The Book of Zargo Zar the Sage

One of the artifacts that the archivists at Parn Tandalorn are most keenly interested in locating, and one which has so far totally eluded magical location attempts, is an ancient book of spells and lore concerning the Elemental Gods, by an Old One scholar named Zargo Zar the Sage.

The book was written by a wizened academic over many, many years.  It reads like a chronicle, but at times is hard to follow, because over the time it was being written, Zargo Zar was slowly going mad.  It details the growth of the Old Ones, hints at their origins (created by a forgotten entity, that the Sage refers to as "the Spirit of Man") and also the fascination that so many of them had with the Elemental Gods.

The few excerpts that have survived discuss spells to summon servitors of the Elemental Gods, and also spells to ward off them.  More often, these are referred to in carvings and remnants that are found in other Old One artifacts and documents.  One of the things that supposedly exists is the Lay of Ba'a Zarn - which is an epic poem talking about how Ba'a Zarn, the Builder, battled a powerful entity allied with the Earth Weaver.  The entity was named Corruption, and supposedly it was not able to be slain, but it was trapped, beneath the Great River.  The Archivists at Parn Tandalorn have debated, for many decades (centuries) whether this was figurative, or if the Great River (which was constructed by Ba'a Zarn the Builder) was really built as a prison for Corruption.  Without the book it is hard to know.

Another portion of the book, that supposedly survived, is the Sage talking about the Lord of Fire and his minions.  This has been mentioned, in (presumed) heiroglyphs carved on a tablet embedded into the side of the Altar of the Old Ones (in the far south of Bartaloo region), so although not much is known about the construction of Altar, the Book of Zargo Zar either was in existence before the Altar was built, or came about at around the same time.

Locating the book, or even part of it - excerpts, spells, poems - would make for an admirable gift to the Archivists, but it also might help to save the world.  The ancient book, the Earnish-Amantic has a number of items in it relating to the Lady of the Air (another of the Elemental gods).  These are all taken from, and reference, the book of Zargo Zar.

Wiifandra- Old One Mistress of Ba'a Zarn the Builder

A little known figure from the era of the Old Ones is that of the mistress of the last king of the old ones, Wiifandra.

From the sketchy accounts that still survive, and those that have been pieced together by the Archivists at Parn Tandalorn - mostly from surviving images and translated texts inside ruined sites of the Old Ones, it appears that Wiifandra was imbued with great magic powers, but that she sometimes disagreed with her consort, Ba'a Zarn the Builder, especially on matters concerning the Elemental gods.

Images that have survived that depict Wiifandra, depict her in one of two ways.  Within Old One sites, she is shown riding in a very large chariot (befitting her large size, as of all the Old One race), and it is being pulled by two gargantuan cats, similar (and probably the same) as the great plains cats (of the Shattered Plains) that are allied with, and ridden by, the Aublan Cat Riders.

The Archivists at Parn Tandalorn have surmised that one of the reasons for Ba'a Zarn to have build the King's Highway, was for the purpose of Wiifandra, and others of his clan, to be able to ride their chariots up and down the length of the Valley.

The other depiction of Wiifandra, is that of a powerful sorceress, aiding the Shagmen of the Darkearth Plains against the coming of the Storm King Barbarians.  These images are amongst the oldest of the surviving images in old settlements, and the barrow mounds of Jarls, among the Storm King Barbarians.  In such images, she is shown assisting the Shagmen against the Storm King Barbarians.  Curiously, in the images, the Shagmen are often depicted as being more sophisticated and advanced than they appear today.  In modern times (approximately 1500 W.M.) the Shagmen are quite primitive, much like our modern concept of a Neanderthal man.  And yet in the imagery that survives, they are depicted as tool users empoying quite sophisticated weapons and armor.  This may have been an attempt by the early Storm King Barbarian Skalds to show their enemies as being more powerful and advanced than they actually were; or the Skalds might not have been present at the battles, and only drew warriors in the way they were familiar; or (most intriguingly) something might have happened to the Shagmen from those earliest times, almost two millenia ago, when Wiifandra first fought for them, and then she disappeared (shortly after the disappearance of the other Old Ones).

Wiifandra, helping the Shagmen (right) against the Storm King Barbarians (left)

 It is rumored that as the advances of the Storm King Barbarians grew more and more intense, with their fleets of dragonships coming out of the north, down the various rivers out of the Destriel Mountains (especially the Greywater), that the Shagmen were beaten back.  A single lone strong point survived, and this was around the cliff-side Solitude of Aether - the last home that Wiifandra used before departing the Valley.  It was located along the southern shoreline of the Great River, as it passed next to the Jazzan Mountains, under the Falls of Arning.  There was a transplanted colony of Shagmen living in caves near the River, and they served and worshipped Wiifandra.

