The Tower of Hazuk
A Warhammer Quest Adventure by T. Jordan "Greywolf" Peacock
24 JUL 1995
Converted to HTML by Joe Ludwig (joel@hprnd.rose.hp.com)
_Warhammer Quest_, _Advanced HeroQuest_, the _Old World_ and _Games Workshop_
are trademarks of Games Workshop, Ltd., and their use here does not
constitute a legal challenge to that status.
Note: The original author (T. Jordan "Graywolf" Peacock) included some
design notes in the document. These have been included here and are denoted
in (probably) italics instead of by the '>' character.
The following is my first attempt at a home-made adventure for _Warhammer
Quest_, geared for an adventuring party made up of 1st and 2nd Battle-Level
Warriors, with 4-6 members. I have tried to use only items included in the
basic _Warhammer Quest_ boxed set for this particular adventure.
In actual play, this adventure was run over two sessions, each four hours
in length. For both sessions, I had a large group of Warriors, and there was
some change between each session. Session 1 covered the bottom level of the
tower, and ended while the players were still puzzling over the Idol Room.
Session 2 covered their attempts to solve the elemental puzzle, and
exploration of Level 2.
For Session 1, I had a 1st level Barbarian, a 2nd level Barbarian, a 1st
level Knight Panther, a 1st level Templar, a 2nd level Dwarf, a 3rd level
Wizard, and a 1st level Ogre Mercenary. The Wizard and Ogre Mercenary left
after the first room, due to time constraints. There were no fatalities
during the first session, but the Warriors had to make a trip back to town in
order to recover, as they had no healer in the party.
For Session 2, the same Barbarians, Knight Panther, Dwarf and Wizard were
present. A 1st level Ogre Mercenary, 1st level Wardancer, a 1st level Thief
and a 1st level Elf High Mage joined the group. Several Warriors went through
the Magic Circle on level 2, and some tried standing in the center, despite my
attempts to make an ominous description. During this session, the Elf High
Mage ended up plummeting through the pits, the Wardancer, Thief and Knight
Panther took turns facing (and being killed by) the Minotaur Champion, the
3rd level Wizard killed the 1st level Barbarian for no good reason (these are
generally rather young players), and the Ogre Mercenary was slain by Giant
Spiders. I theorize that this was largely because nobody bothered to take the
time to heal up the Warriors before venturing up the magical staircase -- If
they had done so, I presume things might have gone differently, though the
Minotaur Champion is still quite a challenge if any Warriors try to take him
on solo, most certainly.
This game was designed in the hopes of being very flexible to provide an
enjoyable event even with widely varying Battle-Levels. Many of the Monsters
have particular abilities that tend to "equalize" the playing field, and most
of the major obstacles have solutions that have little or nothing to do with
individual Warrior statistic ability.
Introduction
During their stay in a new Settlement, the Warriors have learned of an
enchanted tower that stands on a bleak, rocky hilltop a day's walk away. A
powerful wizard once lived there, and performed various mysterious experiments,
but at some point he disappeared. It is rumored that his death had to do with
foul excursions into the tempting realm of dark magic.
His tower still stands, and many locals over the years who felt bold
enough to venture inside in search of treasure were never seen again, or else
returned weary and wounded with tales of magical traps and swarms of vermin.
So far, no one has managed to reach the inner sanctum at the top of this
crumbling tower. Surely great danger must lie inside . . . but surely also
great treasure and long-lost secrets!
Designer's Notes
At various places, I have included additional notes, preceded by a ">"
symbol, that do not present any real information necessary to play the game,
but rather just provide information about WHY I wrote things the way I did.
This may be helpful when you, as a GM, have to modify the rules to react to
unexpected Warrior actions, or to figure out what I /really/ meant by some odd
statistics or instructions. For brevity, when printing this out, you can
safely go through and delete all lines with ">" in front and maintain the
instructions you'll most likely need for play. I would recommend /reading/ it
first, though, and probably keeping a copy of the complete form until you've
finished with the adventure, as sometimes I've included extra notes on the
rooms that aren't necessary (IMHO) to keep in print, but should be easy enough
to remember.
Also, I have a set of house rules I've been using which differentiate
between "gold" and "experience points". Generally, I translate any gold
earned from killing Monsters into "experience points", which are kept in
a separate column. Experience may be spent toward gaining Battle-Levels in
the same way as gold (and can be mixed with it if need be) but it cannot be
"spent" on anything else, and hence is less flexible than gold. However,
you cannot /lose/ experience to the various Hazards and Events that seem
to part a foo-- er, Warrior with his money so effectively.
If you don't use this house rule, just award a Warrior gold when I refer
to "experience points".
Instructions
No one intending to play this adventure should read any further. This
section includes crude (ASCII) maps of the layout, as well as details for each
location. The Warriors may start by placing themselves anywhere within four
spaces of the doorway leading into room #1 (the Fountain Chamber).
Tower Map -- Level 1
.---------.
| Idol |
| (5) |
| |
.---------.. ..---------.
|X (4) X|| || (6) |
| DD DD |
| Lair || || |
`---DDD---'`---DDD---'`---DDD---'
.---SSS---..---DDD---..---DDD---.
| (2) || (1) || (3) |
| |
|X || || X|
`---------'. Fountain.`---------'
S = Secret Door | |
D = Closed Door | |
X = Object | |
`--- ---'
^ Start
Events
When the Wizard rolls a 1 during the power phase, roll on the following chart
to determine what monsters appear:
Roll Monster Type
1-3 12 Giant Spiders
4 12 Giant Rats
5 12 Giant Bats
6 Nothing happens. But the Warriors don't need to know that. =)
If you should roll up a monster type while the Warriors are already fighting
some of the same kind, simply ignore the new Event. The Warriors will
probably have enough on their hands anyway. No Treasure Cards are gained as a
result of defeating any of these Event monsters.
