor.

A continual light spell illuminates the
great hall. If a character enters the hall, roll
d6 to determine the hall's inhabitants. After
every 30-minute period, roll again if a
character enters. Results for each die roll
are as follows:

    1) 6 giant rats (1' long). The rats
    attack if they outnumber the party;
    otherwise, they flee to room 12. (AC 7;
    MV 12"; HD 1; HP 4 each; D/Att 1-3)

    2) 4 giant warrior ants (2' long). The
    ants always attack. (AC 3; MV 18"; HD
    3; HP 15; D/Att 2-8 + poison sting for
    3-12, or 1-4 if save vs. poison is made)

    3) 2 volts. They always attack. (AC 3;
    MV 6" flying; HD 2+1; HP 10; immune
    to electrical attacks; D/Att 1-4; if bite
    hits, the volt cannot be removed from
    the victim's neck and drains 1-4 HP per
    round thereafter; also will lash at victim
    with tail for 2-12 electrical damage once
    it is attached; no "to hit" roll needed
    for tail)

    4-6) Room is empty.

5: Storeroom
10 ' x 10 '; 2 doors; hardwood floor.

Shelves line the walls of this darkened
room, holding linens, tools, and empty jars.
After characters SEARCH for 1 turn, they find
a jar with a large, cut gemstone inside. The
stone is clear, like a diamond, but any dwarf
or gnome would know it's cheap quartz
crystal (1 gp). The crystal bears no resemblance
to the Heart of Light.

The door opposite the entryway bears a
sign marked "To the Furnaces." The door is
warm to the touch. Anyone who opens it
feels a blast of warm air and sees a long
stairway leading down, curving to the left.
The stairway seems to go on forever, because
of a powerful illusion placed upon it.
No matter how long characters descend the
stairs, they never seem to reach the bottom,
yet the air grows hotter and hotter.
Strangely enough, the characters can go
back up the stairs in 1 round, no matter
how long they descended them.

A detect illusion reveals that the stairwell
ends just after the 1st turn, before a solid
wall. The illusion makes the characters
march in place in front of the wall. If a
character attempts to disbelieve the illusion,
he may save vs. spell to end the illusion's
effects on him. Dispel illusionor dispel
magic will remove the illusion for good.

Note: If characters look back up the stairs
while descending, the top appears farther
and farther away. Therefore, ascending the
stairs in such a short time will seem doubly
amazing.

6: Minor laboratory
10 ' x 25 '; 1 secret door; hardwood floor.

This room is completely dark. It is filled
with work-benches, shelves, and cabinets, all
of which contain alchemical equipment --
bottles of strange liquids, unknown powders,
etc. A large stone urn covered by a lid
stands in the southwest corner of the room.
Removing the lid requires the same die roll
as opening a door. The moment the lid is
off, smoke pours out of the urn, filling the
room and any areas beyond an open door.
The smoke fills the available AREA in 1
round, effectively blinding all characters for
1 turn (10 rounds) thereafter, after which
the smoke begins to fade. Blinded characters
have a -4 "to hit" on all attacks. DMs
may place a small monster here in non-tournament
play.

If characters smash the alchemical equipment,
they have a 25% cumulative chance
per round of setting off an explosion for 4-
16 points of damage per character, inflicted
upon everyone in the room. Anyone who
drinks |or| eats a substance from this room
must save vs. poison or die.

A careful SEARCH of the room reveals 1
random item per turn until 3 items are <link>
found.

7: Servant's bedroom
20' diameter tower, plus 10 ' x 10 ' AREA; 1
door;  thick carpeting.

This room contains a bed, bookshelves,
and chairs. A careful SEARCH lasting at least <chairs=x>
1 turn will produce a slip of paper with
these words: "Remember to return Mickey's
beholder to him as soon as possible."

Under the bed lies a box (locked and
trapped) that contains 100 platinum pieces.
A thief may try to open the box and remove
the trap (a poisoned needle, save vs. poison
at +2 or sleep for 24 hours). A note lies
inside the box, reading: "Put this with the
rest of the cash down in the furnaces."

Characters will find nothing else in the
room.

8: First aid room
10 ' x 15 '; 1 door + 1 secret door; hardwood
floor

The door to this room bears a sign that
says "Do Not Open." Anyone who opens
the door discovers that it is actually a huge
killer mimic (see below), and the PC's hand
sticks to the doorknob. The door then
punches the character for 3-12 points of
damage per round, attacking until it is
slain. Once the mimic dies, the character
stuck to the doorknob can pull free. The
mimic (AC 7; HD 9; HP 45) is large. Only
2 other characters besides the one stuck to
the door may attack it.

