Exemplars of Evil

After throwing the thunderstone, the corrupted commander
fires arrows at any enemy spellcasters who escaped
its effects or who were outside the radius of the spread.
If the PCs move past the outer wall and enter the keep’s
courtyard, the guard in the archer platform to the north opens
fire with his longbow, targeting lightly armored characters
first. The corrupted commander and one of the corrupted
warriors emerge from the barbican towers to engage the closest
character. The other guards remain in the towers until
there are no more PCs outside the walls, at which point the
last two warriors also emerge into the courtyard.
The corrupted warriors and the corrupted commander
fight intruders to the death.
DEVELOPMENT
When the PCs enter the courtyard, two more corrupted warriors
are walking the outer wall at the far northern end. Each
round that the combat continues, the warriors move 20 feet
clockwise along the outer wall. On the tenth round, if the
PCs are still fighting the gate guards, the warriors on the wall
attempt DC 22 Listen checks to hear the sounds of battle. If
they fail, they walk another 20 feet along the wall, toward
the gate. The next round, they attempt another Listen check,
this time against DC 20 because they have moved closer to
the battle. The warriors keep attempting saves and moving
until they finally hear the sounds of combat. At that point,
they head toward the gate at a speed of 20 feet.
While the archer in area 10 waits for the PCs to breach
the gate, he calls for the other corrupted commander and
warriors in the guest quarters (area 8), alerting them to the
presence of intruders. It takes 7 rounds for these reinforcements
to arrive in the courtyard. If the PCs breach the gate
and defeat their initial opponents within 7 rounds, they can
slip inside the keep and avoid facing the new arrivals.
CONCLUSION
The towers hold little of interest. They are 50 feet tall and
capped with conical roofs. Each tower has four floors, and a
spiral staircase leads up past several empty chambers until
it ends at the large top floor. The warriors and commander
spend their time on the ground floor, which consists of one
large room with tables to either side. The table in the west
tower holds 1d12 gp and a pair of dice, and the table in the
east tower holds a deck of stained cards.
ENCOUNTER 3-1
FEATURES OF THE AREA
The area has the following features.
Outer Wall: The keep is encircled by a wall (Climb DC 20)
that is 40 feet tall. See page 54 for details.
Main Gate: The main gate is made of 2-inch-thick iron. It
has a break DC of 28, hardness 10, and 60 hit points. The gate
is secured but can be opened with a successful DC 30 Open
Lock check.
Arrow Slits: Due to the slits, the corrupted warriors and
commander gain a +8 bonus to Armor Class and a +4 bonus
on Reflex saves. Casting spells through the arrow slits requires
a ranged touch attack.
Barrels: The barrels in the courtyard are full of old rainwater.
If a PC tips one over (Strength DC 25), the spilled water makes
an adjacent square extremely slippery, such that the space costs
2 squares of movement to enter.
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