Magical Constructs in the Web of Ostigaar (1 of 3)

There are several Magical Constructs, that is large features with magical properties, that not the typical magic item that can be easily carried around (such as a wand, ring, sword or boots).  These are unique magical items that were constructed by the Harmalan Warlocks during the age when that family wielded power.

Star Portal of Oo'Zondra - The warlock Oo'Zondra was thoroughly fascinated with not only the astral plane, but also the celestial motion of the various bodies that were propelled by the gods through the ether around the world.  To further aid him in his study of this aspect of reality, and its ability to assist with contacting the astral plane, the warlock constructed his star portal.  It is a simply a hole in the sky, but the otherside of the hole is what makes it interesting.  The hole was placed, eventually, up against the stone ceiling in a chamber, now part of the dungeons making up this adventure.  It is a permanent opening, although the air that is needed to breath by people stays on one side of the portal, and the stellar-fluous ether remains on the other side.  The three moons (the three goddesses) can be seen moving by, and sometimes even stopping to peer through the portal.  The various dark spheres above the moons (outside of their gaze, and home to the nephilim of Noxecatt) are sometimes visible, but gazing is not recommended, as it sometimes draws down one or more of the nephilim (also called star giants). A magic user spending time (one week) meditating and studying the stellar glories within the portal, will gain 1 point of intelligence.  In addition, their new-found understanding of the intricacies of magic allow them to learn a new spell (of the DM's choice), and also to re-roll for learning any spells lost to them (due to missed "chance to know spell" dice rolls) of their highest spell level.  However, a saving throw vs. magic must be made, once per day during the week, or they will attract powerful, and dangerous, creatures that traverse such dimensions.  This includes creatures such as Mind Flayers, Githyanki, certain Elementals, the Nephilim of Noxecatt, Slaads, Intellect Devourers and other horrors.  In addition, once the week of study begins, if it is interrupted for any reason (including being rendered unconscious at all during the week - normal sleep can and will be avoided without penalty during this time), then the magic user making the study will suffer a cosmic backlash, and permanently lose 1 point of intelligence.  Once this is done, the magic user will have a completely overpowering and unnatural fear of the portal, and of related creatures (such as those mentioned, and others).  A Remove Curse spell will alleviate this unnatural fear, but not restore the lost Intelligence.

The Sarcophagus of Wim - Wim was the name of one of the Reptal kings that the Harmalan Warlocks dealt with.  The Reptals were a race of lizard men, from another plane of existence, that were often visited by the Warlocks, and in turn visited the Valley of the Old Ones.

Reptal (from Tony DiTerlizzi's page at http://diterlizzi.com/home/category/gaming-stuff/page/2/

Wim (pictured) was, according to his story, a King in his own country, yet in the world of the Valley of the Old Ones, he was content to remain alone (apart from his own kind), and to occasionally share stories with humans for interest and friendship.  During his extremely long life, towards the end, he befriended the Harmalans, and during his last decades constructed the stone sarcophagus he referred to as the Sleep Forge of Life.  It appears as a marble (with platinum bands throughout) block, big enough so that the top has a full six foot tall depression carved out for Wim, as he was when he died.  The whole block emanates magic.
If someone lays in the depression, they immediately go into a deep and restful trance, and their body begins to heal, at an extremely increased pace.  Full recovery of 3d6 hit points per 8 hour period is possible with the Sarcophagus of Wim.

