Chain Gang's Main Drain

The Emperor is building a new canal. Maybe it's going to be full of his favorite fish; a pond next to his new palace. Or perhaps it's a massive rice farm, or maybe it's a network for fast travel and commerce within the heart of the empire. For whatever reason, a massive pit is being dug and slowly lined with wet stones. To accomplish this huge undertaking, hundreds of strong farmers, random criminals, and outlaws were shoved into this huge pit to finish the work. The pit is a straight drop, far too tall to climb out, with guards stationed every so often to make sure nobody is trying to escape. They are paid in sweet wine and bread, but at least they were promised a satchel of silver each when they were done. There's no telling if this will ever materialize, but at least it helps with the morale.

You are not one of them. You're down their drain.

Chain Gang's Main Drain
The center of the massive drained canal is a ditch that leads to a hole. The hole is many meters deep, only letting in enough light to barely illuminate the bottom. This is a drainage ditch and well dug to keep the canal from flooding too quickly, but the earth was too soft and it broke into a space beneath. The walls are way too wet to climb, and even getting a ladder down the tight hole would be difficult, if the chain gang even had one. You're stuck down here.

The Chain Gang has no way to get you out, but they still have need of you. Partially, just to have someone to look down on. The guards are lorded over by the Emperor, they chain gang are lorded over by the gaurds, and you're lorded over by them. Fair?

For doing tasks for them, the Chain Gangers can give you food, usually just scraps, and precious wine, which is one of your only ways of getting clean drinking water. They can also spare some of their tools, pickaxes to move stones and shovels to sift dirt, which you can use as weapons; but if too many goes missing or lost the guards will likely punish the Chain Gang very harshly, so they'll want them back for each inspection. They accomplish this by sending down a bucket on a string, along with other supplies, but it's too small and weak to send one of you back up, of course. Being down the drain does have its advantages though; the guards don't know you exist, and as such, you aren't getting beaten or forced to work. But where as the chain gang are going to be brought out of the pit when the job is done, and they swear they'll try to get you out, the architects overseeing the project have no obligation to figure out a solution to your problem, and the dig is on a tight schedule as is...

The Chain Gang's Quests
Every three days, the Chain Gangers will collectively have a task for you to complete. Their attitude is cordial, but they aren't going to share their rations if you don't help them, and they know you can't do much about it if they do stiff you your reward. The reward will be;

1. Exactly enough rations for everyone down the hole, with no extra for lunch breaks, healing (well fed bonuses), or monster bait, for the next three days. If the Chain Gang had a few bad days, assume a few smaller or missing rations this time.
   
2. One tool. This can be a rough shovel (1d3 blunt), a trowel (1d2, but can be used in grapple or sneak attacks like a dagger), a sharpened pickaxe (two handed, 1d6 piercing), or a long pole used for moving stones (1d4 quarterstaff, attack at disadvantage in cramped space, could be made into a spear or broken apart for a few torches). If it's a bad day, you get a random one instead of the tool you wanted.
   
3. Two pieces of driftwood and soiled linens that can be used as a torch OR a few leather straps that broke off from from scaffold or from moving heavy stones. (Two or more straps can be used to make basic armor as leather, or wrapped around your arms and legs for +1 temporary AC) If you don't ask for one in particular, they'll just give you a random choice.
4. One wineskin. The Chain Gang all get one every other three days, so they rotate who gives it up for you. First thing to go during bad days.
   

The wine is enough to get one person drunk or can be shared among three people. It's enough to wet your tongue enough to cast spells or can restore one Hit-Point if you chug the whole thing like a health potion. If anything bad happens on the surface (somebody escaped & the guards crack down, it rains, it's a church day and everyone is still forced to work, a mason loses their tools and the chain gangers are searched for contraband, etc.) then the wine always goes.

If you do a task for them, they'll give you all of the above as your reward. If you do an extra task or a really good job, they'll give you an extra pick of anything on the list; except for the wine.

There is also a one in six chance each day the Chain Gang steals something from a higher up like a mason (an actual valuable worker) or an architect who had to step into the pit for a moment. The Chain Gang is spiteful enough to want to pawn these off on you in lieu of one of your normal rewards just to inconvenience those above them, but will never send you down anything actually valuable like coin or a proper weapon. This special reward can only be taken on these days, and is randomly;

1. Length of rope or small bit of iron chain (1d3 improvised weapon). You can also break down the bucket for this if you really need it, but then you'll have no way to trade for items.
2. Mason chisel (1d4 improvised dagger) OR Mason's chalk
   
3. Parchment and paper taken from architects or stolen letters (you can use these to draw a map)
4. Axe Head that fell from a woodcutter and was lost in the mud when they were clearing space for the canal. (No handle, but could be made into a d6 axe)
5. Animal fat and grease from the kitchen tents (can be used as fuel, ointment, or smeared over something to make it bait for a monster). If you're a weirdo you can ask for specific organs or animal bones instead; like if you need them to cast a spell or something.
   
6. Guard's Cuirass (as chainmail). They would 100% keep this themselves but is too hard to hide and anyone caught with it would 100% be killed. Expect the next three days in a row to be 'bad days', since a guard either died or just got demoted.
   

In order to determine what task the Chain Gangers give you, roll on this table. If you roll a 11 or 12, then this is a bonus task that is secretly given by someone among the Chain Gang, whispered down and separate from the rest of the group. Roll again. They can drop something on the reward table extra; but it's rarely worth the added risk.

Chain Gang Task Table - Roll 1d12
[1] Teach us a new song, funny hole people! (Entertain them and humiliate yourself, 1d2 chance they get drunk and forget to give you your reward later)

[2] Stop the weird spiders that come up the hole from drinking our blood when we sleep.

[3] One of us dropped a silver wedding ring down the hole a few days ago, find it and bring it back up! And don't you dare keep it for yourself! It couldn't have gone far... right?

[4] The men are starved for something besides crusty stale bread. We want you to bring us an animal that we can eat from below; nothing unsavory or rotten, no nasty bugs, ye shits.

[5] We want to get high. Go bring us those little mushrooms, with the black caps and yellow spot? They only grow down below. The smaller and brighter the spots, the stronger.

[6] Our camp has a pet, a funny little monkey. He got loose from his rope and climbed down the hole; please bring him back! ALIVE!

[7] Bring us the precious ore; silver or gold! We can hide it from the guard.

[8] One of the architects said the canal floor is unstable. Go down there and put up some supports or whatever and prevent the next sinkhole!

[9] Don't you hear that horrible, stinking sobbing? There's a ghost down there of someone who fell in and died. Go get their remains so we can put them to rest and end the haunting.

[10] We heard there are Orcs down there. Please make sure there aren't any orcs down there. If there are any, can you like, make them go away? Please no Orcs.

[11] I am a worshiper of the ones beneath. Take this (cursed) talisman to the deepest place in that well; I will know when your task is complete. He will speak to me in my dreams.

[12] I was an apprentice alchemist before I was press-ganged. I have no interest in slaving away in this hole; especially how dangerous it is. Send me up a bucket full of the fulminate, those dull gray stones? And I'll reward you. (He will die in the escape attempt, one bad week after. But after this happens, you learn of their explosive properties).

This setup allows you to do a few interesting things. The core idea is that the players are trapped in an unequal relationship with people who are also trapped, and yet somehow a bunch of indentured servants are better off and better equipped then you are. I imagine this would probably work better as a level 0 funnel or a starter "dungeon" adventure. It also allows new characters and hirelings to literally be dropped in on your head; anyone who falls down the pit isn't going to get back up very easily, and the Chain Gang doesn't want to tell anyone in authority about the pit because it could be a method for them to escape their work, so anyone who falls down is stuck with you. I like the idea of an especially annoying guy accidentally falling down the pit while piss drunk and now having to work with the people whose hole he was just pissing down a few minutes ago.

With the canal eventually being finished and later flooded, there is also an implied time pressure. I don't have an exact time scale thought out for this, but it should be at least a few weeks, but probably less then a month. The idea here is the players need to find a way to escape in addition to keeping themselves alive and exploring the dangerous "drain". It's a classic overarching goal to their short term goals of survival and getting along with the workers above. You could probably shorten this down to a single session or two, but I like the idea of amassing a bunch of adventuring gear from scraps and trash; which is an element you lose if this is just the classic "party captured and has to escape with limited resources vibe"

The Drain
[1] The Hole
You're at the bottom of this. It's about as tight as a generic well, but opens up greatly near the bottom, where it broke into some natural underground area. Water trickles here constantly, but the sunlight and noise from the chain gang above keep most of the creatures at bay. Somehow smells worse then the deeper parts of the drain. While here and during the day make no wandering monster checks, at night, roll only a 1d4 on the wandering monsters table if you camp here.

The Hole has a tunnel that leads to two places, the tunnels at [2] and Cragger's Drog at [5], which is the reason exploration is so perilous.

[2] Mud Tunnels
Soft walls, damp, water is ankle high. Confusing mess of corridors that mostly lead to dead ends, except for the path to [3] & [4]. The first time you travel through this area, lose an exploration turn from navigation.

[3] The Descent
Steep rocky slope leading downwards. Slippery when wet; if you're encumbered and have a negative dexterity modifier, you will slip and fall back down, needing either a rope or less weight to make your way back up. Creatures from the deeper levels will not chase you past this point.

[4] The High Point
Circular chamber that's located somewhere in the cliffs and normal flat ground above the canal. The air here feels fresher and less heavy, indicated some air flow (it's coming in through the soil). Dwarves can easily tell this area is above the rest of the Drain in altitude. Only one way in and out, so it's probably the safest place to sleep.

[5] Cragger's Drop
The drain slopes down from the entrance to this point; there is a constant sound of crashing water. Hard but not impossible to safely climb down without tools. Two pickaxes and a strong arm (+1) Strength could get up and down pretty easily. If you have a negative Constitution modifier, the cold water will exhaust you too much to climb the rough edges.

The bottom of the drop is a bit of mostly safe and flat ground surrounding [6], with branching paths leading off to the other areas.

[6] Sharp & Pointy Pit
The place where all the metal weapons and tools flowed last time it rained heavy. Acts like a pit trap if you fall in (probably instant death), but you could lure a monster to fall in here instead. You can also search this place all you want, you won't find the wedding ring here. You can also dig out a sword (1d6) or spear (1d6) out of the crack if you spend an hour, have some rope, and have at least one character risk falling in to reach for it. 

There is also a precarious small sack hanging from the tip of an upturned spear, half ripped, just barely hanging on until it falls into the irretrievable abyss below. Mage Hand could pull it up but that's boring; make someone risk their life for the husk of a bread loaf (inedible) and 1d6 silver coins within.

If you throw the (cursed) talisman down this hole the man who gave you the tasked would be pleased and give you a reward; but over the next three nights you are plagued by nightmares and end up permanently cursed; feeling as though the deep longs for your destruction. (-1 to AC and Saving Throws whenever you're underground. Only people who directly voted for or had a hand in throwing the amulet down here end up cursed, and you could break the curse by retrieving it (lol) and putting it in the Deep Place [20] where it belongs.

[7] Trembler's Nest
Weird little bipedal, subterranean owls. They can only shake and huddle together in a corner for defense. Scrawny but can be consumed for food. Their legs and lower body are absolutely hideously scarred with tiny bite marks from their blood being drained over and over.

Their eggs are a dull green and vibrate worryingly when you hold them. If you throw them they explode like a grenade and deal 1d3 damage in an acidic yolk explosion. 1d6 Tremblers and 1d6 eggs can be found here. They aren't smart enough to leave if you come back, so you can find another egg every week or so if you don't eat them.

[8] Giant's Hand
There is a giant hand poking out of the wall lengthwise along this tunnel. You can squeeze past it easily as long as you aren't carrying something really big or have way too many weapons that might scratch it. No amount of noise will "wake" it up. However touching or attacking it will, causing it to lash out. It's stuck in the wall and can only attack by a big sweep (10 damage but spread evenly among all characters in the tunnel) or by grabbing and crushing someone it can feel (save and be grabbed, everyone has to attack it to let go, one round later it crushes dealing 2d6 unavoidable damage). It has 6 HD.

Also after killing the hand or if you dig the wall nearby you'll find it isn't actually attached to a giant and just kinda grew here attached to a wall with flesh colored webbing.

You can also totally chop up the hand if you have an axe and feed it to the Chain-Gangers but after one day they'll get sick and blame you for it (three bad days after).

[9] Moss Chamber
Large open space with shaggy moss that crunches like grass underneath. At exactly midnight, the Tremblers from [7] come here to forage for tiny worms and scrabbling cave-crabs. You could try harvesting the moss for something to burn or trade but it's too wet down here and would never dry properly. Underneath a shelf of discolored moss is a vein of fulminate, which you can extract. The moss acts as an excellent cushion to avoid flaming sparks from igniting the vein and also an excellent sound absorber for when you accidentally make it explode and kill everyone in the party.

