NeoExodus Bloody Ice.pdf

neoexodus adventure:

LPJ9955

Bloody Ice

Written By Joshua cole

Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook, Third Edition, published by

Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This product utilizes updated material from the v.3.5 revision.

NeoExodus Adventures: Bloody Ice

Bloody Ice takes the player characters to the ice-

locked peaks of Nas, where an archeologist’s quest

for secrets of the time-lost Cavian Empire seems to

have loosed a terrible doom on his expedition. If the

PCs succeed in combating the inexplicable assaults

of the Necryos - savage thermal vampires -, they may

discover the real danger: a modern cavian who will

stop at nothing to keep the secrets of her ancestors

from human hands.

locked in the Gerwald glacier in the north of the

Caneus Empire.

Academician Meller attempted two expeditions to

the city. The first sought an entrance in the network

of caves surrounding the Gerwald - a failed, and

extremely dangerous, endeavor. The second, armed

with Arman digging equipment and Dominion fire

magic, intended to dig directly through the glacier to

the crystal spires faintly visible in its depths.

Bloody Ice is intended as a single-session adventure

for four players and a game master. To make full use

of this adventure, the game master will need a copy

of psionics rules for the d20 system, of Louis Porter

Jr. Design’s NeoExodus Terrornomicon and of either

Louis Porter Jr. Design’s Races of NeoExodus: Cavian

or Louis Porter Jr. Design’s NeoExodus Campaign

Setting.

The second Meller Expedition seemed promising;

for over a month, the laborious process of excava-

tion continued uninterrupted. Three weeks ago, they

struck gold: an intact outlying spire. The academician

was delighted by the find, his workers scarcely less so

by the promise of rich reward.

Horror On Gerwald

Glacier

Sixteen days ago, the Meller Expedition woke to

find one of their workers frozen dead on the glacier

outside their encampment. The man appeared to have

been carried off suddenly and drained of warmth with

a terrible swiftness even the glacial surface’s harsh

conditions could not explain. He was the first.

Background

The events of Bloody Ice owe their origins to the rise

and fall of the ancient Cavian Empire, to a scholar

seeking information on that power, and to one of its

descendents who wants the past left in glacial dark-

ness.

Cavian Genesis

Fifteen hundred years ago, the mountainous Nas

region housed the empire of the cavians - the rat-like

humanoids who pioneered the cultivation of psionic

abilities on Exodus. Their civilization, resplendent

with crystal spires, telepathic communications and

clairsentient planning, quickly dominated Nas and

began to absorb the surrounding areas.

He would not be the last.

Every few nights, one or more workers have disap-

peared from their beds in the increasingly paranoid

encampment. Doubling the nightly watch affected

the attacks not at all - except to leave one of the

watchmen dead. The expedition workers whispered

that they had unleashed some awful curse from the

frozen city, despite Academician Meller’s insistence to

the contrary.

Then the cavians encountered the Sorcerer-Kings of

Abaddon.

Enter the Player

Characters

Fearing for his life - from both the unknown menace

and the panicked workers -, the academician has sent

for professional assistance.

The resulting conflict, dubbed the War of Might

and Magic by later, human scholars, devastated the

Sorcerer-Kings, but wiped the Cavian Empire from

the map entirely. Nas, once a land of wooded moun-

tains and fertile valleys, became the icy wasteland it is

today; in one night, whole cities disappeared beneath

magically-created glaciers.

Adventure Hooks

• A PC with an academic background may know

Academician Meller from his time as a student;

the academician may even have been one of the

PC's instructors. Psions in particular could have a

preexisting connection to the academician. If one

of his students had become an adventurer, Meller

would surely seek his aid first.

The Meller Expeditions

Two years ago, Academician Albrecht Meller found

one of those frozen cities. An archeologist and life-

long student of cavian history, the academician spent

decades following scattered clues, rumors and local

legends before finally finding one of the cavian ruins

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NeoExodus Adventures: Bloody Ice

• A severed cavian character, hearing of an expedi-

tion to unearth part of his heritage, might take a

personal interest in the Meller Expedition.

• Although Academician Meller's funding has

almost run dry, he could offer Mercenary PCs a

supply of psionic items - including, in time, some

very powerful ones from deeper in the frozen city

- in exchange for their service.

• PCs in service to either the Imperial Alliance or

the Caneus Empire could become assigned to

the Meller Expedition in the hopes of securing

cavian secrets fro their superiors. The Imperial

Janissaries, themselves mentalists of some note,

would be particularly interested in discovering

psionic secrets of the Cavian Empire.

occurs and promises the workers will also aid the PCs,

although their morale has been sapped by the attacks.

Until the evening shift begins, Meller suggests the

PCs warm themselves in the workers’ barracks,

although he will show them around the dig site if they

wish ( see Part III: The Enemy Revealed ).

Necryos Attack - EL 7

The night of the PCs’ arrival, the excavation site again

comes under attack. Three Necryos slink in under

cover of darkness.