Also, as a GM, you should feel free to forego Event rolls when the Warriors
have reached a point where it will only present needless delays. Namely, once
the Warriors have explored the entirety of the base level and defeated all of
the Monsters there, they will most likely be spending some amount of time
puzzling over how to proceed further. Rolling for constant Events will only
break their train of thought and further drag on play, perhaps leading to
frustration. Therefore, at some point it might be wise to just indicate that
no Events will be rolled until further notice.
If you have access to Floorplan #2 ("Generic Stone" 4x4 room and 2x2 room
floorplans) from the ftp.wais.com ftp site, the 4x4 room (or duplicates
thereof) might be useful for the dungeon rooms here, since none of the
decorations for the basic boxed set floorplans are particularly appropriate
for any of these side-rooms.
1. Fountain Chamber
"Cobwebs slough down from the ceiling, covering almost every surface -- Every
surface, that is, save for a bubbling fountain that stands in the center of the
room. In the midst of all this decay and ruin, the water is crystal clear, and
the fountain still works -- a marvel of ancient architecture, and no doubt a
testament to the magical power of the wizard who once lived here.
To the east and west, stone archways lead into adjoining rooms, while a sturdy
steel door stands closed to the north.
As you take in your surroundings, you hear clicking noises, and notice some
movement out of the corner of your eye ..."
12 Giant Spiders have set up their lair in this chamber, and there are
countless other nests in holes in the walls. At the end of each monster phase,
if there are fewer than 12 Giant Spiders on the table, 1D3 more (up to a
maximum of 12 at a time) crawl out of the webs, appearing in spaces as far away
from the Warriors in the same room as possible.
Giant Spider
Wounds: 1 If a Spider attacks a Warrior who is already webbed,
Move: 6 the Spider automatically bites him, inflicting 1D3 Wounds
WS: 2 with no modifiers for Toughness or armour. If the
Str: special Warrior wasn't already webbed, make a roll to hit. If the
Tough: 2 Spider hits, the Warrior is now webbed and may do nothing
Attacks: 1 until he gets free. Put a Webbed counter next to him.
Gold: 15
At the start of each turn roll 1D6 for each webbed Warrior and add his
Strength. If the total is 7 or more, he frees himself and may act normally.
Opponent's WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
To Hit Foe 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 6
If any Warrior should try using a fire-based spell, torch or even a desperate
attempt with the lantern to set the webs afire, they catch ablaze quickly. The
Giant Spider reinforcements will immediately cease. However, due to the
intense smoke, each Warrior must roll 1D6. If the result is greater than his
starting Toughness, he takes 1 Wound (ignoring Toughness and Armor) from smoke
inhalation. If this damage should take him to 0 Wounds, he doesn't die if not
treated -- He will simply be unconscious (all attacks against him will
automatically hit), though any further damage will kill him.
The door to the north is locked securely. If any Warrior should attempt to
bash it down, it has a Toughness of 10, and 10 Wounds before it can be budged.
If the Warriors should bash their way through, they will have alerted the
monsters in room #5, who will immediately get a free attack (as if they had
managed to Ambush the Warriors).
If a Warrior should try to pick the lock, he will need Lock Tools, and he will
have to make an Intellectual Initiative test with a target number of 14 to
succeed. (This is a tough lock!) If a Warrior fails to pick it on his first
try, he will fare no better on subsequent attempts.
If the Warriors should inspect the Fountain, they will find a small key ring
with three keys on it. One of them has corroded away to uselessness. (It's
the one that /would/ have opened this doorway, but there's no chance of that
now.) The other two open the locked doorways in rooms #2 and #3.
NOTE: If the Wizard should have the "Open" spell, it is capable of opening
/any/ lock here. Sure, that may seem terribly easy, but success/failure with
the locks is not essential to the "plot" of the adventure.
If the Wizard should inspect the Fountain, he should have plenty reason to be
convinced that this water is enchanted. Unfortunately, he has no way of
discerning what useful properties this enchantment entails, other than that
this water is particularly refreshing to the taste.
If the Warriors should brush aside the cobwebs (or have already destroyed
them), read them the following:
"You find that the walls of this chamber are covered with words, images and
symbols chiselled into the stones. Most of it is unintelligible, either due to
the holes created by the spiders, or simply because of the archaic nature of
the language, but there is a poem that you can make out:
'Doest thou wish to be my guest?
Take thee then my simple test.
Walkest thou upon the air,
Taking time and greatest care.
First on stone, then iron, then wood,
On stone, on iron, thou doest good.
Knock then fore ye enter in,
I welcome thee like closest kin!'
The other symbols and images seem to deal with legends ascribed to the earliest
times of the magical colleges, and of the various schemes of elements that
alchemists have tried to divide the universe up into. There are diagrams
showing the quartet of Earth, Air, Fire and Water; some show another version
from the magicians of Cathay that adds a fifth element of Nature in the middle.
Yet others pattern themselves after the six (or seven) colors of the rainbow,
or of course the eight winds of magic."
(Note on this room) The Giant Spiders are meant to give the Warriors a nice
battle to start things off with that can be bothersome to them even if they
are of high Battle-Levels. That newcomers are placed far away is so that
the Warriors don't get to attack them right away after they're placed. They
will most likely be stuck with one or two spiders up close, and then the
newcomer spiders can move in (at a Move of 6) to close the gap and web some
Warriors. As the poison bypasses armor, Warriors who have built up quite a
Toughness rating with lots of armor and other protective goodies won't
necessarily be invincible. Your main problem is if a Wizard just toasts
the spiders with Freeze! each turn. Remember that he can't cast any spells
once webbed...
If the Warriors should inspect any of the spiders' holes, they will find a
treasure (pick a Treasure Card), and 300 gold. If any Warrior should decide to
search some more, he will find a small platinum key, wrought such that it
suggests that it were made of little metal "bones" put together, with a
grinning skull on one end. The Wizard will be able to identify this as a
magical Skeleton Key. It is worth 300 gold if sold. However, it may be used
once to open any one door (except for those magically bound), by reshaping
itself to fit the lock. After opening the lock, it crumbles away, useless.
