Introduction and Background
Thanks to Dyson Logos' generosity, he has made a large number of his high quality maps available for use. I have decided (with his approval) to incorporate these into locations within Mystara. This is a B/X D&D adventure for a party of characters of levels 3-4 set in the southeast of Darokin.
House Kalaxar was a merchant house to the south of Selenica in eastern Darokin until twenty years ago. The family members, although ostensibly respectable merchants, used underhand and violent methods to deal with competitors. Ten miles to the south of Selenica they had a secret base, with a farmer’s cottage on the surface but dungeons excavated underneath. This they used to launch bandit raids against the caravans of rivals and then having the audacity to sell the looted goods as their own. House Kalaxar came undone and was disgraced, with its members no longer allowed to do business in Darokin, and most of their property was seized by the authorities once their banditry was uncovered. The farmer’s cottage and dungeon were abandoned but not properly searched by the authorities. This has frustrated surviving victims of the bandits as they are sure there is evidence within the ruined cottage that would explain more about Kalaxar and the bandits’ activities.
After two decades the dungeon has now been taken over by the Cragged Maw tribe of bugbears. However, the bugbears have resumed banditry, attacking merchants and other travellers on the road between Selenica and the Grand Duchy of Karameikos. It is this that the PCs get involved in - maybe they are with a caravan that gets ambushed by bugbears or else they are in Duke’s Road Keep when survivors of an attacked caravan arrive and ask for help and taking the PCs to the site of the ambush, with tracks leading to the farm cottage.
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| Cartography by Dyson Logos, source |
Surface Level:
1) Empty. The whole of the surface level is intentionally kept as abandoned and uninteresting as possible. However, the inhabitants have not hidden the stairs going down.
Dungeon Level 1
2) Guard Post. This room has 4 bugbears guarding it.
3) Home to a pet grizzly bear kept here by the bugbears.
Grizzly Bear: AC 6, Mv 120ft, HD 5, 25hp, THAC0 15, Att 2 claws/1 bite for 1d4/1d4/1d8, Spec Abil: Hug for 2d8 dam if both claws hit, Ml 8, Save F2, Align N, 175xp
4) Bear-keeper's lair. The bear keeper is a bugbear who also has a whistle carved from ivory (worth 60gp) that produces a distinctive tone that calls the bear's attention.
5) Empty apart from rubble from a partial ceiling collapse in the southeast corner.
6) Bugbear leader quarters. This Bugbear Leader is an oversized brute who also has 2 normal bugbear companions. He wields a magic two-handed sword and has an iron-bound chest containing much of the tribe's treasure, and has the key to this chest around his neck on a leather cord. The chest contains 7,500sp, 1250gp and 800pp and an emerald worth 1000gp.
Bugbear Leader: AC 5, Mv 120ft, HD 5+2, hp 27, THAC0 14, Att 1 sword for 1d10+2, Spec Abil: Stealth (surprise opponents on 1-3 in 6), Ml 9, Save F5, Align C, 225xp, equipment: Bugbear armour (large scale mail), Two-Handed Sword +1, 2 throwing axes, key to treasure chest.
7) The Upper Pit. This area drops down into the pool in #21 30ft below. However, there are 3 alcoves with ledges that overlook this drop. Getting to the ledges could require some magic or problem solving or thief skills.
a) North alcove: There is a plank from the west side to the north alcove. What look like four large leather sacks hanging from the ceiling are in fact 4 giant bats that will awaken and attack if disturbed.
Giant Bat: AC 6, Mv Fly 180ft/crawl 30ft, HD 2 (9hp each), THAC0 18, Att 1 bite for 1d4, Ml 7, Save F1, Align N, 20xp
b) East alcove: This is home to a roost of 10 stirges. They will fly up and attack anyone who tries to cross the gap to get to any of the alcoves, or if they are otherwise disturbed. There is a ladder from this alcove down into the water in room 21.
Stirge: AC 7, Mv Fly 180ft/crawl 30ft, HD 1 (4hp), THAC0 19, Att 1 beak for 1d3, Spec abil Swooping strike (+2 to first hit roll), Blood drain (automatic 1d3 damage/round after successful hit), Ml 9, Save F2, Align N, 13xp
c) South alcove: This has a statue of an immortal, Loki, although with all the guano on the statue it is not easy to recognise. The statue has no magical properties but behind it out of sight is a wooden box with 250gp and 1600sp.