A large table stands inside the room. A
jar rests on the table, with a yellow smiling
"happy face" for a label. The jar contains
5 applications of Keoghtom's ointment
(heals 9-12 points per application, plus <neutralize>
poison and cure disease).

The room contains nothing more besides
the secret door in the west wall.

9: Secret room
10’ x 5'; 1 secret door; hardwood floor.
A FEAR spell strikes any character who
goes through the secret door (save vs. spell
applicable). If the save fails, the character
runs (or tries to run) for 10 rounds to get
out of the mansion and into the surrounding
woods. Opening a door takes 1 round,
but crossing a room takes essentially no
time at all.

Anyone who saves vs. spell and enters the
room finds a small teddy bear labeled
"Pooky" in the south part of the room.
Pooky acts like a ring of protection +3 for
anyone who carries him.

The room contains nothing else.

10: Kitchen
10’ x 50’ plus 20’ diameter tower; 1 door +
1 secret door; hardwood floor.

The kitchen is extremely hot. Under the
illumination of a continual light spell, characters
can see that the room is in complete
disarray. Shelves line the walls, and a round
stone table sits under the light. The table's
surface is magically hot; if touched, it inflicts
4 points of damage. Rectangular paper
boxes lie all over the kitchen, filled with
moldy food. Empty wine bottles litter the
floor, all of them labeled "Mad Dog #5:
Our Best For Live-Alone Bachelors." Rat
droppings cover the floor, though no rats
are present.

2 giant warrior ants wait in the west
end of the kitchen, and will attack anyone
who enters. (2' long; AC 3; MV 18"; HD
3; HP 15; D/Att 2-8 + poison sting for 3-12,
or 1-4 if save vs. poison is made)

Careful searching reveals 1 random <link>
item per turn for a maximum of 2 turns.
The first item includes a note asking
"Where is Mickey's beholder? It was in the
museum yesterday, but seems to have been
moved. Your faithful butler."

11: The itty-bitty room
5’ x 5'; 1 door; hardwood floor.

The door is marked "Express Exit."
Inside, the room is dark and completely
empty. Anyone who steps inside must save
vs. spell or be teleported outside to the 2
pink stone apes (golems) at the front gates.
The pink apes challenge the newcomer(s)
immediately. Of course, at the adventure's
end, this quick exit could prove very useful.

The stairway next to the room ascends to
the next floor, 15' above.

12: Dining room
30’ x 20'; 5 doors; hardwood floor.

A crystal chandelier hangs from the center
of the ceiling, suspended over a 20'
long, 5' wide dining table. Numerous
continual light spells shine from the huge
fixture. Many landscape paintings hang on
the walls, and dust covers everything. The
table is bare, and 12 chairs sit around it
-- labeled "Sleepy," "Grumpy," "Doc,"
"Dopey," etc. (Make up names as needed.)

3 volts hide in the bright chandelier,
but no one can see them until they levitate
down, surprising opponents on a d6 roll of
1-4. They will attack immediately. (AC 3;
MV 6" flying; HD 2+1; HP 10; immune to
electrical attacks; D/Att 1-4; if bite hits, the
volt cannot be removed from the victim's
neck and drains 1-4 HP per round thereafter;
also will lash at victim with tail for 2-12
electrical damage once it is attached; no "to
hit" roll needed for tail)

SEARCHING the room reveals 1 item after <link>
one turn of searching, but nothing further.

13: Closet
5’ x 5'; 1 door; hardwood floor.

Expensive silverware fills this closet.
Picking up all the items takes only 1 turn.
However, if PCs take the treasure out of the
mansion, the silver becomes extremely
heavy. Anyone who carries even a single
fork will be suddenly pinned to the ground
by the weight. The victim stays pinned until
the silver is discarded.

14: Lounge
10’ x 15’ plus 20’ diameter tower; 2 doors;
carpeted floor.

The lounge is very dark. Chairs line the <chairs=x>
walls of the tower, all of them facing a small
table on which a 12-inch-diameter crystal
globe lies. Moldy food and rat-chewed <food=x>
paper litter the floor. Next to the globe lies a
note that reads, "Mekkari, I know you're
busy, but I want my beholder back. Mickey
the Great."

