Exemplars of Evil

ENCOUNTER 5-1
W AREHOUSE
Encounter Level 11
SETUP
Darzemaan and four drow guards patrol within the
cloaked warehouse. As soon as the player characters enter
the building, the guards make Listen checks. Because
the illusion makes the PCs think that the layout of the
warehouse is different from the real layout, their movements
within the building are clumsy. They take a penalty
of –8 on Climb, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Ride, and
Tumble checks. These penalties make it likely that the
drow guards, unaffected by the illusion, succeed on their
Listen checks.
It takes 1 round of normal movement before the PCs
realize that something is wrong. During this round, when
moving at full speed, they take 1d4 points of nonlethal
damage each time they walk into a square that is occupied
by an object hidden by the illusion. If the PCs attempt to
climb or move on illusory objects, they take 1d4 points of
nonlethal damage from sudden falls and sprains. Once a
character has taken damage from such bumps and bruises,
he is entitled to attempt a DC 22 Will save to disbelieve
the illusion.
Running and charging are impossible, but a character
can take a double move. If a character moves at half speed,
he can successfully navigate the warehouse without bumping
into objects, but his slowness puts him at a severe
tactical disadvantage.
Until a PC successfully disbelieves the illusion, Darzemaan
and the drow guards are effectively invisible, as
from a greater invisibility spell with an effective caster level
of 8th for the purpose of dispelling.
When the PCs begin to move through the room,
read:
As you move around the warehouse, you realize
that something is wrong. You bump into objects
that you can’t see, bruising your body against
hidden obstacles. Your legs buckle as you stumble
across a floor that feels uneven but looks flat and
smooth. You begin to hear strange words of
magical power, but their source is hidden.
TACTICS
When the PCs begin to stumble around the illusory
warehouse, the drow snipe at them, staying out of melee
range unless they have a perfect opportunity for a close
attack. The four guards are spaced out around the room,
making them hard to affect with area spells and adding
4 Chelicerata Guards CR 3
hp 12 each (2 HD)
Male or female drow rogue 1/fighter 1
CE Medium humanoid (elf)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 120 ft.; Listen +5, Spot +5
Languages Common, Drow Sign Language, Elven,
Undercommon
AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14
(+3 Dex, +4 armor)
Immune magic sleep effects
SR 13
Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +1 (+3 against spells and spell-like
effects)
Weakness light blindness
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee mwk short sword +4 (1d6+2/19–20/)
Ranged mwk hand crossbow +6 (1d4 plus poison/19–20)
Base Atk +1; Grp +3
Atk Options Point Blank Shot, poison (drow sleep poison,
DC 13, unconscious 1 minute/unconscious 2d4 hours),
sneak attack +1d6
Combat Gear 4 doses drow sleep poison, 3 potions of cure
light wounds, 2 oils of magic weapon
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd):
1/day—dancing lights, darkness, faerie fire
Abilities Str 14, Dex 17, Con 11, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 10
SQ notice secret and concealed doors within 5 feet,
trapfinding
Feats Point Blank Shot, Weapon Focus (hand crossbow)
Skills Climb +9, Hide +7, Jump +7, Listen +5, Move Silently
+7, Search +5, Sleight of Hand +7, Spot +5, Swim +3,
Tumble +7
Possessions combat gear plus mithral chain shirt, masterwork
hand crossbow with 20 bolts, masterwork short
sword, masterwork climber’s kit, 3 pp, 39 gp, 10 sp
Light Blindness (Ex) Abrupt exposure to bright light (such
as sunlight or a daylight spell) blinds drow for 1 round.
In addition, they take a –1 circumstance penalty on
attack rolls, saves, and checks when in bright light.
Darzemaan CR 9
hp 39 (8 HD); see page 85
to the confusion of the environment. They apply drow
sleep poison to their crossbow bolts to incapacitate their
targets; this way, Darzemaan (and perhaps Kjarlo or Calais)
can question the intruders before killing them. Individually,
the guards are not that powerful, but with their many
battleground advantages they are a dangerous group.
Meanwhile, Darzemaan attempts to charm one of the
PCs, trying to confuse the adventurers or turn them
against each other. If this tactic fails, the warlock tries
to weaken the interlopers with his offensive items and
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