-.

SAVAGE rIDE PREVIEW

BEWARE.tHERE THEREBE SPOILERS...

h e first savage tide has

already touche d the mortal

world. Unl eash ed from the cruel heart of a shadow pearl. the tide swept over an an
cient civilization. transforming th e citizens of a proud city into feral . can n ibal istic
fiends. The hateful architects of the savage tide

watched. taking pride in the ruin they had wrought. Now, after a th ousand years, the
savage tide is about to return. Yet this time, the doomjyill not be limited to one hapless
city. This time, all of civilization waits unknowing on the sho re. blissfully ignorant
ofwhat the tide is ab out to bring in .

.s¥~---;:tuA, -r:

ff-u, 7d ;It,; .:f!""'rl by Jam es Jacobs The Pes are re cruited by a desperate nob le of
the city of Sasserine, on e Lavinia van derboren. After he r parents recently perished in
a freak accident, she in herited a large number of debts along with the rest ofthe esta
te. Yet her real problem is n ot financial, but personal Her younger brother Vanthus h
as fallen in with a bad cro wd: thi eves, cutthroats, and smugglers. Lavini a needs the
pes to hel p track down her brother, but they soon find that he's the worst ofthe bunch-it
was at his lurid that the elder vanderborens peri shed . Vanthu s now stan ds at the
center of the Lotus Drag on s, a violent and deadl y thieves' gu ild that has recen tly
ascended to a position of power in Sasserine's un derworl d. Th e PCs m ust defeat
this guild before its m embers and their aquati c allie s stage a violent cou p agains t
the city government. Unfort unately, even as th e PCs defeat the Lotu s Dragons; vanth
us slips away to pu rsu e a new plan.

.s¥dru.tu:U 2,

TL l3ut/Y-wCJ poultices th ey const an t ly brew. T her e are 11 0 dose s o f the d ru g h

er e--each d o se is wo rt h 15 gp on the black m arket. Ad d iti on al in form ation on
san nis h (as well as rule s for add ict ion ) can be found on pages 4'- 43 of the Book oj
Vile Darkness. Out si de the warren, the three pools contai n nearly com plete bre ws of
black pulp poultice. Any chara cter who makes a DC 2 0 Spelleraft check or a DC 25
Heal che ck can dr aw eigh tee n do ses of black pulp poultice fr om th e po ols, given
an ho ur of nauseating toil.

B6. The Black Way A deep crevice yawns in th e sto ne he re,

dropping away into the inkydark below. A rickety wooden lift. desce nd s into the da rk-
ness, raised and lowered bya primitive pulley system of frayed ropes.

This shaft serves as a passage into th e Iightless reaches below the Isle ofDread . and
ult im atel y the ruined aboleth city of Golis mo rga. The lift can be operated by hand
from abo ve or on the lift itself. If m ore than 4 0 0 pounds is placed u pon th e lift, th e
whole thing plummets into the cavern 60 feet below. : A DC 10 Survival check is
enough to no te tha t the re's been a lot of activity around the edge of this pit, and that
a path has been worn between th e pit's edge and the northern passageway to th e
cast. If Irgzid is with the part y, he tells them the sou rce of the shadow pearls is down
th is shaft, and warns the PCs of th e lift's maxim um weight. C. The Burning Pools (EL
13 ) Eleva tion: 510 feet belo w sea level Distan ce from Laogro at: 2 miles Trickles of
water emerge from a crack in the ceiling of this cavern, splitting into num erous rivulets
that roll slowlydown stalactites and drip off into the deep, milky pools that dot the floor
of this chamber. The liquid in this chamber ma y look like mu rky water, but is in fact
highly acidic . Each pool is 40 feet de ep, following a twisted cou rse through soft er
veins of m etal th at have long sin ce eroded away, leaving behind polished stone walls
the liquid can not consu me. A splash of th is stuff d eals 1d6 acid dam age, while tot al
im m ersion deal s rode acid damage. Worse, the fume s rising from th e acid fill th is
cavern with toxins, constituting an inhaled poison (Fort itude DC 13, 1 Con damage/i da
Con da mage). If Irgzid is guid ing the PCs, he stop s th em before ente ring thi s
cavern and warn s them ofthe burning pools and th at th ey m ust hurry th roug h the
cave while holdi ng their br eath to avoid breathing the toxic air. Unfort unately, he
doesn't