The Solitude of Aether, along the southern shoreline of the Great River

When Wiifandra departed, many of her loyal Shagmen departed with her, and the rest were changed in some way.  Some Archivists claim that they became the Shagmen we know of today, in order to hide the memories of Wiifandra and her magic, others say that those located at the Solitude of Aether were changed into something else.

The biggest secret about Wiifandra, and where she departed from her consort, Ba'a Zarn, was that she was a completely devoted worshiper of the elemental god, The One Beneath the Waves.  She not only worshpped the sleeping god, but she used her considerable magic to create and contact followers of his, and also to imbue the knowledge into the Shagmen.  This is not known, currently, to the Archivists, or to anyone in the Valley.

When she left, some of the things that Wiifandra left behind, were a number of spells related to the worship of The One Beneath the Waves, as well as contacting and serving the servitor races of that elemental god.  Also, she left behind some of her personal magic items.  She left behind the Staff of Aether, the Bracers of Deep Knowledge, and the Tiara of Darkness.  The location of these is not known, but they are each of a powerful (artifact) level.  Many of her spells are assumed to be located in copies of the Book of Zargo Zar the Sage.

Parn Tandalorn - The Great Archive

Near the headwaters of the Tandalorn River there is a strange and magical community, high in the mountains, that is dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge.  This is the site of the fantastic Great Library of Parn Tandalorn.  It was settled by a group of monks and priests from the Olmart Empire that accompanied the first settlers to come into the Valley, south of the great river.  They brought with them soldiers, as well as their own families, seeking to establish a new community, in the strange and dangerous land of the Valley.

Parn Tandalorn

It was here, with the various artifacts and ruined sites of the Old Ones, that the Archivists thought they could study and make sense of what the world was like before the advent of Man.  To understand what the Archivists (the original settlers of the Great Library and the community there) understood about man, it is important to understand how they viewed Man's place in the world.  This was, of course, very different than the understanding that the inhabitants, with their knowledge of the three goddesses, and some of the subjected peoples of the old empire - such as the Lass Indol and their goddesses of the Seasons.  The old orders of the Olmart empire see the coming of man as some fulfillment of the element of magic.  The old races were not enough - the Elves themselves are magic, the Dwarves capture magic, the Saurials sing of magic, but only Man can create magic.  Hence, the element itself was responsible for bringing man into the world.  So, they came to study the Old Ones and find out what they could about them, and see whey there were passed over by Magic and why Man was chosen/birthed instead.

In coming into contact with the artifacts, and surviving learning, of the Old Ones, the Archivists learned something very, very different.  The Old Ones were enthralled, and worshipped (largely out of fear) their own elemental god.  There were immensely powerful beings, from another dimension, that were bent on the destruction of reality.  The Old Ones believed that by supplication and appeasement, they could keep them (the elemental gods) pacified until their knowledge of magic advanced to such a point that they could imprison them.  This they did, but at a cost.  Great structures were build by Ba'a Zarn the builder, in order to serve as the locks on the dimensional prisons that the elemental gods are imprisoned in.  These structures are part of the world, in the Valley, and the Archivists are beginning to learn the secrets of the Great River, the King's Highway, Fire Mountain, and the Tears of Heaven.  But not all the secrets, not yet.

The Archivists do know that after the elemental gods were imprisoned, that the young gods and goddesses of the world began to awaken - with the help of The Krunge, and Mika, and Earnissa.  Bronc and Photoss escaped, and became the two Warrior gods known as the Storm King and the Sun King, and their people (the Storm King barbarians in the north, and the Sun King barbarians in the south) have flourished, albeit the tainting of the Sun King by his diabolical mistress has led to a certain strain of chaos and evil that has suffused the culture of the Sun King barbarians.  The three goddesses have awoken, and even the forces of the seasons that the Lass Indol venerated have become goddesses.

Something else that the Archivists realize, that much of the remainder of the Valley (the Westroners, the Northerners, the Southerners and many of the non-humans) is that there is still a taint of power from the elemental gods loose in the world.  There are, in secret, and in shadow, pocket of worshipers who feel as if they can gain power, by serving the four sleeping horrors.  Some, the mad and those deranged by evil, see the bringing about the destruction of the world through the doings of elemental god magic, as a desirable goal.  These are the evil forces that the Archivists are arranged against.

Alas, however, the Archivists, in their quest for magic and knowledge, and their desire to exist as a separate community, has led them into a secluded and isolationist state.  They live, alone in their community of towers, schools, halls of study, and dens of magic, without any real thought to intervention in the outside world.  Let the petty barons fight over lands and holdings.  Let the Elves bicker over the boundaries between Faery and the world.  Let the Dwarves hollow out all the mountains, and make war against the orcs and goblins they find there.  The Archivists have much more important things to do - at Parn Tandalorn.

