General Encounter Chart
1-8 NPC
9-16 Mundane Encounter
17-19 Dangerous Encounter
20 Special Encounter
I may add stats for the creatures encountered, or I may simply add them to the Appendix: New Creatures. None of the Spectres who appear as Special Encounters are associated with the Spectre who haunts the Mountains or the Spectre of King Hargeth.
Roll 3d10
3. The Hermit, The Woman and The Baby
A man and a woman (holding a baby) walk determinedly along the path/road/whatever. The man is talking and gesturing wildly, not paying any attention to his surroundings. The man is old, with a long white beard, wearing some kind of hair coat and carrying a large pack on his back. The woman wears a long blue dress with a hood covering her head. The baby is unclothed.
The woman is The Prophetess of Nanias, the man is The Forerunner of Faith, and the baby is The Oracle of the Blue Circle, These spirits appear and disappear in the Highlands sometimes singly or in pairs. This is the first time in human memory that all three have appeared at the same time. They emanate an aura of awe which causes those of 3 or lesser Hit Dice/Levels to fall prostrate in awe (save to resist if desired, locals willingly submit to the aura of awe). Those of greater than 3 Hit Dice/Levels sense the power of these Spirits, but will not feel compelled to fall prostrate.
The Prophetess speaks a prophecy every sixth hour (at 6 minutes and 6 seonds after the hour, to be precise). Half of these prophecies are benign (noon and midnight), half of the prophecies will be malevolent (6 AM and 6 PM). The prophecies can be as pinpoint specific as predicting the future of a person standing in front of her or as obscure as speaking the fate of a farmer who has not yet even been born. The accuracy of the prophecies is desputable.
The Forerunner speaks for the natural world. He decries the encroachment of human beings into the wilds, as roads and cities cut through the forest and trees are cleared for farmland. Druids who listen to the Forerunner for an hour will gain 1 bonus first level spell.
The Oracle can answer a single yes or no question. When asked the question, a laugh is a yes, if the baby cries the answer is no. The Oracle is not omnipotent, but will generally be correct in its answers.
4. Peasant Cart
This only occurs on a road. A peasant driving a small empty cart approaches. The peasant will stop the cart and ask for a drink of water. Anyone who gives the peasant a drink of water will find that their waterskin will forever be 3/4ths full (it will never be more or than 3/4ths full no matter how much a person tries to put in it or drinks from it). If the peasant is given a drink, he will offer as many as 6 people a ride in the cart, whatever direction they are going. The cart goes very slowly, however, half a party's walking rate. When the party stops for the night, the peasant will make camp with them but sometime during the night the peasant, cart and ox will disappear.
If the peasant is ignored, he simply moves on, though that night the party will be visited by a very loud ox that will tramp through their camp or butt its head against the door or wall of any structure they are in.
If the peasant is insulted, he will call down a mild curse on any insulting group. The insulted peasant will say, "May your salty tongue never be satisfied." He will then kick up the ox which will travel unnaturally quickly away from the insulting group. Those who hear the curse must save vs. spells or have insatiable thirst for the next 3d12 hours.
If the peasant is attacked, he, the cart and the ox become an incorporeal cloud of red mist, with the effect of the spell stinking cloud, lasting 20 rounds. The appearance of the red cloud also doubles the chances for a dangerous encounter during the duration of the effect.
5. The White Lady and the Black Avenger
A woman dressed all in white riding a pure white (almost glowing) horse is riding next to a figure dressed in black platemail riding a jet black horse.
The woman is The White Lady and the man is The Black Avenger. The White Lady is the spirit of one of the Virgin Princesses of Urtan, killed on her wedding night by the Huntman of the Queen of the Night. When the White Lady appears, the locals say, misery follows.
The White Lady is a Spectre caught in unlife by the power of the injustice of her life and death. She will question any living being she encounters asking questions like, "Hast thou sought truth always?" or "Hast thou brought divine justice?" "Hast thou been a defender of the weak?" "Hast thou brought betterment to mankind?" and on. She will ask 1d4+2 questions, seeking to catch the living beings in a lie. If anyone lies to her, she commands the Avenger to attack while she will watch from the side. The Black Avenger is Zealous Defender, a new type of undead, caught in eternal unlife by a vow taken to forever protect his lady. He will fight to the death unless his opponents flee (he will not pursue). He can use the sword's powers to find hidden opponents or to blink to gain an advantage.
If the White Lady is attacked, she will fight fiercely.
