Rei era MULL Dragons of Triumph Advanced Dungeonsf)ragon melee maiRandom encounTers In addition to the set encounters and events in the adventure, the following random en- counters may oceur, You may alter the fie ‘quency if you choose, or omit thet altogether i the party is seriously weakened. Properly run, random encounters add flavor and excite- ment to the game without slowing down the adventure Use the following tables to set up a random encounter. Table I contains a list oF the areas that might be explored during the course of the adventure. Next to the areas is 8 column labeled “Check.” This shows bow often you should check wo see if @ random encounter 0c curs in that area. For example, “1/3 hours” means that you should make a random en- coumier check once every three game hours that the PCs spend in that location. To make a check, rll 1410, I the result isa 1, a random fencounter takes place [Next look at the column marked “Range.” Roll the die listed and add the modifier beside it Look up the resulting number on Table 2 0 find the random encounter that takes place The statistics for the encounter are given on the Combined Monster Sttsties Chart. Adventure Clock Bach [| = 1 day Su Mo Tu We Th Wek! of) f) 02 fd tt Wek? of) ft) ti tl td Weks of) f} 0) ft) tl weks of) fC) Cf) tl 01 Daily Clock Each = 1 turn (10 minutes) Use this lock to keep track of time within a day. AM 12:00 1:00 2:00 3.00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00) 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 ooooooococoo0 oooooecoco0G ooooceoocoeo oocoococooo0 cocoooucoooun ooococoococo Table 1: Random Encounter Checks Area Plains of Neraka Net aka (Outer City) Neraka (inner City) Tunnels beneath Plains Net Undercity (Nightwalk! Sewer) Table 2: Random Encounters 1 10. 4, 2, 1B 4 15 aka Undetity Red dragon wiotticer Blue dragon wotfcer Black dragon wioficer Green dragon wiofficer White dragon wofficer 246. Freedom fighters 2d6 Kapak druconians 2d6 Freedom fighters 2d4 Ogres, 18 Sivak draconians 16 Hill gists 246 Minotaurs 146 Tellops 146 Bozak draconians 1d6 Aurak draconians game Clocks Use the following clocks to keep track of time during the adventure. The clocks are reusable, so mark in pencil, Fr PM: 12 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9: 10: u 00 00 00 00 00 0 00 00 00 00 00 00 oooococococoo oococooococcoo gooocooccoceg oooooooocooo oooooooveL00 oooocoococoo Check Vi hour Vi wm Vi tum VA howe VL wm V4 urns 16. 8 Dark pilgrims 17, 246 Gully varves| 18. 1 Varpire 19. 1d6 Mobats 20, 346. Giant rats 21, 2d6 Carrion erawlers 2 16 x 200 Bats 2d6 Ghouls 128 Ghasts 2d Wights 24 Wiaiths 14 x 20 Skeletons 1d6 x 10 Zombies 1a Banshews Lich Hour Clock Each C= 1 combat round = one minute Use this clock 10 keep track of time within cech hour mnt QOO900990009 m2 GOG9959000 Pm QOOQUUOQOO00 tet QOOOOU99OOO hms 990099009 ns GO9090000 imiaguaaaagye mes OS OCgddo04 mm SG O0Q9090009 he sSQOOOURUO00000 wes QQ G0090000 jm! OO000000000 hm? 9000000000 he 3 OO OOOOI000 mo sQ09000000o tm SQ 00990000 mms QOQ00000000Advanced Dungeons{;Dragons: Official Game Adventure Dragons of Triumph by Douglas Niles TABLE OF CONTENTS Prologue ‘The Heroes are introduced and thor story is reviewed. A few notes about the word of Kern Ending the Epic 6 Determine the maans’ whereby the ark Queen shall mest her defeat .oF gain ‘her wltmate viumph, The Events of the Tale . : 7 The occurences of the siory are isted, and ther affects Goscnbéd, (Chapter 15: The Neraka Plains 1“ "A shattered land of fre and simoke Separates the Heroes iran thelr goal Chapter 16: Neraka, : P = 9 The Dragonarmies gather in the cy preparing for the arival oftheir Queen. Chapter 17: The Temple of Darkness . ..- = = a The Highiords gather for ceremony, competing for dominance atthe right hand of Taktisis, Queen of Darkness. The stage i Sot Epilogue 2 The Heroes" long quest reaches i Conclusion ‘Appendix I: Mastors of Good and Evil... .-. Fr Import NPCs are described ae an ait othe Di ‘Appendix I The Battle of Neraka 40 The res arrayed for bate are Gesctbed.. The timely rival of reinfercananis may wi the day. crepirs te ne ee a Original Outine: Tracy Hickman Editing: Mike Breault ens, a Cover Art: Clyde Caldwell ist an waa st os YOUR Interior Art: Jeff Easley, Larry Elmore, “ Diana Magnuson Cartography: David LaForce, Steven Sullh TSR in. TSR UK Ltd tite neva Cambridge C81 4a wi sora? ‘United. KingdomDragons of Triumphs is the final adventure in the epic DRAGONLANCE" series. It re creates the climax of the epic, perhaps as de- scribed in the DRAGONLANCE Chronicles, Volume I: Dragons of Spring Dawning, of perhaps with one of the alternate endings pre sented within In DLI3, Dragons of Truth te player char acters journeyed to the very edge of the Plains of Neraka. If they were fortunate, the PCS passed Uuough the Glitespalice during that Adventure and gained valuable information from the gods of good. In any event, the He- toes have before them a journey across the twisted and shattered plain t0 the city of Neraka jiself: Here they must enter the Tem- ple ofthe Queen of Darkness, seat of the most potent evil upon the face of Krynn, and try to fain ultimate victory forthe forces of good ‘Although this module is designed t0 con: elude the epic series, it can be played a5 stand-alone ‘adventure. Players and DMs are encouraged to begin the series with DLI, DLS, or DLO, as these adventures each init: ate Significant episodes of the story. IF your gaming group does not have the time for such 4 major undertaking, however, enough infor- tation is provided here to run DL14 as a story tuto tel, ‘The DRAGONLANCE series tells & story While the PCs are fee to tke any actions that they want within the context of the world of Keynn, the major conflicts around them are stuped by the developing story. Characters of even moderately goad tendencies will find themselves drawn into the roles of epic heroes as they confront the ultimate evil of their ‘world, Al of the player characters fom previous DRAGONLANCE adventures are available for use during DLI4, The characters on the module eover represent the choice of PCS the players can run during this adventure. The PCS who were not involved in DL13 can bs ‘met during DLI4 and the players may choose to run these PCS rather than the ones they have been runing for the last few modules ‘The players may also choose to use characters fof their own rather than the pregenerated “The group may be increased in sie if you wish, but be aware of the problems inberent in running @ group of 10 or 12 characters. If fewer than eight players are availble, you should probably include some additional characters as NPCS or benchmen, in onder 10 provide the group with a reasonable chance of ‘overcoming the challenges presented in this adventure Prologue ‘The Obscure Death Rube Earlier DRAGONLANCE modules employed the obscure death rule asa means of ensuring that important NPCS remained availble for Use in ater adventures. This rule no Tonge 2p plies Wo either PCs or NPCs, Any characters Sin during the couse of this adventure can the removed from the sty, subject 19 the sual provisions of the AD&D" miles syst. adventure SecTions ‘The adventure is divided into three chapters tnd represent the conclusion of the third part of the DRAGONLANCE story begua in DL. ‘These chapters detail specific areas thatthe PC will probably passthrough during the ad venture: the Plains of Neraka, the city of Neraka, and the Temple of the Queen of Darkness in the center of Neraka “The module begins with a lis of events, oc- currences designed to take place at specific times during the adventure. In each chapter you will find descriptions of encounter ateas. ‘These are the significant locations placed throughout the revlon described! in the chap- ter, Encounters occur only if the PCs travel to that particular locaton. Events, on the other thand, occur at cerain times during the adven- ture (which is why it is important to keep tack of tm), regantless of the PCS” location. ‘The inside cover of the module includes several Game Clocks. These consist ofa series ‘oF boxes that you ean use to check off the pas sage of time during the adventure, Since events occur revaniless ofthe PCS” actions, the jame Clocks ean serve as a valuable reminder ‘of when itis time fo ran an event For both events and encounters, those por- tions of th text enclosed in boxes may be r= ‘vealed tothe players atthe start ofthe event or counter. This is ot mandatory. The DM ray decide instead to phrase the information inks or her own words, modifying it if nce say to suit the circumstances of the situation In genera, however, boxed material is infor. mation readily apparent to the PCs and should be conveyed 10 the players ‘The remaining material in an event or en counter description is for tbe DM's use only. It Should only be revealed in response to PC ‘All monster statistics are located on the module cover for easy reference. Fach event or encounter lists the umber of monsters en countered and any specific tactics or motiva tions that’ might apply specifically to that situation, Among the statistics on the Combined Monster Statistics Chart is a columa listed as THACO (To Hit Armor Class 0), This is a shorthand notation that makes it easy to de ternine the creature's chance to bit an oppo nent of any Armor Class. Simply subtragt the character's AC from the monster's THACO 10 determine the number ceded on 1420 for the monster to hit that character. Remember that subiracting a negative number is like adding a positive number. Thus, a monster with & THACO of 15, when attacking @ chat- acter with an AC of “2, needs a 17 (15 = -2) to seore a hit ability Checks Occasionally an Ability Check is called for during the adventure. This is a check against ‘one ofthe character's abilities (Dexterity, Wis- dom, cle) and is refened to as a Dexterity ‘Check, Wisdom Check, of whatever ability being checked against ‘To make an Ability Check, roll 1420 and compare the result to the character's appropei= ate ability sore. Ifthe roll sles than or equal to the characters ability score, the action sue- seeds. If the roll is greater than the seor, the action fils, and the character suffers whatever horrible consequences are described events Since the module tells 2 story, certain events ‘will occur during the adventure to avanee the plot of the story. Regardless of the actions of the PCs, the world vill go on around them, and these events are designed to reflet this, ‘The events for this adventure are listed and described on pages 7-13 1a Note on The: dragonlance Novels Some of your players may have read the DRAGONLANCE Chronicles trilogy of nov cls Players using PCS from the story will find that their understanding of both the charac- ters and the world is enriched by this reading. Dungeon Masters will certainly Find that thes fel for the world of Krynn, and their ability to communicate this feling to the players is cenhanced by reading the novels. The novels Aare not required to play the adventures, how- Players should undersand that wading the novels does not give away infomation that will tke the mystery and excitement out of the game. The information related in the ‘books is similar, but by no means identical, to the events and encounters in this moduleIn fact, players who assume thatthe adven tures unfold exactly as given inthe novels will ‘quickly find themselves in a great deal of trou be! The adventure attempts to re-reate the conditions ofthe story, but it leaves the dec sion making and roleplaying upto the charac ters and the DM, Remember that nether PCs nor NPCs are obligated to perform the actions that they do in dhe books! Because of the variety of endings presented forthe saga, its quite ikely that the means of defeating the Queen of Darkness in the ad ventutes is completely diferent fom that pre= sented in the novels. Allow your game to have its own feeling and texture ‘The