An AD&D adventure for 4-8 characters, levels 8-11
First place, Module Design Contest
Category A-3
Designed by Ian Melluish
?The Ruins of Andril? is an adventure
for the AD&D? game for 4 to 8 characters,
each of 8th to 11th level. They may be of
any class or race allowed; it is recom-
mended that at least one thief, one cleric,
and one magic-user be in the party. As with
all higher-level adventures, the players
should prepare their characters carefully
beforehand, particularly if they have nu-
merous spells or magical items at their
disposal.
Players? introduction
At the entrance to a mountain pass,
surrounded by tropical forests and
tilled
fields, is the tiny village of Ruatha. Lying
on the end of a local trade road, Ruatha
offers little to most adventurers. There are
rumors, however, that beyond the moun-
tains lie the ruins of an ancient city, sur-
rounded by desert waste.
As with all such ruins, tales circulate of
great treasures to be found there. The prob-
lem is, according to these tales, that the
treasure is only ?available? once every two
years ? for reasons no one knows. Rumor
has it that the time is now at hand for the
ruins to be entered again. These rumors
note that few have ever returned from the
ruins, most treasure-seekers instead becom-
ing trapped within them.
The adventurers are assumed to have
arrived in Ruatha at the start of this sce-
nario. They may have arrived separately or
together, and may cooperate as a group or
compete in a race to get to the ruins and
whatever treasure lies within them. No one
knows what dangers are ahead, but the
adventurers are among the most powerful
there are in this land; if anyone can get into
the ruins and out of them again, they can.
The village of Ruatha
The adult population of Ruatha numbers
scarcely more than 100, with four times as
many children. Farming is the major occu-
pation. The village has only one inn, of low
quality and exorbitant prices.
<also see Dragon #136>
Because Ruatha is a closely knit commu-
nity, newcomers will be immediately obvi-
ous as such to everyone. Villagers will
watch everything the party does, spreading
gossip about them daily. The first thing all
villagers will think (correctly) is that the
adventurers are here to find out about the
ruins beyond the mountains. Adventurers
may find it disconcerting that everyone
seems to know so much about their busi-
ness. Worse still, the villagers will try to
make ridiculous profits from talking to the
adventurers, as detailed below.
The legend of the ruins
Villagers in Ruatha are generally familiar
with the history of the ruined city. They
know that wandering adventurers have paid
well in the past to hear details of the legend.
They also know that few people return from
the ruins, and this means gold gone to
waste if they give information for the prom-
ise of payment when the treasure-hunters
return. Thus, all villagers will either subtly
or bluntly insist on being paid before they
give any information on the ruins beyond
the pass. Typically, townspeople will de-
mand outrageous prices (about 20-50 gp)
for even the smallest scrap of information,
but are willing to bargain downward if the
adventurers balk at this.
Dungeon Masters should give away bits
and pieces of the legend as characters talk
with the townspeople. Under no circum-
stances should the characters learn all of it
at once. What follows is essentially true; if
the adventurers take enough time and spend
enough money, they will learn all of these
facts ? though a few unscrupulous people
might alter the truth in various minor ways.
Ten centuries ago (the legend goes), the
land beyond the mountains was lush and
fertile, a tropical paradise fed by a mighty
river. In the center of it stood Andril, a city-
state of exceptional wealth and influence. A
theocratic government made up of the
priests of a god of knowledge (the Egyptian
god Thoth, as described in the DEITIES
&
DEMIGODS? Cyclopedia) ruled there for
many years. On their orders, a great monu-
ment was constructed in the center of the
city as a shrine and a symbol of the govern-
ment?s power. Though not a true temple of
Thoth (the main temple was several blocks
away), the monument was regarded as holy,
and it housed a number of clerics and reli-
gious aides.
The wealth that Andril gained was also
its downfall. Its people became ever more
grasping and hungry for gold. The knowl-
edge that the priests gained from their deity
was misused by the populace in terrible
ways, and they fell away from their leaders.
In time, dissension arose among the priests
themselves. Some of their number turned
from the god of knowledge to work the will
of an evil deity contacted through their
magics. The evil priests were ultimately cast
out of the temple and monument of Thoth,
and they plotted revenge. Civil war broke
out within the walls of Andril as the evil
priests summoned formidable monsters
from other planes to lead the fight against
their brethren,
The war lasted only a day. In that time,
the city was laid waste by magic and riot-
ing. In an awful curse, the priests of knowl-
edge invoked the terrible power of their
god. They caused the forests and fields
around the city to wither away; the river
was dried up in hours, and a wind sprang
up to spread dust across the land. Few
people survived the disaster. A desert
known as the Sea of Dust now extends for
five miles around the ruins, keeping most
people far away from the ruins even to this
day.
Worse yet, the ruins are cursed so that
magic will not reveal the secrets of Andril
without a penalty. The nature of this special
curse is not well understood by the people of
Ruatha, though they know it exists.
Most people have learned, from the
experience of others, to avoid the Sea of
Dust; monsters inhabit the desolate land
and prey upon wayfarers as well as each
other. However, it is well known that every
two years the monument of the ancient city
? the only building spared destruction in
the war ? rises up out of the dust and
sand. It remains in view for several days,
then sinks back into the dust for another
two years. It is believed that the god Thoth
himself is responsible for the rising and
falling of the monument, though for what
reason no one can guess. The wisest sages
say that it serves as a reminder that the
anger of a god is nothing to trifle with.
A few adventurers, lured by rumors of
the hoard of magical and monetary trea-
sures supposedly hidden within the monu-
ment, have arrived during the times the
monument is visible. Many of them have
entered the monument and never returned.
Some have escaped only at the last moment
as the building was sinking into the dust
again, taking with it companions who could
not flee in time. The few adventurers who
have escaped tell of living statues, of com-
panions who vanished into thin air, of mon-
sters from the outer worlds, and of a man
who cannot be slain. Because of the obvious
danger, no non-adventurers will dare ap-
proach the monument or even get near the
Sea of Dust.
Encounters
There are two outdoor encounter areas
that the adventurers need be concerned
with: the mountains and the Sea of Dust.
While the Sea of Dust is strictly avoided by
the villagers, some local hunters roam the
lower reaches of the mountains and use the
pass to get game. Few monsters inhabit the
region, most having left to find places with
more prey and treasure.
The mountain pass is four miles long and
rather narrow. A party that is on foot and
lightly encumbered (able to move at normal
rates) can negotiate the pass in half a day
(4-6 hours) of hiking. In any other case, it
will take at least a full day (9-12 hours) to
get through the pass and reach the Sea of
Dust. While the party is in the mountains,
encounter checks are made at dawn and at
dusk.
Adventurers may choose to leave the pass
and move through the mountains, but this
strategy is extremely difficult and danger-
ous, offering a 10% chance per hour of a
climbing accident occurring to each charac-
ter. Accidents will do 1-4 six-sided dice of
damage, from falling or being struck by
rockslides. Travel time to the Sea of Dust
will be increased dramatically, to 3-6 days,
and there is a 50% chance of the group
becoming lost each day they travel off the
pass.
A roll of 1 on a d12 indicates an encoun-
ter in the mountains when a check is called
for. If an encounter occurs, the DM should
roll d4 and refer to the following table:
| Die roll | Encounter |
| 1 | 1 tiger |
| 2 | 3-8 hunters |
| 3 | 1 giant poisonous snake |
| 4 | 2-12 wild dogs |
If encountered, tigers will only attack if
there are three or fewer characters in the
group; they will simply sit and watch other-
wise unless attacked themselves.
Hunters
will be 1st-level fighters, wearing leather
armor and using longbows, spears, and
throwing axes; they will be led by a 2nd
level fighter (15% chance of 1st-level
ranger) using the same equipment and
armor. Giant snakes will lie in wait to attack
parties that pass by them; those snakes
living in the mountains can surprise prey on
a roll of 1-4 on d6, because of their silence
and coloration. Wild dogs are treated as
war dogs, as per the Monster Manual,
because of their size and ferocity.
As travelers reach the end of the pass,
they will look down upon the Sea of Dust.
As far as they can see, there is no sign of life
other than scraggly weeds among the low,
sculpted dunes. The Sea of Dust is com-
posed of fine sand and dried earth, pale
yellow in color. Crossing it presents several
problems.
A party traveling on foot and unencum-
bered can move through the Sea of Dust at
the rate of one mile every hour and a half.
Under any other conditions, movement rate
is slowed substantially, to one mile every
two hours or perhaps even more. As stated
in the earlier text, the Sea of Dust extends
for a radius of live miles around the ruins.