An Elf or Druid could tell that the discolored moss must be growing on an unusual mineral. Otherwise you'd just have to investigate until you learn that's where it is.

[10] Blood Pool
Mysterious cave side chamber with a floor that funnels inwards to a pool of still blood. Along the outside edges are the desiccated corpses of several lanky owls, some worms, and a pixie. Vampires or weirdos could drink it and tell there is some human in it, but it's probably a mix of multiple. Actually where the blood drinking spiders lay their eggs. If you cause any ripples in the blood pool they hatch early in anticipation of their next meal.

Stat as a 2 HD Swarm (takes only 1 damage maximum from attacks, takes normal damage from AoE or fire). Deals 1d8 damage per round and always automatically hit without needing an attack roll (they crawl under your armor). The adult spiders are significantly less aggressive then this honestly, at least they wait until you're asleep.

[11] Roid Rat Feeding Ground
Weird rust-colored smears against a smooth rock floor. Little black turds indicate this is a place rats cross often from burrows and cracks in the walls. You could try to hunt these, but it's not worth it. There is a 1 in 3 chance any given hour 1d2 rats come out from their hiding places here.

Look like little albino kangaroo rats. They seem strangely docile, even when approached or after being caught in a trap. The moment they are cornered or handled however, they freak out, turn red, and triple in size. Like a goblin but with Strength modifier of +3. Attack by stomping your toes into paste; if you try to grab one it's thrashing can break your fingers. 1+1 HD creature with decent mobility since they jump around (eye level height). They always fight to death, and the meat is especially gamey and shitty like they burnt out everything they had just to spite you in their rage.

[12] Mysterious Tunnels
Winding upward tunnels carved into the stone, too smooth for tools. Could be a giant worm, but feels too intentional. Just big enough for a man to crawl through on hands and knees, half movement speed. Sharp rocks scraps your hands and knees unless if you have good quality clothes or leather straps to protect yourselves with (deals 1 nonlethal damage for a full journey up).

Follow the tunnels is painstakingly slow and takes at least two hours to crawl up them, but when you do you'll find a secret passage to [2]. It's significantly slower then taking the other path down, but large creatures certainly could not follow you up.

[13] Clutch Roots
Roots from some mysterious plant far above poke through the roof here. If touched directly (any character with a big hat or anyone really tall), the roots suddenly extend downward and try to wrap around and squeeze whatever touched them, needing an axe to be cut free. Using any improvised tool will dull it or have other roots grab it as well just to make things worse. As long as only one person gets trapped at a time, it's manageable.

Roots chopped down still retain the ability to squeeze but less aggressively. If fed with water they could be kept alive longer and made more docile; clever parties could wrap a fighter in these for some decent armor (as chainmail, but inflexible so treat your Dex as -1 while wearing). They only live for a week with constant watering, but if brought into the sunlight they sprout new small shoots and become living armor you can keep for as long as you want, immune to rust monsters, and grows back any damage it sustains. If the character wearing the armor dies from Dragonbreath or a Fire Spell however then the armor dies for good.

If you hold up a torch or lantern to look above at the roots and get a better look, you'll see the ceiling sparkle. There is a vein of gold from the rock the roots hang down from. Fire would work but the smoke would fill up this and surrounding chambers and be lethal.

[14] Mimic
Small side chamber which has a totally normal, clean treasure chest sitting in the corner. It's not dirty or rotten from the moisture at all. It is obviously a mimic. There are bones next to it for fucks sake. Stats as mimic. If you kill the mimic, you'll find a very traumatized monkey inside clutching a silver key belonging to the foreman above. (It opens the Chain-Gang's chains).

Also if you avoid the mimic entirely or come back here after dealing with it you'll notice a single mushroom leading you to the mushroom patch [15] in case you missed it. The mushroom is random and if plucked gives one dose, roll 1d6 on the Mushroom table below.

[15] Mushroom Patch
Cute little mushroom patch in the corner of this cavern, fed by a trickling of stalactites above. There seems to be a small glow around the shrooms even though none of them seem to be enchanting; it's actually the water that seems very lightly magical. There is enough mushrooms of each kind for a group (party sized) of people to be able to use them.

These are the Mushrooms you can find in the patch and their effects (Roll 1d6 for random)

1. White with Yellow Spots- Constipation for one day, then painful excretion.
2. All White- Edible and quite good (enough for 6-8 rations but don't grow back if they're all plucked)
3. White with Red Spots- Poison. Can be smeared on a weapon to deal +1 damage for a day, if eaten deals 1d6 damage instead.
4. Black with Red Spots- No noticeable effects. Vampires think you taste funny.
5. All Black- Giga Poison, but thankfully taste horrendous (you can't stomach eating one, but would be lethal if you did)
6. Black with Yellow Spots- Gets you high. As long as one party member remains sober, they can keep everyone in line. If everyone in the party tries one, you all black out in bliss and then wake up in a random place in the Drain (roll 1d20). There's one really small and brightly colored one hiding among the stalks, which only the party member most likely to want to stay sober will see.
   

Also, a Pixie lives here, making a living off some ambient dumb fae magic. There's a little house you can only see if you have Mage Sight (or are a Gnome). If you knock on the door and are polite the pixie will come out and ask you if you've seen its mother/daughter/significant other/whatever relationships pixies have. If you confirm the dead Pixie in the blood pool spider nest [10] then the Pixie here will be sad but will offer to enchant a weapon (+1) or a party member (+1 max HP). That's about the limit of her powers unfortunately.

[16] Tar Pits
Most of this chamber is dominated by large sloped pits with bubbling tar from deep beneath the earth. Anyone who is thrown into one will almost certainly get sucked in and drown. The air here smells terrible. You could use the tar as a glue or throw in trash to get rid of it but that about is the limit of its usefulness.

Halfway slid down a tar pit; you'll find a small, humble silver wedding ring here. If you touch the tar trying to grab the ring directly it will take a turn for someone to pull you out and a lot of cussing and noise (random encounter roll). If you fail any roll associated with getting the ring, it slides into the tar and is lost forever.

[17] Carved Dinosaur Skull
Huge open-mouth dinosaur skull acts as a cool entrance to the remaining areas [18], [19], and [20]. If you strike the cracked tooth with a blunt weapon the skull will snap shut blocked off access to the deepest areas (or trapping you inside). Digging around the skull would be almost as hard as trying to chip your way through it.

If a Necromancer or sufficiently skilled Magic-User inspects the carvings they can learn a random 1st or 2nd level Necromancy spell. If you use a different magic system, +1 to Dinosaur spells or whatever.

[18] Sad Little Corner
There's a sad little dead body in the corner of a stone chamber, desiccated to bones and tatters. Just looking at it makes you feel sad. If you get close, you must make a morale check or start openly weeping, which gives you -2 to your attack rolls if you get into a fight right after this. Somebody has to succeed a morale check to inspect or move the body. The body contains a small silver blade carved with a moon crest; increase your damage with offensive spells by +1.

If you pick up the body and give it a proper burial somewhere nice (The Moss Chamber or the Mushroom Patch), you'll put the spirit to rest. All Wandering Encounter rolls of 1 are treated as safe instead. If you dispose of the body somewhere shitty like the tar pits or loot it without a burial you'll enrage the spirit instead.

[19] Rubble Ditch
Shallow incline that leads to a wall completely caved in and filled with rubble. Nearby on flat stone ground are the signs of weapons being sharpened, some casually tossed aside bones, and some smashed gambling dice after a losing game. All sure signs of Orcs. They seem to be gone now; back to the subterranean kingdoms from whence they came when there was nothing to plunder and no reason to guard this hole when a cave-in would suffice.

[20] The Black Altar
At the deepest point in the Drain is a black altar coated with slime and moss, hanging from the sides, black tar seeping in from the ceiling in slow droplets, black water bubbles around its base. All light sources are dimmer and darker in this room; torches become candles and candles become matchsticks. If you took the amulet from the cultist Chain-Ganger, you can put it here to properly complete their request and please their Gods. If you are suffering from a Curse, you get an extra saving throw to break it.

You can also drink from the black water below the Altar to pledge yourself to the Ones Beneath. From then on, you will feel a calling to the dark places of the world, and feel uncomfortable in the sunlight. If you choose to follow these new Gods and their whisperings you could unlock new powers stemming from the dark and cthonic, but your alignment shifts towards Chaos. Pledging yourself to these Gods allows you to drink this water as a healing tonic like a health potion. For Clerics of existing Gods or lawful character; this water burns their skin like Unholy Water. The bubbling water loses all special properties when taken above ground.

If you disrespect or desecrate this altar in some way, you will anger the Ones Beneath. Add +1 to all wandering encounter rolls while you remain in the Drain.

Wandering Encounters (Roll 1d6)
[1] Crying Ghost Girl (1 HD, +4 AC, Ethereal, Undead)
Doesn't attack and has no morale. You see the girl as a translucent blue-colored specter holding her face in her hands floating along, quietly sobbing. It's a ghost so she can't be hurt by normal weapons. Anyone who hears the ghost directly feels sad, and receives a negative -1 to their next Saving Throw or until they are cheered up. Any Turn Undead action causes her to disappear.

If you anger the spirit of the girl, the ghost will instead appear with a red color and the spirit attacks with tears streaming down its face. It gains +1 HD and deals 1d8+1 damage with her incorporeal hands, which cause lacerations to appear on your flesh as if from nothing. She will also give off a banshee scream once per time she is encountered where all your party members are stunned for one round and have to make another Wandering Monster encounter roll to see what the noise brought.

[2] Blood Drinking Spiders (1 HD, +2 AC, Bloodsucking attack 1d4+1)
Morale: 8
Number Appearing: 2d4+1

The adult version of the Blood Drinking Spiders, about as big as a housecat. They aren't especially aggressive, especially after feeding. After making a successful attack, the individual spider makes a morale check to run away and go spit the blood up in their blood pool spawning nest at [10]. The spiders heal 1 hit point each time they successfully drink blood from someone. They aren't very smart and will bite straight into metal shin guards or boots if you have them, causing their mouthparts to break and making them totally harmless.

[3] Roid Rat (1+1 HD, +2 AC, Stomp Attack 1d6 damage)
Morale: 7 or Fight Until Death
Number Appearing: 1d2

Strangely calm and docile albino cave dwelling rat. Doesn't have any interest in fighting and will run away if you make loud noise, but corner one or grab one and prepare for it to roid out and attack. Described in more detail at [11].

[4] Long Man (3 HD, +2 AC, Stomp Attack 1d6+1, Bite Attack 1d10+1 casts Web when at half HP)
Morale: 14
Number Appearing: Just one

Looks like a pale creepily elongated human man with no genitals. You get the feeling its something nameless and promethean. It doesn't bleed, and instead has some strange skin-colored goo inside of its body that leaks out in sticky strands. When it takes enough damage this spurts out over everyone close enough covering them in it and slowing their movement. Prefers to attack with legs that are as long as you are tall even though it has to unnaturally crouch down in these tunnels given its too tall for them.

It can also unhinge its jaw and open its mouth very wide to bite with big flat teeth; but it only does this against someone totally immobilized by its Webbing or something trying to grapple it up close. The first one of these you encounter will be missing a hand.

[5] Giant Mud Wasp (2 HD, +6 AC, Stinger Attack 1d6+1, Mild Poison causes nausea, calls reinforcements)
Morale: 16
Number Appearing: 1d2 and then way more

They can't see you and get disadvantage to attack you if you're covered in a good amount of mud or tar, but seriously, don't fight these. Won't chase you down since they're too busy scrapping in the mud to build a nest or whatever it is they do.

[6] Chain-Ghoul (2+1 HD, +4 AC, Chain whip attack 1d4+1, Chain wrapped claws at 1d6, Undead)
Morale: N/A
Number Appearing: 1d4

Body of a Chain-Ganger executed or fallen into the well and left to rot. Their corpse is puppeted by animated chains they are still bound by; they move around like Doctor Octopus from Spiderman. They attack with broken bits of chain and smack you with their claws that are wrapped in chains for more impact and are fierce. If multiple Chain-Ghouls are encountered at once, they are encountered chained together, and get slower for each one felled as the others have to drag its corpse around.

While I don't use Ghoul to mean D&Dism Ghoul Ghouls if you insist on giving them the D&D Ghoul paralysis thing then make it wrap people hit by it in chains if they fail the save instead since it's cooler.

If you spend a combat round unlocking their manacle using the Foreman's silver key [14] the ghouls instantly go limp and cease their undeath as their spirits are free. This roll requires you to either keep the ghouls still for one round, or have someone use a Slight-Of-Hand or Rogue skill to actually get the key in there.