DRAGONLANCE” adventures create «8 complex saga, Torun it well, you should take the time 10 read the adventure carefully be fore you play it. Try to anticipate your players” reactions, and think of ways to motivate them to remain within the boundaries of the mod ule. Within these boundaries, allow them freedom to explore the setting and discover the information they need through their own fetions and initiative. Do not lead them by the nose, of prohibit them from certain sctons. Instead, ty drawing them in the di rection desired by using tantalizing bits of in- formation. Do not be afraid 10 improvise to rake the adventure more enjoyable for your payers 4 NoTe on Play Drogons of Triumph is high-kvel module, with high stakes. The enemies of the Heroes fare neither stpidl nor careless. This is the com ter ofthe Dragon Empire, and as such is well and carefully guarded. “This is one of the most complicated adven: tures in the series, and requires that you se- main on your toes at all times. You must be fully avare of the procedures used by the Highlords for the defense and safeguarding of their citadel. These precautions are extensive indeed, but not impossible to overcome if the PCs ae careful For the Highlords® defenses to be convine ing, however, you must keep them in mind at all times, The disposition of troops within and without the ety, the procedures for entry and exit the protocol of tops entering the gates of the city, and the pattern of watches. and ‘uards set up throughout the city and temple ‘will all afoot the actions ofthe PCs. You rst learn this information and keep it throughout play. The players should this obstacle i a challenging and dangerous ‘nest is up fo you to make sure that they ane not disappointed. Keep in mind, however, that no station should ever be tnuly hopeless in heroic fantasy role playing. There should always be away out ofa jam i the players dis play the ingenuity and spirit to discover it Furthermore, this is the big finish, If you have been playing the entire series, this isthe culmination of about two years oF role playing for your players. As the big payof, it must not ‘come easily. Makes them work for it and make it fun! Your players’ memories of the entire siga will be capped by their experi play- ing this adventure. Prepure carefully, play ‘your best and pull out all the stops! Other Sections of The O14 Package Dragons of Triumph contains three books. ‘The adventure occupies one of these and ends with appendices that list the major NPCS fig Ung iM this part of the story. the climactic BATTLESYSTEM™ scenario, and the epi logue. The second book consists of all the maps necessary fo run this adventure, as well as a collection of filly prepared BATTLESYSTEM roster sheets. You may want to carefully re- rove ibe stbles binding the book together. This wil allow you to collect the maps to gether as you need them for play, and also to Sot the rosters separately if you decide to play the climactic batle 19 augment the finale of the saga "The BATTLESYSTEM rules engagement is completely optional, and players interested in role playing the adventure will not suffer it it is not uve. IF your players have enjoyed the game on boi 2 tole playing anda. batefekd however, the BATTLESYSTEM scenario repe- sents grand culmination to the military reso Tution of the conflict. It is, incidentally, the Tangest bale ever published for the ADED® ‘game systom on 9 tetical level. Five evil arm Fes take 10 the fields around Neraka 0 moet the combined forces of good as they march on the eitade! of evil The baatle setup and play is specifialy de sorbed on page lof this book. Its use can considerably augment the climax of the ad ventire for those players interested in large- scale tactics. If your role-playing group is not interested in pursuing this cours, the battle cean be used as a eady-toplay scenario for any players of BATTLESYSTEM rules or fantasy ‘The tied book of the package is the Keyan source book. Here you will find a collection of some of the information presented in the ap Pendioes of other DRAGONLANCE mos ules. New monsters, such as draconians, for ‘example, are desenbed in the source. book rather than in a separate appendix. Also in cluded are all erature unique to Keyna, The source book is designed to allow you to amy your campaign forward in Keynn, if you the conclasion of the War of the Lance. Given are descriptions of the history of Kryon and the status of the ‘world following the War ofthe Lance, as well 154 listing and brit description of the nations of Krynn, Magical items and creatures unique to Kryon are ako detailed The module also contains a full-color map of the continent of Ansalon on the world of rym, This map includes the settings of all of the DRAGONLANCE series of adventures. It can be used as 2 campaign aid for future ad ventures on the World of Krynn, a8 a ree for this module, or as a poster for those who ‘wish to have an attractive and colrtil com: memorition of this role-playing saga ‘The World of Kryyn Several important differences exist between the world of Kiyan and a standard AD&D" game adventure world. Most of these diffr- fences are elaborated on in the source book, but a few will affect the play of this module Players and) DMs new to the world of Keyan should be aware of these differences. Clerics Centuries before the War of the Lance, the world was wracked by a mighty Catalysm brought down by the gods as punishment for the atrogance of Krynn’s inhabitants, During this Catalyse, knowledge of Keynn’s. trie sods vanished, as did all clerical abilities. Only recently, with the accomplishments of the PCs as set forth in DL1, Dragons of De- spmir, bas knowledge of the truc gods been re turned 10 the world. “True clerics now wear a medallion of fith bearing, the symbol of thir god. Only wo sods of good are known: Mishakal, goddess of healing, and Plaine, the Celestial Paladin and ultimate god of good alignment All PC clerics brought into the campaign must be of ‘good alignment and fallow one of these two sods. In addition, some NPCS who have beard fof or met the PCs during the course of thei adventures are farliar with these gods, Certain NPC clevis of evil alignment are followers of Takhiss, the Queen of Darkness. “These cleris, and PC clerics, have the normal clerical abilities of spell casting, turing un ‘dead, et, All other NPC clerics have no cle cal abilities, as word of the retum of the tue gods i slow to spread among the peoples of KoyPrologue Kender Halflings are unknown on Keyan, but the world is populated by a very similar race: the keender. Kender resemble wizened 14-year- folds and wear shoes. They have an insatiable curiosity, and are completely immune 1 all types of fear, whether magical or otherwise. ner also have the ability to taunt oppo- rents into reckless attacks by enraging them with verbal abuse, Any creature taunted by a ender must save vs, spell or atack wildly for 110 rounds. Such creatures suffer a 2 pen- alty to all tack rolls and a +2 penalty to AC for the duration of the taunts ees. Dragons amd anagonLances For long centuries before and after the Cata- clysm, dragons were nat seen anywhere on the face of Krynn, With the beginning of the War of the Lance, evil dragons returned to Keyan, spearheading the invading ammies of the Dragon Highlords. With the conclusion of the PCS" adventure in DL9, Dragons of Deceit, good dragons also returned to Keynn and joined in the war against evil ‘Now dragons ofall colors and sizes are com- monly encountered, The setting of this adven- ture is well populatod with an assorment of evil dragons, as itis with all of the minions of the Dark Queen, Good dragons are rare in the areas around Neraka, although the optional BATTLESYSTEM'™ scenario includes Forces of good dragons that arrive with the rest of the armies of good The knowledge necessary to forge Dragonlances, potent magical weapons that have aided the war against evil, vas gained through another of the PCs" exploits, this time detailed in DL7, Dragons. of Light Dragonlances—elegant ‘neailes of steel and silverare being forged as quickly as possibl tnd have proven invaluable in combating the evil dragons, ‘There are two types of Dragonlances: a footman’s lance, and @ mounted lance. ‘The footman’s lance is eight feet long and ean be wielded by a fighter. The mounted lance twice as Tong and correspondingly heavier. It can only be wielded by a figher mounted on Aragon or other large steed, such as a heavy warhorse of 21 or more hit points, Mounted Tanees oRen bear an attached shieldguard, These lances are almost always wsed by fight. crs mounted on dragons, because the awe power of dragons makes horses and other Stood relatively useless against them. ‘A footman’s Dragonlance inflicts 106 points of damage to stall or medium foes and 1d8 points of damage to large foes. The ‘weapon has a +1 bonus 1 hit if hand held. can aso be cast as a spear, but with a -? pen aly to the attack roll, When used against tragons, a footman's Dragonlance inflicts damage equal to the bit points of the wielder. Thus, a 24-hi-point fighter would inflict 24 hit points of damage to 4 dragon, “The mounted lance inilits 268 +1. points fof damage to small- or medium-sized foes, and 346 points of damage against large tar gets. Against dragons, it inficts damage equal to the total hit points of the wielder and the mount, If not mounted, the lance causes 346 points of damage against dragons. The ‘weapon has a +2 bonus to hit, but only when motinted Money Unlike the gold standard of the usual AD&D" campaign, stel is the most valuable metal and gold is common and is of litle worth One steel piece (Stl) is the equivalent in purchasing power of a gp in a standard cam- ‘ign, A gold piece on Krynn is the equiva Feat ofa silver pioce in a standard campaign. demihuman Races AIL PC elves are Qualinesti elves, unless spsvifically” stated otherwise on a charactor card from a previous DL adventure, These elves are curently without a homeland, as the lovely forested regions of Qualinesti have been ovcupied by the Dragonarmies. Forti nately, most of the inhabitants were able t© successfully evacuate their homeland and flee Westward to the island of Southern Ergot They live there now in a stale of uneasy ali ance with the sik Kagonest elves and the Silvanest elves, PC dwarves, unless previously indicated otherwise, are hill dwarves. PC dwarves ari ing fiom ther campaigns will probably be hill dwarves as well. Two other races of ddwares, the mountain dwarves and the gully dwarves, exist on Krynn, There is tremendous Ditemess and antagonism between the hill dwarves and the mountain dwarves, while all fof the civilized inhabitanss of Krymn regard the gully dwarves as filthy, miserable crea ‘The Story Thus fan The player characters were introduced to the War of the Lance approsimately a year before the time of this adventure. At tht time, the armies of the Dragon Highlords had been spreading their influence over Krynn for many months, but the primitive state of communi- cations and magic in the world prevented wort of the war from spreading beyond the ar- as ofits immediate effect. The evil armies overran the easter portions ‘of the continent of Ansalon easly, quickly, and cruelly. These nations were small, widely separated, and) made up of many different and bickering mces, Scarcely pausing to consolidate their hold- ings, the Highlords net tured to the west Five mighty” armies, each spearheaded by dragons of ane ofthe evil varieties (red, green, blue, black, and white) smashed into the Ccouriies of the norther plains and the re- sions of Tarsis and Abanasinia to the south Teowas in Abenasinia that our story began, as the Heroes and their peaceful village of Solace ‘were swept into the maclstrom of warfare, The barbarian princess Goldmoon, bearing a. pre- ous crystal staff, rll a group of brave chamcters, Together, the pany set off for the sunken ruins of the ancient city