If anyone touches the crystal ball, it
activates; a picture forms inside. Voices
come from within, speaking a strange language.
Viewers can see an oddly dressed,
hysterical red-haired woman, arguing with
a dark-haired man. He speaks very quickly,
while unseen people laugh continuously. If a
character watches this scene for more than 1
round, he falls asleep, as if hit by a sleep
spell. He sleeps for one hour, unless someone
(or something) wakes him by force. The
show seems to go on forever, except for
interruptions once every turn in which the
words "I Love Lucy" appear briefly before
the scene re-forms again. Once activated,
the ball cannot be turned off.

If characters SEARCH the room for 1 <link>
turn, they will find 2 random items.

15: Museum
30’ x 20’ plus 20’ diameter tower; 3 doors;
hardwood floor.

As characters reach the top of the stairs,
they can look into a large area lit by 2
continual light spells. Lining the walls are
suits of armor, weapons racks holding every
sort of polearm, and several stuffed animals
(grizzly bear, moose, manticore, spotted
lion, and minotaur). Nothing happens
unless the PCs touch something. Then the
minotaur comes to life (he wasn't really
stuffed), snatching a huge axe off the wall
behind him. He attacks until slain. (8' tall;
AC 6; MV 12"; HD 6+3; HP 40; D/Att
l-10 (halberd) plus bite for 1-4)

A SEARCH of the room reveals the following
message on the floor: "Hovering above this
plaque is a dreaded beholder, which is held
here by mighty spells and cannot escape."
Nothing hovers over the spot, of course.
After 1 turn, the search reveals 1 random <link>
item.

Characters will notice that the door to 18
is marked "Treasure Room" in 145 different
tongues, including all the languages that
the PCs can read.

16: Plant laboratory
20’ x 15’ plus 20’ diameter tower; 2 doors;
hardwood floor.

A darkness spell keeps the plant lab dark.
The spell renders torches, lanterns, and
infravision useless in this room. But a dispel
magic, light, or continual light spell negates
the darkness completely, though the spells
cancel each other out and another light
source is needed for illumination after the
magical darkness is gone.

The room smells awful. Dozens of growing
trays with mushrooms line shelves about
the room. Eating 1 of these mushrooms
has no effect on a character.

A large black box rests in the room; it is
wooden and measures 7' x 3'. A character
who opens the box will find a layer of dirt
within, which appears recently disturbed. If
characters do anything more than open the
box (e.g., move it or touch the dirt), they
will awaken a huge warrior ant that rests
below the surface. The ant will leap out,
landing on a nearby character and attacking.
Because it has stayed in the room for so
long, the ant is white from a fungus infestation.
Except for the fungus, the ant has all
the qualities of a normal giant warrior ant.
(2' long; AC 3; MV 18"; HD 3; HP 15;
D/Att 2-8 + poison sting for 3-12, or 1-4 if
save vs. poison is made)

If fighting in the dark, both the ant and
the characters have a -4 "to hit" on all
attacks.

17: Magic-user's library
20’ x 15'; 2 doors; hardwood floors.

Opening the door to this room alerts a
shrieker in the center (AC 7; MV 1"; 3
HD; 15 HP). After the shrieker goes off, the
characters will also hear sounds of running
feet with the shouts of men-at-arms coming
from either area 19 (if the characters enter
from 16) or area 16 (if the characters enter
from 19). The approaching guards seem to
get closer and louder for 3 melee rounds,
and then the sound ends entirely (it was just
an automatic alarm). The shrieker screams
as long as someone stays in the room, unless
it dies first.

Bookshelves line the walls of this room.
All books bear such weighty titles as The
Art of Necromancy, Liches and Wights of
the World, and Guide to the Lesser Planes
of the Abyss. However, fully half of all the
volumes here are book covers placed around
old copies of Playelf Magazine and comic
books. Characters must spend 10 hours here
if they wish to sort through all the contents.
After 1 hour, they will find a book with
n scroll pressed flat between 2 pages.
The scroll contains these spells: read magic,
hold portal, light, magic missile. All spells
are at the 6th level of effect. Characters will
find nothing else of interest.

18: Treasure room
10 ' x 20 '; 2 doors; hardwood floor.

