This is a "bare bones" adventure for starting regents or non-regent adventures set along the west coast of Anuire. Exact details are left up to the DM's imagination. Number of Players: 6-10 Levels- 3-6 Prologue Regents can learn of something strange first through reports of an abandoned fishing boat, with no nets left aboard, or they may not find out until reports come in from a trading guild of harpies demanding live tribute, or else they will bombard the ships. Non-regents can either be one of the ships, or can be hired to investigate and deal with the problem. Enemies: General Calliope: Harpy Leader FM (Harpy), LE AnMi (23) Heightened Ability (Intelligence), Battlewise. Equipment of note: Rapier +3 Heartseeker (treat as a vorpal blade, but pierced the heart instead of cutting of the head) Zariah the Unhittable: Harpy Areobat FM (Harpy), NE, None Equipment of note: Amulet of Displacement (treat as a Displacer Cloak) Note: Zaraih has special training in aerial maneuvering and an 18 in Dexterity, with the Amulet of Displacement, others are at -8 to hit her and always miss the first attack unless they have true sight or detect illusion. Normal Harpies: 24 Adventure Episode 1: Find that island. This is not hard. Harpies are not really strong flyers, they seldom range more than 100 miles, and carrying rocks more than a mile would probably be beyond them. However, Calliope is smart enough to have nets set up along several shoals a few miles out from the real island so her foraging parties can attack at a distance. Still, one can triangulate the harpy sightings and come fairly close. Magic can also be used if it is available. Episode 2: The Approach Harpies patrol the approaches to the island every hour of the day, watching for sails in the distance. They can only check every 4 hours at night, but given the reefs and shoals a night approach would be either very slow and very dangerous. Unless the party has something clever up their sleeve, they will be spotted before they catch sight of the island, though they may spot the spotter as well. Encounter 1: Zariah and 8-12 Harpies Zariah will fly close and attempt to charm the party. She is experienced at telling real reactions, and will spot a fake on a 4 in 6. If the party is mostly charmed, or fools Zariah into thinking they are, the Harpies will swoop in a grab a member or two and instruct the rest to leave, (if the party is mostly charmed, they grab a noncharmed member). Charmed members need to make a saving throw vs magic - not to obey. If the party attacks the harpies in numbers, they retreat and regroup for a bombing run. If the party is not chained, and does not fool Zariah, then the other harpies will fly to the nearest cache and grab the nets while Zariah flies in to threaten, demanding meat and that the party head away if they are close to the island. If meat is given, they will leave, but keep watch to make sure the boat does not approach. Episode 3: Bombardment If the party gets too close or attacks the harpies, the rocks will drop. Acting in relays, groups of 4 Harpies will drop a large rock at the boat. A boat sailing a steady course is hit on a 10 by the Harpies. If this is some distance from the island, the waters are fairly clear and the boat pilot can attempt a piloting roll to dodge (at -1 for every 10' of boat length). If close to the island, piloting check are made at a -4 and failure strikes a submerged reef. Episode 4: Swimming Unless you have a good pilot (or another way to the island), you are going to have to swim to shore. Unless you have the swimming skill, you can not carry anything larger than a knife or wear any armor heavier than leather and keep afloat. You need to make an Endurance roll each round to keep afloat, (dwarves are at -6 to this roll due to their dense bodies). Each round you fall you take 1d6 temporary damage from drowning, once you pass out you start taking REAL damage every round until you are pulled from the waves. It will take most players at least 6 successful rolls to reach shore. Anyone with the swimming skill can be assumed to succeed each round unless they are trying to carry more than a knife or are wearing metal armor. Encounter 2: Sharks Guess what, all this splashing tends to attract sharks. Starting at round 4, make a check on 1d6, on a 2 or less a shark arrives. Remember, fighting while swimming is pretty tough, and most of you do not have much by the way of weapons. Fortunately only 1 shark of dangerous size arrives each round. Episode 5: Landfall Well, you made it to shore, but you are soaking wet, tired and nearly unarmed, Naturally this means the Harpies have been watching your struggles and just waiting for you. As each member make it to shore, they have to make a successful endurance check (-1 for each round they spent drowning) or just lie there on the beach. If you make it, you can attempt to run for cover. Encounter 3: Harpy Snatch The Harpies will attempt to grab you, on a successful "to hit" you are grabbed by a harpy. You need to be grabbed by 2 harpies before they can lift a normal man, so you can counter-attack. Anyone who failed their Endurance check is defenseless and is automatically grabbed. You have 3 rounds before you can reach cover, if you are not grabbed at least once, (you are considered stopped once grabbed). The