8) Stairs down. This is guarded by 2 bugbears.
9) The Crypts. The bugbears don't go in here and the door is bolted on the outside. The bugbears have written in Goblinish "Don't go in. Dead Danger."
Inside is a passage with 5 alcoves, each with a stone sarcophagus. The last on the right (the north eastern alcove) holds an angry wight that will attack anything including PCs or bugbears. There are also 4 zombies, each in one of the other alcoves, that will follow the wight. The wight used to be the bandit chief hired by the Kalaxars, and the zombies some of his fellow brigands. In the wight’s alcove in his sarcophagus is his treasure: 4800sp, 240gp and a silver and gold ceremonial sword worth 900gp and a gold and steel ceremonial helmet worth 600gp (both are non-magical).
Wight: AC 5, Mv 90ft, HD 3 (16hp), THAC0 17, Att 1 claw for Energy Drain, spec abil Energy Drain (1 level per hit), Immune to normal weapons (magic or silver weapons needed to hit),Undead properties, Ml 12, Save F3, Align C, 65xp
Zombie: AC 8, Mv 120ft, HD 2, THAC0 18, Att 1 weapon for 1d8, spec abil: undead properties, attack last in combat, Ml 12, Save F1, Align C, 20xp
10) Family quarters. Here are 8 bugbears + 6 bugbear young. There are numerous mattresses on the floor.
Bugbear Young: AC 8, Mv 90ft, HD 1+1, 5hp, THAC0 19, Att 1 bite for 1d2, Spec Abil: Stealth (surprise opponents on 1-3 in 6), Ml 5, Save F1, Align C, 15xp
11) Kitchen and storeroom. This has 2 normal bugbears + 1 bugbear novice who also doubles as the cook. There is a big fireplace on the east wall and cooking cauldron in the middle of the room The west side is raised up by several steps and has over a dozen boxes and barrels of food and drink, most of which the bugbears have looted from raided caravans.
12) The Old Dining Room. This still has two huge dining tables. However, these days it is more used as an armoury and training room. There are 3 normal bugbears in here sparring. At the south end there is an upturned table with a humanoid figure drawn on the table top now serving as a target - there are 3 hand axes and 2 javelins stuck into the table.
Laid out on the big dining tables are
- 3 morning stars
- 2 bastard swords
- 2 heavy battleaxes (2d4 damage)
- 4 sets of bugbear armour (equivalent of scale mail but too large for humans)
- 6 hand/throwing axes
- 4 javelins
- 4 throwing hammers
Dungeon Level 2
13) This large chamber is empty though to the south there are wooden screens between slim pillars. There are also two unoccupied beds.
a) This cordened off section has 3 alcoves each with a bed. This is the quarters of 3 bugbear novices.
14) Bugbear Shaman quarters. The shaman in charge of the novices is usually found here. Underneath his bed is a large box. Inside is the shaman's pet Pit Viper which is never happy about being disturbed. Next to the viper is a silk bag with the shaman's treasure (1800gp, 120pp and a walrus-ivory statuette of Huggrek worth 200gp). Note that the shaman always wears his Periapt of Poison Protection as his pet viper is not entirely tame.
Bugbear Shaman: AC 5, Mv 90ft, HD 5+2, (20hp), THAC0 16, Att 1 weapon for 2d4 or by spell, Spec abil: Stealth (surprise opponents on 1-3 in 6), Clerical spells, Ml 9, Save C5, Align C, 400xp, equipment: bugbear armour (large-size scale mail), morning star, unholy symbol, Periapt of Poison Protection (see below), prepared spells: Cure Light Wounds, Darkness, Hold Person, Aura of Shadows
Pit Viper: AC 6, Mv 90ft, HD 2, hp 12, THAC0 18, Att 1 bite for 1d4 + poison, Spec Abil: Always wins initiative, infravision (heat sensing pits), poisonous bite (save vs poison or die), Ml 9, Save F1, Align N, 25xp
15) Shrine of Huggrekk. There is a crude stone altar set up in the east side of this room. This place is usually unoccupied though the shaman and his novices occasionally come in here for daily rituals.