Kavooty's Magical Spout - A large, ornate, three tiered fountain made of a giant central pedestal, and topped with three consecutive basins.  The top consists of a gold figurine of a tightly bound mermaid, with her head turned up, and a water jet bubbling up out of her mouth.  The pedestal itself is four feet across, constructed of an unidentifiable blue stone, inlaid with bands of gold.  The lowest basin extends out 2 feet in all directions from the basin, making it 8 feet across.  The basin is made of a thin layer of giant oyster shell, pink in color, but radiating a glow from the magic within it.  The second and third basins are progressively smaller, as is the pedestal supporting them, with the top (third) basin being itself only 4 feet across, with a 2 foot pedestal, upon which rests the spouting, bound mermaid statue.  The fountain is completely magical, and drinking from any of the three basins will confer different effects.  The topmost basin will, if it is sampled from, cause the drinker to make a saving throw vs. magic.  If successful, then the drinker will be conferred on with the health and lifespan of an elf.  If the drinker is already an elf, or if the saving throw is not made, then the drink is poisonous.  The drinker immediately takes 2d6 damage and becomes cursed with a horrible, non-stop, noisy and extremely unpleasant flatulence.  A cure disease (or being immune to disease) will negate the effect. The second basin will will turn normal, non-magical metal objects on the body of the drinker, into solid gold objects.  This effect only works once per day, and only works once in an individual's lifetime.  Example: Drogo takes a drink, and all the metal bits on him (weapons, armor, belt buckle, etc) all turn into gold.  It will never work for Drogo again, but if he and his party wait 24 hours, then one of his companions can attempt the drink.  The third basin will immediately begin smoking and bubling, and the whole pedestal will shake and shudder, once the water is drunk from.  After a round of this disconcerting behavior, out of the pool will spring 1d4+1 trolls, to attack whomever drank from the fountain.  The fountain was built by Doolar Kavooty, and he originally intended there to be a random sequence of effects from the fountain, but was killed by trolls before he complete the ensorcelment.

Developments

The past month have been a quiet one here at the Valley of the Old Ones blog, this is with good reason, however creative work on my game setting has not stopped.

First, the reason for the slow down - I have started a new position as an Assistant Professor in the School of Computer Science, at Columbus State University, in Columbus Georgia.  This involved not only a change in job locations, but also a major move (across 4 states) for my family.  But the move is done, and we are slowly getting things in our new (great) house settled.

Second, the creative work HAS been continuing, and I will begin posting again this week.  This has been in four areas.

• First, I have finished out rooms 11-41 of the Web of Ostigaar dungeon.  Some great surprises there, and once I am finished I plan to gather the whole adventure into a pdf and post it as a downloadable product.  

• Second, I have been gathering up the materials for the Cult of the White Shadow adventure, and am planning to enhance it somewhat (including the map and key to the estate that the dungeon is attached to, and some NPS stats), and also package it as a pdf file.  

• Third, I have been working on wilderness encounters for the whole Darkearth Plains region of the Valley, where these adventures are located.  The far eastern portion of the Darkearth Plains were developed when I discussed the various settlements of the Storm King Barbarians and their holdings, but the rest of the region have a very distinctive feel.  It is a cold region (more-so in the north, but true throughout), and the local flora are very similar to the last major ice age on Earth, especially in North America.  There are not only the typical late-Pleistocene era animals (megatherium, wooly mammoth, saber cats, wooly rhino, etc), but also some distinctive fantasy variations of these (dire sloth, frost rhinos, etc), and an approximation of fantasy neanderthals (the Shagmen of the Aghanz Hills).

• Fourth, I have resurrected an old dungeon that I wrote up a very long time ago, the Bear Caves of the Mad Dwarf.  It features, among other things, some most excellent undead bears, a crazed dwarf jongleur, and a shrieking gargoyle.  I am writing this up, and setting it in the Valley of the Old Ones setting, and also to submit it to an online project collecting content featuring interesting skeleton encounters.  Skeletal Cave Bears will count for that, I hope.  Especially when they have the ability to phase through walls.

Return to the Web of Ostigaar

Just a note that I have been working on the remaining rooms of the Web of Ostigaar dungeon, but the past week I have spent moving across country with my Wife, daughter, and two cats.  Getting ready to start a new job.  So while I plan to post another installment of the dungeon this weekend, please forgive my absence for the past two weeks.

btw - I will be collecting (at request) the posts that make up the Cult of the White Shadow adventure, and also the Web of Ostigaar adventure, and putting them together into downloadable PDFs.

Dark Elf Captain in and near Werms

A Dark Elf Captain is more than a simple leader.  It is, in the Artaxil Coven, a special religious leader that brings members of the community together in order that they may explore the magical nature of the world around them together, and to bond and protect the enclave.  They are individuals of renown and high reputation, and are often trusted with important missions and placed in charge of enclave installations and outposts.

