Epic Level Handbook

Decor: Many of the chambers and hallways are decoratedwith throw rugs, running carpets, and hanging tapestriesto give the place a more friendly feel, as well as toprovide some measure of nonskid walking areas. Despitetheir extreme age, all the decorations are in good conditionunless noted otherwise. Likewise, they are not particularlyvaluable, unless otherwise noted.Important Note: Part of the tower is under the effectsof flux slime. Be sure to read area 16 and the flux slimeentry in Chapter 3 before using this adventure.Approach (EL 25)The tower rests on an outcropping of obsidian. This outcroppingjuts out from the edge of a precipice wherefluid, glowing lava streams over the edge as a huge lavafall.The lava-fall spills onto a magma-filled chasm, andthe dropoff is well over 300 feet. Somehow, the obsidianprotrusion remains anchored, but it is an island in theliquid rock around it. With no solid path to the place,characters must either cross the lava with magical protectionor utilize some other magical means of transport.The crumbling, midnight black structure restssquarely upon a jagged outcropping of blackest obsidian,thrusting defiantly out of the roiling magma thatspills over into the chasm below. The orange and redflames reflect off the smooth surface of the building,ind its darkened windows stare grimly back at theseething, scorching world around it.The building consists of a large hexagonal towerthat rises three or four stories into the air, where thelop has collapsed along a jagged, diagonal line. Clingingnear the top of one unbroken side of the mainlower is a smaller round one that seems to be anotherthree stories tall. It juts up slightly higher than themain structure, capped by a dome of some smokymaterial, and hangs out over the precipice, beyondihe edge of the obsidian foundation.At the bottom of the main tower is a small sideDuilding, a squat box with no windows and a singlesteel door, the only apparent way into the place atground level. Nothing else seems to be in the vicinity,ind there is no evidence of life inside the tower fromthis vantage point.Although it seems that the obsidian outcropping and thetower atop it should teeter over and fall into the chasm,the whole rock is actually securely anchored right whereit is because it is a small encapsulated region of the planethat is morphically static; that is, it is as though the outcroppinghas had a time stop spell cast upon it, and itcannot be moved or altered in any fashion. Even as thelava-fall eventually cuts away the cliff face through erosion,the obsidian fragment will hang suspended in spaceindefinitely. Sufficient magic could suppress the staticeffect, but it would require specifically developed epicspells to do so.Creatures: Before the PCs can gain the tower, thedragon must be dealt with. The dragon, once lovinglycalled Etiol by its consort Tiamat, was cast forth from thedragon queen’s affections millennia ago. Etiol droppedout of sight after that sad incident, but apparently fell inwith Kerleth centuries later. Somehow, Regalid’s recentactivities in the tower have awakened potent defensesfrom their long slumber. Among the defenses was a pactKerleth made with Etiol. That pact is now active; Etiol issummoned, and now defends the tower to his death oruntil Kerleth returns to dismiss him.Etiol rests mostly submerged in the lake of magma,only his snout and eyes protruding (gaining a +10 bonuson his Hide check). Unless PCs see him first, the dragonmay gain a surprise partial round as he bursts forth fromthe lava, attacking any that draw near the tower. Thedragon is larger than the tower.Normally, a red great wyrm has a CR of 35; however,either the PCs have an Egg of Abominable Cold to helpneutralize the dragon, or Schaethreth shows up withan Egg (see Development, below). It the PCs do nothave an Egg and Schaethreth does not appear, heroeswith an average level of 21st or 22nd stand littlechance of defeating this potent guardian. With the Eggand/or Schaethreth’s direct help, the EL for thisencounter is a more reasonable 25; still difficult, butnot impossible.Red Great Wyrm, Advanced: hp 1,434; see full statisticsin Chapter 5.Tactics: Despite the incredible damage Etiol is poisedto take from the egg, the PCs (or Schaethreth) must getclose enough to the dragon to use it, before the dragoncan unleash too many rounds of its fury on the PCs.Before it does anything else, Etiol uses haste on itself (asa 33rd-level caster). Then it uses its breath weapon on itsfree partial action in that same round. In subsequentrounds it uses its melee attacks on its standard action,and a spell (such as weird) on its hasted partial action.Whenever its breath weapon is recharged (every 1d4rounds), it uses that instead of a spell on its hasted partialaction.Treasure: Roll for treasure based on the creature’stype; however, the treasure is only what one mightexpect from a CR 20 dragon—Etiol has had it toughsince losing Tiamat’s regard. Etiol keeps his treasurehoard in a heat-shielded iron sphere that lies 40 feetbelow the surface of the magma, anchored by a heatshieldedchain attached to the obsidian outcropping(with a clever friction clamp). Despite the possibility ofpotentially helpful items in his hoard, the dragon disdainssuch things are crutches for the weak.Development: If the players haven’t accepted Schaethreth’shelp, or if the PCs have somehow avoided meetingit so far, it shows up now. (The infernal’s statistics,average for a demonic infernal, can be found in Chapter5). He uses the Egg of Abominable Cold himself on theCHAPTER 6:AN EPICSETTING277