The treasure room (a dubious title) contains
copies and mock-ups of 8 major
magic items. 3 of them are harmless
duplicates of the Crown of Might, Hand of
Vecna, and Mace of Cuthbert. The other
5 imitations have special powers: the Axe
of Dwarvish Lords is a +1 battleaxe; the
Invulnerable Coat of Arnd is +1 chain mail;
the Sword of Kas is a cursed short sword
that always misses its target; the Wand of
Orcus does 1-8 points of damage to anyone
who picks it up, once only per character;
and the Heart of Light is really a glass gem
(actual value 1 gp) with a continual light
spell cast on it.

Each artifact is sealed in a glass case on
the wall, with a little card beside the case
that identifies it. The cards do not mention
that these aren't true artifacts. Dwarves and
gnomes can identify the glass gem as a fake
after 10 minutes of inspecting it from outside
the display case, or immediately if the
display case is broken open for a closer look.
A character who takes out the drawing of
the Heart of Light and looks at it again now
can recognize the gem as false if the player
rolls the character's intelligence score or less
on a d20. Characters can break any of the
sealed cases open at no risk to themselves.

The room contains nothing else.

19: Hall
5 ' x 20 '; 4 doors; hardwood floor.

This hall is empty. The doors in the hall
have been enchanted, so that characters can
open only 1 door at a time. When the
1st door is opened, the other doors are
wizard locked until the 1st door is shut.
The door to area 18 is labeled "Treasure
Room" in 145 tongues, including all the
languages the PCs can read.

The door to area 20 opens automatically
if a good-aligned character tries, to open it,
but it refuses to budge for anyone else.

20: Ladder room
5 ' x 10 '; 1 door; hardwood floor.

This tiny room contains only a ladder,
which ascends to a trapdoor in the ceiling.
Only a good-aligned character can climb
the ladder; others can climb halfway up
before falling off for 1-4 points of damage.

A tiny attic lies at the top of the ladder.
The room measures 5' on all sides, and a
small (6-inch-cube) box sits on the floor in
the center of the room, amidst a clutter of
other objects that are all unremarkable. The
box will be found after 1 round by anyone
who climbs the ladder and begins to SEARCH
the attic.

The box has lettering on it; anyone who
tries to read it will detonate these explosive
runes for 6d4+6 points of damage. (Reader
gets no save; all others in attic or in room
20 can save for 1/2 damage.) A thief has a
5% chance of detecting the danger in the
runes before he reads them, and a magic-user
has a 5% per level chance of doing so.
The blast does not harm the box. Dispel
magic eliminates the runes, but characters
can open the box at any time without triggering
the runes as long as they don't read
them.

A 3-inch-diameter gem lies inside the
box. The gem appears to be made of dull,
cloudy glass. If a PC touches
the gem, it begins to glow brightly (see the
description of the Heart of Light near the <link>
end of the module for details).

21: Magic-user's storeroom
15 ' x 10 '; 1 door + 1 secret door; hardwood
floor.

Cabinets and shelves fill this room, housing
all kinds of jars. Each jar is labeled with
the name of a spell, but a 1-turn search
will reveal that all but 2 of the jars are
empty. The jar marked "ESP" contains 42
copper pieces. The one marked "FEAR" is
full of chicken feathers. If a PC stirs the
chicken feathers, he finds a note at the
bottom, which states: "Collected from the
Giant Chicken of Bristol by M. Python. Do
not eat these!" Any character who eats a
feather is instantly polymorphed into a
chicken, unless he makes a save vs. polymorph
successfully. The chicken character
stands 1 foot tall. Dispel magic removes the
spell, but a system shock roll is required.

Characters may detect a secret door
behind one set of shelves. The door contains
a vertical slot about 1 inch high. If someone
drops a copper piece in the slot, the door
opens (nothing else will open the door). The
coin falls into room 23, alerting all creatures
there to the PCs' PRESENCE -- but the PCs
will not know this.

22: Storeroom
10 ' x 10 '; 1 door; hardwood floor.

Characters must pull this door outward to
open it. On a roll of 1-3 on d6, the party
notices nothing unusual about the room,
except for a metal cylinder in a far corner.
Otherwise, the room appears empty. On a
roll of 4-6, characters see a thin film that
covers the space in the open doorway like a
soap bubble.

A gelatinous cube fills the room, and it
cannot leave. Characters who walk into the
room take 2-8 points of damage if the cube
penetrates their armor. They must save vs.
paralyzation or be sucked into the cube and
paralyzed for 5-20 rounds, taking 2-8 points
of damage each round.