2. Study ("Torture Chamber")
"Dust swirls about this room, and the crumbled remains of ancient timbers lie
strewn about. Fragments of parchment are interspersed with the rubble, but
crumble at the touch. In one corner of the room. amongst the debris, lies a
short skeleton, apparently of a Dwarf or perhaps a rather short human. The
only exit appears to be the archway leading back to the fountain chamber."
If the Warriors should attempt to search for secret doors, or examine the
rubble further, they will uncover a sturdy door on the north wall which was
hidden by the remains of a collapsed shelf.
If you should have the old HeroQuest game, using a couple of bookshelves in
this room, one of them toppled over, might help for scenery.
This door may be opened by the key found in the Fountain, or else it may be
bashed down. It has a Toughness of 6, and 4 Wounds before it can be budged.
Otherwise, the lock may be picked if a Warrior has Lock Tools, and can make a
target Intellectual Initiative test of 8.
If any Warrior should spend any time examining the door to try to find any sort
of clues (how to open it or whatever), he will find some lettering partially
caked with dirt, etched into the door. Upon wiping away some of the dirt, he
finds the cryptic inscription "Face thy greed beyond this door".
If some Warrior should be intent upon trying to find something on these
scrolls, and come up with some ingenious way to read them without damaging them
(or just try to see what he can read without touching anything), let him come
across the following fragment of information:
"The elemental portal may be opened by the juncture of the four primary
elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. No ordinary sample of these elements may
be used. All must be magical."
If anyone should disturb the skeleton, it springs to life! Use the counter for
the Dwarf Skeleton to indicate its location, if you do not have a skeleton
model.
"A chill wind stirs about the room, blowing dust in your face. The ancient
bone fragments and pieces of parched skin and bleached hair rise, floating in
the air. In a grotesque way, they resemble nothing so much as a child's wooden
puzzle with most of the pieces missing. An unseen hand grasps a heavy
warhammer, and the partially solid entity steps forward with an unholy glow
where its eyes should be."
Dwarven Skeleton Fear 5; Magic Resistance 4+; Cannot be Pinned
Wounds: 10
Move: 4 On any hit with a weapon, magical or otherwise,
WS: 4 roll 1D6. On a roll of 4+, the weapon passes
Str: 4 through harmlessly, doing no damage.
Tough: 4
Attacks: 2 Regardless of his opponent's Toughness or Armor,
Gold: 100 any successful hit by the Dwarven Skeleton causes
at least 1 Wound of damage per blow.
Opponent's WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
To Hit Foe 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 5
The Dwarven Skeleton should hopefully give any Warrior pause for thought,
especially with the "causes at least 1 Wound" rule. That he has an equal
chance of avoiding damage for magical or normal weapons helps to even out
things a bit between less-experienced (and equipped) adventurers and more
advanced ones, at least for this particular occasion.
If the Warriors should flee the Dwarven Skeleton, it will not leave the room
to pursue them, and will return to its pile. If it is disturbed again,
however, it will rise again, at its full count of 10 Wounds. If a Warrior-
Priest, High Priest, Shaman, Druid or Templar should give last rites over the
body before disturbing it, it will not animate. (This can also be done if the
Warriors flee the room and come back later to find the skeleton lying on the
floor again.) If a Dwarf should enter the room and try to offer a prayer for
the dead, or make some other attempt to "appease" the spirit, such attempts
should be considered as well. Anyone who gives the skeleton last rites or
otherwise appeases it may earn the 100 experience points as if it had been
defeated.
If the Dwarven Skeleton should be defeated, its earthly remains will no longer
reanimate. The Warhammer in its possession is rather corroded, and cannot be
sold in a Settlement, but otherwise has statistics exactly as a regular
Warhammer if any Warrior should care to use it. There is also a small
stoppered glass flask amongst his bones, but its contents are long since gone.
Note: This flask could come in handy should the Warriors try any experiments
with trying to get some water from the fountain, etc.
3. Ruined Chamber (Dungeon Cell)
"Several bones are scattered about, intermixed with crumbled blocks that have
come loose from the ceiling. An old but sturdy wooden door stands to the
north. Other than that, this room seems to have no noteworthy features, other
than scattered debris."
Place the "pile of bones" marker in the southeast corner of the room. As soon
as all Warriors have entered the room, roll 1D6 for each Warrior, and compare
the results. Inform the Warriors that some dust and small stones dislodge from
the ceiling as they enter. (The die roll has nothing to do with anything, only
to keep them on their toes.) If they should wish to get a better idea of just
how unstable this room is, let a Warrior make an Intellectual Initiative test
with a target roll of 8. Give the Dwarf a +4 on this roll. A success
indicates that the southeast corner of the room is particularly unstable.
After the first turn, if any Warrior should enter the southeast quadrant of the
room (or if anyone there should decide to remain there), it is not the ceiling
but rather the /floor/ that gives way. Use one of the pit markers and place it
underneath where the Warrior stepped.
Unless this Warrior has any special ability for avoiding traps (such as the
Thief), he falls in and takes 1D6 Wounds, ignoring Toughness and Armor. A rope
or Levitation spell can get him out immediately. Otherwise, since this isn't a
true trap meant to keep him in there with no chance of getting out, he may
attempt to climb out by making an Initiative test with a target value of 10.
For each turn that he attempts to get out of the pit but fails, he dislodges
some of the broken rock on the edge of the pit, filling the bottom, and making
it a little easier to get out next time, dropping the target value by 1 each
Turn. Any Turn in which he crawls out, he may move to an adjacent square, but
cannot make an attack or additional Move this turn.
