Dungeon World - (MM2) Wizard-Spawned Insanities (Oef) PDF

o Module MM2
Wizard-Spawned
Insanities
a monster manual
for the Dungeon World fantasy role-playing game
by
Johnstone Metzger
&
Nathan Jones
2015
Vancouver
Canada
Wizard-Spawned Insanities
Writing, maps, and publishing by Johnstone Metzger.
Illustrations by Nathan Jones.
Vancouver, Canada.
August, 2015.
Text
This text contains portions of Dungeon World, by Sage LaTorra and
Adam Koebel, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
Unported license.
dungeon-world.com
https://github.com/Sagelt/Dungeon-World
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
The text of this module is released under a Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.
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Type
The text is set in:
• Alegreya, by Juan Pablo del Peral (huertatipografica.com.ar).
• Diavolo Light, by Jos Buivenga (exljbris.com)
• GFS Porson (greekfontsociety.gr).
• Metamorphous, by James Grieshaber for Sorkin Type.
• Sorts Mill Goudy, by Barry Schwartz (crudfactory.com).
Diavolo Light licensed under the exljbris Font Foundry Free Font
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o Table
Contents
The Astral Glutton

Bluish Multitudes
The Crystal King
The Crystal Men
The Dragon Armour
The Griffarcus
Harlan Blackhand
The Kruffalump
The Mass of Limbs
Pygmy Cave Trolls
Rhinocorn Homunculi
The Swamp Witch
Zorbal the Damned
of
7
19
25
33
41
47
53
63
69
77
89
97
105
Overjoyed to hear he had ret
returned,
turned, we went t
to meet him surreptitiously, so our families
would not find out and give us their disapproving
lectures. We found him in the rectory. He
would never had gone there before, but of
course things had changed.
It wasn’t him! Yes, it looked just like him,
down to the duelling scar above his lip and th
the
he
mole on his forearm. And yet, the person
underneath was someone else! He was so cruel,
I cannot bear to repeat the things he e said
sa
aid
d to
us, even in writing that will only be read once I
have… but enough of that, it is not a thing fit
to dwell upon.
It was the moment that Clarissa ran from
him, screaming and crying, that I realized the
truth: there was no one to hear us anymore.
He had already made sure of it. It took all my
courage to put the knife into him, but even
that did not end things.
earnest.
That was when the misery began in ea
arnest.
o The
Astral Glutton
The Astral Glutton 9
Devils of the Astral

Created by the magical residue of thousands of unfortunate
wizards who met their doom on the astral plane, the astral glutton
is a fearsome thing. A worm-like ghost ghost, it passes through the
material world, becoming solid just long enough to tear apart the
flesh of creatures it has been angered by. It’s favourite activity is
to possess the living and live through them—not “vicariously,”
exactly, since the astral glutton experiences every pleasure directly
and the host body suffers all the consequences—in order to sate its
alien appetites.
It would not have access to this world, of course, were it not for
the lure of magical power. Those fallen sorcerers, floating in limbo
between the stars, still retain vast quantities of the quintessence
that is the arcane itself. What would you pay for such a treasure?
It is like gold to the poor, weapons to the oppressed, or water to
a man dying in the desert. Mages of all stripes lust after this pure
arcane power, but to get it, they must venture between dimensions,
and risk encountering something things best left beyond the veil—
things like the astral glutton.
Secret Origins
Though the threat posed by the astral glutton is known to experts,
its origins are shrouded in mystery. What diligent researchers
may discover, as a reward for their hard work—or perversely, a
punishment, perhaps—is that an astral glutton can only be created
by the death of a mortal human who can wield no sorcerysorcery, but was
nonetheless left stranded to die on the astral plane, amidst the
sorcerous debris fields that occasionally litter its expanse.
But this is also very dangerous knowledge, for it means one
could—if one was malicious or mad enough—engineer the creation
of new astral gluttons to plague and bedevil astral mages.
10 The Astral Glutton
Motives
The astral glutton is a fickle creature. What does it want? Why does
it do the terrible things that it does? Roll 1d6 to find out (or choose
a motive from the following options):
All the astral glutton cares about is getting high and
1 experiencing multiple layers of reality at the same time.
It will consume any and all hallucinogenic drugs and
stimulants until its mortal body is burned out.
The astral glutton holds some seemingly-random
2 philosophical idea in reverence, and it attacks anyone it
perceives as being at odds with this idea (in either their
words or behaviours). It does not actually act in accordance
with this idea, by any definition, it just attacks others
because of it. The astral glutton sees no contradiction in
this.
The astral glutton is driven only be a burning desire
3 for revenge upon the descendants of those who it feels
offended it during its mortal life. These are the only
memories that still linger in its mind.
The astral glutton likes to jump from body to body and
4 cause drama.
drama It’s a griefer, basically—the more strife and
drama, the better. The specific drama means little to the
astral glutton. All that matters is outrage, conflict, and
attention.
The astral glutton wishes only to experience all sensual
5 pleasures of the flesh, and does not care what lengths it has
to go to in order to do that. It will be obsessively attracted
to any type of body it has not possessed before and any
physical experience it has not yet grown tired of.
The only food that sustains the astral glutton is the psychic
6 residue of the human mind in captivity. Its modus operandi
is to possess powerful people and, while feeding off their
anguish at not being in control of their body, using their
influence to enslave others.
ASTRAL GLUTTON 20 HP 0 Armour

Devious, Intelligent, Large, Planar, Solitary, Terrifying.
Special Qualities: Astral parasite, Flying, Mostly intangible.
Although the astral glutton desires living hosts, it is also petulant
and wrathful. It has no problem rending and battering any humans
it finds annoying or troublesome. Because it is usually intangible, it
has little experience of mortals that know how to hurt it.
Instinct: To possess the living.
Attacks:
• Bite and chew (1d8 damage, 1 piercing, messy; hand).
• Grab a foe and rend them apart (1d8+2 damage, forceful,
messy; close).
Moves:
• Fly through the air.
• Possess a living person’s body.
• Return to the astral plane.
Tactics:
If they are annoying: Pummel them until they cower.
If they are completely boring: Return to the astral plane.
If they can harm astral creatures: Throw a fit and flee.
If they have an interesting body: Possess them.
Weaknesses:
Because it is a creature of the astral, anything that destroys magic
or has an increased effect on magical planes will have an increased
effect upon the glutton. Most magical weapons will also be able to
harm it, even though it is intangible.
When the astral glutton attempts to possess you, you can either
accept it into your body or defy the danger it poses to you. If you do,
on a 10+, you are safe and the astral glutton may not try again. On a
7-9, you are fighting over who controls your body. If no one comes
to your aid, you must split your waking time with the astral glutton.
Each full day you remain in control you must mark a debility. Once
you run out or when you give in, the astral glutton controls your
body for the same amount of time. If someone helps to exorcise the
astral glutton, it must flee from your body. On a miss, your body is
lost to the astral glutton. It has complete control.
Ambassador’s End
An Opening Scenario
Choose where the scenario starts, then read this to the players:
You have been gathered into a small audience chamber inside the
home of [an important royal institution; see below], along with
the recently-arrived foreign ambassador and Shaliyas, the court
sorceress. Before your very eyes, the ambassador’s body is rent
asunder, split open as if from the inside. A ghostly horror emerges,
worm-like and gibbering, with huge, sightless eyes and numerous
arms. What do you do?
Important Royal Institutions (choose or roll 1d8):

1 The castellan of the royal palace.
2 The chief cartographer of the royal geographical society.
3 The king’s favourite mistress.
4 The royal master of horses.
5 The offices of the War Ministry.
6 The queen’s preferred executioner.
7 The royal family’s private cathedral.
8 The Royal Repository of Ancient Artifacts.
Spout Lore
If someone spouts lore about this ghastly chest-burster, they should
be able to identify the astral glutton by its appearance. Spouting
lore also provides information found in boxes like the one below,
which are scattered throughout this book:
Something Interesting
The astral glutton is known to possess people
and use their bodies for its own purposes.
Normally, it has perfect control of its host, and
does not leave unless it seeks a new body or it
has been forced out.
Questions
As the action commences, ask the players some of these questions
and use the answers they give you:
• What foreign kingdom does (did) the ambassador represent? Why

are tensions between your two kingdoms so high right now?
What the players say in answer has the potential to turn this
incident into an international disaster. If the foreign kingdom
does not accept the possession of its ambassador, there could be
dire repercussions: persecution of foreigners in that kingdom,
restrictions on trade, or even outright invasion.
Use what they tell you not only to define exactly what could go
wrong here, and how easily, but also as a source of ideas for how it
could be remedied.
• Did you kill the ambassador, and if so, why?
If anyone answers in the affirmative, bring their relationships with

the other PCs into the situation. Ask the other players what they
thought of the relationship between the killer and the killed. Did
they suspect it would come to this? Did they approve? Who tried to
stop it? Were any of them friendly with the ambassador?
This is also an opportunity to introduce sub-plots,
sub-plots if the
ambassador was killed for completely unrelated reasons. If any
other NPCs are mentioned in the answers to this question, keep
them in mind and ask about them—or even introduce them
outright—later on.
Something Useful
Though insubstantial, the glutton can still
harm people, even as their own attacks pass
right through it. Anything that affects undead
or extraplanar spirits should affect it, too.
• Who asked you to spy on the ambassador, and did you do it?
Use this question to add a sense of espionage and intrigue to the

scenario. Was this a routine procedure, to keep an eye on a visiting
dignitary? Does this PC often spy on people, or was this something
unusual? Did someone suspect the ambassador was possessed, or
are there other plots happening?
Keep notes on this spymaster (or would-be spymaster, if such
is the case) so you can track their assets, motives, and movements.
You might want to turn them into a full-fledged danger once the
session is over.
• Why did you come to this hastily-convened meeting, and who

summoned you? Did you keep it a secret?
Use their answers to add a sense of urgency to the atmosphere of

intrigue. Something more than just a terrifying monster bursting
out of the foreign ambassador is going on here. Some possible plots
that could be involved here are:
• The ambassador was unexpectedly and forcibly exorcised by
the magical power of the location, where secret experiments in
sorcery are currently being conducted.
• The astral glutton desires Shaliyas’ body so it can experience
sorcery and manipulate the royal family all at the same time.
• The foreign kingdom sent the possessed ambassador here, with
full knowledge of the astral glutton.
• A plot to assassinate the king and place his bastard daughter
on the throne is in the works, planned by a small cabal of
unscrupulous nobles.
• Shaliyas unmasked the ambassador in front of the PCs to shift
the blame for it over to them.
Ask these of different players:

• What issues of state have you and Shaliyas butted heads over before?
Have you argued in front of the royals, or just in private?
• Why does Shaliyas bear a grudge against you? Is it warranted?
Use their answers to create dialogue between her and the PCs.
They obviously do not agree on everything, and will need to discuss
their options with Shaliyas before they make a final decision on
how to handle this incident. Make sure there are consequences
for attacking, ignoring, or snubbing Shaliyas. She is an important
person!
Questions No One Wanted To Ask

• Is it really dead, or just banished?
• Was the ambassador possessed after arriving here, and did
someone in the royal household have something to do with it?
• What if there is more than one?
• Where does it come from? Did someone orchestrate its
arrival?
• Who knew about the ambassador being possessed and said
nothing?
If the PCs do research on the astral glutton, valuable information

can be found in the notebooks of Themaculus (turn to page 90).
If the PCs look for a way to travel to the astral plane, they might
want to use a Griffarcus to do so (turn to page 48). If the PCs look
for someone who can teach them how to tame the Griffarcus, you
might direct them towards Narriot Zorbal (turn to page 106).
If the PCs look for a place they can keep the astral glutton safely
imprisoned, there is an ancient, buried temple where such magics
are fairly easy to accomplish (turn to page 80).
If the PCs look for the astral glutton’s enemies, they might find
references to a mass of limbs on a planet deep in the void-dark
astral sea (turn to page 73).
Continuing the Scenario

Once the PCs have dealt with the immediate threat of the astral
glutton, either it will have been captured or destroyed, or it will
have escaped. All three outcomes require them to take stock of
their situation and make decisions.
If it has escaped, the PCs will need to formulate a plan to
go after it. If it has escaped in Shaliyas’ body, it now has magical
powers and a level of access to the royal family that the ambassador
did not. It will make a formidable arcane enemy danger, likely with
a short list of grim portents moving it toward an impending doom
at a prodigious speed. Probably the most important question to ask
is: who do the PCs go to next?
If it has been captured, the PCs will need to decide what to do
with it. Perhaps they will research ways to destroy it, or to keep it
imprisoned forever, or even to study it and gain its powers. They
will need allies who can help them do these things and they will
probably need to keep their activities a secret, which—at the very
least—requires Shaliyas to do them a favour (if she has not been
incapacitated somehow).
If it has been destroyed, the PCs can stop worrying about its
activities. But another question immediately leaps to the fore, and
cannot be ignored the way it can be if the astral glutton is captured
or escapes: what are the consequences of this incident? The royal
family and the foreign kingdom that sent the ambassador will both
want answers, not to mention the royal institutions involved, and
possibly Shaliyas. Everyone will try to spin these events to their
favour, so they can push their other agendas. Who benefits from
this? Whose plans are scuttled by it? Keep in mind: just because
someone can advance their own cause off the back of the PCs
doesn’t mean they will act favourably toward them.
Tomb of the Possessed Lord