If the Avenger is killed, the Horse and armor will evaporate into black smoke, leaving behind a magical sword: Avenger's Wrath (sword +1, +2 vs. humans, -2 vs. undead, detect living three times per day, allows the user to become blink (per the spell, at 8th level) once per week, a LN sword). If the White Lady is killed, she and her horse evaporate in a cloud of white smoke, leaving behind a crown of starflower blossoms. This is the Virgin's Crown, imbuing the wearer with ESP , the ability to regenerate 1 hp per turn as a vampirc touch and it acts in all ways as a ring of protection +2. This is a LE item.
6. The
“Monks” of the Fallen Fire
Encountered on the road in the wood,
these four members of the Green King’s court have disguised
These men gather intelligence for the
Green King, for his remaining illegal ventures throughout the Highlands. If
captured, they will trade information for their lives, then flee the region,
never to return. If one or more of the “Monks” betrays the Green King, he will
put a price on their heads, dead or alive.
Brother Garath (MU 5, wand of wonder,
dagger)
Brother Michen (F 6, short sword +1)
Brother Angus (Th 6, short sword)
Brother Fraklan (Th 5, short sword)
7. Mother
Sacren and Her Hovel
A strange creature, Mother Sacren. As
far as anyone knows, she has always lived in a tiny stone hovel deep in the
Highlands, though no one seems to know exactly where it is. As long as anyone can remember, Mother Sacren has been old, ancient even. She has a deep
interest in things magical and when wondrous items are found, she seems to turn
up, asking to examine the item, sometimes offering to buy or trade for the
item, sometimes offering an obscure warning about the item.
If encountered randomly, Mother Sacren will nose about the possessions of those encountered, evaluating any magical items she discovers.
If her hovel is sought
out, she is always home, always welcomes visitors with, “Patience, younglings,
the world continues apace whether you rush or whether you wait.” Or something similar. She
is never in a hurry, always subtly complaining about how much of a hurry
everyone seems to be in these days. She will not talk about her past or future,
but may drop veiled hints about her visitor’s futures, if she can divine such.
She genuinely wants to be helpful, but is most interested in maintaining a
balance (leaning toward good) in the world. Those who obtain extremely powerful
items will find Mother Sacren or one of her minions (see below) seeking the
item to “remove if to a safe place, away from the tempting hands of this
world.” What, exactly, that means she will not divulge, only that some items
“are not meant for mortals to meddle with, for their own good.”
There are those who seek Mother Sacren
for her potions and trinkets. She seems able to procure nearly any item of a
magical nature, or at least the has knowledge about nearly every item of
magical nature ever found, lost or hinted at in myth and legend. She will not
sell or trade an item to a person she deems unworthy (for whatever reason). She
has been known to send those who seek her services on grand quests, either as
payment for an item or service rendered, or as a way of answering the
petitioner’s own questions, to find an item they seek for themselves.
In game terms, Mother Sacren is an
Exile, one of the Firstborn. She has little interest in the affairs of the
“lesser races” but pays attention to the magical currents of the world,
attempting to remove ultra-powerful items from the hands of those she considers
“children” and unable to manage such items. She whisks such items off to an
extradimensional space (the Edge of Heaven) where they are guarded by powerful
angelic beings. When encountered in her hovel to engage in trade, she will
strike her deal, then excuse herself to the back room where from which she will
disappear. If followed, the back room is simple, and empty (a small bed, a
small table, a single chair, candles, a locked box containing her travel
clothes – if anything is stolen, she will track down the thief and demand her
items back). From the back room, Mother Sacren teleports to different places,
wherever whatever item she needs can be procured. She has (for game purposes)
limitless resources, but she is very powerful, so not an entity to be trifled
with. This is the closest thing to a “magic shop” available in the Highlands.
While Mother Sacren is able to procure nearly any item, she may not be willing,
depending on the “buyer’s” need, disposition, respect, ability to offer her
something of value in return and so on.
Mother Sacren
(Exile)
AC 0
HD 14
Hp 68
#Attacks 2 + spells
Damage 1d6/1d6
AL: CN
Mother Sacren can cast ESP and Detect Good and Detect Evil at will. If attacked, she can cast Lightning Bolt 3x/day as a 12th level caster and can Teleport Without Error 3x/day. She always appears as a wizened old lady, often smoking a pipe, with a walking stick (actually a magical wand which allows the wielder to cast Identify 8x/day).
