3E D&D - Adventure 13 - Desert Sands.pdf - Przygody - Sliwerr

desert sands

INTRODUCTION

Some quest for glory and adventure. Some seek power.

Different goals motivate different heroes and villains.

As for Vythenus the efreeti, he seeks gold. But his quest

is not his own….

Vythenus had the ill fortune to be summoned by a

red dragon, who bound him to acquire 500,000 gp worth

of treasure for her. To say the genie resented this man-

date is to say the Elemental Plane of Fire is “a bit warm.”

Obliged to serve, Vythenus takes his time gathering the

wealth; he conscripted some fire giants and set up a lack-

luster operation in the desert, raiding and destroying car-

avans. And slowly, the efreeti plots his revenge

A short adventure for four

13th-level player characters

PREPARATION

As the Dungeon Master® (DM), you need a copy of the

Player’s Handbook, the D UNGEON M ASTER ’ S Guide,and

the M ONSTER M ANUAL ® to use this adventure. Monster

statistics are provided with each encounter in abbrevi-

ated form; notations for each monster reference the

appropriate page of the M ONSTER M ANUAL for full

details. Throughout this adventure, text that appears in

shaded boxes is player information, which you may

read aloud or paraphrase when appropriate.

This scenario can take place in any desert area that

lies in the middle of a trade route between two cities.

Special opportunities exist for player characters (PCs)

who take the ranger and druid classes; for the latest

new skills, spells, and equipment available to those

classes, see the new guidebook Masters of the Wild.

CREDITS

Design:

Gwendolyn F. M. Kestrel

Editing and Typesetting:

Sue Weinlein Cook

Web Production:

Julia Martin

Web Development:

Mark A. Jindra

Graphic Design:

Sean Glenn, Cynthia Fliege

Based on the original D UNGEONS & D RAGONS ® game by E.

Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and on the new edition of the

D UNGEONS & D RAGONS game designed by Jonathan Tweet,

Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, and Peter Adkison.

INVOLVING THE PCS

Over the past few weeks, most of the trading caravans

that left the small city of Hesron to travel through the

desert to the large city of Gryth never arrived. No one

knows who or what impeded the shipments.

As you know your player characters best, you can

gauge how to involve them most effectively. Here are a

few ideas:

• A general posting of the merchants’ guild’s reward

of 8,000 gp for the return of the lost merchandise

provides a straightforward introduction to the

adventure.

• The mayor of Hesron or Gryth may contact player

characters with competent reputations and ask for

help.

• The PCs might have known the sorcerer or cleric

who guarded the largest caravan.

• An arcane guild may hire the PCs for help finding

a sorcerer who went missing with a caravan.

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This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations,

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• A church may ask cleric player characters to seek

the body of their fallen brother or sister.

DC 25: The cleric in the largest caravan had cast a send-

ing each evening to relatives in each city. The

journey had gone well, without incident, for

the first three days. No message was received

on the fourth day.

DC 30: The extremely old obelisk bears some very worn

markings that no one has deciphered.

INVESTIGATING

The PCs can start in either city. The following list pro-

vides general information they can glean from directly

questioning city officials, the merchants’ guild, or

through general Gather Information efforts. Most of

these facts are beneath the notice of bards or loremasters,

though these characters would have a chance to know

about the obelisk and the artist mentioned below.

IN THE DESERT

Travel through the desert by foot or mount is slow. See

Table 9-5: Terrain and Overland Movement and Table 9-

6: Mounts and Vehicles in Chapter 9 of the Player’s

Handbook.

The desert is hot, with temperatures above 90°F. See

Heat Dangers in Chapter 3 of the D UNGEON M ASTER ’s

Guide. Be sure to present this challenging aspect of the

environment to the player characters. They should be

able to deal with the problem easily, but it will drain

some of their resources while providing atmosphere.

The desert isn’t barren. Numerous cacti of different

types grow around here, and some animals make their

homes in the area. Druids and rangers can benefit from

speaking with the flora and fauna. They also can use

tree strideto pass between cacti (treat as “all other trees”

for distance). Transport via plantsallows a druid to

cover great distances between cacti.

Dust Storm (EL 12)

As if the heat weren’t bad enough, a dust storm comes

up after a day in the desert. Weather hazards form a real

threat to the unprepared, but by 13th level the charac-

ters should have numerous ways of avoiding environ-

mental dangers. Control windswould help, and control

weathershould easily ensure a pleasant journey. Never-

theless, if they’ve neglected to take precautions, PCs

may find themselves hampered by the greater dust

storm that kicks up. See Weather Hazards in Chapter 3

of the D UNGEON M ASTER ’s Guide.

