Exemplars of Evil

CHAPTER 2
ZARGATH
HUMAN-BANE
38
Appearance and Behavior
Gurn Sirensong is an ordinary-looking gnome of average
height and weight. His face is rather pinched, however,
and his eyes are a bit narrower than normal, giving him
a constantly scheming expression. In private, he dresses
in luxurious silks chosen more for the way they feel than
for their aesthetic value. In public, he dresses in sturdy,
nondescript black leather garments designed to let him hide
in the shadows. He wears a pouch-filled belt that contains a
full rogue’s kit and his spell components.
Gurn Sirensong CR 3
hp 14 (4 HD)
Male gnome wizard 2/rogue 1
NE Small humanoid
Init +4; Senses low-light vision; Listen +3, Spot +1
Languages Common, Dwarven, Gnome, Goblin, Gnoll, Orc
AC 15, touch 15, flat-footed 11; +4 against giants
(+1 size, +4 Dex)
Fort +0, Ref +6, Will +4; +2 against illusions
Speed 20 ft. (4 squares)
Melee mwk dagger +3 (1d3)
Ranged light crossbow +6 (1d6)
Base Atk +1; Grp –3
Atk Options sneak attack +1d6, +1 on attack rolls against
kobolds and goblinoids
Combat Gear 3 potions of cure light wounds, wand of magic
missile (CL 2nd, 20 charges), scroll of summon monster I,
2 tanglefoot bags, 2 smokesticks, 2 vials alchemist’s fi re
Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 3rd):
1st—disguise self (DC 16), magic missile, silent image
(DC 16)
0—arcane mark, detect poison, flare (DC 14), ray of frost
(DC 14)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd):
1/day—dancing lights, ghost sound (DC 14), prestidigitation,
speak with animals (burrowing mammal only, duration
1 minute)
Abilities Str 10, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 13, Cha 16
SQ familiar (none at present), trapfi nding
Feats Scribe Scroll, Spell Focus (illusion), Greater Spell
Focus (illusion)
Skills Concentration +6, Craft +10, Decipher Script +10,
Diplomacy +4, Disguise +4, Escape Artist +10, Forgery
+5, Gather Information +4, Knowledge (local) +6, Listen
+3, Move Silently +5, Open Lock +5, Profession (bookkeeper)
+5, Sense Motive +2, Sleight of Hand +5, Spellcraft
+10, Spot +1, Tumble +5, Use Rope +4
Possessions combat gear plus masterwork dagger, masterwork
thieves’ tools, 1 antitoxin vial, light crossbow with
30 bolts, topaz/jade necklace (500 gp), 5 gold earrings
(20 gp each), 2 diamond rings (50 gp each), spellbook
ZAR’FELL
When Zargath went looking for the center of his orc empire,
he and Grikfell found a ruined manor house only a few miles
from the tribe’s village. They cleared the place of wandering
monsters and renamed it Zar’Fell in honor of their alliance
and their friendship.
Today, Zar’Fell is a thriving community of over four hundred
orcs, including three hundred noncombatant women
and children. Most live in small huts on the grounds that
surround the keep, while the higher-status orc families live
in renovated stone cottages. Zargath, Grikfell, and other
leaders reside in the manor house.
KEY FEATURES
Before the Black Wolves arrived, the manor had been abandoned
for so long that the second floor, parts of the first floor,
all four of the guard towers, and a good chunk of the exterior
western wall had collapsed. Now, construction and repair
work proceed around the clock.
Much of the interior has been repaired or reinforced, as has
most of the western wall and the southeastern guard tower
(see area 10). Temporary walls have been built to block access
to the southwestern portion of the keep (including area 11),
which has almost entirely fallen into rubble. As the second
floor had sustained too much damage to be repaired, the orcs
knocked it down, took out the stairs, and covered the house
in a new flat roof.
Structural Properties
The following general properties apply to all rooms unless
otherwise noted in the area descriptions.
Exterior Walls: The dwarf masonry exterior walls are
3 feet thick and descend about 5 feet below the ground.
Unrepaired walls have a break DC of 35, hardness 8, and 300
hit points per 10-foot-square section. Because the walls are
crumbling, scaling them is a bit easier than normal (Climb
DC 15). Repaired walls have a break DC of 40, hardness 8,
and 540 hit points per section.
Interior Walls: The inner walls of the house (Climb DC
20) are 2 feet thick and have a break DC of 35, hardness 8,
and 180 hit points per 10-foot-square section.
Scaffolding: Most of the house’s exterior is covered by
wooden scaffolding; this rises to the roof and has enough
platforms and equipment for ten orcs to work at a time.
Floors: In repaired areas of the building, the floors are level
and in surprisingly good condition. Due to the construction,
however, dust, pebbles, and chunks of debris are everywhere.
The presence of so many orcs going back and forth in the
dirt makes reading tracks very difficult (Survival DC 30).
Ceiling Height: The ceilings throughout the building
are 15 feet high.
Brass Bells: Every 40 feet along the walls is a large brass
bell with a hammer. Striking one of these bells puts the house
on alert.
Doors: All doors are 7 feet high and are brand new. Each
door is 2 inches thick and has hardness 5 and 20 hit points.
Except where indicated in the area descriptions, all doors
in the house are closed but unlocked (unless an orc puts the
house on alert).
Illumination: The interior is lit by torches in sconces
every 10 feet along on the walls.
Smells: Zargath likes to be clean, so the house lacks the usual
odor of an orc nest (no rotting meat or offal). The major exceptions
are the kennels and pens (area 5), which smell of unwashed
humanoids and worgs, and the collapsed room (area 11), which
reeks of mold. In addition, the air throughout the house is full
of stone dust and wood shavings, so any PC who makes a check
to identify a smell has a 15% chance of sneezing.
Sounds: Depending on the state of alert, the house and
the grounds ring either with the clatter of construction or
with the tramp of boots and shouted instructions.