8. The Boy Who Dug Fifteen Graves
A boy with a shovel stands over 15 sticks poking up out of the ground, each with a straw hat dangling
The boy is a Grave Demon, an apparition who sometimes appears when bodies go unburied. The Grave Demon buries each of the unburied bodies in an unholy ritual which animates the bodies as Grave Zombies. The boy will smile at anyone encountered, gesturing as if tipping his hat toward those encountered. If the gesture is returned, the boy will try to saunter off in the opposite direction of those encountered. If the gesture is not returned, the Grave Demon will give those encountered an angry look, then turn in a full circle with the shovel held at shoulder height. As he does so, the hats on the sticks begin to quiver and the next round 15 Grave Zombies claw their way to the surface and attack. The Grave Demon fights with the shovel and his innate abilities.
9. The Welwa
The wind picks up, doubling in velocity for about 5 minutes, then stops completely. All sounds of nature stop.The Welwa always blinks into existence directly behind its prey (randomly choose a PC if the Welwa encounters them). The creature which glows with an unearthly greenish light uses its tail to good effect and normally attacks its prey with two massive claws, attempting to draw its prey in close for a viscious bite. While this Faerie monster has a broad rack of horns, it typically uses these defensively, brandishing them menacingly to any who threaten the creature.
The motives of the Welwa are inscrutable. It will focus only on a single prey and can be driven off if serously injured. Normally, the Welwa breaks off its attack and blinks out of existence again once it has managed to bite a chunk of flesh from its prey.
The Welwa makes two attacks with its claws. If both attacks hit, the Welwa draws its prey in to bite off a large piece of flesh - the Welwa will try to bite a very fleshy part of its prey. The creature uses its tail to entrap its prey, wrapping the tail around the legs of the creature the Welwa is attacking. (Thus, 2 or 3 attacks plus special - tail plus special - horns). The Welwa lashes out with its horns at any non-prey who attacks the creature or otherwise tries to interfere with its attack on its prey.
The Welwa only exists in this reality for the briefest of times, seeking to sate its supernatural hunger with a bit of mortal flesh. The wound of the Welwa bite never truly heals (-1 maximum hit point until something like a Restor spell is cast) and daily a greenish, slimy substance will ooze from the wound. If this greenish slime were collected, it can be used to coat items making them anathema to Faerie Creatures for 1d4 days of use (adding an ability to hit Faerie creatures to weapons, giving a 1 point bonus to armor class for armor or shields coated). Each day the wound will ooze enough to coat two small blades (knives, daggers, short swords), one medium weapon (sword, axe, etc), ten arrow heads. It would take three days to collect enough to coat a shield and a week for a suit of armor.
10. Bearfriend
Crunching through the forest comes a Cave Bear lumbering slowly. On the bear's back is a girl wearing simple, typical peasant clothing and carrying a sack.
When encountered, the bear is hungry and, consequently, grumpy. It will be somewhat aggressive unless offered food.
The girl atop the bear knows why the bear acts unpleasantly, but sits silently atop her mount with a slightly bemused look on her face, evaluating reactions to the bear.
If the bear is consoled somehow (probably food, but there could be other creative approaches), the girl will smile and introduce herself as Camala Bearfriend. If treated well, she offers the party a magical charm if they will do something for her. She needs the pointed teeth of six goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears or trolls. If the party gathers what she requests, they need simply speak her name three times aloud, and she will appear presently with their gift: a charm of protection against animals (the charm is made primarily of claws and teeth of various animals: wolves, foxes, bobcats, etc. - notably absent are any items from bears). The charm gives a 3 point bonus to reactions with all animals except bears, on which the charm has no effect. Camala wants the teeth for a new charm, protection from goblinoids.
Camala Bearfriend can give general directions to the Chantry, the Hall of the Gnome King and the King Under the Water, for those who might be interested in her offer.
If attacked, the bear will defend Camala to the death, and will be accompanied by 1d2 Cave Bears every third round until the attackers are killed or driven off, or Camala is killed. If Camala is killed, all subsequent encounters with bears are immediately hostile.
If Camala and her bear are simply ignored, they will lumber off through the forest peacefully.
11. The Mad Hermit
A Mad Hermit wanders in this region. He carries a staff and wears no shoes (even in the winter), only coverd by a bearskin tunic, an unkept bushy beard and little else. He is always immaculately clean. The Mad Hermit is immune to the effects of heat and cold (even magical fire or magical cold). He speaks of himself in the third person (calling himself "The Wanderer") and he never uses pronouns or contractions. "The Wanderer greets the fine men and women before the Wanderer."