Statistics for the gelatinous cube are AC
8, HD 4, HP 25. The cube is immune to
electricity, FEAR, sleep, hold, paralysis, and
polymorph. The effects of cold are reduced,
as per the Monster Manual.

If characters slay the cube, it falls apart
into a gooey mess, flooding area 24 and the
stairs leading downward from there. Movement
through area 24 requires a roll of 3d6;
if the result surpasses the character's DEX,
the character falls down, taking 1 HP of <save vs. falling damage>
damage. Check for falling once per round
for any character in this AREA. Any attempt
to descend the stairs results in an automatic
fall and 2-12 points of damage. The character
can make it to the 1st floor this way,
albeit in a damaged condition.

A metal scroll tube lies inside the closet.
If a PC removes the stopper, he'll find a
parchment inside the tube which reads,
"Mickey -- Sorry about your beholder, but
I haven't got the faintest idea where it is
now. The Heart lies in the attic. Mekkari."

The room contains nothing else.

23 : Main alchemical laboratory
20' x 20' plus 20' diameter tower; 3 doors
+ 1 secret door; hardwood floor.

Anyone who enters this room sees the
smashed remains of a laboratory. So much
litter, debris, and trash lies in here that 2
giant scorpions can lie in hiding; they will
surprise anyone who enters on a roll of 1-4
on d6. The scorpions can be surprised, too,
but at normal odds. The room is dark, but
not because of magic.

Statistics for the-two giant scorpions are
AC 3, MV 15"; HD 5+5; HP 30; D/Att 1-
10/1-10/1-4 + poison (save or die). The
scorpions can attack 3 opponents at
once. They know the room well, and have
no "to hit" penalties in the dark.

The door to area 21 appears to be normal,
but if characters open it they discover
a brick wall with a small vertical slot one
inch high. If anyone drops a coin through
the slot, a secret door opens, providing
access to area 21. Nothing else will open the
secret door.

If characters search the room, they find
1 random item per turn until 6 items <link>
are located.

24: Upper hall
15'x 20'; 5 doors; hardwood floor.

This AREA is bare of detail, except for a
large statue of Mekkari which looks very
imposing. The statue portrays a fierce,
brooding mage with a bald head and a
beard, wearing heavy robes. If characters
check the back of the statue, they may find
a little secret door there, which opens to
reveal a compartment. The compartment
holds 4 wine bottles, all labeled "Mad
Dog #5." The labels are false, however; the
bottles really contain potions of healing
(each will cure 2d4+2 HP).

25: Mekkari's bedroom
15' x 20' plus  20 ' diameter tower; 3 doors;
carpet on floor.

A huge waterbed mattress takes up the
entire tower area, and clothing litters the <clothing=x>
room. Paintings hang on the wall, depicting
dragons, 20-sided polyhedral dice, and the
Greek god of war.

The party may not notice the invisible
beholder when they enter; it hovers 6" over
the bed. At one time, it belonged to Mickey
the Great, an old friend of the mansion's
owner. Mekkari magically bound the monster
so that it cannot use any of its eyes'
powers except TK. When a PC opens
the door to the room, the beholder catches
the first person to cross the threshold. It
picks up the character (as long as the victim
weighs less than 250 pounds) and pulls him
over, intending to munch on him for 2-8
points of damage per bite. A telekinesed
character attacks at -4 "to hit," and loses all
shield and dexterity bonuses. The beholder
becomes visible when the telekinesis attack
begins.

Anyone who runs up to slash the beholder
discovers that the waterbed causes
characters to have extremely unstable footing;
at the start of each round, all characters
on the bed must make a roll of 3d6. If the
result exceeds the character's dexterity
score, he falls and loses all attacks that
round. The beholder stays above the bed. If
it eats 1 character (that is, reduces the
character's hit points to 0 and bites it for
one more round thereafter to swallow it),
then the beholder goes for another one.
Characters can only attack the beholder's
body, not its eyes, because of its elevation.

Statistics for the beholder are AC 0; HP
30 (in central body); attacks as 10 HD
monster.

If characters search the room, they will
find an empty crate labeled "Beholder
Yummies," plus a total of 1,234 gp scattered
on the floor.

26: Zoo/animal laboratory
15' x 30' plus 2 alcoves; 2 doors; hardwood
floor.