of Xak Tsaroth, now buried deep beneath a fetid swamp. Here the Heroes first encountered the abominable draeonians of the Dragonarmies. These vaguely humanoid creatures, with scaly skin and the wings and teeth of dragons, ra sacked and plundered in the van of the Drag. fonarmies. At Xak Tsaroth, the Heroes penetrated deep beneath the city, and had thie fist encounter with a creature from what, they all had assumned to be fieiful legend: a stagon! The crystal staff enabled the party to slay the monster. Among the dragon's. treasures they discovered the legendary Disks of Mishakal— priceless platinum circles that con- tained knowledge lost for cenuries. Through the disks, the Heroes began to return knowl- telge of the True Gods to the land of Keyan Gokimoon became the frst oF the new, spel casting clerics But Abanasinia and its pastoral neighbor, Qualinesti, were soon overrun. The encroach” ing Dragonarmies seemed to push all resist- lance out of their paths as they’ drove into the ‘mountains of the dvarven fastness of Thor bard, The Heroes reseved hundreds of slaves cap. tured from the lands around Abanasini, and Ted the huge party southward through a long and bitter winter march, At great cost they persuaded the mountain dwarves to shelter the refugees, while the Heroes proceeded to the ancient separ of Tarsis, seeking passage to the west for their pitfal throng. Tris, once & fabled seaport, now lies 50 niles fom the sea, a fact the Heroes did not Aiscover until they reached the ety. The Cata- clysm that wrought sich devastation across theROLOGUE face of Keynn also changed the mature of the shorelines, and the city now stands in-the midst of a barren pli. As the Heroes despaired in Tari, the city was struck by the alvanes elements ofthe Red Dragonarmy. In the chaes and confusion as the city collapsed around them, the Heroes ‘were separated. One band, the Heroes of the Lance, made their way 0 the south, fesing ‘across winter's plains to the looming fortes of Teewall Caste. The other group the Heroes of Legend, was rescued fom death by Abana Starbreeze. When the Heroes of the Lance reached Ieewall Castle, they batted the White Dragon Highlord, Feal-Thas, defeating him and. driving off his sempentine steed, Sloe ‘These Heroes then salvaged an ancient sailing ship and set sal for the island of Sanerst were a great council of good was reported 10 be. gathering, The ship was wrecked on the shores of Southem Ergoth, however, and the characters became embroiled in a spitefll war among the various Fations of elves who had made their homes on that island. While fleeing the con- flict, the Heroes discovered the mighty tomb of Huma, legendary hero and bane of du ‘gonkin. ‘And here they discovered the seeret of ere suing the Dragonlance. Finally, these Heroes reached Sanerist and participated in the fabled Counsil of White- Stone, where the rival factions of elves and hu mans at list achieved an uneasy alliance, The alliance centered around the Knights of So- Tamnia, an ancient onler of chivalry and honor. Even the knights were riddled with dissen- sion, however, and the alliance of good forces was chaotic ‘On the northem Solamnie Plans, only land remained free fiom the Dragonar This was Palantbs, and here the Knights de cided to make theit stand. Palanthus is sepa rated from the rest of Krynn by a single ‘mountain pass, and this pass is controlled by a righty fortes: the High Crist Tower. The Blue Dragonamy hurled itself against the tower in a sivage effort to drive through the pass to the valuable port of Palanthus be- yond, Battle raga in the pass for many days, fad ultimately, the Blue Amy was halted But everywhere else the evil forces swarmed forward, The good dragons remained myster ously absent, while evil dragons ruled the skies and brought terror and death to all who stood in theit way. And s0 the Heroes jour eyed 10 the city of Sanction, huddled be neath the looming volcanoes known as the Lords of Doom, to determine what dar socrt prevented the good dragons from joining the fight This secret was leamed to be an Oath, ex acted by the Queen of Darkness herself, that the good dragons remain beyond the borders of Ansalon. AS insurance that the oath would be obeyed, the Queen held the egus of the ‘good dragons hostage, deep in the tunnels be low Sanction On this journey, the heroes discovered the true depths of the Queen's betrayal of the Oath. The eggs were not sheltered and pro tected, as she promised. Instead, through foul ‘magies and evil enchantments, the eggs of the ‘ood dmgons were perverted to create the raconians. These mysterious troops of ‘were none other than 008 dragons ‘When this truth was revealed, the good dragons instantly allied for to war. Armed at last with Dragonlances, and riding the ‘mounts for which they were intended, the forces of good began 10 drive the Dragonar ines back. The other party of Heroes, the Heroes of Legend, separated from their companions during the fall of Tarsis, journeyed east to the ancient elven homeland’ of Silvanest, Here they discovered a nightmare land, bent and violated by the dream ramblings of the elven king, Lorac. Lorae bad tried to use a Dragon Orb, an artifact of great power, and the Orb had taken control of the el Wandering through Loric’s nightmare, the Heroes managed 10 free Sivanesti from the mad ravings of its king. Continuing noms ward, these Heroes joumeyed through the Bloodsea of Ist, braving pirates and dragons Finally, they reached the city of Kalman on the northern Shore of Ansalon, Amid maging war and a narrow balance be tween hope and despair, this group of Heroes determined to make their way to Neraka, ‘where the Temple of Takhisis herself was lo sated. Along the way, they received a sign fiom Paladine, the great god of goed, point ing the way toward the Dark Queen's destruc And now they stand on the borders of Neraka, looking across a chaotic plain of cre vasses and fiery fumes. The Temple of the Dark Queen lies against the horizon ahd For good or evil, te Heroes stand poised to end their long. quest. i twisted offpring of‘Takhisis will attempt to gain ber ultimate ti- ‘umph by passing for the Abyss tothe Coun- cil Chamber in her Temple during the Second ‘Couns ofthe Dragen Highlords. If she is sue- cessful, her armies will gain renewed suength, again surging over the face of Keynn, I she ean be driven back through the gate, or ifthe gate ean be closed, she will ium 10 the Abyss and the chaotic alliance ofthe Drag ‘onarmies will collapse in disorder, Your play ets will have only one means of aecomplishing the defeat of the Queen, If you have played DL3, you have alzady termined which ending applies to the story in your campaign. 1f not, this section detaits the six possible endings ‘You can either rndomly pick one of these endings randomly by rolling 1d6, or you can select the one that you want to use as a climax to your campaign Some of these endings require that & spe cifie NPC (Fizban, Waylom, or Berem) ac- companies the PCs during the adventure While you do not need to guarantee that this NPC remains alive during the adventure, you should be sure that the NPC is present atthe stort of the adventure, 1. plzban/Paladine vs. The queen of duvkwess Fisbun is Paline, and nly his direct inter- vention will seal shut the gite to the Abs, Hee must make his way ino the rower withthe aid of the PCs. If he uses hie tremendous power too early, then the Queen of Darkness is alerted to his presence, and has time 10 pre pare her defenses To succeed, Fizban must be brought into the Council Chamber of the Temple during the Second Council of the Digan Highords (Event 15). There, he must confront the Queen of Darkness. There is a base 100% chance that Fishan is able to drive the Queen back through the agate, However, every spell he easts during the adventure reduces this chance by a percentage foal to ice the spell’s level For eximple, if Fizban casts @ 9th-level spel, his chance of defeating the Queen of Darkaess decreases by 18%, and is now only 829%, If Fiaban then also had to cast a Sth- level spell, the base chance would be reduced aan additional 10% to 72%. Because of the phenomenal energies re- quired to push the Queen back into her own, plane, Fizhan only gains back 10% toward his ‘hance of success fr each day during which he ass no spells In the above example, iP Fizban, now with 72% chance of success, casts no spells for an ENDING The epic entre day, his chance increases to 82% "The nature of this climactic battle is such that all those present in the council chamber are aware of the outeome. Should Fizhan fall, the troops in the hall, as well asthe Queen herself, attack the party 2. huma Retuens prom The Past Fighan is just a enzy old wizarl. Waylorn, on the other hand, is the resurrected Huma of legend. He alone possesses the secret needed to drive the Queen of Darkness back into the Abyss and seal the gate. Huma must be brought to the gate during the Second Coun- cil of the Dragon Highlords, and there use a Dragonlance to drive the Quoen back into the Abyss, Thre he will hold her at bay while the fate shuts behind him, sacrificing himselF foe the good of the work To succeed, Waylor must be brought into the Couneil Chamber with a Dragonlance. He rust enter the portal before the Dark Queen emerges. 5, Sacropice Self To Seal. The YOO This is essentially the same as ending #2, ex- cept that a PC must drive the Dark Queen bck through the portal and keep her at bay while the gate is shut. Fizban, although he is Paladine, may not intervene directly. He may, hovwever direct these ofthe world who may al ter the course of history “To succeed, the character must be in the council hall with @ Dragonlance during the Second Council of the Dragon Highlords, Pre- senting the Dragonlance forcefully, the char- acter must drive the Queen back through the portal. Once on the other side, the PC ean tose the portal behind itm 4. Berem/Paladine Seals The cate Fiaban is just a crazy old man, Palatine has taken the form of Berem to reclaim the soul of Berem’s sister from the temple. Once this is dane, he ean then seal the gate, To succeed, Berem must dive the Dark ‘Queen through the gate as described in end- ing #1 5. Benem awd his SiTer In this version, Berem Everman takes the green gemstone down into the depths of the temple of Takhisis and places it into the foun- dation stone. This reunites his soul with that Of his sister, aad makes the temple once more a holy place, Through this act, the gate through which the Queen of Darkness at tempts to pass is shut forever and her influ- cence much diminished in the worl To succeed, Berm must be brought t0 the foundation stone in the depths of the temple (Encounter 58), and his bare chest pressed against the socket inthe stone 6. death of The Gem Contrary to the version in the books, placing the gem in the foundation stone does not seal the gate. Rather, it pemmanently opens it 1s for this reason thatthe Queen's minions have been seeking the gem. To suoveed, the PCs must destoy the gem, ‘The only wy this can be accomplished is by bringing Berem to the Anvil of Might (En- counter 80) and breaking the gem on the an- vil “The Band of heroes [As already mentioned, a cetain NPC may be required 10 make the ending work. Make sure that the given NPC is withthe party at the be= ‘inning of this adventure (Event 1) In addon, virally all of the PCS from previous DRAGONLANCE” adventures could take part in this conte. If you have played DL13, you will alwady hhave @ group of PCS gathered fom that ade venture. If this group has been depleted by combat, or if players would like to involve ‘other, favorite player characters for the final cencounter, the following device is suggested. ‘The armies of Whitesone, under the com- mand of Lord Gunthar, are drawing in upon Neraka as this adventure begins. All PCs not ‘withthe Heroes of DLO, DEI2, and DL13 are assumed to accompany these armies. The Heroes