+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + Many of the locations, non-player characters, spells, + + and other terms used in this module are the property of + + TSR, Inc. However, this does not mean that TSR in any + + way endorses or authorizes their use, and any such items + + contained within these stories should not be considered + + representative of TSR in any way, shape, or form. + + The NPCs contained in this module, as well as certain + + of the new monsters, spells, and magic items, are of my + + own creation. Copying, distribution, etc. is fine as + + long as money isn't involved. + + + + Thomas Miller + + tmiller@cimmeria.oit.gatech.edu + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ************************************************************************** THE CRYPT OF THE UNDEAD KING (an AD&D 2nd edition adventure for 6-8 characters, levels 15 up) 1991/1992/1994/1995 Thomas Miller TABLE OF CONTENTS 0. Prologue 1.1 Background 1.2 DM's Notes 1.3 The Keep 1.4 The Dungeon 2.1 The Inner Sanctum 3.0 Epilogue 4.0 Maps 5.0 Appendices 0. PROLOGUE The shepherd was almost asleep when he heard the sounds. Strange sounds, too, he thought as he rose from his bed. The sheep were moving around in their pens and making all kinds of noise, but there were other noises out there. Some kind of moaning or groaning could be heard above the sheep's bleats. Damned kids, thought the man as he grabbed his staff and headed for the door. They were always here and there, playing pranks on their elders. Well, he would show them! He opened the door and headed for the pens, staff raised in anger. Any unruly children out here had better be able to run fast, thought the shepherd as he entered the pens. A sheep ran by him and out into the open, before he could stop it. Then it occured to him that there was no light out here. The lantern was always lit, but it must have run out of oil. Or maybe those damned, no-good kids put it out! The moon was out, in full, though, so momentarily he could make out vague details of things. It was then that his heart froze in sheer terror, and he dropped his staff. There were things crawling around his pens! They seemed to be dead men, risen fresh from their graves. Rotting faces and stinking limbs were everywhere. They were in the process of eating his flock, and dead sheep and remnants were all over the place. Blood flowed freely at every turn. The shepherd was no coward, but things such as this were beyond his experience. He turned and ran, sprinting for his house, the wooden staff forgotten. He was wondering what the monsters were and where they came from, when he tripped and fell just short of his front steps. Pushing himself up quickly, the man rose - only to meet face-to-face with a shadowy form. The thing reached out with a black-cloaked arm and closed icy fingers around the shepherd's throat. He gurgled in fear and pain, but went limp within moments, dead. The dark figure surveyed the situation, and the town ahead, where a few lights glowed even at this hour. Slowly, meticulously, the mob of undead turned and shuffled in that direction... 1.1 BACKGROUND Recently, in the Greyhawk area, there has been an unusually high rate of undead sightings. Sometimes it is just skeletons, sometimes far worse things. In all cases, these undead are malicious and homicidal, and the death toll from this problem is growing large indeed. Worse still, all graveyards and burial grounds in the area seem to be spawning more of the undead monsters, as if they were somehow able to spread their particular condition to other corpses. The concentration of undead seems higher to the southeast of the city, about at the juncture of the Cairn Hills and the marshes to the south of them. However, some particularly bold specimens have been found as far as the suburbs of Greyhawk. While the clergy of the area have so far been able to control this influx of undead, though not without many fatalities in some cases, there is much worry as to the origin and motivation of these enterprising undead. Realizing this, the Free City has sent three expeditions to that area to find and eliminate the source of the problem. Only one of these has yielded any useful information - a few guardsmen were able to limp back to the city, beaten and terrified. They spoke of ferocious undead who sprouted from the ground like weeds, and who kept on fighting when they should have fallen long ago. Realizing the inability of standard city soldiers to stem the problem, the city council has now decided to hire freelance adventuring groups to try and pinpoint the exact cause of the large quantities of roaming undead. The last of the city expeditions left just over a week ago, and notices have been posted all over Greyhawk and surrounding areas: _______________________________________________________________________ | | | | | ATTENTION! ATTENTION! | | | | | | ALL YE OF NOBLE HEART AND SKILLED SWORD! THE FREE CITY OF | | GREYHAWK'S RULING OFFICIALS HAVE DECLARED A REWARD OF | | | | ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND GOLD CROWNS | | | | FOR THE PERSON OR PERSONS WHO