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Captain of Dark Elves
Num Appearing: 1
Alignment: chaotic evil
Movement: 120' on the ground
Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: 8hd (56hp)
Attacks: 2 weapon attacks, or 2 light crossbow shots
Damage: Per magic weapon
Save: F8
Morale: 9
Treasure: Carry approximately 1000gp each in jewelry and coins.  Worn conspicuously.  Often in position of magic items (rings, scrolls, potions).
Special: Sorcerous compounds; magic weapons; spell use.
Dark Elf Captains will always have on hand 3-5 (1d3+2) different of the Sorcerous Compounds that the Dark Elf Scouts carry.
Dark Elf Captains typically carry magic weapons made of the same metal as that of Dark Elf Warriors.  The typical weapon is a spear, which has a +2 to hit, and a +2 damage.  Their training and specialization allow two attacks per round with such a weapon.  In addition to any speed benefit these weapons would normally get (if using a weapon initiative system in your game - which I do), consider them to get an additional +2 speed bonus.  If not using such a system, then the Captain will strike first in any round, unless a 6 is rolled on 1d6.  If the Dark Elf Captain wishes to shoot, then the light crossbow will do 1d6+1 damage, and the special construction enables 2 shots per round.  In addition. the bolts of the crossbow will be poisoned (save vs. poison, or paralyzed 1d4 rounds).
Dark Elf Captains have the following spell use available to them:  The following spells at will - Hold Portal, Shocking Grasp, and Feather Fall.  And the following spells 3x per day - Web, Blur, Fly, Monster Summoning 1.

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The Captain can mindspeak with his Warriors and Scouts assigned to him, removing the requirement for them to speak to each other in order to coordinate in combat.  In addition to their Monster Summoning spell ability, the Dark Elf Captains of Artaxil Coven will frequently (50%) have a Stone Spider on call within 2-8 rounds (2d4), if they are encountered underground.  Finally, once per day, they can pass between the normal world, into the Unseely Realms.  A portal or other method of doing this is not required.  For all purposes the Captain is gone, unless his pursuers can also pass (at will) into the Unseely Realms.  Then he may be followed.

Dark Elf Scouts in and near Werms

Other than keyed encounters with Dark Elf Scouts from the Web of Ostigaar adventure, then Dark Elf Scouts should be used whenever Dark Elf encounters occur, but far away from a Dark Elf enclave.  These are the long range patrol duty soldiery of an enclave, such as Artaxil Coven.  A Dark Elf Scout group can operate alone for a long time, partially from their combat and survival training, and also augmented by their spell use abilities.

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Scout Dark Elf
Num Appearing: 1d6
Alignment: chaotic evil
Movement: 120' on the ground
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 4hd (30hp)
Attacks: 2 weapon attacks, or 2 light crossbow shots
Damage: Per weapon (+2)
Save: T5
Morale: 10
Treasure: Carry approximately 100gp each in jewelry and coins, almost always secured so as to be silent.
Special: Sorcerous compounds; magic weapons; spell use.
     A party of Dark Elf Scouts will carry an assortment of sorcerous compounds, made by Dark Elf alchemists and sorcerers from particular subterranean mushrooms and fungi.  Each group will have one or more doses (see below for details), and the group (when encountered) is likely to have at least 2 of these in effect immediately (1d8).  Other compounds (rarer than these) may be in possession by the Scouts, the basic guideline is that it should grant a personal ability that would be useful to a long range patrol, and have an effect that lasts approximately 1 hour.
     Dark Elf Scouts carry a curious mix of magic weapons, made of the similar magical metal as those of their Warrior kin. First, they fight with two weapons, typically a short sword, and a long sword as a combination.  The short sword has the curious ability of being able to ignore magical protections.  It ignores magical bonuses on armor, shield spells, and other defenses of a magical nature.  It has no bonus to hit or damage, and is still affected by normal armor classes, and also dexterity bonuses to AC.  The long sword has the ability to break (easily) non-magical weapons.  On any round that the Dark Elf Scout does not use his long sword to attack, if his/her foe strikes that round, the striker must make a saving throw vs. spell, if it fails, then it's non-magic weapon is broken and useless.  This ability has no effect on magic weapons, nor ranged weapons if employed at range.
     Dark Elf Scouts have the following spell use: Purify Food/Water (3x day), Slow Poison (3x day), Detect Life (3x day), Pass Without Trace (at will), and Goodberry (1x day).  In this case Goodberry is actually a Dark Elf variant called Goodfungus, and rather than affecting a handful of just picked berries, it affects a handful of just picked subterranean mushrooms or fungus.