If anyone wishes to climb down into the pit, he or she may do so without taking
any damage, though climbing out may still be a problem. If anyone bothers to
look in the pit, there is a silver flask that has somehow gotten down there,
and is worth 10 gold if sold at a Settlement. (It can also be used to hold
fluids, of course.)
If anyone else ventures into this corner of the room, there are no further pits
that open up.
If anyone disturbs the bone pile, they find nothing of interest except for ...
old bones.
The door to the north can be opened by the key found in the fountain, or else
it can be bashed down, with a Toughness of 4 and 4 Wounds. If anyone should
attempt to pick the lock, they need Lock Tools, and an Intellectual Initiative
test with a target value of 8.
Anyone examining the door for any sort of clues will find a rough scrawl that
reads "Curiosity killed the cat."
4. Treasure Chamber (Monster Lair)
"This room has weathered the rigors of time far better than most of the rest of
this tower. Against the northern portion of the room lie a number of
glittering treasures, sitting on the remnants of collapsed furniture. A
weapons rack holds several weapons of fine craftsmanship. A jewelled dagger
and several baubles lie nearby. Other than this, the room is mostly barren,
except for two stone doorways leading to the east and south."
If anyone should be skeptical and examine the room before going for any
treasure, let them make some Intellectual Initiative tests, and give them some
of the following information (perhaps on pieces of note paper, so it's up to
THEM how they share the information) as seems appropriate for their
professions.
- The chamber seems to have a light source coming from an unknown direction --
all clues would indicate that the objects themselves seem to be giving off a
faint light.
- You feel chilled, though the room doesn't seem particularly cold or damp.
- The gold coins are all stamped with grinning skulls and an insignia that
roughly translates, "Greed", with the symbol of Chaos on the reverse side.
- There are blood stains on the weapons.
- Upon close examination, signs of the various Chaos gods can be found on each
of the weapons.
If the Warriors should decide to grab some items, they find one jewelled
dagger, 500 gold coins, a fine sword, a great axe (with the same abilities
apparently as the Dwarf's weapon), a warhammer, and a spear.
The first turn after any Warrior should grab an item, there will immediately be
a monster Event. Randomly determine what type of monster attacks, as on the
Event chart given earlier. If you roll a 6, then 12 Giant Spiders attack.
The weapons are all identified as magical if identified by the Wizard, and have
the following statistics:
Sword
Causes 1D6+1 Wounds + Strength when used.
Great Axe
Does damage as the Dwarf's Great Axe, except that when a double 1
is rolled, simply add the two dice together for damage. The bearer does not
"trip on his beard", and this may be used by either the Dwarf or Barbarian.
Spear
Does 1D6 Wounds + Strength, Attack in Ranks. Once/adventure, it may be
thrown to cause 3D6 Wounds on a single target.
Warhammer
1D6+1 Wounds + Strength.
Jewelled Dagger
1D6 Wounds + Strength, ignores armor.
Keep track of who has what. If any Warrior should leave the room, he will
immediately be affected by the curse if he carries any of these items with him.
Gold: Anyone carrying any amount of this gold will immediately suffer 1 Wound
(without modifiers for Toughness or Armor) per turn until it is discarded or he
goes back to the room.
Anyone carrying any of the weapons will be attacked as if the Warrior had made
an attack against himself using this weapon. Roll to hit as normal, and
inflict damage as described, using the Warrior's Strength. The attacks will
continue until the weapon is dropped, or until the Warrior re-enters the room.
If any of these items is dropped outside the room, it turns into a wretched
creature of Chaos and slithers away. The coins are revealed to be slimy bugs.
The spear is a two-headed serpent. The dagger is a pulsating slug. The sword
is a tentacled centipede. The warhammer looks like a winged, spiny fish. The
axe looks like a manta ray covered with pupil-less green eyes and ripping
claws.
If any Warrior should destroy all of the remaining items (which have not yet
turned into Chaos creatures and slithered away), he gains 200 experience points
for ridding the world of these foul creations.
If the door to the south has not already been opened, it is easy to do so from
this side. The door to the east, however, is securely locked. It may be
bashed open, having a Toughness of 4 and Wounds of 4, but doing so will give
the monsters in the Idol Chamber a free attack as if they had Ambushed the
Warriors. It may be picked if anyone has Lock Tools, with a target
Intellectual Initiative test of 7.
5. The Idol Chamber
"This stone chamber is brightly lit by the flickering flames leaping from a
bronze brazier standing at the top of a paired set of steps. A bronze statue
of one of the gods of old stands above this brazier, with four arms -- In each
hand it holds a symbol of one of the four elements: a flame, a drop of water, a
wispy vapor, and a piece of rock.
Suddenly, you notice something odd about this high-vaulted chamber -- namely
that it apparently has no ceiling at all! Swirling mists give way to what
appears to be a stormy sky above you, perhaps at dusk. No, now it is night
time, and you see flashes of lightning jumping between the clouds. No, now the
light grows brighter, as if the coming of dawn. And now it is as bright as a
summer's midday. Then evening... In mere moments, the days seem to sweep by.
There is no doubt that the very air itself here is charged with magic. There
is no sign of the tower that should be rising from this very part of the
ancient structure.
There is, however, sign of a more present danger, as great stone statues uproot
themselves from their basing, and slowly make their way toward you. The
weapons carved into their hands do not suggest friendly intentions."
If you have more than 4 Warriors, or if your party is mostly made up of 2nd
Battle-Level Warriors (or higher?) then there will be 3 Minotaur Statues here.
Otherwise, just use 2. If any of the Warriors should be slain in this room,
then if any Minotaur Statue should be subsequently reduced to 0 Wounds, any
remaining Statues (if any) will immediately de-animate as well. (There's no
need to completely annihilate the Warriors, after all!) No gold is gained from
the Minotaurs for "defeating" them if they simply de-animate.
If any Events should be rolled for this room, they are automatically Giant
Bats, which swoop down from the "sky".