Deep within the bowels of the earth there lies the tomb of Lord
Valdegaart, a man possessed by the astral glutton. He was said to
Valdegaart
have been buried laden with gold and jewels, in a casket made of
diamonds, itself resting inside a gilded cage.
Astute research may discover that he was buried on his
younger brother’s instructions, and that this same brother was later
beheaded for the crime of poisoning, in an entirely unrelated affair.
Even more astute research may incline the researcher to think that
this brother was even innocent of the crime!
The Tomb
The lord sits inside a glass box that is five feet wide, five feet deep,
and five feet high. Attached to the edges of the box are small glass
globes of a greenish colour, that appear to have some kind of liquid
in them. This is poison, but its toxicity has been leeched out of
it by age and magical residue. If the glass is broken, the poison is
harmless—although the broken glass may not be.
The glass box is itself inside an iron cage (that is most definitely
not gilded). The cage has a door on it that is locked, and to which
there is no key still in existence. The space between the bars is
about four inches at most. The cage is set into the stone floor.
The good news, for dungeon robbers, is that the lord is wearing
his treasures about him. Hundreds of coins worth of golden rings
and necklaces beset with gems adorn his body, as well as a golden
torque and a golden crown.
The Truth
Lord Valdegaart was put to sleep with poison, and then buried
by his brother, as if he were dead, and the astral glutton has been
trapped here ever since.
The lord appears only slightly decomposed and remarkably
held-together, as if he was undead. The bad news, for dungeon
robbers, is actually worse than that When the glass is broken,
the astral glutton is freed, and will attack anyone inside the room
immediately. Once it has possessed a body, it flees the dungeon, to
wreak havoc in the world. Those that survive it’s wake, however,
are free to help themselves to the riches left behind.
o
Bluish Multitudes
20 Bluish Multitudes
A Dungeon Terror
These hideous abominations were invented by the archmage
Drakdagor as a way to both punish his failure-prone minions and
guard his underground storehouses. First, he transmogrified one
of his long-suffering minions into a doughy, bluish creature with
a blob-like torso that slowly absorbed the minion’s original head.
Then he found that he could also add more minions to it and they
would meld with the blob. The result was a new creature with
multiple limbs and mouths, and a ravenous appetite for intruders.
Those minions that failed Drakdagor would often find themselves
becoming part of a bluish multitude.
Ultimately, Drakdagor created too many of them and they
destroyed him, devouring his flesh and his magic. Those multitudes
that ate of their master became magical themselves and have proved
to be far longer-lived than the others.
Treasures of Drakdagor
The tales of Drakdagor’s sins are many and varied. If even a portion
of them are true, he was truly a despicable man. He wore clothes
made of human flesh. He threw hundreds of slaves into the ocean
in an attempt to poison the mighty kraken. He was tricked into
devouring his own children, but when the ruse was revealed, ate
this meal with even greater gusto.
Or so they say. But some things are true—the bodies inside
the walls of his tower were discovered when it was demolished.
The seals on the doors to the underworld below killed dozens of
labourers. His notebooks detail vast inquiries into the limits of
human suffering, but who can tell if they are fact or fiction?
The tales of what treasures still remain in his subterranean
stores are equally overwrought. He flaunted a green jar when the
Leper King petitioned him to cure the plague ravaging the eastern
half of his empire. Inside was a cure for both ailments. He kept a
phoenix egg in his study, sealed in a cage of light, so he could read
at night by it. He had a magic sword that could spit out any words
ever spoken by those it had slain. He had statues made of gold, gold
encrusted with jewels, said to have been looted from the tombs and
temples of ancient sorcerer-priests, just like the one in Nairomia
that belongs to the king. None of these have ever been found, nor
have the verdigris tablets that contained his spells. Where else
could they be but where the bluish multitudes dwell?
Bluish Multitudes 21
BLUISH MULTITUDES 15 HP 1 Armour

Amorphous, Construct, Hoarder, Large, Solitary.
Special Qualities: Infectious.
The bluish multitudes are bound by Drakdagor’s magic to patrol his
storehouse. They roam the labyrinthine dungeons of his fortress,
preying on vermin, hapless thieves, and the sacrifices brought to
them by superstitious villagers.
If the spells that bind them were to be broken, though…
Instinct: To protect the underground storehouse.
Attacks:
• Grab a foe and eat (1d10+2 damage, forceful; hand, close).
• Push and shove a group of foes apart.
Moves:
• Merge with someone who is already infected.
• React strangely when touched by magic.
Tactics:
ics:
When n they enter the dungeon: Consume them.
Weaknesses:
knesses:
The bluish multitudes can easily be bound by
magical
ical energies and rituals. They were created
by magic, to be the slaves of magic, and this is
still part of their nature.
22 Bluish Multitudes
The Infection
Fighting the bluish multitudes is a dangerous affair. You may
become what you wish to destroy! At the end of a fight, some
characters may have to make this move:
When you have been wounded by a bluish multitude, roll+CON.

Take +1 if you also consume a healing potion or the cleric heals you.
On a 10+, you are fine, it’s only a flesh wound. You’re not infected.
On a 7-9, your wounds are infected and begin to turn blue over
the next few days. You have enough time to get to a healer and do
something about it, though. On a miss (or if you leave the infection
alone for more than a few days), you start turning into a bluish
multitude.
The Danger
If one of the PCs is turning into a bluish multitude, they are
shunned by the local villagers, who know what blue-tinted flesh
means. People in the cities might not guess what is happening,
but those who do would rather slay the infected outright than risk
contact with them.
The progress of their infection is also a danger all on its own,
that you keep track of like any other. Advance through the grim
portents when the infected PC spends time attending to other
matters instead of obtaining magical healing to deal with the
problem.
Impulse: To transform the host into a bluish multitude.
GRIM PORTENTS
• The area around the wound begins to turn blue.
• Blue spots appear on other parts of the host’s body.
• An entire limb or section of the host body turns blue and flabby.
Impending Doom: The host completely changes into a bluish
multitude.
Bluish Multitudes 23
Merging
The bluish multitudes can absorb each other, combining and
becoming composite creatures of many limbs and faces—hence
their name. If a bluish multitude tries to merge with an infected PC,
they can defy this danger using CON (or another stat if they have a
particular way of resisting) and retain their independence.
Should they be successfully assimilated, the rest of their
body turns to bluish multitude in a matter of hours. Their mind
is still conscious, of course—or this would not be the punishment
Drakdagor intended it to be!
o The
Crystal King
26 The Crystal King
A New Kingdom
When people first began to see strange crystals in the forest, no
one thought it was a cause for concern. Strange things were always
happening here and there, what with all the reckless magic-users
wandering the land. There was even that hot-headed young sorcerer
Charnuvor, who headed into the woods a while ago, armed with
Charnuvor
his fancy magical clothes and his obsidian eyes. Not that anyone
could say what became of him, but then again, wandering wizards
do come and go, don’t they?
But then the crystals became more and more numerous.
At some point, it was obvious there was a whole area covered
in crystalline growths. And then the crystal men came. At first,
frightened woodsmen told tales of them, but later, they came in
hordes and attacked villages outside the forest. Every season—
every month—the crystal kingdom grew in size, consuming the
land around it. Whenever the locals tried to do anything about it,
the crystal men came and cut them down.
It had begun with a single crystalline monolith,
monolith then another
and another and another, until the ground itself turned to crystal
and glass and this strange, invasive new kingdom’s inhabitants
emerged. It was not until armies were dispatched and the war
between living flesh and glittering stone ground to a stalemate
that humanity discovered who ruled this land. Ambassadors
were exchanged, negotiations occurred, and the Crystal King was
revealed.
Under the Crystal King’s direction, his kingdom has displaced
local farmers and villagers, diverted rivers, and destroyed forests.
That first truce was broken, after several years of peace, and again
war came, and ag again a truce was made. This too, lasted for years,
but in the end wasw broken. The crystal kingdom does not shrink
in size, it only gro
grows larger and larger, even though it grows quite
slowly with the foforces of humanity arrayed against it. Still, it grows,
undefeated.
The Crystal King 27
THE CRYSTAL KING 16 HP 3 Armour

Hoarder, Intelligent, Large, Magical, Organized, Solitary.
Special Qualities: Flying, Made of crystal, Super-vision.
The Crystal King has been learning human language, and is willing
to strike a deal. If his foes are strong enough, he agrees to a truce,
and might even give back some conquered territory. He is patient.
Those lands will be claimed again, even if it takes decades.
But if a deal cannot be struck, he is merciless. He orders his
minions against his enemies or fights them himself, whichever is
most expedient. He may not always kill his enemies, though—some
can be encased in crystal, the way Charnuvor is, so their magic or
life force can power his crystal machines.
Instinct: To expand his kingdom.
Attacks:
• Grab a foe and fling them away (1d8 damage, forceful; close).
• Pummel foes with crystal fists (1d12+2 damage, forceful; close,
reach).
Moves:
• Cause the landscape of the crystal kingdom to shift and
change.
• Command the crystal men that are his minions.
• Float through the air.
• Sense a foe’s weakness with extra-planar vision.
Tactics:
When in control of earthly territory: Turn it into crystal.
When they are weak: Take advantage and strike quickly, seizing
ground.
When they have a superior force: Negotiate a truce.
When they invade the crystal kingdom: Repel them with savage force.
Weaknesses:
Because of hiss composition, the crystal king
king’ss body is susceptible to
certain frequencies
encies of sound. Some high tones destabilize his body
and senses, ass do some very low notes. He can even take damage if
the sounds aree loud enough. He has developed an intense hatred of
human music. c.
28 The Crystal King
Missions
It is quite easy to become enmeshed in the intrigues surrounding
the Crystal King. He is willing to deal with adventurers in search of
employment—as are his enemies.
Conversion
There are those who make pilgrimages of a sort to the crystal
kingdom, to swear fealty to the Crystal King. They drink petrifying
water and practice other rituals in order to replace parts of their
bodies—their bones, limbs, organs—with crystal structures. The
PCs might accompany them, as bodyguards or fellow supplicants.
What will they do once they reach the kingdom and witness such
transformations?
Rescue Mission
There are numerous wizards that might want Charnuvor recovered.
Are the PCs the perfect group of adventurers to enact this rescue?
How will they make their way into the crystal kingdom and free
Charnuvor?
Sabotage
The Crystal King is always interested in waging war against his
human neighbours. He will hire adventurers willing to agitate
for war between human communities, commit assassinations, or
sabotage human military structures. He can pay them in diamonds
and other precious stones, or in supplies of petrifying water.
Successful missions may even inspire the Crystal King to offer
them initiation into his cult of human worshippers.
In lieu of ink, the Crystal King signs peace
treaties using a strange liquid that perhaps
might serve as blood inside his crystalline
body.
The Crystal King 29
The House of Weldern

Elona Maria,
Maria matriarch of the House of Weldern, has a significant
problem on her hands. Her son is sick, his body slowly petrifying,
due to a poisonous snake bite. If she does not find a cure for him, he
will eventually die. That day draws ever nearer.
She has been told that magical crystals are needed to reverse
the poisoning. She has already tried samples from the crystal men,
to no avail. She must have more powerful crystals. If the PCs are
presented to her as capable adventurers, she hires them to bring her
samples from the crystal kingdom itself. She emphasizes that only
the most powerful crystals will do. She does not realize how true
this is, for only the body of the Crystal King himself has the power
to cure her son.
Type: Cursed place.
Impulse: To cause war between humans and the crystal kingdom.
GRIM PORTENTS
• The lands of House Weldern are overrun by bounty hunters
all seeking to be hired and charlatans bringing counterfeit
crystals in the hopes of getting paid.
• A party of reckless adventurers cause trouble on the crystal
kingdom’s borders.
• A force of crystal men sally forth to invade the lands between
the crystal kingdom and the House of Weldern.
• The crystal men reach the lands of House Weldern and ravage
them.
Impending Doom: The complete destruction of the House of
Weldern and all their lands.
Something Useful
The crystal kingdom is obviously some kind
of extraplanar intrusion, so there must be a
portal at its centre, allowing it to access the
material plane.
30 The Crystal King
Charnuvor
As a young man, he was one of the Royal College of Wizardry’s best
and brightest students, but after graduation he failed to live up to
his potential. He specialized in elemental magic
magic—water and stone,
in particular—but was never very good at the politicking that leads
to financial and social affluence. After spending several years in
monastic contemplation of the astral planes of earth and water, he
headed out into the woods to put his research into practice.
But things went awry. Though he contacted another plane of
existence, he could not control it. The portal he created was too
strong and stable, and the strange inhabitants on the other side
seized control of it, and then of him. The Crystal King pushed
through the portal and brought his crystal kingdom with him. He
conjured a crystal prison to hold Charnuvor’s body, and now the
wizard is stuck immobile, with magical petrifying water perpetually
flowing from his hands. This liquid washes across the grounds of
the crystal structures surrounding him, feeding their growth.
Charnuvor is still alive, but the functions of his biology are in
stasis. The crystal kingdom feeds off his magical energy, leeching it
out of him slowly, especially in the form of petrifying water.
Magical Items
Like many wizards, Charnuvor has accumulated a collection of
enchanted items, and he has retained some of them, even in his
crystal prison.
Diamond Teeth: Charnuvor’s proudest achievement is being able

to turn his teeth into pure diamond, by using the petrifying water.
Aside from being extremely valuable, Charnuvor’s teeth can grind
down and tear through any non-magical material.
Emerald Eyes: After graduating college, Charnuvor replaced his

human eyes with magical emerald lenses. These lenses allow him to
see into inhuman spectrums. Not only can he perceive extra-planar
beings active in our world, but he can also see into other planes of
existence through them.
Magic Coat: Charnuvor developed his magical coat to protect him

from elemental magic. Though not strong enough to protect him
from the Crystal King, the coat still grants +2 armour against the
physical elements, magical or mundane.
The Crystal King 31
Trouble
But things went awry. Though he contacted another plane of
existence, he could not control it. The portal he created was too
strong and stable, and the strange inhabitants on the other side
seized control of it, and then of him. The Crystal King pushed
through the portal and brought his crystal kingdom with him. He
conjured a crystal prison to hold Charnuvor’s body, and now the
wizard is stuck immobile, with magical petrifying water perpetually
flowing from his hands. This liquid washes across the grounds of
the crystal structures surrounding him, feeding their growth.
Charnuvor is still alive, but the functions of his biology are in
stasis. The crystal kingdom feeds off his magical energy, leeching it
out of him slowly, especially in the form of petrifying water.
o The
Crystal Men
34 The Crystal Men
The Crystal Army

