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Stolen from the City of the Spider Queen web enhancement:
Drow Names (asterisks on ones I've already used):
Female: Alauniira, Belarbreena, Charinida, Drisinil, Faeryl, Haelra, Ilivarra, Laele, Nathrae, Pellanistra, Quarra, Rilrae*, Sabrae*, Talice*, Vlondril, Xullrae, Yasraena, Zarra*.
Male: Alak*, Belgos*, Chaszmyr*, Durdyn, Elkantar, Guldor, Istorvir, Kelnozz, Malaggar*, Mourn, Nym, Orgoloth, Ranaghar, Rizzen, Seldszar, Szordrin, Tebryn, Yazston.
Surnames: Abaeir, Blundyth, Coborel, Dhuunyl, Gellaer, Hune, Jhalavar, Luen, Mlezzir, Pharn, Rrostarr, Telenna, Vrinn, Xarann, Zolond.
| Names with apostrophes (for use by critters and some Drow): | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dynayrd's | Pol'buru | |
| Tia'tas'uig | R'umsul | |
| Sw'cerbur | End'awo | Vor'ia |
| Loraynn'o | Lorost'l | Enourr'e |
| Draooll'f | Moseet'rt | Ther'ves |
| Lor'tino | Ton'ang | Er'usk'uiy |
| Del'ane | Er'at | I'nyser |
| Mor'rilo | Iss'hat'uch | On'mose |
| M'yerard | Gha'ack'uint | O'hatat |
| An'yer'eel | Ight'dra'uph | Mos'per'aeth |
| Unt'em | Quaeel'u | Kin'den'ol |
| Ardor'e | Beled'ld | Essiy'q |
| Y'ercer | Eng'en'el | Honyr'a |
| Ceriep'nd | Tor'elm'ill | Dar'yer |
| Che'om'eif | U'rancha | Que'old |
| Ath'hat'ield | Yereuch'l | N'chebel |
Shadow has been using the crystals to keep the party moving along his desired path. Meanwhile, Chaos has been powering the party so they can defeat Shadow (or at least distract him enough so that he won't be able to hold onto Limbo any longer).
He can shield his activities from the gods because of his affiliation with Chaos. This was his entire reason for conquering Limbo.
400 years ago, Einerk was trying to gather the crystals to keep them from falling into the wrong hands - in this case, Qo'acyin. He failed and his homeland was lost because of it.
His expedition into the Underdark was also not successful - though he did steal the drow chain gate that the party now has. And, he gained information about the dark elves which he has passed on to the party. Unfortunately, this information is dangerously out of date…
[ [ Does Einerk serve a positive role in this story at all? Perhaps he's leading the party astray for a reason. ] ]
The chain gate is a two-way gate that links to a fixed location in a Drow enclave. (See Section III. below)
This adventure takes place in a small side chamber just outside the city of Dezzavold (see module of the same name published by Green Ronin Publishing). This city is located at hex C2-20 on the main Underdark map from Module D1.
400 years ago, the clan that held the “Heat” crystal was Erel Hudai. While they respected Lolth (as do all Drow), they primarily worshipped an obscure elven moon goddess. Thus, their religious holidays are linked to observation of the moon (which is mostly a surface world thing).
Their god is Vhaeraun (The Masked Lord and the Masked God of Night: drow god of thievery, drow males, and evil activity on the surface world).
This led to constant friction with other clans who revered Lolth - primarily Mar'Sevul. In the end, Erel Hudai were overthrown by Mar'Sevul and had to flee to another location in the Underdark. (This happened 150 years ago, in the year 958).
The enclave used the “Heat” (Air-Fire) crystal to provide “fresh” air and heat. When Erel Hudai fled, though, they took this crystal with them and used it to found a new enclave in a previously unliveable region. Since Mar'Sevul did not require the crystal to survive, they opted to let Erel Hudai keep it. (Especially since attacking the still-powerful Erel Hudai would have required too much risk).
Mar'Sevul did manage to force Erel Hudai to flee through an ancient portal (actually a Godstone), whereupon they brought down the cavern on the portal, cutting off Erel Hudai from the rest of the Underdark.
