The main Caveat I have for DM's running this adventure is you should have characters who are sufficiently powerful to withstand the forces which will be arrayed against them. If your characters happen to meet the 28 th level Lich, or the 17th level Anti-Paladin in battle, they should be powerful enough not to be immediately obliterated. My suggestion is they each be the equivalent of 10th level. Now the characters have two keys after obtaining the second from the Beholder, they will find a rudimentary telepathic force giving them suggestions in the form of dreams and impulses. They will have the urge to travel northwards to a nearby forest. This urge becomes quite strong (Wis -5 to resist). If you have characters who can't take a hint, then don't despair, just make the adventure find them by leading them into the forest. Regardless of how your characters start the adventure, have somebody in the town warn them "it is Basilisk breeding season." The road the characters will travel on leads directly into the forest. In this area, a pair of mated Bulettes (landsharks) have taken up residence (They prey on passing parties to satisfy their ravenous hunger). The monster waits under the roadway until it senses movement, then breaks through and begins attacking. One or two rounds after the first Bulette starts attacking, the second will join it. As they digest all they eat (much like a goat), the characters will not find any treasure. Bulette HP 42 9 HD Thaco: Ac -2/4/6 # Att. 3 Dam. 4dl2/3d6/3d6 Morale: 11 Exp. 4000 Notes: The AC values correspond to back/eyes/ and underside. They are able to jump. They attack with all 4 feet when doing this. After going into the woods, the characters will come upon a clearing. In the clearing are the remains of a caravan the characters may have seen passing this way before they left. Amidst the caravan, they will find dead men bearing signs of some kind of poison. The area smells strongly of chlorine. If the characters take time to loot, they will find a scroll containing the following message: To the Baron Sarlin: Among the supplies in this caravan, you'll find the item we spoke about that willl help you against the incursions of the undead. Mind you, it will only help if the rumors about my former wizard are true. Also note the paladin Taran has been subverted and is said to be watching over Serin during his transformation. He was last seen in a ruined keep 10 miles inside the Spires Reach pass. The road has been long abandoned, so be wary of monsters. Baron Garmand The characters will also be able to find 30 Silver, and 20 Gold. An opened chest will be found which obviously carried a weapon of some sort (have Warriors make an Int - 2 check to determine it was a mace). If the characters try to find the whereabouts of Baron Sarlin, or Baron Garmand, they will hear reports both have been killed and are rumored to be undead now. The item missing is a Mace Of Disruption, which would have been helpful against the newly formed Lich (the former Serin). If you don't have a mountain range by the name in the note, please feel free to substitute any mountain range you have in your world. When the characters get closer to the mountains (50 miles), the keys they possess will start pulling towards the pass. The impulses which have been driving the characters will become stronger as well. Now, if the characters try to resist the impulses, they can freely do so but must, once a week, make a saving throw vs. Spell or temporarily lose one point of wisdom. Each week that passes there will be a cumulative -1 to this saving throw, and the wisdom loss will increase cumulatively as well. In other words the characters are being psychically cowed into submission. Once they stop resisting their wisdom will return. The road that leads into the pass is overgrown and after a couple of miles turns into nothing more than a path. In the foothills there is a tribe of 10 Hill Giants. Hill Giants AC 3 (hides) Thaco 9 #Att. 1 club 2d6+7, rock Dam. 2d8+7 Exp. 2000 12 HD This is the only random encounter in this area, as they have driven off all other contending monsters. Roll "random" encounter checks as normal, or set up a ambush as you see appropriate. Past the foothills, monsters become more numerous, especially undead. There are of course normal skeletons and zombies which have been raised by the wizard (now lich) to protect his new base. The hard part enters in when the characters encounter a new form of undead the wizard has created. During a particularly grim trip of Serin's to the seventh layer of Hell, he discovered an unknown portal to Limbo. There, contained in that plane of chaos, was a realm somehow sustained by energies from the Negative Energy plane. Serin came into contact with the dwindling intellect of a dying god, who used the hapless wizard as a receptacle for its remaining dark impulses, desires, and plans. Also passed on was a great deal of knowledge. From that transfer Serin learned how to create a Chaos Zombie as well as the process needed to transform himself into a Lich. While most sane wizards would not consider this drastic and irreversible transformation, Serin, however, had been driven quite insane. He considered himself the dying god's son one who needed to transcend his mortal form. Almost as an aside he also found the Key of Thala'Mar. Key of Thala'Mar The Key has the following powers: + 1 AC (cumulative with other keys) +1 to all saving throws absorbs 2d6 spell levels per day. Also, when in close proximity to two of the other keys (no matter which ones), it grants an ability similar to a dragon's omniscience in its lair (300'). When Serin returned to this world, he started the preparations to transform himself into a Lich. He also tricked the Baron (Garmand) he was working for into a border dispute with his neighbor. While the Baron was off arguing his case with the king Serin subverted the Paladin Taran with a Helm of Opposite Alignment as well as other magical means. Then he convinced the captain of the guard to accompany him with 25 men to the northern border, where Serin claimed an orc invasion was about to take place. He of course used magical means to ensure the captain's cooperation. Once the group began travelling north Serin began the ghoulish work of transforming all 26 men into Chaos Zombies. Due to the nature of this heretofore-unseen monster they do not rot for up to one year so they are initially indistinguishable from normal men. As the characters approach Serin will ascertain that one perhaps even more of the Keys, are coming to him rather than he having to find them. He is unconcerned with how he obtains the Keys. He first sends out his Chaos zombies in two groups, one with 10 (initial group), and another with 16, which he keeps within the keep. The Antipaladin Taran is away doing the bidding of Serin but when the characters approach the Lich calls him back. He will arrive at the end of this adventure. When the characters arrive they will be set upon by the first group of Chaos Zombies. (See stat sample in this article). Serin has sent this first group just to test their strength. If the characters beat the zombies easily he will join the second group from afar and invisibly. This adventure does not give the exact stats, items, or abilities of Serin as the characters are not meant to meet him directly. If the characters barely beat the zombies, or if they are driven away, then Serin will send the Antipaladin after them to demand the other two keys. He will also send the remaining zombies to help convince the party to give them up. If the characters make it through the initial encounter they will get to the keep and find the gates standing wide open. Waiting within is the remaining group of zombies as well as Serin. The entire battle takes place in the courtyard so a map is unnecessary. The zombies will be sent in first and the Lich will wait to see how the battle is going. If the characters begin winning, the Lich will begin casting such spells as Fireball and Lightning Bolt, into the fray. He will prefer the lightning spell as it does not harm the zombies. Once the last zombie is killed, the Anti-paladin will fly in on his dragon to pick up the Lich. Serin will fly up to meet the green dragon, which will itself make no offensive moves even if provoked. During this time the characters will have the impulse to try to retrieve the other key around the neck of the Lich. If they shoot ranged weapons, or even spells such as Magic Missile, you should make the cord holding the key break and have the key drop to the ground. If this contingency is impossible make a midair collision occur between the Lich and the dragon. In the collision the key will be knocked loose. In any event the characters should be left with the key at the end of the adventure. The Lich and the Antipaladin will leave, but the Lich will later discover that his key is gone. He will of course want it back, but that is for the next adventure. Back to Masters of Role Playing #7 Table of Contents Back to Masters of Role Playing List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Chalice Publications. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com