Khomaes Adventure - Cult of the White Shadow

There are are very interesting forces at work in Khomaes.  Although the Barony (which includes the city) is ruled by a nominally good member of Westroner society, Baron Aldra Ap Iaggio, there are forces within the city that are far from anything recognizable as Westroner culture.  A broad, but unorganized, subculture of different groups exist within the city, some of them religious, some with more earthly gains.  One of the most bizarre, however, is the Cult of the White Shadow.  An encounter by the player characters with this cult would probably be a dangerous one, but one where good characters would probably seek to harm the cult, and its leaders, in any way possible.

This secret organization draws its members from among the families of the wealthy nobility, and yet preys on the members of the poor and dispossessed classes.  The members are typically 2nd and 3rd sons and daughters (and others, further removed from being first son or daughter), that are likely not to partake of the inherited positions of authority and power within those families.  These are drawn into the Cult, and typically have little loyalty to the culture that has little room for them.  It should not be thought that all of the sons and daughters of these families that don't stand to inherit will immediately become members of this or that cult, it is only a small percentage.  But a high percentage of the recruits of the Cult do come from these situations.

The cult believes that it has found a way to contact servitors of one of the deities of the Old Ones.  In this case, it is the Lady of Air, and her servant is the White Shadow.  The White Shadow (according to the Cult) is an ethereal creature (actually from the shadow dimensions, but they are similar in characteristics to the ethereal plane) that seeks to bring about changes to the material plane, such that all beings, especially those with a brain, are subject to the Lady of Air, and her desire to bring an end to stultifying order, and overly shackling concepts of law.  In truth the doctrine is quite complicated, and under close scrutiny (like most Cults) does not seem logical.  The Cultists, however, don't seem to mind.

One of the main activities of the Cult is the summoning of Shadow Wyrms, which are supposed to make the way open for the White Shadow to arrive.  These Shadow Wyrms are infernal creatures, not resident to the world of the Valley, but must be summoned by magical means.  It is the belief of the Cult that those means include the sacrifice of young maidens, and the gathering of those maidens is the main business of the cult, within the city.

The activities of the Cult occasionally arise throughout the city, and there have been several Paladins and Clerics of various orders within the Church that have sought to stamp it out, but it arises again, and again in spite of such efforts.  Currently, the headquarters of the Cult are located in a series of chambers, carved out of the rock of Dancer's Spike, entered via secret passage from the villa of a certain noble famly, the home of Lady Rema.  Lady Arabelle Siago Rema herself (an elderly noble woman) is a member of the cult, but other than hosting the "dungeons" where they are headquartered, has little to do with the day to day abduction and murder activities.  She does, however, maintain a social circle of various nobles that are involved.

A map of the chambers is given here, with a key below.

A. Golden Chamber - This is the main room of the cultists when they gather.  As a precaution against non cultists entering here, there are a number of pillars in the room, which are charmed to produce guardian Shadow Creatures.  These apparently appear in direct proportion to the number of invaders that enter the room.
Each round someone comes into the room, 1d3 shadow creatures appear.  There are 12 pillars, so the maximum number of creatures that can appear in one round is 12.
Smashing the pillars will cause them to cease working.  They are made out of amberstone.  The base of each pillar has a gold collar around it, worth approximately 300gp each.

B. Storage Room - This is the room where the cultists keep their weapons, used for kidnapping and killing.  It has several racks in it, all containing a variety of bladed weapons, from push daggers, on up to short swords (nothing larger).
In the room, located up near the ceiling, there are two air sharks swirling around.  These are the trained pets of the weapons master, and will attack anyone else who enters the room.
If the racks are emptied, hidden inside one (which is not apparent unless all the weapons are removed) there is a hidden magical short sword, which is +2 to hit and damage, and which does double damage vs. elves of all sorts. 

C. Guardian Room -  This room is never entered by normal members of the cult, nor would they progress to the chambers beyond here (E,F,G,H).  In this room are two rot-trolls, which will attack any who enter who are not bearing the gold White Shadow pendant that senior members of the cult bear.  They will not stir from this room, nor will they allow any to pass it while they are still "alive".  A golden lined fountain against the southern wall sparkles out a flowing supply of special unholy water.  It provides healing (as a potion of healing, 1d6+4 hp) to characters and beings of an evil alignment (the rot-trolls know this, and won't hesitate to drink from the fountain in the midst of a fight, should they need to).  It, however, acts as acid vs any characters or creatures of a lawful good or chaotic good alignment. Those of a neutral alignment (true neutral, lawful neutral, or chaotic neutral) are unaffected by the unholy water.

D. Prison Room -  This room contains a large iron cage in the middle of the floor, with approximately 8 wretches crammed into it, who are awaiting sacrifice.  These are all young women, mostly taken from the low city, who have had their minds tampered with.  Sadly, due to diabolical magical treatment, they are no longer aware of their surroundings, or what is happening to them, and are only vessels of life in the most academic sense.  Guarding the room, are 6 Shadow Creatures.