[7] Dark Dwellers (5 HD, +4 AC, +2 To-Hit, 2d6 tentacle attack which entangle on any roll of 6, corrosive blood returns 1d2 damage blunt weapon attacks, pass thru matter, light sensitivity)
Morale: 17
Number Appearing: 2d4

Hulking and misshapen black figures from the unnamed places beneath the earth. Seem to be made of black tar and shadow. Attack with tentacles that spawn from random places on their body making their attacks difficult to deflect or dodge. When hit with blunt weapons or fists the struck body part bubbles up and then pops, releasing bubbling black water that burns (identical to [20]) your skin from its heat and corrosive shadow. Whenever their tentacles deal a maximum damage roll on either die, they entangle them in some tentacles. If one die rolls 6, they are partially entangled and can't move but can still fight back, if both roll a 6, they are totally entangled and can't do anything unless cut free.

The Dark Dwellers are agents of the Ones Beneath and have no interest in feeding or killing the party members for sport. Instead, they will attempt to kill whoever desecrated the sacred altar, or those aligned with the forces of the Sky or Light (Clerics of Sky Gods are hated almost as much as those who desecrate the altar). They're clever and won't fight endlessly; instead trying to wrap the offender up in their tentacles and then sink into the floor with them in tow never to be heard from again.

While extremely strong, the Dark Dwellers are weak to light. Torches and lanterns cause them to flinch back and attack at -2 to whoever holds them. Anything that produces light (glowing sword, firefly lantern, torch, etc.) deals damage either equal to a 1d6 sword OR deals +1 bonus damage, whichever is stronger. Intended to be a party wipe unless you have some amazing light sources (like a Light spell, or Flare, or a flask of sunlight or something) to even the odds.

Possible Outcomes
Because there is no direct end goal the main driving force for the party will be to find a way to escape the drain while playing nice with their unreliable and unhelpful superiors in the form of the chain-gangers, who are in turn enslaved by someone above them.

Possible methods to escape the Drain as written here are;

• Do enough favors to be lifted out of the hole by the Chain-Gang (only works for small characters; maybe the pixie can shrink you?) You'd still have to escape the ditch and guards afterwards
  
• Intentionally cause a cave-in which could open a way out onto the surface. Obviously, this has its own risks. I like to imagine monster hunters and the guards will come out to any open sink holes to make sure nothing crawled out to stalk the King's woods; would include outlaws like you or maybe they assume you're escaped Chain-Gangers.
  
• Survive in the drain long enough for the work to be completed and the water let into the canal. If this happens you'll be swept away into the great below and die unless you set up camp in the high point [4]. It will take at least a few days for the water to settle, and then you can swim up out of the hole if you can hold your breath long enough and remember the way. There won't be any guards waiting for you because nobody is expecting a bunch of outlaws to surface in a giant farming irrigation canal.
• Break open the rock wall at [19] and enter the Underdark. Not technically escaping to the surface but you're bound to find another way back up eventually. This would either take explosives (the fulminate) or several days of hard labor. You'd still need to supply this work with food from the Chain-Gangers and new tools. Assume 1d2 tools break per day while digging through the stone, everyone working on it needs double rations, and it takes ~250 man hours to complete (three strong men working twelve hours a day a week could clear it, add an extra hour of work completed per strength modifier or if you have extra tools)
  
• Align yourself with the Ones Beneath. While this would help you survive or do do other tasks or missions, I imagine having enough favor with them or one night before the whole cave floods you get a premonition that you can safely enter the tar pits at [16] to be sucked away to some other subterranean realm or the Underdark. If you haven't pledged your soul to the Ones Beneath and are just tagging along to the party then make a save or die. I think the idea of one party member being the chosen mud messiah only for half of party to die when they try their stupid plan to trust the dark gods who hate the sun.
  

Note: Only after writing this did I realize that I wrote a similar set up for the Massacre at Slave Creek which featured similar factions. I actually think this works out better because this adventure almost perfectly fits into the next if the Chain-Gang manages to escape or rise up against their captors, or if the players exacerbating the tensions so badly the guards begin a massacre to kick off those events.

Adventure from a Picture- Strange Beautiful Light

I've done magic spells based on albums and their artworks before. In those cases, if the artwork looks cool, I'll be inspired to listen to the songs of the album, using their names as spell names, and going where the music takes me. Terrible cliche and pretentious I know, but no album art has inspried a real sense of fantasy adventure in me; until this one. Take it from me, I did not expect it to be from a band named Weed Smoke Rising.

Art & Inspiration from this album

Strange Beautiful Light
In the valley of our lady, stands a great statue to her honor. The lady was a fantastic hero, perhaps a goddess, who once carried a lantern. Maybe she ferried slaves to safety along an underground railroad. Maybe she was the first cleric of the light, or is some kind of lanternkeeper/firekeeper Dark Souls knockoff. Regardless of the reason, she is honored here.

However, a great treasure from the lady's tomb has been taken. Her death mask, golden and unchanged by time, was taken from her corpse that lays within the consecrated church on the hill. Her body, once pristine and impervious to rot and decay, has now lost its supernatural protection. You must return the death mask to her corpse before necrosis begins to destroy the last remains of a great hero.

The most likely suspect to the robbery is a powerful mage- once a friend of the lady, now jealous and depraved. The lady's light-bearing lantern, her greatest symbol, was actually forged by this mage to be immune to wind and rain, to cast supernatural light that blasted apart the undead, and protected from dark sorcery all who lay within the lantern's rays. Of course, where he is and, more importantly, where the mask is now is a mystery you must solve.

The Statue
The statue of the lady is a huge stone construction, well detailed, and true to life beyond its epic scale. The large lantern she holds glows with an unnatural light at all times, though it only becomes truly visible at night or on an overcast day. This lantern is the same one she carried in days of yore, though it has been magically transformed into a huge stone and class chamber suspended from the statue. Travel and camp in this valley is extremely safe, because of the light- it automatically turns the undead, stops evil spells, and makes creatures of chaos vulnerable to attack. The lady's light can be used as a holy symbol for cleric meditation or spell preparation for any clerics of light. 

The first time anyone sees the Strange Beautiful Light, they are fascinated for about an exploration turn, staring at the light's beauty before snapping out of it.

The statue itself is apparently a great stone construction, and has no doors or openings to enter. The statue could be climbed by a very skilled thief or a powerful magician.

The Church Tomb
In the basement of the small church is a tomb. Surrounded on all sides by stone walls with only one stairway down, guarded by heavy oak doors, it is clear magic was used to steal the death mask.

The church tomb is a small five room dungeon inhabited by 2d6 skeleton warriors. They have colorful painted bones and were once the protectors and lovers of The Lady. Normally, these skeletons stay still and silent, happily guarding the tomb forever, but have become animated and attack anyone who enters the tomb. Successful rolls of Turn Undead cause them to go back to sleep for 1d6 turns, and if the result is Destroyed, these skeletons instead go back to sleep until something else is stolen from the tomb; these are holy guardians, not the creations of foul necromancy, so holy magic does not burn them.

There is also a silver line "trap" on the floor that, if crossed, causes a bell in the church to chime softly. This also was not triggered on the night of the theft; hence why the wizard is such a prime suspect.

Searching The Lady's casket, one can see how perfectly preserved her body is, and the faint outline of a mask that was once pressed down on her face. If you examine the area for clues, you can find a feather and a small amount of arcane dust. You can also loot a few other pieces of jewelry and treasure here, but they belong to the lady or are the heirlooms of the wealthiest families from the nearby village and the priest would be very cross with you.

The Lake
In the center of the valley is a small watering hole built up by the rains. The water here is clean and this place can be used as a resting spot. It is about equidistant from everything else.

There is nothing special about this lake but if you sleep on the side of the bank not shrouded by the statue's light; your party has a 1 in 6 chance to be attacked by a gang of fish people (or Kuo-Toa). They are led by a 3 HD sorcerer whose favorite spell is Acid Fog. He'll cast it on the shore so you're forced to fight waist deep in water or run away.

The Roaring Recess
Framed by a great roaring stone mouth, the fearsome gateway is said to scare away evil spirits and protects the foundations of the great statue of the lady. This is the main dungeon. I don't have a map for it, so you'll have to supply one yourself. Just insert a funhouse dungeon you like, or go use donjon and generate a new one. Should be full of generic monsters, traps, magic, and a bit of loot.

Just add the following feature to empty rooms- metallic bird statuettes. Each statuette is located on a stone plinth and is protected by a magical trap. Roll on your favorite spell failure table or random spell list to generate a fitting trap. There are four birds and each is made of a different metal; lead, copper, silver, and gold.

The dungeon also has a secret entrance or exit to properly jaquay the dungeon. Roll a 1d6 to find out where it comes out.

1. Secret door at the base of the Lady's Statue
2. Tunnel connected to underwater cave in the lake 
3. Behind some random rock on the hillside of the dungeon mound
   
4. Very long escape tunnel built into the tomb of the church
5. Secret door along wall of the tower's basement (requires Lead Bird to access)
6. One-way exit from the dungeon; teleport tile makes you appear in the middle of the valley
   

The Tower
This crumbled wizard's tower stands in the dark part of the valley; its view to the Strange Beautiful Light cut off by the body of the statue. It appears as only the ruined base of the tower, with steps that extend and curve into nothing around a central support pillar. If you begin to climb the steps, you can sense strong magic in the air and can see a scrawled drawing of a bird on a pillar. If you continue climbing and follow the steps around the curve, you disappear and end up in an alternate pocket dimension.

The "Tower" dimension is a very dark place shrouded in shadows. The way you came is also gone; you are stuck on an endlessly repeating stairwell. If you go up or down the stairwell, every exploration turn of climbing or descending makes you end up on a large stone landing. This space is wide enough to sleep or rest, and has windows that show the black smoke, but no doors or side rooms. Once you are within the tower dimension, you are trapped and cannot escape. No matter how many flights of stairs you climb in either direction, it repeats endlessly. If the party spends more then 4-5 turns climbing or descending, they become exhausted and get -1 on all combat checks and saves. Jumping out the window is also no escape- you will fall forever through the shadow realm!

However, it's not so inescapable. If you fall from the window or are on any landing, you can look out of a window and see the Strange Beautiful Light from any distance. Characters who stare at the light feel like its guiding them to safety- and if they stare at it for a turn, they are whisked away from the shadowy tower dimension and find themselves back in the realm world, at the base of the statue of The Lady. The only way to access the rooms of the tower are to posses the bird statues, kept away for safe keeping within the Roaring Recess.

Bird Rooms
Each room can only be accessed by its matching bird statuette. However, it may also be possible to bypass these with enough luck or circumstance. If your fighter belongs to a foppish order of knights that adorns their helmets with hummingbirds made of iron, then perhaps you can find the lead door without needing the statuette. Maybe if your party carries around a little yellow canary in a cage to detect poisonous gas; you can find the golden door and the wizard's lair on your first visit. Why not?

Lead Room- Requires the lead bird, and is the only room found if you travel down the staircase from the "entrance". The lead door will appear on the first landing you reach traveling down. As the door is made of lead, it's incredibly heavy and requires someone of 18 Strength to pull open, or a team of people and a lot of patience.

The lead room is a storage room, especially for failed experiments. Because of how annoying it is to get to this room, it is rarely used by the Wizard and the whole thing is covered in a layer of dust. The room is filled with small displays, boxes, disorganized piles of books, and oversized taxidermist monsters looming in the darkness. If you mess with anything roll 1 in 6 for a random monster encounter- the monsters coming out of whatever thing you bumped or animating from the stuffed corpses.

If the party fights two encounters or searches this room thoroughly for a while; they'll eventually find a little locked lead box with an Amulet of Protection within. This amulet makes it so you always succeed your saves vs spells, wands, and magic devices. The amulet almost certainly belonged to The Lady and the Wizard was unable to find a way to destroy it, so locked it away.

Copper Room- Requires the copper bird, and will be the first door you come to after one turn of walking up the tower's steps. The copper door leads to a set of three hallways with more copper doors leading to small rooms. The floor of this level is made of stone, but a long single piece of copper flooring connects every room and crosses under every doorway; stopping only at the main door to enter this room. The end of each hall spits out into a large common room with a huge table for meals and adjoining kitchen and pantry.

This was once a servant's quarters, or perhaps barracks for The Wizard's apprentices. Around this floor are several traps in the form of electrical devices, or electric eels in water urns in the kitchen. If any of this hits the copper floor, it will shock anyone in the hallway or touching a door for 1d6 lightning damage. If you are in a room when this happens, you can't open the door without getting shocked. One room has an almost complete demonic summoning circle underneath the bed; if the players complete it with the red chalk in that apprentice's room, the circle spits out 50 1 HD imps, two at a time, until the floor is totally overrun. Yes, you are supposed to zap all of them if you want a chance. One room also contains a 4 HD minotaur barbarian, napping peacefully under the effects of a permanent sleeping spell. The wizard intends to make him solve mazes- if he ever gets around to building one. If you wake him up he'll assume you're working for the wizard and attack with his battleaxe.