Minotaur Statue
Wounds: 15 These Minotaurs have a special enchantment on them
Move: 2 that turns magical objects to stone. Upon any
WS: 4 successful hit, whether or not damage is inflicted,
Str: 4 a magical item held by the target is turned to stone
Tough: 4 and useless. It is up to the Warrior to decide what
Attacks: 2 item in his possession is affected. Potions and scrolls
Damage: 2D6+4 do not count. Weapons turned to stone are useless.
Gold: 500 Armor or articles of clothing or jewelry crumble away, as
they are simply too thin to be sturdy enough to encase
a moving Warrior. If the Warrior has no magical items, this ability has no
special effect.
The Minotaur Statues will always choose to attack the Warrior or Warriors with
the most powerful magic items in their possession. They cannot be pinned.
They also cannot leave this room, though they may attack through the doorways
if any Warriors stand just outside.
Each Minotaur, if destroyed, breaks apart, revealing a small faintly-glowing
gem which is magical (but has no particular discernable properties), and which
may sold for 100 gold.
The Minotaur Statue provides a sort of "equalizer". Newer players tend
to have less magical goodies than the more experienced ones to. The
latter often have /too many/, thanks to the Treasure Cards. This can be
a rather effective way of trimming down what magical items the party has,
especially if they are nigh-invulnerable thanks to magical armor.
Once the Warriors have a chance to survey their surroundings, they will find a
number of things, depending upon where they investigate:
- The brazier has symbols on it for the four elements, and writing that
roughly translates to read "When I shall hold the four keys, I shall open
the way."
- The fire in the brazier is magical in origin, burning no fuel. If anyone
should be foolish enough to touch it, he suffers 2D6 Wounds, with no
modifiers for Toughness or Armor! However, he shows no signs of burns
afterward.
- In the southern portion of the room are four stone tiles, each with symbols
corresponding to the four elements, and a rune in the middle which the Dwarf
or Wizard should be able to recognize as being a symbol for "Passage".
- If they examine the statue further, they will see that it is gazing downward
-- perhaps at the fire of the brazier, or perhaps beyond to the runic tiles
on the floor . . . or both?
If any Warrior should attempt to damage the statue for whatever reason, the
damage he inflicts is reflected back onto himself, ignoring armor.
If the Warriors have not already opened the door between this room and the
Fountain Chamber, they can easily do so from this side. The doors to the east
and west likewise can be opened from this room easily. If a Warrior should
investigate the door to the west, he can find an inscription that reads, "Do
not touch the treasure beyond, for herein lies the doom of the greedy." If a
Warrior should investigate the door to the east, he can find an inscription
that reads, "Do not read the passages beyond, for herein lies the doom of the
curious."
The puzzle in this room is that there is a magical portal that will appear on
the four tiles once four magical elements are combined in the brazier. The
fire and air are already present in the form of the magical "sky" spell and the
eternal fire. The trick is in introducing some magical water and some magical
earth/stone. A fragment of one of the defeated magical statues will suffice
for the earth element, though any sort of magical gem, jewel or stone/rock item
will work as well. A bit of water from the fountain will suffice for the
water, though any magical water (potions will work in this regard) will do the
trick as well.
Once all four elements are present, a swirling magical staircase appears in the
four squares. Anyone may move into this space and on their next turn start
ascending the magical staircase to Level 2, disappearing into the magical
"sky".
It should be noted that the purpose here is to present a puzzle for the
Warriors to solve, not to be stumped by. It is more important that they feel
that they have accomplished something and found the "right" solution, rather
than that they actually have picked the pre-determined solution to this
puzzle. For this very reason, it may help to be flexible. There are a number
of elements about this room that could lead the Warriors to try various
things. Another possible solution to this puzzle might be that they try to
place the magical elements on each of the four floor tiles. They might try
lighting a torch with the fire from the brazier, try to "capture" some of the
magical air in a bag or flask, use a flask of water, get a piece of magical
stone, etc. If they try this solution instead, let them. There might be
other possible solutions that seem to make sense. What matters is that the
Warriors think that they've accomplished something. A little showmanship
helps. =) Stringing the Warriors along for the "right" solution and
letting them chase red herrings can be rather frustrating.
6. Library (Guard Room)
"This room has tiles of black and white making up the floor. To the north lies
a huge, musty tome, with candles at each side which provide a flickering light.
Other than that, the room is barren, save for doorways that lead westward and
south."
The door to the west is locked shut, and can be picked open if Lock Tools are
handy, with a target Intellectual Initiative test of 7 or more. Otherwise, it
can be forced open, and isn't as sturdy as it initially appeared to be.
Busting it open doesn't give the monsters on the other side an "Ambush" attack.
If the door to the south has not already been opened, it is easy to do so from
this side.
The book at the north side of the room (perhaps represented by the Wizard's
Book, if you have the _HeroQuest_ boxed game) reads "Book of Untold Power and
Long Lost Secrets" in the language of whomever checks it first, with the symbol
of Chaos (the eight-arrow "star") on its cover. Anyone may spend 2D6 turns
studying the book, upon which they may randomly pick a spell from the complete
spell card deck, which they have now "learned", whether or not they are spell-
casters. If anyone chooses to read the book, it is so interesting that he is
compelled to read it for the entire duration. During this time, he is
oblivious to all else unless attacked. (Any Monsters that appear as part of
Events will not attack the reader of the book, but focus instead on other
Warriors. They will, however, attack the reader if he is the only viable
target -- He may fight back, but as soon as the Monsters are defeated, must
return to read the rest of the book.)
The candles should be suspicious enough, as any untended candle would have
burnt out long ago. They are enough to light the room without benefit of the
lantern. If anyone should take a candlestick, it can light the way just as
well as a lantern. Once removed from the Tower, however, the enchantment wears
off, and the candlestick will only be good to provide a light source for a
single adventure thereafter before being burnt out.
