remains of the day

The following items can be found during a diligent search of the interior of Otiluke's former home. These 12 items are numbered so the DM can randomly assign them to characters as they search by rolling 1d12. One item can be found per turn of searching per character, so three characters can find nine items in half an hour - this assumes they have bright light to work by; halve the rate of finding things if less than daylight or continual light is used. These items were left behind by Lanharden, Otiluke's cousin, and by others searching the house during the investigation, as the items were either not noticed or seemed to be of little importance.

1. A kitchen drawer contains 4 forks (2 badly bent), 5 spoons (2 bent), and a butter knife. The knife has an "0" engraved in the handle on one side, probably for "Otiluke." The tin kitchenware is badly corroded and in need of cleaning, but free of food particles. Also in the drawer is a worn wooden cutting board with deep grooves in it carved at random. The board has old (animal) bloodstains all over it.

2. A 3"-long, 1/8"-thick tube of brass has been stuck into an upstairs carpet in such a way that it is not immediately visible. Only if the carpet is shaken or flipped, or if someone with light boots treads there, will the presence of the thin tube become apparent. The tube's ends are not sharp. It is not magical but makes a high chiming noise if held lightly and struck with metal or wood.

3. A small bowl of dull stone, about the size of a cupped hand, is found on a window sill on the north side of the second floor. The unpolished bowl is of very primitive workmanship and appears to have been chipped out of gray, red-veined granite. It looks dirty and worthless.

Under the bowl is a pale rectangle of paper, 2" x 1", whose handwritten note reads:

#177 Artery Granite, ceremonial? Southern jungles Galdin of Monmurg 6/579

The notation is in ink. Anyone familiar with Otiluke's handwriting will recognize his scribble.

4. Two empty, open glass jars with traces of yellow powder in them sit against the corner in the southwestern (kitchen) side of the first floor. The yellow powder is corn meat.

5. A crumpled slip of torn paper, 1" square, can be found against the west wall in what was Otiluke's second-floor bedroom. The paper has some kind of drawing on it in black ink. It appears to be a circle with 16 arrows radiating out from it, and a mathematical notation. Any wizard or priest who makes an Intelligence check on 4d6 recognizes the math as relating to the reduction in power or force per the inverse square of increasing distance.

A wizard will also recognize the note as likely a part of someone's spell research. The handwriting appears to be Otiluke's.

6. A carved sphere of quartz crystal, 1/2" in diameter, is covered in ash in the fireplace on the second floor. The sphere is worthless, being cracked, but it has a carefully etched pattern on it like longitude and latitude lines. It does not radiate magic.

7. A brown-stained glass bottle, missing its stopper, sits in a corner of a downstairs wall shelf. The bottle is about 3" high. A wizard with any knowledge of alchemy will suspect the bottle once held some kind of acid - probably for spell research or as a spell component.

8. Behind a loose brick in the western side of the secondfloor fireplace is a 2" x 2" square of lead crystal, with magical runes etched along its edge on both sides, The crystal radiates a faint aura of evocation and alteration magic. Also etched onto the crystal square (which is about 1/16" thick) is a circle with four arrows inside it, equally spaced and pointing toward the center.

9. A glittering, colorful dust found in most of the upstairs carpets on the east side turns out to be diamond dust. About 50 gp worth can be recovered after 5d4 turns of careful brushing and collection.

10. About 30 iron nails are stuck in the walls at various places, where once pictures or ornaments were hung. The nails are 2" long each and appear normal.

11. A total of seven worn, round, bronze zees (coins used in the City of Greyhawk until discontinued in 579 C.Y.) can be found here and there throughout the house, as the DM wishes to place them. Some are stuck in cracks in the wooden floor upstairs, while others are covered by a bit of dust in corners or even left out in the open (as no one will bother to pick them up, the zee being worthless now). The zees have the mark of Zilchus (coin pouch and string tie) on one side and Greyhawk's coat-of-arms on the other (castle above six coins arranged as a downward-pointing triangle).