E. Fetid Room - This is a room full of a curious fungus fungus room.  There is a curious growth, covering all surfaces in here (which includes the walls, ceiling, floor, several stone benches, and a fetid pool in a low-walled (12") enclosure, about 8 feet across, in the middle of the room.  All those surfaces have a weird sort of orange fungus growing on it, which will (if it senses body heat nearby), emit a strange orange fog that will not only affect all in the room, but also all those within 10 feet of the doors to the room, even if those doors are shut.
 The orange fog disrupts magic.  It has a chance to disrupt the magical properties of items (roll, once per property, percentile dice.  A roll of 25 or less means the property is negated for a period of 1d4 hours.  Artifact level items are not so affected).  It can make spell casters forget their spells, or lose their ability to channel divine magic.  If a magic user, make a save vs. spell.  If it is failed, then 1d4+1 spells (random from among those memorized) that are currently memorized, are forgotten (i.e. can not be cast without re-memorizing).  If a cleric, make a save vs. spell.  If it is failed, then lose the ability to cast 1d4+1 cleric spells (random levels) for the rest of the day.  In addition, the orange fog (unless a save vs. paralyzation is made) will render the victim "attractive" to the Shadow Snakes in room G.
The pool, if disturbed (it has a surface crust of the orange fungus' spoors), will cause two great shelled giant rotting filth-prawns to rise up out of the muck, and begin to attack (and inject with their damned magical larvae) any in the room.

F. Nursery Chamber - In this room is a giant larval grub (15' long, 8' high and 8' wide) of a greater mist walker.  It is being tended to by six Cultists (3 Swords of the Shadow; 1 Mind of the Shadow; 2 Flames of the Shadow) at any one time.  These are senior cultists, and at least two of them are (in addition to their normal stats, see below) also trained as 7th level necromancers. The sole duty of the Cultists is to take care of the grub, and not to enter combat in other areas of the dungeon.

The grub, if attacked, can be killed without difficulty (it only requires some repeated hacking, for approximately 1d6+6 rounds).  The problem with this is, that the juices and fluids that will spray forth from the grub will affect all in the room, as per the Mental Lash of a lesser Mist Walker.
If the cultists are killed, or if the Grub is attacked, then the giant Grub will flail about, seeking to crush all in the room.  Each turn in the room with the flailing Grub, all who are smaller than Large size, must make a saving throw vs. petrification, or suffer 2d8 damage from being rolled on and crushed by the ponderous Grub.  This is in addition to any save required because of spraying juices or fluids.  If anyone is paralyzed, due to spraying fluids, then they suffer a -2 to their saving throw attempt to avoid being crushed.
The cultists each wear a gold pendant, the sort that will allow passage beyond the rot-trolls of room C.  These are worth, in gold, approximately 150 gp each.  Selling them in the city of Khomaes, however, is likely to arouse suspicion, and perhaps prompt a visit from cult assassins.

G. Portal Room - This room contains the portal, guarded though it is, to the treasure room of this dungeon.  The center of this room has, on the floor, a round slab of marble, with a carved magical circle on it, that serves as a portal.  Activating the portal consists of putting on the curious bone helmet sitting on a pedestal, within arm's length of the magical circle, and then standing on the circle.
Hanging from the ceiling,in all parts of the room other than the very center where the magical circle is, are thick, rubbery tentacle-like roots hanging from the ceiling, having forced their way through the rocky ceiling, and now filling the room.
Swirling around, through the air, and among the tentacles, are a half dozen (6) Shadow Snakes.  These will give attack preference to anyone who still bears the orange fungus gas from room E.
If metal weapons are used in combat against the Shadow Snakes, the tentacles will react, and begin spraying a protective mist into the room, which is a light acid spray.  Everyone in the room during a round when metal weapons are used (and the immediate round following) has to make a dexterity save (d20 vs dexterity) in order to avoid a thick discharge of the acidic mist.  Failure means an acid attack (2d4 first round, 1d4 for two following rounds; save vs. poison for half damage).
There are several niches in the walls around the room (which have to be looked for specifically, because the tentacles from the ceiling will hide them from casual observation).  The niches each contain an urn, most of which are full of poisonous insects (no real attack, can be smashed handily, but save vs. poison to avoid a nuisance bite, if save is failed, then take 1d3 poison, and the irritant gives -1 to all attacks for two days).  There is one urn (random) that contains gemstones worth 3000 gp.
Standing on the magical circle, while wearing the helmet, will activate the teleportation form this room to room K (the only way to enter room K is via this portal).  The actual teleportation takes 1d6 rounds, during which time the person being teleported is subjected to acid sprays (save as usual) from the tentacles, and can be attacked by the Shadow Snakes.