First there were tales of strange dancing men in the forest. Most
people thought these were just fanciful stories of leprechauns, but
no. The green men made of crystal came first, marauding through
local villages. When the humans fought back, they encountered
the purple ones, climbing all over the strange crystal structures
growing in the woods. When the floating, obsidian-black titans
showed up, the war began in earnest.
Of course, there is peace now, but how long will it last? This is
not the first peace treaty the crystal men have agreed to. Meanwhile,
in the dark corners of society, desperate people make deals with
the crystal men—they are willing to betray their own people in
exchange for power. Will the crystal kingdom even need to wage
another war to conquer the humans who live next door, or will they
expand this time through betrayal?
Organization
The first crystal men the humans ever encountered were actually
the purple crawling crystal men, seen by those who ventured into
the budding crystal kingdom in its earliest days, but there were few
reports until the crystal men became violent. When the invasions
of human-occupied lands finally came, different types of crystal
men were seen. The most common were green and yellow, dancing
and capering, slicing the lives of villagers and militiamen away with
savage crystal claws. The dancing crystal men are the foot soldiers
of the crystal kingdom’s invasion of this plane. But all foot soldiers
need generals, and the crystal men are no exception. The black
titans lead them, hovering over the battlefield, blasting away with
their beams of dark energy.
Occasionally, other types of crystal men are seen. The
aforementioned half-human zealots of course, but there are also
multi-coloured crystal men, with the abilities of two different
types—one might be black and purple, unable to fly, but constantly
surrounded by crystal hornets. Other colours have been sighted,
too, orange and blue, and creatures made of clear crystal whose
forms are not humanoid. These are special cases, and usually
unique. Are they special creations of the Crystal King? Are
they humans who have been transformed into new forms by the
petrifying water and the gems they swallow? So far, none have been
able to find out for sure.
The Crystal Men 35
The Value of Crystal

Because the physical material of the crystal kingdom is not the same
as the gemstones of the material plane, and also because it relies on
some kind of arcane energy stemming from its home dimension to
retain what properties it does have, it is not considered valuable.
valuable
There is, as yet, no demand for it as a type of precious stone, nor do
the merchants of the world know how to appraise it properly. There
is simply no real market for it, even if it looks pretty.
The Crystal Cult

Tales are told of a crystal cult of humans who swallow gemstones
that grow inside their bodies, of fanatical zealots with limbs made
of crystal who fight alongside the crystal men themselves. Some
even wonder if the crystal men themselves were not all people once,
transformed into strange new life forms by the power of the crystal
kingdom.
When you join the crystal cult and drink the petrifying water,
choose one gift from the list below and roll+CON. On a 7+, you
are granted that gift, and on a 7-9, you are also granted a second,
randomly-determined gift. On a miss, you are granted two
randomly-determined gifts, neither of which can be the one you
wanted. Crystal body parts all have 3 armour.
Gifts of the Crystal Cult:

1 Crystal Arm: Your arm has sharp edges that can cut flesh.
2 Crystal Body: You can no longer digest human food.
3 Crystal Brain: Your mind can speak to the crystal men.
4 Crystal Eyes: You can see in the dark.
5 Crystal Face: You can no longer speak.
6 Crystal Leg: Your leg is very heavy and hard to move.
7 Crystal Organs: Weapons that pierce your body may break.
8 Dirt Bones: You can bend and twist into inhuman shapes.
9 Dirt Eater: You can eat rock and stone as if they were food.
10 Sand for Blood: You cannot bleed to death.
11 Stone Face: Your expression no longer changes involuntarily.
12 Stone Hands: Your hands can be used as weapons, but have
very poor dexterity and are discoloured.
36 The Crystal Men
CRAWLING CRYSTAL MAN 6 HP 3 Armour

Group, Organized, Planar.
Special Qualities: Made of jagged crystal.
Instinct: To defend the crystal kingdom from invaders.
Attacks:
• Grab a foe and hold onto them.
• Pointy claws (1d8 damage, plus bonus; hand, close).
• Throw rocks down upon foes below (1d6 damage, near, far).
Moves:
• Alert other crystal men to dangers.
• Cling to any surface.
• Leap over vast distances.
• Sense the weaknesses of stone and metal.
Tactics:
If they are strong: Hang back and pelt them with stones.
If they are weak: Rush them, all at once.
If they strike at vulnerable areas of the crystal kingdom: Defend those
areas first and foremost.
Weaknesses:
The crawling crystal men prefer to attack as a group. If they are
separated from each other, or most of them are destroyed, they
spend time regrouping or they retreat to find more crystal men.
Jagged Crystal: If a crawling crystal man suffers damage but is not

killed, add the damage to all subsequent attacks it makes.
The Crystal Men 37
DANCING CRYSTAL MAN 6 HP 3 Armour

Group, Organized, Planar.
Special Qualities: Made of energized crystal.
Instinct: To drive the meat-things away and expand the crystal
kingdom.
Attacks:
• Blade hands (b[2d8] damage, 1 piercing; close).
• Slash away at a foe’s equipment to disarm them.
Moves:
• Call other crystal men to come.
• Dance around and over dangerous obstacles.
Tactics:
When the Crystal King or a Dark Titan commands: Obey.
Weaknesses:
The dancing crystal men cannot stand still. If they are forced to
stop moving for any reason—either magically or physically—they
begin to crumble apart.
Energized Crystal: When a dancing crystal man is killed, the

volatile energy inside it explodes, dealing 1d6 damage to anyone
nearby that is not also made of crystal.
38 The Crystal Men
As one might expect, the crystal men seem to
have no sense of smell or taste. Their hearing
is also rather poor. They can sense vibrations
in solid matter better than in the air.
The Crystal Men 39
DARK TITAN 12 HP 3 Armour

Large, Organized, Planar, Solitary.
Special Qualities: Flying, Made of dark crystal.
Instinct: To lead other crystal men against the foes of the crystal
kingdom.
Attacks:
• Dark beams (1d10 damage, ignores armour; close, near).
• Grab foes and fling them (1d8+2 damage, forceful; close).
• Toss giant rocks down on foes (1d6+2 damage, forceful; near).
Moves:
• Command other crystal men.
• Fly up high to get a better view of the enemy.
• Produce a vial of petrifying water to use against foes.
Tactics:
When all other crystal men have been defeated: Retreat to the crystal
kingdom for reinforcements.
When the Crystal King commands: Obey.
Weaknesses:
The black stone that the titans are made of is poisonous to organic
creatures. Even long periods of physical contact will cause illness.
Because of how it refracts light, however, any magic that is based
on positive light or fire causes double damage and has twice the
normal effect on a titan.
Crystal Hornets: The tips of the black titan’s fingers detach and
fly through the air, clustering around a foe. As they spin and dart
through the air, they make it harder for that foe to concentrate and
fight against the other crystal men (-1 ongoing until the cloud of
crystal “hornets” is cleared away).
Something Useful
The alchemist Carl Scheele is able to make a
clear liquid that dissolves glass and crystal.
It is poisonous, highly corrosive and must be
carried in Carl’s special containers.
o The
Dragon Armour
42 The Dragon Armour
An Ancient Wonder
Once, long ago, the barbarian armies of the archmage Coraleith
marauded across the lands of civilized peoples. Even such
luminaries of sorcery as Drakdagor himself fled before her savage
hordes, up into the safety of the mountains, there to build his
famous fortress. Many cities were smashed by this horde, and many
peoples enslaved by them.
At the front of her army, Coraleith put the massive form of
Möglöra, her champion. The greatest of all wrestlers and an expert
Möglöra
swordsman, Möglöra fought the champions of other armies in
single combat. He sent every one of them down to the House of
Death. Sometimes he would even fight three or four of the enemy’s
greatest warriors at a time, just to show off.
But this was not enough for Coraleith. The accolades of leading
such a triumphant army could never be enough for her, for she was
also a brilliant sorceress and worker of outlandish thaumaturgies.
She fashioned a suit of armour for her champion out of the iron
of a meteor, shed from the mote in the eye of Khathadriorh, the
cyclopean god of smiths and alchemists whom only the celestial
dragons of the Hyades still worship. And when Möglöra wore this
armour, he could defeat not only champions single-handedly, but
whole armies.
Of course, such hubris is what brings the prideful down. Not
only did Coraleith’s army suffer for want of glory to achieve—there
being none to have in the shadow of dragon-armoured Möglöra—
but she also intended to build more suits of this same armour. She
intended, in this, to create a new and even more impressive army.
The backbone of this new force would be a whole regiment of
warriors wearer her magical dragon armour. This, perhaps, proved
to be her undoing.
The Dragon Armour 43
The Fatal Mistake

Möglöra was, in the end, laid low by the sword of Aurelo Porfyros. os.
When the frost-rimed blade cut through his breastplate and spilled ed
his life upon the cold sandy ground of the Zakhab Wastes, the he
wrestler’s blood was like fire spilled from the mouth of a dragon. on.
It burned through the faulty, magically-chilled metal. The earth th
shook, and building crumbled.
After her army was forced to retreat, Coraleith took what was
left of her dragon armour and tried to replicate it, to replace the full
ull
suit of metal, and to create a second. It did not work. The armour ur
was too fragile from its altercation with the icy blade, its draconic
nic
nature turned degenerate. Those who took up the armour after this his
point were eventually consumed by it, driven to a berserk killing ng
rage that even Coraleith succumbed to, as did what was left of her
army.
All That is Left

Although the elaborate helmet is not the only piece of the dragon on
armour left, it is the only important part. It appears to have dragons
ns
protruding from either side of it, and the lower part extends down wn
over the wearer’s torso like a mouth. The sharp fangs of this mouth th
can pierce and tear the wearer’s skin quite easily—wearing this his
helmet is not for the faint of heart.
The faceplate resembles the door of an oven more than a
knight’s helmet, and when the armour grips its host with a lust for
battle, fire appears inside the helmet, and smoke pours from the he
mouths of the dragons that ornament it. This does not harm the he
wearer. Instead, there is a different problem.
Since the armour cannot be removed without causing harm, m,
the lock that keeps the faceplate shut must be opened in order for
the wearer to eat. Unfortunately, the key to this lock is never found
nd
along with the helmet or any other piece of the armour.
44 The Dragon Armour
Wearing the Armour

The dragon armour is not to be worn by the faint of heart of the soft
of arm. It feels warm to the touch, and grows warmer when you put
your head inside it. The dragon ornaments begin to tremble and
waver, and the mouth tightens around your chest.
When you don the dragon armour, you may remove any debilities
affecting your Constitution, Dexterity, or Strength. You are also
harmed for 1d8 damage, which cannot be healed until after you
engage your foes in battle.
The reasons one would want to wear the armour, however, are
obvious. Even though it is not the full, original suit, it is enough to
turn one into a rampaging beast of battle.
When you enter a fight wearing the dragon armour, roll+CON. On

a 10+, for the entirety of the fight, the magic of the dragon armour
gives your blows +2 damage and the forceful tag, and reduces
damage from all weapons and fire by 4 points. You also ignore
the forceful and messy tags when your foes attack you. On a 7-9,
the dragon armour reduces damage from all weapons and fire by
3 points, but deals 1d6 damage to you if you stop fighting while foes
remain undefeated. You also ignore the forceful tag when your
foes attack you. On a miss, your mind is sent to another dimension
(GM’s choice) while your body continues to fight anyone and
anything like a frenzied berserker, trapped within the rampaging
dragon armour.
The dragon armour is said to contain a portal
to other planes of existence, in addition to its
fighting prowess. If one were to study it, perhaps
this effect could be controlled…?
The Dragon Armour 45
Adventures in Other Dimensions