Necryos ( 3 ): 33 hp each; Hide +2, Move Silently +2,

CR 4.

Necryos Tactics: The Necryos attack from three

different directions. They do not distinguish between

worker, researcher and guard; all are simply heat

sources. Nonetheless, the Necryos prefer to take

sleeping creatures by surprise and attempt to sneak

past anyone on watch.

Part I: the

Excavation Site

The excavation site sits atop the Gerwald glacier.

The work crew has raised a high wooden fence using

lumber intended for supports in the dig. The fenced

area is 60 ft. wide and 100 ft. long. Two buildings sit

inside the fence: Academician Meller’s 20 ft. by 20

ft. sleeping quarters and office in the northwest, and

a 50 ft. by 30 ft. barracks for the workers along the

east side. In the southwest corner, a reinforced tunnel

leads into the glacier. A Protectorate-build clockwork

digging machine sits dormant beside the tunnel.

If one of the Necryos is spotted, it attempts to draw all

the PCs to its position, then springs from the encamp-

ment - hopefully giving its brethren time to feast on

the warmth of the hapless workers. If only one or two

characters give pursuit, however, the Necryos turns

and fights once out of bowshot from the encampment.

If, after using all of its thermal healing, a Necryos is

below half its starting hit points, it breaks and flees

for the mountains.

Read to Players: A small palisade, crudely and hastily

constructed from the looks of the lashed-together

timbers, surrounds two shack-like wooden buildings.

From the smaller of the two, a middle-aged, salt-and-

pepper-haired, bespectacled man in a heavy parka

emerges and bustles toward you.

Development: If the PCs do not pursue fleeing

Necryos or track the creatures to their lair, the nightly

attacks will continue until the party either puts a stop

to them at their source or six Necryos are slain.

A character skilled in tracking may be able to follow

the Necryos’ trail to their cave in the nearby moun-

tains. Because the ground is covered with snow, the

DC for this Tracking check is only 5 for the first hour

but grows by 2 for every hour thereafter.

Academician Meller greets the PCs warmly - a

welcome change from the cold of the Gerwald! - and

invites them into his office. Meller explains the situ-

ation outlined in ‘Horror on the Gerwald Glacier’

and offers them psionic items from the dig site in

exchange for their aid.

The Necryos cave lies about six miles north of the

dig site; for the first four miles, the terrain is reason-

ably flat, though snow ( ¾ overland movement ), but it

rises rapidly into foothills for the last two ( ½ overland

movement ). A fleeing Necryos can reach the cave in

three hours, while the PCs will probably take four or

five hours to reach the cave.

Albrecht Meller: Human Psion 3/Expert 1; 18 hp;

CR 3.

Dig Workers ( 15 ): Human Commoner 2; 7 hp each;

CR 1.

NPC Reactions: The GM should make a single Listen

check for the sleeping dig workers every round after

the PCs and Necryos begin fighting. The DC of the

check is generally -5, but the workers suffer a -10

penalty to their check for sleeping and may suffer

Development: The Academician asks the PCs to

stand watch in place of the dig workers until the

attackers who have been terrorizing the encampment

appear. He offers his assistance if - when - an attack

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NeoExodus Adventures: Bloody Ice

additional penalties due to distance ( with their +0

Listen bonus, the workers need a 5 ). If one of the

PCs chooses to go into the workers’ barracks and alert

them, they will wake immediately. In either case,

it takes the workers 1d4+1 rounds to rouse and arm

themselves. The workers will not pursue Necryos

outside the encampment, but will fight to defend

themselves.

creatures’ trail back to their lair. The Necryos cave

encounters are unchanged, save that no actual Necryos

remain, only the psice and the ‘trap’ on the seercrystal.

The cavian Yepa Galilahi will realize her Necryos

minions have fallen in 1d2 days if the PCs do not

alert her themselves by attempting to use the seer-

crystal. Once Yepa realizes her plot failed, she attacks

Academician Meller directly ( see Part III: The Enemy

Revealed ).

Academician Meller’s psicrystal keeps watch for him;

if a Necryos comes within 40 ft. of the Academician’s

chambers, he wakes and joins the battle in 1d4+1

rounds. Otherwise, he will sleep through the attack.

Part II:

the Necryos Cave

Buried in the snowy foothills surrounding the Gerwald

glacier, the Necryos cave is neither especially well

hidden nor well defended. The creatures move swiftly

and count on the shifting snows to obscure their

tracks, and in any case they usually welcome intruders

as a source of precious heat.

If he survives the battle, Academician Meller strongly

encourages the characters to pursue any fleeing

Necryos and to root out the infestation at its source.

He offers to accompany the party if they want his

assistance.

Attack In Force - EL 10

If the PCs kill six Necryos without tracking the crea-

tures to their lair, the surviving Necryos will assault

the dig site in force the next night.

If the PCs followed the Necryos trail here after a

major assault, none of the creatures remain, although

the agitated psice in some areas still poses a minor

danger.