Silver Room- Requires the silver bird. The wizard's private quarters. The doorway is magical and makes the sound of a chime when opened. Since it's made of silver, it also bares passage to lycanthropes and magical creatures like faeries, who cannot pass through even if held open by something else. The doorway opens into a circular chamber with two curved doors and four windows. Each window looks out onto a beautiful vista of a random far away place in a different season- one summer field, one autumn forest, one winter lake, etc. Each one of these places is actually another pocket dimension, and getting shunted out of a window traps you in a strange wilderness; but you can return to the valley of the lady by looking up into the sky and seeing that Strange Beautiful Light once again.

The central room is a sitting room and living space, with a desk and writing table. Crammed in the fireplace is a cauldron too big for it. There is a tiny switch that turns on the fire; it is a magical golden flame that warms and heats, but does not hurt living flesh. It deals double damage a fire of that size would deal to undead creatures. The candles and lanterns of this tower are lit with its golden radiance.

The two doors lead into a bathroom and a bedroom. The bathroom has a waterfall "cut out" from another place, with rocks and lichen growing on the stones roughly inserted into this room. Occasionally, a fish or random animal will fall down the waterfall and exit out the bottom- a grate covers an exit portal. There is also a small toilet in this room with a portal to dispose of waste.

There is a 1 in 6 chance that the Wizard is in his chambers when you visit. Because the door alerts the occupant that somebody is coming, you won't find him sleeping or on the toilet or anything UNLESS you dispel the door first, or have some kind of magical super-thief that can slip under doorways or something. In which case you could probably just stab him in his sleep. Scattered around this place are several expensive pieces of jewelry and a small hoard of silver coins. On the desk is a small glass prism with a blue tint- it glows a deeper shade of blue whenever a Wizard touches it. This is a major magic item called a Spell Prism that can split magical effects into multiple smaller copies- such as a fireball being turned into a bunch of 1d6 mini fireballs if the spell is cast directly on the prism itself. The prism is invulnerable.

Golden Room- Requires the golden bird and is the last door you will find while going up the magic tower. The door is enchanted and will cast a save or die curse on anyone who touches it without the wizard's permission. It is possible to "trick" this door if you are dressed up as the wizard, or are carrying one of his special artifacts.

This door leads to a magical workshop. It is a rectangular room with several tables and large, esoteric arcane machines. The wizard is here almost all of the time. Several half-finished magic items litter the tables, and many gemstones and magical reagents are scattered among the shelves on the sides. On the close end of the room is a huge glass orb, similar to a bubblegum machine, filled to the prim with lightly glowing marbles of a million different colors. On the far end of the room is a large window which shows a view to the actual valley from the vantage of where the tower and this floor would exist in the real world- and the back of the statue of The Lady and the ominous Strange Beautiful Light. just behind her arm.

If you get into a fight in this room, the wizard will engage you. If you tip over or break the marble jar, all hell breaks loose as a random magical effect goes off every round.

At the base of the window is the golden Death Mask of the Lady. Whenever the Wizard leaves this room, he conjures a magical glass case over it to protect it. If you touch the glass case, it shrieks like a banshee and explodes, dealing 1d8 damage and instantly alerting the Wizard wherever he is.

The Wizard
The Wizard was once a companion to the Lady. He made the magical lantern of light that made her so famous, but it became her symbol, not his. It was so much thought to be hers that once she died, it was magically bound to her statue and soul, meaning he could not take it back. In jealousy, he began to hate the Lady and the people of this town, and hid his tower away with his magic. He's not evil yet- his alignment would probably be neutral at this point. If he starts killing people to keep hold of the mask, he will certainly become more depraved. The Wizard could probably be reasoned with; but he's likely to lash out at anyone trying to steal the mask with spell and fury.

After finishing his lastest great work of artifice, the Wizard realized he could steal the Death Mask and use it in a magical ritual to return the light to him. If you don't stop him, he will perform a ritual at the foot of the state of The Lady and absorb the light; gaining +1 HD and the power of a Limited Wish spell as a daily power.

Give the Wizard stats equal to a level 20 or name level Wizard. He's an archmage and pretty scary. However, he casts spells as though he was a few levels weaker. That's because he both drained some of his power to create the light AND his specialty was always the creation of magic items, not spellcasting. The wizard once had to use the four metal birds to access his own tower, but once he completed his great work, he no longer needed them and put them in the Roaring Recess for safekeeping. The Wizard always carries three of his great works;

The Coring Tool
Looks like a metallic wand with a button on the side. Can be stuck in something to take out a portion of its magic or enchantments on it. Things like water, stone, or the earth can just be stuck, where as creatures would need to be hit with an attack roll. This tool crystalizes a portion of the magical essence into a tiny marble. These marbles are used by the Wizard and his machines to transfer or craft magical essences.

The Tileothfric
Small finely crafted wooden box with dozens of ivory tiles within. Each tile is double sided and has a character of Angelic script on one side and another character of Infernal on the other. If these tiles are laid out before a magical item, the will scramble up and reveal the enchantment or magical effect of the item- good effects will flip the tiles to the Angelic side to be named, and cursed or destructive magic effects flip to the Infernal side to reveal themselves. Essentially it allows you to identify magic items as long as you know Angelic for positive effects and/or Infernal.

Ring of Transportation
This magic ring is the Wizard's greatest creation. It looks like a golden band, with the engraving of a bird in flight along its length. As long as you wear this ring, you can teleport to any location you can think of. You have to either have visited that place before, or be able to envision it; some sort of knowledge of the place, however tertiary, is required. Every time you use this ring, it leaves behind a feather. It also grants the power of the Flight spell on the wearer at all times at will, even after all the charges of the ring have been used up.

The ring has about four charges remaining.

Storylines & Conclusion

If the party kills the Wizard and returns the Death Mask, they will be paid a pittance by the church, but are local heroes. (And can still steal everything in the Wizard's tower) The one who places the death mask on the corpse of The Lady will be rewarded by being able to conjure the Strange Beautiful Light once per day. This light grants a roll of Turn Undead equal to a Cleric one level higher then the character, cancels ongoing magic effects cast by evil beings, counts as a light spell for one exploration turn, and can also Charm Person if shown to someone who has never seen it before. Additionally, the Strange Beautiful Light stays where it is, keeping this valley as a safe place.

If the party kills the Wizard but do not return the Death Mask, they can instead choose to try and steal the Strange Beautiful Light for themselves. Stealing the light requires a bit of research and a ritual to be cast at the foot of the statue of the lady. Whoever steals the light gets +1 HD and the ability to cast a Limited Wish once per day. If the "power" of the light is shared among the whole group using the Spell Prism, each party member can reroll their HD and take the new result if higher, gets +1 to their highest ability score, AND gets the ability to cast one 1st level spell once per day for free, regardless of their class. The spell they can cast is determined randomly.

If the party tries to ransom the mask back to the church for a bigger payout, or stick around in the valley a few months after the light is gone, they will be hunted by a squad of Paladins.

If the party helps the Wizard he will reward them with a fitting magic item, one per party member. The fighter will be given a +1 magic sword, the thief a cloak of shadows, etc. He'll probably give them something out of storage then commission something new- but he has plenty. Under no circumstances will he give anyone the Amulet of Protection.

If the party convinces or threatens the Wizard into giving up, he'll begrudgingly return the mask in exchange for all four of his statuettes back before kicking them out of his tower. However, it is not easy to threaten a Wizard, and anything you have to offer in exchange will have to be either very valuable or very magically important- he'll gladly give up the mask in exchange for a genie, for example.

If the party interrupts the Wizard's ritual to steal the light he will summon monsters to try and stall them. He'll also probably fly up to finish the ritual in the air out of reach. If he is struck with an arrow or other ranged attack, he'll fail the ritual and be burned alive by the light- taking 4d10 damage. If he survives, he'll teleport away and leave a single feather behind- but not in his tower. He will retreat to a far away elvish land to nurse his wounds and scheme.

If the party does nothing or fails to stop the Wizard in time, he'll probably just ignore them and lord over this valley. His magic tower will be returned from its pocket dimension and he'll recruit a small army of chaotic creatures to do his bidding. By the end of the first year; he'll have torn down the statue of The Lady, have shifted fully to an evil alignment, and be well on his way to researching spells to make him into a God.

If the light goes out for any of the reasons above; the statue's protective powers will fade away. After a few weeks, the fish people will begin attacking people who pass by, goblins will begin to hunt the mountainsides, and eventually more powerful evil creatures will come as well bringing darkness and fear to the people. This also means the dimension of the tower will be permanently separated from the prime material plane; meaning anyone who enters will be trapped there unless if they have the Ring of Transportation or some other highly powerful magic ability to escape the tower.

Caldera Men

The Caldera Men live around the inner sea/lake/swamp of the greatest caldera in the world- the mouth of the Firespear Mountain. Once the biggest and most most murderous volcanoes in the world, Firespear Mountain was finally silenced by a very powerful Sorceress. The active volcano was quieted with a powerful spell, stopped killing people, and since then the rain has filled the massive ashy hole with water. Life has grown around here- once untamed, now treasured.

This oasis, also known as Firespear Caldera, is one of the only sources of water and life in the blasted hellscape of the Firespear Wastes. It is incredibly fertile. The water mixed with the volcanic ash to create a beautiful sludge- almost any bit of seed or grain placed here will begin to sprout in but moments and will lead to a huge and healthy plant. But this is not a history lesson, nor is it a course on natural philosophy. This is about the men who live there.

Nobody likes the Caldera Men.

Caldera Men

They are roughly the size of a human, but fatter in the middle and more slender in the limbs. Their faces are tall and totemesque. They have yellow skin with gray patches of “ash” that is genetic. The offspring of any couple will have this “ash” of their parents, so a father with ash on his right arm and a mother with ash on her left arm will have a child with ash on both arms, or perhaps on their chest as though the ashes are combining together. It's a dominant trait, so only a few of the Caldera People are pure yellow anymore- it is a sign of exclusive and high breeding, but it is not as respected as “ashy” warriors whose whole body can blend in easier with the wastes around the Firespear Caldera. They are not especially strong and agile, but they are hardy enough.

Additionally, they have heads covered in stones. These “stones” pressed into their formative skulls as young babies- they are stuck in the skin, absorbed, blood vessels grow into these stones. They become a part of themselves as much as a horn of a rhino or the scales of a dragon. It seems the Gods saw it fit to give them this skill to harden their skulls for two purposes- the first is to avoid being too badly hurt by falls around the rocky cliffs of their lands, and the second is to dive faster and deeper in the great Firespear Caldera's deep black pool.

Obsidian blades are very common in their culture- though they have mastered many forms of metal working. They prefer to use obsidian for cooking knives, razors, assassin tools, and the odd arrow heads, but use iron and steel tools for weapons, which are more reliable especially on campaign away from their mountainous homes. Essentially; stat them as bandits with chainmail.

Firespear Caldera

The caldera itself is a natural wonder. It is huge, the largest in the world, and the volcanic ash has made it especially fertile. While it is quite large and fecund, it still is among the only source of life in the region where it is located, and it is essentially the only source of food and water for the race that live within it. For this reason, it is heavily guarded. Small structures, fences, and many ridges and empty trenches dash the landscape leading up to the volcano (these trenches also act as a last ditch effort to catch some of the precious water in the event of a massive tremor that breaks the caldera's walls and causes mass flooding). The entire mountain itself is inhabited with the many estates and homes of the various Caldera Men. The volcanic soil is home to a few small crop farms- but not nearly enough to feed the many that make up their number. They are very vigilant, and will slay or capture any outsiders who even enter their valley- hence why nobody likes them.

The caldera is defined as the explosive cavity left after a volcanic eruption. It is shaped in three dimensional space like a cauldron; a wide rim, buckling outwards, and then thinning again towards the bottom in the shape of a rough, squashed sphere. The Firespear Caldera where the Caldera Men live is the same; but developed. The majority of their population does not live on the sides of the volcano, or in the lands scattering around. They live inside the caldera's lake. The massive pool of water is like a ringed city- chambers and homes are carved into the sides of the water. If one was to dive into it- they would see the expanse go out before them in all directions and then, feel the total stillness. The caldera was never connected to the lake or ocean- there are no fish that naturally life here. It is totally silent and still; you would feel like you are being watched. And that's because you would be- Only the massive, artificial kelp and freshwater corals that act as the true farms of the Caldera Men are alive down here, except for the Caldera Men themselves. There are more living in this water then anywhere on the sides of the mountain. They cannot breathe under water.

This massive space is cultivated and orderly to a fault. The Caldera Men make every single use of available area- the farms are floating on many levels. Most of the top of the caldera is dedicated to long growing plants requiring the most sunlight- their broad water leaves make a canopy of green light that penetrates a bit deeper into the caldera. The middle and broadest part of the caldera is where the corpse garden is- and that is the true darkness of the Caldera Men. And once again; why nobody likes them. The bottom of the caldera is very dark; muscles grow on vertical pillars that rest on a field of rich mud. This mud is dragged up for use of farming on the surface- but it is also used as the location for the Caldera Men's most hidden members.