ofthis adventure begin at Gods- home. Arrange an encounter between one of the Whitestone armies and the PCs. This ill allow the two partes of player characters to at Tast reunite The players must choose which eight PCS (fiom either group) tht they wish 1 journey to NNeraka and that the Dark Queen's plans. The ‘other PCs ae all assumed to fight with the arm jks of good against the Dragenarmics If this bat- tie is rum using the BATTLESYSTEM™ soenatio included inthis adventure, then the extra PCs can act as lade of the Whitestone forces, i he players wish ‘A small party of Heroes must penetrate [Neraka and ty to foil the Queen's plans. This information, furnished by the gods of good themselves, should provide ample motivation for holding the party to a manageable size (The adventure is designed for cight PCs) Cerin encounters during the adventure will prove difficult for langer groups of characters.The events of The Tale Day 4 Event 7: White and Groen Annies Amrive Day § Event 8: Black Army Arives Day 6 ‘are altention to [Event 9: Red and Blue Armies Artive wake Event 10; Armies of Gunthar Close on Event 11; Frst Council of Highlords a 5:00 AM. A oondiion of twilight wll exist for 1U2 hour before sunrise and afler sunset, Tmeline eraka Event 15: Second Council of Highlords Day vent 15: 8 F Highton Event 1: Mesting at Goslshome Event ‘Armies 0 at Repeating: evensTs Event 3 Stom Clouds over Nemlca Event 16: Guard Postings Day 2 vent 4: The Dead of Nek Awaken ha Event 20: Caravans Day3 vent 5; The Gates of Nea Close event 1: Meeting at codshome Event 6; The Inner City is Cleared * This is Godshome. This meeting concludes DLI3 and also starts DLI4. If your players have just finished DLS, you may wish to proceed immediately to sods of Krynn. If th inform them that thEvents exceptionally restful night of sleep. The high ext ranking eltic in the party recognizes the place as Godshome and knows it to be on the borders of the Neraka Plains, If the PCs do not have at least two Dragonlanees with them at this time, they will find two (or one atonal if they have one) foot man’s Dragonlness by them wien they awaken, ‘The following warings are provided t0 the PCS from voices originating ffom the pillars around the stone circle “Welsome, Heroes of Krynn, The gods of good greet you, and offer words of hope fad caution, Now isthe time forall to pre pate forthe final assault agsinst the dark ress oppressing Kryan! “Even now, mighty amies of good con- verge on the Plains of Neraka. The Highlors, in their arrogance, will not ak low a siege. Therefore, a titanic battle will son rage on the plains west of that most vil of cites, “Your presence is required at Neraka Each of you must decide where your talents may best be used leading the armies of ‘200d, oF quietly entering the city 10 de samy the evil at its foul source Now the gods will pronounce a blessing on the PCs through the highest level cleric. The cleric is told to east a bless spell, which causes a ‘white light to shimmer around all characters in iW area of effect, The following blessings are spoken by the pillars “Know that good redeems is own. If the Blessed are tre, then shall the might of the gods accompany them. Go with the hopes of many!" Snow that evil consumes its own. IF the temptress entangles you, then you are lost. Deny temptation and maintain your quest!” “Know thatthe balance is true. Sock for ood, even among the evil!™ “Know that man’s will swings the bal= ance, When you choose your destiny, the world’s destiny is decided. Choose. your path wisely the Now read only the section of boxed text be low that comesponds to the ending you have determined for the epic 1. _pizban/PabadWwe vs. The queen of duress Greatness walks among you. Ifthe mage bbe no wizard, then his power is of Spend not his strength until he comes be fore the Queen 2. Waylorny/huma Returns from The Past ‘A Hero walks the world twice. IF the lance be im his hand, he will agnin do the deed He seals the gates in the eounel of evil 3. Sucnipice Selp To Seal The VoD The lance will elose the gate. i lie i for- feit wo save the word, i 8 not lost in vain, With the lance caried through the portal, may a hero destoy evil 4. Benem/PaLadie Seals The cate halved. If they do wish 10 be noticed, the hanes is doubled. This includes. blending into crowds as well as normal concealment * Sincerity: The PCs receive a +10% bonus any time they ty wo make an NPC believe them. This applies to good and evil NPC Event 2: The anmies of gustan Use this event if you have played carlicr DRAGONLANCE® modules and have di vided the PCs into separate groups. This event tnables the PCs to reunite so that the players may decide which PCs go to Neraka and which remain with the armies “The event coeur asthe Heroes leave Goss home, Make « normal suprise roll for the PCs (only). IF they are surprised, read the boxed text; Pot, they see the dragon approaching a hal mile aay [A dark shadow suddenly passes over you, and_massive leathery wings creak over- had. A downblast of air sweeps past, and 4 massive, serpentine shape comes 10 rest fon the ground 100 feet away. “The stoneman walks in disguise. I taken before the Queen shall his nature be re vealed. In the council chamber shall he prevail 5. Benem and his Sister “The stone-eared one holds the key. Ifthe foundation can he found) then the souls ean be one, His fate lies far below evil councils, 6. Death of the gem “The life-giving stone threatens peace. If the stone is taken whole shall the Quoen rie. Only an anvil on high shall rash i power. ‘As long as the Heroes remain tne to thie mis sion, and do not dally to gain treasure, drink heavily, or follow other pursuits of vanity or teed, the following blessings remain in effet: *"Fortuitous Meetings: In cases. whe! friendly help might be available, and the PCS reed help, that help is there. For example, if the party i stumped, and they pass a tavern that might contain a member of the under- ground, an NPC who can belp is inthe tavern. “Presence: When the PCs do not wis to be noticed, the chance of being detected is Any character looking at the dmgon sees that itis shiny silver in color, and carries one (possibly two) riders This dragon and its rider are outriders for the armies of good that are converging on Nera, The rider is one of the PCs from the other party of DRAGONLANCE chamcters oF pethaps even both Flint and Tasslehof. The newly met PC can be turned over to a player 10 mun, and knows the following pies of information *"Armies of elves, dwarves, kender, and hu ‘mans, under the overall command ‘of Lont Gumhar, approach Neraka from the west orth, and southwest. * All ofthe other (surviving) PCs from pre vious alventures can be found nearby, alo serving as dragor-mounted outrides "All five evil armies are comerging on Neraka, apparently following orders that were carried out from Neraka by dragons. They will reach the city before the armies of goed catch them. "The PCs ean arrange a party containing any ight (or so) PCs from the Saga they would like te include. Inform them that the armies of ood so need experienced Heroes to com- ‘mand troops and steady the soldiers, many of ‘whom are ra recruits, 1 they wish to take all of the PCs fom the saga, you may want to remind them that alarge group might be discovered where a small ‘group can pass unnoticed, Leave the final de sion of the size of the party to the players, however event 3: Storm Clouds over Newaka As the day progresses, huge gray clouds eoleet ‘over Nerika. By Inte aftemoon, they blacken the sky over the ety, Bolts of lightning: Mash through the clouds and are visible mils avn Beneath the clouds, a torrential downpour showers the eity and its immediate environs with water Thunder crashes deafeningly from the clouds, The storm continues unabated for 146 days. At night, the lighting illuminates the city so frequently that visbiliy should be eon siderad as practically daylight, event 4: The dead of Nenaka awaken (On midnight of the frst day of the adventure, all ofthe dead buried beneath the city awaken and arise. A horrible mix of wailing, sereaming, ‘and moaning erupts from the sewer grates and ‘other openings leading to the Undercity The dead gradually make their wy to exits leading 1 the streets. This begins the fist Nightwalk (see Event 19), The Nightwalk is repeated each night until the Queen is de feat or achieves her ultimate success. event 5: the cates of Nexaka Close This event occurs 16 hours after dawn on the third day of the adventure, Up until this point, members of all rakes and professions (merchants, pilgrims, mercenaries, etc.) have been allowed to pass unmolested through the gates of the city ‘Aer the gates close, however, noone isa lowed to pass through except thove with « le- iitimate reason in the service of the Dark (Queen. Characters attempting to do so must be officers in the Dragomarmies. or possess signed order by an officer, a must be able © fonvinge the guards that their mission serves the interests OF the evil armies, but that the ccharaters were unable to obtain a pass be- cause of unusual circumstances event 6: The huwer Oy 1s Cleaned This event occurs two hours after Event $. All merchants of the Inner City ate required to pre- pre for the coming armies by stockpiling as ‘many goods as they can obiain. All private cite zens are warned to remain in thei homes or places of business. No moverent into the sees $s allowed unless permission has been granted by the Area Commander oF the Captain of the Guard. This permission may be obsaina by submitting a writen request to the autorities via one ofthe guard patols which now cours through the city at fequent intervals. [Encounters inthis portion ofthe city occur at the usual frequency. However, if a random ‘encounter is indicated, rll 146. I the result is 41 or 2, make & normal encounter roll the Random Encounter Tables. Otherwise, the en- counter is with a draconian guard patol of the appropiate color Those caught in the streets without the re quired permission are taken ditectly 10 the Capiain of the Guard (Encounter 38). ‘AY the same time a6 this event occurs, the Dark Temple is sealed. No enty allowed, for whatever reason, through the main gates. The Dark Pilgrims within the temple remain there far the dation of the adventure. The only le ‘itmate entry an and ext from the erp ean ‘occur at the Highlord gates, where each Highlord, and bis or her retinue ae allowed to center and leave for each of the Councils of Highlords event 7: Whife and green anmles aneive Bach of these armies marches onto the Nera Plains during Days 2 and 3. Each army’ camps 26 miles fFom Neraka on the night of Day 3 The White Amy is due south of the city, While the Green camps to the southeast, The following day, the armies organize into Jong eoluimns, cach following the wad leading te Neraka from the given direction. Each army reaches the city at an hour equal to 8:00 AM plus one hour for each mile of distance the army camped away from the city As the army draws near to the city, the tops raise their voices ina throbbing, husky march ing song in a minor key. The dragon- wing of the appropriate color, numbering about 24 dragons, soars back and forth over the column, Banners and pennants flute, Aisinguishing each unit. Only those near the fonts of the columns are visble, as most oF cach column vanishes in a thick cloud of dus. I the rainsorm stil pounds Neraka, the half mile of roadway extending outward fom the ety becomes a sea of mi delaying the ar rival of dhe army atthe city’s outskies by two hours {A the army reaches the outskirts ofthe city it splits into individual units, each of which forms an encampment near the walls of the bute ety. Two bours after this, the troops are released into the city. and pour into the tv tems andl inns of Neraka for a night of revelry and carousing. Although these troops are con. centmted in the white and green sections of the eit, they spread out so