Two of the zees look like they were etched by a sharp instrument, perhaps a knife point, placing an assortment of outwardpointing arrows and concentric circles over the side with the pouch of Zilchus (which is flatter and smoother than the other side).

12. A pale rectangle of paper, 2" x 1", found on the southeastern side of the second floor, half-wedged into a crack in the floorboards by a rug, reads:

#237 Obsidian, sacrificial? Yards nr. Ket Rary 4/583

The notation is in ink. Anyone familiar with Otiluke's handwriting will recognize his scribble.

With the naked eye

The dozen items discovered in Otiluke's home might cause the characters to investigate further, with the following results. The DM can alter these results or add to them if there is a chance the players have seen this material. Note that some information might not be available without extensive use of divination spells, wishes, questioning, research, etc., as the DM determines.

1. Research on the kitchen drawer's tableware produces no results. The cutting board has old animal blood on it, from pigs, fish, poultry, and cattle. On one corner is carved the word "Bildig," the name of a cook/housekeeper who once worked for Otiluke. Bildig left Otiluke's service in 580, forgetting her cutting board, and moved to Hardby, her old home, where she died of natural causes in 584. This lead goes nowhere, though Bildig's four adult grandchildren are all lowlevel human adventurers in the Hardby area.

2. The tube of brass that was stuck into an upstairs carpet is actually the material component for a spell. It was deliberately hidden in the carpet in the unlikely event that Otiluke was kidnapped or imprisoned in his own home, and needed a means of escaping bondage. The spell, Otto's Chime of Release, is described in Wizard's Spell Compendium, Volume Three, page 645. Otiluke purchased the spell from Otto, a fellow wizard in the Circle of Eight, and hid a number of these chimes around his home as a safeguard; all the others were found and discarded after his death, when his home was cleaned for sale. No one has recognized the tiny chimes as spell components, but any wizard who knows about the spell will automatically know what the chime is for. Anyone who knows Otto himself might guess that the chime is connected with him, since Otto is well known for his love of music-based spells.

3. The small bowl of dull stone found on the window sill is an ancient magical device whose powers have not yet been recognized; it has the potential to be dangerous in the extreme, though this cannot be foreseen by casual examination and handling.

The bowl is made from artery granite, a type of volcanic rock found only in the far south of the Amedio jungle, along the great slopes of the Hellfurnaces; this volcanic range is periodically active and dormant; it is currently active. Artery granite is so called because of the thick, dark red veins running through its gray rock. It is rarely used for ornamental work as it is so hard to find, quarry, and ship; it is also difficult to polish, though it looks remarkably good if this is done. Anyone with the Jeweler or Miner secondary skill or the Gem Cutting, Mining, or Stonemasonry proficiencies can make an Intelligence check on 1d20 to recognize the stone; consulting with a dwarf miner or stonemason will also help. The bowl is worth about 20 gp to the right buyer in its present condition.

The slip of paper under the bowl is one of a number of labels Otiluke once kept with each of his collected items, each further detailed in a large handwritten catalog. The existence of the catalog can be deduced because the item is numbered like a museum exhibit. It is now held by Otiluke's cousin, Lanharden, but is buried among a large pile of other papers in a storeroom of his home in Clerkburg.

[Lanharden must be bribed with 10d10 gp to allow anyone to poke among his deceased cousin's effects.]

The bowl is detailed under entry #177 in that book labeled on the cover in gold print as the "Index". Otiluke purchased the bowl from a Sea Prince explorer named Galdin of Monmurg, in Wealsun 579 C.Y. Galdin vanished during the Greyhawk Wars and cannot be located now; he is likely a victim of the Scarlet Brotherhood. Questioning in Monmurg (if the Scarlet Brotherhood can be avoided) will reveal that Galdin was a footloose warrior who loved exploring the southern jungles. He was on good terms with many tribesmen there and liked exploring old ruins.