This 'corpse garden' is where most of the outsiders and members of other races who end up in the Caldera Men's clutches end up. They are forced to drink salt water from “Breathless Urns”- salt water must be carried by hand over a hundred miles to the ocean, and then the outsiders are drowned. Pulled into the water, they cannot breathe and the salt water within them preserves their body. The salt water is also denser then the fresh water of the caldera, keeping their body neutrally buoyant. They are lined in rows- sometimes according to height or their species, and forced to hold hands long after death. These long daisy-chains of dead bodies are then violated by seeds shoved in their mouth, ears, nose, and anus or the sex organs. These seeds grow fierce underwater vines that grow murky corpse fruit by consuming the bodies- slowly breaking them down even as they are frozen in place. Despite the grotesque nature of this use of the corpses of intelligent people; the Caldera Men have them right outside their front doors of their underwater homes. There are thousands of corpses here- the source of the Caldera's nutrient wealth and a huge portion of the Caldera Men's food production. While it is not cannibalism, most races consider them only one step above it.

Caldera Men Society

The Caldera Men are an odd society. They focus on excellence, especially in military pursuits, magic, and growing food first and foremost. They are also almost entirely meritocratic- they do not have a royal family but instead a rotating position of powerful warriors and magicians elected by council and proving themselves in contests of skill and strength. Then, these members are advised by an elusive order of deep priests. These priests live in the mud of the deepest part of the Firespear Caldera- an entire world can be found by digging in that ultra fertile soil, and these rare priests only leave it occasionally to advise the rulers on the best course of action for spiritual matters.

The Caldera Men are a relatively advanced society- capable of metallurgy and large scale agriculture in their small home, but they barely wear clothes. The ones who live within the caldera's lake itself go around naked, except for women who are pregnant, which cover their developing baby with a large board leaf grown near the upper layers of the Caldera lake for just such a purpose. Those who live out of water wear simple loincloths made a lizard skin. The lizards are the closest thing to livestock the Caldera Men have; they are wild but certain families will claim ownership over the fattest lizards and allow them to grow as big as they can- passed from father to son like any inheritance. When one of these huge lizards is harvested there will be a small feast in celebration, and the precious skin will be taken to be made into leather. This lizard leather is used to make a black smith's apron; because it takes about eight lizards to make an apron and the Caldera Men society only allows those with one to practice the craft; this has become a mechanism for control. Basically the only way to become a blacksmith is to be born one and inherit an apron, or be sponsored by a wealthy and powerful Caldera Man to have one made for yourself. As blacksmithing is a lucrative career, this means that only a few can pursue it while most are stuck making food and capturing outsiders as professional warriors- this keeps the Caldera People fed, and is overall a more important profession.

Warriors of their society wear armor on their naked skin- one reason as they why they are able to compete with other cultures despite their apparent resource scarcity is because of their natural advantage of having a rock-hard helmet freely from biology. The handles of axes, swords, and maces are all made with decently long femurs taken from the corpse garden. Poorer warriors wear mail dresses made of the shells of the deep oysters from the Caldera lake. The richest and most powerful warriors in their society have a strange cultural obsession with the concept of flaming armor; some get theirs enchanted with ever-burning flaming magic from those that live within the deepest parts of Firespear Caldera.

Like many societies in Allwonder, the roles of men and women are segregated- but not considered unequal. Men in their society focus on physical strength and warfare, where as women are taught the secrets of healing and the magic of water and earth for both offensive and defense. This way, both sexes make up important and necessary roles to protect their lands from invasion. During peace, both are expected to take up equal roles farming and child raising. Food is precious, and as such parents are expected to produce only high quality children- daily training drills and heavy competition among siblings are common. Often, Caldera Men families will dispose of the lesser of two twins or killing two of three triplets- this pedicide has caused them to see twins of other races or cultures as being cursed or unnatural in some way.

Oddly, the Caldera Men have an unusual social role for those who fall outside of the normal gender spectrum- the transsexual or genderqueer Caldera Men are considered a sort of mystic sect by the others of their race. They take vows of celibacy and let go of all physical property and social ties to retreat into the mud at the base of the great caldera- there they are taught the secrets of fire magic, and tend to the fading soul of the great Firespear. These become the priests and advisers, and are thought to have special sight and powers from their ambiguous nature.

When it comes to their dealings with other races; the Caldera Men are simple and straight forward. They kill anyone they can get away with- merchants, diplomats, wandering mystics, and adventurers. Whenever faced with a large military force, they will begrudgingly accept talks or barter, but are considered too dangerous and difficult to invade, especially given nobody knows just how many live under the still waters of that dead volcano.

Soul of Firespear

The Firespear Volcano was the biggest in the world. It didn't erupt all at once however, there was no great cataclysm. It was inhabited by a spirit- Firespear. Firespear was a great spirit. It's mountain was its home, and every day it bubbled hot magma and sent up clouds of ash and steam. The volcano was always active- and Firespear threw balls of fire far into the sky and down again- burning anything that came close. For plants and physical objects, bolts of flame were enough. But for living things? The bolts turned into burning hot, red spears that pierced their bodies, cooling on their blood. These spears became the Red Caldera Spears- there are a few dozen out in the world today. They are moderately powerful magic items. In the mud of the Caldera itself? There are thousands of them. Enough for an army and to defend the Caldera Men- or start a conquest of their own.

Every place nearby the mountain was under attack constantly- it was a disaster in slow motion. The spirit would whisper to the winds to send its fire farther, or ball up its heat into a magma ball and send it boiling down a river to ignite a swamp. It was hungry to burn. The constant hazard meant everyone had to stay away from Firespear- until it was quieted. Firespear shriveled up until it became small- small for a God.

It is the size of a sleeping bear, a heated lump of fire. Firespear is formless, genderless, and mindless. It is for this reason that hermaphrodites and the in-between of the Caldera People are considered sacred- it is an aspect of their God that is above and beyond normal mortal life. The chamber it is within is made of mud- so cooked by its endless inner flames that the walls have been fired into ceramic, hardened clay. The Caldera Men are its servants- they wish to speak to and know more about this enigmatic entity- but it is silent. By staring into its flames, a mortal mind is opened and unlocks the secrets of fire. The magic of water is taught from mother to daughter by the Caldera Men- but fire? Fire is learned by staring directly into the soul of a spirit.

The soul of Firespear dwindles, as though it is losing itself in its heat and deeply buried under the mountain of water just above it. The priests of the Caldera Men tend to it however they can; they fan its body to feed it air. They bring it sacred wood, which is any wood really since none of it grows around the volcano, and sink it into its form so it may consume it. They have a canal in the floor where lamp oil is steadily dripped- flowing into the body of Firespear as though it was life giving water, but for a living lump of flame instead. Occasionally it shifts in place; maybe lengths above it the water boils spontaneously, rising heated bubbles of steam to the surface of the caldera's pool. The priests examine the burns on the bodies of the victims of these random, thoughtless eruptions to divine the will of their sleeping God.

Temples of Mud

At the bottom of the caldera, past the corpse gardens and past the stone pillars crowded with muscles, there is a thick floor of mud. It is incredibly silty, rich, and very fertile. The mud is also the entrance to the underground temple. All of it. In order to enter the secret Firespear Temple; one must press themselves against this mud, lightly swimming down or having gravity push you through it. It takes two turns to fully sink in, and after the first turn you're stuck in place until you move through. As such, this is a final layer of defense for the temple against invaders; most mortal races can hardly hold their breath for a few minutes, much less half an hour or more like the Caldera Men can.

Once you have sunk through this floor of mud, you enter the temple through the ceiling at the corresponding location. It is for this reason that the top floor of the temple is a sprawling maze with no valuable rooms or items behind closed doors- too easy to sneak in from the mud. At least for the Caldera People. You can go back up through the ceiling in the same manner. Those who know the thin spots can even pass through walls here- pressing sideways until you slip through a wall, as it closes behind you in perfect repair. Passing through a wall takes 1 turn for a thin spot, 2 turns for a thick spot, and if you accidentally try to pass through a border wall or into a filled in “square” on the dungeon map, you are trapped within pure, thick mud that entombs you forever.

To enter the temple without an invitation is considered very rude, if not sacrilegious. Caldera Men only enter the temple for special duties, or for a magical or religious crisis. Like many societies, magic and religion are one in the same.

The Firespear Temple is made of hardened mud, the floor is warm and gets hotter the deeper you go- as you get ever closer to the burning soul of Firespear below. The walls are made of mud as well, shaped and kept in place by the pressure of the great stone pillars just above it. Everything is built as an arch; a technique perfected by the early Caldera Men to keep the temple's rooms from being crushed or bubbling up or below each other. The floors are patrolled not just be the temple adherents, the fire speakers, but also strange monsters that live in the mud. Lungfish as big as dogs, long deactivated crab golems, which will rise again if the symbols on their back have the mud wiped clean. The bones of uncountable thousands of victims to the corpse gardens are piled here, sometimes their angry spirits rise again as the undead without the Caldera Men even knowing of it.

The deeper you go in the temple, the darker and more humid it becomes. Water seeps through the roof and pools in the divots in the floor, like this whole place is just a filter-feeder itself. The air is so impossibly thick with moisture that if you flee from a combat, the party must spend a whole turn panting and catching their breath from how much water is in the air. For those who can breathe water, this does not apply. Indeed, the deepest parts of the temple are more closely aligned with the powers of fire over water and earth. The deep temple fire-speakers defend the holy place from intruders with sweeping robes of old lizard skin. They wear helmets made of clay, fired by the heat of their God's moaning, rolling madness, and cast magical fire upon you. The tunnels are lined with bones to help support the roof and keep out the water as it pools higher and higher at the deepest parts- metal is used here as well, scribbled with hundreds of names and wishes as it bolsters the way to the spirit's chamber. Even if you can past these defenses, the Soul of Firespear itself is a terrible foe if it was roused.

But even thus; there is opportunity here. Opportunity for adventure and treasure. Somewhere in this muddy temple is a storeroom which holds hundreds of Red Caldera Spears- magic items that could make you rich if you can bring back enough of them. Many also imagine a huge room filled with treasure from the surface- the lives ended by the Caldera Men must have been carrying some valuables sealed away down here, right? After the number they have slain, surely there must be a treasure hoard to rival that of a dragon at this point. Ancient clay tablets, fired with the knowledge of ancient magic could be found among the records, and magic suits of armor being enchanted by the priests could also be stolen away- rough in construction, strong in application. Finally, while few even know of the great spirit Firespear's existence, those who do say that one could slay the volcanic spirit to steal a portion of its godsoul, its divine spark, and instill it into oneself to become immortal, or at least, powerful beyond any dream.

Brigand Woods Encounters

Brigand Woods Encounters

For DIY Adventurers

[1] The forgotten graveyard. Built centuries ago; its headstones are faded but the magic remains. The holy men of the past buried their faithful dead here, and it has become hallowed ground. The Undead cannot enter this place, and Clerics treat their spells as though they were two levels higher while within the graveyard.

[2] While crossing between two trees, you feel as though something is watching you. There is a Hide Behind that follows you from now until the next dawn. The Hide Behind is not aggressive and is not dangerous unless you are alone. It looks like a shaggy black dog on its hind legs that peeks out from between trees, and disappears the moment you look at it.

If the character is ever separated from their party, they take an attack that deals 1d12 damage from a bite to the back of the head. The creature will make one bite, then disappear. If the character dies, then the Hide Behind will return to haunt the second character who went through the two trees, and so on.

[3] Bandit Ambush. There are many gangs and groups of merry-men in these woods; roll on the Random Gang Table at the end of this document to determine which one attacks.

This group prefers not to fight and will shoot warning shots with a bow for intimidation only; then they will offer a chance to surrender half of your gold in exchange for being allowed to pass on. They hide in the trees just off the road on both sides. An elf can detect them on a 2 in 6 chance.

[4] The Campfire. The warm glow of this fire can be seen through the trees, nobody is around it and nobody will bother you if you rest here. The fire has a low pink flame and a small stone pillar with a golden ring stands in its center, as though the fire was built around it. The campfire is a local legend in the woods, it is the fire of life and protection. Those who rest around it will wake up healed 1d6 hit points. Every night the pillar-fire disappears and reappears at a new location, always in the path of wandering and wounded travelers.

You can also steal the golden ring, this will deal 1d6 fire damage as the hot metal burns your hand. If you steal the ring, the magical fire will never be found by you again, but the ring is worth 200c

[5] There is a man with a goat-head mask making loud chanting noises on the road. He offers pickeled goat testicles to anyone who walks by. There is only a 1 in 4 chance he's actually a cultist; he's almost certainly a bandit getting initiated or hazed in. Nearby, 1d4 bandits watch and giggle.