know abou t the amorphous predat or th at has moved in to the cavern . Crea tu re: An
elder black p ud d in g seeped up from th e d ept hs below to claim this cavern as its
lair a few days ago. Immune to poison but no t acid , the ooze has learn ed to avoid the
pools ofcaust ic liquid on the Iloor, spending most of its time h eap ed agains t the
southeastern wall by the passageway leading down. It swiftly m oves to atta ck
anything that int ru des in to the room. Elder Black Pudding: hp 290; Monsler Manual
zOl. D. The Hanging Forest (EL 12) Elevatio n: 960 feet belo w sea level Di s tan ce fro
m the Burning Pools: 8 m iles This seventy-foot-wide cavern drops away into a
blackgulf below. A forest of stalactites hangs from the ceiling, some dropping away out
of sight into the darkness. A ledge, its surface glistening with moisture and mold, winds
down the inner wall of the cavern, a descending path of dubious safety. On ce a
volcanic shaft, this cavernous chasm dr op s 400 feet into a rubblestrewn field of petri
fied trees ofall sizes, subsumed by th e earth in some geol ogic up he aval and su bs
eq uen tly pe trified . Chu n ks of shattered branches litter the floor, bu t a nu m ber of
the logs are st ill su rp risingly lifelike. The led ge leading do wn the walls of th e shaft is
slip pery but safe as long as it is na vigated at no faster than a creature's base speed.
A creature th at take s faster action on thi s ledge (such as fighting or a double move)
mu st mak e a DC 12 Balance chec k. Failu re by 5 or more indi cates a fall off the
ledge. Crea tu re: This vertiginous cavern has lon g been the lair of a cantankerou s ro
per. Th e creatu re feeds on vermin and othe r creatures tha t wan der thr ou gh th e
cave, bu t allo ws the diseased troglod ytes to pass through on th eir voyages to and
from th e dept hs below for two reasons : the trogl od ytes never fail to o ffer it one of
the slaves they're transport ing bel ow, and t he ro per's foun d th at d isea se d troglo
dytes are parti cularl y

u nap petizing. It has no qu alms abo ut eat ing PCs, of cou rs e, and once they com e
with in 60 feet of the floor of this cave, it attacks with its stra nds. If Irgzid is with the
part y, he warns th em of the rop er 's p rese nce but is at a loss on ho w it mi ght react
to the pes; he knows on ly th at whe n th e t roglodytes pass through here , th ey offer it
a prisoner as a snack. Rop er: hp 85; Monster .Ma nua121S. Treasure: The roper has
43 pp and 5 garnet s (each worth 100 gp) in side it s gut. Oth er tr easur es can be
found among the h u nd reds of bo nes th at lie scattered across the floor ofthis cave.
With a DC 20 Search check , ten m inutes of searching turns up one of the following: a
silver and ivor y scepter worth 1,200 gp, a +l disruptionjl ail, a cloak oj protfction +3. or
a slaffrffrost with Z4 charges rem ain ing. Developmen t: T he rop er 's initial att itude is
h ostil e, bu t if th e PCs call ou t to it befor e th ey come withi n reach, the y m ay be
able to sec ure it s cooperation (at least temporari ly) with Diplomacy or Int im idate. If
ma de fr iend ly, the roper lets the PCs pass if th ey offer it a live snack or at least
1,000 gp in gems . If m ad e hel pful, the roper let s th em pass wit hout an offeri ng . E.
The Cerulean Curtain Elevation: 1,800 feet below sea level Dist an ce fro m the Han gi
ng For est: 16 mil es