If your mind is sent into the mind of Harlan Blackhand, turn to
page 58. You will have to deal with both the salamander as well as
the remnants of Harlan’s memories and imagination.
If your mind is sent to the astral plane, turn to page 11. The good
news is that the astral glutton cannot possess you while you wear
the dragon armour.
If your mind is sent to the crystal kingdom, turn to page 26. You
may escape the crystal kingdom and the dragon armour if you find
the portal created by Charnuvor that leads to the material world.
If your mind is sent to frozen Yuggoth, turn to page 73. Because it is

only your mind, this planet is not a hostile environment—although
encountering a mass of limbs could be fatal.
If your mind is sent to Skull Mountain, turn to page 62. You may
encounter any of the monsters that Maggie Marlinspike creates. If
they reduce you to zero HP, you return to your body insane, but
still alive.
Perhaps, on second thought—or after seeing the armour in the

field—you may decide the consequences to outweigh the rewards?
Not so fast! Are you sure you want to get rid of it that quickly?
When you remove the dragon armour, you take 1d8 damage and
mark the debility of your choice. If you cannot mark a debility,
because they are all marked already, you take another 1d8 damage.
Something Useful
There is a thief in Adelida who picked the locks
to Death’s dreary kingdom and escaped. Surely
she could open the dragon armour’s faceplate,
or forge a key that would fit that lock.
o The
Griffarcus
48 The Griffarcus
A Wondrous Steed
Most people who encounter a Griffarcus up close see one only as
the steed of some veteran adventurer or a powerful mage. Little do
they realize the dangers such a steed presents. The Griffarcus is a
traveller between worlds,
worlds wandering from plan to plane, able to
grow and shrink in size. Perhaps its most important characteristic,
however, is that its tail can transform into a venomous snake at a
moment’s notice. Those who wish to tame a wild Griffarcus and
make it their steed must use magical spells to counter this attack,
or they will quickly find themselves walking through Death’s dark
gate.
On the surface, a Griffarcus seems to have the body of a llama
or an alpaca, but its head is more like that of an anteater, and it
has white, feathery wings with which it can fly short distances.
They normally travel in small herds, though it is not unknown
for planeswalkers to encounter an ancient, hoary Griffarcus all
by its lonesome. These loners are usually more dangerous than
herds, however, being unafraid to attack those who oppose their
wanderings.
The Griffarcus, being an omnivore
omnivore, eats vegetation, any kind
of small animal that is slow enough to be caught, and whatever
carrion or garbage that is left behind by others. Perhaps because it
travels so widely across dimensional boundaries, the Griffarcus is
highly resistant to poisons, toxins, and other food impurities.
If you can find the spells and rituals that wizards and adventurers
use to tame, them, maybe you can make one your own steed. But do
not expect someone else to sell you one, for the Griffarcus is literally
priceless—the spell only protects its caster from the venomous bite
of its serpentine tail.
50 The Griffarcus
GRIFFARCUS 7 HP 1 Armour
Horde, Huge or Large*, Organized, Planar.
Special Qualities: Flying, Planeswalker, Variable Size, Venomous.
The tail of the Griffarcus looks like a normal horse’s tail most of
the time, but it can transform instantaneously into the front end
of a venomous snake. Sometimes, a Griffarcus will pretend to be
tame and friendly, only to strike a prospective rider once their back
is turned.
The Griffarcus is not a strong flier, using its wings to bypass
mountain chasms and other areas of broken ground. However, it
can find its way to destinations in other dimensions. If you tell it to
go somewhere, it may not always take the safest or shortest route,
but it will get you there eventually. In order to take advantage of
this power, an adventurer must first use magic to tame a Griffarcus.
Instinct: To ignore planar barriers.
Attacks:
• Attack with venomous snake tail (1d6 damage, venomous;
close, reach).
• Trample a foe beneath its hooves (1d6+1 damage; close).
Moves:
• Cry out to warn the herd.
• Find a route to a desired location.
• Fly over a short distance.
• Grow or shrink in size.
Tactics:
If a place looks interesting: Wander over and check it out.
If they look like a wizard: Be wary of their intent.
If they threaten the herd: Defend the young and drive foes off.
If they won’t be driven off: Flee.
Weaknesses:
The Griffarcus is possessed of a powerful wanderlust and a
dangerous curiosity. It wanders into places and situations it finds
interesting, regardless of threats, and can become trapped by this. It
also cannot stay still, and grows ornery and destructive if prevented
from travelling through the planes.
The Griffarcus 51
Wandering the Planes

The Griffarcus is not impeded by the normal barriers that keep
other creatures from moving between different worlds and planes
of existence. Normally, it will use this ability simply to find new and
interesting food sources, but wizards have found a way to use this
power for their own benefit.
Taming a Griffarcus
In order to tame a Griffarcus, you must first prepare a magical
potion. To brew this potion, you must dissolve crystal dust in tears
potion
of joy, mix that with water from a holy river that has been infused
with one or more enchantments (the water you use, not the river
itself), and then infuse this liquid with the smoke of mountain ash
charcoal.
Once you have this potion brewed, you must drink it and chant
the required magical formula when you encounter a Griffarcus. If
you have performed the magical formula correctly, the Griffarcus
will be charmed and you will be able to tame it and ride it as an
obedient steed.
Travelling with a Griffarcus Steed

Once you have tamed a Griffarcus successfully, you can (in theory)
travel anywhere you want to go.
When you tell the Griffarcus to take you somewhere, roll+CHA.

On a 10+, it can find a route there that is relatively short. If the
way is dangerous, you must still undertake a perilous journey, but
you can get there in decent time. On a 7-9, there is some kind of
complication—either it takes an inordinately long time, or the
Griffarcus takes you through dangerous or hostile locations. On
a miss, you wind up somewhere you really don’t want to be before
you can reach your desired destination.
o
Harlan Blackhand
54 Harlan Blackhand
A Foul Tongue
For years, Harlan Blackhand has been the terror of the region. From
atop his wizard’s tower, high up on Mad Man’s Bluff, he surveys
the lands around him, searching for victims. Tales of his cruelty
are told in hushed whispers far and wide, and all the neighbouring
lords have been scrambling to obtain their own wizards, for fear
that Harlan Blackhand may decide to extend his reach.
Origins
The man now called Harlan Blackhand was once a hedge wizard
of little renown, but dungeon delving saved him from obscurity.
Ancient scrolls of power taught him forbidden secrets, and he took
a fateful plunge from which there is no coming back—he became
a lich
lich.
The death ritual was performed at midnight, under the full
moon. Harlan slaughtered half a village as payment to the gods of
death. All that the survivors could remember about Harlan were
his hands, dripping black with blood in the moonlight. It was not
his first foray into wanton murder and destruction, and it would
not be his last.
Determined to gain more power, he has continued to push
the limits of sorcery. He began to learn the secrets of the elements,
one by one. Many peasants and even a few nobles were drowned or
frozen alive, or burned to death in bonfires at the top of his tower,
their screams echoing out across the plains and valleys.
No one knows Harlan the man, so none can say if he has
become more erratic and strange of late, or if he has succeeded in
mastering new sorceries. There have been many fires of late, and
almost no drownings. More and more people have begun to leave
the region, even though Harlan Blackhand has punished people for
doing so before…
Harlan Blackhand 55
Insults
Harlan Blackhand inevitably throws insults at anyone he meets,
whether they act like friend or foe, regardless of how powerful
they seem. It almost seems like second nature to him that mean
things come out of his mouth, no matter what else he is doing. He
insults peoples’ appearances, their mannerisms, their speech, their
actions—everything he can think of.
Here are some examples:

• “A penny for your thoughts? No wait, that’s far too much!”
• “Do tell me about your life. I’m a big fan of tragedies.”
• “Every time you open your mouth, all I can hear is some idiot
talking.”
• “Have you been to the zoo before? Oh, who am I kidding? You
obviously live there!”
• “I’d break you in half, but I don’t want to have to look at two
of you.”
• “If you’re such a great wizard, why don’t you disappear?”
• “I’m going to shrink your head and use it as a paperweight.”
• “Is that hair or a dog on your head?”
• “Most days, I would have to dig to find something as repulsive
as you.”
• “Oh my, you’re as pretty as a picture. You just need to be
hung!”
• “The only good thing about your sword arm is that it’s not as
ugly as your face.”
• “What are you doing here, did your parents ask you to run
away from home?”
• “When I saw you the first time, I thought my eyes were going.
Now I wish they were!”
• “Your family tree needs a little trimming, let me get my
shears.”
56 Harlan Blackhand
HARLAN BLACKHAND 16 HP 1 Armour

Hoarder, Magical, Solitary, Stealthy.
Special Qualities: Immune to fire, Mostly lobotomized, Possessed
by a salamander, Undead lich, Wizard.
Harlan Blackhand’s once-fancy purple robes have fallen into tatters,
but he still wears golden jewellery to complement the original
colours. He wears a necklace of actual human heads to match his
own ruined lich-face, and his hands are burned and fiery. He hurls
insults at people no matter what else he is doing.
Instinct: To terrorize and belittle others.
Attacks:
• Magical blast (1d10+2 damage, 1 piercing; close, reach, near).
Moves:
• Cast a spell.
• Control fire.
• Hurl insults.
Tactics:
Whatever happens: Insult someone.
Weaknesses:
Unfortunately for him, Harlan Blackhand is no longer in full
control of his own actions. It is always possible that one of the gods
of death will arrive to save him from his present predicament, but
events like that are few and far between, and his chances for lasting
another year do not look very promising.
Rumour has it that there is a local peasant
rebellion stirring. Some members of its leadership
are secretly learning sorcery in order to use it
against Harlan Blackhand.
Harlan Blackhand 57
Possessed!
In truth, Harlan Blackhand’s hubris got the better of him, and
now there is little left of him, lich or not. His experiments of fire
conjured a being of primal flame to the physical world, and this
salamander took his body for its own.
Normally, someone possessed by a salamander would be burned
to cinders in mere moments, but Harlan Blackhand’s sorcerously
fortified body has proven to be, if not an ideal vessel, at least a
functional container. His hands are now quite literally black—
charred and smoking with the elemental fire they weave constantly.
His mind, unfortunately for him, has been blasted beyond repair.
He has effectively been lobotomized, and he can do little other than
hurl insults at people while the salamander maintains control of his
every action.
The salamander is by no means the cruel and vindictive
blackguard that Harlan Blackhand is—or was—but it is still a
creature of fire. It’s appetite is voracious, and it lives to consume all
before it—life, matter, knowledge, sensation. It has been granted
the opportunity to explore the material plane, and it does not wish
to let this experience go to waste.
Something Useful
Harlan Blackhand’s tower is often left
unguarded, with the front door open, even.
Harlan’s reputation is enough to keep people out.
At least is has been so far.
58 Harlan Blackhand
Harlan Blackhand 59
SALAMANDER 15 HP 5 Armour
Amorphous, Intelligent, Magical, Planar, Solitary.
Special Qualities: Fire elemental.
The salamander is a serpentine creature made of elemental fire. It is
not native to the material plane, but Harlan Blackhand’s experiments
summoned it here, and it took advantage of the opportunity. It
currently resides inside his body and mind, directing his every
movement—although it often loses track of certain functions and
allows Harlan to speak. The salamander does not really understand
his insults or why he would feel the need to voice them. Its primary
concern is to explore the material world and to consume all that it
can, especially when it comes to knowledge and sensation. It is not
solely concerned with burning everything!
Instinct: To consume.
Attacks:
• Fiery touch (1d12+2 damage, ignores armour, messy; close).
Moves:
• Control fire.
• Create fire.
• Escape in a cloud of smoke.
• Fly through the air.
Tactics:
If Harlan Blackhand is killed: Emerge from the body.
If they have air or water at their disposal: Proceed cautiously, do not be
afraid to bargain with them.
If they have consumables: Consume them!
If they offer new experiences unique to the physical plane: Strike a deal
with them.
Weaknesses:
The salamander has all the same weaknesses as fire, save for the fact
that it needs no fuel to burn eternal. Cold and water can have a
devastating effect on it, if used appropriately.
o The
Kruffalump
62 The Kruffalump
The Marlinspikes
East Ditch is a small village, of no particular interest to anyone save
the people who live there. “And to our neighbours,” the people
of East Ditch would say, though the neighbours might not always
agree. Like most inconsequential villages in out-of-the-way corners
of the kingdom, it is a sleepy little place where nothing much ever
happens, and like most sleepy little villages, this is not entirely true.
For many years and several generations, the patriarch of the
Marlinspike clan held the mayor’s office, though there was little to
do as an official of such a small place, but mediate petty squabbles
and organize the various festivals, plantings, and harvests. But these
days the clan has fallen far indeed. East Ditch drove out old Maggie
Marlinspike last year and things haven’t been the same since. She
lives up on the side of Skull Mountain now, summoning monsters
from the abyss to plague the people of the village.
Who would blame the new mayor, Pascal Aquison, Aquison for such
a tragedy? He has already lost one son to the tyrannical monster
that haunts the night, that comes with the wind between the trees
to steal cattle and children from Maggie’s enemies. With Carmine
Gartenrab, he has helped the village prosper in recent years. New
Gartenrab
traders have arrived, bearing goods normally seen only in cities
and the promise that East Ditch might exceed its neighbours in
prosperity.
And yet, if Maggie could speak to them, the villagers would
hear of Aquison and Gartenrab running the Marlinspike estates,
of their crooked accounting and systematic embezzlement, of
poisons in the food, of private assaults kept quiet for fear of public
shame and scandal. She would speak of revenge for the deliberate
ruination of the Marlinspikes by these two men and their cronies
over the course of not just years, but decades.
But she does not need to speak of revenge, for she has monsters
to do it for her. Up on Skull Mountain, she makes them herself,
dresses them in flesh and bones and the urge to bathe in blood and
sends them against the ones who wronged her.
The Kruffalump 63
MAGGIE MARLINSPIKE 12 HP 0 Armour