This attack may well prove more than the PCs can

handle, even with fixed defenses and help from

Academician Meller and the dig workers. The GM

should impress upon the players, via Academician

Meller and other NPCs, the dangers of allowing the

Necryos to attack at will with no fear of reprisals; if

the PCs insist on fighting a defensive battle, however,

they will get a heated one.

1. Sentry Point - EL 4

The cave’s glacierward entrance is clearly visible from

100 ft. away and may be spotted from further away

with a successful Spot check ( Spot DC -5 ). The cave

itself is 10 ft. wide at the entrance.

Necryos ( 8 ): 33 hp each; CR 4.

Read to Players: A small cave looms on the rise ahead.

Even where the surrounding stone is bare, a thin layer

of frost covers it.

Necryos Shaman: Necryos wizard 1; 43 hp; CR 4.

Necryos Tactics: The Necryos feel they have nigh-

overwhelming superiority in this battle. The whole

pack charges directly at the encampment, attempting

to overwhelm its defenders before they realize they

face a full-scale battle rather than the usual raids.

A Spot check ( DC 25 ) or Search check ( DC 20 )

reveals a second entrance 100 ft. to the northeast,

facing toward the higher mountains ( Area 3: Rear

Sentry Point ).

A Necryos sentry watches from the glacierward

entrance. It huddles in shadows of the cave entrance,

where it has a clear view of the foothills but gets a +4

circumstance bonus on its Hide check.

The Necryos shaman casts mage armor before

entering battle and uses burning hands to fuel his

allies thermal powers.

With their pack mates beside them and a potential

feast of warmth waiting at claw’s length, the Necryos

initially refuse to flee from this battle. If their shaman

is slain, however, the surviving creatures lose heart

and will flee when reduced to less than half their

starting hit points.

The tunnel runs 50 ft. to Area 2: Psicepatch.

Necryos: 33 hp; CR 4.

Tactics: The sentry Necryos initially takes a greater

interest in draining the heat of attackers than in

warning its comrades. It fights alone for two rounds

or until reduced to less than half its starting hit points.

If its foes remain standing and seem able to over-

Development: Should the PCs manage to defeat the

Necryos - no easy task - they may be able to track the

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NeoExodus Adventures: Bloody Ice

whelm it, the creature scrambles deeper into the cave

to warn its fellows.

cure moderate wounds with 30 charges. It takes a DC

18 Spot check to notice the corpse through the ice,

and PCs hoping to unearth it must break through the

ice (hardness 0, hp 24).

2. Psicepatch - EL 2

The psice patch is a 10 ft. radius circular chamber

housing four small psice, normally harmless and thus

tolerated by the Necryos; due to the psychic turbu-

lence created by the seercrystal, the psice has become

aggressive and the Necryos take pains to rush through

this chamber.

3. Rear Sentry Point - EL 4

This 5 ft.-wide entrance tunnel sits atop an icy 20 ft.

incline ( Climb DC 10 ). Atop the incline, a 10 ft. by

2.5 ft. ledge extends from the mountainside.

Read to Players: A small crevasse

yawns in the side of the nearby bluff.

Judging from the air wafting from

it, it must lead deeper into the

mountain.

Read to Players: This chamber appears to be more

sinkhole than cavern; it would be open to the sky if

not for the glittering covering of ice overhead.

A 10 ft. wide tunnel leads 50 ft. up to area

1: Sentry Point; a 85 ft. long tunnel

leads to areas 4: Sleeping Chamber, 5:

Icerune Chamber, and 6: Seercrystal

Chamber.

Like area 1: Sentry

Point, this cave

entrance is guarded

by a lone Necryos.

Psice, Tiny ( 4 ): 6 hp each; CR ½.

The 5 ft.-wide tunnel

runs 55 ft. down

to area 4: Sleeping

Chamber.

Environment: This chamber

is especially icy. Anyone

moving or fighting

inside the chamber

must make a DC 5

Balance check each

turn to keep from

falling. The

Psice do not

require balance

checks due to

their Icewalk

speed.

Necryos: 33 hp; CR 4.

Tactics: The rearguard

Necryos uses the terrain

to its advantage. It

tries to keep foes from

scaling the incline,

attacking as they

climb. Once

PCs reach

the ledge,

the Necryos

retreats 5

ft. into the

tunnel, forcing

opponents

without reach or

ranged weapons

to confront it

one at a time. The

creature will only

give ground if reduced to 10

or fewer hit points and no

Heat Counters.

Tactics: The

psice are mind-

lessly aggressive.

They attack any crea-

ture that enters the

chamber.

Treasure: The

corpse of an past

victim of the

Necryos has frozen

into the ice here.

This unfortunate

is wearing heavy

winter gear and

a masterwork

chain shirt. He

wears a wand of

Development: Because

the rearward entry is

closer to area 4: Sleeping

Chamber, the GM should

Page 5

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