that virwally all drinking establishments in Neraka have some customers this night. “The exact makeup ofeach ofthese evil arm as well as that of the Red, Blue, and Black Armies that ave later in the week, is dis played on the BATTLESYSTEM™ rosters ex Closed in the DLI4 package. event 8: The Blick anmy arrives Following the patter described in Event 7, the Black Army approaches Neraka from the northeast. The troops of the Black Amy join their comrades in revelry on this night event 9: Red and Blue axmies arnive The Red Army moves foward Neraka fom the west, while the Blue comes down from the north, Unlike the other evil armies, the dis tance these camp ffom the city is not ran- domly determined, Inscad, each army spends the night following Day 5 camped eight miles fiom the city. This would normally put their arrival at 4200 PM on Day 6 (6:00 if iti stil raining. However, when the two armies, with trumpets blaring and marching songs thrumming, reach the intersection 300 yards to the north West ofthe city, a massive traffic jam ensues. ‘All order vanishes fom the march, an ms ‘merous skimishes erupt ‘As the leades attempt to restore order to the mareh, members of both armies surge through the Emperor's Gate into the city. For 18 turns, this chaotic low into the city con= tinwes unabated. Anyone passing into the city in the midst ofthis Formation has only a 30% of being noticed by the gate guard, ‘These armies are eventually untangled snd lincetod to their designated encampment ar fas, By nightfall, the toops of the Red and Blue Armies join their commdes from the other three armies in a night of rabble-rousing that will approach riotous proportions. even 10: armies of GunThae ‘Close on Neraka ‘The armies of Whitestone emerge from the Khalkist Mountains to the north and west of Neraka at dawn on Day 6, The advance cle- rants of these armies have been skinmishing With the Red and Blue rearguards for over a ‘week, The eonimanders of both good and ex anmies have been hokling their dragons close to the main bodies, however, wo prevent a smal skimnish from growing into ¢ dsastous engagement before the amy is readyGunthar Uh Wistn, commander in chict ‘of the Whitestone forees, makes his advance ‘cautiously but quickly. Light cavalry forma tions precede the amnies and guard both the right and left flanks. The heavy cavalry mainly Knights of Solamnia—lead each for- mation of foot soldiers, while the dragons and their rides bring up the rear Because oftheir excellent mobility, the dragons can quickly reach any sector on the armies’ flanks that right be threatened, ‘The armies close 10 within about eight miles of Nek and encamp in a giz are to the north and west oF the ex city, The fllow= ing morning they give batle (See Event 14 “The Battle of Nera), Occasional outriders, sich as the PC en ‘countered in Event 2, range far fom the main body of the army, These outriders are mounted on large or huge gold and silver ‘dragons, an have been issued onlers to run fiom any fight. Their purpose is to scout, and they are to report any suspicion of enemy ae tivity wherever they discover it The amies of Whitestone are detiled in Appendix Il and on the BATTLESYSTEM™ roster sheets enclosed in the DLI4 package, event 11: pins Council of highlonds The Fit Council of the Dragon Highlords oc- curs at sunset of Day 6 inthe central chamber Of the Dark Queen's temple. The intent is to discuss strategy and to prepare forthe arrival fof the Queen. The First Council is also a re- hears forthe Second Couneil on the follow ing night, when the Queen expects to enter the world of Kryni in all her glory The enty ofeach regiment and lord, as well as the performance of each funtion om the agenda, is handled with moch fanfare, Trumpets blast, and drums pound a deep chorus. The leader of the entre afar is the Hallkesper (see Append 1 who handles the vatious members diplomat cally, with sted politeness The Council Chamber divided into six sections, Five of them have @ throne for each of the five Highlords, while the sixth contains raised dais where the Dark Quoen's shadowy presence is generally visible. Before the cer temonial entry of the Highlords and their Ihonor guards, six groups of Dark Pilgrims en ter the chamber. One group enters from each ofthe areas between the thrones, ‘The Dark Pilgrims mutter prayers and blessings upon the chamber under the watch- fl eye ofthe Hallkecper. Then they stand rig- idly a8 if im meditation for the duration of the council. They do not Leave until the Highords and their honor guards have filed ut “The Highlord withthe highest status is eon- sidered 10 be emperor of the Dark Queen's domain. This i curently Arskus. The rank of emperor can be bestowed or removed at the whim of the Dark Queen during the Council however, so the emperor is always eager 16 ‘move the proceedings along and get the coun cil over with The council is a very formalized: meeting and follows a detailed ritual, The steps of the ritual areas follows 1) Entrance of the Honor Guards: Each Highlord maintains a regiment of draconians a8 a personal bodyguard. These draconians rnumber 77 in each regiment, and are always ff the maximum number of hit points for that Araconian ype The order of the honor guards’ entry, the name ofthe unit, and the type of draconian i contains, are listed here Highlord Honor Guard Regiments Enters # Name 1 TP White Legion Kips 2 Green Regiment Kepaks 3 Black Guards Barsks 4 Blue Watch Sivaks Red Watch Saks Entrance of the Highlords: After the honor guards have taken up their positions before the various thrones in the’ council chamber, each Highlord enters from the ap- propriate gate. The Highlord parades slowly frond the chamber to the ebihusastic ape plause of his (or her) own honor guard, then Slowly climbs the stairs to the throne. The Highlords enter acconding to status, lowest ranking first. Their order is Toode (white), Salab-Khan (green), Lucien (black), Kitira (blue) and the Emperor Ariakas (red) Each Highlord offers polite acknowledgments 1o the Highlords entering later. AS usual, Kitiara is accompanied by the death knight, Lord Soth, who walks one pace behind his commander. None of the other Highlords welcome his presence, but the (Queen tolerates it, s0 they’ do not protest 3) The Sweating of Fealty: The Quoon of Darkness cannot filly pass into the world of Kym, but she appears on the central throne of the Couneil Chamber as a shadowy outline Df her five-headed dragon form At this point in the ceremony, the ighlords and their honor guards turn toward ‘and declare thei alle sian hors “All hail Takhisis, Queen of Darkness, and mistress of the worl!” ‘Then each Highlord in turn swears his ath of fealty “Takhisis, my Queen, my life is yours command! Should you demand it 4) Spoils for the Empire: Each Highlond, in the above onle, is called upon to present a gift to the emperor, at the Highlord's option Since the Queen is neatly always watehing, the Highlonts use this opportunity 1 ry 1 fuido each other in the eyes of their lear. ‘Any Highlord who can embarrass the others before the Queen gains increased status, The gifts presented by each Highlord in the First Council are listed below Highlord Gite Toade Chest containing 1,800 stl Salah-Khan The head of an elven prince of Silvanesti (a resistance lender) [A huge white washo Mounted Dragonlance Lucien Kitiara 5) Dark Justice: This is the point when any members of the Dragonarmies are brought forward and ied for erimes against their (Queen oF their emperor During the fist council, several human se eants are dragged forth by members of the Red Watch, The Hallkosper announces the charges: “These seum have been accused of fonceaing booty from the regimental tally!” Ariakus then calls out: “Who accuses them?” “I, your Exeelleney!” declares a huge oz, striding forward fFom one of the hallways. ‘The ogre is the captain of the rogiment, and tannounces that he himself discovered. the ‘asks of ale that these men had concealed from their comrades ‘Ariakus ignores the protestations of inno. cence made by the pan-stricken men. Afler Tstening to the captain, he pronounces sen tence: “Take them 10 the dungeons! The In- Qquistor shall have his way wath them!” The men are quickly dragged from the ehamber. 16) Orders Isaied» Aries then speaks to the other Highlords, issuing military orders of reat importance! At the first council, the of ers ate as Follows: ‘Prepare your forces to march at an hour past the sunrise. The forces of Gunthar draw lose upon the city. All five of cur armies wil take the field against him tomorrow, that we ‘may grant our Queen a victory for her arrival upon Keynn! For the frst time, the voices ofall the ooew: pants of the hall mise in a combined chece Spontaneously, tbe draconians grunt, “Hail to Tabhisis, Queen of Darkness!” 7) Adjournment: The Hallkeeper am ounces the departure of the lon, in reverse of the order of their arrival, After eachHighlord has left the chamber, the Honor Guards are dismissed, also in reverse onler of their arrival: The eouncl is over event 12: Call To azms At dawn on Day 7, Gunthar's armies break ‘camp and organize into battle columns. This forgmization is smooth and efficient. Sooo, the columns are marching toward Neraka ight miles distant, ‘AL one hour past dawa, the Highlonds mus: ter their drunken, hung-over troops fiom their muddy tents. Amid much cursing and shouting, they form into ragged columns. The Blue and Red Armies are ready within an hour, and form coluns of some straightness They have a look of military order about them. The Green, Black, and White Armies mill about in confusion and disorder, only slowly gathering Aer an hour, they are bout half assembled The city of Nerak lis sill and squalid this ‘morning. The honor guant regiments of each Highlord, as well as a few other trustworthy troops, have been left behind to guard the walls, so the city is far from defenseless, The sun beats upon the ety, and the sur- rounding plain, with merciless intensity Steam rises fom the fetid sewers of the «iy fand the many water-filled fissures of the Plain, stench of death seems to hang in the fir already. event 13: The aamies gather The differing conditions of the Whitestone forees and the Dragonamnies is effet by the fact that Gurthar's armies mast march about twice a far asthe evil troops to each the bat tleficld Kitiam and Ariakus have the Blue and Red Armies posted ever the two conversing rads fiom the norkh and the west, respecively, af- {eran hour of marching. The two armies thus hhave several hours 10 rest while the White- sone forces march 40 the Held, and the other evil armies stragele out ftom Neraka The advancing Whitestone batle columns raise huge columns of dust. Dragons of gol silver, brass, copper, and bronze swirl among the columns, while fastmoving units of Tight horse spread to either side. By midday GGuriar’s army has moved to a point less than mile from the two amnies deployed! before him, but Lucien’s Black Army has nesrly ‘moved into position between the Red and Blue forces. The Greon Army stmggles up the road toward the field, while the White Army 4s only now leaving the city event 14: The BitMle of Newaka I you are playing the BATTLESYSTEM™ see- nano to resolve this bat then this event ‘might not follow the course of action de- scribed here, Instead of using the event as written, BATTLESYSTEM game players should turn to page 40 for instuctions on se ting up the bat, arival of reinforcements, TF you are not playing the BATTLESYSTEM scenario, wie this event to determine the out- ‘came of the battle ‘At one hour past noon, the brass homs of the Whitestone armies fill the air with mar tial clamor. Formed into phalanxes of the ‘same color, the good dragons dive forward in five denth-dealing columns, Bands of red, blue, and black dragons take to the a to meet the charges The thunder of charging cavalry carries all the way to te ety walls asthe Knights of So Jamnia spearhead