The loose sand and dust make it difficult
to get traction, and movement through the
dust stirs up a choking cloud as well. When
the party is in this area, there is a 10%
chance per hour per character that dust
causes blindness for 1-4 turns (30%), sneez-
ing and coughing for 1-2 turns (40%), or
the dust gets into armor (30%), causing
itching and loss of all dexterity bonuses
until the armor is completely removed and
shaken out. Characters affected by tempo-
rary blindness or sneezing and coughing
will only be able to move at one-fourth of
their normal movement rate, or perhaps
even more slowly; assuming that the adven-
turers intend to stay in a group as they cross
the Sea of Dust, this will mean that the
group?s movement is drastically slowed.
Characters affected by sand in their armor
will not be slowed unless the same thing
happens twice to a single character, in
which case that character will move at one-
half normal speed until his armor is taken
off and cleaned out.
The daytime temperature in the Sea of
Dust is abnormally hot (about 130 degrees
F.). Characters who are heavily encumbered
(i.e., forced to move at a pace slower than
normal due to amount of equipment car-
ried) must make a system shock roll every
hour. Failure to make the required percent-
age means the character will collapse from
heat exhaustion and must make a saving
throw vs. death magic or die within 2-20
minutes thereafter. If the saving throw vs.
death magic succeeds, the character will
recover if he is allowed to rest for 1-4 hours
and is bathed in cold water at least once
during that time. Failure to administer the
treatment described above will result in a
new saving throw vs. death magic after 1-4
hours.
Furthermore, characters will lose 1 hit
point per hour from dehydration as they
cross the Sea of Dust. This can be pre-
vented by drinking a minimum of one quart
of fluid every two hours. (A typical wa-
terskin holds one quart.) Large animals like
horses will require enormous amounts of
water, and should not be taken into the Sea
of Dust. Small beings like gnomes and
halflings will require only half as much
liquid.
To add to these difficulties, there are
problems with the desert wildlife as well.
The daytime environment is safe, in the
sense that it is too hot for most creatures to
be out hunting for food. This is not so at
night, when temperatures fall to about 70
degrees F. The DM should roll for encoun-
ters at dusk, in the pre-dawn hours, and
just after dawn; a 1 on a roll of d6 indicates
an encounter has taken place; if this occurs,
roll d4 to determine the specific creature
encountered:
| Die roll | Encounter |
| 1 | 6-24 giant centipedes |
| 2 | 2-5 giant scorpions |
| 3 | 3-6 giant poisonous snales |
| 4 | 2-20 death dogs |
In addition to the monsters that may be
discovered, there is a 5% chance per hour
during the day of a dust tornado forming
from the freakish winds crossing the desert.
A dust tornado will appear 100-1000 yards
from the characters, and essentially is iden-
tical in appearance to an air elemental?s
whirlwind form (20? base diameter, 60? top
diameter, 120? height, takes ten minutes to
form completely, travels at 36? speed).
There is a 10% chance that the dust tor-
nado will approach the party and pass
through the group. Though not a living
being, the tornado will absorb a character if
it makes a successful roll ?to hit? as a
12 HD monster against the character?s
armor class (no dexterity bonuses allowed).
Characters caught in a dust tornado will be
flung violently around in it for 1-8 rounds,
taking 1-4 points of damage per round.
There is a 50% chance the character will
then be dropped from a height of 10-100
feet. The damage taken from the fall, be-
cause the ground is dusty, is reduced by 1
point per die of damage done.
The ruined city
In the center of the Sea of Dust lies the
ruins of once-proud Andril. Fallen columns,
broken walls, collapsed roofs, and rubble-
choked streets are all that remain of it. The
ruins are thickly coated with sand and dust.
No monsters other than those found in the
Sea of Dust inhabit the ruins, with the
exception of the two creatures that might be
found at the monument (described below).
The ruins appear to be utterly silent and
deserted, and there is no useful treasure to
be found here.
Spell alterations
Because of the curse of the priests of
Andril cast on this area long ago, certain
spells have altered effects when used within
the ruins or in the monument. The spells
most severely affected are those listed as
"divinatory" in nature, such as find
traps, <link to DLA list?>
divination, commune with nature, ESP,
legend lore, and any of the various detect
spells. The bardic ability to legend lore is
not considered divinatory magic, since it
consists only of remembered history, songs,
and tales.
Any being who employs any divinatory
spell within the area of the ruins will suffer
sudden pain, taking as many points of
damage as the level of the divinatory spell
attempted. Thus, contact other plane will
cause 5 points of damage to a magic-user
casting the spell, whether from memory,
from a device, or from a scroll. The damage
caused can be healed in any normal fashion.
In addition, the being casting the divina-
tory magic will be subjected to a sudden
vision, lasting 2-5 segments, depicting the
last hours of Andril. Terrifying images will
be seen of elementals and demons loose in
the streets, while spell casters hurl destruc-
tive magic, commoners riot, and soldiers
mutiny. Each time the vision recurs it will
depict more or less the same aspects as
previously seen (i.e., total chaos).
Note that the use of spell scrolls (requir-
ing a read magic spell) is prohibited. Noth-
ing else will be gained by a divinatory spell,
including the information for which the
spell was first cast. Detect magic won?t
detect anything except the vision, and will
cause 1 point of damage besides.
The use of wishes, limited wishes, and
alter reality spells is permitted within the
ruins, so long as such spells do not attempt
to duplicate the effects of an existing divina-
tory spell. If this is attempted anyway, no
information will be gained, though no dam-
age will be taken. One could use a wish
spell to heal, teleport, or attack, however.
Psionic powers similar to divinatory spells
(such as ESP, clairvoyance, and object
reading) will fail to produce any useful
information, but won?t cause any damage
either.
If someone tries to cast a divinatory spell
concerning Andril while the party is away
from the ruins, including the use of wish,
alter reality, limited wish, or similar magic,
no information will be received, but no
damage will be taken from casting the spell.
When the adventurers approach the
ruins, the monument will already have risen
from the sands and will be clearly visible
from a distance of several hundred yards.
From the moment the adventurers sight the
monument, they will have a limited amount
of time in which to explore it as thoroughly
as they can before it disappears once more
from view. The referee should roll 12d6 for
the number of hours (12-72) remaining
before the monument sinks into the sand,
keeping careful track of time in the adven-
ture from this point onward.
Rising from the center of the ruins are
two towers, each 40? in diameter. A crystal
sphere 3? wide rests solidly atop each tower;
neither of the spheres can be removed with-
out destroying it. Each more than 200? tall,
the towers are covered in old hieroglyphs
and pictograms, as well as having long
sections written in an ancient version of the
common tongue. Clerics and magic-users
who worship deities from the Egyptian
pantheon (as outlined in the DDG
book)
will be able to partially translate the writ-
ings, which merely describe the history of
Andril.
The towers rest upon the monument
base, which is nearly 400? long and over
200? wide. A stairway rises to the top of the
monument base, beneath an enormous
bronze statue of Thoth which appears to be
in excellent condition.
If characters approach the monument in
the daytime, they will encounter nothing in
its vicinity. At dusk, however, two strange
visitors will arrive. Characters arriving
before then should roll for surprise to detect
the approach of the visitors, noting their
arrival at a distance of 10-100 yards. If the
party arrives after dusk, the visitors will
have already taken up their positions at the
monument.
The lore of the disappearing city has
reached other than human ears. A gyno-
sphinx and a lamia have decided to come
and investigate the monument. While the
gynosphinx has come to further her knowl-
edge of ruins in general, the lamia has come
for a more practical reason: She has heard
that the ruins attract adventurers, and she
wants to eat a few if possible.
The gynosphinx will come to rest atop the
central building on the monument base, at
the feet of Thoth?s statue. The lamia (invisi-
ble; see below) will be sitting to the side of
the top of the stairs immediately below her.
If encountered after they have arrived, the
two will be discussing past adventures
they?ve had (and adventurers they?ve
eaten), as well as speculating on the nature
of the ruined city. Both will break off con-
versation when they see the party coming.
If they are surprised, the conversation in
the common tongue between the two may
be overheard by characters.
Gynosphinx: AC -1, MV 15?/24?, HD 8,
HP 43, 2 attacks for 2-8/2-8 damage.
Telketnatun is a rather bored sphinx who
looks back on the ?good old days? several
centuries ago when there were more andro-
sphinxes around. She is fascinated by bards
and clerics, and will question them unceas-
ingly for information about ancient history,
religion, and where an androsphinx might
be found. She will speak to adventurers
only after the lamia has gone through her
?spirit? routine, described below; if asked,
she will say that the ?spirit? was real (she
wants to play along with the prank). Hav-
ing heard from another source about the
effects of casting divinatory spells, Telketna-
tun will only pretend to use such powers if
asked to do so by adventurers.