H. White Room. - This room is empty, and is painted white throughout.  There are blood stains on the floor, and bits of rotting flesh in the corner of the room.

J. Entrance. - This is the entrance to the Cult dungeon.  It is found at the end of a long secret passage, from a hidden room at Lady Rema's villa.  There are casks of wine stashed here, as well as a pile of clothing, and normal city garb.  On the wall are a number of peg hooks, each holding one or two grey robes, with hoods. These are the garbs of the cultists.

K. Audience Chamber. - Upon being teleported into this room from G., the room takes on a curious glow once the inhabitant is standing in it.  That glow slowly fades to black, and then stars appear all around the person in the chamber.  It appears as if they are not standing on anything, but are suspended in deep space.  From out of the space, comes a hideous, gigantic white creature, like a huge (miles long?) body of a great white moth's body.  The flesh on top of the worm is rotting, and flaking off into space, and the legs are apparently groping.  The gigantic wings are rotting through here and there.  The face of the thing is shockingly horrible - looking like a great abomination of a woman's head, but deformed in horrible ways.  The face sees the victim, and the great wretched, fetid creature begins gyrating towards the person in the chamber.  It will seek to communicate telepathically, but since it is so alien, yet strong, it has a chance of damaging the mind.
This has a huge potential of affecting the individual negatively.  First, make a save vs. spell, to see if the mind is damaged.  If the save is failed, lose 1d3 Intelligence and 1d3 Wisdom.  Next, make a save vs death magic.  If this is failed, then the alignment of the victim is affected.  First, test the law/neutral/chaos axis - roll 1d6.  On a 1-3, the alignment shifts one slot towards chaos.  Then test the good/neutral/evil axis - again roll 1d6, on a 1-3 the alignment shifts one slot towards evil.  These changes can be overcome over time, but will affect the character's behavior in the short term (several weeks).  Finally, there is a chance that the character, in being touched by the creature in space, will be affected by exposure to the magic of that being.  Roll a test vs. Intelligence.  If this is passed (use the modified Intelligence, if it was lowered), then the character has learned some secrets of the creature's magic.  The character now has a chance to learn 1d6 spells that would normally be accessible by a necromancer.  Randomize which spells, and then roll (based on the character's intelligence) the chance to know that spell.  After all this, the character takes 3d6 psychic damage, but is returned to room G.  Unless the character passes a Wisdom test, he/she will be in a coma for two days.
If the character, at any point, removes the helmet, then the connection is broken.  Immediately take 6d6 psychic damage, and return to room G.  Also make a Wisdom test to avoid coma, but if failed, then this coma lasts 4 days.

Next posting will include stats on the following creatures from this dungeon:

• Air Sharks
• Filth-Prawns
• Rot Trolls
• Shadow Creatures
• Shadow Snakes
• White Shadow Cultists

Icewall - River Jarl Steading (1)

Icewall is the name of the northern most of the River Jarl steadings.  It is the home of a very powerful clan of Storm King barbarians, the Isvater clan.  The current head of the clan is Kolfinn Haukson.  He is an old warrior, ruling his great clan, and his huscarls, with a firm but fair manner.  He has a daughter, Vigdis Kilfinndottr - who is young, lovely, and given to romantic adventures.  She has a group of friends, all young ladies, who attend her on all manner of adventures.

The steading of Icewall stands at the forefront of a great glacier that is slowly making its way down out of the Destriel mountains.  The Terrapin River (sometimes known locally as the Iceflow) comes down out of the glacier, higher up in the mountains, it flows under the ice sheet.  At the edge of the glacier, where the river comes down out of the mountains, there is a cliff wall made of both ice and mountain rockwall, and it is here that Icewall stands.

Isvater clan Steading - Icewall

There are stone pillars in the Terrapin, at this point, and they are all part of a large protected harbor, which houses the Isvater clan's fleet of dragon ships.

The glacier itself is known as the Ice Father, and is home to all manner of dangerous creatures.  In addition to the usual assortment of snow giants, mountain giants, ice trolls and other creatures of the frozen Destriel mountains, additional other creatures that have been spawned by the shadowy practices of renegade ice wizards (all sworn servants of Helgor, the Black Chieftain, god of the underworld in the Storm King pantheon).

Further north, near the headwaters of the Terrapin River, lies the mysterious and enigmatic Plains of Fire.  This is a valley, nestled down amongst the frozen peaks and glacial flows of the Destriel, that is a curious location - it is a fertile green valley, but with jets of flame erupting from among the hot springs and acidic pools that appear among the otherwise inviting green valley floor.  The Plains of Fire also are the spawning grounds of the great dragons of the north.

