midnight secrets _4_search and destroy

Secrets 4: Search and Destroy

Secrets of Shadow

Search and Destroy

Product Tie-In: Fury of Shadow

Author: David Waggoner

Cartography: Jeff Jones

Can you hold back the FURY OF SHADOW? This adven-

ture takes during the events in the Fury of Shadow boxed

set, and is an appropriate climax to a fight against the

Shadow’s major offensive on the forest of Erethor. Your

band of resistance fighters must succeed at a suicide mis-

sion deep behind enemy lines. There is no escape for you,

but neither will there be for the thousands of orcs caught

in the after-effects of the magical cataclysm you hope to

cause. There is an enemy beyond the servants of the shad-

ow and the dangers of the burning line, however . . . one

that you may not recognize until too late.

Search and Destroy is a one-off Midnight adventure

that premiered at Gen Con Indy 2005. It includes 7 pre-

generated characters, but may be adapted as part of a run-

ning MIDNIGHT campaign. It makes an excellent adven-

ture to end a mid-level campaign or to use to resolve a

party’s defeat or capture.


Notes for the DM:

Level of Experience of Players: As the DM,your first step is to identify the maturity level of theplayers. The event has been marked as appropriate for13+, and if anyone under that age sits down at that table,you should consider whether or not to let them play; if aparent is there, talk to them about it and make sure theyknow the adventure is grim and deals with graphic situ-ations and death.

Also, feel out the players to see which of themhave played Midnight before. Since you, as the DM, arevery familiar with Midnight, your second step is to con-vey a description and feel of the world of Midnight toanyone who isn’t familiar with it. If there are otherMidnight veterans among the players, let them explaintheir visions of the world of Midnight, as well. Make itan interactive process to educate the newbies.

The living and the dead: The players in thisadventure are already dead. In Midnight parlance, theyare Ungral Fell. The players will not be immediatelyidentifiable as dead, although for some, it will be moreobvious. Give the PCs their “living” character sheets atfirst; a la Sixth Sense, everything will be quite clear atsome point, which is when you may tell them to crossoff their Con scores (undead have none) and tell themtheir other immunities and abilities. Their hit points andFort saves are already calculated as if they had no Conscores (which is different from having a 0 in Con).

Assigning characters: Telling the players aboutthe various characters they can play is a good way togive them a background about Midnight and how eachrace is treated, how they feel about orcs and Izrador, etc.You can read them the descriptions of the characters aslisted on the sheets, or let them read them themselves.DO NOT MENTION THAT THEY ARE DEAD.

Too smart for their own good: Some savvyplayers may check the math on their Char sheets andfind discrepancies, the most obvious being their lowFortitude saves. If any of that comes up, simply tellthem that there were changes made to the Char sheetsdue to the poisonous nature of the constant burning ofthe wood of Erethor, toxins in the food and water, etc.

Making the most of this unlife: The most suc-cessful players will take advantage of their undead stateto solve problems, and the DM must be ready to quick-ly adjudicate odd or unusual requests. The DM shouldconvey the desperate mood and even suggest to theplayers that they grow hungry when looking upon fresh-ly-slain humanoids. The DM should remember that thePCs do not need to sleep or rest. Specific rules on deal-ing with the PCs as Fell are in Appendix 1. All monstersand NPCs not detailed in the text are in Appendix 2 orthe Monster Manual (abbreviated MM, with page num-ber following).

AdventureBackground

The PCs are part of a desperate mission to halt theencroaching Shadow. The Shadow has used necroman-tic magic and evil elven tree-mages to corrupt andregrow towering undead trees in the midst of the plainand ash, close enough to the forest to aid the breakdownof the elves’ magic but far enough away to be defend-ed. The trees contain small black mirrors that have agreat negative effect on the Wood, allowing a muchmore effective assault.

The PCs volunteered to be part of a group of morethan 500 freedom fighters assigned to various ren-dezvous points near the border of Erethor. While most ofthe fighters distract the orcish forces, 8 elite teams willeach go after the mirrors. If at least 3 are successful, theelven sages predict that the harmonics between the mir-rors would be disrupted enough to destroy them all.

The PCs are all that remain of the group that wassupposed to rendezvous at their point. Each has a mem-ory of working towards the rendezvous, and somehowgetting ambushed, or just feels a gap of time they can-not explain. They have all arrived (near the “X” on thePlayer Map) and are awaiting their contact for moreinformation on how to proceed.

AdventureSummary

The PCs discover are informed that they are theonly ones left to complete the destruction of a key mir-ror. The PCs have to sneak through the fell-ridden plain,dodging firestorms, Fell, and orc war parties to get tothe tree. Along the way, they discover that they are fell.They must ascend the tree, battle its guardians, anddestroy the black mirror within, only to have the result-ing explosion blast them out of existence. The PCs willhear and (perhaps see) the destruction of two other trees,so they will know that their sacrifice was not in vain.While dark and depressing, this is a sign of hope.

The DM should evaluate the status of the PCs andany time constraints of the slot in determining the needto complete each encounter. The most important is thedramatic final combat at the Dark Tree; the others maybe bypassed or given short shrift as time requires. It isunlikely that the PCs can win the final encounter, butthey can accomplish the destruction of the Dark Mirrorwithout actually defeating the monsters.

If any of the combat encounters are bypassed, theDM should take special care to describe the Field of Ash


and Blood, and can have a quick encounter with a par-ticular storm effect.

It is approximately 100 miles to the BlastedDocks, and 50 miles further on to the Dark Grove.

IntroductionRead the following to the players:The attack has come. The final strike of the ham-

mer on the anvil of Eredane: The dark lorid Izradorhas given the order to assault Erethor, sparing noexpense, leaving none alive. The eastern edge of theforest has been a guerilla battlefield for almost a cen-tury, patches of forest being burnt by the orcs andretaken by the elves. Now, the dark forces have theupper hand. Their victory seems imminent. Threenight kings have focused on the elven wood, and thebulk of the orc army. Worst of all, mobile black mir-rors, evil portals to Izrador himself that drain theelves’ magic, are being brought under heavy guardinto the forest, quieting the mystical Whisper that theelves use to communicate with the forest and eachother. If not for a brave band of rebels who retrievedbattle plans from an informant in Baden’s Bluff, theelven resistance would be nearly blind.

You volunteered for a desperate mission againstthese black mirrors. They are housed high in thebranches of corrupted Dark Trees, necromantic con-structs created by evil elves, betrayers of the cause,who have been warped and twisted like the trees theyraise. You don’t know what the plan is, but you doknow that volunteers have been requested to some howstop them. You traveled with dozens of others to therendezvous point just outside of the fighting. Word wasthat hundreds of rebels had come forward, young andold, inexperienced and veteran alike.

But something went wrong.Your group was ambushed. You were knocked

unconscious during the fighting, and awoke to findyourself in a dark glade. You can smell smoke and seea dark glow to the east, where the fires rage day andnight. You look around, seeing several of your com-rades with you . . . if this small group is all that sur-vived the ambush, things are dire indeed.

As you sit up wearily, the healer that is tendingothers’ wounds looks up and flashes a grim smile inyour direction. You recognize him as the elven bard,Mahogin. He was known as the finest storytelleramong all of the elfkin. Tales say that he let neitherdeath nor war dampen his spirits, nor those in hisaudience. He has told tales to the Witch Queen herself,sitting at the foot of her throne, singing of times thatonly she is old enough to remember.

Now, however, he is dressed in simple greens andgrays, and bears several scars on his face. He stillkeeps the resistance fighters going, but does so not bylightening their hearts with songs of joy, but by steel-ing them with songs of determination. He wanders

amongst his brothers and sisters in their forts and out-posts along the warfronts, spreading good news whenhe can and warning of bad news when it is imminent.He is the contact you were sent here to meet. The elflooks at you all sadly, and speaks.

“I don’t need to tell you how bad it is. More than100 were assigned to this staging area, and only thefew of you made it. None of you are unscathed. Butthose that are lost have only paid early what you will,too: their lives. For you are not likely to come backfrom this mission.”