Being somewhat vain about her looks,
Telketnatun wears three silver necklaces
(worth 250 gp each), a pair of gem-studded
platinum anklets (worth 1000 gp each)
about her forepaws, and has a small ioun
stone flying silently about her head. The
stone is a lavender and green ellipsoid that
will absorb up to 28 levels of spells of up to
the 8th level in power before burning out.
The stone cannot be seen in the night unless
one is very close to the sphinx, and she
won?t let anyone get that close. If attacked,
she will cast a symbol of pain on the air at
the top of the stairway and will fly off.
Lamia: AC 3, MV 24?, HD 9, HP 49,
special attacks. Feyodena considers herself
an adventurous lamia, and wanders con-
stantly from place to place. An accom-
plished and artful liar, Feyodena enjoys
using magical devices and her own powers
to appear as something other than she is, to
lure humans, demi-humans, and human-
oids to their doom.
From her previous adventures, Feyodena
has picked up four rings of various makes
(worth 75, 120, 400, and 650 gp each), a
tiara made from gold wire (worth 250 gp),
and an ivory armband with silver inlays
(worth 400 gp), all of which she wears. She
recovered some magical items as well, in-
cluding a potion of growth, a ring of invisi-
bility, and a rope of entanglement. She will
enter the ruins with the ring activated.
When adventurers appear, Feyodena will
use her powers to generate the illusion of a
ghostly male figure in front of the party.
The figure will greet the party in a soft
voice, saying that he is a guardian of the
monument. The "spirit" will take no offensive
action against the party, instead questioning
them as to their reason for coming
to the ruins. When all have spoken, the
"spirit" will ask that each person leave an
offering to the god of the monument before
they enter inside; offerings should be of
sufficient value, the ?spirit? warns, so as
not to offend the deity. If anyone refuses to
do so, the ?spirit? sadly notes that he can-
not guarantee that character?s safety inside
the monument.
If the party complies, the ?spirit? will bid
them to climb the stairway and explore the
monument. Then the spirit will fade away.
Any attack upon the figure will cause it to
be dispelled. Whether the ruse works or
not, Feyodena will move out of the way of
the party as they ascend the stairs; a suc-
cessful listen-at-doors roll, determined
individually for each party member, will
indicate that the character heard something
moving at the top of the stairs. Feyodena
will not attack at this time, preferring to
catch the party as they leave the monument
later. Once the party has entered the monu-
ment and is out of sight, she will descend
the stairs, snatch up what treasure the party
left her, and will prepare the greeting that
she plans to offer the party when they leave
the ruins (see ?Leaving the monument?
below). Remember that anyone using a
detect invisibility spell will suffer the afteref-
fects noted in the section on spell alterations
above.
| 1 | 2 | Home |
1) Western Statue ? This alcove contains
a statue of a priest of Thoth, bearing
a staff
and an ankh (a cross with a loop on the
top). The statue appears normal, though
clerics and magic-users who worship a deity
from the Egyptian pantheon will recognize
a special hieroglyph on the statue?s chest
that means ?evil.? A sympathy spell has
been cast upon the statue, so that any hu-
man of chaotic evil alignment who ap-
proaches within 10? of the figure will be
attracted to it. All other alignments and
beings will be unaffected by the statue. The
person will be made by the spell to remain
near the statue for 1-6 turns before being
released by the spell. The person may then
leave, but approaching the statue again will
trigger the spell effect once more. This
effect cannot be dispelled.
2) Eastern Statue ? Like area 1, this
alcove also has a statue of a priest of Thoth.
This figure, however, also has a permanent
magic mouth on it. If anyone steps within
5? of it, the statue will say (in an ancient
dialect of the common tongue): ?All hail
the wisdom and knowledge of Thoth, divine
guardian of Andril, foremost of deities!?
Characters have a 5% chance per point of
intelligence of translating this speech cor-
rectly. If anyone inspects the statue, they
have a chance of discovering a secret door
behind it (roll to detect traps applicable).
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| - | - | Home | - | - |
General Note: The ceiling height
throughout the monument?s interior is
generally 8?-9?. Rooms which are larger
than 20?x20? have a 10? ceiling. The air in
the monument is very stale, but breathable.
In areas where corpses are found, the air
will be worse than usual, but is still accept-
able unless otherwise stated. The air is very
dry, and the temperature is a constant 60
degrees F.
3) Stairway and Entry Hall ? A 5? wide
stairway descends 20? down into an open
chamber, where the party will see the bones
and possessions of past adventurers lying
about on the floor. There is a 10% chance
per character that some old writing on the
left stairway wall will be noticed; blurred by
the passage of time, the writing says (in
elvish): ?Call out the name.? Anyone who
calls out ?Thoth? before entering the cham-
ber will temporarily deactivate the caryatid
columns (see the FIEND FOLIOTM
Tome) at
the foot of the stairs.
The caryatid columns (located at A and
B) will step down behind the first character
who enters the chamber without saying the
word ?Thoth? in the melee round before-
hand. They will not initially attack, instead
reaching out to catch hold of the character?s
arms (roll ?to hit? at -2 for each as a 5 HD
monster) and prevent further movement.
The figures will speak to their prisoner (by
magic mouths), saying, ?Go no further, or
risk your death as a defiler of holy places.?
They will be speaking in an ancient form of
the common tongue, with the same chances
for successful comprehension on the charac-
ters? parts as given in area 2. If attacked,
the caryatid columns will strike back with
their swords, releasing their hold on the
victim. They will fight until destroyed. If
the victim agrees to leave, they will release
their hold on him, wait until he (and any-
one behind him) leaves, then will resume
their old positions and their stoney forms.
They won?t leave area 3.
Across the room are two stone golems,
each appearing to be an enormous statue of
a priest of Thoth (similar to the statues at
areas 1 and 2). If the caryatid columns are
attacked, one of the golems will step for-
ward and cast a slow spell at the nearest
opponent, an effect which will last 20
rounds. The other golem will shout out in a
loud voice (by magic mouth), ?You tempt
the wrath of Thoth the All-Knowing! Flee,
fools, before judgement is wrought!? If the
party flees up the stairs at this point, the
caryatid columns will strike at them once
before retiring to their old positions. The
stone golems will move back into place, and
all will be as before.
If the party continues to attack, both
golems will activate and attack, not stop-
ping until the party flees, is destroyed, or
both golems are destroyed. They will use
slow spells as frequently as possible, trying
to slow everyone they can before using the
spell again on already slowed characters.
Both golems will pursue intruders through-
out the first level, attempting to trap them
in area 10 (which they themselves will not
enter). The golems will also not go down-
stairs to any other level, and won?t leave the
monument.
Area 3, aside from being littered with the
debris of previous battles, bears evidence
that not everyone who came through here
fared badly. Someone once built a campfire
in the center of the room, and several old
sleeping cots rest in the alcove behind point
A. Most of the debris (broken weapons,
bones, bits of armor) has been swept aside
against the east wall. All debris is at least
ten years old, if not more.
4) Room of Vision ?Just down the hall
from the entry chamber is an oddly shaped
room. The southern wall is curved and has
a beautiful mural painted upon it, depicting
a view of Andril as it once was: a rich,
peaceful city surrounded by jungle. The
mural has been defaced somewhat by pass-
ing adventurers who have signed their
names on it, marked off dates, and so forth.
The city is shown as if viewed from a point
high over the monument, looking to the
south. A raised stone platform 1? high lies
against the northern wall; upon it is a semi-
circle paved with obsidian. Anyone who
stands upon the semicircle and faces the
southern wall will feel very strange for 1-4
rounds. The character will then experience
a vision of the ruins in front of the monu-
ment, seen from an angle above. The per-
spective is peculiar, as if the ruins and
landscape were much smaller than they
actually are.
The platform is actually a viewing device
connected to the two crystal spheres atop
each of the 200? towers outside. Each
sphere acts as a magical camera, sending a
picture of the front of the monument di-
rectly to the viewer on the platform. The
wide separation of the spheres produces the
unusual perspective of seeing everything as
if much reduced. The viewing device gifts
the viewer with ultravision,
allowing clear
sight at night to a range of one mile. While
human-sized beings can be clearly seen,
identifying persons is difficult unless the
person dresses distinctively. Invisible, hid-
den, out-of-phase, ethereal, and astral
objects cannot be detected using this device.
This device will not show the area to the
sides or behind the temple.