While within this room, casting such spells should seem to work fine. Warriors
can heal each other up, and do all sorts of nifty things. They can use
fireballs and such against monster Events that crop up. However, keep track of
all healing that goes on in here, and any other effects. As soon as any
Warrior leaves, any healing, etc. that he was benefiting from vanishes. If he
was involved in any fights in here and healed up using the "free" spells, this
could well put him in a potentially fatal situation if not healed by the end of
the turn by the Wizard!
If any of these "learned" spells are used outside of this room, they have
pretty much the opposite effect of what would be desired. Freeze would be
applied against one's own side rather than the enemy. Healing would HARM the
recipient ... or heal a monster instead. An attack spell would be targeted on
the caster -- and so forth. Any of these "learned" spells should be erased
from the Warriors' sheets once they leave the Tower, as their memory will fade
of the accursed instructions.
Even if Warriors can think of clever ways to use "reversed" spells, it won't
work. This is a curse. Whatever the situation, it will always work out
against the Warriors (unless they have strong suicidal tendencies). The only
possible benefit is that the Warriors could really rack up on gold by blasting
away Rats, Bats and Spiders while sitting in this room lobbing fireballs left
and right!
If anyone should remove the book from the room, whomever carries the book is
subject to another curse: Beneficial magic doesn't work properly around this
person. Any magical attack spells against the bearer work normally, but any
healing spells used on this person will cause the appropriate damage instead,
and any healing spells this person tries to cast (if a spellcaster) will
inflict WOUNDS on the recipient. If the bearer should get the bright idea to
use his healing on Monsters in an attempt to heal them, it will heal them
normally -- This is a true curse, not just some simple magical effect, and it's
designed to avoid working in the victim's favor. Attack spells cast by the
bearer are targeted on himself (and his allies, if applicable, such as for
Freeze) instead. The curse remains on this person until the book is destroyed,
or returned to the original room. If another person should take the book away
from the original victim, they BOTH inherit the curse.
The book may be easily destroyed by burning or hacking with a weapon. If the
book is damaged at all, the whole thing crumbles to dust.
"As the book crumbles away into dust, foul vapors rise from the pages, taking
the form of twisted daemons and wretched spirits that shriek and howl and
vanish into the air, while the leather cover oozes puss and black blood that
steams as it hits the floor. This was most assuredly a book filled with the
corrupting powers of Chaos!"
Whomever destroys the book gains 200 experience points.
If the book isn't destroyed, selling the book in a Settlement isn't an option.
No sane dealer would so much as touch the thing, what with that symbol of Chaos
emblazoned on the cover!
Tower Map -- Level 2
.---------.
|X (10) X|
| |
| (Well) |
`---DDD---'
.---DDD---.
| (9) |
| Pit |
|#########|
|#########|
|#########|
|#########|
|#########|
`--- ---'
. .
|(8)|
Corridor
| |
` '
.--- ---.
| (7) |
| Circle |
| |
`--- ---'
. .
Stairs
7. Circle of Power
Floorplan #4 (available at the ftp.wais.com ftp site), if you have it, would
be suitable to represent this room and the staircase leading to it.
The Warriors start on the stairs section leading directly to this
room.
"The mystical staircase rises ever upward, and you feel yourself buoyed by
winds that billow about you. To describe your surroundings as surreal would be
an understatement. It is light and dark here at intervals as hours and even
days seem to pass you by. There is no horizon to see, even though you are high
above the stone chamber -- only a vast cloudy expanse. Around you, portions of
stone columns, buttresses, walls and structures float stationary in mid-air,
sustained only by an ancient and enduring enchantment.
As you rise higher, not wearied in the least by your ascent, the portions of
the tower seem more connected, until you finally reach the top of the tower,
suspended in space and time after all these years."
"At the top of the staircase is a stone room, suffused with a faint, bluish
glow emanating from a magical circle etched into the floor. The runes of each
of the colleges of magic, ring the circle, with a larger rune in the center.
Mists drift in from the staircase and spiral inward toward this rune, vanishing
within its glow. There is great power at work here, and a chill runs down your
spine as you look upon the Magic Circle. Surely something of this magnitude is
not to be taken lightly."
If the Elf or Wizard examines the rune, he recognizes it as an Elven rune that
represents the eight Standing Stones in the High Elf kingdom of Ulthuan, built
to draw magical energy away from the world so that it is not overwhelmed by the
forces of Chaos. Here, it seems to serve a similar purpose, drawing magical
forces within itself. The Wizard should know that to step into the magical
circle would be a very hazardous thing, though the exact effect would be
unknown.
If the Wizard should attempt to cast any spells anywhere on Level 2, they will
inevitably fail. All the magical energies seem to be sucked into a vortex
centered on this enchanted circle.
If anyone should be so foolhardy as to step into one of the four squares
comprising the circle, roll 1D6 for each magical item (this time including
potions and scrolls as well). On a roll of 6, the item is instantly destroyed.
If anyone should try standing in the very center of the circle (in the area
that would be in between the four squares) he will be assaulted by all the
magical powers being sucked into the circle at once! Roll on the following
chart for the result:
Roll Result
1 or less The Warrior is engulfed by magical energies, and disappears in a
flash of blinding light! The Warrior is utterly destroyed, and
cannot be brought back even by the Resurrection spell.
2 The Warrior is assaulted by magical forces, suffering 2D6 Wounds,
ignoring Toughness and Armor.
3 The Warrior is assaulted by magical forces, suffering 1D6 Wounds,
ignoring Toughness and Armor.
4 The Warrior is invigorated with magical energies. His Wounds are
immediately restored to maximum.
5 The Warrior is saturated with the powers of fate. His Luck
characteristic is permanently increased by 1.
6 The Warrior's form is suffused with magical energies. If he makes
use of Power (for spell-casting, blessings, etc.), he may add +1 to
his power roll for each turn. Whether or not this does any good, his
Luck characteristic is permanently increased by 1.