See a later description of this extraordinary device.

4. The two empty, open glass jars with traces of yellow powder in them were once full of corn meal and used for cooking. No one wanted the jars, but everyone thought it a shame to throw them out. Anyone can use them without harm.

5. The crumpled slip of torn paper found in Otiluke's second-floor bedroom is a scrap that fell from a pile of papers concerning a new spell that he was researching before his death. The paper's drawing of a circle with 16 arrows radiating out from it depicts the effects of a spell that would create a flat, horizontal explosion in all directions, damaging things in its own plane but causing no damage to items above or below the disk-like blast. Such a burst could, for example, fell a grove of trees, or knock down a company of men standing on their feet. The force of the blast would be reduced over increasing distance from the center of the spell effect. The trigger and sole material component would be a flat, round coin, marked with outward-pointing arrows, tossed by the spellcaster. The spell was never completed. The above information can be determined by examining various papers that Lanharden has kept from his cousin's estate.

Otherwise, a wizard who makes an Intelligence check on 4d6 after ID weeks of research, costing 1,000 gp, can determine the above. This research will ease the creation of a similar spell by the researcher, as determined by the DM; note: only a wizard who can use Invocation/Evocation spells can research this spell. See #11 below; if one of the arrow-marked coins is found, the above research time can be shortened by one week (to one week minimum) and by 200 gp.

6. The tiny carved sphere of quartz crystal in the fireplace on the second floor is a prototype spell component for a new spell that Otiluke was researching before his death. He discontinued the research in 583 C.Y., however, and had tossed the sphere into the fireplace in disgust. No notes about the spell appear in the papers and books Lanharden has kept from his cousin's estate, and nothing more can be told about what the spell was, though quartz crystals are sometimes used to evoke magical ice-based effects. The crystal is harmless and adds little to spell research on its own.

7. The small, brown-stained glass bottle in the downstairs wall shelf once contained aqua regia, a type of powerful acid. This can be told from a careful alchemical examination of the bottle lasting 1d2 days, and costing 6d10 gp. It is known among some wizards (Intelligence check on 1d20) that Otiluke used acids in a few of his spells, particularly Otiluke's Acid Cloud. The bottle is now useless as a container, as it will contaminate any spell components or substances placed within it (water placed within it becomes mildly acidic, doing I hp damage to the drinker). No one has thrown it away yet, everyone thinking someone else might use it.

8. The small square of lead crystal will trigger a spell if broken (it saves as glass + 1), instantly evoking Otiluke's Death Screen in the nearest major doorway or portal within 80 yards (16th level of effect for duration = 16 rounds). (Wizard's Spell Compendium, Volume Three, page 637.)

Otiluke kept the item here as a defensive measure in case his home was ever attacked. It came to nothing as he was not at home and already dead when his home was raided. Only a wizard familiar with Otiluke's spells has a chance to guess what the item might be (Intelligence check on 1d20); any wizard who knows this spell automatically knows what the crystal will probably do if it is broken.

9. The diamond dust found on most of the upstairs carpets is left over from spellcasting and research. It has no special powers or effects, but is valuable if collected carefully and sold to a wizard or alchemist.

10. The iron nails are all normal, once having been used to hold up pictures, shelves, and various cataloged items.

11. The seven worn, round, bronze zees found throughout the house were simply left behind and ignored as worthless after the city's currency changed. Two of the zees were etched by a sharp instrument, placing an assortment of outwardpointing arrows and concentric circles over the side showing the pouch of Zilchus. These were coins that Otiluke idly scratched while developing the spell alluded to in the description given earlier for item #5.