The tu nnel wide ns into a large cavern nea rly two h und red feet in diamete r. A shi
mmerin g cu rtain of rippling blue light bisects th is cavern from left to right and floor to
ceiling. The light rese mbles a t ranslucen t membr ane that swirls and sparkles like th
e surface of a pond. The cavern on the othe r side is visible thro ugh t his sheen, and t
he tu nn el proceeds around a corner at the far end. Shapes and figu res seem to ripple
an d writhe along this curtain of cerulean light, and now and then these sha pes pass
by slowly enough to be identi fied as Olma n warriors in full battle regalia, th eir mouth s
open in silent screams. A low whispering fills th e room , but th e cave is ot herwise s
ilent.

MARCH 2007

DUNGEON

43

44

THE L1GHTLESS DEPTHS

BY F. WESLEY SCHNEIDER AND JAMES LAFOND SUTTER

111is stra nge wall oflight is th e bou nd ary of th e Cerulean Curtain, ;1 she ll of ene
rgy miles acr oss th at enci rcl es the ancient aboleth cit y of Goli sm o rga like a bu bb
le, its edges passing har ml essly th rough air and sto ne alike. Cre ate d ages ago whe
n a group of Olman warriors trigge red Tle ioc's Tear at the end of th e abol eth war, the
Cerulean Curtain has two effects. First, th e curtain is a poten t ward against th e
influence of aberran t thoughts and magic. The curtain automatically d ispels any ongoi
ng m ind -affecting effect on any cre atu re that passes th rough it. Likewise, mi nd
affecting effects canno t target creatu res on the opposite side ofthe curtain fro m the
so u rce. In this way the Olm ans en sured th at th e abo leth would not be able to sim
ply send hordes of en slaved minions after them or the ir d evice. Th e Curtain 's seco
nd effect is that it blocks the waters of the sub me rge d ocean from flooding th e
caverns within. Whil e water in contain ers or as part of a creatu re can pass through
with case, freely flowing water can no t. H er e and the re, small flaws in the curtain
allow water to tri ckle in, p revent in g the cavern s wi th in from becom in g comp letel y
lifeless. These narrow streams po ol and see p th ro ug h the caves to eventua lly
collect in Golism orga and ot he r caverns, fanning sma ll pool s of wate r tha t se rve to
keep tho se wh o live in thi s regi on alive. Yet fo r the aboleths, such trace amo un ts of
water are little more tha n a tease. Seen in small sections , the Cer ulean Curtain ap
pears as a flat blu e me mb ran e that's easily pene trated and cool to th e to uch. The
spirits of coun tless Olrn an war riors who died d uring the aboleth war inh abi t th e Cu
rta in- these spiri ts are peri od ically visible to an yon e observin g th e Curtain's face.
Tho ugh incapable of tak ing direct action on their own , it is these spirits who infuse the
shield with its power. Their whispe rs per m eate th e Cer ulea n Cur tain, occ as ion
ally reso lving in to snatche s o f th e Ol m an lan guage. With in 30 feet of th e cu rtain,
th ese wh is pers are unmistakab le, bu t beyon d thi s ran ge they are mu ch m ore
subd ued.