16) The old chief's quarters. Here is an old bugbear chief called Shalkneeth, although he does not get involved in the leadership of this tribe. According to the shaman (in room 14, the only one he confides in), he was expelled from another larger tribe of bugbears, narrowly escaping with his life, and found his way here to recuperate and reconsider his options. The current bugbear leader (room #6) respects this chief but is also wary - what if the chief's ambition reawakens and decides to take over this tribe? There is a set of shelves on the west wall that hold various trinkets and trophies, most of which are worthless (coloured feathers, severed hands, helmets etc). However, there is a skull of a slain ogre enemy that has a removable top. Inside the braincase is the chief’s treasure: 200pp and a small but perfect ruby worth 800gp.
Shalkneeth the Bugbear Chief: AC 3, Mv 90ft, HD 7+3, 30hp, THAC0 12, Att 1 weapon for 2d4+2, Ml 10, Save F7, Align C, Equipment: Morning Star, large-size chain mail, Shield +1
17) Bruldoo the Cave Bear lives here. He came with the chief and is his loyal pet. The area is split between the excavated part and the natural cavern part by a large wall of iron bars. There is no normal way through within this room.
Bruldoo the Cave Bear: AC 5, Mv120ft, HD 7, 38hp, THAC0 12, Att 2 claws/1 bite for 1d8/1d8/2d6, Spec abil: hug for 2d8 if both claws hit, Ml 9, Save F3, Align N, 450xp
18) Empty. This is a natural cave with steps leading up to room 13.
19) Cavern junction. There is a steep drop here in the passage from areas 17 & 18. This stops the gelatinous cube in room 20 from getting into the rest of the dungeon.
20) A Gelatinous Cube lives here. The bugbears are careful to keep the door to the corridor shut, so the cube wanders into areas 19, 21 and 22. Suspended in the body of the cube are 23gp, 40sp and 2 gems (an aquamarine worth 50gp and a polished sardonyx worth 30gp)
Gelatinous Cube: AC 8, Mv 60ft, HD 4, hp 22, THAC0 16, Att 1 slam for 2d4 + special, spec abil: transparent (surprise opponents on 1-4 on d6), Paralysing hit (opponents must save vs paralysis or be paralysed for 2d4 turns), Ml 12, Save F2, Align N, 125xp
21) This pool is about 10ft deep. Anyone falling from any of the alcoves in area 7 (30ft above) will only take 1d6 fall damage but swimming and drowning rules apply. Furthermore the creatures in area 7 (the giant bats and stirges) will be disturbed by the splash and may swoop down to attack. The west side is a raised dry platform, and anyone falling from the west ledge in area 7 takes the usual 3d6 falling damage. The gelatinous cube in area 20 will sometimes pass through this.
22) This small cave is guarded by a carrion crawler. It has a locked chest left by the previous residents that contains a series of letters written by the head of the Kalaxar merchant house to the former master of this dungeon (the bandit chief), informing about potential targets for robbery and also explaining that House Velasquer, another merchant house, has provided this information and therefore their caravans are not to be attacked. This evidence that House Velasquer was involved in House Kalaxar’s criminal activities would be of great use to the Darokin City and Selenica authorities. The key to this has long since been lost but a thief could pick the lock or a Knock spell would work. Also in the chest are 800gp and 4 spinel gems worth 100gp each.
Carrion Crawler: AC 7, Move 120ft, HD 3+1, hp 13, THAC0 16, Att 8 tentacles, each causing paralysis.Spec Abil: Tentacle hit means save vs paralysis or be paralysed for 2d4 turns, Ml 9, Save F2, Align N, 75xp
Stats for common monsters
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| Source |
Bugbear Novice: AC 5, Mv 90ft, HD 3+1 (15hp), THAC0 16, Att 1 weapon for 2d4, Spec Abil Stealth (surprise opponents on 1-3 in 6), Clerical spells, Ml 9, Save F3, Align C, 50xp, equipment: Bugbear armour (large-size scale mail), morning star, 2d4gp. Prepared spells: Cure Light Wounds, Vigour
New Magic Item
Periapt of Poison Protection: This is a green jade amulet often carved into the shape of a venomous creature such as a spider, scorpion or snake. While wearing it once per day the user may automatically succeed on a saving throw vs poison (before the roll is made: it cannot work retroactively after a failed save). After that for the rest of the day the periapt gives +2 to further saving throws against poison but no more automatic successes.
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