One unpleasant side effect of this device
is that the unusual perspective will cause the
viewer to be disoriented for 1-4 rounds after
leaving the platform. Disorientation means
the affected character cannot attack or
defend himself, and cannot use magical or
psionic powers during that time. If the
character fails a saving throw vs. paralysis,
he will fall down (taking no damage, but
being unable to stand up until the disorien-
tation ends).
5) Storage Room ? This room contains
numerous crates and kegs filled with dried,
spoiled food. Consumption of any of it will
require a saving throw vs. poison, or the
character will develop nausea and cramps
(-4 ?to hit? in combat, one-half normal
movement rate) for 2-5 hours, starting 2-8
minutes after eating.
One large stone urn in the southwestern
corner of the room is marked ?Holy Water,?
and is loosely sealed with a copper lid. The
skeleton of a humanoid figure in leather
armor lies against the base of the urn. A
careful examination reveals the character
died of a crushing blow to the skull.
If anyone opens the lid, a colony of algae
will be revealed inside (appearing not unlike
green slime in dim light). Any exposure to
noise or light will cause the algoid
inside
(AC 5, MV 6?, HD 5, HP 28, #ATT 2 or
1, D/ATT 1-10 per fist or psionic blast with
110 psionic ability points) to rear up
abruptly and deliver its psionic attack. It
will then strike out at anyone within 5? of
it, dropping back into the urn when every-
one has gotten out of reach.
Scattered on the floor around the urn are
bits of treasure the algoid inadvertently
collected when it bashed the half-arc assas-
sin lying in front of the urn: 122 cp, 30 sp,
203 ep, 55 gp, 8 gems worth 50-300 gp
each, and a necklace of adaptation. A flask
of oil of slipperiness has rolled behind the
urn, out of immediate view, and a dagger of
venom lies at the bottom of the barrel,
where it fell when the half-arc tried to attack
the algoid (and lost).
6) Storage Room ? This storage room is
much like the one at area 5, though there
are fewer items about. One of the kegs of
drink has become poisoned with toxic bacte-
ria; if someone goes through the trouble of
opening all six kegs present, the poisoned
keg will explode from the extreme pressure
of gases produced by the bacteria. Anyone
within 10? of the explosion will take 5-20
points damage from flying splinters and
bolts, and must make a saving throw vs.
poison or develop a severe, acute gastro-
intestinal disease
(as per the DMG) within
3-12 hours. The disease will reduce the
character?s hit points by half within a 30-
minute period, causing violent nausea,
cramps, and other problems.
Unless cured by magic, the disease will
last for 7-12 days, with a reduction of
strength and constitution by 1 point each
permanently. This loss can be recovered by
a heal spell or a wish. After the 7-12 day
period of severe sickness, another 4-16 days
will be required to become fully recovered.
Once the disease develops, a character will
be completely incapacitated and cannot
perform any actions except to crawl or
stagger at half-normal speed.
7) Mage's Quarters ? The secret door to
this room may be detected in the usual
manner. It consists of a carefully balanced
block of stone attached to a pulley-and-
counterweight system. All one has to do is
reach down, grab a secret handhold at the
base of the door, and pull up. The entire
section of stone wall will risk up into the
ceiling in one segment (like a modern ga-
rage door) and one may enter the room. It
takes a roll to open doors normally to lift
the block of stone.
There is, of course, a problem. If one
fails to detect the special catch that must be
released when the door is opened (roll to
detect stonework traps required), then a
mechanism will sever the pulley rope when
the stone door is completely raised, drop-
ping it immediately back to the ground.
The stone block weighs several tons easily;
anyone standing next to or directly under-
neath the door must save vs. paralyzation in
order to dodge aside as the door comes
down. Those who fail to save will take
10-100 points of damage; anyone killed by
the drop is assumed to have been crushed
under the stone. The great mass of the
stone prevents anyone from lifting it, even
with a giant?s strength, though other meth-
ods may remove it (disintegrate, rock to
mud, etc.)
The room itself appears to have been the
living quarters for a magic-user of some
sort. Tapestries of an man wearing a kilt
and a conical hat hang on the walls; the
man is shown casting rivers of fire from his
fingers, directing lightning upon an enemy
army, slaying demons with a glance, and so
forth. A well-kept bed (now rather dusty)
and a number of tables and shelves fill the
room as well.
A careful examination of the room will
reveal that the aged books and scrolls are in
good condition, and could bring a total of
some 500-800 gp if sold in a large city. They
are on a variety of topics (astronomy, bot-
any, myths and legends), and date from the
time of the destruction of Andril. In a secret
compartment in one of the bedside tables is
a scroll of seven spells, each of 5th to 8th
level power (determine spells randomly or
assign them as desired). Adventurers might
also wish to pry out some of the various
gemstones mounted in the headboard of the
bed. This will garner some 20-80 gems,
each of 20 gp value and of many types.
A large cabinet filled with colorful rocks
and minerals sits against the eastern wall of
the room. Behind it is a concealed door to a
storage room, filled with worthless old furs,
antique furniture (worth 2,000 gp total), a
collection of non-magical staves; and a
small chest in the easternmost end of the
room. Sitting on the chest is a dark-colored
cat that appears quite alive.
The cat is a guardian familiar
(as per the
FIEND FOLIO Tome) and was the prop-
erty of a 17th-level magic-user who lived
here many years ago. It has an 85% magic
resistance. The familiar will prevent the ?
chest from being opened, chasing characters
out of the storage room if they start to ap-
proach the chest. Characters can see that
something has been written in tiny print
over the lock on the chest; anyone who
manages to deal with the guardian familiar
and reads the words will trigger the explo-
sive runes, which will not affect the chest.
Anyone attempting to pick the lock will
activate a magical trap that will do 16 points
of damage (saving throw vs. spells for 8
points damage) from electrical shock; to
make it worse, the chest has been wizard
locked and the ?shock lock? is actually
false, having nothing to do with opening the
chest.
If the chest is finally opened, it will be
found to contain a number of old, rather
racy love letters from a girlfriend of the
magic-user, a huge (9,000 gp) diamond in a
small box (labelled ?Break In Case of
Emergency?), a portable hole completely
filled with mud, and a spindle-shaped clear
ioun stone that sustains a character without
food or water. A secret compartment in the
bottom of the chest contains a strange me-
tallic item, shaped like a small steel box. If
the lid on the box is opened, some peculiar
projections can be seen, along with a tiny
stone wheel that can be manipulated with
one?s thumb. There is a chance equal to
one?s intelligence score expressed as a per-
centage that a character will discover that
the device will produce flame when the
wheel is rotated quickly (on the bottom of
the device is the inscription ?Zippo?). The
lighter is good for 60 uses.
The giant diamond is enchanted, as per
the spell trap the soul, and contains the life
force of an unfortunate thief who once ran
afoul of the magic-user and paid for it. The
thief, a gnome (level 9, S13, 114, W7, D17,
C15, CH13, HP 37, chaotic neutral) named
Grumbamm, will be released from the gem
if it is broken, appearing with no posses-
sions whatsoever. He will be extremely
thankful to whoever released him, and will
try to help them out for a few days before
leaving on his own. Of course, ?helping
out? may take on many meanings to a
chaotic gnome thief, and may include steal-
ing from other party members in an attempt
to make his benefactor richer. Communicat-
ing with Grumbamm will be a problem, as
he speaks only archaic tongues. He will be
able to make himself understood if the
character he speaks with rolls his intelli-
gence x5 as a percentage; likewise, Grum-
bamm will understand characters 70% of
the time.
8) Hall Storage Room ? This small
room appears empty at first glance. It actu-
ally has some tools inside it that have were
rendered invisible
by spells. None of the
tools are particularly valuable, though they
are well preserved and rust-free. One of
them strongly resembles a saw of mighty
cutting, though it is not.
9) Hall of the Tribunal ? This large hall
has a series of seven benches in the middle
of the room, a raised platform in the north-
ern end for speakers, and three ivory-inlaid
wooden seats at the area marked A, where
the high priest, high priestess, and temple
mage formerly sat in judgement on various
matters. Previous adventurers have taken
almost all of the ivory from the three north
ern chairs, leaving only some 50 gp worth
left. The floor in this room is of dark gray
stone, polished smooth.
Along the far eastern end of the room at
area B is an alcove lined with tapestries
depicting the history of Andril, up to (but
not including) its destruction. In front of the
tapestries are six statues of various past
priests and priestesses of Thoth, who
were
regarded as particularly powerful rulers.
Each statue is decorated with gems, jewelry,
and precious metals. However, a wall of
force separates the statues from the viewers.
Apparently, no one has ever managed to
bring the wall down; unlike the walls of
force at area 10, this wall will disappear
permanently once it has been disintegrated.