the assault on the ground. All across the front ofthe evil armies, the ve fran troops absorb the shock of the charging bonds, Gunthar atempis to break the back of the enemy resistance with his veteran troops, holding many of his units in reserve. While humerous, these reserves include many units of raw recruits who have never sen combat. The raging charge of the Knights, coupled with the overwhelming atacks of gokl, brass, and copper dragons, breaks the Red Army af ter an how of fighting The Red units flee toward Neraks, and sweeping charges of Knight cavalry cary the horsemen into the Mank of the Black Army, sending those units scrambling to. defend themselves, 'But the Knights have expended themselves in their glorious charge. The Green Army ar rives on the field ater the bate has raged for 90 minutes, and is able to savage the situ tion on the Dragonarmy’s left. The addition fof the green dragons tothe fightin the skies Proves enough to halt the rampages of the ood dragons Too lat, Gunthar sends his reserves for ward. The fresh, but inexperieneed, troops ight bravely for the most part, but cannot penetrate the reinforeed defenses. Exhausted the Whitestone forces fall back after three hours of fi Fully, Toede's White Amy arrives on the jek The hobgoblin sends his army into a halEbearted counterattack, supported by the Groot Army and what is left of the Blue and Black forces. Gunbar’s exhausted legions, to0 tired to cary forth an atack, manage told the de- fensive postion and shatter the atacking evil forces. Lurching beck to their original posi tions, where they are joined by the remnants of Avinkus's rallied Red Amy, the wo forees fend the battle in much the same postions as they started ‘But in the fields and fissures between lie thowsinds oF soldiers who will never fight again. event 15: The Second Council. of highlonds The Highlords all leave the battlefield by 4:00 PM in order to retum to the Temple and pre pare forthe Second Council, o be beld a sun set on Day 7, In general, the course of this counel follows the same pattem described forthe First Coun- cil, However, ther are a few exceptions to thi ‘The Entry ofthe Honor Guanis, Enty ofthe Highlords, and Swearing of Fealy all proceed in due couse. At the time of allotting presents 10 the Empire, however, tbe fallowing gifts are ‘made. The presents tend to be finer than these ‘bestowed atthe previous council, because cach Highlord knows that the moment of the (Queen's arial is nigh, and each strives to make {very good impression, Highlord Gite Toode A steel statue of Her Majesty, the Queen of Darkness Salah-Khan A string ofa dozen elven slaves, Tinked by platinum chain sand collars Lucien A. dozen casks of the finest So- Tanthian_ wine Kitiara A prisoner taken on the fsld of battle that day-ideally a PC ‘who fought with the armies; oth- cenwie, use Gunthar himself 5) Dark Justice: If you played the climactic BATTLESYSTEM'™ seenaro, the Highlords as 4 group will accuse any Highlord whose army failed to perform as might be expected. I all lamnics were handled with skill the Highlords aceuse Toede of incompetence for the late at- ‘val of his army on the fel. The worthy hob- ‘goblin will, of course, whine that his amy had to move around the march toward the fil is defense will make no difference to the amhered londs, After a few minutes of plead- ing, Ariakus pronounces his sentence: “Take him to the dungeons! The Inquisitor shall ‘work his magic pon him!™ Groveling and scraping, Toede is led from the balNoy {6 Dark Queen's Entry: Ths is the climax thatthe entire epic has been leading toward Al eyes turn 10 the dais where her throne Stands The five-headed dragon is visible, as usual, in_a shadowy and unearthly form. Now, hovever, a small circle appears in the air before her, deel over the throne. The circle swirls in fery patterns of color, conti ing elements of red, blue, green, black, and white, Over the course of a minute, the circle grows to huge size. ‘Anyone looking through the circle at the Dark Queen sees her, not as a shadowy imag but as a real and terrible five-heaed dragon, ‘with one head ofeach of the evil dragon's cols The entrance of the Dark Queen into the world of Krynn will take place at one hour af= ter sunset on Day 7 of this adventure, unless the Heroes of good can somehow prevent Takhisis fom passing through the gate, The procedure for accomplishing this has already been determined, The successor flare of the PCs in their mission depends on their play of this adventure. If the Queen is Blocked from Entering, Keynn: The temple immediately begins 10 tremble, shaking to its very root. Everyone present, except of course the PCs, is preoce Pied with escaping the doomed building Parts of the ceiling, and supporting columns, begin to tumble fee and fll into the Council Chamber. Any individual in the temple stands a 5% chance (1 on 1420) per round of being struck by debris. Characters hit by debris might only be scraped by a smal chunk of stone, of might be enished under a falling column; to determine the amount of damage sustained, rll 1d12. The result isthe number of d6s of damage the character sus The exodus from the temple canes over imp the streets of Nemaka, as the entre city succumbs to earthquakes and tremors. Char acters inside buildings in Neraka suffer dam- age exactly as calculated in the temple, Sariing one hour afer the Queen is driven back through the poral Finally, six hours after the Queen has been forced through the portal, the Temple of Takhisis wil explode. Any characters still in the temple die immediately: characters in the city suller 646 points of damage from flying debris, The flaming pieces ofthe temple soar sky ward, into the black spaces in the sky left by the missing constellations at the star of the DRAGONLANCE" epic ‘Onee again, the Queen of Darkness and the Groat Paladin circle each other warily in the night skies over Krynn, If the Dark Queen Successflly Enters Keyan: Takbiss’s evil presence has a renew morale effect upon all of her armies, as well as serving to end the bickering among her min. ions, ‘The morale of each. Dragonarmy unit should be increased by 2; likewise, dhe morale tof each Whitestone army unit is lowered by 2. Shortly afer Tabbisis enters Keyan, she summons her consort, the five huge adult evil dragons that lair with her. These dragons lead the est of the evil dragons in an all-out attack against the good dragons. Takhisisher- self participates in this attack. “The good dragons are driven from Ansalon again, nd now the forees of evil se out to an: nihilaie their opposition wherever good may Moursh The end of light is near and, perhaps, inevi= table, event 16: Guard Postrics The guanding of Neraka is a casual affair for the most part. Guards are encountered as in dicated on the Random Encounter Chart on the Plains of Neraka, and for a shor time in the ety itself After Event 5, which occurs dur ing the moming of Day 3, guards are posted around the clock on all city walls and in all atchouses, Guard postings last for eight-hour shifts, and all guards are changed at 4:00 AM, noon, and 8:00 PM every day. The exact makeup of ‘guard contingents is described under the ap propriate encounter area, either walls (En- ‘counter 32) oF gatchouses (Encounters 30 and 3h, ‘The procedure for the changing of the tuards never varies. The new guard contin ‘gent marches to the post five minutes early. Both guard contingents remain at the post for the Dark Rites (Event 17), Then the relieved ards mare away to thei barack The individual encounters list the vigilance of the guards as a pereentage hance that they wll detect individuals pasing thei posts. As the guards tire during’ their long shift, the vigilance rating is modified accordingly First 2 hours of Shift = Vigilance Doubled Middle 4 hows ~ Vigilance Normal Last 2 hours of Shift = Vigilance Halved event 17: dark Riles The Dark Rites involve all residents of Neraka swearing fealty to their Queen at regularly Schoduled intervals, The Dark Rites oocur at 400. AM, Noon, and 8:00 PM of each day The Dark Rites last for five minutes. “The Dark Rites are announced by the bang. ing of a large gong atthe top ofthe tower cen- tral to the Dark Queen's Temple. The gong sounds three times, summoning all residents fof Neraka to the Rites. Persons indoors sep ‘out onto the steets or plazas, and everyone looks atthe tower, Upon the tower, four groups of dark pil trims face the directions oF the compass, and Tead the populace in an oath of fea (as de scribed for the Highlords under Event 11) The dark pilgrims then proceed through ritual sermon in a forgotten tongue. The ser- ‘mon never changes, but none other than clet- ies of the Dark Queen understand the words. ‘Although individuals ignoring the sum- mons tothe Dark Rites atract considerable at- tention, attendance is not enforced. Those slegping or passed out are left unmolested, al- ‘though officers in the Dragonarmy and evil clerics would be ostracized by their comrades for regular flue to observe the ries Neither the guands on the wall nor those in the streets devote their undivided attention to the tower during the rites. Vigilance for wall and gatchouse guards is normal while the rites 0 on. event 18: Ribaloey ‘The periods of ribaldry begin with the arivat of the first Dragonarmies in Neraka, and con tinue every night for the duration of the ad venture. The nbaldry begins at 4:00 PM each ay, and continues unt the following dawn, During the periods of ribakiy, each inn in the district of a present Dragonarmy (White and Green the fist night, Black added the next, ete.) is attended by 410 members of the troops ofthat amy, in ation to all other customers indicated Thote is chance that a fight might break ‘out at any time during the periods of sald a shown under the Tans Encounter (En ‘counter 16), This chance #8 modified aecord- ing to the hour of night, as follows: Time Chance of Fight 4:00 10 8:00 Halved 8:0 40 12:00 Normal 12:00 to dawn Doubled event 19: Nightiwalk The dead servants of the queen rise from their tuneasy rests and walk the sree of Neraka, beginning with Event 4, Sensing the nearmess fof their release fom torment, these_spitts walk the strets of Neraka from midnight une til 2.00 AM every night of the adventure The undead gather in each of the five se trict; of the ety, winding their way slowly to- ‘ward the temple. This advance takes one hour[At the temple walls each procession reverses itself and the undead once again enter their realms in the Undercity The processions are accompanied by a host of wailigs and sereamings, a the undsad spirits give vent to thei frusiraions ‘The participants in the Nightwalk do. not ddsturb anyone inside buildings, nor do they molest officers of the Dragonarmies who get ‘out ofthe way’of the procession. Any individ uals of good alignment who are ouside when the procession passes are attacked by the un dead, These undead are subject t0 normal turning by & cleric. They do not pursue thet itis into buildings ach procession is made up ofthe following types of undead, marching in the onder liste: one Teh 1 groaning spiris (hanshoes), 11 wraiths, 22 vigits, 77 mombis, and 222 skeletons “The undead of each type emenge from a dif ferent outdoor exit from the Undercity cach district, Chameters observing the si door entrance o the Undercity event 20: Caravans A steady stream of supplies pours into Neraka fiom the port of Sanction to the south and from the fertile growing. regions of eastern Ansalon. During any given hour between dawn and dusk, there is & Tin 4 chanee that a caravan arrives in Neraks. ts direction of vel is determined by a 6 rol D6 Result Road Traveled 3 Sanction Road 45 Khur Road 6 East Road The caravans advance at one mile per hou, so if the PCs move south on the Plains of Neraka to encounter one of the above roads, rol to determine how many caravans arrive in Neraka that day and the following days, and simply plot their