PROVE THEMSELVES ABLE TO | | LOCATE AND DESTROY THE SOURCE OF THE UN-DEAD WHO HAVE BEEN | | PLAGUING THE CITY AND SURROUNDING AREAS. | | ALL QUALIFIED APPLICANTS CAN REPORT TO CITY HALL FOR | | FURTHER INFORMATION. | | | | | |_______________________________________________________________________| If the party goes to the Greyhawk city hall, they will find a long line of characters similar to themselves. After a wait of about an hour, during which most of those ahead in the line depart with a sour expression on their faces, the party is at the head of the line. A wizard-type in purple robes looks them over, then says "How many?". Then they will be admitted, past several checkpoints, into the city council chamber. They are seated before the council (which is comprised mostly of politicians but definitely has a few warriors, mages, priests, and thieves as well) and questioned for another hour as to their skills, abilities, etc. After the council has decided that the party is indeed powerful enough to undertake this quest, they will provide some more information, gained from the few soldiers who made it back, reports from outlying areas, and a bit of scrying magic: - the undead are coming from a keep just south of the Cairn Hills - there are many many more undead there - hundreds of them... - they are led by "Xusia" (pronounced ZOO-SHA), whatever that is - some of the small towns near the hills have been found, devoid of all life and useful items (weapons, livestock, tools, most supplies, etc.) No bodies were present in any of these locations, just signs of battle and a lot of blood The council informs the party that they have already approved two other parties previously; one left yesterday and the other left today, so this party can leave tomorrow. The reward will be given to any surviving party members if they are successful, to be split among themselves. If the characters so wish, they may take some or all of their reward in the form of land fiefs near the city, or material goods or supplies, or whatever is reasonable. The council can go so far as to set the characters (if they survive) up as nobles in the area, with various and useful benefits (free admission to certain guildhalls, prestige among the upper class, etc. - most definitely a better deal than outright cash). This should be enough to go on. For expediency's sake, one of the upper ranking members of the Mages' Guild will teleport the party to the area nearby the keep. Of course, if the characters have their own means of transportation, they are welcome to use that instead. 1.2 DM's NOTES Following is a brief synopsis of the situation: Millennia ago, before the Sueloise came eastward across Oerik and pushed the civilized peoples to the fringes of the continent, the world was a much different place. Among the many unusual things to be found at the time was a devilish cult of necromancers. These fiends were known as the Black Wizards, and comprised one of the most powerful groups of individuals who have ever walked the lands of Oerth. They are responsible for many of the necromantic spells that are commonplace today, and a number that have not yet been unearthed. Anyhow, over the course of many centuries, their numbers slowly dwindled due to internal and external causes. The most powerful and cunning of these Black Wizards was one Xusia, and as his companions grew weaker and died, he became stronger and more influential. When his deeds reached the point where they could no longer go unnoticed, many adventurers sought him, and the Black Wizards in general, out with the intent to slay them. Over the course of several decades, the wizards were killed off, sometimes one by one and other times in greater numbers. At the climax of this great hunt, only Xusia remained alive. He was now infamous for terminating the careers of many adventurers, and became hunted by a number of powerful individuals. When all of these teamed up to find him, even one as powerful as Xusia could not remain anonymous. He retreated into one of his lairs and prepared himself, and when the great confrontation came, he utilized all of his many resources and minions to give the invading forces of good the battle of their lives. Suffice to say that it was a long and drawn-out fight, with more casualties than survivors. When the dust had cleared, Xusia and all of his allies were seemingly slain, and the good-aligned group collapsed his stronghold in upon itself, burying forever all traces of the evil archmage. Seemingly is the key word here. Xusia had expended almost all of his vast arcane power to gather his forces for that battle, but as a last precaution he had created a clone of himself to fight the battle for him, and placed his real body in suspended animation in another of his strongholds located in a distant land. For some unknown reason (probably related to the extremely high levels of magic being employed in the battle) the stasis of the body did not break at the designated time, and so it was that Xusia slept through the destruction of his clone, the aftermath of that battle, and almost six thousand years besides. Eventually, over