If the first Warrior to step in the center should roll a 1 to start off with,
he is simply hurled across the chamber and stunned for the remainder of the
Turn rather than instantly destroyed. If anyone else should be fool enough to
try the same thing though, they'll face the random consequences as normal.
Any magical items in the possession of someone in the direct center of the
circle will be immediately destroyed without any die roll. If a Warrior
remains here, each subsequent turn he may re-roll on this chart, but at a
cumulative penalty of 1 to each additional roll (even if he leaves the circle
and returns later).
If a Warrior should attempt to destroy the Rune itself, magical weapons will be
instantly destroyed by the attempt, but treat the Rune as having a Toughness of
6 and Wounds of 1 in each location. If one location should be broken, the
Tower will start crumbling -- If the Warriors do not immediately get out, they
are surely doomed. If more than one location is destroyed, the entire
structure will collapse, killing everyone inside.
This is, needless to say, not something to be trifled with.
If a Warrior should look into the next room, it is important that he should be
able to see a description without having to actually step inside.
The Magic Circle casts light, lighting the whole and the adjacent Tunnel of
Pits (and staircase).
8. Tunnel Of Pits (Corridor)
"The stone of this corridor continually shifts and rearranges itself. Light
can be seen streaming through the individual blocks, and it seems hardly
possible that these stones could bear anyone's weight ... nor that they could
bear their own, for that matter. As you first enter, a ripple runs through the
length of the floor, and the stones comprising the far end of the corridor fall
out of sight."
You will need the two "Pit of Despair" segments to show the pits in this floor
section. At the end of each turn, these pits will move, according to a preset
sequence, only cycling through during turns in which any Warrior is present.
If any Warrior stands in a single location, it is entirely likely that
eventually the floor will drop out from underneath him! If that happens allow
any Warrior an Initiative test with a target value of 7 to jump to a piece of
solid ground up to one square away. Anyone with Acrobatics or Leap may re-roll
the result once, keeping the second result even if worse. Keep in mind that
the rule of 1 and 6 still applies here: a 1 indicates failure, no matter how
high the Warrior's Initiative, and a 6 indicates success, no matter how low.
Luck points may also be used to save a Warrior here.
If a Warrior should still end up falling through, then he is out of play. As
far as anybody knows he is dead. However, in actuality, he has simply fallen
into a magical pocket of the Warp, and is safely deposited outside the Tower.
(It's too easy to lose a Warrior in this segment of the game. Once one
character is lost, though, the other folks seem to catch on rather quickly.)
The sequence for the position of the pits goes as follows where the "X"
represents a pit. Remember, each corridor comprises a six-by-two area, and the
"pit of despair" covers a two-by-two area. At some points, there are two pits
covering the area -- At others, there is only one. The basic concept is that
the pits are moving back and forth. It is possible to start at one end at the
right time, and work your way across the room one square per turn. There are
NO EVENTS in this room, and no monsters will enter.
The reason there should be no Events here is that timing is of the essence.
One Monster Event to worry about for pinning, and a Warrior is bound to
find himself on a one-way trip out of the Tower. Sure, he can get back,
eventually, but this can be incredibly annoying.
Turn 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
X X . . X X . . . . . . X X . .
X X X X X X . . . . . . X X X X (Restart cycle at 1)
X X X X . . . . X X . . . . X X
X X . . . . X X X X X X . . . .
. . . . X X X X X X X X X X . .
. . . . X X . . X X . . X X . .
Now, it's important to keep in mind that between this room and the next, there
may be times where there is simply no ground to stand on! Although a doorway
is not usually considered as a space, here a desperate Warrior may treat the
doorway as a sort of "half space" which he may stand in. Two Warriors may
safely stand in the doorway. Any more than that will have to desperately hang
on for dear life.
I strongly recommend preparing a strip of paper with squares numbered from 1
to 8 on it, and using a token of some sort to keep track of your current
position. This may well give a clue to the players if they see that there are
8 positions on this track, but if that's the case, so be it ... or else hide
your chart behind a GM's screen. It is very easy to lose your place, as this
sequence has some back and forth repetitions. You can't just look at the
current position of the pits and tell where you were on the chart last turn
all of the time.
9. Bottomless Pit (Fighting Pit)
"The shifting passageway opens into a larger chamber, and you have to catch
yourself before stepping into open air where a moment ago you thought there was
floor. A loose pebble plummets downward, and is eventually swallowed up by the
swirling mists below.
Far ahead of you, you can see a doorway that apparently leads into a floating
room. Suddenly, blocks, timbers and pieces of metal rise from the clouds and
piece themselves together, forming a ceiling and walls for this vast chamber,
and part of a floor on the other side. A cluster of broken rocks form a
section of flooring in the southwest corner of the chamber. Some wooden planks
align themselves into another portion of floor on the southeast. A metal grate
wobbles into place far beyond that. Unfortunately, none of them close the gap
between you and what appears to be the closest thing to solid ground on the
other side."
The fighting pit is used for this room, but there is no floor to land on should
any Warrior fall through. If anyone should end up standing on empty space, he
may make an Initiative test to jump to the nearest solid ground, as in the
previous room. If anyone falls through, he is lost in the mist, as in the
previous room as well. The floor sections here, however, do not shift with
time, but rather based upon the sequence of the Warrior's movement.
A table below shows the initial position of the floor sections, simulated with
the rock-fall, large trap door and iron grate tiles.
Let the Warriors move in turn. Preferably there would only be one Warrior
venturing into this area at a time, as there simply won't be space for any more
than that. At the end of any turn in which a Warrior steps on a new floor
section, move to the next spot on the table to determine which floor sections
remain and which are gone. The riddle in the Fountain Chamber is meant to hint
at the sequence.