Some days, across mountains and ice, to the west of the Plains of Fire stands the singular mountain, the Moonspike.  Atop this curious narrow, but incredibly tall, summit stands the magic monolith known as the Great Crystal.  It is rumored, amongst the Archivists of Parn Tandalorn, that the Crystal was formed from the tears of one of the Three Goddesses, and that it is a peculiarly strong focal point of the magic from the Three within the valley.

Located nearby are the famed Dungeons of Igo Umblar (this is location 1 in the Week of Adventure Locations).

Week of Encounters Day 5: Living Skulls of the Purple Marsh

This encounter takes place in the Darkearth Plains region of the Valley.  It takes place just north of the Great River, where the Jazzan Mountains can be seen to the south, and the Harp Woods spread out to the North.

On the northern banks of the Great River, as it passes just east of the Jazzan Mountains, near the Harp woods, there is a swampy expanse that stretches for approximately 25 miles along the river. This swamp is called the Purple Marsh, named long ago for the semi-aquatic Narreck trees that clog the waterways of the swamp (the Narreck, when they flower, produce a purple floss that becomes airborne in the spring winds, and spread the growth of the trees).

The locals from the fishing villages that owe fealty to the Barony of Khomaes have long known that they should give the Marsh a wide miss. It is widely known that the normal dangerous Marsh inhabitants (trolls, lizardmen, dangerous large aquatic grazers such as the catoblepas and so on) are present, but these rarely leave the marsh to raid surrounding areas. When they do, the fighting men of Khomaes, led by Knights of the White Lady, often arise to contain the threat, and keep it limited to the marsh itself. The area is too large, and largely impassable to military units, for the soldiery to clear out the marsh - but they can keep the dangerous inhabitants contained.

Recently, numerous trading cogs from areas west of the Jazzan have been attacked by a string of piracy in the area of the Marsh. The Player Characters, traveling through the area, come across the wreckage of a cog that has washed up on shore. It was attacked, and the crew mostly killed, but a few survivors are found with the wreckage. They talk about an attack by a pirate ship that came out of the morning mists on the Great River, as the cog passed by a part of the Purple Marsh. The cog was carrying a heavy cargo of expensive clothes and other luxury items, meant for trade in Khomaes and Gorrem river towns. These trade goods have all disappeared. The player characters should be given a sense that tracking down the pirates will be quite profitable for them.

The survivors will describe the pirates as living men (human fighting men and thieves), but with skulls for heads. Living Skulls with no flesh, no skin, no eyes - but attached to the body and capable of a rude speech. The players have no concept of these skull men, nor have they encountered anything like it before.

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Living Skull
Num Appearing: Special (created creature)
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Movement: 60'
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 2d (10 h.p.)
Attacks: 1 (claw) or by weapon
Damage: 1d6 - or by weapon (claws are 40% poisoned)
Save: F2
Morale: special (commanded creatures)
Special Abilities: Similar to undead - can be controlled by Evil priests and clerics, but cannot but turned by Good or Neutral priests and clerics.

The claws of a Living Skull are poisoned 40% of the time. Every time a claw attack scores, there is a 40% chance that it is poisonous (does an additional 1d3 points of damage per round, for 1d6 additional rounds - save for half as many rounds).

Living Skulls are supernaturally strong, even if they are slow (if using initiative rules, they suffer are -2 slower than a typical human). Their strength gives them +1 to hit in combat with weapons, and +2 damage when using weapons.

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The searching and investigating of the players should lead them to a watery inlet into the Purple Marsh, that goes to a protected lake, surrounded by small islands and ridges of dry land, but the whole area is thickly forested with Narreck trees. The region is full of primitive bands of hunting lizardmen who are always seeking a source of fresh meat. On one of the larger dry land ridges at the edge of the lake, there is a small walled village, with some simple piers stretching into the lake. There are several galleys (the sort that would make good piracy vessels) moored here.

The village appears deserted. There are some wild denizens of the Marsh who have moved in where pirates and brigands once dwelt. Nearby is a solitary stone structure (all else is made of wood and bamboo), a squat round tower, with a large bronze brazier (25' across) on the exposed top floor. Examining this reveals that there is a dungeon complex underneath. Several layers, magically constructed, lined with marble and extending deep underground, past the water table levels of the swamp. Some areas of the dungeon are dry, and some are intentionally flooded as pools.

Within the dungeon is a society of cultists of the ancient Old Ones' deity, the "One beneath the Waves". These deranged beings seek to draw their deity back to the world, in order to destroy it. They have taken up with a clan of Kuo Toa (who dwell in the dungeon as well, within the flooded chambers, and elsewhere), and have perfected and cast a spell on the inhabitants of the brigand village on the surface. All of the men (and women and children - although the latter were mostly eaten by the cultists in cannibalistic rites) were transformed into "skull men" - mindless servants that are enslaved to the cult and do its bidding. These are strange hybrids of life and undeath, but are immune to the religious sway that modern priests and clerics would have over normal undead. While slow, like most undead, they fight very well and are persistent to the point of destruction.

