Hex 6

 6. Hargeth’s Temple 
(Southern Hex)
On a small rise in the forest here, in a clearing, is a huge ruin largely forgotten by even the locals. The people of Woodbridge know about these ruins, though they shun them as haunted, and the monks of St. Albaran’s Monastery know of the ruins, believing they have removed everything of value here. Once Hargeth attempted to settle this region, he established the Grand Temple to Great High God here in the southernmost part of this hex. While the faith was of the Northmen, the people of the Highlands began to embrace their hero-conqueror-king’s religion.  When the kingdom fell, the temple fell with it and over the centuries, it has fallen to ruin.

Everything is on a grand scale, as if built for ogre-sized beings, or maybe Hill Giants. It is whispered that Hargeth was half-giant, though his remains are long lost to the ages (or so it is believed) so there’s no way to challenge this rumor. The size of the Temple does, however, suggest there might be some truth to it.

Unless noted, no doorway has a door.

6.1. Grand Entry
This once impressive narthex has fallen to disrepair. Much of the frescoed plaster that once decorated the eastern wall has fallen down and is little more than dust. Enough plaster remains to discern the general sense of some of the frescoes: A giant being (the god?) hurls thunderbolts at tiny figures (humans? Humanoids? Details are lost to time).  The stones of the floor here are loose and tilted, keeping anyone walking through here a little off balance. Running requires a Dexterity of 14 or greater to accomplish without slowing to 2/3rds full running speed and those with a Dexterity of less than 14 fight at a 1 point penalty to Armor Class because of the uncertain footing.

Little remains of the former glory but the expanse of the chamber – 50’ high ceiling, grand pillars (8’ in diameter round pillars, 10’ square pillars) supporting the still perfectly fitted roof and balcony above.

6.2. Petitioner’s Walk
The stone floor of this long hall shows signs of continuous wear, a trail down the center from one end to the other. Holes in the wall indicate that torch brackets were once mounted to the wall and great archways lead to smaller side corridors which run parallel, to the north and south. Anyone who utters a curse here (blasphemy, swearing, whatever) will find themselves overlaid by the ghostly image of a priest of the Northmen’s Faith. Where ever the offending party goes, whatever he or she does, his or her countenance will be merged with the dour, bald-headed, scarred face of a Northman priest. Remove curse causes the apparition to disappear.

6.3. Hall of the Faithful
This massive room is clearly the sanctuary. A large, dark-stained altar is centered in the room.  The walls, floor and ceiling are carved in bas relief, images of the Northmen’s religion, violent deities enthralling humans and demi-humans. There is evidence that the carvings were once painted. Tumbled stones from a collapse of the north wall are neatly piled below the hole in the wall and the entire floor of this sanctuary seems to have been swept clean.

A great balcony, 25’ above the floor, dominates the Eastern end of the room, with stairs leading up on either side and stairs leading from the balcony up to the next level above (though these are broken and do not reach the second story any longer).  The curved balcony has a stone balustrade across the front, pockmarked and broken by time.

Beneath the balcony are unmoving shapes in the shadows – dozens of statues (39), people of all walks of life in all manner of positions. If the statues are examined, they are deformed, some in impossible positions, some with misshapen heads, torsos, arms and legs – as if the sculptor didn’t have a good grasp of human anatomy.

Hiding in the shadows among the statues, at the farthest point East under the balcony, is a serpentine Stone Mistress. The stone mistress will use her ability to animate stone to command the statues of the Sanctuary to defend her if attacked. She has no interest in combat, preferring to be left alone or, at worst, bargained with, shout she will defend herself if attacked. She can animate one statue per round, as long as she can see the statue (she may have animated 1d6 statues in the shadows under the balcony before this encounter began). If seriously threatened, she will try to maneuver herself to be able to animate the large statues in the alcoves marked 5 down the narrow corridors. If desperate, she may try to animate the bas relief carvings on the floor and ceiling.

The Stone Mistress has claimed this ancient ruin as her home and will be loathe to leave. She has little in the way of treasure, though she has a great deal of knowledge she could barter: she has many dealings with the Coven of Five, she knows that the goblins of the Chantry have recently experienced a coup-de-etat, though she doesn’t know the details, she has heard whispers that the King Under the Mountain and the Gnome King have allied with one another and that they are petitioning the Silver Queen for an alliance. She has had a run-in with the Five Brothers (Treants) in the forest, since then she has been unwilling to leave her sanctuary, preferring to send her animated statues to do her business instead.