Devious, Intelligent, Magical, Solitary.
Special Qualities: Witch.
Once, ages ago, Maggie’s life was full of warmth and prosperity,
but then Aquison and Gartenrab took over the management of her
father’s estates. From that point on, her life was ruled by fear. But
now the tables have turned, and since her father’s death, she has
been driven only by hate.
An old book once mentioned by Gartenrab showed her how to
use black magic to cast spells and make monsters. She doesn’t know
why he would have known about this book, but she doesn’t think
about it much.
Instinct: To get revenge on the world.
Attacks:
• Curse a foe from afar. (1d10 damage, ignores armour; near).
Moves:
• Call a storm to arrive in the night.
• Command monsters to attack.
• Create monsters.
• Transform someone into a monster.
Tactics:
If they are prosperous and happy: Attack them.
If they stand in the way of revenge: Destroy them.
Weaknesses:
Maggie is bitter and spiteful, and it twists her soul to the very
core. She will do whatever it takes to get revenge against those she
feels have wronged her, including making deals with questionable
people.
Monster Parts
Maggie has a small collection of pieces she has saved from various
monsters. She can use one of these to summon a monster quickly,
though it does not remain for very long—less than half an hour.
The piece itself disappears along with the monster when the time
is up.
These pieces can also be worn, and give the wearer their powers
for up to an hour at a time. Putting a fang in your mouth gives you
a fearsome bite. Wearing a spiny hide gives you protection and is
dangerous to those who get close to you. A monster eye put over
your own eye lets you see in the dark. Maggie has 1d6 of these on
her person at any one time, and a few more she leaves up on Skull
Mountain.
64 The Kruffalump
THE KRUFFALUMP 20 HP 1 Armour

Construct, Huge, Intelligent, Solitary, Stealthy.
Special Qualities: Magical creation.
Maggie’s little sister Jenny told her about the Kruffalump, a monster
she saw at night that would hide under beds, behind trees, and just
beneath the windows. It could be huge when it wanted to, but it
could also squeeze through small openings to get inside the house.
After their father died, Maggie used her magic, and now young
Jenny is the Kruffalump.
Instinct: To revenge the Marlinspikes.
Attacks:
• Beastly hands (w[2d10]+5 damage), forceful; close, reach).
• Hurl foes through the air.
• Tear a limb off (1d6+2 damage, messy; hand).
Moves:
• Move silently through the night.
• Squeeze through small openings.
Tactics:
If Maggie says to do it: It must be the proper thing to do… right?
If they hurt the Marlinspikes: Tear them apart!
Weaknesses:
Like her sister, Jenny wants revenge on the people who wronged
her and the Marlinspikes, but she does not have as much hate in her
heart. Once they have destroyed East Ditch, Maggie wants to keep
going, to march upon the city and the royal palace so she can lord
her powers over as many people as possible. This is also what the
Kruffalump wants, but Jenny hates to be mean to people. She just
wants the bad men out and her old life back.
66 The Kruffalump
The Monsters
The monsters Maggie makes, up on the side of Skull Mountain
at night, come in a hundred different forms and shapes. Many are
alike, but none are the same.
This monster has the same stats as… (roll 1d12):

1 a centaur (p. 266) 7 a lizard man (p. 249)
2 a gargoyle (p. 236) 8 a normal human
3 a ghoul (p. 258) 9 an orc (pp. 280-283)
4 a gnoll (pp. 278-279) 10 an owlbear (p. 292)
5 a goblin (p. 237) 11 a troglodyte (p. 241)
6 a kobold (p. 249) 12 a zombie (p. 263)
but it also… (roll 1d20 twice):

1 burns when it touches bare 11 has numerous tentacles.
flesh.
2 can breathe fire. 12 has skin like stone.
3 can cast two random spells. 13 is constantly vomiting.
4 can impersonate a person 14 is covered in long hair.
for short periods of time.
5 changes shape and size. 15 is diseased.
6 has acid for blood. 16 is rotting.
7 has an animal’s head on its 17 paralyses with its touch.
chest.
8 has centipede legs. 18 spits acid.
9 has eight arms. 19 stinks horribly.
10 has a mouth that can 20 suffers from lycanthropy.
swallow a person whole.
The Kruffalump 67
It’s main weakness is… (roll 1d6):

1 fire 4 religion
2 iron 5 silver
3 magic 6 sunlight
and its other weakness is… (roll 1d10):

1 alcoholism. 7 laughter.
2 garlic. 8 music.
3 gluttony. 9 running water.
4 greed. 10 its short temper.
5 incompetence. 11 wood.
When it attacks, it… (roll 1d4):

1 attacks quickly, by surprise.
2 charges in furiously, screaming and wailing.
3 issues a challenge first, to scare its foes.
4 tries to lure its foes into a trap.
When defeated, this monster… (roll 1d8):

1 bleeds profusely and melts into nothing more than a sticky
puddle of noxious liquid.
2 burns to ashes in an instant.
3 changes into the dead body of a child.
4 disappears in a puff of smoke.
5 dissolves into a mildly poisonous gas that covers a large area,
initially, but quickly dissipates.
6 turns to foul-smelling ichor immediately.
7 turns to stone.
8 wails, spits, and thrashes around dramatically, falling to
pieces as it does so.
o The
Mass of Limbs
70 The Mass of Limbs
Zorbal’s Monster
This writhing mass of violent tentacles
ntacles was summoned to the
material plane by Narriot Zorbal
Zorbal, after
ter consulting arcane oracles for
a way to harass the Crystal King.
King Now,ow, Zorbal keeps it in a pit inside
one of his towers, waiting for the right
ght moment to unleash it.
Zorbal obtained this particular lar specimen from powdered
fungus that he scraped off the walls of a rival wizard’s dungeon. He
was not imprisoned there for long, ass his servants quickly raised the
ransom demanded. Once freed, Zorbal rbal worked quickly to achieve
his vengeance, but was thwarted. The he rival wizard was murdered in
his sleep by forces unknown—though gh a strange mass of tentacles
was seen by local villagers leaving thatat area around the same time.
After being tipped off by the oracles,
cles, Zorbal experimented with
the now-powdered fungus, which had masses of limbs gestating
inside it, and was much luckier than his deceased rival. He did not
fall prey to the mass of limbs he hatched,
tched, but instead became its
master!
The Pit
Zorbal keeps his mass of limbs in a pit in the dungeons below his
tower. The upper sections comprise a purely theatrical dungeon,
full of stage props and scary-lookingg torture devices that do not
actually work. When he wants to show w off for guests and rivals, he
hires actors to dress up as jailers, prisoners,
oners, and even torturers. He
finds it amusing.
Below this theatrical set piece is a much more gruesome
dungeon, where he keeps both his real prisoners, and his more
valuable treasures
treasures. Many brave thieves ves have gone missing here,
even after preparing themselves for Zorbal’s
orbal’s arcane defences—for
they did not expect the mass of limbs.
The Mass of Limbs 71
Princess Cyleria
a
The kingdom of Chrysofasia has been rent by civil war. war The
princess Cyleria is leading a rebellion against her uncle Dastartius,
the current king. She suspects her parents were murdered while
negotiating with the wizard Narriot Zorbal, as part of a scheme
Dastartius concocted to take the throne for himself. The royal
council backed his claim, but they have no knowledge of any secret
agreements between Dastartius and Zorbal.
Princess Cyleria has heard that Zorbal used a creature made
entirely of limbs to kill her parents. It is not the first rumour about
Zorbal to include this creature. Cyleria consulted with hedge
wizards and a swamp witch about this creature, and things like it,
and they have told her many tales that normal people do not like to
listen to. She purchased a jar full of poisoned ghostrock,
ghostrock harvested
on Yuggoth, from a sorcerer travelling through this planet, on her
way to the morningstar.
This ghostrock is not poisonous to humans, but to extraplanar
creatures like the mass of limbs, it means death. Most extraplanar
creatures have no use for ghostrock, but the mass of limbs uses it to
reproduce, and will succumb to this trap.
Right now, the princess is using an old castle in the mountains
as her headquarters. Sir Mocent, the knight who has inherited the
castle, is not very well-known and is not suspected of any rebellious
sympathies—for now, anyway. It is only a matter of time before his
allegiance is discovered by Dastartius, either because the princess
chooses to strike from this location, or because the movements of
her other troops give her away.
The Terrible Truth

What Zorbal does not realize is that the mass of limbs is not unique,
but part of a whole race of similar monstrosities, reproducing
asexually via parasitism in various other dimensions. Their choice
of hosts is almost nonsensical, for their criteria rests on occult
principles unknown to the material world and unsensed by mortal
humans. They breed inside of such varied creatures as dead gods,
a magical fungus found in the cellars of a now-obsolete style of
wizards’ tower, the minds of heretical priests exiled to the moons of
Neptune, Plutonian ghostrock, and even certain inorganic crystals.
This race of many-limbed masses originated in three separate
locations, summoned into existence by the combined efforts of
locations
a Hasturian cult on Yuggoth
Yuggoth, the morbid druids of Hyperborea
Hyperborea,
and the octopus kingdom of drowned Atlantis
Atlantis. All three groups
dedicated their temples by amassing collections of severed limbs.
Adventurers who journey to all three original sites and destroy
them will also destroy the power that gives life to the mass of limbs,
and all such creatures will cease to exist. Such an undertaking is
not without its perils, however.
Drowned Atlantis
The octopus kingdom that occupied Atlantis immediately after
its sinking has long since fallen to the ravages of time and enemy
species. Nothing has moved in to take its place, owning primarily
to a decree by the gods. Atlantis lies empty. Anyone who can travel
safely underwater may access the octopodean temple, the grounds
of which are not safeguarded by the gods. Should an intruder
improperly touch any of the ancient ruins of drowned Atlantis,
they risk the fury of the divine, and the unleashing of a kraken.
The Forests of Hyperborea

Though druidic holy sites are scattered all across the forests of the
North, the primary location of limb sacrifice lies
ies upon an island in
an underground lake,
lake located just past another,
er, older temple, now
occupied by pygmy cave trolls (turn to page 78). The island itself
is bleak and desolate, receiving no sunlight, an eternal nightscape
of chthonic opulence. The rude structures that populate it are
guarded by the people sacrificed by the Hyperborean
rborean druids to the
bloodthirsty gods they worshipped. The murdered
rdered have been left
here by evil sorcery, forever to guard the buried
ied offerings of limb-
bones.
The Mass of Limbs 73
The Planet Yuggoth

Located far out in space, the dark, frozen planet of Yuggoth is
home to races inimical to humanity at the best of times. The old
collection of Hasturian shrines has been abandoned, shunned by
those nations that destroyed the cult. They let loose monsters upon
the area, however, to encourage others to stay away as well. Giant
insectoid monstrosities, ravenous for the taste of living flesh, scuttle
their way between the graves and idols. The alien Mung Mung are
said to meet here on mercantile business, in spite of the apparent
danger, and they are well-known slavers of the softer races.
Perhaps worst of all, the Hasturian shrines of Yuggoth are
actually infested with masses of limbs. The weird ghostrock they are
built from is a perfect hosting material for these creatures, though
they have been consuming the physical integrity of the material
over the centuries. It is now extremely brittle
brittle, and though it looks
and feels as hard as stone, a strong blow will cause it to crumble
into a fine powder—though this also unleashes the ghosts trapped
within. Entire buildingsg can be d demolished with mere punches.
Of course, breathing
athing in this dust is extremely harmful, not least
because it can still
t be used by the masses of limbs for reproduction.
till
MASS OF LIMBS 23 HP 1 Armour

Amorphous, Hoarder, Huge, Planar, Solitary, Terrifying.
Special Qualities: Interplanar traveller (can survive in hostile
environments).
On this plane, they appear as masses of suckered tentacles, but
elsewhere in the multiverse, their limbs appear surprisingly
different—from a mass of crustacean legs and pincers in the Astral
Sea, where they infest the floating corpses of dead Titans, to a mass
of human arms when found on Yuggoth. Older specimens also
manifest other organs on occasion—eyes, teeth, etc.
The mass of limbs is not intelligent in the way we think of such
things—it cannot be conversed with, it understands no morality,
it relentlessly pursues and defends suitable hosts—but it can
immediately solve and overcome any puzzle based in logic. It always
understands games, can decipher codes it needs to bypass magical
barriers, and it can cast spells out of wizards’ spellbooks. How it
does this is unknown to humans, and probably unknowable. Zorbal
has seen no evidence of these powers so far and does not even
suspect they exist.
Instinct: Pursue a suitable host.
Attacks:
• Battering limbs (1d10+5 damage, forceful; close, reach).
• Immobilize a foe in tentacles.
Moves:
• Crawl quickly across even the most dangerous terrain.
• Slip through dimensions.
Tactics:
When a proper host appears: Claim it.
When threatened: Stalk them before attacking quickly.
Weaknesses:
The mass of limbs does not understand the material plane very well.
It does not acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of enemies
it encounters there, except perhaps at random, and is not good at
adapting itself to these factors.
The Mass in Zorbal’s Pit