Each statue has 5,000-8,000 gp worth of
gems, jewels, and metals on it. Removal of
such items will take 2-8 hours per statue.
10) Trap ? This room is not normally
visible to anyone who stands beyond the
eastern or western ends of the room and
peers ?into it.? A special magical effect
exists at points A and B, such that someone
looking eastward from the hall by area 6
will look directly into area 11; someone in
area 11 will see the entrance to area 6 (as
shown in the diagram). Appearances are
deceiving, however; anyone who tries to
pass from the hall by area 6 to area 11 (or
vice versa) without the special protections
described below will become trapped in
room 10. The room is covered with the
bones of long-dead adventurers who found
no way to escape. Various items of old
equipment (well preserved in the dry air of
the monument?s interior) lay scattered
about, as well as some minor treasures.
Once inside, both the eastern and west-
ern walls at points A and B will be transpar-
ent and people can see out of the room
clearly. However, walls of force
at A and at
B prevent all escape. Disintegrate spells will
cause a wall to be-dropped for 10 rounds,
but a dispel magic must be cast in the round
immediately afterward to negate a dimen-
sion door effect for 2-8 rounds, or anyone
leaving the room from one side will reap-
pear on the other side, still trapped within
the room. Both spell effects will return after
the noted periods of time.
The bones of 17 adventurers fill this unlit
room, most of them being human in nature.
Scavengers will find assorted usable weap-
ons, pieces of adventuring gear, and some
370 gp worth of assorted coins and small (10
gp) gems. Three silver daggers, a +2 battle
axe, and a wand of illumination with 31
charges left may be discovered among the
remains after 3 turns of careful searching.
Unless rescued or able to rescue themselves,
persons trapped here will die of thirst and
hunger within 10-40 days after their food
runs out.
To prevent being trapped in room 10, one
must have an abjuration spell of any sort
cast upon him in the same round that he
crosses points A and B. The person will
then be dimension doored from either A to
B or B to A, as if room 10 never existed.
Abjuration spells include protection from
evil and dispel evil, as well as spells like
cure blindness or protection from normal
missiles. Casting an abjuration spell will not
enable one to escape from the room if one
has already become trapped within it. An
exception to the above concerns those char-
acters of true neutral alignment; these per-
sons get a saving throw vs. spells each time
they cross the dimension door points. Fail-
ure to save means the person is trapped
within the room. Escape for such persons is
conducted as for all others.
Anyone who examines the room?s con-
tents for longer than one turn will note that
some of the remains have been carefully
arranged, apparently after their deaths.
Whether this was done by their companions
or by someone else cannot be told.
11) Robing Area ? This chamber con-
tains cabinets and pegs for assorted clerical
garments (purple cotton tunics) covered
with hieroglyphs and symbols that pertain
to the worship of Thoth. None of the gar-
ments, though well-preserved by the dry air,
are in very good shape. One tunic has a
dormant goldbug (see FIEND FOLIO
Tome) in a side pocket, along with three
gold and live silver coins.
There is a side closet in the northeastern
part of the room in which the clerical vest-
ments of a high priest and a high priestess
of Thoth (recognizable to anyone worship-
ping a deity from the Egyptian pantheon)
may be found. Less damaged than the other
garments, these are worth about 250 gp
apiece. Hanging in the back of the closet is
a black robe with a golden serpent woven
into the back. This is a souvenir of a suc-
cessful raid against a temple of Set long ago;
if worn by someone of lawful evil align-
ment, the robe will add +2 to saving throws
vs. all magical effects. Anyone else wearing
it will suffer as if the robe were a cloak of
poisonousness.
12) Stairwell ? This circular stairway
descends 30? to the second level. It is lit in
three places by continual
light spells along
the ceiling.
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13) Minor Library ? This
was a combi-
nation library and discussion room for the
lower level clerics who inhabited the monu-
ment. There are very few books left on the
shelves, most of them having been taken
long ago or destroyed by passing adventur-
ers. What books remain are in good condi-
tion, though useless to adventurers. There
is one scrap of parchment, much handled,
that appears to have been a note left by an
adventurer who speculates that the clerics
fled the monument after the disaster, as he
can find no sign of their bodies within the
building.
14) Study Carrels ? Six small niches lie
in a row here, each with its own desk and
chair. All paper here has been destroyed by
past adventurers, and a few random scrib-
blings may be found on the wall to the east
behind the study carrels.
15) Minor Clerics?
Dormitory ?
Screened by faded curtains, this area once
housed from ten to twelve lesser clerics of
Thoth?s religion. There are no food
prepa-
ration facilities here, since the clerics simply
used their spells to create it. The bedding
and furniture in this room has been much
damaged by passing adventurers, but is still
usable as a resting spot. Indeed, judging
from the amount of random equipment left
here, many adventurers have used area 15
for just that.
The Dungeon Master should prepare a
list of a large number of random items that
may be found after a careful search of this
room. Most items should be useless (boots
with holes in them, burned-out wands,
broken amulets, spoiled food, skeletal re-
mains of an adventurer or two). There can
be some valuables like coins, small gems,
and the like. One or two minor magic items
may be included here as well.
16) Restroom ? This surprisingly clean
facility is arranged so that garbage and
wastes are dropped into a 10? by 10? cham-
ber below the floor that contains a gelati-
nous cube. The monster cannot escape its
confinement (not that it cares). However,
anyone who tries to climb down the 3?
diameter garbage chute in the north wall
will find that the walls of the chute are
perfectly slick, and the character will be
dropped directly onto the gelatinous cube.
The character will be automatically struck
by the gelatinous cube, and
must make a
saving throw vs. paralyzation in that round
and every round thereafter in order to ?stay
afloat.? Failure to make the roll means the
character sinks into the gelatinous cube and
is dissolved shortly thereafter. Contained
inside the gelatinous cube, no worse the
wear for their long stay, are 12 gems (worth
20-120 gp each) and a set of bracers of
defense (AC 2).
17) Gymnasium ? This large room has a
number of old pieces of exercising equip-
ment sitting about (weights, tumbling mats,
bars, etc.). The skeletal bodies of three
adventurers lay about the room, having
obviously been beaten by something with
incredible strength. Standing with arms
folded in the center of the west wall is a
huge, heavily scarred human male. The
man wears a ragged set of robes belted at
the waist, extending down to his knees.
The ?man? is actually a flesh golem
that
has become altered somewhat from its long
stay underground. It has become tougher as
its skin dried out, making it AC 3 now, and
it will take only half damage from blunt
weapons used against it. The golem has also
developed a low intelligence, and can regen-
erate its wounds at a rate of 1 point per
turn. It is a normal golem in other respects
(MV 8?, HD 9, HP 40, #ATT 2, D/ATT
2-16/2-16).
When anyone enters the room, the golem
will walk over to the nearest character and
nod at him. It will attempt to speak, but
nothing it says makes any sense. If anyone
tries to communicate with the golem, it will
smile and follow that character around
wherever he goes. It will do nothing more
than follow, however, and will obey no
commands. If attacked, the golem will
immediately go berserk and attack everyone
close to it. It may be noticed that the golem
is wearing a ring on one hand; the ring is
one of contrariness.
18) Major Clerics? Living Quarters ?
This chamber was once the personal quar-
ters for the high priest and high priestess of
Thoth. However, the southern 20? square
section of this room is now covered by a
large patch of witherweed (see
the FIEND
FOLIO Tome). The weed has grown over a
bed, some bookshelves, and a wooden
chest.
Unfortunately for intruders, an evil illu-
sionist once cast a permanent illusion over
the witherweed, so that the room appears to
be in perfectly normal and undamaged
condition. Anyone who walks over to inves-
tigate will walk directly into the witherweed
and be attacked by it. If someone manages
to destroy the weed without burning it off,
then the chest may be opened. Inside is a
large stack of papers, including three ran-
dom magical scrolls (if they contain spells,
the spells will be clerical in nature) and a
diary kept by the high priestess of Thoth.
The priestess describes the day-long de-
struction of the city in careful detail, and
finally notes that the clerics planned to
escape through the ?gates below? with the
help of the deity Geb (see the DDG
book for
information on this god). There is very little
in the way of information on the monu-
ment; most of the diary is concerned with
financial matters and with the priestess?s
relationship with her spouse, the high
priest.
19) Pool ? Adventurers will note that
this pool has no drainage pipes to fill it or
empty it with (clerics used create
water,
destroy water, and purify water spells on it).
The pool is now dry, though there is a layer
of dried material around the edges and
along the bottom, similar to salt in taste.
Anyone who actually tastes this material
will be healed of 1-4 points of damage. This
material will only do this the first time a
character tastes it, and will have no further
effect on the character afterward.
