Exemplars of Evil

the way they came, and then uses a clinging maximized
breath weapon to fill the room with fire.
If any PCs survive the flaming assault, Albrathax descends
from his hiding place to start a grapple with the closest one,
provoking an attack of opportunity. If the dragon succeeds
on a melee touch attack with any of his attack forms, he and
his foe make opposed grapple checks. If the dragon wins, he
pulls the PC into his space. On the next round, Albrathax
makes another grapple check to pin his opponent. If he
succeeds, he starts sucking the victim’s blood, draining
1d4 points of Constitution each round that he maintains
the pin.
Once Albrathax has engaged a foe, the trilloch flies in
from outside and uses control rage on the dragon, hoping to
hasten the deaths of the PCs. The creature also tries to enrage
any spellcasters in the room to prevent them from casting
spells. Thereafter, it flies around the chamber, using death
knell on any creatures that fall below 0 hit points.
DEVELOPMENT
The trilloch is far more interested in the PCs than in the
dragon. If the characters manage to destroy Albrathax or
drive him off, the trilloch stops using death knell and begins
hounding the PCs’ steps as they proceed through Bleak Hold.
The trilloch uses control rage to disrupt the party’s spellcasters
and aid the party’s enemies.
FEATURES OF THE AREA
The dragon’s lair has the following features.
Illumination: None. The lair is completely dark and exposed
to the light-devouring plane. The negative energy reduces the
range of bright light to 5 feet, the range of shadowy light to 0
feet, and the range of darkvision to 5 feet.
Floors and Walls: The floors and walls are covered in ebony
ice. It costs 2 squares of movement to enter a square containing
ebony ice, and the DC of Balance and Tumble checks increases
by 5 in such a square. A successful DC 10 Balance check is
required to run or charge across the ice. Undead creatures in
an area of ebony ice gain a +2 profane bonus on attack rolls
and saves and a +4 profane bonus to turn resistance.
Heavy Debris: It costs 4 squares of movement to enter a
square that contains heavy debris, which is also covered in
ebony ice. Heavy debris increases the DC of Balance and
Tumble checks by 4, and it imposes a penalty of –2 on Move
Silently checks. Running or charging through heavy debris
is impossible.
Negative Energy: Any living creature that is exposed to
negative energy (either by standing in a square adjacent to a
breach or by stepping out into the plane) must make a DC 25
Fortitude save on each round of exposure. On a failed save,
the creature gains one negative level. If the creature’s negative
levels equal its Hit Dice, the creature is slain and instantly
rises as a wraith.
ENCOUNTER 8-3
CONCLUSION
Albrathax does not intend to let the player characters slaughter
him. He fights until reduced to 30 or fewer hit points and
then tries to escape through one of the breaches in the walls.
Since he is bound to his treasure hoard just as a vampire
is bound to his coffin, Albrathax remains just outside the
tower, letting the negative energy repair his injuries. Once
restored to at least 150 hit points, the dragon flies back into
Bleak Hold to seek revenge.
Treasure: The dragon’s hoard contains the following
gems: 2 alexandrites (400 gp each), 1 amber (80 gp), 1 amethyst
(110 gp), 1 banded agate (10 gp), 2 bloodstones (50 gp
each), 2 blue diamonds (5,000 gp each), 2 citrines (80 gp and
70 gp), 1 freshwater pearl (6 gp), 2 golden yellow topazes (600
gp), 1 jacinth (4,400 gp), 1 jasper (60 gp), 2 obsidian (11 gp
each), 1 tiger eye turquoise (9 gp), 1 tourmaline (90 gp), and
1 zircon (20 gp).
The hoard also contains a pair of blink dog fur boots
(1,300 gp), a bronze amulet (90 gp), bronze inlaid earrings
(200 gp), an engraved fir brooch with agate setting (900
gp), an engraved mahogany amulet (200 gp), an etched
onyx scepter (5,000 gp), a glass crown inlaid with amber
stones (500 gp), a granite pendant (500 gp), a mahogany
plate (50 gp), a pillar of solid yew (700 gp), a steel-plated
circlet (3,000 gp), a tapestry depicting githyanki soldiers
marching to war (900 gp), an ornate zither (200 gp), 17,472
gp, and 2,190 pp.
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