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Dark Elf Scout Sorcerous Compounds

1. Ear of the Troll - When taken, any wounds suffered over the span of 1 hour will regenerate at the rate of 2 points per combat round.  No effect on wounds suffered earlier.
2. Spider Root - When taken enables to consumer to spider climb (as the spell) for 1 hour.
3. Quick Minnow - For the period of 1 hour, the imbiber of this fungal compound is under a haste spell.
4. Revenant Lace - The Scout is rendered invisible (as per the spell) for 1 hour.
5. Catspaw - The Scout moves completely silently, at 180' for 1 hour.
6. Slug's Blood - The Scout secretes an acidic goo, that flings from him/her in combat, landing on any foe that the Scout attempts to strike, or who strikes the Scout.  It burns for 1d4 points of damage for 3 rounds, save vs. poison for half.
7. Eye of the Beetle - The Scout has complete 360 degree awareness, out to a range of 60'.  This extends through curtains and doors, but not through solid rock.
8. Firecaps - The Scout can generate, at will, a blinding flash that will render all who see it at -4 for 2d6 rounds.  Once the Firecaps is taken, this ability can only be used once, but it can be used at any time within 1 hour of being taken.

Dark Elf Warriors in and near Werms

There are several dark elf communities near Werms, however the group described here are a splinter group from the group dwelling in the caves that open up from the eastern edge of the Cambio Delve, approximately 200' down below the surface.

That group, self named the Artaxil Coven,are known for being tamers and riders of a huge species of giant bat. Some of the group were caught during a raid on Eindar Pillar, (a specific raid, not just random harassment). The hid their bats in the old Aery, but they were captured by the goblins and fed to the wyverns. The party retreated into the deep ruins, where they encountered Ostigaar. Both (the Dark Elf party, and the arachnoid monstrosity) recognized each other as a likely partner in a proper relationship, and the Elfs decided to stay.

Note that these renegades from the Artaxil Coven are meaner and more dangerous than their raiding cousins detailed in the "Staff of St. Varina" encounter.

There are three different types of Dark Elf detailed here, Warriors, Scouts and Captains. While male pronouns may dominate this article, Dark Elf society is generally gender balanced, where possible.

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Warrior Dark Elf

Num Appearing: 2d6
Alignment: chaotic evil
Movement: 120' on the ground/30' on vertical surfaces
Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: 5hd (30hp)
Attacks:2 weapon attacks, or 2 light crossbow shots
Damage: Per magic weapon (+2)
Save:F6
Morale:9
Treasure:Various magic items (scaling irons, magic weapons), often 1 or more potions in a group, and approximately 200gp worth of jewelry per warrior, as badges of rank, awards, etc.  These are worn proudly by Warriors.

Specials: Climb walls and ceilings (see scaling irons below); spell use (see below); magic weapons.
The dark elf warriors from the Artaxil community that are serving Ostigaar have access to some very interesting magic items. The first of these are scaling irons. These are made of a curious magical metal from deep within the pillar that Artaxil warriors know about. Similar to certain Drow magic items. the Unseely Realms teaches some magic that is intended to function only underground. This is an example of such magic - if the scaling irons (which are fitted to boots and around hands) are exposed to sunlight, the magic in them fades immediately. While working, and while worn, however, they allow the wearer to scramble up and along any stone surface, at a rate of 30' per round. It only takes one limb to hold oneself to the surface (foot or hand), and the other limbs are perfectly usable, in combat, without penalty.  Artaxil warriors are trained in spell use.
Dark Elf Warriors can cast the following spells, each 3x per day - Hold Portal, Shocking Grasp, and Feather Fall.  And the following spells 1x per day - Web, Blur.
Dark Elf Warriors typically carry magic weapons made of the same metal as their scaling irons.  The typical weapon is a spear, which has a +2 to hit, and a +2 damage.  Their training and specialization allow two attacks per round with such a weapon.  In addition to any speed benefit these weapons would normally get (if using a weapon initiative system in your game - which I do), consider them to get an additional +2 speed bonus.  If not using such a system, then these Warriors will strike first in any round, unless a 6 is rolled on 1d6.  If the Dark Elf warrior wishes to shoot, then the light crossbow will do 1d6+1 damage, and the special construction enables 2 shots per round.