The markings on the coins alone are not enough to determine what they were meant to be; item #5 must be located as well and researched, as noted above,

12. The pale rectangle of paper found on the second floor is a major clue to the events at this house at the time of Otiluke's death - as well as the actual events surrounding the deaths of Otiluke and Tenser, and more besides. The paper was the label for a cataloged item owned by Otiluke, further detailed in the handwritten catalog ("Index") possessed by Lanharden. The catalog identifies item #237 as a nonmagical obsidian knife with a reddish tint, possibly used for sacrificial purposes, received from the archwizard Rary in Planting 583 C.Y. Rary is noted here to have received the item as a curio/gift from an infamous adventurer and former associate, Lord Robilar, less than a decade earlier; the same Robilar who aided Rary in his attacks on the Circle of Eight.

The catalog notes that Robilar claimed to have found the pointed, stabbing dagger in an abandoned ruin in the Yatils, near the border of Ket, during his carefree earlier days of adventuring, but does not mention a date. Rary apparently gave Otiluke the dagger because he could find no use for it, or so Otiluke conjectures therein. Otiluke mentions recurring rumors about some sort of ancient temple or temples in the Yatils, but adds nothing more on this.

It is possible that a character in a long-running Greyhawk campaign has adventured in module WG4 The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun. Such a character would draw a connection between that previous adventure and cataloged item #237 with a successful Intelligence check on 1d20, unless the player suddenly thinks of it on his own. Making such a connection is worth 500 xp to the character who states this connection first.

It is also possible that a character will recall the details of the assault on Otiluke's home, specifically the long dagger that Glorial was seen to have used in defending herself. Glorial, as noted earlier, is no longer in the Greyhawk area. The dagger's disposition is unknown, and no spell reveals its current location.

Curiously, if any character attempts to locate Glorial by any magical means, no results are received. It is not possible to find her in such a manner, though there seems to be no clear reason why this should be so. Making such a connection is worth 500 xp to the character who states this first.

out of the aeons

This section concerns the bowl of dull granite, item #3, above. The bowl was once used during vile religious ceremonies held by a reptilian race ages ago in the Amedio jungle. Its ancient magic has weakened greatly, to the point that the item registers as non-magical except during any night in which Celene, the small aquamarine moon of Oerth, is completely full. This occurs on the fourth (middle) night of each of the four main festivals of the Flanaess: Needfest (Midwinter), Growfest, Richfest (Midsummer), and Brewfest. At sundown on each such night, the bowl begins to radiate magic and becomes slowly invisible over the space of an hour, then remains so until before dawn, at which time it becomes visible again (over an hour's time).

Though the bowl is invisible, it can be touched and picked up. The magic of the bowl can be detected at this time to be both illusion/phantasm and conjuration/summoning, though other magic appears to be in operation as well. The bowl also radiates faint evil throughout.

If any amount of fresh blood is placed in the bowl while it is invisible, the part in contact with the blood becomes visible again. The bowl then glows faintly from within. If the blood is from a non-human animal or monster, no other effects are noticed. If anyone is holding the bowl, that person feels overly warm and uncomfortable, but notices no other effects.

If the blood is from an intelligent, higher being such as a humanoid, giant, or demi-human, the bowl grows quite warm and a bit slick to the touch; the arteries of red in the granite glow more brightly and seem to pulse slightly with a single regular beat. If the blood is from a human, the bowl develops a repulsive feet, as if it were slowly turning into a warm, sticky, beating heart; the arteries shine out like red fire, beating to a single pulse every second. The bowl now radiates very powerful magic (alteration, conjuration/summoning, and enchantment/charm) and enormous, awakening evil.

If no one is holding the bowl, one person at random within 10 feet of the bowl feels a compulsion to pick it up (save vs. spells at +2 to resist, Wisdom and magical bonuses allowed). If no one picks it up, nothing further happens until dawn, when the bowl returns to normal. All contents within it vanish at dawn. The bowl now radiates both magic and evil at all times, and it repeats its power to turn invisible with every new Celene. Oddly, Otiluke never noticed this effect, as he was asleep or busy with other things late at night. Glorial noted once that the bowl was absent in the evening, but she assumed that Otiluke had it.