Erel Hudai's new location was under the mountains of the eastern continent (N'Galt), in a place primarily controlled by the Duergar. With the crystal providing air and heat, though, the Erel Hudai were able to settle in a previously unlivable area. They were able to entrench themselves before the Duergar discovered their existance - and by then, it was too late.
In recent history, Erel Hudai are the drow responsible for the failed orc invasion of Farflen's forests (the one which Voyager saw when they reached the end of their trek across the continent - see Voyager #34-36).
The leader of Erel Hudai is Elm'eny, a lich who is now allied with Shadow. Their goal: To sacrifice the entire Erel Hudai clan (and as many others as possible) and use the released necromantic energy to power the imprisonment pyramids that Shadow has constructed on the Elemental World to keep the Lords in chains.
While this necromantic energy may seem like a one-time event and not capable of powering a prison, Shadow plans to perpetually reuse the souls - thus powering the pyramids indefinitely (at the expense of eternal torment for the victims). This is possible because the pyramid design used to imprison Gruumsh uses only a tiny fraction of the energy in a soul. The gods counter this by sending nearly every person through the pyramid before they enter the Underworld - whether they deserve it or not.
To this end, there are thousands of slaves in the Erel Hudai enclave - so many, in fact, that they run a serious risk of revolt.
The main Erel Hudai clanmembers do not realize that their leader is a lich. (He hides it primarily through his “god-king” complex - the regular drow do not see him directly)
But more on this in later sessions…
The chain is made up of hundreds of tiny black metal links - each one only a few millimeters across. The metal has properties similar to adamantine, but is dramatically vulnerable to sunlight. If exposed for any length of time, the chain will crumble. Even wrapped in a rag and stuffed deep into a bag, it remains slightly vulnerable. In just the six months since Bigby retrieved the chain from Einerk's tomb, it has degraded to the point where several links have become pitted and fragile. Some repair will be required before using it.
Luckily, the magic of the chain is stored in individual links, not the entire chain. This makes it a very versatile magic item - but also means it must have taken years (if not decades) to enchant. Repairing the chain can be done in one of two ways: Remove the degraded links (which will make the chain very slightly smaller) or reinforce the dead links with some solder or other welding material (which will make the overall magic slightly more unstable).
The chain as a whole is roughly thirty feet in length - making it about ten feet across if placed in a circle. To activate the chain, it needs to simply be placed on the ground in a roughly circular pattern. This will open a bidirectional gate to a fixed destination - one that was tied to the chain when it was created. These gates have the distinct advantage of piercing the “faerzress” (the magical field that permeates the Underdark and prevents reliable teleportation).
Anyone who steps across the boundary of the chain (from the outside in) will be teleported to the destination. (Naturally, crossing the boundary from the inside out has no effect). Inanimate objects are teleported as easily as living - and the portal will remain open as long as the chain remains in its active orientation. This makes the chain very effective at bringing multiple people and equipment (even entire armies) from one place to another.
Flint has an insight into these chains as the drow have used them forever. They typically are tied to a teleport platform - often in an outlying area to avoid putting the city at risk of invasion by teleportation. The destination for teleport chains are always other chains, however most have been fixed into stone platforms - and many chains can be linked to the same destination chain. There is a danger to this method in that if two chains attempt to open a gate to the same destination at the same time, they can short each other out or form a three-way resonation that can lead to disastrous results. Some drow actually use this as a defense against unwanted teleporters.
One final feature of these chains is that they can be brought through their own gate. Once through a gate, a person can remain inside the field, but reach back out and grab the chain. This will bring the gate down, but will leave the wielder holding the chain at the destination location. Naturally, in this case, the wielder cannot return to his original location.
As for the damage to Bigby's chain: It will still function properly, but will require more precision to set up. The chain must be placed in a *perfect* circle before the gate will open. This will almost certainly require some magic to accomplish. Additionally, it must be done either at night or in an underground locale. If sunlight strikes the chain for more than a few seconds, it will crumble and the gate will drop.
Additional information (not given to the players):
When the chain is activated, the wielder (probably Bigby) must make three consecutive DC 10 Dex checks to arrange it in a perfect circle. If one or more is successful, then the chain will briefly activate while settling, but will be inactive at completion. Only if all three are successful will it remain active upon completion.
Note: This “flaring” up of the chain will alert the Portal Guards.