“You must travel you through the Field of Bloodand Ash, the graveyard of millions of trees and thou-sands of freedom fighters, where fire burns eternallyand the Shadow musters his forces for an overwhelm-ing onslaught. Stealth will be your friend, for you can-not defeat hundreds of thousands of orcs, and worse.If you follow the branch of the Felthera River justbeyond this glade, it will bring you to the Dark Grove.Planted in the grove are the Dark Trees, horrid undeadcreations that were once the proud sentinels ofErethor, now evil plant husks with Black Mirrors insacred chambers in their blackened hearts. The blackmirrors drain magic from our warriors and quiet theWhisper of Erethor . . . without the whisper, we cannotfind and hunt our foes.”

“The Dark Trees, and the Black Mirrors inthem, must be destroyed.”

“We can’t possibly destroy them all; but myresearch of the magic used to warp the trees, and thatwhich binds the mirrors together, shows that they areall connected. The trees by their undying roots, and themirrors by their arcane links. If a few strategicallychosen mirrors are destroyed at nearly the same time,the synchronization will cause the rest to detonate.This will kill thousands of Shadow soldiers, but moreimportantly, will free Erethor from the grip of the darkmagic, so she can defend herself once more.”

“To destroy the font of darkness, we must bringbeauty and light. A flower and a song will be yourweapons against the evil. Cast the flower <he hands asmall, blue flower to each of you> into the mirror’spool, and then sing the song. You will dream of thesong tonight, when you sleep. The song is keyed to aritual that will channel the might of the Witch Queen,and free the poisoned trees from the grip of darkness.I have written a different song for each of you . . . forthe undoing of death is the telling of a tale, and eachone of your tales is different. Do not read these scrollsuntil you are well into the burning fields; perhaps, ifyou open them when all seems at its most bleak, theywill help you endure.”

“The Dark Grove remembers its heritage, andaggressively attacks all who try to enter, save those thatbear a certain charm. This charm is created in somespecial process, and is apparently unique to eachgrove. One of the guardians assigned to your targetgrove is a legate named Dorgan. We have learned thathe will be in a ruined village that the Shadow uses todock supply ships. He will be there to meet a ship arriv-


ing 3 days hence. The village and grove are marked onthis map.” <he hands a simple map to the PCs>.

“The destruction of the mirror will almost cer-tainly mean your doom. There is nothing we can do tosave you from that, except promise you that we willnever forget your sacrifice.”

If the players don’t have any further questions,Mahogin will fade into the forest. The adventure beginsat 5 AM, a few miles away from Encounter #1.

Encounter 1: ForestEscape

The PCs are working their way out of Erethor, andencounter a blight ogre with a small escort of guards.

Creatures:

Blight ogre (“O” on the map)Burning Line Legate (“L” on the map)Legate’s Wolf/Astirax (“A” on the map)Orc Scouts (x6) (“S” on the map)Orc Troopers (x5) (“T” on the map)Combat Tactics:Note: This is right on the Burning Line. All Spot

checks suffer a –4 and visibility is reduced to 30 feet. Allcharacters have a 20% miss chance unless they are with-in 5 ft. of their target. It is extremely hot, and the PCsshould be surprised that they’re not more uncomfort-able. The orcs cannot see well, either, and are generallyterrified to be within the forest. They will retreat at thefirst opportunity, and try to hide behind the ogre andtroopers while making it look like they are chargingother “hidden” foes.

The blight ogre is focused on destroying Erethor,and suffers an additional –4 to Spot rolls before combatbegins. Until it is attacked, it will continue to destroytrees and any characters that come within reach, exceptthe guards. It will focus all of its attacks on any creaturethat causes it damage.

The orc scouts are in pairs, attempting to sneakthrough the forest, ahead of the ogre, but out of thedirect path. Each carries a horn, and will sound it imme-diately if attacked.

The whisper and Erethor itself are not entirelysilenced at this point, and the forest will come to thecharacters’ aid if they get embroiled in the fight. Threerounds after combat begins, each enemy will becomeentangled and will be hit by elven arrows coming out ofthe smoke for 3d8+3 points of damage each round.

The wisest thing for the party to do, since they’reon their mission, is to avoid this encounter. It should befairly easy to do so. The DM should feel free to add ten-sion, including descriptions of the Ogre lumbering merefeet away from them in the smoke, the astirax almostsniffing their magic but then seeming distracted bysomething, the plants themselves deterring the orcs fromstumbling onto the PCs’ hiding spots, etc.

Encounter 2: Field ofAsh and Blood

You may read or paraphrase the following to theplayers:

You have traveled for most of the day through abizarre, bitter landscape. Since the end of the ThirdAge, the Shadow’s foul minions have hacked andburned the forest, cutting a great ragged swathe ofdestruction that extends 300 miles west from Eisin’swalls and 100 miles to either side of the pollutedFelthera river. A vast wasteland of ash and charredwood is all that remains of 30,000 square miles ofancient wildwood. Where springs and brooks oncebabbled beneath the arching boughs of giant cedarsand homewood trees, blood and hissing sap are theonly moisture that remains. Charcoal spires break themonotonous gray of the shifting ash lands, where thicksmoke from the still-burning forests drifts in roilingclouds across the desolate scene. Sudden maelstromsof choking soot blow before screaming winds thatseem to cry the forest’s anguish between the blackskeletal hulks of the trees.

Though there is no sign of the sun through thesmoke that covers the sky, the light begins to fade.Things take on a strange black and white, probably aneffect of the moon’s light being filtered through thesmoke cover. You feel no weariness after your longtrudge, despite having to avoid countless patrols andworse things . . . you are simply numb from the horrorsof the world around you. Still, this appears to be a goodtime and place to make camp.

Tell the PCs that they have traveled for a full day,and that they are making good time to intercept Droganas scheduled. They find a hollow that is protected fromthe wind and from visibility. As the PCs move forwardto investigate, however, a low rumble begins buildingfrom the south. A firestorm is coming, and it brings withit a faelgral ogre. PCs that make Spot or Listen checksDC 20 are not surprised. Those that are surprised maynot apply their Dexterity modifiers to their reflex savesto avoid the firestorm, and may not act during the sur-prise round.

Creatures

Firestorm (CR 9): 4d6 damage; Reflex save DC20 for half damage. A 30 ft. cube is engulfed by sheetsof roaring flame and whirling cinders. The thick blacksmoke chokes those caught in the blast area, but the PCsseem unaffected by the smoke. The firestorm moves at30 ft. per round and burns out after 1d6 rounds.

Faergral Ogre: CR 5, Large Undead Giant, HD12d12; hp 100, Init –2, Spd 40 ft; AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 18, Atk +10 Melee (1d8+7, Slam); SA Burn (DC15 Reflex save when hit by slam, or catch on fire); SQas Faergral, undead; AL NE; SV Fort +4, Ref +4, Will


+8; Str 25, Dex 6, Con -, Int 2, Wis 3, Cha 1.Skills, Feats & Posessions: NoneCombat Tactics: The Ogre will partial charge as

the PCs are engulfed in the Firestorm and attempt todestroy them.

Development: This is likely the first time anyPCs are damaged, and so any healing may cause them torealize that they are undead. Let the PCs roleplay thisout after (or even during) the combat as much as youwish.

Encounter 3: Do theDead Dream?

If the PCs realize that they are Fell before camp-ing, you may adjust this encounter as necessary. Twooptions are presented below: the PCs don’t understandwhat is going on, and try to camp after the faergral ogreattack, or the PCs realize what is going on (or closeenough), and press on after the faergral ogre attack.

Camping <read aloud to all players>:As you take your turn at rest, you find yourself

tossing and turning. Sleep will not come . . . it’s almostas if you’ve forgotten how to sleep. As you lie there,thinking whatever thoughts a warrior does on the eveof battle, a song begins to sing in your mind.

Marching <read aloud to all players>:As you plod through the ash and smoldering

deadwood, your mind wanders over the landscape ofyour recent past. You consider all that you havelearned . . . and it strikes horror into your heart. Youlook at your flesh, and see that it is pale, cold . . . youplace your hand over your heart, and cannot feel itbeating . . . and then a song begins to sing in yourmind.