As a crea tu re passes thro ugh th e Curtain, this Whispering rises sharply to an alm ost
painful roar, as ofa thousan d people sho u t ing as m an y d iffer ent phrases, th en fall
s quiet again j ust as quick ly whe n th e tr avel er emer ges from the other side. From
that mom ent on, those wit hin th e sp he re fin d the m selves subj ect to random
bursts of di sconcert ing muttcrin gs, pa rticularly at tim es o f grea t st ress. T ho ugh
the Olman spi rits have no powe r to d irec tly affect the pe s, occasional spa tes of gh
ostly wh ispers are an excellent way to d rive home the creepy atm osphere oft his
adventu re. An atte m pt to comprehen d these whispe rs requir es a DC 15 Listen ch
eck and th e ab ili ty to un derstand the Olman lang uage. Whil e th e conte nt o f th ese
ot herworld ly di atribes is left up to you, consider using them to for es ha d ow co m ing
events , d ro p ping hin ts li ke "two faces watch the ti de" or "the m aw flows for th to bit
e" between inco he r en t ravin gs. T he wh ispers sho uld be at the ir st ronges t near
places of Olm an sig nificance, suc h as th e ru in ed te m ple in area I or the crat er at
area P. T he Cerulean Cu rta in funct io ns at caste r level zoth, but as long as TIaloc's
Tear still exis ts in area P, no fo rm o f m ortal magic can di sp el or suppress this field .

DUNGEON

MA RCH 2007

F. The Way 10 Barbas Elevation: 2 ,100 feet bel ow sea level D istance from the
Cerulean Cur ta in: 1 mile T he p rima ry t unnel br anche s one mi le from the Ceru
lean Cur tain cavern . One yo-foo t-wid e tun nel cont inu es sou th , while a ao -fc ot -
widc cavern angles off to the west . A DC 20 Survival ch eck m ade by a cha ract er
with Trac k is eno ugh to in di cate th at the amou n t of t raffic h ead ing d own the ao -
fco t-wid e tunn el is m uch mo re than the t rick le he ad ing wes t. If Ir gzid is with the
PCs, he pauses at th is in terse cti on, explaini ng tha t the sou thern rout e lead s on to
whe re the troglo dytes have me t with the Lo rd s of Dread. He the n grows thought ul,
tellin g the pe s th at the western route leads to

a tang led m aze of chambers, bu t at the far end is a secluded settlement called
Barbas. lrgzi d has been to Barb as only once as a chi ld -before th e troglodytes of
Laogroat forge d th eir allianc e wit h the Lords of Dre ad and fell victim to th e
sickness, they often trad ed with the town. Now, thou gh , the Barbans have clo sed
their bo rd er s to the t rog lodytes, having lit tle desire to acce pt their pestilen ce wit
hin th eir walls. Barb as is lik ely to b e the only place whe re the PCs will fin d safety an
d she lter in the light less dep ths. and further. the y m ay know m o re about the
shadoUJ j,w rls and the m ysteriou s kop rus. A visit to Barbas shouldn't ta ke too long,
and whil e he is rel uc tant to acco m pany the PCs, Irgzid encourage s th em to d o so.
Fl. The Maze (EL 7) Between th is in t er sect ion and the village of Bar bas is a large b
ut lowceiling ed cavern called the m aze. This ar ea is little m ore than a t o-foot-hi gh
hor izonta l crac k in the eart h, 200 yard s wid e and covered with scree an d gravel. as
well as larger boulders torn loose fro m the ceiling. Du e to the density of these scatt
ered mon oliths, vis ibili ty is red uced t o a max im u m of 30 feet in any d irection.
Between the stones, patches of color hint at plant life, su ggesti ng a subter ranean
past u re o f epic pr op o rtions. T he temperature in thi s vast vault is not iceably lower
tha n elsewhere in the tu n nels. To protec t th em selves against wan der ing m on s
ters an d oth e r un welcome visitors, the cit izens o f Barb as hav e ca refully cultiv ate
d th e fu ngus in this chamber to h id e a d eadly secre t. The fungus is laced with patc
hes of yellow and b rown mold (bot h detailed on page 76 of the Dun.9corl Master's
Guide), leaving a si ng le windin g trail of safety from one end to the ot he r. Th e to -
foot-wide trail through the Maze winds ro ughly a tho usand feet in al l. Anyone who
doesn't know the safe rou te can navi gate it b y m aki ng five DC 25 Su rvival che cks
to avoid the dangerous mold. Each failure exposes the group to bo th patch es of mo
ld. Any the source br oug h t int o th e m aze im m edia tel y

tri ggers a nearby pat ch of b ro wn mold, causing it to expan d in to a ten- foot square
con tai n ing th e offen di ng PC, po ten ti all y covering that sec tion of the path. Ad-
Hoc Experien ce Award : Ift h e pes m ake it across the m aze succ essfully,give th em
a CR 7 award.