The Mad Hermit lives half of his life in a dreamworld where he is surrounded by talking animals (or singing mushrooms or dancing fairies). He spends most of his time conversing with (or singing, or dancing) these invisible creatures. When he does talk and address reality, he has a fair amount of insight into the goings on of the Highlands.
If attacked, the Hermit will not defend himself, but within 1d4 rounds 1d10 animals (roll on the Animal Encounter Table) will come to his defense.
9. The Welwa
The wind picks up, doubling in velocity for about 5 minutes, then stops completely. All sounds of nature stop.The Welwa always blinks into existence directly behind its prey (randomly choose a PC if the Welwa encounters them). The creature which glows with an unearthly greenish light uses its tail to good effect and normally attacks its prey with two massive claws, attempting to draw its prey in close for a viscious bite. While this Faerie monster has a broad rack of horns, it typically uses these defensively, brandishing them menacingly to any who threaten the creature.
The motives of the Welwa are inscrutable. It will focus only on a single prey and can be driven off if serously injured. Normally, the Welwa breaks off its attack and blinks out of existence again once it has managed to bite a chunk of flesh from its prey.
The Welwa makes two attacks with its claws. If both attacks hit, the Welwa draws its prey in to bite off a large piece of flesh - the Welwa will try to bite a very fleshy part of its prey. The creature uses its tail to entrap its prey, wrapping the tail around the legs of the creature the Welwa is attacking. (Thus, 2 or 3 attacks plus special - tail plus special - horns). The Welwa lashes out with its horns at any non-prey who attacks the creature or otherwise tries to interfere with its attack on its prey.
The Welwa only exists in this reality for the briefest of times, seeking to sate its supernatural hunger with a bit of mortal flesh. The wound of the Welwa bite never truly heals (-1 maximum hit point until something like a Restor spell is cast) and daily a greenish, slimy substance will ooze from the wound. If this greenish slime were collected, it can be used to coat items making them anathema to Faerie Creatures for 1d4 days of use (adding an ability to hit Faerie creatures to weapons, giving a 1 point bonus to armor class for armor or shields coated). Each day the wound will ooze enough to coat two small blades (knives, daggers, short swords), one medium weapon (sword, axe, etc), ten arrow heads. It would take three days to collect enough to coat a shield and a week for a suit of armor.
10. Bearfriend
When encountered, the bear is hungry and, consequently, grumpy. It will be somewhat aggressive unless offered food.
The girl atop the bear knows why the bear acts unpleasantly, but sits silently atop her mount with a slightly bemused look on her face, evaluating reactions to the bear.
If the bear is consoled somehow (probably food, but there could be other creative approaches), the girl will smile and introduce herself as Camala Bearfriend. If treated well, she offers the party a magical charm if they will do something for her. She needs the pointed teeth of six goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears or trolls. If the party gathers what she requests, they need simply speak her name three times aloud, and she will appear presently with their gift: a charm of protection against animals (the charm is made primarily of claws and teeth of various animals: wolves, foxes, bobcats, etc. - notably absent are any items from bears). The charm gives a 3 point bonus to reactions with all animals except bears, on which the charm has no effect. Camala wants the teeth for a new charm, protection from goblinoids.
Camala Bearfriend can give general directions to the Chantry, the Hall of the Gnome King and the King Under the Water, for those who might be interested in her offer.
If attacked, the bear will defend Camala to the death, and will be accompanied by 1d2 Cave Bears every third round until the attackers are killed or driven off, or Camala is killed. If Camala is killed, all subsequent encounters with bears are immediately hostile.
If Camala and her bear are simply ignored, they will lumber off through the forest peacefully.
11. The Mad Hermit
A Mad Hermit wanders in this region. He carries a staff and wears no shoes (even in the winter), only coverd by a bearskin tunic, an unkept bushy beard and little else. He is always immaculately clean. The Mad Hermit is immune to the effects of heat and cold (even magical fire or magical cold). He speaks of himself in the third person (calling himself "The Wanderer") and he never uses pronouns or contractions. "The Wanderer greets the fine men and women before the Wanderer."The Mad Hermit lives half of his life in a dreamworld where he is surrounded by talking animals (or singing mushrooms or dancing fairies). He spends most of his time conversing with (or singing, or dancing) these invisible creatures. When he does talk and address reality, he has a fair amount of insight into the goings on of the Highlands.
If attacked, the Hermit will not defend himself, but within 1d4 rounds 1d10 animals (roll on the Animal Encounter Table) will come to his defense.
No comments:
Post a Comment