<Continue reading the following, whether camp-ing or marching>:

It is a song of longing, joy, grief, and hope, all inone. You can swear you’ve heard the tune before. It’salmost as if you were born with the song in your mind,and it’s only now that you finally recognize it. It’s thesong of your life, and your death.

And then you realize. You remember. The swordblow, the arrow hitting your back, the water embracingyou and pulling you under. Mahogin’s voice reachesyou in a half-dream, half-waking state:

“Now you see. You did not survive the ambush.No one did. We thought all hope was lost, but then Ifound you few . . . though your hearts had stilled, yoursouls had not departed. There was a risk. Some of youshould have gone mad, attacked, remembered. Butnone of you did. Your devotion to the cause broughtyou from the shores of oblivion with your mind intact.Whether your souls cry out for vengeance or it is sim-ply the goodness in your heart that will not let hope

die, you have been given a chance to carry on.It is rare that the dead can help the living. I wish

I could do more for you, could off you a chance at sur-vival. But all that would await you is a bitter, evil unlifeas your body and mind deteriorate. What I can giveyou, though, is a promise: if you fulfill your mission,destroy the mirror, then you will be released. Anyoneso close to a mirror when it is destroyed will be reducedto nothing, and your spirits will be at rest.

This, at least, I can do for you: I will spread yourtale. All will know of your sacrifice. Long after yourspirits are at rest, after I am dead, for as long as mysongs live on, you will be held as heroes. Erethor willWhisper your names until her last tree has fallen. Youwill be known as the Company of the Undying Heart,and you will be remembered.

This is the most dramatic moment of the adven-ture, and you should allow for whatever roleplaying theplayers wish to engage in. Some may decide to abandonthe mission, or may attack other PCs . . . but, as heroes,they will probably continue on.

Encounter 4: BlastedDocks

The PCs will arrive several hours before nightfall,a day early (the fact that they haven’t had to sleep or resthas gotten there much quicker than they would other-wise have been able to go). This gives them an opportu-nity to go in and take out Dorgan and his Astirax with-out too much trouble . . . he has alienated all of the orcswho would guard him at night. During the day, they willhave to fight Dorgan and his Astirax, a much more dif-ficult prospect.

If the PCs go whole-hog into the village, they willlikely be destroyed. Hundreds of orcs are stationed here,and visibility is much better: 60 foot visibility, 20% misschance unless within 30 feet of target, –2 penalty to Spotchecks. Instead, the PCs should sneak in and take out (orsteal from) Dorgan without alerting the orc troops.

Black Mirror Effects: Once the PCs get near thevillage, they will be within 100 miles of the of BlackMirror they have been sent to destroy. Any magic itemsare subjected to a dispel magic effect at 5th-level caster,and all spells require 1 additional spell point to cast.

Within the remains of the village, only the docksand warehouse are functional buildings, though shabbi-ly constructed. The “wall” around the warehouse ispoorly constructed of a mix of stones and woodenremains. It keeps in the occasional livestock and horses,but will not keep out anyone determined to get in. Thereare approximately 40 orcs stationed here to guard andunload the arriving boats.

Two large groups (500+) of orcs are camped about500 yards inland. They are resting for a time until themarch toward Erethor begins again. Normally, theywould camp nearer the river, but Dorgan made them


move back because he did not like the smell. Unlesssomething drastic happens, they will not intervene inany camp trouble.

The Docks: These are guarded by 4 orc troopersentries at all times. Nothing much happens here, sothey do not pay close attention, sometimes gamblingand talking for long stretches.

The Warehouse: This is full of various goods,weapons, armor, and some foodstuffs. Inside is a 20’square cage, currently empty (The sacrificial prisonersare kept here, until transported to the various DarkGroves). There are 2 doors at either end, with the largedoors barred shut. The small doors are merely latched,and are so poorly constructed that they barely stayclosed. There are two Orc trooper guards on the west-ern and eastern end.

Dorgan forced all of the Orc guards/dockhandsoutside after his arrival, and all not on watch are sleep-ing on the ground in the shade of the warehouse duringthe day (likely the north side) or all over the yard atnight. They will not stir unless protracted combat (3+rounds) occurs. If it involves Dorgan inside the ware-house, they will take at least 5 more rounds to investi-gate, since they don’t like him very much, and don’twant to make him angry.

Between 11 PM and 6 AM, Dorgan and his astiraxwill be sleeping. During the day, he will be wearing hisarmor and carrying all his items. His horse is tied to thesouthern fence unless he is riding it. During the day,Dorgan will generally remain inside but will occasion-ally go outside to relieve himself, or to heap abuse uponthe lazy Orcs.

Creatures:

Dorgan, Legate 10 (see Appendix B)Brown Bear Astirax (see Appendix B) 40 Orc Troopers (see Appendix B)Combat Tactics:The Orcs will fight if they believe Dorgan is

behind them, otherwise, if 10 or more of them fall, theywill flee toward the large orc encampments.

Dorgan does not sleep in his armor. If confronted,he will almost immediately recognize the PCs as Fell.He will command his astirax to attack initially, andattempt to rebuke the PCs. If pressed into melee, he willfight as best he can, while calling for aid, and attempt-ing to flee.

The tree charm the PCs are looking for looks likea black walnut, with 5 thorny points on it. It radiatesmagic, and Dorgan carries it in his belt pouch. If carriedby a channeler, it will allow the casting of spells nor-mally within a Dark Mirror’s area of effect.

Encounter 5: Dark GroveNote: This encounter is intentionally overpow-

ered. It is expected that the PCs will sacrifice them-selves for the greater good (the dark mirror will kill

them anyway), so the DM should not pull any punches.The Guardian cannot be convinced to relent, and Jaranis insanely fanatical in his service to Izrador. Allow thePCs a fair chance to complete their mission, but if theydelay too long or do not work together, do not be afraidto kill them all. To successfully destroy the Dark Mirror,the PCs must throw the flower in, and sing the songonce through (3 rounds). Any or all of the PCs may sing,and they do not have to sing simultaneously. If a PCtakes damage while singing, he must make aConcentration check (DC = 5 + damage dealt) in orderto not be interrupted.

Black Mirror Effects: The PCs will be within 1mile of the Black Mirror when they enter the grove. Allmagic items and ongoing magic effects are subjected toa greater dispel magic at 15th-level caster for as long asthey are within the radius, and all arcane spells cost 3more spell points than normal to cast.

Read the following to the players: The Dark Grove looks like a cluster of smaller

trees around a single huge one. The huge one appearsto have a sort of swirling heat shimmer around the top:the telltale sign of a Black Mirror.

The Grove appears at once blackened andburned out, and yet also slimy and slick. The shadowsare dark and menacing, and you cannot help but feelthat you are being watched.

Assuming the PCs have the tree charm, they willbe able to pass unmolested to the Dark Tree. If for somereason they do not, the Dark Grove will defend itselfwith a series of randomly-placed Guardian Grove plants(Guardian Grove, Minions of Shadow, p. 35).

Once the PCs reach the main trunk, touching itwith the Tree Charm will open a passage into a darkinner chamber. This chamber is small, and slimy, andstrangely cold. Many roots, splinters, and small pools ofwater just into the inner chambers of the Tree, and small,splintered bones can be found throughout, some recog-nizable as humanoid, but all pitted as if by acid (TheGuardian gets to eat the bodies of the sacrificial vic-tims). The PCs work their way up through the narrow-winding passages and come up the “stairs” into a largeroom, which has many hanging roots and small pools ofwater on the floor. It is pitch-black, and any light sourcethe PCs have is very dim, at best.

In the center of the room, a circular wooden fontrests, with a dark pool of black liquid, which has astrange silvery hue.

On the east wall is an elf, whose hands and feetdisappear into the wood of the tree. If the PCs makenoise, or bring light, she will whimper softly for help,saying things like, “please don’t hurt me anymore” and“please let me go, I won’t tell anyone.” She is the lastsacrificial victim, as Dorgan was to bring back moreupon his return. It looks like there is room for at least 10more upon the various walls.