At the heart of the storm is an elder air elemental.

The 100-foot area around the elemental increases the

severity of what would have been a normal dust storm

to that of a greater dust storm, as described in the D UN -

GEON M ASTER ’s Guide.

DC 10: Crossing the desert between the cities normal-

ly takes 18 days for a caravan with wagons, but

only one week for camels. It is 140 miles

between Hesron and Gryth.

DC 10: Caravans occasionally disappear due to fierce

sandstorms that rage across the desert.

DC 10: The weather for the past few weeks has been

clear in town but, from the red shadow on the

horizon yesterday, locals know a dust storm

scoured the desert.

DC 10: Five caravans have disappeared over the last

three months. They were owned by different

merchants and carried a variety of trade goods,

including spices, silk, and dyes.

DC 10: Currently, the merchants’ guild is offering a

reward of 8,000 gp for the return of the mer-

chandise.

DC 15: Finding and permanently eliminating the

threat is worth an addition 8,000 gp.

DC 15: Attempts to find the caravan guards or any

attackers via scryingproved unsuccessful.

DC 15: Lacking bodies, the spells raise dead, speak

with dead, and resurrection cannot be cast on

the caravan guards. No one in either town has

reached sufficient level to cast true resurrec-

tion.

DC 20: The largest caravan employed 10 general guards

(War5) to protect it, along with a magic user

(Sor7) and a cleric (Clr10).

DC 20: At the midpoint of the journey stands a large

basalt obelisk with a distinctive shape.

DC 25: The total value of all the lost goods was 50,000

gp. The reward mentioned above is a very gen-

erous finder’s fee.

DC 25: A local artist has painted some pictures of the

obelisk that would enable an arcane caster to

teleport or teleport without error there as if

seen casually. A large cactus grows in the fore-

ground (useful for druids with transport via

plants).

d Elder Air Elemental: hp 204 (MM 81)

DOMAIN OF THE DESERT

LORD

Seventy miles into the desert, at the midpoint of the

journey, the characters find an enormous basalt obelisk.

A large cactus grows close to the shelter it provides.

A large black obelisk juts up from the sand. Sev-

eral big cacti dot the landscape around it.

Several unpleasant encounters with rude

humanoids made Longspine rethink his patronage. He

withdrew his protection and stopped interacting with

two-legged beings. Now, only the desert animals and

plants matter to him. He’s aware of the attacks on the

caravans, but it means as little to him as the passing

breeze.

He does occasionally come to the obelisk, remem-

bering his past friends with fondness. If the PCs call

out loudly to the “Lord of the Desert” (a term he has not

heard for several hundred years) or seek to contact him

through the local animals, Longspine may answer. His

initial attitude (see NPC Attitudes in Chapter 5 of the

D UNGEON M ASTER ’s Guide) is indifferent. He neither

approves nor disapproves of the attacks on the cara-

vans—he feels it’s none of his concern. If the PCs

change his attitude to friendly, he shares what he

knows. Should the group alter his attitude to helpful,

Longspine renders what aid he can.

• The treant knows much about the area:

• Four fire giants lair in a large cave a mile to the

north.

• Someone else who seems to be directing them also

lairs there.

• All the caravan members were killed and eaten,

their bones piled outside the cave.

• The merchandise from the caravans is stored in the

cave.

The Area

The dust storm that howled through the area the day

before the PCs arrived in the city obliterated all tracks.

A Search or Wilderness Lore (with Track) check (DC

20) uncovers a few spent arrows mostly buried in the

sand. Even with the dust storms, it looks as if the area

has been carefully cleaned up after a fight.

The Obelisk

Wind and time have eroded the sharply hewn

edges of the 20-foot-tall monolith. One side is

pocked with faint markings.

The PCs can see slight etchings in the basalt. It was an

inscription. To find all that remain of it requires a

Search check (DC 20). A Decipher Script check (DC

30) reveals that the following inscription in Common

had been carved into the rock.

“Dedicated to the Lord of the Desert in Thanks for

Your Help When I Called for Your Aid.”

A bardic knowledge check (DC 30) allows a PC to

recall an old legend about a desert treant that actively

protected the animals and wildlife in these parts.

Flora and Fauna

Smart characters won’t dismiss witnesses that aren’t

humanoid.

• If the PCs ask any of the local wildlife about the

Lord of the Desert, it will happily praise the merits

of Longspine, a powerful cactus treant that protects

the desert life.