Zorbal’s captive mass of limbs is enchanted
enchanted, and must pursue the
prey that Zorbal chooses for it. If Zorbal gives it suicidal commands,
it rebels, but may not have the strength to succeed. It will not be
grateful to adventurers who free it from bondage.
o
Pygmy Cave Trolls
78 Pygmy Cave Trolls
Strange Growths
The pygmy cave troll is not actually a type of troll—or not the way
we typically think of such things, anyway. They are called this
because they resemble trolls, and regenerate like trolls, but are
usually the same size as kobolds and troglodytes.
They are actually a type of magical fungus
fungus, created by long-dead
arch-mages driven mad by the arcane energies of other planes. This
fungus has the ability to absorb and replicate the genetic material
of other living things it consumes. This is not a particularly fast
process, but over the last thousand years or so it has resulted in
the fungus achieving its present form. Pygmy cave trolls reproduce
by budding, and must continue to consume living things in order
to profit from their abilities. They have absorbed so much more of
the essence of trolls precisely because of the magical regenerative
qualities of those creatures—there is always more for the fungus
to consume. If pygmy cave trolls are not able to consume trolls
or similarly evolved creatures, their mimicry of higher life forms
degenerates. Even eating other pygmy cave trolls is not enough.
Aside from regeneration
regeneration, which is partly due to the innate
ability of the fungus to reform itself, pygmy cave trolls have achieved
a sort of bioluminescence and a rudimentary animal intelligence.
intelligence
This same bioluminescence is a characteristic of many of the
underground lairs where the pygmy cave trolls dwell. It is produced
my molds and fungi that grow upon damp stone walls. Not only does
this light interfere with nightvision, but it changes the perception
of colours in near-random ways. Any colour-based decisions made
under the influence of this bioluminescence will be little more than
guessing games—violets appear blue, black clothes appear to glow
yellow, a sprightly green jacket seems washed in ugly purples and
artificial orange.
These colour-warping properties can shift over time—even as
the light given off seems to stay the same—due to the frequencies
of non-visible light that these growths give off in conjunction with
their bioluminescence. Unexpected interactions with magical
effects can also occur.
Pygmy Cave Trolls 79
PYGMY CAVE TROLL 10 HP 1 Armour

Group, Hoarder, Organized, Small, Stealthy.
Special Qualities: Amphibious, Made of fungus, Regenerates,
Sonar.
Pygmy cave trolls have poor eyesight, but an excellent sense of
smell and sonar. When they ambush creatures in the dark, they rely
on their smell so that their chirping does not alert their prey.
The longer they go without consuming genetic material similar
to that which they use in their bodies, the more listless they become
and the more they have to sleep. So they spend most of their time
hunting trolls and eating whatever else they can find that walks on
two legs.
Even if they are reduced to zero hit points, they can continue to
regenerate damage not caused by acid, burning, lightning, or magic.
If they are frozen, however, they stay frozen.
Instinct: To devour the living.
Attacks:
• Makeshift weapon (1d8 damage; close).
Moves:
• Ambush a foe from the darkness.
• Glow in the dark.
• Regenerate (heal 1d6 damage not caused by acid, burning,
lightning, or magic).
• Sniff out the living.
Tactics:
If they are living: They are food.
If they are unconscious or dead: Drag them off to be consumed.
If they flee: Let them run away if food is available.
If they have only mundane weapons: Concentrate on obtaining food
over defending against attacks.
If they have powerful weapons: Stay away.
Weaknesses:
The most obvious weaknesses of the pygmy cave trolls are acid,
fire, lightning, and magic, because they cannot regenerate injuries
caused by those sources.
Behaviourally, they also crave sugar, and will risk extreme
danger to obtain fruits and sweets.
The Buried Temple

The pygmy cave trolls are occupying a series of natural and
unnatural caves that have become connected to an ancient temple
of the monster-god Larrankvog
Larrankvog. This temple was buried by the
gods long ages ago.
Squares are approximately 10 feet by 10 feet. Pygmy cave trolls
wander through the caves regularly, and occasionally through the
buried temple. Noise and commotion will draw them, especially if
it is continuous.
1. Glowing Cave
This large, curving cave is covered in brightly glowing fungus
fungus.
Anyone walking through it can also hear a strange buzzing that
does not seem to be an actual sound. The pygmy cave trolls love
this cave and will often hide in nooks and crannies or underneath
the fungus.
Magic used in this cave causes the fungus to mutate, calling out
to planar entities, summoning strange items, and warping the laws
of reality.
Questions:
• What is the worst thing you’ve ever done with your magical
powers?
• What scares you about magic?
• Which element or elements are the antithesis of your magic?
• Which planes of existence other than this one do your
magical powers draw upon?
Use the answers to create strange effects or draw the attention of
meddlesome outsiders.
Map
1
9
13 10 2
14 8 11
15 12
6
2. Refuse Cave
The pygmy cave trolls dump the remains of creatures they eat
in this cave. There are piles of bones and the bodies of several
adventurers amongst them. Numerous rusted weapons and piles of
rotting clothes round out the refuse. There is no bioluminescence
in this room, so if anyone intends to search through the refuse, they
must bring their own source of light.
Questions:
• Do you know of anyone else who dared to venture into these
caves before you?
• Who did you come down here to find, and what did they
bring with them?
Maybe that person’s body is here.
3. Dragon Cave
There is a thin vein of gold in the rock here, which has attracted
the young dragon that sleeps here. Because it can breathe fire, it
does not worry about the pygmy cave trolls. They worry about it,
however, and try to go around it, whenever possible.
The cave itself is rather unremarkable save for the fact that it
is almost completely charred and blackened.
blackened Even the tunnels that
lead to it have burn marks on them.
4. Crude Temple
The pygmy cave trolls have started constructing a crude idol
out of rocks in this cave, in imitation of the temple. The pile of
stones is barely recognizable as a three-headed creature. The only
bioluminescent fungus in this cave is arranged around the idol.
5. Prophecy Room
Shrouded in darkness save for a single spot on the ceiling where
drops of water fall from a stalactite into a thin, deep pit, this cave is
seldom occupied by pygmy cave trolls.
The small patch of fungus on the dripping stalactite causes
spellcasters to see visions of the future.
future They are not prophetic,
merely hallucinatory and annoying.
6. Spawning Pit
This cave, covered in glowing fungus,
fungus is where the pygmy cave trolls
come to reproduce by budding.
budding They are a grotesque sight, with
body parts growing out of strange locations, in later stages looking
like Siamese twins. They can still move slowly and even fight, but
prefer to lie around until the process is finished. Other pygmy cave
trolls
t ll stand
t d guard d over them,
th i case off intruders.
in i t d
7. Temple Foyer
This room looks pleasant enough, with a white-tiled floor and fancy
columns holding up the vaulted ceiling. The huge double doors are
impossible to open because there is solid rock on the other side of
them.
8. The Temple Hall

This hundred-foot long hall is the main worship area. The area
closest to the foyer has a blue-and-white tiled floor and arcades to
either side. The vaulted ceiling is supported by thin columns.
Further in, the hallway widens out, and has two rows of arcades
on each side. In the middle are rows of ancient wooden pews, pews some
knocked aside. The floor is tiled in various shades of blue and
indigo.
At the north end of the hall is a stage
stage, set six feet off the ground,
with carvings of monsters all over its face. Stairs lead up to it from
the outermost arcades. To the left and right, past arched doorways,
doorways
stairs lead down to the ancient storeroom (room 10) and the torture
chamber (room 13). To the north is a wide staircase leading down
into the dome of worship (room 9). The back wall is equipped with
hooks and rods to hang curtains and tapestries on, but these fabrics
have rotted away and lie in scraps across the stage.
9. Dome of Worship
At either end of this large, domed room are tiered daises. The floor
in the middle is covered in 2 feet of muddy water.
water The roof of the
dome is 40 feet high and the walls are damp.
On the far dais is an immense stone statue of the god
Larrangkvog, an unholy combination of a troll, a manticore, and
an antelope,
l ready
d to accept offfferings
i and
d sacrifi
ifice. There
Th is
i old,
ld
dried blood on the dais in front of it. Touching the statue causes it
to summon manticores.
10. Ancient Storeroom

This room is strewn with ruined religious paraphernalia,
paraphernalia all of it
now worthless. Soiled robes, battered candlesticks and thuribles,
even some unreadable books and scrolls lie moldering on the damp
floor. Splinters of wood are all that is left of the shelves that once
housed them.
The doors that lead to the crypt no longer close, and now hang
permanently ajar. A steady trickle of water flows through these
doors, from the caverns outside this room.
11. West Crypt-Hall

Niches in the walls to either side of this hallway once held the
mummified remains of former priests and monsters who served
the god Larrangkvog. But dampness and clumsy searching have
scattered bones on the floor and some have even been stuffed
haphazardly back into the grave-niches.
A small stream of water flows in from outside, terminating at
the end of the hall, where loose flagstones, worn by the water, cover
a spiralling stone staircase that leads down to a short hallway.
hallway This
hallway is now almost completely submerged in water. At the other
end of it there is a spiral staircase leading up to the temple treasury
(room 12), which is above water.
12. Temple Treasury

This room has a high vaulted ceiling but is mostly bare of
decoration. The temple kept its treasures hidden here in ancient
times. Bales of precious cotton and silk have decayed into garbage
garbage,
vials of expensive perfumes have gone rank, and nearly 100 bottles
of wine have turned to vinegar.
However, there are still some valuables worth looting here,
including a chest full of gold coins, gilded statuettes, and several
weapons that are magically preserved.
13. Torture Chamber

This room is a torture chamber, full of strange, painful implements.
Some of them do not look like they ever actually worked, and many
more are rusted and useless. Some of the larger pieces include:
Iron Maiden: This sarcophagus-shaped torture device was

originally purchased from a museum in Londinarium. There The
is ample evidence that it was in fact used, at least once, and that
someone attempted to clean the gore off, but gave up after only a
few spikes. It seems the task was more difficult than they expected.
The Rack: Made out of green serpentine, this device weighs more
than a thousand pounds. The blood of someone stretched out on
this rack will contain portions of their memories. If the blood is
imbibed, those memories can be transferred, rendering the need for
confession obsolete.
The Wheel: No longer functional, the wheel has three monstrous

heads prominently displayed on each side: a troll, a manticore, and
a demonic-looking antelope.
14. East Crypt-Hall

This hallway is similar to the West crypt-hall (room 11), but is mostly
undisturbed and the double doors are locked (but not particularly
difficult to batter down). The bodies in these grave-niches are
undead, and all ten of them will arise to murder living, intelligent
undead
intruders.
The secret stairwell at the end of the hall is cleverly hidden
beneath the flagstones. Stairs lead down to a plain hallway of crude
stonework that leads to another spiral staircase and the observatory
(room 15).
15. Observatory
This vaulted room is similar to the temple treasury (room 12), but
is not a repository for treasure. There are two iron braziers and
several sacks of valuable resin here. The resin comes from an
extinct species of aquatic dinosaur and causes delightfully bizarre
hallucinations if smoked.
The walls are only a foot thick and there are peep-holes about
8 feet above the floor, where one can see into the main hall.
More Questions:
Mo
• There are no trolls in these caves. So where are they?
• What sorts of obstacles did you overcome to reach this part of
the dungeon?
• Where have you heard of Larrangkvog before? Who worships
this god nowadays?
• Who asked you to bring them samples of this glowing fungus?
• Why was this temple buried by the gods? Which gods?
o
Rhinocorn
Homunculi
90 Rhinocorn Homunculi
Sorcerous Origins
Of late,
l it has become chic to gossip about the doings of a certain
estate in the vicinity of Larrendon Grove
estat Grove. One may hear that a
famo
famous alchemist from the city of Ormok obtained the private
note
notebooks of Themaculus
Themaculus, the estate’s former owner, for a paltry
handful
hand of coins. Or one might be amused to hear how a particular
socialite
socia was ridiculed after arranging for the ownership of a
popular
popu theatre company to be exchanged for what amounted to
be a hundred pounds of mundane glass from the aforementioned
Themaculus’
The arcane laboratory.
Themaculus—known as “the Amazing Wizard” to his
supporters
supp (and even a few of his detractors)—was renowned in
life as
a a generous if eccentric man. He was always kind to beggars,
but could not abide the dramatic professions. When the Foreign
Actor’s Association went to war against the Beggars’ Guild over
Acto
a petty
pe signage dispute, Themaculus provided fair wages to the
beggars,
begg and even bought them weapons—even though they were
clearly
clear the party in violation of city edicts.
And yet, when the Royal College of Dramaturges took what
many
man considered to be drastic steps to ban foreigners from working
on stage
s within the kingdom, he would support neither side, even
going
goin so far as to petition the king to eject both organizations’
members
mem from the city. And yet again, he fed Commarian refugees
from his own pantry, spent two days of every month brewing
poti
potions for the Cold Street Children’s Hospital
Hospital, and regularly
purc
purchased slaves from the pirates of the Sword Coast in order to
bestow
best upon them their freedom. 1
However, it is perhaps his most charitable act of all that has
led to
t so much recent trouble, and may yet lead to so much more if
measures are not taken. During the irresponsible tenure of Liopald
mea
Kark as Primarch of Rangers, a band of meddlesome orcish vermin
inveigled
inve their way onto Themaculus’ property and bred with his
prize unicorns, producing offspring of a particularly strange and
1 For a full list of events and sources, see Jeremiah Lodebrock,