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 Warriors are the typical Dark Elf encounter, so if these are used as part of a random encounter anywhere near a Dark Elf enclave (such as Artaxil Coven), then roll up how many Warriors appear before consulting anything else.

Next posting, Dark Elf Scouts.

Firecats - Encounter from Web of Ostigaar

Firecats are roughly the size and ferocity of a hungry leopard.  They are made of flames, however, and are constantly burning.  In addition, the Firecat has the ability to breathe fire, once per day.

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Firecat
Num Appearing: 1d4+1 family
Alignment: neutral
Movement: 150' Run
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 4+1hd (25hp)
Attacks: 1 bite, 2 front paws; rear paws (special); breathe weapon 3x/day
Damage: 1d8/bite; 1d3/front paws; 1d6+1 each, rear paws (special)
Save:F5
Morale:8
Treasure: None
Special: The Firecat is made of flame and fire, so each round spent fighting one, make a saving through vs. spell to avoid taking 1d8+2 flame/heat damage.  Further, the Firecat can spew out gouts of flame, covering a 30' cone (10' wide at the end.  This will do 5d6 of damage, save for half. The Firecat itself is immune to any fire or heat based attacks, and gives a +2 to saving throws by anyone within 20' against spells of cold or ice. If the Firecat strikes with both front paws, then the back paws automatically strike doing 1d6+1 each from a claw raking attack.

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The flames that surround and make up the body of a Firecat have a peculiar characteristic - they will temporarily blind (1d6 rounds) anyone using infravision or ultravision when they first see the creature.  Unfortunately, because of the incredibly bright light surrounding the Firecat, they are not capable of surprise, but can douse their flames long enough to do an ambush from a hidden location.

Troll Spider - Encounter from Web of Ostigaar

The Troll Spider was first written up in the "Week of Trolls" series of postings, when this blog was integrated with Gaming with Chuck.

Those stats were written specifically for Castles and Crusades, mostly because I was running a C&C campaign at the time.  They are re-presented here, in classic OSR format, very nearly OD&D or AD&D 1st edition standard (as are almost all encounters that are presented at Valley of the Old Ones).  The description of the Troll Spider, and their proclivity to hang about with Triders was presented in the original Week of Trolls article, only the translation of the game statistics is presented here.

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Troll Spider
Num Appearing: 1d12
Alignment: neutral
Movement: Run 90'/Climb 60' (climb also includes walking on vertical or inverted surfaces, such as ceilings)
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 5hd (30hp)
Attacks: 1 bite, poison, web, regeneration
Damage: 1d8
Save:F5
Morale:8
Treasure: None
Special: Troll Spiders are quite aggressive, and often accompany Triders and Trolls. Troll Spiders seem to have a rudimentary understanding of commands issued from these creatures, as well as from Dark Elves.
Poison: The Troll Spider, upon biting, injects a poison that requires the victim to make a save vs. poison with a -2.  If the save is a success, no further effects occur. If the save is a failure, then the victim takes an immediate 1d6 damage, and must make a second save the next round (without the -2). If the second save is a failure, then the victim takes an additional 1d6 damage, and is paralyzed for 1d4 hours. Success in the second round means no additional damage. Some troll spiders (50%) can spit their poison up to 30 feet.
Web: The Troll Spider can create a web, as per the Web spell, up to 8x per day.
Regeneration: The Troll Spider can regenerate as per a troll, at the rate of 3HP per round. If the Troll Spider falls, it will reform in 3d6 rounds. The Troll Spider's unique physiology mean that it is immune to acid attacks, and can only be kept from regenerating or reforming by flame attacks or burning the bodily remains.