20) Major Library ? The shelves
and
tables in this room are littered with the
remains of books, papers, and scrolls that
have all been defaced and burned. Graffiti
on the walls indicates that previous adven-
turers have looted this place thoroughly, and
destroyed whatever was left. Lying under a
table in the center of the room is the body of
a dead adventurer, who was apparently
killed in his sleep, possibly by another ad-
venturer. Though there is a lot to investi-
gate in this room, there is nothing further of
interest.
21) Laboratory/Workroom ? The huge
bronze doors to this workroom area are
locked with three locks. Because of the
powerful enchantments placed upon them,
no magic can undo the locks; only thieves
can open them. However, each lock will
place a different curse upon any thief who is
bold enough to try opening it. The upper-
most lock will cause any thief who tries to
pick it to save vs. polymorph or be turned
into a non-poisonous snake of small size.
The second lock causes everyone within 20?
to save vs. spells at -4 (with wisdom bonuses
applicable) or be struck with fear.
Those
who fail to save will flee back to the first
level of the dungeon, and will not descend
willingly any further. The third lock causes
the thief to save vs. spells; while no immedi-
ate effects will be noticed, the thief will have
a permanent invisible brand upon his or her
forehead that will only be clearly visible to
clerics. The mark identifies the thief as
such, but does not force any clerics to react
unfavorably toward the character. Near the
base of the door are two snake skeletons,
killed by sword blows.
Inside the room is a laboratory and work-
shop designed for building enchanted crea-
tures, particularly golems. A partially
completed clay golem stands in one corner,
and tables around the room are filled with
various sculpting tools, metalworking im-
plements, surgical materials, and so forth.
The total resale value of these materials
would be considerable if sold to temples or
wizards who wanted them (1,200-1,800 gp
value).
The room is guarded by a special en-
chantment. If anything is taken from the
room, an aerial servant will be summoned
from the Elemental Plane of Air to recover
all stolen items as soon as anyone leaves the
room with something. The aerial servant
(AC 3, MV 24?, HD 16, HP 98, #ATT 1,
D/ATT 8-32) will not fight, but will not
leave unless it is destroyed or unless it re-
covers all items taken from the laboratory.
22) Storage Room ? This room contains
a large amount of material that clerics of
9th level and above will recognize as useful
for building clay golems. Wizards of 11th
level and above will note materials good for
building other sorts of golems as well. Most
of this material is difficult to transport, but
could bring fairly good prices if sold in a
major city (totalling 1,000-4,000 gp).
23) Guardian?s Chamber ? The western
end of this room is covered by a permanent
illusion of a stone wall. Standing behind the
illusionary wall, and able to see through the
illusion clearly, is a clay golem
(AC 7, MV
7?, HD 11, HP 50, #ATT 1, D/ATT 3-30).
Two skeletons of adventurers lie at the foot
of the stairs, clutching swords. One wears +2
plate mail, and the other has two 500-gp
gems in a belt pouch, as well as a scroll tube
with a protection from devils scroll inside.
Both adventurers seem to have been killed
by great blows, and have been dead many
years.
The clay golem is under the control of a
chaotic evil spirit. Formerly it guarded the
entrance into area 24, but during the fight
with the two adventurers, it was possessed
and will now attack anyone who reaches the
foot of the stairs. The clay golem will pur-
sue adventurers through the monument,
and will even leave the monument to attack
anyone else it can find. The golem will
surprise opponents when it steps from the
illusionary wall on a roll of 1-4 on d6.
24) Shaft to Third Level ? This circular
chamber is devoid of all ornamentation,
except for a suit of plate mail hung on the
south wall of the room. The armor was
obviously seared in the past by great heat.
Close examination will reveal nothing else.
In the center of the room is a 10? diame-
ter shaft that drops down for 120? to the
third level. Anyone stepping out into the
shaft will slowly float downward to the next
level, as if having received a feather fall
spell for the duration. The descent will take
exactly one minute. However, during that
time anyone in the shaft will find all of their
metallic belongings abruptly heating up to
searing temperatures. The character will
take 1 point of damage for every 10 gp
weight of metallic equipment carried. (The
encumbrance tables in the back of the
newer editions of the DMG will provide
weights for most metallic items; weapon
weights are given in the Players
Handbook,
and armor weights in the DMG.)
Thus, a <updated links>
man wearing plate mail armor would take
45 points of damage from that alone, since
platemail weighs 450 gp. A saving throw vs.
spells permits one to take half damage
(rounding fractions down) from the heat.
Any of the precautions listed as negating the
effects of the druid spell heat metal will be
effective in negating the effects here.
The only way to avoid taking damage is
to send metallic items down the shaft sepa-
rately from living beings. The items will
float to the bottom like everything else will.
Though metallic items become extremely
hot, they need not save vs. magical fire, and
will remain effective and useful.
25) Conjuring Room ? This chamber
seems to be devoid of all furnishings and
tapestries. The remains of a pentagram and
a protective circle lie on the floor. A magic-
user can tell that they were designed
to
conjure elementals, and can judge the age
of the scribings to be about equal to that of
the rest of the monument. The scribings are
useless now; if anyone tries to summon an
elemental or other creature using these
protective drawings, the summoning may
well succeed, but the drawings will be found
to be ineffective, and the elemental or other
summoned being will attack the summoner
at once.
26) Unused Room ? This room seems to
have been used as a storage area, and later
as a garbage dump by adventurers. The
referee should feel free to fill the room with
items from the ?Dungeon Dressing? tables
(Appendix I) in the back of the DMG,
keeping the number of useful items to a
minimum. A few coins or minor treasures
might be included as well. Over the years, a
small colony of yellow mold has sprung up
in the southern end of the room, and there
is a 5% cumulative chance per turn of
searching through the junk-laden room that
the mold will burst. Adventurers have a
separate 5% cumulative chance per turn of
searching of finding the mold before it
blows up. A complete search of the room
will take 12 turns.
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27) False Elemental Hall ? Adventurers
who arrive in this area from the second level
will see an octagonal room with four 14?-
by-14? alcoves in the northeast, northwest,
southeast, and southwest corners. The
alcoves are sealed from the octagonal room
by walls of force.
The four alcoves (labeled
A through D) are described below. Careful
observers may notice that the arrangement
of the alcoves and their contents is not
consistent with the arrangement of the
Elemental Planes. Four secret doors may be
discovered in the north, south, east, and
west ends of the room, two leading to other
major areas of the monument complex and
two (located between ?planes? that do not
normally touch one another, at the Fire/
Water junction and Earth/Air junction) lead
to traps.
A: This area is filled with roaring flames.
Though the heat from them cannot be felt,
this area illuminates most of area 27. If
someone casts a disintegrate spell at the wall
of force here, flames will burst out into area
27 for one round, doing 10-100 points dam-
age to each person there (save vs. dragon
breath for half damage). The flames will go
out immediately afterward.
B: This alcove appears to be full of solidly
packed sand. If the wall is brought down,
sand will pour into area 27, forcing all
within to make saving throws vs. wands or
be buried in the sand, helpless to save them-
selves. The victims will be crushed for 3-30
points of damage, and will suffocate unless
dug out within 2 rounds. Those who are not
so trapped can search for buried victims,
with a 5% chance per segment (6 seconds)
of uncovering them (cumulative over time).
C: This area is completely filled with
pure green water. Dropping the wall
will
cause everyone in the room to save vs.
paralyzation or take 4-16 points of damage
from the resulting wall of water. The water
will fill area 27 to a depth of 3?, and will
pour into other areas of the complex as
doors are opened.
D: This room appears completely empty.
It is, almost. Contained inside is a vortex
(AC 0, MV 15?, HD 2+2, HP 17) that, if
released, will immediately turn into a whirl-
wind centered under the shaft to the second
level. It will also try to capture one charac-
ter at a time and spin him around in it,
lifting the victim some 30? up the shaft. If
the vortex is killed, the character will drop
30? and take damage from the fall.
Finally, if anyone walks away from the
center of area 27 after dropping down
through the shaft from the second level, and
then walks back underneath the shaft and
stands still for longer than one round, that
character will be levitated directly up the
shaft to area 24 within one minute. The
character will not be subject to the heat
metal effect on the trip up.
28) Steam Trap ? Anyone who opens the
secret door to this room will see a door at
the far end. The moment that someone
opens the far door, the secret door into the
room will lock shut (as per wizard
lock, 17th
level). The far door is false, opening to a
rock wall behind it. In the round after the
one in which the secret door shuts, the room
will magically begin to fill with steam.
Those trapped inside will begin suffering
from the scalding mist, taking 1-4 points of
damage every round they are exposed to it.