If anyone is holding the bowl during the next Celene, that person feels physically ill and begins to sweat, as if catching a fever or a very bad case of the flu. The person will not be able to cast aside the bowl if he fails a saving throw vs. paralysis at -4 (normal magical bonuses applicable). The person has a secret, perverse impulse to drink the blood from the bowl, despite his revulsion. This impulse may be resisted by a saving throw vs. spells (plus Wisdom and magical bonuses). Unless restrained or otherwise prevented, the person will drink from the bowl if he fails the saving throw. The contents of the bowl are now poisonous; the drinker must save VS. poison at -2 or die after ld4 rounds (and will be extremely ill during this time; he will not be able to attack, defend, move normally, or cast spells).

If the drinker saves vs. poison, he collapses, unconscious, but recovers his wits in 1d4 rounds, appearing none the worse for wear - at the moment. However, over a period of 91 days (the time until another full Celene), the unfortunate victim will slowly transform into a powerful troglodyte (HD (B) equal to former character's hit dice; double damage with claws and teeth for 2d2/2d2/2d4+2). The DM has the option to allow the change to become apparent over time (scales can appear on the skin, the tongue might become narrow and forked, skin might turn greenish, a crest could appear on back of head, hair fall out, claws appear in place of fingernails, etc.). The DM has free reign, too, to determine the effect on the character's spellcasting (if any) and his ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution may be preserved, while Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma will drop).

The character will feel secret urges to eat raw meat, hate humans, and become reclusive, hiding away from other people, and possibly even running away from civilization to lurk in remote wilderness. This impulse can be resisted until the 9 1 st day. The character then becomes a full troglodyte (and an NPQ, hiding away in dark places to make full use of its 120foot infravision. This evil being wilt kill and eat humans at every opportunity and will become a horrific, violent menace.

If the person holding the bowl resists the urge to drink from it, he hears a whispering inside his head. The words of the deep, lisping voice cannot be distinguished, but he gets the idea that he can secretly call upon supernatural assistance at any time. To do so, however, will put him in great debt to a powerful being of evil intent; this, too, will be known. The PC is not obligated to tell anyone about his new power. He may choose to rid himself of this power and all possible side effects by consulting a priest of 4th or higher level, who after long prayer realizes that only an atonement spell from a priest of at least 10th level will remove this link to the evil power.

Should the PC choose to use this power in the future, he can call upon supernatural assistance at any time. This act will summon a monstrous outer-planar creature, much like an extra-strength invisible stalker, in 1d4 rounds (INT 14, AL CE, AC 3, MV 15 Fl 12 (A), HD 8 (64 hp), THACO 13, #ATT I bite, D/ATT 5d4 (5-20), SA surprise (-6 on opponents' surprise rolls, -2 on opponents' attack rolls), SD invisibility, MR 409/o, SZ L (9 feet tall), ML Elite (14), XP 5,000.

Anyone attempting to detect invisible objects to find or attack this monster will behold its ghastly reptilian appearance, something like a spectral bonesnapper, and must save vs. spells or he struck with insanity, manifested as either fear (1-3 on Id6) or confusion (4-6 on 1d6, for 10 rounds. This saving throw must be rerolled every round that someone looks upon this monster. Killing it will drive its spirit back to its own lost plane of existence.

The monster will serve its summoner for 10d6 (10-60) rounds, then will attempt to take one biteful of the summoner (THACO and damage as above), and then vanish. The summoner will also have his alignment altered to Chaotic Evil and must now flee, to carry out a quest telepathically implanted by a forgotten, horrific deity whose non-human followers once ruled the Amedio jungle. Only the use of two wish spells will remove this curse (restoring his old alignment and status as a player character), but the recipient must also immediately undertake a quest of his own for a Lawful Good deity to be fully recovered; otherwise, he slips back into his Chaotic Evil ways permanently within 2d4 weeks.

be it ever so humble...

The actual sale of Otiluke's former home can be accomplished in a Greyhawk campaign without a great deal of fanfare. It can be done with no fanfare at all, as an anticlimax.