The dungeons under the tower are quite well stocked with treasures of both the normal and magical types, and exploration of the site by the Player Characters would prove quite valuable. What to do with the knowledge of the Cult and their macabre invention is up to them.

Living Skulls are created by EHP's of the cult of the "One Beneath the Waves". It is a level 6 spell, taught only to priests of the cult, and it works as follows:

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Create Living Skulls (spell)
Level: 6
Duration: Permanent
Range: 30'
This spell turns incapacitated humans (it only works on humans) into Living Skulls. The created beings have no memory of their pre-converted life. The process removes all skin, hair, eyes, brain, muscle etc from the head, leaving an exposed skull. The created beings respond to simple commands (as with other simple undead) from their creator, although this can be a command to transfer their allegience (such as "Obey Igor").

The number of humans converted per application of the spell is equal to 1d6 plus the caster's level. All of the humans to be converted must be incapacitated (sleeping, knocked out, tied up, or something similar), and within the range of the spell.

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Week of Encounters Day 1: The King's Highway

This encounter takes place in the Shattered Plains region of the valley, far to the west.  It occurs along the King's Highway, not too far to the west of the Durwash River crossing, where the Highway passes over that mighty river.  Like all of the river crossings, the mound the Highway is built on has a vast opening through it for the river to pass underneath.

The King's Highway is an interesting feature in the Valley of the Old Ones. It was built by the last King of the Old Ones, and in spite of their absence for a long, long time the highway remains intact, and still in use. It is, however, a magnet for danger, because of the associated rumors about periodic structures full of the treasures of the Old Ones.

The encounter in question here concerns the efforts of the player party to cross past the highway for some reason.

Physically, the obstacle is the Highway itself. The section the players come up against is over 150 feet tall. Much of the side is covered with patches of exposed rock face and boulders. Climbing the nearly sheer face of the highway is bad enough (requires 1 hand at all times to hang on, and dexterity and strength checks as the DM warrants), but the rocks are teaming with all manner of small predators, like rock snails.


Rock Snails
Num Appearing: 2-8
Alignment: neutral (evil)
Movement: 5'
Armor Class: 4 vs. One foe in contact. 1 vs. All others
Hit Dice: 1d-1
Attacks: 1 (bite), possible poison
Damage: 1d4
Save: F2
Morale: 8


Special Attack: poison (save or as sleep spell); corrosive slime (after successful attack, or against incapacitated foe, snail slime causes automatic 1d3 points per round. Save for half)

The top of the mound is approximately 500 feet across in the area the players are attempting to cross (although this varies from place to place). The most striking feature is that the entire surface is covered in smooth marble blocks.

The top of the mound is indeed a highway, and it stretches as far as one can see to the east and west.  The center 150 feet of the top is the highway itself, with approximately 150 feet on either side dedicated to structures that were once standing, and in some spots are still present in a ruined state.  The remainder of the top is just a grassy surface that gives way to the rocky escarpment on either side.

Once the party comes up to the top, the DM should show them the map of the apparent buildings in the area, and let them look around for a few minutes.  Suddenly, the rubbled doors are thrown open on the "Great Stone House" on the map, and out rush a band (16) of Star Marauders.  These particular Marauders have the tattoo'd Sign of K'nar visible on their foreheads.

Star Marauders (sign of K'nar)

Num Appearing: 4-24
Alignment: chaotic-evil
Movement: 60'
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 2d (9 h.p.)
Attacks: 1 (shortsword)
Damage: 1d6
Save: F2
Morale: 9


Special Attack: Heat generation.  This band of Star Marauders has been branded with the "Sign of K'nar" tattoo, which means that they have the capability to generate extreme heat for a short amount of time.  Once per day, for a period up to 10 consecutive melee rounds, these Star Marauders generate heat that will cause 1d4 H.P. damage per round to anyone in melee contact with them (save v. spells for half).


These are led by a 3HD leader (14 h.p.), who is an expert with a longsword.

Once the Marauders are dealt with, it is revealed that there is a set of stairs in the great stone house, leading down into a series of dungeon chambers (detailed separately).

History of the Valley - since Ba'a Zarn

The Archivists of Parn Tandalorn tend to view the history of the Valley of the Old Ones as, enigmatically, beginning with the departure of the Old Ones themselves.  At some point, in the distant past, the King of the Old Ones Ba'a Zarn disappeared from the world.  After this time, the many creatures and creations of the gods of the Old Ones began to spread and to rule over the world.  The chief creations amongst all of these are Men, Elves and Dwarves.  The Men seem to have been a companion gift to the Old Ones, constructed by the Elemental Gods.  The Elves were first created by the forest goddess Earnissa.  The Dwarves were created by The Krung, lord of the mountains.