The steam bath will last for 2-20 rounds,
after which time the secret door will again
open, and survivors may flee.
Fire resistance potions or rings, protec-
tion from fire spells, and similar powers, or
spells will protect the trapped characters
from harm. Any sort of cold-producing
spell, such as an ice storm or cone of cold,
will also negate the steam?s effect, as well as
causing none of the damage that would
normally be taken from the cold spell. How-
ever, cold-producing spells will only negate
the steam?s effect for as many rounds as the
level at which the spell was cast (i.e., a cone
of cold cast by a 9th-level magic-user will
negate the steam for 9 rounds).
29) Dust Trap ? Anyone opening the
secret door to this room will find a thin
layer of sand and dust on the floor inside.
Nothing else is visible at first. Anyone who
steps inside the room, however, will be
trapped as the secret door slams shut behind
him, locked as if by a wizard
lock of 17th
level power. In the round afterward, a trap
in the ceiling will release dust of sneezing
and choking into the room. The secret door
will open again in 21-30 rounds, after the
dust has dissipated and is harmless.
30) Foyer ? This large octagonal chamber
has three curtained exits leading off from it.
In the four diagonal corners of the room are
giant statues of Thoth, in four different
colors of stone (red, brown, blue, green).
They are arranged in ?correct? order, if the
colors are taken to be related to the four
elemental planes of fire, earth, air, and
water. In the center of the room is a long
pool of water, level with the floor. If anyone
stands at the side of the pool and concen-
trates on the water, there is a percentage
chance equal to that character?s intelligence
score that a vision will be seen in the pool.
Such a vision will come only after a round
of concentration. It will last for 2-9 rounds,
and can only be generated once per day per
character.
Visions that will be seen will vary from
character to character. Most visions (70%)
will be of a past event in the character?s life,
drawn at random (the Dungeon Master
may also invent brief episodes that occurred
in the character?s life prior to taking up
adventuring). Other visions will be of the
character and his party as they are now
inside the monument?s tunnel system
(25%). This type of vision will reveal one
member of the party at random, showing
his location, his actions, and so forth.
Finally, 5% of all visions seen here will
depict some future episode in the charac-
ter?s life. Such future events only serve as
possible futures, and are not fated to occur.
For example, the character might see an
assassin creeping up and backstabbing him
in a local inn. The character can prepare for
the event by having bodyguards with him,
and the assassin may be captured or slain
before the prediction comes true. DMs may
become very creative when using this ?pre-
diction? power, and should not feel con-
strained to make things come true in a
certain way.
The two chambers to the east and west
have hieroglyphic writings upon the floor
and walls around them, warning everyone
to stay out of them. The hieroglyphs may
be read and understood by a cleric or
magic-user who worships an Egyptian-
pantheon deity. The rooms, A and B, are
described below.
A: This area, screened by a thin purple
curtain, is bare of all furniture and orna-
mentation except for a huge painting on the
western wall. The picture shows the god
Thoth, arms outstretched, standing
over
and behind a tiny human male figure. Some
hieroglyphs on the wall, next to the human
figure, may be read by any cleric or magic-
user who worships an Egyptian-pantheon
deity. The message indicates that this was
the return point for the high priest of Thoth
when he used a word of recall spell.
B: Much like area A, this chamber is also
bare of all but a picture showing Thoth
standing over a female human figure. The
hieroglyphs indicate that the high priestess
of Thoth teleported here with her word of
recall spell.
31) Chamber of Meditation ? This room
is a soft gray color, and has a thick carpet
on the floor. The only thing that adorns the
plain walls is a single word in the center of
the northern wall: Meditate (written in
ancient common, but clearly understand-
able to all). Any cleric who rests here in
meditation for as many hours as he or she
has levels will be magically affected by this
room. Clerics who are of the neutral align-
ments (true neutral, lawful neutral, etc.),
including all druids, will be affected
as if
they had inhaled incense of meditation.
Clerics of lawful good, chaotic good, lawful
evil, and chaotic evil alignment will be
affected as if they had been exposed to
incense of obsession. All clerics and druids
will be able to tell from the magical ?feel?
of the room that it may have some effect
upon them, though they won?t know what
effect.
32) Chamber of the Dead ? This small
octagonal room has a silence,
15? radius
spell cast upon it. It was cast at the 16th
level of ability, for purposes of deciding if
dispel magic will work upon it. If anyone
does manage to dispel the silence, that
character will be automatically stricken with
a curse (no saving throw) to have to make a
saving throw vs. spells whenever confronted
with an undead being. If the saving throw is
failed (wisdom bonuses apply), the charac-
ter will flee from the undead creature in fear
for 5-8 rounds, dropping everything that he
holds. This curse can only be removed by a
cleric of 9th level or higher using a remove
curse, or by the use of a wish, limited wish,
or alter reality spell.
Three doors lead to the south, east, and
west. In the diagonal corners of the room
are four statues of the gods Thoth, Anubis,
Ra, and Osiris. Each is made from colored
marble, and appears virtually lifelike.
<be more precise with the placement of this image>
33) Western Vaults ? This area is one of
three burial vaults in this end of the under-
ground complex. The walls have sealed
chambers for the burial of dead priests and
priestesses of Thoth, as well as other impor-
tant religious officials of Andril. This area,
as well as areas 34 and 36, has
24 burial
chambers; roughly two thirds of the cham-
bers in each area contain mummified
bodies, dressed in funeral clothing with
ceremonial items with them. Few items
buried with the dead are worth anything.
Allow a 5% chance per chamber that some
minor item, such as a non-magical ring,
gem, or the like will be found (maximum
value of such items will be 100 gp).
34) Eastern Vaults ? This area is just
like area 33 in all respects, except for the
secret door in the far eastern end of the
room. The secret door is sealed with a
wizard lock of 17th-level power. The door
may be detected as either a stonework trap
(by dwarves) or as a secret door (by elves).
Other characters have 1 chance in 12 to
detect it, per turn of searching. If the wiz-
ard lock is dispelled, it will reappear the
next time the door is shut (and the door will
shut automatically within 1-4 rounds if it is
left alone).
35) Embalming Room ? Embalming
and necromantic materials of all sorts fill
this room, covering tables, cabinets, and
walls. The smell of some of the chemicals is
quite strong, and will make characters
nauseous for 1-4 rounds if they fail to save
vs. poison upon entering the room. How-
ever, anyone who stays here for longer than
one turn will be overcome by the fumes,
and will fall into a deep trance-like sleep.
This sleep will last for as many weeks as the
character has hit points, and at the end of
this time period the character must make a
system shock roll or die. If the roll is made,
the character will awaken with 1 hit point,
barely able to move (half normal speed) and
unable to attack or defend himself. The
character must eat and drink within 24
hours of awakening or will quickly perish.
In this room are three adventurers who
came into the ruins two years ago; two of
them are dead, but one is still alive. Lying
between a dwarven male in leather armor
and a human male in plate mail is a human
female, wearing bracers and carrying a
dagger. She is dressed in flowing green
robes, belted at the waist with two side
pouches (containing items like copper coins,
candles, tinderboxes, etc.). The woman is
Karamel Andrigson, a paladin who prefers
the use of daggers to other weapons and
enjoys bracers for armor over more encum-
bering sorts. Karamel was trapped in this
room with her companions while searching
for a legendary ?gateway to other planes?
rumored to exist in this monument. She is
near death, though it is obvious at a glance
(comparing her to the state of her compan-
ions) that she still lives. She is a 10th-level
paladin: HP 108 (currently 3 left); S15, I17,
W17, D7, C18, CH17; no spells currently,
Her bracers of defense are of AC 2, and she
uses a +3 dagger. The religion she belongs to
is that of Ukko, chief of the Finnish
deities
(see the DDG book). If taken out of the
dungeon and given proper treatment, Kara-
mel will reward the adventurers with 5,000
gp each from her temple. She will only truly
befriend good characters, particularly lawful
good ones.
36) Southern Vaults ? Much like areas
33 and 34, there is one anomaly
that may
be noticed in this room. The lowest burial
crypt in the southeastern corner of the room
is slightly open. Investigation will reveal
that the crypt here is empty, and that there
is a secret door in one side of it. The secret
door can be opened easily with a catch on
the floor. On the northern wall of the crypt
is the inscription (in ancient common, but
clearly understandable) ?Through the halls
of the dead, to the halls of the elements.?
37) Shaft to Fourth Level ? This
is an
unadorned little chamber with a 10? square
pit in the center of it. The pit drops 110?
down to area 38. On the southern wall of
the room is written the word ?Trust.?