harpies will also grab people who are unconscious from the waves, so most of the party should survive to the next episode. Episode 6: Imprisoned The Harpies like their meat fresh, and probably already ate today, so the party will find themselves chained in an old lighthouse the harpies are using as a prison tower. Any member who did not get caught (HAH!) can try to figure out a rescue plan while those inside can work on their escape. You have been stripped of any gear that survived the landing, all you have are clothes. A thief can try to pick locks (there are rusty nails you can reach that act as - 10% lockpicks). A strong character can try a "bend bars" roll. Once you are out of your chains, you can try to figure our a way out of the lighthouse. The only ways out large enough for a human are the door, which is bolted firmly enough that you are at -5 to break it down, and the top window (a 50' sheer climb down). The place is watched day and night, either exit will alert the harpies. Notes: The lighthouse uses a sumphole as a privy, a dwarf or other trained miner could enlarge it to permit humans to escape, if tools can be improvised. A halfling or a small elf might slip out one of the smaller side windows. Food is brought twice a day, it is foul stuff, but will keep you alive (if you are visibly free of your chains, food will not be brought and the harpies will try to starve you into submission). Episode 7: Escape Once you have a plan of action, you get out of the tower and either overcome the guards or escape to the wooded area of head strait for the harpy caves. Most likely you head to get some better-food and make some improvised weapons. Episode 8: The Woods The woods on this island are not large, since the island itself is small, so there are no predators to worry about (and not much to hunt except birds, though there are plants to eat). The woods are too dense for the harpies to fly, so if they come after you, it will be on the ground. It is more likely that they will wait you out, watching the access trails. Unless there is a lean period, the harpies are not likely to come in after you. If they do, it will be as a group (6 each along the 3 main trails, the other, 6 wait to see if they flush you out). You will have time to use any woodworking' bowyer, of fletcher skills to create weapons. If you lack these skills, an Int. roll can be made to design and a Dex. roll to build some simple weapons that will function at a -1 to -4 to hit and damage (depending on how well you rolled and what you were attempting). Episode 9: The Treasure Cave The Harpies can be seen take the goods they took from you to a cave up on the cliff (assuming someone escaped fast enough to see this, or is free in the woods watching). This cave is not lived in by any Harpies, but is watched closely by two harpies at all times. If you take out these tow guard and climb up to the cave, you will find the loot taken from any previous human meals the Harpies have had, including a number of useful weapons (and your own that were not lost at sea), plus anything else the Game Master decides (possibly some armor, money, or jewelry). No magic though, the harpies are smart enough to take that and use it. Episode 10: Final Confrontation Once more armed, the party has to go after the harpies, including both their leaders. The best fighters will face Zariah and Calliope, plus two other Harpies each, the rest will divide as evenly as possible. Remember spellcasters, unless you have found the material you need for a spell on the island, you can not use any that require material components. This confrontation take place in the harpies home caves, do not forget to put in traps and generally make things tough. The main cavern is big enough for the harpies to fly, but no so high that they can bombard the party. Episode 11: Getting Home Assuming you win, you have to get home. Let your players be inventive on this one. They need no hurry, they have food (plants, fish and, birds), shelter (the lighthouse) and company (each other). -Just remember not to give them any experience points until they get back. Catch Points: Your players might have something like a Fly spell or Teleport or Water Breathing to get them to the island unspotted. Have them spotted on reaching shore and bombarded with smaller stones from out of arrow and spell range. They will have to take shelter in the woods, lighthouse or caves to keep from being pelted to death. Most other actions can be accounted for. A Regent might try to bring troops along. Let them, but have most of the troops drown and die. This is something for the party to solve, not a situation for war moves. Rewards: Aside from the treasure of the cavern, the two magic items, and clearing out the harpies, a character could do bloodtheft on Calliope. You also have in your possession a lighthouse which needs only slight repair to be in working order, a useful thing for someone with a sea trade route (increases GB gained by +1 per season from the route). If the character can not use it themselves, they can sell it to someone who can (GM's discretion as to price). Back to White Knight #13 Table of Contents Back to White Knight List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Pegasus-Unicorn Productions 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