Creatures:

The Guardian (see Appendix B) is a horriblecreature, bred in the pits of the North to guard Izrador’smirrors where humans cannot. It is well hidden (SpotDC 25) in the ceiling, 30 feet above the PCs, amongstthe roots and slime almost directly above the Mirror. Itwill be listening very carefully, and will likely hear thePCs well before they get into the room (ALL PCs mustmake Hide checks DC 21 and Move Silently checks DC21). It will cast detect thoughts as soon as it hears themtrying to move stealthily, and as soon as it realizes thatthe intruders have no thoughts (being undead), it willuse sending to tell Jaran of the intruders. It will watchand cast buff spells on itself until the PCs hear it castingor move towards the Mirror The moment they movetowards the mirror, it will cast entangle.

Jaran (see Appendix 4) will arrive using his TreeCharm, which allows a transport via plant effectbetween Dark Groves. He is responsible for this sectionof the Groves, and will fight to the death to preventaccess to the Mirror. He will arrive 3 rounds after thesending is cast.

Combat Tactics:If the PCs head towards the Mirror, the Guardian

will attack with entangle and spike growth to preventaccess. If the PCs succeed in tossing in the flower, theGuardian will not realize the significance of the singinguntil at least after the 1st round (DC 25), or the 2nd (DC15) (Wis). It will then attempt to cast silence to encom-pass as many of the PCs as possible. The silence spellcan encompass the entire mirror, but PCs would still beable to sing outside it, so he will aim for PCs nearest themirror instead and hope that the entangle or spikegrowth will prevent them from moving far. TheGuardian will enter melee if necessary to prevent phys-ical access to the Mirror, and will not hesitate to fight tothe death.

Jaran is unaffected by the Dark Mirror because hehas a Tree Charm. He will arrive directly into the north-ern portion of the chamber and immediately castEvard’s Tentatcles. Thereafter, he will cast mind-affect-ing spells. Jaran is far more powerful than the PCs, andtheir only advantage is that he does not know they areFell. He must make a DC 20 Knowledge (religion)check each round to recognize the PCs as fell, gaining a+2 to the check for each mind-affecting spell he caststhat do not affect the PCs. Once he realizes what he isfacing, he will switch tactics, using undeath to deathand similar spells. Once his spell points run out, he willbegin shooting arrows or fighting with his staff. If he isnot present to see the PCs toss the flower in, he will notrecognize the significance of the singing. Otherwise, hehas the same chance as the Guardian.

ConclusionIf the PCs are successful in singing the song and

placing the flower, read the following after the thirdround of singing:

As the last notes of your song echo in the darkchamber, a blinding white shaft of light splits the ceil-ing, piercing the center of the pool. The pool begins toboil, and the tree shakes violently. Huge branchesattached to the chamber fall away, leaving holes in thewall and revealing the fields of ash and blood all aboutyou. In the distance, to the east and west, you can seetwo other Dark Groves. As you watch, shafts of lightthrust down from the heavens and split the centraltrees in those groves, as well. You see the movement ofthousands of creatures below and in the distance to theeast, like the crawling of ants . . . they must be the orcarmies, realizing something has gone wrong. Theywon’t get away in time.

Lightning crackles from the now-dry BlackMirror, spiraling out to the other two Dark Grooves.The light is so bright it should make your eyes fill withtears, but these undead orbs that you see through nowhave no tears to shed. The bright light means twothings: you have succeeded at your mission, and youare free. All of the trees begin to collapse into ash, andthen you are surrounded by a bluish-white light, andthen you see nothing at all.


Appendix 1:PCs asUndead

In the world of Midnight, undead are much morecommon, and much different than the normal undead instandard D&D. The players are Ungral Fell, whichmeans they are basically mentally unchanged at first,but will slowly become more savage, and lose theirmental capacity if they do not consume the flesh of anintelligent humanoid. The PCs in Blaze really will nothave to worry about this, since it takes at least a week tobegin to decay, but the DM should play up the aspect oftheir memories starting to fade, and their hunger begin-ning to build.

The rules below are important to keep in mind forthe PCs as they adventure; after the rules are a list ofsuggested roleplaying encounters and descriptions thatyou may use with the PCs.

Rules

Immunities: The PCs are immune to all mind-affecting spells, critical hits, nonlethal damage, abilitydrain, energy drain, poison, sleep effects, paralysis,stunning.

Damage: The PCs die when reduced to 0 hitpoints. It’s rough, but them’s the breaks.

Healing: Do not heal normally, and suffer damagefrom positive energy (e.g., cure light wounds spells); arehealed by negative energy (e.g., inflict light wounds).Eating 1 lb. of flesh from a living or recently killed (< 5min) intelligent humanoid will cure 1d8 of damage. Thiscan be done every 8 hours.

Spell Points: Spell points are calculated as nor-mal, but overuse will drain Chr instead of Con. Undeaddo not have to rest to regain spell points, but must go 8consecutive hours without casting a spell. All other rulesremain the same.

Immunities: The PCs simply don’t need to roll aWill save when attacked by a mind-affecting spell orother attacks to which they are immune. They may useSpellcraft to figure out what was cast at them, or com-mon sense to notice they’ve been poisoned, etc. Thenthey need to figure out why you didn’t make them roll.

Healing: The PCs are most likely to realize some-thing is wrong the first time one of them attempts to becured. Any cure attempts with magic (positive energy)cause damage instead.

Feeding: You may take players aside and tellthem that they feel strange about the dead bodies, givingthem hints about their now-carnivorous nature.

Revelations: You’re Dead!All of the PCs’ wounds have been “healed” and

their armor and clothing repaired, where possible.However, scars, rips, and seams where armor has beencloven in twain are still visible, as are long-term effectsfrom the cause of death. You may, at random intervals,have PCs make spot checks to notice any of the visibleresults of another PCs’ death, and give them that infor-mation secretly.

Tuwin

Distrust: As a former legate, Tuwin is likely to bethe least trusted of the group. Characters who playedwith her in Cat and Mouse may trust her, or not, depend-ing on the events that took place in that adventure.

Healing: The first time she attempts to heal some-one and instead harms them, the party may assume shedid it on purpose, and turn on her.

Paranoia: PCs at random intervals will noticethat Tuwin’s face seems unusually dark and even some-what bloated, as if she is ill. Let other PCs make spotchecks to notice this, and let Tuwin make spot checks tosee if they notice.

Death: Tuwin’s face is blood-filled because shewas killed by hanging; as a former legate of Izrador, itis likely that she was strung up as a warning to othertraitors. If her armor is removed and neck examined,very distinct rope marks will be seen.

Keepha

Distrust: Keepha is an unknown to the rest of theparty. She doesn’t know them, and they don’t know her.

Fell-hating: Keepha hates and fears fell, and so ismore likely to attack a party member on the spot if sherealizes what they are (before realizing that she, and therest of the party, are fell as well). It will take some con-vincing before Keepha will realize that she, too, is fell.

Death: Keepha was shot in the back with a poisonarrow.

Daktor

Distrust: Daktor doesn’t trust Keepha, despitebeing a Dorn like her. All too often, he has seen the dor-nish betray their own people.

Pragmatic: Daktor wants to destroy the shadow.Whether he is alive or dead is almost inconsequential. Infact, he may relish the fact that he’s now a little bit moreeffective as a killer.

Death: Daktor’s chest was ripped open by a var-datch. The slice is still there in his shirt, and there’s ahuge scar on his chest that he can’t remember receiving,but his leather shirt has been patched.


Nathis

Self-loathing: Nathis is almost as no-nonsense asDaktor. However, being a fell to him is the worst possi-ble fate; it is the opposite of all life that the elves standfor, and he can no longer hear the whisper.

Spells: While Nathis has enough spell power toavoid going below 0 spell points, he may realize that hedoesn’t suffer Con damage from overdoing his spells.Since Charisma is not his spellcasting ability, that meanshe is a much more resilient spellcaster while dead,something that may cause conflict within him.

Death: Nathis is pale and seems to have a bluishtinge to his lips. This is because he drowned on the wayto the rendezvous when ambushed while crossing it.