F2. The Killing Field (EL 11) Here the ceiling rises t.o twenty feet and the vast plain of
moldy gravel parts, giving way to a large hemisphere of bare stone dotted with short
pillars. Ahead, makeshift walls , . of wood and stone surround a sprawling shantytown.
Creatures: Fo r t h os e in vad er s, monstrous or othe rwise, who manage to make it th
ro ugh th e maze an d approach Barb as's gates, one final defen se awaits. In th e
cleare d field befor e its gates, six hook h orrors prowl th e gro un ds. The hook horro rs
ar e fed an d cared for by th e citizens of Barba s, an d the beetle like crea tu~es
quickly ra lly in a line in fron t of th e gates to Barbas ifthey notice anyone emerging fr
om the maze, h owling an alar m an d clash ing their h ooklike arms toge ther in a th
reaten ing di splay intended to scare off intruders and aler t their ma ster s. A hook
horror is a o-foot-tall insectoid hu m anoid cre ature , wit h a vu ltu relike head and two
powerful arms th at end in im m ens e curved ho oks.

Abilitie s Str 24, Dex 17, Co n 14, Int 7, Wis 12, Ch a 9 Feat s Cleave, Improv ed Bull
Rush , Imp roved

HOOK HORROR S

(6)

CR6

N l arge abe rrat ion

Monster Manual II 126 lnit +3; Senses blindse nse 60 fl., darkvision 60 ft.: liste n +17,
Spot +1 l an gu age s Unde rcommo n AC 22, touch 12, flat-footed 19
Trip, Power Atta ck, Skill Focu s (l iste n) Skills Climb +15, Hide +3 (+11 in

subterranean areas), listen +17 light Se ns it ivity (Ex) Expos ure to brig ht light im
poses a -2 pe nalty o n a hook ho rror's att ack rolls. Powe r Sun de r (Ex) A hoo k ho
rro r tha t

hp 65 (10 HD)

attempts to sun de r does not provo ke

Fort +S, Ref +6, Will +8

atta cks of o pportu nity an d inflicts doub le

Wea kne ss lig ht se ns itivity Spd 20

n., climb 20 ft.

Mele e 2 claws +13 (l d6+7) and

bite +8 (2d6+J) Space 10 fl.; Reach 10 ft. Ba se Atk +7; Grp +18 At k O ptio ns im
proved gra b (both claws), power sunder, re nd ing bite (3d6+10)

da mage to any obj ect struck. Rending Bite (Ex) If a hoo k ho rror win s a g ra pp le
chec k, it automatically hits with its rend ing bite atta ck on the same round (t his repl
aces its nor ma l bite attac k fo r that rou nd ).

Tactics: Th e citizens of Barba s are isolationists,and gener ally assume anyone

that comes to th eir vill age th ese days is an enemy. When the h ook horrors raise the
alarm, do zen s of Barbas's deformed citiz ens clam ber up ont o the walls to watch the
hook horror s defend th e city. As long as the pes do n't intru de m ore tha n 5 feet from
th e ma ze into th e killing field, th e h ook h orrors don't att ack. This sh ould give th e
pe s a chance to sh out ou t gre etin gs to th e village of Barb as. Assume th e village's
initia l attitud e is unfriendly. If th e PCs can convince Barba s of their pe acefu l int en
tions by adj us tin g this attitude to helpful, the guards call d O\\TI comman ds to th e ho
ok ho rrors to stand aside and allow the PCs en try. O therwi

Xc

Cs

C
Vbscvb

Sd

Vb

Sfd

Sf

Fs c