TSR 9360 - WGR2 - Free

what brave act of his life. Once Vestra and
Ralpheo have finished with the PCs, Thadnick
brings the two guards tankards of ale that he
has laced with a concoction that renders them
unconscious.
He then demands that the PCs promise to
help him get free in exchange for being let out
of their cells. The DM should use Thadnick
only if the players fail to come up with their
own escape plan.
13. Cudis’ Room
Compared to the rest of the headquarters,
Cudis’ room seems completely out of place.
Plush carpeting covers the floor and wood paneling
runs up all the walls. In the southeast
corner stands a mahogany four-poster bed
with beautiful elaborate carvings and silky,
diaphanous sheets. On a desk in the corner,
boils a small potpourri pot, fillin the room with
a fresh fragrance.
In addition to the desk and bed, there is a
wardrobe with mirrored doors. It contains a
number of stylish outfits. At the foot of the bed
lies a small chest. Locked, but not trapped, it
contains a number of spell books and a wand
of polymorphing. One of Cudis’ favorite tactics
is to make his opponents believe that he is
casting an illusion when he uses the wand to
transform some inoffensive creature into a
deadly monster.
If the PCs know that Cudis is an illusionist,
they may tend to believe that the opulence of
the room is just an illusion, but it is all real.
While he rebelled against his family’s plans to
make him take over his parents’ business,
Cudis never lost the taste for life’s finer things
that he gained during his youth, and he views
his quarters as an affirmation of his success in
choosing his own path in life.
14. Meeting Room
The center of this room contains a large fire
pit, which casts strange shadows on the surrounding
walls. This is where Vestra, Cudis,
and any remaining members of Vestra’s force
will make their final stand. Vestra will hurl her
spear at any mage she sees, trying to disrupt
his spell casting. Cudis will cast offensive
spells, and turn to his wand ofparalyzation if
he runs out of spells.
During melee in the meeting room, there is a
chance that the combatants could knock each
other into the fire pit. Any time a character is
struck by a roll greater than 15, the recipient
of the blow must make a successful Dexterity
or be knocked into the pit for ld8 additional
points of damage.
If things are really going against the bad
guys, Cudis casts a stinking cloud and attempts
to escape with Vestra in the confusion.
Together, they run to her room, and out the
secret exit to freedom. As soon as they reach
the open, Cudis casts an illusion on the tunnel
that makes it appear as if the two have been
killed in a cave-in. It should not take the PCs
long to figure out this trick, but it will give the
duo a decent head start.
15. Vestra’s Room
Vestra’s personal quarters look more like a
barbarian trophy room than living quarters.
The walls are covered with shields, weapons,
stuffed trophy heads, and other memorabilia.
There is no bed in the room, but there is a
huge pile of furs in the northeast corner. The
door to the secret exit (16) is located in the
northwest corner, behind the only piece of
furniture in the room, a cabinet made from the
bones of an oliphant.
Aftermath
If the PCs are unable to wreck Vestra’s plans,
they may be able to salvage a partial victory if
they are able to escape from her lair and inform
the authorities. At the very least, this will
force Vestra to find a new base of operations. If
she has managed to escape, the characters can
claim a full victory if they have rescued most
of the charmed victims. If the player characters
succeed in foiling Vesta’s plans, sooner or
later the hot-blooded Vestra may come looking
for vengeance.
If having all the PCs captured and charmed
by Vestra will cause too much trouble in an
ongoing campaign, the DM may want to relax
the rules on breaking the helm’s spell. Another
solution is to have the effects of the charm
suddenly wear off, to everyone’s surprise.