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 If encountered in the wild, the Troll Spider group is likely to represent the adult warriors of a family group.  There will be a (non-combatant) queen, and several groups of warriors (at least 4) that will spread out and encounter the invaders as separate encounters, while they get closer to the queen's nest.  In such a situation, each group is only 1d8 spiders.  The nest is likely to have 2-3 thousand GP of assorted goods and treasures from consumed victims.

Stone Spiders - Encounter from Web of Ostigaar

The stone spider is a curious being, no doubt of artificial or magical origin, yet a dangerous foe.  It is often found in or near underground ruins having a magical presence within them.

Although the stone spider appears very much like a typical giant spider there are some significant differences.  The first is, of course, that the stone spider is composed of some nearly clear crystalline substance.  It is not diamond, for it certainly is capable of being dinged and scratched by the crudest of metallic weapons (provided the attacker survives the onslaught of the stone spider).  Certain alchemists of the north surmise that it may be a  sort of quartz.  The second difference from a typical giant spider is that the stone spider does not spin webs.  It does have something similar to a spinneret, yet this only exists to shot out crystalline stone shards, which can be directed at an enemy to devastating effect.

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Stone Spider
Num Appearing: 1d6
Alignment: neutral evil
Movement: Walk 90' (can climb all surfaces, and even walk on slick ceilings, upside down)
Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: 5d (30 h.p.)
Attacks: 1x bite (front only), 4x claw swipes (front or side), 1x 30' spinneret shot (side or rear)
Damage: 1d8+2/bite; 1d8/claw swipe; 2d6/spinneret shot.
Save: F5
Morale: 8
Treasure: Each spinneret shot shoots 1d6 stones worth approximately 20gp each.  A dead spider can be smashed apart into approximately 150gp worth of quartz shards.
Special: If a Stone Spider bites a victim, it hangs on, can continue to make other attacks, but will inflict 1d8+2 per round, until the Spider is dead. The crystalline body confers a 30% magic resistance to the stone spider.
The body of the Stone Spider is amazingly reflective, and the first round the Spider is fought, if the party is using any sort of light source, the reflection can cause near blindness from the surprising flash.  All party members must make a save vs. spell, or fight at -2 for three rounds.

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Trillmen - Encounter from Web of Ostigaar

The Trillmen are small creatures, resembling centaurs in body shape, but having more to do with certain evil goblyn folk from the Unseely Realms.  They have goat-like heads, leading some to believe they are related to the Broo, but since Trillmen are so small (only 2' high, typically) this is unlikely.  They are small, and can become invisible at times, but even when visible are very difficult to strike.  They can work certain magics at will, and are vicious warriors, employing hit and run tactics, and always working in a coordinated fashion. The only good news is that there are not too many of them in the normal realm of the Valley of the Old Ones.

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Trillmen
Num Appearing: 2d6
Alignment: chaotic evil
Movement: Walk 120'
Armor Class: 3 (due to size and speed)
Hit Dice: 2d (12 h.p.)
Attacks: 2 hooves, or by weapon; Spell use (see below)
Damage: 1d6+1/hoof attack
Save: F2
Morale: 9
Treasure: Trillmen are very fond of gold and jewels, and will frequently be wearing jewelry worth up to 100gp per individual.  Leaders are likely to have magic weapons.
Special: Trillmen almost always travel armed.  Each member of a party will carry a hand-to-hand weapons (usually a spear or sword, but due to the Trillmen's size (only about 2' tall), these weapons only do 1d4+1.  They will also carry a bow, treat as a typical short bow.  Trillmen are well practiced with the weapons they carry (+1 to hit), and will get two attacks per round with the weapon (either bow, or hand weapon) because of their deftness and speed.  Each group will have a Leader with 2 additional hit dice (total 24 h.p.), who is likely to have a magic weapon.  Being goblyn creatures from the Unseely Realms, the Trillmen are capable of magic.  They can cast Invisibility on themselves up to three times per day; they can also cast Faerie Fire, Sleep and Charm Person once per day.  A Trillmen Leader can cast Fear once per day.

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