• The cactus by the obelisk saw all the attacks on the

missing caravans. Four very large people with coal-

black skin (fire giants) attacked the last few cara-

vans right here.

• Local birds of prey know that there’s a cave system

a mile to the north with many bones (including

some fresh) piled outside.

d Longspine, cactus treant: hp 66; 800 gp, 2 agates, 1

rock crystal; otherwise as treant (MM 178) except as

follows:

Animate Trees becomes Animate Cacti, but other-

wise remains unchanged.

Add to SA: Thorns (Ex): A cactus treant’s spiny body

deals 1d6 points of additional piercing damage when-

ever it hits in melee or, when grappling, each round it

maintains a hold.

Remove from SQ: Fire Vulnerability.Since a cactus

stores water and is not made of wood, it does has no

special vulnerability to fire.

These changes increase the creature’s CR by 1.

The Raiders (EL 14)

Based in a cave system one mile away, four fire giants

conscripted by Vythenus keep a desultory watch over

the trade route. They check the obelisk (a customary

rest stop or camping site) a couple times a day. For each

hour the PCs spend at the obelisk, there’s a cumulative

15% chance that the fire giants attack. Otherwise, the

party encounters them at the cave.

Longspine, Lord of the Desert (EL 9)

Longspine has ruled over this desert for the last millen-

nium. He dearly cares for its animals and plants. In his

youth he extended his interest to the humanoids that

crossed the desert, seeking to protect them also. One

such grateful human erected the obelisk long ago.

Years passed.

d Fire Giants (4): hp 127, 131, 143, 156 (MM 98)

Possessions: Each of the fire giants carries two

potions of cure serious wounds and one potion of

heroism. All the caravan treasure is back at the cave

(see below).

If the player characters attack the cave, Vythenus

puts up only a token resistance to protect the stash of

goods he acquired for Bravura before plane shifting

away. A perceptive player character may make a

Sense Motive check (DC 20) to notice that the efreeti

has little interest in the goods and is merely “going

through the motions” of trying to defend it. As he

assumes he is fated to collect treasure for the dragon

for many years to come, losing a bit of it now makes

very little difference.

If the player characters choose to negotiate,

Vythenus endeavors to use his Sense Motive skill to

ascertain the party’s honesty. If they seem sincere, he

may agree to join them in a plan of revenge against

the dragon. He may even promise them a wish or

two, given after Bravura dies.

Tactics

The fire giants have grown accustomed to weak foes

that provide little resistance. As they close, they throw

some rocks at the PCs, then come in swinging their

huge greatswords. If the characters provide a good

fight, the fire giants try drinking their potions of hero-

ism and consume the potions of cure serious woundsas

needed. If they lose half their hit points or gang mem-

bers, they retreat to the cave.

THE CAVE AND THE

UNWILLING EFREETI (EL 14)

The cave, a mile north of the obelisk, is fairly ordinary.

It has three large rooms, each with a 20-foot ceiling

height. The fire giants occupy the chamber nearest the

entrance, which measures 30 feet by 40 feet. Vythenus,

an efreeti, lives in the middle one, which is 30 feet

square. The one farthest back, with dimensions of 20

feet by 30 feet, holds the trade goods. A large pile of

bones is stacked to one side of the cave entrance, silent

testimony to the fate of the caravan guards. Just inside

the cave entrance lies the creatures’ large fire pit, where

they sit to take the edge off the unpleasant chill of the

desert nights.

The “mastermind” of this raiding operation is

Vythenus. Six months ago the efreeti found himself

summoned by a red dragon named Bravura. For many

years the dragon, hungry for wealth, has used planar

bindingspells to make other powerful beings increase

her hoard for her (seeking loot herself is beneath her

dignity). Now Vythenus must accumulate prodigious

amounts of treasure for his mistress before he can hope

for release. In fact, he has very little hope of release—

Bravura has made it clear that once the task was done,

she would summon him again. So the resentful genie

goes about his task with great resentment and little

enthusiasm.

Vythenus keeps himself cloaked with his nonde-

tectionspell and spends almost all his time invisible,

which explains why attempts to scry him proved

unsuccessful. He keeps in contact with the fire

giants via telepathy. Although they work for him, he

does not like the giants and considers them expend-

able resources. He doesn’t bother coming to their aid,

but he will defend the cave if the giants retreat to it

or when the PCs come to fight or investigate.

d Vythenus, male efreeti Sor6: CR 14; Large out-

sider (Fire, Lawful, Evil); HD 10d8+20 plus 6d4+12;

hp 92; Init +7; Spd 20 ft., fly 40 ft. (perfect); AC 22

(touch 14, flat-footed 19); Atk +18/+13/+8 melee

(1d8+9, slam); Face/Reach 5 ft. x 5 ft./10 ft.; SA Heat,

spell-like abilities; SQ Fire subtype, outsider traits,

plane shift, telepathy; AL LE; SV Fort +13, Ref +16,

Will +18; Str 23, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 15,

Cha 16.