The DM can, however, allow for the player characters to be involved in a vicious bidding war against some of the possible buyers mentioned earlier. Or the DM can simply declare that the highest bidding player character or group of player characters wins the home. There is nothing wrong with any such option.

The auction results are announced on the 2nd of Flocktime at noon, by special messenger. A zero-level assistant to the Guild of Lawyers and Scribers searches out the winner in the City of Greyhawk and informs them of the date, time, and place of the final signing of the sale documents.

The sale itself can take place just before Richfest 585 C.Y., at midmorning in the Wizard's Guildhall, within the office of the First Secretary, Erojen Dwir. Dwir has many documents for the new owner to sign or initial; these grant full ownership of Otiluke's home and land around it, but none of Otiluke's other personal effects, now held by Lanharden. They also Outline the homeowner's responsibility to maintain the safety and security of the city of Greyhawk and engage in no treasonous, illegal, or publicly harmful activities. One reminds the new owner that property taxes must be paid as well, and these taxes must be paid now for the coining year.

Several other documents also grant the Guild of Wizardry, Otiluke's relatives and the remainder of his estate, and the Guild of Lawyers and Scribers complete immunity from prosecution and blame for any consequences resulting from occupation or ownership of the home. This is a fairly standard requirement for the sale of spellcasters' homes, as they may have placed dangerous magical traps, gates, or monsters in their home that kill or maim the new owners - Erojen Dwir will explain all of this carefully, with past examples of such unfortunate events as invented by the DM.

Otiluke's home has been examined and determined to have no traps, etc., so far as the Guild of Wizardry knows (ahem). The signing ceremony will be done with no other witnesses -- none that can be seen, anyway, as the group will of course be spied upon by at least one Guild wizard using a crystal ball, just to make sure Erojen is safe. The DM can adjudicate this as desired.

There are excellent reasons for allowing the player characters to buy Otiluke's home in a campaign. For one thing, it will serve well as an adventuring base for a large number of player characters. The place may come eventually to resemble a large, messy college dormitory or flophouse, with player characters sleeping in various corners or cots around the fireplace, armor and weapons piled everywhere, everyone arguing over whose job it is to clean the main floor this week, and piles of treasure and monster skins dumped hither and yon inside and around the outdoors.

Everyone, of course, will search and search for possible secret hideaways that Otiluke may have used to store precious things like duplicate spellbooks, gems, wands, etc. The DM can create such hideaways or not, as desired, with tricky locks, passwords, and other security devices that must be overcome to reach their hidden treasure. Or maybe the house has no such mini- vaults. If nothing else, this should keep the player characters busy with secret note-passing to the DM for weeks of campaign time. The DM should play this up for all it's worth. A few secret niches and rewards would not be out of line.

More importantly, the house should also serve as a magnet for trouble -- er, adventure. In fact, this is its primary campaign function, and the primary reason why the deed of the house should be allowed to go through to a player character.

For one thing, some or all of the losing auction bidders might have a grudge against the player characters who won the house. They might be able to make considerable trouble for the player characters in various ways, major and minor, though the other bidders might let bygones be bygones.

Of course, anyone who ever knew Otiluke will certainly seek him or his relatives out at the mage's former home. Because of Otiluke's personality, however, not many of these people will have been Otiluke's friends. Some might actually be devoted enemies hoping to capture, torture, rob, or slay him. The relatives of some of the thieves or monsters Otituke slew over the years might hold grudges. Any number of people had special grudges against Otiluke, and these people are almost certain to come looking for him here first. And who will now open the door to greet them? The player characters, of course.

The House on Summoner Court Greyhawk Location

Introduction
Events of Harvester 14 584CY: About Noon
Loose Ends and Odd Trails
Examining the House Inside and Outside
Objects Found in the House
Future Adventures and Disasters
NPCs: Sgt-at-Arms and Invisible Stalker