Afte
Aftermath of Themaculus: The Restoration of Irredential Domains to the
Marshall of Eastwatch (Narvon: Qiamat Press, 1141), 7-12.
Mars
Rhinocorn Homunculi 91
unsettling nature.2 But Themaculus was not one to rain down n the
fire of his sorcery on the undeserving. He took them into his home ome
and raised them as his own children. In time, they became known own
homunculi.3
to academia as the rhinocorn homunculi
The legal will that Themaculus left behind was quite clear—all —all
of his estates, possessions, and wealth he bequeathed to his adoptedpted
children. There is no indication in the writings he left behind that
he was at all concerned about their intellectual abilities, nor is there
here
any awareness of the limits of their ability to interact with civilized
lized
society. And yet, it is quite clear that their management of their
inheritance has created havoc within the city, and far beyond.
Disruptive miscellanies of an arcane nature have been
circulating through all levels of society. Coinage in this province ince
was critically devalued when Themaculus’ vast savings being eing
dumped on the market at once. Clearly, something must be done. ne.
2 An account of Kark’s incompetence is given in Mira

Wodeweaver, Wrath of the Rangers: The Interregnum of Liopald Kark
and its Legacy of Graft (Mournhaven: Nornfell University Press,
ress,
1142), and the mutiny that led to the particular orcish incursion
sion
under discussion here is detailed in Boron Hashan, Malevolentolent
Invasion: The Orc, the Troll, and the Death That Comes With Them
(Ormok: Lysistrata, 1139), 322-394.
3 As Lodebrock rightly points out (Infestation, xcvii), having

ving
not been born of seed and clay, but from the cross-breedingg of
two different arcane species, they are not true homunculi. His later
math,
examinations of blood and tissue samples bear this out (Aftermath,
56-447, though cf. Warro, 333-335 for an interesting caveat). Use
se of
the term “rhinocorn,” popularized by Maespetrosian (mainly y via
Horned Mammals, Rhinocorn Riders, and Tropic of Consequence), has
been thoroughly decimated by Shahkal (212-266): the ῥινόκερως ως of
the ancient world bears no relation to the magical horned ungulates
lates
so common to the Elven forests, and neither should rightly y be
termed “unicorn” in any case, as it is only the White Steeds ds of
Elshadril that have but a single horn (see Pallas). And yet this dual
fallacy continues to dominate the academic discourse to such ch a
degree that it is neither possible to leave the matter unaddressed,
ssed,
nor to use a more appropriate term, for one does not, in fact, exist.
xist.
RHINOCORN HOMUNCULUS 6 HP 2 Armour

Group, Hoarder, Intelligent, Magical.
With the death of Themaculus, his considerable worldly
possessions have passed into the hands of his adopted children, the
so-called rhinocorn homunculi. While they have at least a decent
education, they are not particularly clever, compared to humans,
and have poor impulse control. They also have a rudimentary
knowledge of magic and spellcasting, but can’t reliably cast any
spells effectively—or safely.
Instinct: To act on impulse.
Attacks:
• Charge a foe, horn out (1d8+2 damage, forceful; reach, near).
• Fight like a boxer (1d6+2 damage, ignores armour; hand).
• Wield a simple human weapon against a foe (1d8+2 damage,
forceful; close).
Moves:
• Attempt to cast a spell.
• Bellow and rage like an arrogant wizard, thwarted by lesser
beings.
• Offer to sell miscellaneous items of wizardry.
• Perform a feat of prodigious strength.
Tactics:
If they are really, really poor: Give them a bit of charity.
If they come with the intent to do business: Listen to their offer, see
what they want.
If they have shiny coins or uncommonly tasty victuals: Offer them things
until they agree to a trade.
If they think something is valuable: Jack the price way up, or refuse to
sell. It must be valuable!
If they trespass on papa’s estates: See if they are lost first, then get
really mad if they are up to no good.
If violence breaks out: Fight or flight, pick one (fight may include
smashing objects and bellowing; flight may include flailing
about and blubbering).
Weaknesses:
The rhinocorn homunculi want to be a normal part of human
society. They were raised in a way that made them think they
deserve acceptance, and they have things that other people want.
Unfortunately for them, however, they have neither the social skills
to make this happen, nor the intellectual capacity to learn them at
this stage. This reality does not sit well with them.
94 Rhinocorn Homunculi
Options
Op
Goblinoid: If a homunculus is more “goblinoid” than “orcish,” it
Gobli
has the
th small tag instead of the forceful tag, deals only 1d6 damage,
and can
c hide as one of its monster moves.
Trollkin: If a trollkin homunculus is reduced to zero HP by

Trollk
something other than acid or fire, it rises again a minute or so later
somet
with 11d6 HP.
Possessions
Pos
The rhinocorn
r homunculi could have any kind of magical items in
their v
vast and uncatalogued possessions, including:
• A An alchemical laboratory that was built entirely for show and
does
d not work.
• A gauzy shroud that turns you invisible when you drape it
over yourself, but reduces your vision by half.
ov
• A golden helmet that removes your fear and peripheral vision
when you wear it.
w
• A quill made from the feather of a roc. It never runs out of
green ink, but the script it writes is rather large.
gr
• A ring of telekinesis that allows you to move an object in sight
that is lighter than yourself at a walking pace when you wear
th
it and concentrate. You can move yourself through the air, but
o
only if your eyes are closed.
• A shield that weapons stick to, held fast until you release your
grip on it.
gr
• A slim notebook with an infinite number of blank pages
contained between its covers. You can only find pages that
co
h
have been written on if you know they exist.
• A stuffed lizard that grows increasingly hot when in the
presence
p of someone who intends both treachery and murder.
It does not burn, but other things might.
• A sword that buzzes like a bee when unsheathed and kills
birds and closely-related creatures with but a single blow.
b
Bibliography
Hashan, Boron. Malevolent Invasion: The Orc, the Troll, and the Death
That Comes With Them. Ormok: Lysistrata, 1139.
Lodebrock, Jeremiah. Aftermath of Themaculus: The Restoration on of

Irredential Domains to the Marshall of Eastwatch. Narvon: Qiamat
amat
Press, 1141.
Lodebrock, Jeremiah. On the Infestation of Vitruvian Golem Weevils

vils in
the Cathedral of Marvrakis During the War of Seven Angels andd the
Subsequent Peace Accord Summit at the Black Mountain Provincial
ncial
Songbird Reservation. Narvon: Qiamat Press, 1134.
Maespetrosian, Subhedrin. Horned Mammals of the Southern

thern
Wastelands. Ormok: Voskor Publications, 1107.
Maespetrosian, Subhedrin. Rhinocorn Riders of Southwest Mazistan:

stan:
Observations of a Traveller. Ormok: Ermetikos, 1098.
Maespetrosian, Subhedrin. Tropic of Consequence: The Life and

Death of Rahman Faroush. Mournhaven: Nornfell University
rsity
Press, 1121.
Pallas, Larielle. The White Steeds of Elshadril and the Expeditions

ns of
Errenor. Adelida: Tarrasque Press, 872.
Shahkal, Menara. On the Orthodoxy of the Second Regency’s Taxonomic

nomic
Regime, and the Royal Academy’s Resistance to Foreign Interference.
ence.
Mournhaven: Nornfell University Press, 1133.
Warro, Allison. Killing Trolls. Wickwardshire: Grove House, 1145.

45.
Wodeweaver, Mira. Wrath of the Rangers: The Interregnum of Liopald

opald
Kark and its Legacy
g y off Graft.
f Mournhaven: Nornfell University rsityy
Press, 1142.
o The
Swamp Witch
98 The Swamp Witch
Cities Underwater
“Some people find her out in the swamp, half naked, covered in
blood. Others say she looks like some kind of… creature, wearing a
woman’s skin like a bag. Still others meet a normal person out there
between the trees and claim she must have been the swamp witch.
Maybe you’ll meet her and maybe then you’ll know the truth. Or
maybe not.
“She says there’s an ancient city out there, under the water,
says that’s why things are so strange around here. Lots of folks
say it’s strange out here, but I don’t think it is. They’re just from
far away. They have ruined cities everywhere else, too, I’ve heard
people talk about them.
“What’s that? Well, I can’t rightly say how long she’s been out
there. Long enough to get old, long enough to have a daughter
grow up and take over, certainly. That’s not my theory, I heard that
from someone else. I’m no cynic though, I believe in magic. Seen it
with my own two eyes, I have.
“You see this cup? It’s from the city, she says. Everything just
tastes better out of this cup. They had nice things back in the
ancient days, before cities got ruined, and that’s no lie. She’ll want
this cup back someday, I reckon, but that’s okay by me. It’s only for
special occasions anyhow, and this ain’t one of those. It’s a fast day,
besides. You’re not supposed to indulge on fast days, or that’s what
the parson keeps telling me. I suppose I’d better listen, it’s only my
soul, after all. Let me get you another drink in the same glass you’ve
been using.
“The swamp provides, they say. The swamp gives with one
hand and takes with the other, that’s what I say. If the witch wants
her stuff back, it’s no skin off my back to let her speak for the swamp.
She knows it better than I do, better than anyone does, I reckon,
and my momma didn’t raise no fools. Besides, she ain’t alone out
there, no sir. She’s got friends with her. Golden serpents, elemental
spirits, ghosts even, if you can believe what other people say. No
surprise to me, that one, there’s a dead city out there, why wouldn’t
there be ghosts? Why, this one time, Old Man Marmaduke was
down by the abandoned cabin at night when he saw—
“Well, now. That’s just rude. If you don’t want to hear no
stories, you can just say so.”
The Swamp Witch 99
THE SWAMP WITCH 20 HP 1 Armour

Devious, Hoarder, Intelligent, Magical, Solitary, Stealthy.
Special Qualities: Amphibious, Witch.
There’s an ancient empire down there, underneath the water. It’s
her job to revive its glory. Some people might be hurt by that, if
they don’t adapt to the new order, but that’s just how it works.
Some people are good, some bad, it’s not her responsibility. She’s
going to bring something beautiful back into this wretched, ugly
world even if it kills her—or anyone else, for that matter.
She likes things that are wild and crazy, though. She respects
that. People need to be tough! They can’t just let others carry them
through life forever. Only children can do that. Once people grow
up, they need to take control of their own lives.
Beneath her skin there are nightmares, not blood and bones.
Instinct: To raise what has been lost in the swamp.
Attacks:
• Horns (1d10 damage, 1 piercing; close).
Moves:
• Cast a spell on plants, slime, or water.
• Command the creatures of the swamp.
• Contort into inhuman shapes.
• Disappear into the swamp.
• Pull something ancient out of the swamp.
• See strands of possible future events.
• Travel magically through water.
Tactics:
When they come to do business: Do business—if they have something
valuable.
When they show interest in the sunken city: Evaluate them to see if they
might be useful.
When they threaten violence: Back down and strike from a position
of strength later.
Weaknesses:
As a creature made of nightmares, the swamp witch has less power
over people good at resisting sleep, like insomniacs and speed
freaks. Her powers often fall short against them.
When you track the Swamp Witch through the swamp, roll+INT
if you are using magic or roll+WIS if you are not. On a 7+, you can
follow her as long as you overcome the same obstacles she does,
but on a 7-9, she notices you quickly. On a miss, the swamp tries to
swallow you.
100 The Swamp Witch
Feuds
The Swamp Witch, unfortunately for her, does not live in a world
of magic all by herself. There is a myriad of other arcanists out
there, all pursuing their own plans. The monsters up on Skull
Mountain, which rises out of the ground just beyond the swamp,
Mountain
are a particular nuisance.
If the PCs come to her for assistance in fighting monsters, she
if happy to give them items that will help them clear out the woods
around Skull Mountain and the village of East Ditch, that they can
also keep for their own missions (if they last long enough). But her
favours do not come without a price.
• If they are fighting spirits and other intangible creatures, she
gives them a ghost-killing sword but tells them that the astral
glutton (turn to page 9) threatens her attempts to revive the
sunken city, and that they must end its existence for her.
• If they dislike wizards in general, she asks them to assassinate
Zorbal the Damned (turn to page 106). In exchange, she will
give them valuable treasures and magical items recovered
from the sunken city. She knows where Zorbal’s tower is
located, but tries to stay well away from his attentions. Should
they accept this mission, she gives the PCs each a special ring
that prevents them from speaking about her in the presence of
other wizards.
• If they need something that shatters objects, she gives them a
fearsome hammer, but asks them to drive the crystal kingdom
(turn to page 34)back and keep it well away from the swamp.
• If they are opposed to fire elementals or pyromancers, she
gives them frost-producing rings and asks them to drive
Harlan Blackhand (turn to page 54) away from the region.
She knows of his affliction and wants to see him stop being a
nuisance once and for all.
• If they want to cure diseases, she tells them about the bluish
multitudes (turn to page 20). She wants their dungeons cleared
out so they don’t infect the city she intends to raise up out of
the swamp. She might also direct them to Themaculus (turn
to page 90), not knowing that he has recently died.
The Swamp Witch 101
Once Lost, Now Found

Many things come out of the waters of the swamp. Precious items,
made of gold. Magic swords, to take the heads off kings. But there
are also things still alive down there, lurking and waiting for the
day when the city rises again.
GOLDEN SERPENT 10 HP 2 Armour

Construct, Group, Small.
Special Qualities: Amphibious, Flying, Venomous.
Once part of the ancient city, these guardian golems have returned
to serve the Swamp Witch. Their venom is not deadly, but causes
an intense and painful burning sensation.
Instinct: To defend the city.
Attacks:
• Bite with venomous fangs (1d8 damage, venomous; hand,
close).
• Coil around a foe and suffocate them.
Moves:
• Obey the Swamp Witch.
• Swim through air and water.
Tactics:
If they are looking for the city beneath the swamp: Watch them, tempt
them, see what they are willing to do.
If they desire the rebirth of the city: Aid them, show them secrets.
If they threaten the city: Harry them until they turn back or die.
Weaknesses:
The golden serpents are creatures of an ancient empire, built for
the temple of the sun. As such, they are susceptible to ancient
strains of magic meant to affect things from their world. They are
also vulnerable to magic that calls upon the forces of elemental
darkness.
102 The Swamp Witch
Treasures of the Swamp

When the Swamp Witch retrieves an item or object of significance
from the dead city underneath the swamp, roll 1d12 four times to
see what it is, and what it does:
d12 It is… …that makes…

1 a bracelet animals
2 a chariot blood
3 a hooded scarf despair
4 an item of cutlery fire
5 a lens flowers and vines
6 a mansion jewels
7 an ottoman people
8 a ring pure mathematics
9 a robe red wine
10 a tent stone
11 a wand the swamp
12 a weapon tears
d12 (do what?) (and what?)