[6] Forest Ruins. Appears on an overgrown forest stream; looks like an old mill house. Old water wheel is busted, the trees and ivy had entangled the whole place making it almost invisible from a distance.

The old house could be used as cover, the babbling stream masks some noise, and is not visited often by bandits or wildlife due to its danger. Your chance of a wandering encounter here is lowered to 1 in 10 instead of 1 in 6.

The walls here grow a dangerous plant called Slumbering Snatchvine, which is a hearty green plant with blue flowers. If anyone remains slow or motionless for about exploration turn (such as when sleeping or receiving medical help), the vines will creep onto them and attempt to strangle.

Slumbering Snatchvine (4+4 HD, +2 to hit, -2 AC, three strangling attacks at 1d6+1 each, weak to fire)

Morale- N/A

Numbers- Just one

The Snatchvine is a carnivorous plant that kills creatures and places them around its roots for use as fertilizer. It only attacks things that it senses are incapacitated or things that move slowly, as it doesn't want to attack a fast creature that could rip out its leaves and vines. You can get a clue of what this creature is like by looking at the remains around the floor of the mill house- bones of sleeping people and empty tortoise shells, but rabbits and birds live around the house without issue.

Additionally; there is a hidden treasure just beneath the heavy millstone of the house. The heavy stone requires at least 6 men of average strength to lift it. Underneath is a bag contained two small gold bars worth 5000c each.

[7] Overturned carriage by the side of the road. Left over from a bandit ambush. No survivors, except one extremely pissed off black tortoise that is stomping into the woods. The party will see him if they make an immediate search of the surrounding area.

The carriage contains a few dead bodies with all their possessions taken, and has several holes punched through the sides and blade scratches in the wood from where the people and guards were cut down. Close examination will reveal a set of 60c worth of gold coins hidden underneath the seat cushion the woman of the cab died upon.

Anyone investigating the cart has a 1 in 6 chance to wander near the back of the carriage if no location I specified. There is a trap on the back of the carriage. Two pressurized pistons jab iron spikes out; deals 1d4 damage on a failed save. It was designed to stab and ward off wargs that would nip at the back of the vehicle to slow it down so they could raid it.

Finally; the black tortoise is an otherwise friendly reptile pet. It's a rare breed of inky tortoise. He's angry because he hasn't been fed in hours now, and his humans are all dead. His name is carved into his shell just above his neck; Francis.

[8] You hear a buzzing nearby you, but no bees. There is a lumpy, stark-white nest built onto a nearby tree. The nest is empty but you can hear the buzzing get louder the closer you get. Destroying the nest yields 1d2+1 jars worth of green jelly; and a test-tube vial full of larva. The buzzing follows you but once again there is no physical presence or creature next to you.

These are astral bees. They are somewhat common in this area and are heavily hunted and cultivated by the bandits. Once they are born and reach adulthood, they shed their physical bodies like a skin and exist in a separate realm. Their nests and honey exists in the physical dimension. They have no sting in the physical realm, but those who are stung by the bees swell up in the “astral” dimension. After death, their souls will remain swollen for a good two or three millennia.

Astral Bee Honey is a bright green fluid that is extremely sweet, never spoils, and is mildly addictive. The bandits here use it as a makeshift currency; each jar worth can be used to pay a toll of 200c (each jar is worth 1000c) but presenting any of this honey will lead to questions and the bandits follow the party to try and locate a new nest for themselves.

[9] There's a tiny black iron fence running along the forest floor. It only goes on for about 40 feet and can easily be stepped over by anyone human sized. It doesn't appear to be protecting anything.

If you step over the fence, you are cursed with Burden for 2d6 turns, which counts as 2 load units or 200 coins worth of weight your character is burdened with.

Additionally, if you remove one of the fence posts and reforge its shape it into a weapon, it counts as a +1 magic poker (short spear- reach as shortsword) The iron is magic and could be reforged to different weapons and lengths. All weapons made with this material are 50% heavier then normal or have +1 load units. You could dig up all the fence posts and the total value sold would be worth 3500c

[10] Demon Infection man. There is a man who seems to be afflicted with an illness, who is bumbling and coughing along the road. He'll try to warn you away by coughing and telling you not to get close or else you'll get sick.

If any party member is injured or gets within 15 ft of him, he snaps and throws off his cloak and attacks.

Demon Infection Man (2+2 HD, +2 AC, +2 to hit, 1d6+1 claws, fast speed, incredible dexterity, infectious blood, demonic)

Morale- 11

The demon infection man is suffering from a disease that turns people into monsters. Has appears as a human but has bright albino-like pink and red eyes and two small horns on top of his head. He wants to eat the flesh of intelligent beings and is struggling to resist the urges.

The demon-infection man is very fast and supernaturally agile, meaning he always wins initiative unless you perform a sneak attack or someone in the party is “fast” as well. He can also use his incredible dexterity to leap from tree to tree, swing from branches, climb fast, etc.

As a partially demonic being, he can be turned. On a successful “Turn”, he is stunned for one round. On a roll of “Destroyed”, he takes 1d6 damage and then acts as Turned. An extremely holy cleric may still be able to destroy him if they are name or max level, or if their god is particularly zealous.

Finally; the demon infection man is infected with a blood borne pathogen. If a character is heavily wounded (less then half health) and commits the finishing blow against this monster, they must make a saving throw or some of the demon blood will splash into their wounds. This does not occur if they are using blunt weapons or ranged attacks. Once the blood is introduced, the character will slowly become demon-infected and will hunger to eat human flesh while becoming larger and more powerful. This can be stopped by amputating the limb, or washing the wounds with holy water.

[11] Natural cave just off the path. It's a hideout for a gang. They aren't very good at hiding their garbage or traces of them living in there. With a successful stealth roll, you can get inside without being detected. Roll on the Random Gang Table to see which gang the hideout belongs to.

In the back of the hideout is a small treasure hoard worth 1d6x500c of various stolen goods. There is a 1 in 8 chance the bandits have an Astral Bee Queen inside a jar that looks empty in their treasure trove, which is also the most securely defended item under lock and key.

[12] Small pond covered in lilies. The air here makes you uneasy. Include this pond on any nearby rumor or gossip tables.

If you come across the lake during the day, it is as the above. No random encounters.

If you come across this lake during the night, or camp next to it over the night, you will find it changed. The lilies look more like the top of a woman's head, wearing a veil, as if just beneath the water. If disturbed in any way, the spirits rise from the water with an unearthly glow.

Veiled Pond Spirits (1+1 HD, -2 to hit, 1d4 cold on touch OR drowning pull, ghosts)

Morale- N/A

Numbers- 1d6+2

These pond spirits look like women in dirty, moldy veils. They have no visible limbs, just a long body in a tattered dress that is barely visible and spotted with pond-scum from the lake. When they move through the air slowly; on a successful hit, the ghosts deal 1d4 cold damage. If you are in the water, instead you feel a powerful weight dragging you down into the depths; save or start drowning in the cold murky water.

The spirits are still ghosts. As ghosts, they can be banished by a priest as per turn undead. You can ward your campsite or the area around the pond with magic charms, though it would take a dozen of them to cover such a wide area.

[13] Trees with big scratches. The bark here has been sliced and marred, as though by a massive set of claws too big to be a bear. If the party rolls this encounter again, or follows the scratches, they come across an aggressive giant sloth sharpening its claws against the tree bark.

Giant Sloth (3HD, +2 to hit, +2 AC, two claw attacks at 1d6, slow)

Morale- 8

The sloth always loses initiative ties and goes second, because of its slowness. It's also easy to sneak up on; you can hear its claws scratching the bark from a far distance so you can get the first attack against it. The Sloth is aggressive and will attack, but is still an animal and will likely flee the first time it is injuried.

If you kill this sloth and later encounter gang #3, (Sloth-Bone Gang), they'll be pissed at you. Roll reaction checks with them at 1d6 instead of 2d6.

[14] Pitfall trap. No save- the area of the pit is fifty feet in area; uses a complex support structure to ensure you only fall in if a full group is over it. You take 1d4 damage when you fall in.

The trap falls down into a pit with a small stone castle built in the center. It has one “gate” the size of a normal door. When you fall down the pit, the sound of a flute is heard and figures emerge from the castle gate. The creatures are skeletons that wear stuffed, woven lion-head masks over their heads. They fight to defend the castle, and will not attack anyone who leaves the pit. Crawling out of the pit however takes a turn or a skilled Rogue to accomplish the feat.

The mock castle is only two rooms; a main “chamber” and a small bedroom adjoining it. The main chamber looks big enough to fit exactly the number of skeletons that were used to defend the castle, if they all stood in total stillness. The bedroom is empty, containing a book about necromancy. The book has a dark aura and anyone can tell touching it is a bad idea. The books contains 1d4 Necromancy spells but is cursed. If you pick up the book without using a glove of bound human skin; you are struck with a dark bolt that deals 2d6 damage and take a level in drain.

Under the bed in the bedroom is a keepsake box with 600c worth of gold-painted shells and conchs. The Necromancer book itself is worth 3000c

Lion-Head Skeletons (1+1 HD, +1 AC, 1d6 rusted weapons, skeletons)

Morale- N/A

Numbers- 2d8

The skeletons are immune to arrows and take ½ damage from swords and spears. If the players use the blunt ends, considering letting them do full damage or drop the weapon damage to d4. As undead, they can be Turned as normal. Treat all turning results as deanimation- falling to bones that are reanimated again if dark powers are used on them or if the fog from [18] has struck the forest; they deanimate since they cannot run.

[15] Trader's Camp. Within the wood is a small semi-permanent camp made up of several broken down carriages, carts, lean-to structures, tents, and more. Most of these were traders who ended up losing their last wheel or fur traders finding a relatively friendly place to sell their wares in this bandit infested wood.

Within this camp, you can simply set up a tent as long as you aren't notorious or aggressive and live with them, providing safety in numbers. If you're within the camp or for the first outdoors turn you take, you only have half the normal rate of random encounters, as the camp is defended against the bandit gangs.

You can also purchase things here like a normal store. Scale of orders and very specific or exotic things won't be available. Use the price percentages below to determine how much extra you pay to buy it here or how much of a profit you could make by selling it here.

Prices

Food (animal meat), furs – 90% normal price

Weapons, armor – 80% normal price

Charms, oil, magic stuff – 110% normal price

Wine, Luxuries – 120% normal price

Hirelings – 110% normal price

Retainers, Servants – 40% normal price

Astral Bee Honey – Buy 1500c, Sell 700c

The merchants here already give anyone skilled and loyal decent wages to protect them from the bandits, and many bandits moonlight as guards themselves. As such, hiring people to leave here is difficult. For untrained people, it is very dangerous to try and reach a civilized place themselves, so they're willing to leave with any kind of competent group for very low pay.

They also sell a small stash of Astral Honey here, of which several addicts are posed around the tent and begging for a taste. They sell the Honey for 1500c at a 50% markup, due to its addictive nature and limited stock. They'll buy some for you to 700c, which is a much better rate then you'll get from the bandits asking for tolls.

[16] Toll booth. Same wooden structure on the side of the road or on one end of a rickety bridge that crosses a large chasm or stream. The toll-man say he's working for the kingdom, but it's obvious he's a bandit. Charges 5c to cross per person.

Hidden in the booth is a box of coins; small treasure hoard of 2d10x10 coins. If it matters, roll on the Random Gangs Table to determine what gang this guy is giving some of his earnings to.

[17] Two bears are fighting over a berry bush. They growl and roar, making it easy to sneak up on them and wait them out, or just sneak away. If you wait for an exploration turn, one bear will eventually kill the other bear and start eating the bush's bounty.

The berry bush is growing on a corpse. It appeared as though it sprouted from the corpse only shortly after death, as the body is not in an advanced state of decay and does not smell bad, in fact it smells very fresh over here, as though blooming new life overcame the scent of death.

The corpse is a (roll 1d6);

1. Goblin
2. Human Hunter
3. Elderly Elf
4. Another bear
5. Deer head, wooden antlers
6. Dumped load of fruit and bread, rotting

[18] Mysterious fog rolls in. The fog covers the forest like a blanket; making it harder to see things approaching. Your party has an increased chance of being surprised on a +1 in 6 chance. The fog lasts for 4 turns.

During this weather event, stealth is greatly boosted. Give all characters in the party +2 to stealth rolls, and Rogues may add this to their To-Hit and damage to their sneak attacks.

[19] Napping Treant. The Treant appears as a downed log unless looked at very closely, or spotted by an elf- elves tend to be better at telling the difference between trees and treants.

The treant has several loose cords of silver tied around the branches in his beard, used as a traveling currency, requires a successful stealth roll or the ability to move in total silence. The silver is worth 400c in scrap value.