The platform on the other end is dedicated to dozens of these chains, so it has been maintained over the years despite the theft of one of the chains. (See Section V. below)
If Bigby opts to combine the contents of his vials (and the vials themselves), he will summon Apenimon, the Janni who helped the party when they were stranded on the ethereal plane.
Apenimon was sent to the Elemental Plane of Fire to find out what Shadow was up to and was given a powerful spell so that if (when) he was killed, his spirit would return to Godsland so he could be debriefed.
Unfortunately, Shadow recognized the spell and placed one of his own before killing him.
Shadow's spell is in the form of a mark on the Janni's forehead. It performs the following effects (all at caster level 20):
In addition, Apenimon's spell/curse will summon up to six Advanced Elder Shadow Elementals (see stats below) to destroy Apenimon and anybody he has come into contact with. These elementals will arrive one at a time with 1d4 “idle” rounds between each summoning. The first elemental will not arrive for 2d6 rounds - which will given Apenimon time enough to tell the party the following:
Since this is clearly not Godsland, something must have gone very wrong.
I was sent to the Elemental World as a scout to see if I could find out
what Shadow had done with the Lords. The gods sent me in with a 'recall'
spell so that if I were discovered and slain, my spirit would be renewed
and I would still be able to report what I found.
Unfortunately, Shadow not only discovered me, but also recognized the
recall spell. Since he could not counter the spell, he marked me with one
of his own. (gestures to his forehead - which contains the rune of Shadow
burned into the skin).
We have very little time before his minions will discover that I am here.
Apenimon will then tell the party that Shadow has constructed an imprisonment pyramid on the plane of Fire and is using it to hold captive the four elemental lords. (He does not know the fates of the Positive and Negative Lords). While Apenimon does not understand the significance of the pyramid, it will be very clear to the party that it precisely matches the layout (and function) of the prison where the gods hold Gruumsh.
Once the Shadow Elementals arrive, Apenimon will be their primary target. If he is killed, no more elementals will arrive. If he is near a river, he will flee into it to seek the safety of Godsland. If there is no river nearby, then he will almost certainly fall back into Shadow's hands.
When the party first emerges through the teleport chain, they will find themselves in a sealed portal room, along with eight Drow guards. (Use stats for “Generic Drow Fighter CR 10” below).
The room has the following features:
If the party takes any time to actually go through the gate, the portal guards will prepare for battle. Four of them will position themselves behind the cover walls (Orange), while the other four ready themselves behind the arrow slits (purple lines through the right wall). All eight will have their hand crossbows ready. If (when) it comes to combat, the four out front will fire once and then draw their short swords. The four in the back will fire repeatedly unless someone enters their room - in which case, they will draw swords.
Any of the eight guards can activate the Golems if they sense they are outgunned. They do so by speaking an activation word (“Nys'estu”) as a free action. The Golems will spring to life - roll initiative for them immediately.
Unless the party manages to activate the chain and flood through *immediately*, the portal guards will have sealed the room.
The Spiderstone Golems are listed as CR18, however this seems really high. Reduce the CR to 16 or so - depending on how they perform in combat.
All the walls in this room (including the sealing wall) have been enchanted to prevent all forms of teleportation through them. They are treated as magic items with a caster level of 20 (Saving throws made at +12).
The sealing wall, in addition, immediately repairs all wounds. If a pickaxe is used on it, any blow would cause the stone to deform away from the impact, then bounce back to its original shape. Stone Shape would be more effective, opening a small hole for a few seconds. Disintegrate would allow a single person to leap through in the round or so it would take to close the hole.
Because of the lack of the “Heat” crystal, it is cold here.
If (when) the party breaches the sealing wall, they will be confronted by Talice, the Matron of House Mar'Sevul, along with dozens of support personnel. (Not quite the stealthy entrance the party had hoped for). It should be abundantly clear quite early that the party is (in the long run) outmatched.
However, it will probably take a fair amount more combat before they are convinced.
In this second combat, Talice will remain behind, viewing the combat from the safety of distance. Her three sisters (Rilrae, Sabrae, and Zarra), the house wizard (Malaggar), three Advanced Bebeliths (Nalool'o, Sl'rothdra, and B'hatis), three Invokers (Alak, Belgos, and Chaszmyr), and two dozen Guards will carry on the assault.
