Exemplars of Evil

this purpose. Decapitating scarf is a metal spell, and as such
is forbidden by Valbryn’s wu jen taboos. Accordingly, the
queen commits to this action only after most of the spells
in her repertoire have already been cast.
During the battle, Helthra (if present) does her best to
harry the PCs, relying on spells such as divine favor, ring of
blades (CAd 121), and spiritual weapon. If it looks as if her side
is not faring well, Helthra spontaneously casts invisibility on
herself and walks around healing the Urdred and the fire
giants with her wand of cure moderate wounds.
The Urdred use their ghost step ability liberally to gain
sudden strike attacks against the PCs.
DEVELOPMENT
If Helthra falls in battle, Thaden becomes unhinged and
attacks the party without concern for his own welfare. If
Valbryn does not protect Thaden during such a frenzy, he
fights to the death to avenge the princess. His animal companion
joins Thaden in battle at all times, creating flanking
sneak attacks when possible.
If Thaden falls in battle, Valbryn loses her confidence in
the fire giants’ ability to defeat the intruders. She travels
to the lava throat (area 5) by the fastest means possible and
pulls the planar trestle (which had been completed before
the encounter) out of her bag of holding. The queen throws
the artifact into the lava. It takes 3 rounds for the planar
trestle to sink down far enough to reach the closed portal, at
which point the seal violently ruptures and Gilgirn becomes
directly connected to the Elemental Plane of Fire.
All the lava in the pool is sucked downward for one second
before spewing back up in a powerful geyser of molten rock
that blankets all of Gilgirn, dealing 6d6 points of fire damage
to anybody standing out in the open (DC 23 Reflex save for
half). Damage from the lava continues for 1d3 rounds after
exposure ceases, but this additional damage is only half the
amount dealt during contact.
If the PCs previously came upon Thaden in his cell, the
human begins this encounter by pretending to be a prisoner
of the fire giants. Thaden claims that he was captured while
8 Noble Salamanders CR 16
hp 112 each (15 HD); MM 218
trying to escape from Gilgirn, which is true and therefore
grants him a +2 bonus on his Bluff check. He attacks the PCs
on his first opportunity, relying on his animal companion to
help him gain a flanking bonus on his sneak attack.
CONCLUSION
The Urdred and the fire giant guards fight to the death
protecting Gilgirn and their queen. Valbryn loves Helthra
and Thaden, but if they are killed in battle, she can still see
a future for herself. She casts teleport to escape or transfix
(CAd 127) to paralyze the PCs, assuming that she has not
exchanged either spell for fireball. If all the characters are
paralyzed, the queen delivers a coup de grace on each one.
She casts transfix only if Thaden has already fallen, since the
spell might paralyze him as well.
Alternatively, if Valbryn reaches the lava throat and succeeds
in opening the portal, the magma geyser sucks eight
noble salamanders into Gilgirn from the Elemental Plane of
Fire. These chaotic evil creatures take no sides in the conflict
between the PCs and the fire giants, creating a battle on
three fronts. The self-serving noble salamanders try to claim
Gilgirn as their own stronghold.
With the portal now stuck open, salamander reinforcements
soon begin arriving from Elemental Fire, presenting a
grave new threat to the region. The PCs can abandon the fire
giants, or they can try to find a way to drive the salamanders
back and seal the portal again.
ENCOUNTER 7-3
FEATURES OF THE AREA
The rear gatehouse area is nearly identical to the front gatehouse
(tactical encounter 7–1), with the following exceptions.
Doors: The stone double doors of the rear gatehouse face
the inner ward to the south. Each door is 10 feet wide, 15 feet
high, and 1 foot thick, with hardness 8 and 180 hit points.
Traps: An area greater dispel magic glyph has been cast on the
corridor just north of the gatehouse. The glyph can be found
with a successful DC 31 Search check and thwarted with a
successful DC 31 Disable Device check.
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