Muri

True Friend: Muri’s horse, Imbria, survived theambush that killed Muri. At first, it doesn’t notice anychange. After a few days, however, Imbria will begin toscent the smell of death and decay on Muri. Each day,Muri will suffer a cumulative –5 penalty to HandleAnimal and Ride checks with Imbria. When it is mostcinematically appropriate, have Imbria rear in terrorfrom Muri’s touch, and race away. Imbria does not reap-pear for the rest of the adventure.

Death: The back of Muri’s skull was caved in bya spike on an ogre’s warclub. She never takes off herhelm (which has been repaired) while in the field, so thewound will not be noticed unless someone specificallylooks for it.

Durak

Stoic: The damage done to Durak’s body is dis-turbing. It is likely to be one of the first things any of thehealers notice; most will assume that Durak is simplybeing a stoic dwarf, and not showing any sign of weak-ness or pain. The fact is that Durak doesn’t feel the painat all. He sees that his skin has been burned, but assumesthat it must have been some kind of magical fire. Sincethis is a suicide mission, he doesn’t really care if he’sdisfigured, so long as he can do his job.

No Rage for the Weary: The most noticeableeffect of becoming fell on Durak is that, without aConstitution score, his rage only lasts 3 rounds, maxi-mum, and he gains no increase to hit points. Though theplayer may disagree when you tell him that his rage endsearly and that he gains no bonus hit points, tell him thatyou know what should happen during rage, but that thisis a strange effect, maybe due to a spell or somethingelse.

Death: Durak looks like he was burned alive . . .because he was.

Brin

Healer: Brin is one of the most tragic charactersto play, because all he wants is to heal and protect thewounded or helpless. His transformation into fell hasaffect his heroic path strangely; any cure spells he wouldnormally use are instead inflict spells. This works to theparty’s advantage in one sense, but confuses as well: ifthey let him do the healing instead of Tuwin, they maynot realize that anything is wrong because his “cure”spells work normally. The moment he uses such a spellon a living person, however, all see it for what it is: neg-ative energy.

Bloody: Brin wakes up covered in dried blood(but apparently unwounded, so it MUST be someoneelse’s). As one of the PCs who kills the least, and almostnever sheds blood when he does it, this is bound to besomewhat disconcerting to him.

Death: Brin’s death was quite messy: he wasbound standing to a tree and his throat was slit, so thefountain of his blood flowed down over his clothes,drenching them in his own blood.


Appendix 2:NPCs Encounter 1:

Legate

Female Erenlander legate 5: CR 5; hp 27; Init+0; Spd 20 ft.; AC 18, touch 10, flatfooted 18; Base Atk:+3; Atks +6 melee (1d8+2, long sword), +3 ranged (1d6,short bow); SA Spells; SQ Astirax companion; AL NE;SV Fort +5, Ref +0, Will +7: Str 14, Dex 10, Con 13, Int12, Wis 16, Cha 10; Skills: Concentration +12(+15),Profession (any)+7, Knowledge (arcana) +2,Knowledge (religion) +8, Spellcraft +8; Feats: CombatCasting,, Skill Focus (Concentration), Spell Focus(Necromancy), Weapon Focus (longsword);

Spells Prepared: (5/4+1/3+1/2+1; base DC = 13 +spell level; domains: destruction and war): 0—detectmagic, detect poison, guidance, read magic, resistance;1st—bane, cause fear**, cure light wounds**, magicweapon*, shield of faith; 2nd—bull’s strength, deathknell**, hold person, spiritual weapon*; 3rd—conta-gion*(**), dispel magic, prayer;

Possessions: longsword, shortbow, arrows (10),splint mail, large steel shield.

* Indicates domain spells** Necromancy spell; the base save DC for these

spells, where applicable, is 14 + spell level.Wolf Astirax: (physical statistics as wolf, MM

pg 283, astirax as Midnight pg 229) CR 6, hp 20(wolf),22.

Orc Trooper

Male Orc Ftr 2: CR 2, Medium Humanoid, HD2d10+6; hp17, Init +1, Spd 20 ft; AC 17, touch 11, flat-footed 16, Atk +7 melee (1d12+4, vardatch) or +3ranged (1d6+4, javelin); SQ orc traits; AL NE; SV Fort+6, Ref +1, Will +0; Str 18, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 8, Wis10, Cha 8.

Skills: Climb -2, Intimidate +2, Jump -2, Survival+2

Feats: Power Attack, Cleave, Weapon Focus (var-datch)

Posessions: Scale mail & large steel shield, var-datch, dagger, 4 javelins, 2 days rations

Languages: Black Tongue, Old Dwarven Pidgin,High Elven Pidgin, Orcish

Orc Scout

Male Orc Rog1/War2: CR2; MediumHumanoid, HD 1d6+2d8; hp12, Init +2, Spd 30 ft; AC15, touch 12, flat-footed 13, Atk +4 melee (1d6+2, handaxe) or +4 ranged (1d8, light crossbow); SA sneakattack +1d6; SQ orc traits, trapfinding; AL cE; SV Fort+3, Ref +4, Will +2; Str 14, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 10, Wis14, Cha 8

Skills: Climb +6, Handle Animal +2, Hide +6,Intimidate +7, Jump +2, Knowledge (Western Erenland)-1, Listen +6, Move Silent +6, Search +4, Sleight ofHand +4, Spot +6, Use Rope +4, Survival +6

Feats: Dodge, TrackPosessions: Leather armor, small wooden shield,

light crossbow, 2 hand axes, 20 crossbow bolts, 3 daysrations.

Languages: Black Tongue, Old Dwarven Pidgin,High Elven Pidgin, Trader’s Tongue, Orcish

Encounter 4:

Dorgan

Male Dorn legate 10: CR 10; Medium Humanoid(6 ft. 7 in. tall); HD 10d8; hp 45; Init –2; Spd 20 ft.; AC16, touch 8, flatfooted 16; Base Atk +7; Grp +9; Atk +11melee (1d8+2, vein blade) or +5 ranged (1d6, master-work shortbow); Full Atk +11/+6 melee (1d8+2, veinblade) or +5/+0 ranged (1d6, shortbow); SA Rebukeundead, spells; SQ Astirax companion, Dorn racialtraits, literate; AL LE; SV Fort +7, Ref +1, Will +10: Str14, Dex 6, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 14.

Skills: Concentration +14(+18), Heal +15,Knowledge (Arcana) +16, Knowledge (Undead) +16,Knowledge (Nature) +6, Sense Motive +18, Spellcraft+16, Survival +4

Feats: Combat Expertise, Improved Disarm,Improved Trip, Spell Focus (Conjuration), Spell Focus(Divination).

Languages: Black Tongue, High Elven, Orcish,Norther, Erenlander.

Spells Prepared: (6/5+1/5+1/4+1/3+1/2+1; baseDC = 13 + spell level; domains: evil and magic): 0—detect magic, detect poison, guidance, read magic,resistance; 1st—cause fear, command, divine favor,protection from good*, sanctuary, shield of faith; 2nd—augury**, bull’s strength, death knell, identify(*)**,inflict moderate wounds***, zone of truth**; 3rd—bestow curse, dispel magic*, prayer***, speak withplants**, water walk; 4th—discern lies**, divina-tion**, restoration***, unholy blight; 5th- commune**,scrying**, spell resistance*.

* Indicates domain spells** Divination spell; the base save DC for these

spells, where applicable, is 14+ spell level.*** Conjuration spell; the base save DC for these

spells, where applicable, is 14 + spell level.


Possessions: vein blade (+2 longsword of wound-ing), shortbow, arrows (10), masterwork splint mail,masterwork large steel shield, ring of mind shielding,crystal ball with telepathy, scroll of cure critical wounds(x2), Tree charm.

Appearance and Personality: Dorgan is typical ofhis race, tall, broad shouldered and long yellow hairkept carefully braided. Dorgan was a soldier legate inHighwall until he lost much of his left leg after a raven-ing beast escaped from the spawning pits. He wears longrobes to cover his infirmity and reacts harshly to thosewho stare or comment on his slow shuffling walk.Dorgan still carries his magical longsword and in closequarters is still very deadly.