1 act as fuel for [battlefields / battles].
2 attack beauty.
3 be repelled by [its / their] surroundings.
4 become attracted to lampreys.
5 become valuable in magical [items / rituals].
6 cause harm to most peoples’ eyes.
7 evaporate in the face of (raising) the dead.
8 fall from (repelling) intruders.
9 grow quickly around the sky.
10 permeate [spoken words / your mouth].
11 speak truth to stone statues.
12 turn into whomever possesses it.
The Swamp Witch 103
When the Swamp Witch produces a weapon from the sunken city,
roll 1d6 thrice to see what it does:
This weapon is a…
1 dagger 4 spear
2 hammer 5 sword
3 ring 6 wand
…that… (daggers, hammers, spears, and swords):

1 damages enemies with immunities (ghosts, spirits, etc).
2 deals double damage to a specific type of enemy.
3 gives the wielder +1 armour.
4 glows in the presence of a specific type of creature.
5 glows in the presence of magic.
6 kills a specific type of monster with but a touch.
…that produces… (rings and wands):

1 fire. 4 light.
2 force. 5 lightning.
3 frost. 6 random monsters.
…and…
1 attracts the magic of the city to it.
2 bears the sigil of an ancient noble house.
3 exists in multiple realities at the same time.
4 is always wet.
5 is indestructible.
6 is very fragile, but when broken, the shards are
superhumanly sharp.
o
Zorbal
The
Damned
106 Zorbal the Damned
Zorbal, the Man

Known universally as “the Damned” for more than just his
unhealthy appearance, the wasted, spindly form of Narriot Zorbal is
immediately recognizable mostly because of the tendrils of darkness
that constantly accompany him. A superstar even amongst evil
wizards, he has not one, but three towers from which he terrorizes
the countryside, through which many younger wizards journey,
either to apprentice themselves to the master, or simply to observe
his successes firsthand.
Zorbal was not always so fearsome. He was sickly as a boy, and
experienced several life-threatening illnesses. Asthma, fistulas,
plague, and rickets were all familiar friends to the young Zorbal. He
turned to sorcery when neither physician nor surgeon could help
him take control of his body and his life. Now he is not as aged
and decrepit as he looks, nor is he as yet undead—but there is no
denying that only sorcery sustains him at this point.
But even so, he has no fondness for the isolated hermit
mystique that so many other wizards cultivate. Not only does he
constantly maintain feuds with other wizards—everyone from
Harlan Blackhand to the Crystal King King, and even the recently-
deceased Themaculus
Themaculus—but he is also constantly hiring minions to
undertake missions on his behalf, as well as working to undermine
the powers of law and order that surround him and try to keep him
boxed in by their civilized standards of decent behaviour.
He is a master of the arts of shadow and the beasts of the outer
planes. He reaches through the darkness of our world and the cold
planes
beyond space to desolate planets, pulling the ghosts of ancient
warrior races from their frozen hell-worlds into bodies made of
shadow here, to wage his wars for him. His primary offensive
and defensive measure is the tendrils of darkness that constantly
accompany him. These shadowy tentacles can squeeze the life out
of a man or horse with ease.
When you first meet Narriot Zorbal, roll+CHA. On a 10+, he acts

like everything you say is some hilarious joke, and treats you fairly
until you “betray” him. On a 7-9, he thinks you might be useful but
constantly complains about you, berates you, and second-guesses
your actions. On a miss, he is reminded, by your presence, of the
people who could not help him as a child, and he becomes abusive.
Zorbal the Damned 107
Zorbal the Wizard

In his daily life, Narriot Zorbal is a schemer and a planner. He
brews potions, investigates possible schemes that will sabotage his
enemies, and pays his minions to perform menial tasks. Often he is
engaged in meditation that takes his mind to the furthest reaches
of existence itself.
But when a plan falls into place that requires his personal
attentions, he is ready to summon a retinue of otherworldly
monsters and rain down dark bolts of destruction upon his foes.
After his victory, he celebrates, gloating over the defeated and
revelling in the suffering of others.
ZORBAL THE DAMNED 16 HP 0 Armour

Devious, Hoarder, Intelligent, Magical, Organized, Solitary.
Special Qualities: Wizard.
If shadows are not enough, Zorbal summons other hideous
monsters: lizard-cats from the celestial graveyard of rotting jungle
gods, slime-covered skeletons from alien planets where life is now
extinct, or undead dinosaurs from the world’s ancient past.
Instinct: To exert his power over others.
Attacks:
• Cast a harmful or destructive spell.
• Tendrils of darkness (1d8+2 damage, forceful; close, reach).
Moves:
• Brew magical potions.
• Control shadows and darkness with magic.
• Hire thuggish mercenaries.
• Offer gold in exchange for service.
• Summon creatures from far-away realms.
Tactics:
If they are too strong to attack directly: Feud with them, sabotage their
work.
If they obey: Allow them some small reward.
When bored: Find someone to belittle.
When they attack: Unleash planar creatures upon them.
Weaknesses:
Without the magical potions and rituals that sustain his body,
Zorbal would soon be deceased. Any disruption to his necessary
medicines drives him into a panic. Also, his arrogance is well-
known, and even though he is powerful, his hubris still outreaches
his abilities. He can be drawn easily into a trap when he thinks his
enemies are weaker than they really are.
108 Zorbal the Damned
Zorbal the Employer

Because he wants so many things from the world, Zorbal is an
excellent source of employment for unscrupulous adventurers. He
can find dungeons to raid, rival wizards to steal from, and quests to
undertake, providing a way for the GM to introduce these into the
game without need for a further plot hook.
Item Recovery
When Zorbal wants something—a magic item, usually, or perhaps
physical spell components—he does not always have the time or
means to get it himself. In these situations, he hires adventurers
and rogues. If a party of thieves agree to retrieve an item for him, he
allows them to keep anything else they find or steal in the process.
If they want a fee on top of that, he is stingy, but is willing to part
with a few hundred coins or so. If his employees should take the
cash advance and fail to retrieve the object of his desire—or worse
yet, run off with the item—he tracks them down and gruesomely
murders them.
He is fairly particular about what he wants, but if he sees that
his minions have retrieved something else that fits his criteria, he
takes that, too. As far as he is concerned, other mortals are lucky he
is so magnanimous as to allow them to live and even serve him. He
is unconcerned that he might be breaking the deal he offered.
Zorbal may send a party of adventurers to a dungeon that has
no treasure aside from the thing he wants. Or he might send them
to a dungeon full of loot he cares nothing for. These things—along
with how monster-infested a place is—are of little or no concern
to him. He wants what he wants
wants, and he doesn’t mind a little bit of
manipulation to get it.
Kidnapping
Zorbal often hires doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals.
Regardless of their credentials or efficacy, Zorbal treats them
all quite poorly. Few enjoy treating him for very long, as the
tribulations he puts them through quickly outweigh the financial
benefits—he is physically and verbally abusive, enjoys cruel pranks
and mind games, and flaunts his callousness towards others. And
word gets around pretty quickly.
Of course, if the doctors will not come to him, they must
be brought. When he feels the need, or when he hears about an
interesting practitioner, he hires thugs to kidnap them. He pays
Zorbal the Damned 109
based on the market—whichever price is the most competitive. He is

not pleased by incompetence, however, and considers any advance
payment a promise that cannot be broken. He does not engage in
speculation with his money. He does not pay for possibilities.
Sabotage
Because his time is also consumed by feuds with so many other
wizards, Zorbal is always in need of minions to send against them.
If there is a house that can be broken into, a laboratory that could
be set on fire, a relative that could be threatened, a magic item
that could be stolen, Zorbal has the coin to pay for it. He is not
completely reckless, however, and prefers to send attacks where
they will cause another wizard to spend time dealing with non-
magical hassles or that will cause emotional distress.
Other Quests
• If Zorbal sends his minions into the dungeons of long-dead
Drakdagor, in search of his secret storehouses, turn to page
20. He does not have a cure for the bluish multitudes, though
he could probably formulate one if he cared enough to.
• If Zorbal sends his minions to obtain pieces of the crystal
kingdom, for use in his experiments, turn to page 34. He is not
afraid of the Crystal King, but expects his hirelings to handle
this task without needing his advice.
• If Zorbal sends his minions to obtain samples of pygmy cave
trolls, so he can study them, turn to page 80. He prefers
complete live specimens.
• If Zorbal sends his minions to tame a Griffarcus, turn to
page 48. He does not hesitate to give them the potions and
incantations necessary to achieve this, since he knows a
spell that will transfer the Griffarcus’ loyalty to himself. If
adventurers bring him a charmed Griffarcus, he is gleeful
and effusive, but does not pay them an excessive amount
of money for the deed. If adventurers set out to bring him a
Griffarcus fail to do so, and choose to undertake some other
quest instead, he will become enraged if it is brought to his
attention.
• If Zorbal wants the dragon armour, turn to page 42. He tells
his minions they are allowed to wear it to fight their enemies,
but they must report back on the effects.
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What are some of the characters mentioned in the document?

What are some of the characters mentioned in the document?

What are some of the locations mentioned in the document?

What are some of the locations mentioned in the document?

o Module MM2

The Astral Glutton

Devils of the Astral

ASTRAL GLUTTON 20 HP 0 Armour

Important Royal Institutions (choose or roll 1d8):

• What foreign kingdom does (did) the ambassador represent? Why

• Did you kill the ambassador, and if so, why?

If anyone answers in the affirmative, bring their relationships with

Use this question to add a sense of espionage and intrigue to the

• Why did you come to this hastily-convened meeting, and who

Use their answers to add a sense of urgency to the atmosphere of

Ask these of different players:

• Why does Shaliyas bear a grudge against you? Is it warranted?

Questions No One Wanted To Ask

If the PCs do research on the astral glutton, valuable information

Continuing the Scenario

Tomb of the Possessed Lord

BLUISH MULTITUDES 15 HP 1 Armour

When you have been wounded by a bluish multitude, roll+CON.

THE CRYSTAL KING 16 HP 3 Armour

The House of Weldern

Diamond Teeth: Charnuvor’s proudest achievement is being able

Emerald Eyes: After graduating college, Charnuvor replaced his

Magic Coat: Charnuvor developed his magical coat to protect him

The Crystal Army

The Value of Crystal

The Crystal Cult

Gifts of the Crystal Cult:

CRAWLING CRYSTAL MAN 6 HP 3 Armour

Jagged Crystal: If a crawling crystal man suffers damage but is not

DANCING CRYSTAL MAN 6 HP 3 Armour

Energized Crystal: When a dancing crystal man is killed, the

DARK TITAN 12 HP 3 Armour

The Fatal Mistake

All That is Left

Wearing the Armour

When you enter a fight wearing the dragon armour, roll+CON. On

Adventures in Other Dimensions

If your mind is sent to frozen Yuggoth, turn to page 73. Because it is

Perhaps, on second thought—or after seeing the armour in the

Wandering the Planes

Travelling with a Griffarcus Steed

When you tell the Griffarcus to take you somewhere, roll+CHA.

Here are some examples:

HARLAN BLACKHAND 16 HP 1 Armour

MAGGIE MARLINSPIKE 12 HP 0 Armour

THE KRUFFALUMP 20 HP 1 Armour

This monster has the same stats as… (roll 1d12):

but it also… (roll 1d20 twice):

It’s main weakness is… (roll 1d6):

and its other weakness is… (roll 1d10):

When it attacks, it… (roll 1d4):

When defeated, this monster… (roll 1d8):

The Terrible Truth

The Forests of Hyperborea