courses backward along the appropriate road to determine i the PCS en- The caravans, coming as they do from see~ tions of the continent that are still securely un dr the sway of the dragonarmies, are passed ito the city of Neraka wit litle fanfare oF ex amination. After all, the supplies they camry are desperately craved by the hungry and thirsty members of the Dragonarmics en ‘camped about the city, To determine the nature of a caravan, roll «6s against the following tbl Table 1: Method of Transport D6 Rol Method oot (saves) Foot (hired bearer) Oscars Mules Wagons (horse-drawn) 6 Exotic Animal: 12 Lamas 35 Camels 6 Elephants 2: Goods Carre D6 Roll — Goods Ale and bese Wine Grain Fruit, Vegetables 6 Unusual goods 1-2 Dried mes 34 Salt Soil 6 Weapons Table 3: Size of Caravan D6 Roll Sie * 2s 246 36, 3412 4a10 6 4al2 * Size equals number of wagons of oxcar I pack animals are used, double the indicated number. If slaves of bearers are used, mally the mumber by 10 Table 4: Caravan Guards ‘A caravan has a numberof guards equal tothe number rolled on Table 3 (n0 mulkipliers) Use this table to determine the race of the guards: D6 Roll Guard Type 1 Baa dricenians 2 Kapok dco 3 Ogres 56 Humans (2d-evel fighters) 4Chapter 15: The Neraka Plains A high plains valley lying between two tower- ing ridges of the Khalkist Mountains, the Plains of Neraka have provided a home forthe Dark Queen's Temple since shorly after the CCataelysm, tn the centuries since, a city has rown around the temple, and roads have been built that connect the eity 0 other pats of Arsalan, Yet most of the plains remain in the same wild state tat the post-Cataclysm years found them. The Plans of Neraka receive litle wate and consequently support few plants. A brown, seragaly grass covers most ofthe land, tnd an oscasional bush or stumpy tree has taken root near one of the infrequent ponds or wwaterhoes ‘Overall, the plains present a dmb yellow brown appearance. Looked st ffom ground level, the termi appears to be flat and unr en. An observer in the mountains, oF one My ing above the land on the back of & dragon, quickly ses that this isnot so, The Plains of Nera are broken by hun reds of fissurescracks in the ground that sight be 100 feet long and a mere 0 fect deep and wide, or areat erevasses several miles Jong that reach a depth of $0 feet or more. Oc casionally these fissures give vent to gouts of sulfurous smoke, steam, of even columns of Flame, These eniptions combine to give the plains an unnatural, nightmarish Took The roads crossing the plains have been built at great expense with huge numbers of slaves, They ate fine roads indeed, with deep itches running to either side of them. Any time a road crosses crevasse, a stun stone bridge has been built so thatthe road does not Ihave wo vary from its path, Even though these roads are of high quality and are well maintained, they can become ribbons of sticky mud during the infrequent rainstorms that occasionally douse the pains “The streams Tlowing onto the plains from the mountains are shallow and muddy, and are easily crossed, Eventually they soak into the dusty plain and disappear. The Surrounding Mountains The Khalkist Mountains. surrounding the plains are dry and devoid of life. They ae very Tough and can only be crossed by vehicles ‘where rads have been cut through them. All such roads are shown on the map of the Neraka Plans Horses and other beass of burden can move through the mountains wherever passes ate i dicated on the map. Although the mountains ate relatively dy, a few steams course rapidly through gorges and valleys ofthe rang Cif and other areas of stop tern make travel through the Khalkist Mountains dif cult even for characters on foot. For each mountain hex that the PCs try to move through, roll 1d4 and suibiract | from dhe re- sult The total is the numberof sheer surfaces that must be climbed (1-3 on 1d6) oF de- scene (4-6 on 16) while erssing that hex. Each ofthese i 1410 x 20 feet high. Ifthe PCs fleet not to climb or deseend the obsiacle, they may go off in a direction perpendicular to their original direction, but any additional sheer suefaces indicated for tht hex are stil encountered, ‘The Map ‘The Plains of Nerka map is enclosed in the roster and map book as part ofthe DLIS pack age. The encounters Tisted inthis section are shown on that map. “The map scale is V/3 mile per hex. Each road is marked off at one mile inervals, as an sid to the DM when the progress of an amy oF caravan must be calculated Concealment ‘Concealment on the Plains of Neraka is pra: cally impossible while out in the open. Fort nately the fissures provide a means of readycover for characters willing to enter them. The base chance of discovery fortwo parties or individuals within one hex of each other 00% during daylight. This assumes that nei ther party oF individual oecupics fissure. TO Aetermine the chance of discovery at greater distances, subtract 20% from this chance for tach additional hex between the to pasties. If one of the sighting partes is fying, the chance of discovery is doubled, At night, however, sighting is only possible within the same hes, and even then the chance is only half of that during the day fone or both paris involved in sighting antempt oecupies fissure, then they are not seen except by someone in the same fissure, someone standing atthe edge ofthe fissire, oF Someone flying throggh a hex adjacent tothe Fissure The base chance of such a discovery is again TOUS. However, the tein a te baton of the Fis (se the Fasure Tenain Table) ean reduce this chance, Its further reduced by -40% if the to partis occupy adjcent instead of the same, Fissure hexsides, and minus an addtional 40% for each hexside beyond dat I the party sae companied by a ranger or an elf, & bonus of “10% is added to al ols to see another party or individual Each party is rolled for separately, so itis uite possible to abserve someone Who does not observe you, Characters or creatures tH cling together are rolled for as a group, bow: ver, not as individuals A check should be made as soon as the to parties are within five hexes of each ether Each time one or both partes enter an add tional hex, another check should be made. 1f ‘both groups are moving, only one check triggered as they each enter another hex, how= TE 8 party spies another group or individual and attempis to conceal itself, this cuts in half the chance that it will be discovered, For every member over cight in 8 group, add 10% to the chance of that group being detected. During daylight, special circum stances may affect the distance at which an ther group can be detected. An army of thousands, for example, is detectable all the ‘way aeross the plains becaase ofthe column of Ast that its passing rast, pissunes The fissures that split the plains are marked on the map. The width and depth of fissure can be estimated by how far the characters are fiom the ends of the fissure. (The fissures are always deepest and widest near the center.) Note that the fissures run along hexsies, not through the hex ives. The hex- sides at either end of a fissure represent the shallowest areas ofthe fissure. The fssie be- gins as a nartow crack in the ground, like & Small ditch, and reaches a depth and width of about 10 fect along the course shown as one Fhexside, Fach hexside separating a section of fissure from the end represents an adkitional 10 feet of depth and width “Thus a fisste that is one or two hexsides in Tength is 10 feet wide and 10 feet deep at is deepest part A fissure that is thee oF four Fhexsides Fong atains depth ann wick of 20, feet through its deep, central portion. The central hensde of a fissure 11 hexsides long is five hexsies from each end, and thas $0 Teet deep and wide “The fissures do not widen and deepen in @ serios of sharply defined steps, however, The process of erick expanding from its orginal Small end to @ Sl-footride chasm is gradual fone, and obvious to characters moving through it The bottoms of the fissures vary considera bly inthe type of tersin they hold. Check on the Fissure Termin Table when the PCs fist encounter a fissure te determine the nature of the. bottom, Fissure Terrain Table biz Roll Terrain Mave Conceal 1 Pond Swim 14 2 Pool Ww 2 3 Mud v3 Normal 4 Dampibushes 11/4 5 Packed Dirt Normal Normal 6 Loose Gravel Normal Normal 7 Brokenrock 212 8 Lamers 1315 5 Boulders 0 10 Steam vent None ML Smoke vent None 12 Flame vent” None Move gives the rate of normal movement that the group can make while inside of the fissure, In the case of “swim,” movement should be calculated at 1/10 the normal rate for all characters equipped with heavy gear or lighter equipment, Characters with very heavy gear, or encumbered characters, will ind it impossible to swim Conceal gives a tional fraction of the normal concealment chances that the party will benefit fom in that particular type of ere vase terain, All modifiers as explained under concealment have been calculated before this faction is added in. Round fractions up tothe neaeest whole number when the final pereent- age chance is calculated, Vents are caused when the bottom of @ fs- sure stretches deep into the bowels of the ‘world, giving release 10 some of the infemal pressures developing there, They cannot be ‘moved through by characters because they are effectively bottomless There is 10% chance per turn that a given vent erups. Eruptions last for a single round, and can be dangerous to characters standing at the edge ofthe fissure a the time ofthe erup ‘Steam eruptions inflict 446 points of dam: age to characters standing atthe edge of the fissure, Ia character rolls a succesful save VS breath’ weapon, this damage is reduced t0 2d6. Smoke eruptions beleh forth clouds of poi sonous sulfuric smoke. Characters who roll successful save vs. breath weapon are unaf feted; characters who fil must roll a success. fal save vs. poison or be reduced 01 hit point unl they ean rest and recover for 24 hou, Flame eruptions cause columns of fire to burst 100 feot or more into the sky, Characters Standing at the edge of the crevasse suffer 6410 points of fire damage, although a suc cessful save vs. breath weapon reduces this to half. Characters within 100 feet of the Bissure suffer 2d6 points of fire damage, with no sav ing throw allowed encounters 1. godshome This secluded hollow in the Khalkist Moun- tains isa place of great sanctity. Shaped like a bow! in the enter of a region of erage granite peaks, Godshome eannot be entered by those not invited by the gods themselves Tn the eenter of the bow! lies circular, pol- ‘shed black surface. Even in the brightest day- ht the polished surface reflects the night sky of Krymn. Starspeckled as usual, the con sfellations of Paladine and the Queen of Darkness are missing ftom the sky, as they have been for many yeas, The reflections of characters standing upon tor looking into the surface can vaguely be Seen, as ifthe surface # a miror. If the god Plaine is present (as he wil be in some end i), and he stands next to or upon the sur- face, his reflection is not visible, Instead, the constellation of Paladine appears among the stars seen there "The PCs experience Event | while in Gods- home, ‘There are two exits from Godshome, one leading to the nowheast and one tothe south- cast, These are narrow tunnels through the fock cliffs surrounding the place. The tunnelsae three feet in diameter, so most characters rust pass through them on hands and knees. In both cases, the tunnels exit into. the Misted Vales (Encounter 2), 2. Misted Vales The tunnels abruptly end in an area of thick ‘white fog. The ground here slopes downward away from the tunnel exis, law upward through the mists. Many paths intertwine, all lead ing downward ‘These miss are magical. They allow anyone t0 ‘pass into and through them, but anly those ‘commanded by the gods to enter Godshome fare permitted 10 find the tunnel openings After the last PC emerges fiom the tunnel, the ‘mists seem to switl around and lose in thickly. ‘The entrances have vanished, and cannot de discovered again “The misty vals lead downward over gently descending ground, Treat them as pats of the Khalkist Mountains for purposes ‘of random encounter” generation, ‘Any good or neutral aligned charactors in the mists reeeive an automatic +2 bonus on all attack rolls made in the mist, and a -2 bo- ‘nus to their Armor Class. The mists continue until the PCs have emerged beyond the outer extensions of the mountain range. 