Searching the stone altar carefully (as secret door) can reveal a secret latch in the side which, if thrown, releases a lock in a carving near the main entrance door (with an audible click).

The carving near the entrance swings inward revealing a lever (trapped – poison needle, though the poison has long since evaporated, the needle remains discolored and the PCs should be led to believe it is poison). The lever, if pulled, opens yet another secret door in the ceiling (the face of the chief god of the Northmen swings down with a creak).

There is no obvious access to the 80’ ceiling (fly or levitate being obvious solutions). The 40’ square chamber above is nearly filled with skeletal linorm (frost), which has been animated and will attack. The skeletal linorm guards three chests

Chest #1: 7 potions: Potion of Speed, Potion of Green Dragon Control, Potion of Sweet Water, Potion of Healing (4) and 4 scrolls: Spell Scroll (Mage: Hold Person), Spell Scroll (Mage: Strength), Scroll of Protection - Undead - Ghouls, Scroll of Protection - Lycanthropes - All Lycanthropes

Chest #2: Red Leather Armor +3; Sword: Singer (Sword +1, +3 vs. lycanthropes and shape changers Unusual Abilities: Int: 16, Alignment: Neutral Good, Communication: speech, Languages: 2 (Silver Dragon, Common), Extra Ability: read non-magic languages, Powers/Abilities: detect magic in a 1" radius, detect gems, kind, and number in a 1/2" radius, detect evil/good in a 1" radius)

Chest #3: 30212 cp, 28871 sp, 34444 ep, 21121 gp, Jewelry (30): 700 gp Bracelet, 400 gp Medal, 800 gp Tiara, 1100 gp Crown, 500 gp Small Box, 600 gp Statuette, 500 gp Diadem, 1300 gp Collar, 200 gp Belt, 80 gp Anklet, 6400 gp Locket, 600 gp Clasp, 400 gp Decanter, 700 gp Locket, 6000 gp Buckle, 900 gp Comb, 1800 gp Belt, 500 gp Buckle, 800 gp Arm Band, 4000 gp Bracelet, 1000 gp Medal, 6000 gp Sceptre, 6700 gp Statuette, 150 gp Locket, 50 gp Goblet, 1700 gp Pin, 1300 gp Decanter, 90 gp Idol, 500 gp Goblet, 1000 gp Sceptre.

6.4. Ashrorn’s Rise
This balcony is about 25 feet above the sanctuary floor below. If any being which has been cursed with the visage of a Northman High Priest (area 2) stands near the center of this balcony, a bright white light will shine down from the ceiling on that being, causing the visage to become the being’s actual appearance (save vs. spells to negate) permanently, or until dispelled with a remove curse spell (that is, it is no longer a ghostly overlay, it is now the being’s face). As long as the being is cursed with the Nothrman Priest’s appearance, he or she will gain the spell casting abilities of a cleric, level 1-4 (1d4) or, if already a cleric, additional spells per day equal to level 1-4 cleric (1d4).

6.5 Effigies of the North Gods
The four alcoves marked with a number 5 on the map each contain a giant (30’ tall) statue of the Northmen’s gods, though time and manipulation by the Stone Mistress have warped them into twisted parodies of their original appearance. The dirt in the corridors and the alcoves has been disturbed, perhaps revealing giant foot prints.

The second and third stories consist of (because of the effects of time) essentially a single huge chamber on each level with rubble scattered across the floors. Square holes in the floor indicate where wooden poles or beams once held up dividing walls. There isn't anything particularly interesting among the pigeon nests and droppings which dot the two levels (perhaps a few copper pieces or a tiny idol of the Northmen's gods).

Hex 3

3. Old King's Watch
Every 20 miles along the road are these 80' tall round towers, most of which have fallen to ruin. The people of the Highlands use the Watches as waystations along the King's Road. Here, just north of the King's Road, is one of the few towers fully intact.

