[Stripe]

4. When the players first enter the area, read the following passage aloud:

Mist swirls in pools around your feet. Bones and skulls, both human and animal, are strewn haphazardly all across the stone floor of this chill ossuary. The remains of a few dozen creatures must be scattered about the area.

Basking in a dusty ray of cold sunshine from a broken hole in the ceiling high above, the hulking skeleton of a monstrous ogre sits leaning against the rock wall to the west. Still gripped in its bony hands, a giant-sized great axe gleams in the sunlight.

The ogre skeleton's location is marked 'X' on the GM map. Sun rays glint from the great axe's polished blade and can be seen from area 3.

If disturbed or if the players try to pass through the area, the ogre skeleton, along with N human skeletons, rise off the dusty ground and attack. Read the following passage aloud if so:

Like a hellish nightmare, skeletons begin to slowly pick themselves off the floor and rise from the mist! With eyes of burning embers, they drag themselves up, bones cracking, their hisses: dry, hollow gasps from beyond the grave.

Remember, the skeletons must take two change posture maneuvers to stand and the change posture maneuver to go from kneeling to standing may be substituted for the "step" allowed in many combat maneuvers, such as attack.

The towering ogre skeleton wields a fine, balanced, meteoric SM+1 great axe in both hands. Remember, great axes are unbalanced (‡ on ST) and become unready after each attack. They also become unready after parrying (Parry 0U). See When Is a Weapon Ready?, p. B383. Also see the weapon statistics for ST and Parry on pp. B269-270.

TL Weapon              Damage    Reach        Parry  Cost    Weight  ST
1  Fine, Balanced, 
   Meteoric Oversized
   Great Axe           sw+5 cut  Reach 1, 2*  0U     $4,950  12      18‡

Notes: +1 bonus to skill; -1 to odds of breakage.

Rules for oversized weapons are in DF 1, p. 27.

One of the N human skeletons is actually a skeleton warrior. It carries a shattered greatsword seemingly made from polished, red-tinted obsidian; the last third of the blade has been broken off. Treat it as an unbalanced (meaning -1 to skill), very-fine, non-thrusting greatsword with Reach 1. When swung, it does +1 cutting damage per die in addition to the +2 for being very fine.

The other skeletons are holding rusted weapons and battered light shields (DR 4/HP 10). They carry a thrusting broadsword, axe, spear and flail in that order, depending on their number (more will carry axes). All weapons are of cheap quality (see Melee Weapon Quality, p. B274).

Mysteriously, the skeleton warrior's sundered greatsword has a fuller etched with strange runes. If a wizard examines it, a (player-rolled) Thaumatology roll will reveal they are the cross between an ancient shadow elf dialect no longer commonly spoken and the writing of dark ones. This may give the players a clue where to go if they seek to have the sword repaired.

An Armory (Melee Weapons) roll at -8 will reveal the blade is not made from obsidian; rather it is made from tempered glass, a very rare and extremely durable glass-like material made by reclusive elven glaziers (DF 8, p. 33). It is exceptionally sharp gaining +1 damage per die. However, it is as durable as any metal weapon as well as being resistant to acid and electrical attacks.

The greatsword cannot be reforged, through a Repair spell (Magic, p. 118) can magically repair it, runes and all. However, a one-pound lump of tempered glass is needed for the spell to work.

If repaired, the tempered glass greatsword returns to its former condition: very fine and balanced. Unfortunately, its enchantments were lost when the sword was shattered, as were all its onyx, platinum, black pearl and black diamond embellishments. The repair spell will not replace these.

TL Weapon               Damage     Reach  Parry  Cost     Weight  ST
3  Very-Fine, Balanced 
   Tempered Glass 
   Greatsword           sw+5 cut   1, 2   0      $47,700  7       12†  
   or                   thr+5 imp  2      0      –        –       12†

Notes: +1 to skill; -2 to odds of breakage; +1 to damage per die.

A fair market value for the sword is about a quarter its cost repaired.

5. Area 5 is accessed through a cave from area 4. The ceiling is about eight feet high. The passage gets progressively darker, fading from -3 at the mouth to -7 in the northwest.

When the players explore the south room in area 5, read the following passage aloud:

Atop a four-feet tall stone pillar, a glowing, fist-sized ruby sits between the fangs of a small, golden dragon statue. Its dim red glow radiates faintly, filling the room with an eerie crimson light. Seemingly, the gem can be easily lifted from the statue's open mouth, and the statue shouldn't be very heavy, either.

Before the PCs get a chance to enter the room, N giant rats (DF 2, p. 24) from the north room will attack. Their filthy nest is devoid of worthwhile treasure.

An adventurer with Danger Sense who makes a secret, GM-rolled Perception check will be alerted to danger coming from the south room -- but not what the danger is.

The statue and ruby are actually a similarly-sized rock covered by a permanent Illusion Shell and illuminated by a permanent Continual Light spell changed red with Colors. See the spell descriptions of Illusion Shell, Continual Light and Colors in Magic, pp. 96 and 110 respectively.

Any character with Magery gets a Sense roll (p. B358) against Perception+Magery when they first see the gem and statue (roll as one) to know it is in some way enchanted. The GM rolls in secret. This roll reveals nothing about the nature of the enchantments on the "statue," just that it is magical. In fact, a result of 3 or 4 on the roll tells the mage the statue and ruby are not dangerous since the only spells on it are Illusion Shell and Continual Light.

Touching the false gem or statue will trigger a truly heinous magical trap: two Linked spells -- a two-yard-radius Create Fire and a two-yard-radius Glue spell, both centered on room's middle hex -- will engulf the entire room in flaming tar.

If that happens, read the following passage aloud:

Suddenly, the floor becomes an ankle-deep pool of black, sticky tar. In the same instant, the tar ignites, sending roaring flames shooting up to envelope the entire room, turning it into a blazing furnace.

The glue spell will keep victims in the flames until they can make a ST -5 roll for each hex they attempt to leave. Maximum move is 1 hex per turn. Victims will take 1d-1 burning damage per second they are in the fire, or 1d-3 burning damage for the part of a turn they are able to escape.

See the spell descriptions of Create Fire, Link and Glue in Magic, pp. 72, 131, and 142 respectively. See Flame (p. B433) for rules on setting things afire.

The Linked spells in effect are visible to Mage Sight (Magic, p. 102) but not to a mage's Per+Magery roll. Only Analyze Magic can tell the nature of the spells. There is no other way to detect the trap.



To be continued...