the course of all this time, the spell slowly wore off and the body began to awaken. Somewhat weak from the prolonged period of inactivity, Xusia spent years regaining his powers and expanding his stronghold (all of the others had long since been excavated or collapsed, but this particular place remained functional due to his very presence). That was about thirteen years ago. In that time, he has discovered a means of creating undead efficiently and en masse. This is his scepter of death which he started in his first life, and has finished in his second. This item, which ranks as an artifact, has many great and evil powers. However, Xusia himself has taken a more sinister turn as well. Due to the combination of his unusually long stasis, the necromantic content of most of his magic, and the great amount of personal power that he has invested in his scepter, his original body is no more. He now occupies a shell that is not unlike that of a lich, but is at the same time something else entirely. It may not be possible for him to die permanently. His stronghold, a fortress/dungeon deep beneath what is now the Cairn Hills, was conveniently stocked with plenty of magic items, weapons, spell books, dead bodies, and other useful things. Xusia has been excavating the tombs within the cairns around him and re-animating the corpses as undead under his control. He then sends them to graveyards and burial grounds to procure fresh bodies to be transformed. Also, he has access to hundreds, even thousands, of older bodies within the depths of his fortress. Almost all of this has been facilitated greatly by his completion of the Scepter of Death. Its full powers are detailed later in this module. Xusia is planning to unleash a full-scale invasion on the lands nearby, starting with the small towns (he is already in this phase of his plan) and adding the victims of his assaults to his undead army's ranks. The party may find out some or all of this information in the course of the adventure. Let's hope so - they will need all the help they can get. 1.3 THE KEEP _______________________________________________________________________ | | | You see a small keep perched atop a slight hill. A 20' wide path | | leads up to the keep from the wasted plains surrounding it. This | | path ends at some rusty double doors in the west side of the keep. | | The keep itself is about 25' high, and its ancient stone is a dull | | grey in color, all embellishments having worn away ages ago. | | You become alarmed as you notice large numbers of various undead | | wandering around in the vicinity of the keep. These creatures seem | | to be patrolling the area, yet they also seem oblivious to your | | party's presence. This is probably because you are a good distance | | away and hiding behind a clump of dead bushes. Almost all types of | | undead are visible, and they easily number in the hundreds. Many | | of them wear garments and armor similar to those commonly found on | | adventurers for hire. After looking things over, it seems to be | | obvious that a battle with all of these monsters could be costly as | | well as causing you to lose the advantage of surprise. | |_______________________________________________________________________| There are a total of 477 undead roaming the grounds, specifically: 132 skeletons (hp 8 each) 99 zombies (hp 16 each) 75 ghouls (hp 24 each) 69 ghasts (hp 25 each) 47 wights (hp 35 each) 28 wraiths (hp 43 each) 18 mummies (hp 54 each) 9 ghosts (hp 80 each) (If the party is dumb enough to try this at nighttime, add 5 vampires...) As stated, a land approach could well be suicidal. Should the party try to get away with it, the undead will attempt to surround them and tear them to bits. The ghosts will use their magic jar ability as often as possible to possess characters and use their bodies to destroy the other characters. In addition, any such fiasco (or an air-based attack on the massed undead) will draw the attention of Skorvus, the lich in the keep. There are at least two reasonable methods for getting into the keep: 1) Flying by some means to the roof of the keep and entering from above, or 2) Teleporting somehow into the interior of the keep The first option will likely attract the attention of the undead on the plains, but they will not enter the keep or hinder the characters unless attacked. Either option will eventually pit the party against the lich, Skorvus. In any case, the undead here and in the keep are simply the upper area guards. The true challenges lie below, in the dungeons... Following is a key for the rooms in the keep. (0) These doors are 2" thick bronze, and wizard locked at 18th level. Upon the doors is the symbol of Xusia - a pale white skull with horns, fangs, and glowing red eyes. This symbol has a powerful enchantment cast upon it, and will cause all those below 8 levels or hit dice to flee in terror and never come back. For reference, the keep walls are ten-foot thick granite, and the foundation of the place extends out about twenty feet and down about fifty. (1) This room has a spiral staircase going up, two sets of stairs