If you wake up the treant, they will attack if you appear as woodcutters or trying to steal from it.

Treant (4+2 HD, +4 AC, +2 to hit, 1d10+1 tree club, made of wood, forest magic)

Morale- 11

The Treant is huge and powerful. It is afraid of fire and will take double damage from fire. If lit on fire, takes 1d6 damage per turn if it can't find a water source to extinguish itself with. The Treant is tied with the nature of the woods and can step through the treeline and disappear easily; traveling vast distances. You cannot catch the treant if it tries to run away.

If you wake up the Treant and offer it an astral bee queen so it can make a nest in his branches, the Treant will be very pleased and willing to give you his silver. Additionally, he will teach any Druids, Elves, or Nature Aligned MU in your party a 1^st level spell that fits.

[20] Flying Sword Circle. It is a circle of red stones, stained with blood. Within the center of the stone circle is a sword, laying on the grass. If you enter the circle, the sword will animate and fly to attack you. It cannot leave the circle.

The sword automatically hits if your AC is 14 or less. It deals 1d8+2 damage on a hit. Otherwise it performs an acrobatic attack; having a +2 on its to hit roll. You only need to hit it once (treat AC as plate or 18) to knock it off course, but it will start flying again next round and cannot be “injured” except by destroying it.

This magic sword can only be claimed by a powerful warrior. First, you must capture the blade, and then hold it in your grip to surpress its ego with your own. Fighters can only claim this blade if they are level 7 or higher. Then, it belongs to them and the rocks around the circle crumble.

Flying Sword – Magic Falchion

Ego- 7

Stats- 1d8+2 Damage, Flight

This is a powerful magic sword. “Flying” Swords are swords which are animated by their own force, and can expertly follow instructions from a swordmaster who wields them. You can use this sword in addition to another blade, performing an extra attack per round using your own to-hit and class bonuses. The sword will fly around you or follow your hand movements. It can act as ranged attacks, or perform melee blade arts at a distance.

If you are level 10, have an advanced technique that lets you balance on anything, or have a Dexterity of +2 or better, you can also stand on this sword and literally ride it as a flying vehicle.

Wandering Monsters

Roll 1d6 for a Random Monster

(1) Black Bear (4+2 HD, +2 to hit, +2 AC, claws at 1d4 and bite at 1d6, bear hug)

Morale- 7

Numbers- 1 or 2

Black Bears are cowardly scavengers. They are smaller then regular brown (grizzly) bears and aren't as dangerous to fight. If you encounter a Black Bear while exploring with a noise policy (slapping pots and pans together, for example), the black bears will leave you alone.

Bear pelts are always valuable. You can sell them for 80c each. Trading them in to the camp at [15] will only result in a profit of 70c, as they have plenty of furtraders and there is little demand.

(2) Murder Stag (3 HD, +3 to hit, 1d4+1 horns, damage amplification, fast)

Morale- 11

Numbers- 1d4

The murder stag appear as dark brown or muddy red large male deer. They have large twisted antlers filed on the ends with sharp points. Every time they successfully hit, they deal +1 damage on the next round to the next person they hit. If they miss or if their antlers are broken off with a +1 magic club or better, they lose this bonus. They will also flee automatically if their antlers are shattered, as they have no other means of defense.

Unlike most herbivorous animals; these stags still do not eat flesh but still act with extreme aggression. They kill things to act as fertilizer in their territory. There is a 1 in 4 chance that any given stag will have a bit of cloth or skin still stuck in its antlers. If you return this cloth to [15] they will know where one of their missing persons went; rewarding a small bounty of 50c the first time you do this.

(3) Fogbreath Dragonoid (4 HD, +4 AC, 1d8 bite, smoke breath)

Morale- 12

Numbers- 1d6

These are long brown-green dragon like creatures. They are slender with long thin tails and vestigial wings. Dragonoids are not intelligent enough to speak, but are uncannily intelligent for “animals”.

They are also accused of creating the fog of [18] with their breath, but this is only a superstition. Their breath is always visible as thin white smoke, because instead of breathing fire they can only breathe smoke. They use their smoke breath to defend against missiles (+2 AC) if fired upon at range, or to give a cover to help them escape when their morale is broken.

(4) Chained Deaths (1+1 HD, +2 to hit, +1 AC, 1d3 chain whip, chain wrap, immobile, undead)

Morale- N/A

Numbers- 3d6+1 (Avg. 12)

These are undead hands that reach from the ground. When you encounter these, you feel a rumbling beneath the earth. If the entire party is off the ground (levitation, climbing trees, or standing on rocks) and doesn't move for a full turn, they pass by without incident.

The Chained Deaths poke out of the ground when agitated. They each hold a long red rusted chain, which is used like a whip to batter and hold down foes. If you are hit by at least two of the chains in one round, the character must make a save or be entangled, which prevents them from moving and gives the hands Advantage to hit them next round. The chains binding them do damage by squeezing instead.

These creatures are immobile once they come out of the ground, and have to sink back in to come back up, and they attack by detecting vibrations and the life force of living things. They are undead, and can therefore be turned.

(5) Cricket Head Witch (2+2 HD, +1 AC, Flame Rod at 1d6, Spells)

Morale- 10

Numbers- 1

Appears as a witch with a cricket head. Her long antennae fidget around and make circles and weird symbols whenever she casts a spell. She carries a short red walking cane that creates bolts of flame when swung; it's a magic rod that deals 1d6 fire damage. She can also cast spells. Select or roll three 1^st level spells and one 2^nd level spell, which can cast once per day each.

The Cricket Head Witch is searching for potion ingredients in the woods, and will find Astral Bee Honey to be her most favorable find. She will take it by force if necessary. She is always accompanied by her Stoneface Guards. Roll a reaction check if you run into her, and treat her reaction roll as a 12 if you give her a jar of the Astral Bee Honey.

If the Witch is killed or permanently driven from the forest, replace this wandering monster roll with the result of (6). Bandit activity increases.

Stoneface Guards (3 HD, +5 AC, +2 to hit, 1d8 iron screws, partially stone)

Morale- N/A

Numbers- 1d4+1

These Stoneface Guards appear as small, strongly built creatures. They are about 4 feet in height and are very thick, similar to a dwarf. They wield long iron spears with twisted heads that are twice as tall as they are. These creatures have square heads that look like carved stone tablets- no eyes or facial features are visible on them. They have an impressive grip strength from their mitten-like hands, and their skin is incredibly hard. Whenever they hit, they twist the screwspears inside the flesh of their enemy which complicates wounds; healing is half effective. They are partially made of stone and are affected by the same spells, weapons, or martial arts techniques that can affect living creatures as well as golems and artificial constructs.

These are magical creatures and are enchanted by the witch's magic. They will never flee unless their master commands them to. Within the “head” of each these creatures lays a small golden plate filled with several runes that animate it and give it life, protected by the stone cast. Each plate is 1 load unit of weight and worth 600c each.

Reaction Table- Roll 2d6

12+: The Witch is willing to trade, and sets her golems to at ease. They curl into balls of rock with the mask-like faces on the top, making them look like small round rocks with carvings. It takes one combat round for them to rouse to wakefulness in case she is attacked. She does this to let them rest. She will admit to being most interested in finding Astral Honey, and will give you a more fair rate (800c) for a jar of it.

11-9: The Witch approaches your group with some interest, especially if some of the party members are magic users and are dressed in robes. She'll tell you the location of [9] in exchange for any information on an Astral Bee Hives or bandit hideouts, such as [8] or [11]. If you tell her about these locations, she'll head to them in 1d2 days and clear them out in the search for Astral Honey.

8-6: Her bug-like eyes stare at you from a distance, her guards pounding their screw-spears against nearby rocks to make plenty of noise. She is uninterested in trading or communicating.

5-3: The Witch begins to loudly incant a spell. She is hoping it scares you all off. She will pick the most bombastic and damaging spell, while keeping her distance from the party. Superstitious hirelings or those without any experience against spellcasters may make a morale check to face the magic or run away.

2 or less: The Witch launches a bolt of fire and commands her minions to attack. She is ready to fight and can cast a spell in the first round in addition to making this attack; her body moves with a twitch like an insect.

(6) Bandits (1 HD, +3 AC from armor, +1 to hit, 1d6 weapons, 2 in 6 surprise chance)

Morale- 10

Numbers- 2d6

These are the generic stats for the bandits. Use 1d8 to generate hit points for more tough and Rogue-like bandits. Each bandit “gang” at the end of the document has special roles and benefits and weaknesses for each bandit patrol. Whenever you encounter bandits, you must roll a reaction check. Give yourself a +1 to this reaction check if you have more members in your party then the number of bandits.

Reaction Table- Roll 2d6

12+: The bandits awkwardly hide their gang paraphernalia and tell you they are just travelers, clearly scared of being judged and attacked by your group. If you accuse them of being bandits, they'll offer the location of [20] as a “magic sword in the woods” to let them go. They'll lie about it killing people though, and won't tell you its danger. They'll fight with a morale of 8 if you try to take them in or kill them once accused.

11-9: The bandits harass you and tell you to leave their territory, but will scatter if anyone in your party appears armed with a sword and heavy armor, as they are afraid of a skilled fighter. If you give them the location of [11] that is owned by a rival bandit gang, they'll put in a good word with their bosses and no longer collect tolls from you.

8-6: If the bandits surprise you, they'll pull out several bows and aim them at you, and demand you give up all your gold and you can be on your way. They only ask for visible coin purses, and leave other traveling packs, weapons, and armor on you as they leave. If you give up 300c per person, they'll let you go.

5-3: If the bandits surprise you, they'll sink an arrow in the least armored person first. Then, the bandits will threaten to kill you all if you don't give up all your things for them.

If you actually give into the bandits demands here; they'll only leave each of you the clothes on your back and a few rations worth of food, and a single knife split among all of you. The rest of your stuff they will take, or throw to the least convenient place if it has no value; your wooden beads and other keepsakes are thrown into the center of a nettle bush just for cruelty's sake.

2 or less: The bandits attack immediately. They also fight with +1 morale and seem a bit more desperate then normal; perhaps they are trying to prove themselves to the gang or they think you're an especially juicy target.

Random Gang Table

Roll 1d8

[1] Blood Coven Bandits

Stat Changes: +1 to hit, half bandits are female (wear no armor but wield 1d8 Naginata as a “woman's weapon”), +1 morale if fighting a magic user or witch

These bandits are semi-employed as Witch Hunters, and have a slightly better reputation among the bandits as a result. They also love the feeling of rubbing magic user blood on their skin as it grants them a mild sense of euphoria and strength. These Bandits are also slightly more attuned to their mystical senses and avoid [12] as they dislike the feeling it gives off. If you capture one of these bandits you could interrogate them by dragging them here near nightfall.

In exchange for warning them of or giving them the location of (5) (Cricket Headed Witch) any patrol or toll-booth will gladly let you pass by freely. If you capture her alive and present her to the hideout of the bandits, they will be ecstatic and grant you a jar of Astral Bee Honey.

Hideout: These bandits are hid in a wooden longhouse hidden deep in the woods. It has sliding doors and the outside is covered in paper charms to ward away hostile magic. Magic Users must make a saving throw if trying to divine this location or fail the spell and suffer a 1d4 damage mental backlash headache.

The Hideout contains:

-2 jars of Astral Bee Honey (1000c each)

-2 jars of Witch Blood (120c each),

-2d4 Magic Rods as trophies (200c each, random elements as 1d6 damage)

-5 sets of scale armor (AC 14) and Naginatas (1d8 damage as polearm) with fanged helmets (AC +1) with a paper charm on top that grants protection against some minor spells. These suits of armor are used only in raids on Witch caves.

-3d6 Bandits acting as guards and residents

-Leader (stats as 4^th level Fighter, white eyes, can cancel any ongoing spell effect of 2^nd level or less once per day by using a round of concentration)

-6000c in gold and silver coins in a locked chest

[2] Wolf Gang

Stat Changes: +1 to hit and damage, use d8+1 to determine hit points, all members are wolves. They can track you on 4 in 6 chance if you escape from a combat encounter with them, +1 in 6 chance to surprise, and treat their morale as 16 if you're trying to sneak past (roll d20 + stealth + dex over morale for sneak)

Once, the Brigand Woods were infested with wolves who attacked travelers constantly and feasted on the flesh of men. Through many years of eating people, as well as the realization they could keep their bellies much fuller by stealing gold over just eating people, these wolves began to stand up, wear clothes, and act as brigands themselves. All of the wolves in the wood are now professional highwaymen.

Wolves are short sided and easily swayed by food. Giving up rations of meat or even your mount(s) or livestock is a way to pay a toll, usually cheaper then the cash value. These wolves also undervalue the Astral Honey, as their sense of tasting sweet things is under developed.