All of the animals in Mekkari's mansion
were originally kept in this room. Dozens of
empty cages lie scattered about. A huge vat
of algae lies in the western alcove. If characters
disturb the vat, it becomes a large
algoid and attacks (AC 5; MV 6"; HD 5;
HP 25; psionic blast once per day -- see
DMG, p. 78). The algoid uses its psionic
blast 1st, then it proceeds to beat the PCs
with its fists (D/Att 1-10/1-10). The creature
is immune to fireballs, lightning, and
edged weapons with less than a +2 bonus.
All blunt weapons do full damage. Part
water and lower water spells do 1-6 points
of damage each.

After the PCs search the room for 1 turn,
they find one random item.

Twenty random items

1) Wand of secret door and trap <location>
with 3 charges.

2) Clove of garlic (very smelly).

3) 4 silver-tipped darts.

4) A sprig of wolfsbane. <link>

5) A bottle of green-dyed water (nonmagical
and harmless).

6) 3 unlit candles (when lit, each one
will burn for 3 turns). (candle=x)

7) 16 gold pieces.

8) A 1944 FDR campaign button.

9) A chess pawn (jade) worth 10 gp.

10) An animal tooth.

11) A ring of protection +1.

12) A jar of paper paste.

13) 10 copper pieces.

14) 3 iron spikes and a hammer.

15) A paper note that reads, "You?re
getting warmer!"

16) A bronze, l-foot-tall statuette of
Demogorgon.

17) A paper note that reads, "You're
getting colder!"

18) A 100 gp gem. <link>

19) A tinderbox and flint.

20) A 50' coil of rope.

Roll 1d20 to determine the nature of a
random item. When an item has been
found, cross it off the list. If a subsequent
roll calls for a deleted item, nothing is found
(don't roll again).

The Heart of Light
The stone at first appears to be a 3-inch diameter
glass "gem" of dull color and
cheap value. Touching the gem has these
effects:

1) The gem radiates light in a 60' radius,
as a continual light spell, for one hour after
each time it is touched.

2) A good character who touches the gem
will have 2-8 HP of damage healed; an evil
character will be shocked for 2-8 points of
damage, and neutral characters will not be
affected. The healing or damage will only
affect a given character once per day.

3) After the gem is touched, detect good
will reveal the gem's good alignment.

4) Any character who touches the gem
will automatically know it is the Heart of
Light; he also knows that the gem must be
removed from the mansion and taken to
Mekkari immediately.

5) And, when the "glass" illusion is
dispelled by a touch, the Heart of Light is
revealed as a 100,000 gp value diamond
that would make the most jaded dwarf
drool.

Spell lists for tournament characters
Illusionists
First level: change self, color spray, detect
illusion, detect invisibility, light, wall of fog.
Second level: blindness, blur, detect magick, invisibility.
Third level: dispel illusion, paralyzation.

Magic-users
First level: burning hands, charm person,
comprehend languages, detect magick,
feather fall, hold portal, light, magick missile,
read magick, sleep.
Second level: continual light, detect evil/
good, detect invisibility, invisibility, knock,
levitate, web, wizard lock.
Third level: clairvoyance, dispel magick,
fireball, haste, slow, water breathing.
Fourth level: charm monster, dimension
door, FEAR, remove curse.

Clerics
First level: bless, cure light wounds,
detect evil/good, detect magick, light,
protection from evil, remove FEAR, sanctuary.
Second level: chant, find traps, hold
person, know alignment, resist fire, silence
15' radius, slow poison, spiritual hammer.
Third level: continual light, create food
and water, dispel magick, locate object,
remove curse.
Fourth level: cure serious wounds, lower
water, neutralize poison, protection from
evil 15' radius.
 

OUT ON A LIMB
-
Character change
-
Dear Editor:
In "The Twofold Talisman" tournament
module (#84), a half-elf cleric/ranger is listed as a
6th level cleric. In the Players Handbook, it says
a half-elf can only get to 5th level as a cleric. Is
this a misprint?


Peter T. Brown
Joseph City, Ariz.
(Dragon #85)
 

Yep, it sure was. The mistake has been fixed in
the character sheets, which are published again in
this issue with the second part of the adventure.
To bring character #2 into accordance with the
rules, we made it a 5th-level cleric, dropped the
number of 3rd-level spells from 3 to 2, and altered
the "turn undead" scores to correspond to
those of a 5th-level cleric. 

-- KM
(Dragon #85)