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The Moat The liquid in the moat is burning lava that spews forth blasts of extremely poisonous gas. Merely touching the surface of the lava means instant and irrevocable death for any creature from the Prime plane. The moat itself is a steep-walled canyon, nearly 5,000 feet deep. Its sides have many jagged ledges and steep ravines. They do not, inherently, present a great obstacle to the climber—but the sheer height of the walls is generally deterrent enough. Also, characters within the canyon must save vs. poison each turn, because of the lethal effects of the gas. This saving throw is made normally in the upper reaches of the canyon (the top 1,000 feet). However, for every 1,000 feet of depth in the canyon, the saving throw vs. poison suffers a -2 modifier. Additionally, characters not resistant to heat suffer 1d6 of damage for every 1,000 feet of depth in the canyon from the intense heat. This damage is calculated every round. The width of the moat at the top appears to be anywhere from 300 to 500 feet. In actuality, however, the moat is 6,000-10,000 feet wide—just another example of the distance and space distortion so common around the Abyssian Fortress. III. The Castle of Orcus—Area Keys 1. Bridge The two skulls mounted to either side of the bridge move to focus upon any characters moving toward them. They will magically identify the strongest fighter in the party—or the one with the best hand-to-hand combat abilities, if no fighters are present. When the characters come within 30 feet of the bridge, the skulls magically duplicate this fighter, creating a figure who stands between them at the entrance to the bridge. The duplicated fighter will match the PC in appearance and abilities. He will function in every way as that individual. However, he places no weight upon the bridge—he effectively levitates at ground level. The bridge will collapse if more than one character stands upon it. It will also collapse if a destructive magical spell is cast so that the area of effect includes the bridge or anything on it— including the mirrored fighter. Although it appears to be a mere 200 feet or so across, it is really a full mile long. Characters who have crossed will seem to be only 200 feet away from those who have not—they can even shout back and forth to each other. However, it takes a long time for a character to cover its length (176” game scale), and if two characters are on the span at any time, it falls. The skulls will warn any who approach with the following phrases: “Let the strongest among you best the champion, ere you may cross!” “And no cheating, now! This is a contest of strength!” If one skull is destroyed, the other will continue to speak. If both are destroyed, the apparition of the fighter vanishes. Each skull has an AC of 8, with 6 hp. The champion will remain on the bridge, very near to the end where the PCs are. He will fight with the mirrored PC’s best weapon, except that he will not use a missile weapon. He will fight the PC who matches him, and if that PC alone participates in the combat (even if he uses a missile weapon), the skulls will rule it a fair fight. If any other PC helps, the skulls will declare, loudly: “Cheater! Cheater!” 63 If the champion is destroyed in a fair fight, the skulls will say: “Have a care, now—one at a time!” If the skulls have called cheating, they will not voice this final (and useful) warning. If the bridge has been destroyed, because of magic or too many characters moving onto it, the skulls smile smugly and say nothing. 2. The First Maze There are five areas marked on the map as containing mazes. When the PCs reach one of these areas, read the following: The dark and swirling mists seem to rise from the ground before you. But slowly they part, forming a tunnel of black smoke. At the far end, you can see an oddly shaped room. Because of the shifting space of the castle, a maze that exists in one place can suddenly move somewhere else. Likewise, an area that contained a hexagonal maze the first time the party passes through it might offer a maze of octagons the second time. Thus, whenever the players reach one of the five mazes, roll 1d4 to determine what they find this time. If the inhabitant of a maze was killed during a previous encounter, no matter—he’s there again. In fact, each subsequent encounter with one of these inhabitants entails an increase in 50% of his original hit points. Thus, the second time through, the creature has 150% of his listed hp, the third time, 200%, and so on. The maze encountered is determined as follows: D4 Roll Maze 1 Squares 2 Octagons 3 Pentagons 4 Hexagons Page 65 67 68 69