going down (to the same place though), and a guardian, Skorvus, a lich and one of Xusia's lieutenants. If any commotion was caused by the party with the undead outside (almost a certainty) then Skorvus will not be surprised, will get initiative for the first round of combat, and will have certain spells already cast upon his person (corpse). The lich's instructions are to observe and monitor the undead near the keep and to ward off any would-be invaders. Should he find that intruders are evil-minded, he is authorized to take them to Xusia for possible recruitment (or conversion into undead slaves...). Note that he has not memorized any escape spells; this is due to one of his faults - a great ego. Skorvus has not even considered that he might be bested by anyone who invades the keep, and has not prepared accordingly. Besides, he does not often get company... SKORVUS: ac -3, hd 18, hp 123, thaco 3, dam 1-10 chill + paralysis; immune to charm, sleep, enfeeblement, polymorph, cold, electricity, insanity, death; spells: feather fall, jump*, magic missile x2, shocking grasp, spider climb blur*, detect invisibility*, darkness 15' radius, mirror image*, web dispel magic, slow, non-detection*, fly*, lightning bolt Evard's tentacles, fire shield, stoneskin*, improved invisibility cone of cold, conjure elemental, feeblemind, sending, wall of force death fog, flesh to stone, eyebite, anti-magic shell finger of death, Mordenkainen's sword symbol (of fear) Bigby's crushing hand (these are the pertinent/combat spells that he has memorized on this day) Skorvus' attack plan is as follows: He has already cast certain spells (*) upon himself. Thus, he can now jump and fly at his leisure. He is able to detect invisibility, is protected by non-detection, and has 8 blurred mirror images (-4 to hit them, +4 on saves) in existence. And, he has cast stoneskin on himself, which protects him from the first several attacks that hit him. He will first cast a death fog on the entire room (since he is immune to it) which will cover 32 10x10 squares of space...this is more than enough to get the whole room and much of the area outside the doors. The second round, he will cast a cone of cold for 18d4 + 18 damage, which may bounce around the chamber (but he is also unaffected by cold, so he doesn't care). The third round, he will cast a feeblemind upon the most powerful wizard in the party. Following rounds he will cast, in order, Bigby's crushing hand, symbol, finger of death, flesh to stone, eyebite (the sleep option), lightning bolt. Either the party or Skorvus should be dead by this time... If hurt seriously, the lich may cast a wall of force, an anti-magic shell, a fire shield, or improved invisibility to help protect himself. Also, it is important to note that Xusia is constantly in rapport with his minions and he will KNOW when (if) Skorvus is slain. Skorvus wears a ring worth 6000 gp, and carries a wand of lightning on his person. His other few treasures are found in room 2. (2) This is the living quarters of Skorvus. The room contains a moldy bed and dresser. All robes, cloaks, et al rot upon examination. A bookcase full of similarly fragile books leans against another wall. There is a hatch to the roof, located in the ceiling. It is locked, bolted, and wizard locked from this side by Skorvus. In a chest, under some rotting robes and dead bugs, are a pouch of seeds of Ostoxanbanoi, an eye of the marid, and a staff of Ta'bid as well as thirteen black diamonds worth 5000 gp apiece. This chest has explosive runes (acid) engraved into the carvings decorating its ornate exterior; these have been cast at the 18th level of ability. There is also a sheaf of papers written in a strange script (Old Oerdian); these documents detail past and future towns targeted for attack, with estimated population, defenses, etc. (3) This is a roof, with the hatch secured as previously described. (4) This double-staircased chamber converges on a black, curved section of wall. After one round of inspection, rumbling will be heard and felt, and within one more round, the section of wall slides away, revealing a forty foot diameter circular chamber, also carved from black stone. (5) This round chamber is actually an elevator. If all of the characters step inside, the wall will slide shut and the chamber will begin to sink slowly into the ground. The elevator room is powered by an immense anti- gravity spell set up by Xusia. Attempts to slow or halt the descent of the room may result in the room dropping rather than floating the five hundred feet to the bottom of the shaft below, in the process causing 50d10 points of damage to all inside it at the time. The room reaches bottom after two rounds, at which time it stops very gently, without even a bump. The entire door section then slides away to reveal a short hallway leading up to a gigantic stone arch. This hallway has a thirty foot high ceiling, which along with the walls seems to be constructed from bones and skulls. Not all of them are recognizable as far as what species they came from, however, all races that the characters know of are represented here.