Hurak, Brown Bear Astirax: (physical statisticsas brown bear, MM pg 269, astirax as Midnight pg 229)CR 6, hp 51(bear), 35.

Encounter 5:The Guardian

Dark Naga: CR 7; Large Aberration; HD 9d8+18(58 hp); Init +2; Spd 40 ft. (8 squares); Armor Class: 14(–1 size, +2 Dex, +3 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 12;Base Atk +6; Grp +12; Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.; Atksting +7 melee (2d4+2 plus poison); Full Atk sting +7melee (2d4+2 plus poison) and bite +2 melee (1d4+1);SA poison, spells; SQ Darkvision 60 ft., detectthoughts, guarded thoughts, immunity to poison, resist-ance to charm; AL LE; SV Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +8; Str14, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 17, Cha 15;

Skills: Bluff +9, Concentration +13, Diplomacy+7, Disguise +5 (+7 acting), Intimidate +5, Listen +11,Sense Motive +8, Spellcraft +12, Spot +11;

Feats: Alertness, Combat Casting, Dodge,Eschew MaterialsB, Lightning Reflexes

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 16 or lapse intoa nightmare-haunted sleep for 2d4 minutes. The saveDC is Constitution-based.

Resistance to Charm: Dark nagas have a +2 racialbonus on saving throws against all charm effects (notincluded in the statistics block).

Detect Thoughts (Su): A dark naga can continu-ously use detect thoughts as the spell (caster level 9th;Will DC 15 negates). This ability is always active. Thesave DC is Charisma-based.

Guarded Thoughts (Ex): Dark nagas are immuneto any form of mind reading.

Spells: The guardian casts spells as a 7th-levellegate with the Evil and Death domain.

Spells: (6/5+1/4+1/3+1/1+1/ base DC 13 + spelllevel; domains evil and death) 0-create water, cureminor wounds, guidance(x2), resistance (x2),1st—causefear, cure light wounds, entangle, obscuring mist, sanc-tuary, protection from good* 2nd__ cure moderatewounds, darkness, cat’s grace, silence, death knell*,3rd—blindness, dispel magic, spike growth, magic cir-cle against good*, 4th—sending, unholy blight*

* Indicates domain spells

Jaran the Reaver

Male wood elf channeler 12: CR 12; MediumHumanoid (5 ft. 3 in. tall); HD 12d6; hp 57; Init +2; Spd30 ft; AC 16 (touch 12, flatfooted 14); Base Atk +8; Grp+10; Atks +12/+6 melee (1d6+6, quarterstaff +3) or+11/+5 ranged (1d8+2, masterwork composite longbow[+2 Str]); spells, summon familiar, wood elf traits; ALNE; SV Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +12: Str 15, Dex 14, Con10, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 8.

Skills: Concentration +14(+18), Heal +15,Knowledge (arcana) +16, Knowledge (undead) +16,Knowledge (nature) +6, Sense Motive +18, Spellcraft+16, Survival +4.

Feats: Cleave, Combat Casting, Great Cleave,Magecraft, Maximize Spell, Power Attack, Spellcasting(Abjuration), Spellcasting (Divination), Spellcasting(Lesser Conjuration), Spellcasting (Necromancy),Spellcasting (Transmutation), Spellcasting (Universal),Spell Focus (Divination), Spell Focus (Necromancy).

Languages: Black Tongue, High Elven, Orcish,Norther, Erenlander.

Spells Known (15 points of spell energy/day; baseDC 13 + spell level): 0—acid splash, create water, cureminor wounds, detect magic*, detect poison*, disruptundead**, guidance*, know direction*, mage hand,read magic, touch of fatigue**; 1st—mage armor, causefear**, chill touch**, comprehend languages*, detectundead*, entangle, jump, magic weapon, ray of enfee-blement**, true strike*; 2nd—acid arrow, alter self,barkskin, blindness/deafness**, bull’s strength, cat’sgrace, command undead**, detect chaos*, detect evil*,detect good*, detect law*, detect thoughts*, false life**,fog cloud, ghoul touch**, locate object*, scare**, spec-tral hand**, tongues*, web; 3rd—arcane sight*,clairaudience/clairvoyance*, flame arrow, fly, gentlerepose**, halt undead**, haste, poison**, ray ofexhaustion**, slow, speak with plants*, stinking cloud,vampiric touch**, water breathing; 4th—animatedead**, arcane eye*, bestow curse**, black tentacles,contagion**, detect scrying*, enervation**, fear**,locate creature*, polymorph self, scrying*, solid fog;5th—blight**, cloudkill, death ward**, magic jar**,permanency, symbol of pain**, telepathic bond*, trans-mute rock to mud, wall of stone, waves of fatigue**;6th—acid fog, circle of death**, create undead**,cure/inflict moderate wounds (mass), disintegrate, eye-bite**, fire seeds, stone tell*, symbol of fear**, true see-ing*, undeath to death**, wall of iron

* Divination spell. The base save DC for thesespells, where applicable, is 14 + spell level.

** Necromancy spells. The base save DC forthese spells, where applicable, is 14 + spell level.

Possessions: Quarterstaff +3, Greater SpellTalisman (Necromancy), bone arrows (20) [on injury,require the target to make a Fort save DC 13 or contractthe shakes disease], ring of regeneration (wrought ofbone), composite longbow [+2 Str].

Iklin, Crow Familiar: CR 3; Tiny Animal; HD


12d8; hp 21; Init +6; Spd 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (average); AC20, touch 14, flatfooted 18; Base Atk +8; Grp –5; Atks+10 melee (1d2–5, 2 claws); SA spell-like abilities; SQimproved evasion, share spells, empathic link, delivertouch spells, speak with master, speak with animals ofits kind, SR 17; AL NE; SV Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +11;Str 1, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 11, Wis 14, Cha 6.

Skills: Concentration +14, Heal +14, Knowledge(arcana) +15, Knowledge (undead) +15, Knowledge(nature) +5, Sense Motive +17, Spellcraft +15, Survival+3.

Feats: Improved Initiative, Dodge, Mobility,Weapon Finesse, Blind Fight.

Languages: Black Tongue.

Appendix 3:New MonsterFFaaeerrggrraall

From the horror of the searing heat and chokingsmoke of the Burning Line, a new and hideous form ofan old and dangerous enemy has emerged in the holo-caust devastation on Erethor’s eastern edge. The combi-nation of unleashed magic, terrible slaughter, and theawakened spirits of fire and the dead have created thefaergral, the flaming dead. The faergral are the insanespirits of the dead, damned to restless undeath until theirbodies are consumed by fire. Like Fell, they rise shortlyafter their natural death, but unlike normal ungral, theirbodies are wreathed in flame, an everlasting cloak offire that slowly consumes their dead flesh.

Faergral do not have the intelligence or devious-ness of the ungral or faengral, and even the maelgral aremore cunning. The pain of their immolation oftenproves too much for their minds, which are as black andcracked as their outer shells. The risen faergral focuseson only one thing: to spread its pain and burningdestruction as far as it can before it is consumed by itsown fire. However, the arcane energies that animate thefaergral make them far stronger than normal Fell, andalthough their bodies are eventually devoured by thehungry flames, while they are animate their charredlimbs are charged with terrible power.

CCrreeaattiinngg aa FFaaeerrggrraall

“Faergral” is a template that can be added to anycorporeal creature with an Intelligence score of five ormore other than an undead (referred to hereafter as the“base creature”).

Size and Type: The creature’s type changes toUndead and it gains the Fire type modifier. It loses all

other type modifiers. It uses all the base creature’s sta-tistics and special abilities except a noted here.

Hit Dice: Remove all Hit Dice gained from classlevels, triple the number of Hit Dice left, and raise themto d12.

Speed: Same as the base creature. If the base crea-ture has a burrow, climb, or swim speed, it retains thoseabilities. If the base creature has a flying speed, itsmaneuverability is reduced to clumsy.

Armour Class: The base creature’s natural armorbonus is increased by a number based on the faergral’ssize. (See table 1)

Damage: Faergral have slam attacks. If the basecreature does not have this attack form, use the appro-priate damage value from the table below according tothe faergral’s size. Creatures that have other kinds ofnatural weapons retain their old damage values or usethe appropriate value from the table below, whichever isbetter.