3. The Prison of Baphomet This open platform is the prison cell of a demon lord that Orcus has captured and forced into imprisonment—to wit, Baphomet, demon lord of the minotaurs. Baphomet is bound to remain in area 3, the stairways adjacent to area 3, and any platforms that are connected by a single stairway to area 3. When he is first encountered, it will always be in the open space labeled on the map, but he will pursue fleeing characters to the limits of his abilities once he begins to fight. NPC Capsule Baphomet (Demon Lord) AC: -4 MV: 24” Hit Dice: 212 hp #AT: 3 Dmg/Attack: 4d6/2d4+8/3d8+16 Magic Resistance: 75% AL: CE Size: L (12’ tall) XP Value: 45,000 Specials: +2 or better weapon needed to hit Use at will, once per round: darkness 10’ radius, detect invisible, detect magic, dispel magic, levitate, teleport, phantasmal force, telekinesis (75,000 gp weight) Use three times per day: maze, passwall, shape change, wall of stone Once per day: bellow—save vs. spell (-8 modifier) or flee in panic for six rounds Gate in type III demon (85% success) once per day Six times per day: breathe a gout of unholy water, 1” range—Good aligned paladins and clerics suffer 16d8 points of damage (save vs. breath weapon with -8 modifier for half damage) Special Equipment: giant bardiche, inflicts 3d8+16 points of damage, and on a successful hit forces a saving throw from armor (40%) or shield (60 %). Failure means armor or shield is destroyed. Baphomet, a powerful lord of the Abyss in his own right, has been captured by Orcus and forced into exile in the fortress. This is the result of a rare (and no doubt temporary!) alliance between Orcus and Yeenoghu. The former has fulfilled his part by capturing and holding Baphomet, while the demon lord of gnolls has invaded and plundered the plane of the imprisoned lord. The minotaur-like demon has been forced to guard this single area of Orcus’s domain—a demeaning sentence indeed for one who formerly ruled whole planes of the Abyss! The sentence is open-ended— Baphomet must stay until he fulfills conditions that Orcus has decreed. These include the slaying of various creatures that Orcus sends through here. But also, Baphomet is charged with guarding the area against unauthorized passage from intruders. The great demon has performed well during his sentence thus far, and has nearly fulfilled the requirements of his release. All that remains is for him to slay a human. Once he does this, the spell of binding will be broken and Baphomet will immediately teleport to his home plane. Tactics of Baphomet Baphomet waits in the exact center of his assigned prison (area 3). When any creatures move into the area, he studies them curiously, holding his huge bardiche in his mighty paws. When he judges the time ripe for surprise, he teleports behind one of the intruders and attempts to make a surprise attack on the next round. 64 When facing numerous foes, he first uses his telekinesis power to lift one or more of the opponents into the air, sending them over the edge of the platform and then releasing them to fall to the next level. (This will also attract the attention of the air patrol, which will immediately dispatch a group to deal with the flying, floating, or falling character.) Other likely tactics of the enraged demon lord include the use of his wall of stone spell to either block the path of some of his enemies, or to form a slab leaning sharply over them. In the latter case, the stone will fall and inflict 10d10 points of damage in a 5” x4” area. 4. The Second Maze Use the procedure described for area 2, the First Maze, to determine which of the mazes the PCs encounter here. 5. The Third Maze See area 4. 6. Antechamber When the characters finally reach the stairway leading to this area, they will at last climb above the maze-like paths that have probably kept them busy for the last few hours. The stairway leads to a wide platform outside the massive wall of the fortress itself. Across from the stairs stands a huge, golden door— slightly tarnished with streaks of black and brown. As the last PC reaches the platform, or if any of the characters approach the door, or if any character stands on the platform for more than a couple of rounds, read the following (on page 71):
Page 2 and 3:
Official Game Adventure The Throne
Page 4 and 5:
Some said that Zhengyi had enlisted
Page 6 and 7:
After hearing this story, the adven
Page 8 and 9:
Still, a character can acquire too
Page 10 and 11:
Set-Up # 1: For New Players Use thi
Page 13 and 14: CHAPTER 1: CITADEL OF THE WITCH-KIN
Page 15 and 16: modifier to his Dexterity score. If
Page 17 and 18: just before it can be realized. Arc
Page 20 and 21: 3. Throne Room of the Witch-King Th
Page 22 and 23: ignore any other targets in an effo
Page 24: -4 penalty on all attack rolls. Spe
Page 27 and 28: into the room, however, they might
Page 29 and 30: A character dragged underwater can
Page 31: Now that it is clear that the pool
Page 34 and 35: Hydrodaemons: AC 2, MV 6”/6” Al
Page 36 and 37: In addition to the full range of de
Page 38 and 39: ocean. Such spells as water breathi
Page 40 and 41: of plant control, an alchemy jug, a
Page 42 and 43: ers. They are not interested in the
Page 44 and 45: Kostchtchie: AC -3, MV 6”, hp 192
Page 46 and 47: 24. Lair of Laogzed This is the lai
Page 48: 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 AL CE, Size M
Page 53 and 54: ty of humans appeared in the condui
Page 55 and 56: 9. Ghost Garden A tall wall of ston
Page 58 and 59: CHAPTER 4: THE ABYSSIAN FORTRESS Th
Page 60: than any dragon living on the Prime
Page 63: Hazards of Climbing Although, the o
Page 68 and 69: 67 Maze 2: The Octagon Maze The PCs
Page 70: Maze 4: The Pentagon Maze This maze
Page 73 and 74: his scrying room. When this occurs,
Page 75 and 76: Wisdom Checks occasionally—those
Page 77 and 78: Food is loaded onto one of the two
Page 79: Flight From the Abyss CHAPTER 5: IN
Page 82 and 83: Tiamat’s heads have one use each
Page 84: devised strange mystical arts that
Page 87 and 88: PREGENERATED PLAYER CHARACTERS Thes
Page 89 and 90: ine of wondrous power (marble wooll
Page 91 and 92: eyebite, guards and wards, invisibl
Page 93: geoneer’s Survival Guide and Wild
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