3.1 The Waystation
Over the years, travelers have added beds, a table, chairs and a small sideboard to this room. The fireplace has ashes from an old fire in it. Once a wooden staircase climbed to the second story, but only the top few steps dangle from the opening as travelers have scavenged the wood for fires. A stack of branches is piled up next to the fireplace.  Generally, this is a safe haven for travelers.

If the Eye of the Moon (see the King Under the Water) is brought into this room, phantom soldiers will be seen living out their daily life - talking, walking around, climbing the phantom stairs to the second story. After 2d8 rounds, one of the phantom soldiers will "open" the secret trap door in the floor and descend.

The secret trap door can be detected by normal means as well. It is locked and was once trapped, but the trap was long ago sprung by a curious Highland traveler.

3.2 Second Story
Untouched for generations, there is little left here. A candle chandielier composed of five 12" diamter rings soldered together side-by-side hangs from a chain from the ceiling. The candles have long since been pillaged.

The rings are the circlets which control the skeleton warriors in the crypt below.

3.3 Third Story
A few broken chairs and an overturned table, an empty weapons rack and a dozen broken arrows. Tucked among the rafters is skeletal human hand clutching a small leather pouch containing 3 gp, a tiny ruby (50 gp value) and a medallion of St.Turias (Silver plated brass medallion with the image of St. Turias on one side and the Reliquary, hex14, on the obverse - medallion is magical, TO BE DETAILED LATER)

The Grave of the Five Champions of St. Turias
3.4 Grave Entrance
The stairs lead to a small chamber with five doors onthe east wall. A headless human skeleton lays at the foot of the northern most door, the skull behind the steps. The doors are unremarkable iron-strapped wooden doors, and there is nothing to indicate what caused the beheading.

Doors can be numbered 1-5 from north to south. When any door is opened, the skeleton warrior in the tomb behind the door south of the room is awakened and will exit its tomb in 3 rounds (if door 1 is opened, the skeleton warrior behind door 4 is roused and comes out of his tomb to attack the intruder). Any door opened from the outside, freezes the skeleton warrior in its tomb as long as the door is left open. Any animated skeleton warrior will seek to dispatch intruders and close any open doors. The solution is to begin with door 5, the door farthest south, as there is no door to the south of it and opening the door will freeze the skeletal warrior in his sarcophagus. Inanimate skeleton warriors appear to simply be armored skeletons and their weapons and armor can be removed (though if the skeleton warriors animate, they will attempt to track down the looters and retrieve their equipment). Four of the five knights wear full chainmail and bear two-handed swords, the fifth (in the southernmost tomb) wears full platemail and a longsword +1 (Turias' Wrath, a sword+1, +3 vs. demons, devils and undead, continuous detect evil, heals 2d4 hp once per day).



TO FINISH: Map, images

Hex 3

3. The Fishermen of Boeh Hect
On the north bank of the Whitewater River here, a promintory rises about100' above the river. On the slope is the tiny fishing village of Boeh Hect. Boeh Hect was the great hero of this village, single-handedly fighting back a horde of goblins by using his greatsword called Skysplitter.

The fishermen of Boeh Hect are secretive and standoffish. Each of the thirteen men is clearly related, with strangely narrow heads, flat noses and a far off look in their eyes. All of them seem to be between the age of 50 and 70, bald, and all wear a tattoo on their right cheeks, though each mark is slightly different: some variation of a sword, a star and a lightning bolt.

The fishermen of Boeh Hect are:
Garen, Dylan, Finian, Filian, Danas, Geral, Andar, Pillian, Aerias, Tular, Gemmel, Danid, Marcan

The Fishermen of Boeh Hect arm themselves with nets, long fishing poles and fileting knives. Travelers are not exactly shunned, nor are they welcomed. There is nowhere for a traveler to stay, however, so the Fishermen of Boeh Hect will try to discourage anyone staying past sundown.  The men don't seem to ever go fishing. Whenever the Village of Boeh Hect is entered, the men are milling around in small groups of two or three. If the hovels are searched, there are no personal items in them, only a couple beds, a table and a couple chairs. There isn't even any food in any of the shacks.

If encountered at night, the Fishermen of Boeh Hect wll be gathered on the promintory point, staring at the sky.  If there is a storm in the area, lightning will strike the the point 1d4 times througout the duration of the storm, striking one of the Fishermen of Boeh Hect as they chant a prayer to the great hero.