Skills and Feats: Bluff +13, Concentration +15,

Diplomacy +7, Escape Artist +13, Hide –1, Intimi-

date +12, Knowledge (arcana) +7, Listen +12, Move

Silently +13, Scry +7, Sense Motive +12, Spellcraft

+17, Spot +12; Combat Casting, Combat Reflexes,

Dodge, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning

Reflexes.

Heat (Ex): Vythenus’s red-hot body deals 1d6

points of additional fire damage whenever he hits in

melee or, when grappling, each round he maintains a

hold.

Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): At will—produce flame

and pyrotechnics; 1/day—grant up to three wishes

(to nongenies only), detect magic, enlarge, gaseous

form, invisibility, permanent image, polymorph self,

and wall of fire. These abilities are as the spells cast

by an 18th-level sorcerer (save DC 13 + spell level).

Fire Subtype: Immune to fire damage; suffers

double damage from cold unless a saving throw for

half damage is allowed, in which case he takes half

damage on a success and double damage on a failure.

Outsider Traits: Darkvision 60 feet; cannot be

raised or resurrected (though a wishor miraclespell

can restore life).

Plane Shift (Sp): Vythenus can enter any of the

elemental planes, the Astral Plane, or the Material

Plane. This ability transports the genie and up to six

other creatures, provided they all link hands with

him. It is otherwise similar to the spell of the same

name.

Telepathy (Su): Vythenus can communicate tele-

pathically with any creature within 100 feet that has

a language.

Sorcerer Spells Known: (6/7/6/4; base DC = 13 +

spell level): 0—arcane mark, flare, ghost sound,

light, mage hand, read magic, resistance; 1st—charm

person, comprehend languages, detect secret doors,

identify; 2nd—mirror image, see invisibility; 3rd—

nondetection.

Possessions Bracers of armor +2, cloak of resist-

ance +2, ring of protection +2, 10 pearls worth 100 gp

each. The caverns also hold the 50,000 gp worth of

stolen goods (for which the party could claim an

8,000 gp reward).

The stolen property obviously comes from differ-

ent sources, with various merchants’ insignias

branded on the boxes and barrels. Most of the sup-

plies are spices, dyes, and silk, all easily sold in any

large city. Getting the merchandise out of the cave

back to civilization will be difficult. All the wagons

from the caravans went toward firewood for the

giants and efreeti. The goods fill an area 20 feet

square and 20 feet high (8,000 cubic feet, weighing

10,000 lb). If the PCs choose to sell the goods, buyers

in the cities of Hesron and Gryth will easily identify

it all as stolen merchandise; the party could fence

the goods for half value: 25,000 gp. Taking the mer-

chandise to cities farther away would probably allow

the party to get full price for it.

FURTHER ADVENTURE

The player characters may find out about Bravura’s role

in the caravan attacks. Vythenus would appreciate their

help in getting revenge on the very old red dragon—

he’s still bound to her and must collect valuables for

her. At the moment, she’s probably too tough (CR 20)

for them to consider fighting directly, but Vyntheus

knows of a few more of her money-making schemes

that the PCs may enjoy terminating…

If the party returns the goods to the merchants’

guild, the caravan owners will be both grateful and

impressed. The group may have just made friends with

a powerful mercantile organization.

Bringing back the remains of the dead will gain the

characters allies once the sorcerer and cleric are resur-

rected.

Should the PCs keep the stolen goods or sell them,

the merchants from Hesron and Gryth eventually find

out what happened. The party may have just made ene-

mies of a powerful mercantile organization.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel is an editor for Wizards of the

Coast’s Roleplaying Games R&D department. Recent

credits include editing Faiths and Pantheons, Oriental

Adventures, Magic of Faerûn, and Defenders of the

Faith.Addicted to education, she’s currently enrolled in

a Ph.D. program in cognitive studies with the Univer-

sity of Washington’s Department of Education. Check

out the website she created for her fiancé, game

designer Andy Collins, at <www.andycollins.net>.

3E D&D - Adventure 13 - Desert Sands.pdf

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