Anyone who jumps into the pit will fall
immediately at full speed toward the bot-
tom. However, the character will not strike
the sides of the pit and will receive a feather
fall spell just 10? above the bottom of the
shaft, enabling the trusting character to
land safely, even if somewhat shaken up.
| 38. | 39. | 40. | 41. | 42. |
| - | - | Home | - | - |
38) Crossroads ? The drop shaft from
area 37 will land characters onto a
crossroads-like structure, surrounded by
four pools of violet-colored liquid. The
crossroads path is 10? wide, and has no
railings to prevent one from falling into the
liquid. The liquid acts as a potion of delu-
sion if consumed (it tastes like fine wine). A
deluded person will believe that he or she
knows everything there is to know about the
area he or she is in, and will rush off madly
toward either area 39, 40, 41,
or 42, cross-
ing through the doorways there without
stopping.
The four areas that can be seen from area
38 are all transdimensional gateways to the
four major elemental planes. The doorways
that can be seen are black in color, but are
not solid; anyone may walk through them
and will emerge somewhere on the elemen-
tal planes. A small pedestal sits 10? in front
of each door, each bearing an item upon it.
The clerics of Thoth used these gateways to
further their knowledge of the Elemental
Planes, It was through such contact that
certain clerics came to know one of the
Elemental Princes of Evil (most likely Olhy-
dra, as listed in the FIEND FOLIO
Tome),
and became corrupted.
The DM should sketch out a small por-
tion of each plane, in case some adventurers
decide to try their luck thereon; remember,
though, that the monument won?t stay
above ground forever, and characters might
not be able to escape if they dally too long
on other planes. Also, entry into any ele-
mental plane without proper protection
means the abrupt death of the character
from drowning, burning, suffocation, or
wind blasts (depending upon the plane
traveled to).
Anyone who stands directly beneath the
opening in the ceiling at area 38 and says,
?up!? in any language will be lifted into the
air by rapid levitation, and will rise up to
area 37. The levitation will be dispelled
once the character enters room 37 and
moves away from the shaft, landing the
character on the floor again.
39) Gateway to the Plane
of Air ? This
chamber is sky blue in color. The pedestal is
of a clear blue crystal (glassteeled glass
worth 500 gp) and has a ring of air elemen-
tal command upon it. The ring will initially
function as a ring of invisibility when first
worn by anyone. The hieroglyphs and other
writings on the ring make it clear the ring is
to be worn only by a cleric of Thoth.
In order to activate its powers, the ring
must be blessed by a cleric of Thoth. How-
ever, if anyone takes this ring from the
monument without having it so blessed, the
ring will be cursed and will function as a
ring of -3 protection, worsening all saving
throws that character makes. The ring will
not then be removable unless a cleric of
Thoth casts a remove curse on the ring.
The cleric will recognize the ring as belong-
ing to the priests of Thoth, and will also
take the ring back in addition to any other
payment for the spell casting. Note that no
cleric of Thoth will bless the ring unless it
will be worn by another priest of Thoth.
Also note that every time the ring is re-
moved, it must be blessed again in order to
function at full power.
40) Gateway to the Plane
of Fire ? This
chamber is fiery red in color, and the small
pedestal before it appears to be of glassteel
but is actually of regular glass (worth 350
gp) and is rather fragile. Upon it is a ring of
fire resistance. If anyone touches the ring
without speaking the name of the glyph of
fire (fah, as per the DMG) will trigger the
glyph of warding placed
on the tabletop.
The burst of flame will do 30 points of
damage to the character grasping the ring
(half of that if a save vs. spells is made).
The glass table must save vs. magical fire or
it will shatter. The ring, of course, will not
be affected.
41) Gateway to the Plane
of Earth ?
This chamber is a deep brown in color. The
dark wooden pedestal before it is quite
broad and massive, much moreso than the
other pedestals. A smooth black stone rests
upon the tabletop. Anyone who picks up the
stone will immediately discover that the
pedestal is actually a killer mimic (AC 7,
MV 3?, HD 10, HP 66, #ATT 1, D/ATT
3-12). There is a 90% chance that whoever
picks up the stone will also get his fingers
stuck to the mimic, rendering that hand
useless. The stone is a loadstone, and will
cut the movement rate and number of
attacks per round of the victim by half even
if the mimic is slain. The mimic will not
attack anyone who tosses some food on the
tabletop first. The priests of Thoth were
able through costly rituals to invoke the
favor of the deity Geb (see the DDG
book),
who lives on the Elemental Plane of Earth,
in order to cross into that plane without
other magical assistance. The table and
stone, of course, were only traps for the
unwary.
42) Gateway to the Plane
of Water ?
This chamber is a deep sea green in color.
The pedestal before the door is made of
brilliant jade, and is worth 10,000 gp if
removed intact. In pieces, the table is worth
about 1,000-4,000 gp altogether. On top of
the table is a ring of water breathing, with a
5? effective radius. The ring is unremarka-
ble in appearance, being a plain silver
band. However, if anyone wears this ring
within 60? of a fire elemental (or an efreet,
salamander, or other denizen of the Plane of
Fire), the fiery creature will immediately
sense the presence of the ring and will at-
tack the wearer instantly, regardless of any
other orders (this will occur even with fire
elementals under a magic-user?s personal
command). This peculiar curse cannot be
removed from the ring without destroying
the ring.
While the adventurers are exploring the
monument, Feyodena the lamia (and
Telketnatun the gynosphinx, if the party has
attacked or been rude to her) will be prepar-
ing an ambush for them outside. Feyodena
will station herself at the foot of the stairway
leading up to the statue of Thoth, magical
potion in hand. The magical rope will be
left coiled in a heap at the top of the stair-
way, out of immediate view. As soon as the
party emerges and starts down the stairs,
the lamia (still invisible) will drink her
potion of growth. As soon as the party starts
down the stairs, she will call out the com-
mand word to activate the rope of entangle-
ment. This will also render Feyodena
visible, and the party (now most likely
entangled in the rope) will be confronted by
a 30? tall lamia!
Feyodena will immediately start using her
charm power on any character who attacks
her. If reduced to below half her hit points,
Feyodena will turn invisible using her ring,
and will flee into the desert. If she can
charm attackers into submission, she will
move within reach of the party (easy
enough for her to do, in her enlarged form)
and will begin touching them and draining
their wisdom points away. Once the party
has been completely brought under her
control, she will command the rope of en-
tanglement to release them, and will bid the
party to follow her away, where she will
dine on them at her leisure . . . .
If Telketnatun is involved in the ambush,
she will assist Feyodena by inscribing a
symbol of stunning on the first step of the
stairway down from the monument (beside
the rope). She will then use her dispel magic
power on anyone who appears to be a spell
caster (having a genius intelligence, Telket-
natun has a 90% chance of accurately pick-
ing out spell casters, even in disguise).
Knowing that Feyodena will be trying to
charm those caught in the rope of entangle-
ment, she will concentrate on uncaptured
spell casters, maintaining this power from
round to round until everyone is captured,
escapes, or is slain. If she takes more than
half damage in hit points or is in danger of
losing her life, Telketnatun will fly away for
good. If the gynosphinx and her ally win,
they will divide the party up between them
(Telketnatun getting all the clerics and
bards) and have an informal luncheon.
Ending the scenario
If time runs out and the monument starts
to descend into the sands again, the charac-
ters will know about it only if they are out-
side the monument or have a guard
stationed somewhere who can warn the
group; the descent of the monument will be
completely silent. The monument will sink
into the sands at a rate of 30? per round,
and no magical force or power can stop it.
Characters standing on top of the monu-
ment will be able to leap off onto the sand
and escape. Those inside the monument
will be trapped (the secret entranceway
shuts and locks one round after the descent
starts, with a 17th-level wizard
lock in effect
upon it) and will have to wait for two years
to escape ? unless they leave through the
gates into the Elemental Planes.
Any characters who manage to survive
the dangers of the monument and return to
Ruatha will be treated as heroes by the
villagers. They will get free food, free lodg-
ing, and other courtesies. The townspeople
will ask only that the characters describe, in
great detail, all of their adventures within
the monument. Refusal to do so will be
taken as an insult, and the charaters will be
escorted forcefully out of town.
-
Map mistakes
-
Dear Dragon,
In "The Ruins of Andril" (issue #81), the
maps do not contain a room #38 but the text
refers to it. Where is room #38?
Danny Russell
Russell, Ky.
(Dragon #84)
Danny, put a "38" in the chamber right in the
middle of the fourth level map on page 54. This
room connects the fourth level to the rest of the
complex by way of the shaft leading up to the
floor of room 37.
-- KM
(Dragon #84)