Buried in the ground on the point is the sword of Boeh Hect, Skysplitter (sword +2, +3 vs. sky creatures, summon lightning 4x/week) which attracts the lightning of storms. When a Fisherman of Boeh Hect is struck by lightning, he leaves the village to kill and eat the heart of a living creature. Usually, they find a rabbit or even a deer and snare it with a net or whip it with their poles (which they are quite adept at using as weapons). If a struck Fisherman encounters a person, however, he will try to kill the person encountered and eat his or her heart.

Dumped in their cesspit is the treasure the Fishermen have taken from a handful of victims: a sword and leather armor, thieves' tools, six daggers, nine arrows, a shortbow, 87 gp, 55 sp, three potions (stealth, invisibility, heroism).

Hex 40

40. Hills of the Fallen Fathers

These hills were an ancient burial ground for a nomadic people who lived in this area eons ago. In this hex, normal encounter checks are not made. All encounters in this hex are (roll d20) 1-3 Wights (1-8), 1-3 Wraiths (9-16), Ghost (17-18), Haunt (19), Vampire (20). Random treasures (typically golden items) are buried throughout the hills of this hex. Disturbing a grave guarantees an encounter with undead.

Hex 24

24. Hamlets (Southern Hex)

Along the road are scattered nine tiny hamlets, ranging from three to six houses in each, surrounded by a ditch and possibly a wooden palisade. Fields of crops, pastures and fruit trees stretch to the north and south of the road. 2d4 adults, 2d8 children and 1d4 elderly tend the animals and crops.

Typical farm implements, items of everyday life, and some small amounts of food can be found at any of the hamlets along with cows, chickens, sheep, etc.

If the goblins are rampaging the area, all of these hamlets will be abandoned, each with a 60% chance of having been ravaged by the goblins (crops will be burned, animals slaughtered, 50% chance that the people will have been butchered as well).

Hex 24

24. Lake Fincher (Eastern Hex)

At the top of a 100’ tall plateau the locals call Demalias Tor is a small lake called Lake Fincher. Here, on the western edge is a small fishing village, simply called Fincher or Lake Fincher. The village is home to seventeen men, eight women and eight children who live in 8 ramshackle huts. The men fish during the day with nets from boats which are pulled up on the shore at night. Nighttime the men gather in one of the huts to drink and tell stories. The villagers are rather xenophobic, shunning strangers to the point of aggression. The men will threaten strangers, but they are more bluster than bravery. Once a week the fishermen take their wares (fresh fish and dried, smoked and salted fish) and trade with the people of Tiresh Village (Hex 30A).

The women of the village are allies of the Witch of the West Wind (See NPC encounters) and two nights a month go off in the forest to dance pagan dances with the witch. If the village is molested in any way, the Witch of the West Wind will seek out those who bother her “innocent daughters” or their families. Indeed, there is a 5% chance that the Witch will be encountered near the village if she still lives.

The villagers have little treasure (2d6 sp and 4d12 cp) but each of the women has a tiny charm around her neck which offers protection from disease and can be used to call the Witch of the West Wind (by rubbing it and calling her Truename).

TO FINISH: Map?

Hex 15

15. The Watchers In The Woods (Eastern Hex)

Three Ettercaps live in trees here. They have rarely preyed on humans because the Sisters of Mercy (Hex 25)  and their Treant allies (Hex 19) have kept them under their thumbs. However, they have grabbed a couple goblins and have not had any reprisals from the Sisters or the treants, so they are becoming more bold. If their lair is invaded, however, they will defend themselves.

Around the lair are game trails leading to pit traps and trip wires strung between trees that cause spiked logs to crash down (for 2d10 damage) or to grab prey at the ankle and hoist high up in a tree, both DEX check (at -2) to avoid. 

The lair is interconnected webs and branches high up in the trees here. The husks of two goblins are webbed in the lair as is a pouch containing 132 sp, a dagger, the bones of many animals and the husk of a giant spider, the last of a group of spiders that laired with the ettercaps for a time.

ETTERCAPS (3): AC 6; MV 120'; HD 5; hp 19, 21, 21; THAC0 15; #AT 3; D 1-3/1-3/1-8; SA Poison; SD Traps; SZ M; Int Low; AL NE; XP 260, 270, 270.