As the power of the Old Ones began waning, many of the Men who were living with them in their fabulous cities began to flee, and to already spread across the world.  At this time they began worshiping the gods and goddesses of nature, especially Bronc the Storm King, and Photoss the Sun King.  The Three Goddesses were not unknown at this time, but the complicated nuance of the modern churches did not exist - they were simply worshiped as Fertility, Magic and Agriculture.

The tribes of the Storm King grew in power and strength, until they threatened both the Dwarves and the Elves.  This brought about the first Elf war, which pitted the ancient tribes of the Storm King against the original forest tribes of Earnissa's people.  The Dwarves were pledged to help the Elves, but due to unknown reasons they never appeared at any of the battles.  The barbaric humans were losing in the war against the elves, but in the end the Elves capitulated and settled an uneasy peace with the humans.

There are still groups of humans that worship the Storm King, however (and this is true within the Valley) much of human civilization is now built around the worship of the Three Goddesses.  These three, and a complicated hierarchy of saints and scions, are the object of much of the modern Church that is key to human civilization.

Within the Valley, the human city of Narn is home to the feudal kingdom of Neill family.  Duke Alasdair IV is the current head of the family, and he rules with the blessings of the Arch-Cleric Neveross, of the Cathedral of St. Narn.  Across the valley there are many small baronies and other realms that all, in theory, owe feudal loyalty to the Neill family, however the distance and the politics involved mean that at any time any number of these can be at war with each other, or against the Neills themselves.  Complicated church politics don't make matters any simpler.

Within the valley, there are several forests where Elven domains are evident.  These are largely Wood Elves.  There are, in the mountains surrounding the valley, several hidden cities of High Elves as well.  During the war with the Storm King barbarians, the High Elves felt betrayed by their brothers who surrendered to the Humans, and so went, mostly, into seclusion.  Other than their hidden mountain cities, the High Elves also have a floating city that travels up and down the Great River.

Several underground colonies of Grey Dwarves exist in the mountains surrounding the valley.  These are the types of dwarves who feel compelled to pursue their traditional role as miners and craftsmen, working with stones and gems, and digger deeper and deeper into the mountains.  Offshoots of these 'traditionalists' often move down out of the mountain, and build towns and villages where they trade with the feudal human cities, and others.  These Dwarves who leave the mountains are often referred to as Brown Dwarves.

Countless other races of beings (magical and natural) occupy the areas within and around the Valley.  Among the more numerous are the Halflings, Gnomes and of course all the Goblin races, from the goblins themselves, up through the trolls.  Many variants of beastmen exist as well.  In addition to the underground empires of the goblins and dwarves, there is another race of elves that have taken up life under the mountains - the Dark Elves.

Since the departure of the Old Ones, and the war between the Barbarians and the Elves, the rise of Human civilization has dominated the valley.  Today they are the most numerous people within the valley, although the strength of Narn has faded in recent decades.

History of the World - Valley of the Old Ones

The Valley, of course, is part of a much larger world.  This is a short version of the history of that world, according to the Archivists of Parn Tandalorn.

Once, a long time before there was time, the world had no music.  Without music, there was no magic.  Without magic, there were no numbers.  But one by one, through the strength of their will, the elemental gods of the Old Ones awoke.  Their names are now long forgotten, but in the course of things, each of them had a number.  The first, the lord of fire, helped to bring the rest into being.  They came in order, the Lord of Fire, the Lady of Air, Earth Weaver and the One beneath the Waves.  From them the rest of the gods of the Old Ones came, each after its own element.  Now their numbers were many, and  from this they could wring out all manner of magic.

The magic allowed the gods to create, each after his or her own fashion, the things that would live on the earth.  Plants, Animals, Fish, Birds.  Even the Old Ones.  They were created by the Lord of Fire and the Lady of Air directly, and held sway over all other things.  Through their ordering, the magic gave way to music, and now the world was complete.

After a time, a king arose amongst the Old Ones named Ba'a Zarn the Builder.  Ba'a Zarn and his people built all manner of fantastic cities and wonders.  Some still stand - the Sky Lake of Cittar and the Great Block.  Some are long gone.  Many were deep under the earth, still more were among the clouds.  One of the amazing feats of Ba'a Zarn was the construction of the Great River, which completely crosses the face of the world from one end to the other.  Along with the Great River is the King's Highway.  Much of the King's Highway is still in existence, and these two wonders - the River and the Highway - run through the middle of the Valley of the Old Ones.

It is said that the Valley itself was once a garden of the Old Ones, where they would come to take their ease and talk with all of the creatures of the gods.  Certainly they left behind some fantastic structures in the mountains and on the plains of the valley.  Many these days shun such spots, as they are the home of amazing creatures and inscrutable magic, but others seek them out as spots of adventure and fantastic treasures.