3. Obvious Twwnel. entrances A network of tunnels erisserosses the ground underneath the Plains of Neraka. These tune nels are displayed on the map with dotted lines. Characters walking on the surface who pass over the location of @ tunnel see no clue of Al of the tunnel entrances are located in the botioms of fissures labeled with a “3” on the map ‘The wall of the fissure is itemupted by taping black hole, about six fet sn diame: ter. It leads into the ground, and disap- pears into the darkness Whenever the PCS pass an obyious tune! entrance, roll 1d6, On a result of 46, a ran- ‘domly encountered creature is. immediately inside the tunnel entrance. Make @ normal faction check to detemnine if the ereature at cks PCS outside ofits den; it will cerainly elf against characters who enter. Chapter 15 4. Towels and Caverns Once inside the tunnels, the characters find themselves. in nares, damp passages, The tunnels are normally about 10 feet in diame: ter. At those locations on the map where the ppasage expands into lager chambers, the re ions are natural eaves. Many stalactites hang, fom the ceiling, while stalagmites strike up= wan! from the floor Water trickles in small amounts through both the tunnels and the cavers, The caverns ako each host several large, tl pools. Bas sre ‘common inal of the cavers, and at dawn and dusk are actively lying through the tunnels 5. hidden Tunnel enTeances Like the obvious tunnel entrances, the hidden entrances are always discovered in the bottoms of fissures (those marked with a “S"). They should be treated as secret doors, however, ‘when detemnining whether oF not the charac. ters discover them, The hidden tunnel entrances are not cree tue bis, sO no additional random encounter check is required when the PCs pass one. The fentrance is hidden by whatever type of maske ing works best in the terrain type in the fis sure. A hrushy fissure might have a tunnel entrance conecaled behind tangled branches, ‘while fissure lined with boulders might have the entrance as a narrow erack -between 10 huge racks, 6. gully dwang hideout ‘This caver serves asthe aie and hideout of a aroup of bandit gully dwarves who plan to embark on a spree of robbery and destruction across the face of Neraka and the rest of Keyan, Any day now. ‘A low growling sound emerges from be hind a linge rock that partially blocks the passageway. The growling has a rhythmic Aualty to M, a8 HF is Keeping time to a creature's deep breathing Behind the boulder lps the gully dwar a signed to guard this end ofthe eavem. Each of the tunnels leading into the area is similadly protected by an equally watchful sentry ‘The gully dwarfs name is Barph, and he will do anything to save himself if he is awake fened and threatened-or even if he thinks that he might be threatened. His confession ‘goes something Hike this Great Boos ial his fault! Tir 1 Stop him, but they no listen. Drag me along! “Me no want to be bund! Soon they Zo and rob everybody-me not go, unless they make me. Boolis so mean, we got to do what he say! “You guys look out for Bootus! Him one mean gully dwarf—him rob you, Boots grat bandit—scourge of Kiyon, is him” “The squalid camp of the gully dwarves lies at the contr of this vast caver, but the scent of the place © obvious as soon as the PCs enter the eavem. Ifthe PCS advance a litle ways, they soon hear arguing ahead, followed by & splash ‘Moving forward a litle more, they see the ‘bandit camp in all its glory. ‘Sputtering torehes and a great bonfire inate as ragged a collection of gully dwarves as might be found on Krynn. Dirty clothes hang about on an assortment of lines, and several pairs of worn leather boots dry by the lage fire. The camp comprises many ragged tents, ost of which soem to have no roofs nor ‘much in the way of sides, The carp is lo cated on the edge of sn underground pool A gully dwvach emerges from the water, sputtering and cursing, while another stands on what looks like « diving board Tnstead of facing out toward the water, the gully dwarf faces a larger gully dwarf be- Find him “Me not sleep on guard duty!” declares the gully dwvart on the diving board. “Me just test eyes! “Liat!” cies the bigger one. “You slept Who knoyr what eould sneak up on Boots while guards sleep” With tha the large gully dart kicks the ether off the board and into the poo. The clothes drying near the fie are all from sully dwarves whom Boofis, the lange one, has disciplined recently. The latest victim putters forth from the water, removes his boots, and seis them by the fire disgusted If the PCs hurry forvard, they can catch Boofus while he sil on the diving board staring triumphantly at his handivork in the water belo. The other gully dvarves, stand- ing around and watching, quickly dive for cover atthe approach ofthe PCs, not thinking to wam theie leader Blocking Boofix’s exit from the board is a very commanding position, since the huge gully dun immensely affid of water. If threatened there, he immediately agrees toChapter 15 any terms in order to liquid ‘Boofis can actully prove to be a valuable souree of information. He knows thatthe tun- rel to the east Ieads to the Undercity of Neraka, He also knows that there isa "blood: dinker” (vampire) along the way. He knows ‘that the big bas with the blooddinker Aly out of the eavem at night, He has recently learned of the Nightwalk (Event 19), during. which the Undercity is almost deserted, ‘None of this information is provided wile ingly, of course. As soon as Boots Figures tat he has said enough wo save his skin, he clams up. Only addtional threats motivate him td 7. The Waterhole The tunnel abrupily ends ina large cavern. The floor is completely covered with dark, still water. This lange cavern is the converging point of several corridors. Many of the denizens of the funnels come here to drink The pool is four feet deep inthe center and ‘only half that atthe edges. Dwarves and hal lings have to be carried ifthe PCs move into the middle, but all characters can walk if the party moves around the perimeter of the ‘chamber. In any event, the characters are attacked by two giant crocodiles when they are miway between two exits The supid reptiles press ‘heir attacks nti both have been killed, since they have never encountered prey that they could not Kil 8. The Cube’s Room This intersection of three coridors isthe sta- tion of a gelatinous cube. The monster has lo- cated itself squarely across the intesetion, so ‘that nothing can move past without touching If the PCs approach, make @ normal sur- prise roll to determine if they see the cube, If rot, characters in the front rank of the party Aiscover the creature by walking into it The cube has absorbed a number of vaki- bles inthe course of its scavenging exp tions. These include 130 st, 180 sp, five gems worth 1d6 x 100 stl apiece, and a key fo the ddarkways, which may prove very valuable in the Dark Queen’s temple. 9. Caverns of purcus The tunnel opens onto a huge, bizare ca- vem, Giant rmishrooms, molds, and other types of fungus grow in profusion. Green Fichens clinging to the walls, shed a phos phorescent light, softly illuminating the ‘ast chamber, ‘Several pools of sill water lie among the fungi. A tickle of water spills down the wall, splshing into one of the pools. A layer of green mol over the flor loks like aa lush carpet. This pastoral cavern & crowdad with Fungus Many varieties are edible. Seared among the innocent fungus are numerous sbrickers, however. AS the characters passthrough, these animated plants begin howling their piercing alarm “The true menace of the cavern comes from the band of tolls living in a small side caver in the southwest wall, The entrance to their lair is concealed by a clump of giant mush “There ave six tolls and they atack any’ char: acters discovered trespassing in their caver, If the combat goes badly for them (iF four of them are at ( hit points of less), they ty 10 treat from the fungus cave, eading any pur suers away ffom ther lr. “The Init is discovered if any characters search in its general vicinity. A ranger who makes a successful tricking roll will see the Path lading to the lai with File ditficulty. It contains @ number of well-ehewed bones, ob ously hum, and two officers uniforms fiom members of the Red Dragonanny. A sinall wooden chest inthe air contains 20 st 70 gp, and 130 sp. The key to the chest is ear ried on a thong around the neck of the largest voll 10. La of The BLooddawKer This chamber looms high overhead, and the floor falls away quickly, disappearing own a steep slope ito darkness. A row of stalagmites tise fiom the floor just inside the entrance like the pipes of a gigmtic or gan. Any PCs who announce that they are examin- ing this cavern closely should be allowed to roll Wisdom Checks. A successful check means that the character notices an aura of death or decay about the place. The cavern is about 1,000 feet in diameter, and roughly circular. The ceiling towers 300 feet over the Moor in the center of the cham. 7 ber. The flor descends steeply from the sides to a cieular area, about 300 fest wie, in the ter ofthe eave. Throughout the area where the floor descends, many stalagmites jut up ward. The central circle is cleared and smooth, bowever The chamber’s primary occupant is @ vam- pire that lars in the center of the cleared are, The powerful creature is attended by 11 wraiths, also found ia the central arca, The ‘ther occupants of the chamber are 24 mobats who are here only during daylight hours. At night they fly out and cizcle the plains, look ing for prey nthe center ofthe cleared area lies the eof: fin of the vampire. No other features mar the ‘smoothness of the area The vampire senses the presence of any warmeblooded inter in his lai Ifthe mo- bats are present, be sens them 10 attack the player characters until the party is embroiled in combat. In the meantime, the vampire and the wraiths spread out and surround the PCS. Five rounds afer the mobats attack, the un- dead join in. TF the mobats are not present, the vampire sends the wniths to aitick the intruders in ‘groups of two and three, Each attack comes from a different direction. As the last group of ‘wraiths attacks, the vampire attacks from the ‘opposite direction, attempting to slay any clerics with the group before he ean be turned ‘The vampire has been thwarted by the lishes (see Appendix 1) for contol of the Un- dercty of Nemika, He burns with desire to re tum tothe Undercity asa rule. To this end, be has a map of all of the passages of the Under: city locked in a small box in his coffin ‘The box is buried in the dirt of dhe coffin and is only discovered if the din is moved around. It is not locked, and also contains toe vials: a porton of gaseous form, a porion of invisibility, and a potion of speed. 11. anmy encampment ‘An army encampment can be encountered here the night hefore an evil army enters Neraka, Consult the events to determine which road a given army marches toward Neraka upon, and how far from the city iis ‘when i stops to enear. The camp is guneded by a ring of pickets about 1/4 mile out from the bulk oF the army Patrols on dragonback cirele the perimeter every two tums. Roll 1d6 to determine the ‘composition of the picket ouspsts: 1-2 = bur ‘man mercenaries; 3'~ ogres; 4-5 ~ Bane dea cconians; 6 = Kapak draconians. dd +1 guards at each outpost, and the out posts are located 100 yards apart. There are