NaturalSize Armor DamageFine +1 1Diminutive +1 1d2Tiny +2 1d3Small +3 1d4Medium +4 1d6Large +6 1d8Huge +8 2d6Gargantuan +12 2d8Colossal +16 4d6

Attack: The faergral retains all the attacks of thebase creature and also gains a slam attack if it didn’talready have one. Recalculate the faergral’s melee andranged attack bonuses based on its undead creature typeand new abilities (+4 Strength, –2 Dexterity). Undeadcreatures have a base attack equal to half their total HitDice (as wizard). If the base creature can use weaponsor natural weapons, the faergral retains these abilities. Afaergral fighting without weapons uses either its slamattack or its primary natural weapon (if it has any). Afaergral armed with a weapon uses its slam or theweapon, as it desires.

Full Attack: A faergral fighting without weaponsuses either its slam attack (see above) or its naturalweapons (if it has any). If armed with a weapon, it usu-ally uses the weapon as its primary attack along with aslam or other natural weapon as a natural secondaryattack.

Special Attacks: A faergral loses all the specialattacks of the base creature, but gains the burn specialattack described below.

Burn (Ex): Any creature that is hit by the faer-gral’s slam attack (or that hits the faergral with a naturalweapon or an unarmed attack) must succeed at a DC 15Reflex save or catch fire (see Catching on Fire in theDMG). The fire burns for 1d4 rounds.

Special Qualities: The faergral loses all specialqualities of the base creature and gains the undead type


(see the MM), fire subtype, and the following specialqualities.

Consumed (Ex): A faergral is slowly consumed byits own flames from the moment it arises, suffering onehit point of damage each hour as the fire devours itsflesh.

Fire Subtype (Ex): A faergral is immune to firedamage but takes double damage from cold or water-based attacks unless a saving throw for half damage isallowed. In that case, the creature takes half damage ona success and double damage on a failure.

Partial Actions Only (Ex): The faergral have poorreflexes and can perform only partial actions. This theycan move or attack but can only do both it they charge(a partial charge).

Saves: A faergral loses the base creature’s savingthrows, and gains good Will saves and poor Fortitudeand Reflex saves.

Abilities: The faergral’s Strength increases by 4,its Dexterity decreases by 2, it has no Constitutionscore, its Intelligence and Wisdom decreases to one-quarter of the base creature’s, and its Charisma decreas-es to 1.

Skills, Feats, Treasure: The faergral loses allskills, feats and has no treasure.

Organization: None.Challenge Rating: The CR of a faergral is based

on its Hit Dice.

Hit Dice CR1/2 1/41 1/22–3 14–5 26–7 38–10 412–14 516–18 619–20 7

Alignment: Always neutral evil Advancement: None


Tuwin

Female Sarcosan Legate 4/Rogue 3: HP 64; Init+5; Spd 30 ft.; AC 22 (touch 14, flat-footed 17) (+3Halfling leather, masterwork steel shield); Atk +9 melee(1d8+4, Blind Eye [longsword +1]) or +6 ranged (1d10,masterwork heavy crossbow); AL N; SV Fort +3, Ref+8, Will +6; Str 16, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha14. Height 5 ft 4”, Weight 125#.

Skills: Bluff +14, Concentration +4, Craft(Leatherworking) +2, Disguise +8, Gather Information+11, Heal +2, Intimidate +7, Knowledge (southernErenland) +4, Knowledge (Religion) +5, Sense Motive+9, Spellcraft +1, Spot +4.

Feats: Alertness, Improved Initiative,Inconspicuous, Power Attack, Weapon Focus(longsword).

Special Abilities: As Sarcosan, plus: Sneak Attack+2d6, Trapfinding, Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, TrapSense +1, Smite (+4 hit, +4 damage) 1/day

Possessions: Halfling leather armor, Blind Eye(Covenant item: +1 longsword, invisibility 2x day at 7thlevel caster, owner unaffected by black mirror magicdrain), masterwork heavy crossbow, 30 bolts, 10 silverbolts, masterwork silver dagger, 7 days rations and mun-dane items.

Heroic Path: None.Physical Description: Tuwin is a pretty Sarcosan

woman, with dark hair and eyes, and equipment of top-notch quality. Tuwin speaks Black Tounge, Erenlander,Sarcosan and Orcish Pidgin. She reads Black Tongueand Sarcosan. A former cleric of Izrador, Tuwin changedsides, and has fought with great determination andresolve to roll back the evil tides. She often uses herknowledge of Izrador’s ways to act as a counter-spy,getting information for the resistance. Whether becauseshe is not watched closely by her god or through someform of trickery, Tuwin has not lost the spells granted byIzrador. This fact makes her a symbol for the resistance,proof that the Shadow cannot see and know all, as isoften feared. She is loathe to use her spells for any pur-pose except emergencies, for fear of drawing attentionto herself. Because she can only channel Inflict spells,she often memorizes Cure spells.

Spells: Allow the player to choose (level 1: 6 /level 1: 4+1 / level 2: 3+1); domains: War andDestruction.

Appendix 4: Pre-generated PCs


Keepha Mokay

Female Dorn Fighter3/Rogue3: HP 63; Init +8;Spd 30 ft.; AC 22 (touch 14, flat-footed 15) (+3 halflingleather armor, +1 shield bonus, +4 Dex, +1 Nat); Atk+8/+8 melee (1d6+5, masterwork shortswords (x2)) or+9 ranged (1d6, short bow) or +8 melee (1d6+3, slam);AL N; SV Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +3; Str 16, Dex 19, Con—, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 13. Height 5 ft 5”, Weight 120#.

Skills: Bluff +4, Decipher Script +2, Diplomacy+5, Disable Device +5, Disguise +5, Escape Artist +5,Forgery +2, Gather Information +5, Hide +10, Jump +7,Knowledge (central Erenland) +3, Listen +3, MoveSilent +12, Open Locks +10, Profession: Tanner +5,Search +8, Sense Motive +5, Sleight of Hand +6, Spot+5, Tumble +12, Use Magic Device +9.

Feats: Dodge, Improved Initiative, Mobility,Two-Weapon Fighting, Two-Weapon Defense, WeaponFocus (shortsword).

Special Qualities: As Dorn, plus: Sneak Attack+2d6, Trapfinding, Evasion, Trap Sense +1, DR 1/—,Fast Healing 1, Natural armor +1, Elemental Resistance5 (Fire)

Possessions: Halfling Leather armor, 2 master-work silvered short swords, backpack with bedroll, 50 ftrope, pitons, spyglass, thieves tools, torch, manacles andsteel mirror, bandages, 7 days rations and mundaneitems; also has 2 batches of magic poison (each acts asan inflict light wounds as 5th level caster) used to poisonenemy food and water sources.

Heroic Path: IronbornPhysical Description: Keepha is a dour Dornish

woman, with dark hair and light eyes. She is reservedand cautious around those she does not know, which iseveryone in the party. She has an extreme fear of fell ofall kinds, which is both practical (her sneak attack doesnot work against them) and emotional (her village wasslaughtered by them). She is very mission-oriented. Shespeaks Dorn, High Elven, and Orcish Pidgin.

Daktor Horns

Male Dorn Wildlander 6: HP 60; Init +3; Spd 40ft.; AC 21 (touch 17, flat-footed 16) (+3 Halflingleather); Atk +11/+6 melee (1d10+4, masterwork bas-tard sword) or +10/+5 ranged (1d8+4, Longbow [str18]); AL N; SV Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +2; Str 18, Dex 16,Con 16, Int 13, Wis 11, Cha 10. Height 6 ft 4”, Weight225#.

Skills: Climb +5, Craft:Bowmaking +3, HandleAnimal +2, Heal +3, Hide +11, Jump +8, Knowledge(Central Erenland) +3, Knowledge (Nature) +8, Listen+8, Move Silently +15, Profession: Herbalist +5, Search+4, Spot +9, Survival +9, Swim +5.