Two of the Bebeliths start out on the ethereal plane and will be visible only to people who can see invisible. The third will begin the assault on the players, flanked by half of the guards. The remaining dozen guards will stay back and fire with their hand crossbows. The sisters and the Invokers will remain back casting spells as much as possible.
If the fight continues for more than ten rounds, reinforcements will arrive in the form of another dozen guards, a dozen Ogre slaves (use stats for Ogre Tempest from the Monster Manual IV), and thirty Bugbears (regular). While these may not present a significant challenge to the party, their presence could turn the tide and force negotiation.
Defeat of the Bebeliths will likely cause the Ogres and Bugbears to flee, which will signal Talice to negotiate a truce. (See Section VII. below).
If the party gets the upper hand in this fight, Talice will call her forces back and appear to the party using a spell similar to “Project Image”. This version is called “Spider Swarm Projection” (Cleric, 7th level) and it differs from the Arcane spell in that the caster cannot cast spells through the projection, but need not maintain Line of Effect. The spell manifests itself as a Spider Swarm (as per MM, p.239-240), however this version has half as many hit points as the caster. Through the swarm, the caster can sense its surroundings in a chaotic, jumbled fashion. However, as a full round action, the swarm can form into a simulation of the caster - complete with an illusion of color and texture. (A Will disbelief save reveals the form as a mass of creepy, crawling spiders). Once in this form, the caster can see and hear clearly through the projection and can speak and act as if she was standing there.
Talice's approach will be that her forces CAN and WILL defeat the party, but that it will take more resources than she wishes to commit at this point. (This is essentially true - however she would have to call on the assistance of other houses - and her own house would likely be in jeopardy as a result).
Her first words will be in surface elven and she will say (through her Spider Swarm), “Are you speak with Elf?” (bad grammar, thick accent). Unless the party casts Tongues or finds some other common language (Gnome seems the most likely), the conversation will be slow and rife with mistakes.
Her demands are simple:
Item #1 is negotiable, #2 is NOT
Also, she will be using Drow sign language to convey details of the party back to her sisters. Bigby may be able to tell that some of the Drow sign language is evocative of arcane semantic gestures (though this is just color. No real information can be observed unless the character has “Drow Sign Language” on their language list).
In response to Talice's signals, her sisters will be preparing their forces for full-on battle.
If the party agrees to hand over the teleport chain, Talice will be willing to escort the party to the edge of Dezzavold and let them leave unharmed.
If the party reveals that they are after the crystal, she will be very open about the theft of the crystal by Erel Hudai. She will not, of course, admit that her house forced them out. In fact, any conflict against Erel Hudai will be spun as punishment against criminals. She also may be persuaded to send a guide to help the party locate the collapsed Godstone. This would only be offered as a last resort, though.
If the party begins to lose, Talice will also appear - although this time, she won't be interested in negotiation.
If the party manages to woo Talice sufficiently, they may be allowed to stay in Dezzavold. However, this would likely result in assassination attempts by relatives of any Drow killed by the party.
The more likely result is that the party will see Dezzavold only in passing.
Hit Dice ............. 40d8+200 (380)
Initiative ........... +11
Speed ................ 40'/fly 50'/swim 50'
AC (Size/Dex/Natural). 25 (-2/+7/+10)
BAB/Grapple .......... +30/+46
Attack ............... Slam +36
Full Attack .......... 2 Slams +36
Damage ............... 2d10+8/19-20
Space/Reach .......... 15/15
Special Attacks ...... --
Special Qualities .... Darkvision 60'
Elemental Traits
DR 10/-
Saving Throws: Fort .. +27 (22+5)
Reflex .. +20 (13+7)
Will .. +16 (13+1+2)
Abilities: Str ...... 26 (+8)
Dex ...... 24 (+7)
Con ...... 20 (+5)
Int ...... 12 (+1)
Wis ...... 12 (+1)
Cha ...... 11 (+0)
Skills: Listen ...... +30
Spot ...... +30
Escape Artist ...... +15
Hide ...... +15
Disguise ...... +20
Search ...... +19
Feats ................ Improved Initiative
Flyby Attack
Dodge
Cleave
Alertness
Imp Bull Rush
Iron Will
Blind Fight
Power Attack
Improved Critical
Environment .......... Elemental
Organization ......... Solitary
Challenge Rating ..... CR 15
Treasure ............. None
Alignment ............ N(CN)
Generic Drow Fighter CR 10 -- From d20 NPC Wiki
NE Medium humanoid
Init +4; Senses darkvision 120 ft; Listen +6, Spot +6
Languages Common, Elf, Undercommon
AC 21, touch 14, flat-footed 17; Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack
hp 63 (9 HD)
Immune sleep
SR 20
Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +5 (+7 vs. spells or spell-like abilities, +9 vs.