The leader of the wolves is a snow white wolf with a scar over his right eye. He is not always at the hideout. You have a 1 in 8 chance of encountering him at any given patrol or when you enter the Hideout. (stats as 4^th level Rogue, deals +1 damage on a hit, uses two 1d4+1 razor-sharp daggers)

Hideout: The wolves live in a cave. This is a deeper cave along a steep ridge, near the edge of the territory, and they travel far and wide; sleeping in open fields in their normal clothes during the day. There is a 1 in 6 chance the Hideout is totally unoccupied beyond the nursing mothers. It is also pitch black as the wolves don't use fire and need no light sources to navigate inside.

The Hideout contains:

-Huge pile of bones. Among the bones, 2d8 are Medicinal Bones, which a Sage can identify if they are at least 3^rd level. Takes an exploration turn to sort; Medicinal Bones are worth 20c each.

-1d3 deer people in a side chamber behind a messily made barricade with a lock. They are “livestock” for later consumption. If you free them, they will tell you of a wolfsbane grove, which is poisonous to the wolves.

-Emerald encrusted bracers, sized for humans to wear. +1 AC and worth 1200c

-2d2 Nursing Wolf-Mothers and their litters of young pups. These wolves would grow to become regular wolves if not taught the ways to speak and walk as men do by these wolves. You could sell them to exotic animal breeders for 40c each or to arena coordinators that will battle them when they get old enough for 65c each

-1600c in rough cut gemstones placed on a niche in a side room. Guarded only be a sheet draped over them. The leader pisses on this sheet to mark it as his territory, so none of the wolves steal it.

[3] Sloth-Bone Gang

Stat Changes: Immune to Sleep, All members armed with slings, goes last in initiative.

Drug addicts and wastrels; the Sloth-Bone gang revel in grinding up the bones of various beasts and snorting them or including them in their camp cooking. Their favorite are the giant sloths; who have bones which cause a sense of euphoria and laziness.

The Sloth-Bone gang is lazy and performs little work, but are known to “Shepard” a small herd of Ducancurs. They look like dark colored, stumpy unicorns, but with two lump horns vertical to each other on the equine's head. They are attracted to and follow the commands of sluts, the morally duplicitous, and those of little status or willpower (making the gang's job very easy) and their horns make a minor trade good. They have an inferiority complex with actual unicorns and even bicorns- you could think of them as the donkeys of the magical horse family of creatures.

Hideout: Located in a hillside covered by several large rocks and boulders. The Hideout is very primitive and not much has been cleaned or prepared. Several half made traps and barricades strewn the place; nobody in the gang has that much dedication or work ethic.

The Hideout contains:

-1d6 Uses of Sloth-Bone Drug (No value except to addicts; could probably get them to shirk duty)

-2d8 Ducancur Horns (80c each)

-Bag of Elf Bone Dust (300c, 600c if traded back to Elves) Using a pinch when casting a spell makes enemies save at -2 vs magic

-1d6 Thunder Arrows (110c) hidden under a rock. Transforms into a lightning bolt when fired, +1 to hit and 1d12 damage.

-Leader (3^rd level Mage. Uses a bow at +2 to hit, will go for the Thunder Arrows if you're tough.)

-4800c in gemstones as the gang stash. Located in a disorganized pile in a tent; guard is asleep.

[4] Mothcake Gang

Stat Changes: +2 to saving throws against spells, +1 to morale, carry one Mothcake ration each.

These reclusive mystics live in the forest and engage in violent banditry less then the other gangs. They prefer to leave their victims alive, or just steal from them when they're asleep. They're mystics who worship the spiritual presence deep in the woods, and they build paper lanterns to guide the moths to their ritual circles. They follow the cycles of life and death and do not wish to kill people unnecessarily until they understand the cycle better.

There is a 1 in 12 chance each day is a ritual day. During a ritual day, the bandits you encounter will be wearing masks. There will also be four extra bandits present at their hideout, each carrying a 1d4 ritual dagger and the ability to stun a member of your party for 1 round if they slash their wrist and deal 1d4 damage to themselves.

They also eat Mothcake, which rumors at [15] suggest is made of moths and/or is poisonous. Neither is true, it is simply a well made dry sugar cake which, if eaten in specific circumstances, soothes the spirit and restores 1d2 Wisdom points if your Wisdom is damaged. Mothcake can also be left as offerings to spirits.

Cult Women (1 HD, +2 to hit, 1d4 ritual hammers, immune to fear, ropes)

Morale- N/A

Numbers- 1d4

These women have been brainwashed and are tied to the ritual house with long ropes. They attack any intruder and will never rout. If the ropes are cut, they will kill themselves. They can revert from brainwashing if restrained and given psychiatric care by a 6^th level Sage.

Hideout: Located at the coldest part of the woods; a higher elevation camp near the treeline. The camp is made of several semi-permanent tents and small huts. They lead moths down a small stone path along a creek to a ritual house which is a one room structure- the path takes one exploration turn to walk. The ritual house is considered a part of the Hideout, and is where the leader is least defended but only on a ritual day.

The Hideout contains:

-1d4 letters of people who want to escape the cult and return home to their families (could be used to blackmail individual bandits in this gang)

-Seven curved black blades- count as 1d4 spiritual daggers, can be used as magic weapons or holy symbol, but lose their power permanently if cutting the flesh of any living thing without its consent. Hung on hooks, unguarded, in the ritual house. (400c each- leader and ritual leaders carry one each; there will only be two left on ritual day)

-15 rations of Mothcake; either finished, stale, or as raw ingredients ready to cook

-Puzzle Box. 1 in 4 chance of containing a 1 HD ghost already inside. (50c- catches ghosts on successful turn undead roll if empty)

-2d6 Stationed Guards

-1d4 Cult Women guarding the Ritual House

-Leader (stats as 4^th level Magician, has +3 to hit with weapons, casts extra spell by cutting his wrist and dealing 1d4 damage to himself)

-500c worth of personal cuts of the loot, located in the various tents of different gang individuals (will take two exploration turns to gather up)

-10,000c guild stash (two heavy wooden boxes of gold bullion & precious gemstones buried under floorboards in the leader's hut.)

[5] Stonecrack Rebels

Stat Changes: +2 Hit Points, +1 AC, all members are dwarves, use axes and crossbows

This is a gang of dwarves split off from a larger political movement from a nearby mountain home. Dwarves are extremely unlikely to split their societies due to tradition, so usually this is caused by a misunderstanding or direct decree of a Dwarvish God. This “rebellion” is very small as a result, only a few dwarves willing to split.

As Dwarves, they get -1 reaction checks to parties with Elves, +1 to parties with Dwarves, and are absolutely terrible at climbing. They wear heavier armor then most bandits and are a bit tougher.

Hideout: Underground, built under a sliding stone door hidden in a copse of trees. It's a small dungeon, built by the dwarves to act as their fortress and hideout. Only one way in and out, with multiple breathing holes and long food stores to withstand a siege for months.

The Hideout contains:

-One set of stolen Dwarf Full Plate (AC 18, can only be worn by dwarves, no stealth, requires oil for each day of use and maintenance of a trained smith to keep the joints working, worth 8,000c)

-Two traps (slamming walls deal 2d8, 1d6+1 blade trap over a treasure)

-Secret door leads to closet. Within is barrel of Dwarven Fireale (500c)

-Master Mason & Ironworking Tools (350c)

-20 Steel Ingots, 1 load each (120c)

-4d6 Dwarven Defenders (stats as bandits, no crossbows)

-Leader (stats as 5^th level Dwarf or Fighter. If he knows a fight is coming, he wears the Dwarf Full Plate, else wears chain (AC 16))

-4000c coin stash (defended by trapped stone box, sprays poison gas, save or take 2d6 damage)

[6] Men of Six Irons

Stat Changes: +1 AC from heavier armor, they wear helmets with ear muffs built in (easier to surprise; add +1 to stealth rolls against them), patrols have a 50% chance to have a Cannon Crew with them.)

This gang has learned some secrets of alchemy and metalwork; and has purchased and stolen some items to create their own small arsenal of big guns. These cannons are powerful devices that deal 1d12 damage and can harm large creatures or those with magical shields; the cannon balls punch right through. They will also load the cannon with shrapnel to deal 1d6 damage to everyone in a cone in front of the cannon. Their gunsmiths and gun crews are quite accurate. They only have six cannons; if you manage to find or destroy all six, this bandit gang will disband.

Gunner (2 HD, +3 AC from armor, +1 to hit, +3 to hit with cannon, 1d12 cannon, 1d6 sword backup, reload speed)

Morale- 9 (one less then standard)

Numbers- 1 Gunner, Two Supports

The Gun Crew is made up of a Gunner, who has the majority of the stats, and two supports help load the charges and clean the barrel, as well as wheel and aim the device, where as the Gunner does the main aiming and shooting. The Gunner can only fire once every other round, but is a good shot with his gun.

Hideout: Located on a boat in a lake. The boat is hidden behind a few small islands and huge banks of reeds. The boat is about the size of a large houseboat, and is nearly impossible to assail unless you swam underwater or somehow got a boat into this land locked lake.

The Hideout contains:

-1d4 Cannons (sold for scrap at cities for 50c, sold on black market with instructions of use for 700c each.) Each Cannon has load of 5 and can only be lugged around if its wheels aren't broken.

-40 powder charges

-20 cannon balls

-Bag of Alchemical Salts (500c)

-Ivory Pirate Pipe (100c)

-1d6 crewmen Bandits

-Leader (Stats as 3^rd level Fighter), aims a cannon with a +6 to hit and fires at incoming boats without warning or ceasefire.

-4500c in gold bullion, in the cargo hold under 24/7 guard supervision (stats as 2 Bandits)

[7] Rhial's Band

Stat Changes: +2 Morale, 1 in every 6 members is a horse man, horse men use lances and have 2 HD and +2 to hit and charge into battle.

This group of heavily dedicated militants and bandits have all left their old lives for the sake of honor and power. Leader is very motivated and wants to conquer the whole valley and become its new King. Promises land and riches to his followers, hence they are very dedicated.

Rhial's band are very conscious of their illegitimacy when it comes to politics. They will avoid attacking anyone who carries a mark of an empire or kingdom, and anyone who seems to be a lord will be treated with the usual custom, even by these lowly bandits.

Hideout: Ancient abandoned village by a river. Could be grown into a proper town if families moved here. They keep fires and equipment inside so it looks abandoned and unimportant from the river and approaching path.

The Hideout contains:

-Two Flasks of Liquid Silver (200c each)- Pour on a weapon to make it count as Silver to hurt werewolves. Can also place on dishes, coins, etc. to make them look silver. Lasts 3 turns.

-Medallion of Jylian (900c) This magic medallion is almost a foot across and made of a greenish metal. When it is knocked against wood, it reverberates and the medallion gives off the sound of a battle being fought. The medallion is held in a metal box on a stone floor so it doesn't accidentally touch wood and make a tremendous and annoying noise.

-2d6 Bandit Guards

-1d8 Honor Guard (all horse men, wearing barding armor acts as chain or AC 16, +1 morale from being experienced and loyal)

-Leader Rihal (Stat as 6^th level Fighter, horse man with +1d6 hit points)

-Box of Spices (400c), will be used only to make dinner for noble guests to improve standing

-5000c in Heirlooms from a distant dynasty, of which Rihal is the last surviving heir. Made up of golden horse-head shaped buckles and the like.

[8] Circle of Cultivators

Stat Changes: +1 to damage, +2 to Hit Points, all users fight with staves or nunchucks (1d4), 1 in every 6 members knows a Blade Art.

The Circle is a group of athletes and holy men who have gone down a dark path. They train their bodies and value strength and bodily growth over the spiritual. They mostly fight with wooden poles and are unlikely to kill except those who are known to have killed their members in the past.

All members of the Circle are extremely talented athletes, and are considered to have a +1 in Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, or Wisdom. This is determined randomly for each user, but only applies if it matters; not for combat stats which are more determined by their powerful techniques.

Hideout: Small Dojo/Teahouse built into the side of a mountain. It has a false back wall that leads to a shallow cave system which hides their more sinister side. Within, the adherents sculpt their minds and bodies and constant training and simple diets.

The Hideout contains:

-Four silver-tipped warstaves (d4+1 damage, counts as magic for hitting ghosts, long reach)

-Bright Yellow Body Paint (50c)- Used to instill life energy within a person. They're almost out of it, and rarely train with it. Rubbing it on yourself while performing intense training grants a 1 in 6 chance to increase an ability score by +1

-Spirit Trap (Save or take 1 level of drain if you pull a sealing paper slip off a box; meant to keep out a negative spirit that stunts growth)

-5d6 Meditating Bandits (can be sneaked past easily, in various states of awareness)

-Leader (6^th level Fighter/Monk, knows a powerful blade art that makes him a fearsome opponent)

-25,000c Temple Riches (The monks don't spend any more money then necessary, most of their treasure has just been piled up in a big hole)