Feats: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, RapidShot, Track, Weapon Focus (Longbow)

Special Abilities: As Dorn; Wildlander traits:smite (+4 hit/+6 damage) 1/day, Ghost Walker,Tracking, Quick Stride, Feral Tracker +2, Scentless,Determined Hunter +2, detect animals/plants 1/day,Wolf’s Pace.

Possessions: Halfling leather armor, masterworksilvered bastard sword, masterwork longbow [18 Str],30 arrows, 20 silver arrows, herbs equivalent to 1 curelight wounds potion, disguise kit, 7 days rations, mun-dane items.

Heroic Path: HunterPhysical Description: Daktor is a hulking man,

with a very quiet step. He says little, but hates Dornish“traitors” with a burning passion. He knows Nathis well,and trusts him.


Nathys Grenil

Male Caransil Elf Channeler (Hermetic) 6: HP45; Init +4; Spd 30 ft.; Spell Energy: 12; AC 16 (touch13, flat-footed 10); Atk +5 melee (1d8+1, masterworklong sword) or +8 ranged (1d8, Longbow); AL N; SVFort +2, Ref +5, Will +5; Str 12, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 19,Wis 11, Cha 12. Height 5 ft 7”, Weight 115#.

Skills: Bluff +9, Concentration +9, DecipherScript +9, Diplomacy +14, Disguise +6, Heal +6,Intimidate +7, Knowledge (Arcana) +11, Knowledge(Geography) +9, Knowledge (History) +6, Knowledge(Nature) +7, Knowledge (Religion) +5, Knowledge(Local-Erethor) +9, Move Silently +6, Sense Motive +6,Spellcraft +12.

Feats: Magecraft, Charm Lore, Spellcasting:Illusion, Spell Focus: Enchantment, Toughness

Special Abilities: As Caransil, ChannelerLorebook, weasel familiar, Improved Spellcasting:Transmutation, Improved Counterspelling.

Spell-like Abilities: (all 1x day) create water, daze,detect magic

Possessions: masterwork silvered longsword,masterwork longbow, 30 arrows, 20 silver arrows, dis-guise kit, 7 days rations, True Charm with cure moder-ate wounds effect 1x day, mundane items.

Heroic Path: DragonbloodedSpells (Universal, Transmutation, Enchantment,

Necromancy): Level 1: Detect astirax, Charm Person(Bolstered), Disguise Weapon, Entangle, True Strike,Level 2: Blindness/Deafness, Cause Fear, Disguise Ally,Daze Monster, Level 3: Cover the Scent, Lifetrap

Physical Description: Nathys is a long-time Elfoperative in the conquered lands. He is tough and wisebeyond his years, and has worked on many missionswith Daktor.

Muri Moseria

Female Elfling Fighter 6: hp 57; Init +9; Spd 30ft.; AC 21 (touch 15, flat-footed 13) (+3 Halflingleather); Atk +11/+6 melee (1d6+1/18–20, masterworkrapier) or +12/+7 ranged (1d6, shortbow); AL N; SVFort +8, Ref +8, Will +4; Str 12, Dex 20, Con 8, Int 13,Wis 9, Cha 10. Height 4 ft 0”, Weight 85#.

Skills: Handle Animal +4, Heal +3, Hide +6,Knowledge (Southern Erenland) +2, Listen +3, Ride+10, Search +1, Spot +3

Feats: Combat Expertise, Improved Initiative,Weapon Focus (rapier), Weapon Finesse (rapier),Mounted Combat, Ride-by Attack, Spirited Charge.

Special Abilities: As Elfling, scent, speak w. ani-mals 1/day, charm animal 1/day, call animal 1/day.

Spell-like Abilities: (all 1x day) light, mendingPossessions: Halfling leather armor, rapier, short-

bow, 40 arrows, 30 silver arrows, 7 days rations, sin-gle-use Charm (Nystul’s Magic Aura effect), mundaneitems.

Heroic Path: Warg (animal companion – lightwarhorse named Imbria, w/3 days grain)

Description: Muri is a slight, unusually paleelfling. Her frame shakes with nervousness and theoccasionally cough, as she is often ill. She seems jumpyin her own skin, not unlike her horse, which often shiv-ers in anticipation of moving on to the next destination.Her eyes shine with passion, however, whenever shelooks at her mount and friend, Imbria.

Unlike the halfling kin among whom she wasraised, Muri never got along with worgs. Instead, shehas a devoted love of horses. She cares more for themthan people, and her main reason for fighting theShadow, though she has told no one, is because she can-not bear to see the creatures put to the yoke and made toserve evil. She has left her friends and family in Erethorto try to save as many horses as possible from such afate. She looks up to any sarcosans because of their nat-ural affinity for animals.

Imbria (Light Warhorse)Hit Dice: 3d8+9 (22 hp)Initiative: +1Speed: 60 ft. (12 squares)Armor Class: 14, touch 10, ff 13BAB/Grapple: +2/+9Attack: Hoof +4 melee (1d4+3)Full Attack: 2 hooves +4 melee (1d4+3)

and bite –1 melee (1d3+1)Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.Special Attacks: —Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scentSaves: Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +2Abilities: Str 16, Dex 13, Con 17,

Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 6Skills: Listen +4, Spot +4Feats: Endurance, Run


Durak Darkwalker

Male Dwarf Barbarian 6: hp 63; Init +5; Spd 30ft.; AC 18 (touch 12, flat-footed 13) (+3 studded leather,+2 Dex); Atk +12/+7 melee (1d12+6, masterworkgreataxe or +6 ranged (1d6+3, javelin); AL N; SV Fort+5, Ref +4, Will +1; Str 18, Dex 15, Con 18, Int 11, Wis8, Cha 7. Height 4 ft 6”, Weight 175#.

Skills: Balance +2, Climb +7, Craft: tanning +3,Hide +4, Intimidate +5, Knowledge (SouthernKaladrun) +3, Knowledge (Nature) +3, Listen +1, MoveSilently +4, Survival +7

Feats: Power Attack, Weapon Focus (Greataxe),Cleave

Special Abilities: As Dwarf (+1 attack, defend vsOrcs), Rage 2/day: +14/+9 melee (1d12+9 mworkgreataxe), +2 Will, –2 AC; Brute strength +2, Knock1/day, Shatter 1/day, Ignore hardness 1.

Possessions: Studded leather armor, masterworkgreataxe, masterwork 3 javelins, poisonous mushroomsequivalent to 2 inflict light wounds potions (used for tor-ture and interrogation), 7 days rations, True Charm(immune to command spells), mundane items.

Heroic Path: Juggernaut.Physical Description: Durak is a bitter dwarf,

raised outside his clan. He was caught in one of thewildfires on the way to the rendezous point; all hisequipment is singed or burned, he has lost most of hishair, and has hideous blisters all over.

Brin

Male Erenlander Defender 6: hp 57; Init +3;Spd 40 ft.; AC 19 (touch 16, flat-footed 13); Atk +9/+4melee (1d6+3, Improved Unarmed Strike) or +9/+4ranged (1d4+3, sling); AL N; SV Fort +4, Ref +9, Will+2*; Str 16, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 11, Wis 7, Cha 13.Height 5 ft 6”, Weight 175#.

Skills: Balance +10, Bluff +4, Climb +8,Diplomacy +3, Escape Artist +7, Hide +10, Jump +8,Knowledge (Southern Erenland) +3, Move Silently +10,Profession: Drover +1, Ride +5, Tumble +12

Feats: Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Iron Will,Mobility, Spring Attack

Special Abilities: As Erenlander, plus: stunningattack 6/day (DC 16), precise strike (ignore 1 point ofarmor bonus), rapid strike, debilitating strike

Possessions: Masterwork silvered dagger, master-work sling, 30 sling bullets, herbs equivalent to 2 curelight wounds potions, 7 days rations, True Charm (+5Will Saves*), mundane items.

Heroic Path: HealerPhysical Description: Brin is driven to fight the

Shadow, and attempts to protect innocents at every turn.He is willing to give whatever is required of himself,whether with his healer heroic path or in battle, andthinks of others before himself.


Encounter 1

Encounter 2


Encounter 3

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