enchantments)
Weakness light blindness
Spd 35 ft
Melee +1 short sword +16/+11 melee (1d6+3 plus poison/19–20)
Ranged mwk hand crossbow +14 (1d4 plus poison/19–20)
Base Atk +9; Grp +9
Special Atk poison (DC 13, unconsciousness 1 minute/unconsciousness 2d4 hours)
Combat Gear potion of spider climb, 2 potions of cure light wounds
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 9th): 1/day—dancing lights, faerie fire, veil of
shadows
Abilities Str 10, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 14
SQ drow traits
Feats Combat Reflexes (b), Dash, Dodge, Mobility (b), Stealthy, Spring Attack,
Weapon Finesse (b), Weapon Focus (short sword) (b), Weapon Specialization
(short sword) (b)
Skills Hide +9 (+12 with cloak drawn), Listen +6, Move Silently +12, Search +6,
Spot +6
Possessions combat gear, drow cloak, drow boots, +2 mithral shirt, +1 buckler,
+2 short sword, masterwork dagger, masterwork hand crossbow and 10 bolts,
drow poison (5 doses), 47 gp
Male drow elf wizard (invoker) 7
NE Medium humanoid
Init: +7; Senses: darkvision 120 ft; Listen +2, Spot +2
Languages: Common, Elf, Undercommon
AC: 18, touch 15, flat-footed 15
hp: 27 (6 HD)
Immune: sleep
SR: 17
Fort: +7, Ref: +8, Will: +7 (+9 vs. spells or spell-like abilities, +11 vs.
enchantments)
Weakness: light blindness
Spd: 30 ft
Melee: +1 short sword +3 (1d6 plus poison/19–20)
Ranged: mwk hand crossbow +7 (1d4 plus poison/19–20)
Base Atk: +3; Grp +2
Special Atk: poison (DC 13, unconsciousness 1 minute, unconsciousness 2d4 hours)
Combat Gear: wand of magic missiles (3rd level caster), scroll of ice storm,
potion of blur
Spells Prepared: (CL 7th, +6 ranged touch):
3—gaseous form, lightning bolt (2, DC 18), suggestion (DC 17)
2—hideous laughter (DC 16), mirror image, scorching ray, shatter (DC 17),
spider climb
1—burning hands (DC 16), cause fear (DC 15), magic missile, ray of
enfeeblement, shocking grasp (DC 16)
0—dancing lights, detect magic, flare, read magic, ray of frost
Prohibited Schools: Abjuration, Conjuration
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7th): 1/day—dancing lights, darkness, faerie fire
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 19, Wis 11, Cha 14
Feats: Combat Casting, Improved Initiative, Scribe Scroll, Silent Spell, Spell
Focus (evocation)
Skills: Concentration +12 (+16 casting defensively), Craft (alchemy) +9,
Decipher Script +9, Knowledge (arcana) +13, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +13,
Knowledge (religion) +9, Knowledge (the planes) +9, Listen +2, Search +6,
Spellcraft +13, Spot +2
Possessions: combat gear, bracers of armor +3, ring of protection +2, cloak of
resistance +2, +1 short sword, masterwork hand crossbow, vial of drow
knockout poison (4 doses), 40 gp
(Stats for numerous other Drow were edited out here for two reasons: 1) They were not used in the session, and 2) They were taken from copyrighted material)
Sources: Drow of the Underdark (2E), Menzoberranzan boxed set (2E), PHB 3.5, DMG 3.5, Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (3E), Magic of Faerun (3E), Player’s Guide to Faerun (3.5E), Races of Faerun (3E/3.5E), Underdark (3.5E), Dragon #302, and Dragon #312.