If any Warrior should walk onto a section, moving to the next cycle, and
should wish to keep on moving, make him do an Initiative test with a target
roll of 7. If he fails, he must wait until next turn. Otherwise, he may keep
moving. "Acrobatic" types (Thief, Gutter Runner, Wardancer, Elf with Leap
ability) may automatically pass this test without rolling. If any Warrior
should have the bright idea of carrying another Warrior while crossing this
area, he may do so, but he can't fight at the same time, and he doesn't have
the option of taking this test to keep moving after each cycle.
An alternate means of solving this puzzle is thus: If any Warrior should
endeavor to try to "test" the ground by throwing an object onto it, this will
have the same effect as if someone had stepped on the floor section, and it
will cycle through as normal.
The following indicates the cycle of floor tile positions. "I" indicates the
Iron Grate. "W" indicates the Wooden Trap Door. "S" indicates the "stone"
(Rock Fall) area. "." indicates open space. "#" indicates the solid area to
the north. When an area cycles from one turn to the next, remove all the floor
sections that disappear first, THEN add any new floor sections.
Turn 1 2 3 4 5 6
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # (Back to turn 1)
. . . I . . . . . . . . . . . . W W . I
. . . . . . . . S S . . . . S S W W S S
. . . . . . W W S S . . I . S S . . S S
. . . . I . W W I W W . . W W . . . . .
S S W W S S . . . W W . . W W . . . . .
S S W W S S . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In practice, I found that the Warriors were able to catch on to this riddle
rather easily. In fact, one of the players had the sequence memorized after
the first two trips across.
If a Warrior should manage to walk all the way across to the other side, there
is a door before him with a brass knocker on it. If he attempts to open the
door, he will find it securely stuck, and it will not budge. There is no lock
to pick, and hacking at the door is pointless. If he simply uses the knocker,
though, the door will slide open effortlessly, and he may walk on into the
magical laboratory.
If the Warrior should attempt to cast any spells on the north end of the room,
he will find that the drain on magic does not extend here (or into the
Laboratory). Spells may be cast normally, but their range of effect stops at
the edge of the floor here. (No, "Open" will not work on the Laboratory
door...)
If the Warriors should completely leave the room and come back at a later time,
it will always be back at step 1 in layout. If a Warrior should step on the
Iron Grate from the north side of the room, it will immediately start floating
southward. He can either hop off of it at the south door, or it will zip
around and take him all the way back to the Magic Circle.
If anyone should examine the north wall, there is a loose block. (Well,
actually, ALL of them are technically loose, but this one moves.) By moving
it, various pieces of debris (trap doors, the rock-fall piece, the grate, the
keg marker, etc.) line up to form a bridge crossing this room, and the pits
disappear from the pit tunnel, making passage considerably more convenient.
If any Events should occur in this room, they will invariably be Giant Bats.
They do not stand on the floor tiles, so there is no chance for them to "set
off" the next step in the floor tile sequence. (That would simply be too
mean...)
10. Wizard's Laboratory (Well Room)
"There is no dust here, no sign of decay. In fact, before you is a scene of
great violence that seems frozen in time, though suddenly breaking into
movement as you enter the room, as if a powerful spell has been shattered by
your mere presence. Heavy tomes, illuminated manuscripts, gilded instruments,
crystal vials and all manner of magical apparati are strewn about the room, as
if by a wild beast. Splatters of blood indicate that the allegory is close
enough to the truth, as a malevolent face twisted by Chaos looks up from you,
and a gnarled claw drops the lifeless form of an old sage. This creature is
larger than any Monster you have faced before! Its eyes fill with blood-lust,
and it issues a deafening bellow . . . "
Another Minotaur lies in wait here, summoned by the hapless Wizard's power.
However, this is no ordinary Minotaur. It's a Minotaur Champion!
Minotaur Champion Fear 6; Magic Weapon:
Wounds: 34 Warpstone Talisman - When a Warrior rolls a
Move: 6 natural 1 to try to hit the Minotaur, he
WS: 4 hits himself instead!
BS: 3+
Str: 5 NOTE: The Minotaur Champion is still sluggish
Tough: 4 from the enchantment, so any Warrior fighting him
Init: 4 does not have to roll to break Pinning; he does
Attacks: 3 so automatically.
Gold: 1100
Armor: 1
Damage: 3D6+5
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
TO HIT FOE 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4
If your Warriors are at a point where a Minotaur Champion is easy pickings for
a one-on-one fight, then a Minotaur Hero could be substituted instead. If
this is overkill, that's okay, too. (After all, this mighty Wizard was made
short order of!) The Warrior can either try to slug it out, or else he could
try to high-tail it back out of the room.
If the Warrior heads out of the room, the summoned Minotaur will follow, but
he'll panic as soon as he gets a look at just how little solid earth there is
below him! Someone on the other side can try to distract the Minotaur and
taunt him into trying to cross, the Warrior can try to push the Minotaur (who
is teetering on the edge looking down) on in, or else if the "bridge" is
already laid across the chasm, the Minotaur will try on his own to get across.
(In the latter case, the Warrior on the north side could hit that block again,
and send the Minotaur plummeting.)
If any of these options are used to get rid of the Minotaur, this obstacle is
avoided, but there's no gold to be gained from him.
(For what it's worth, he's a bit too heavy to lightly be carried off by the
magical spell surrounding this tower, so he imbeds himself a few yards into
the ground somewhere deep in the forest. The Warriors need not worry about
what they've unleashed on the countryside. =) )
Once the danger is disposed of, the Laboratory can be explored. The Wizard
Hazuk is unfortunately dead.
If the Warriors explore the room, they find 1000 gold, a Dawnstone, a Book of
Arcane Knowledge, and two Objective Room treasures. There are many books of
interest to the Wizard, though they are too obscure to be worth anything if
sold, and there is nothing of practical application in adventuring to be gained
from their study. The Warriors find a secret passage that allows them a way
out of the Tower without having to worry about the pit traps (if they haven't
been deactivated already) or further Events.
If a Warrior should use the Dawnstone on the fallen Hazuk (or some other means
of bringing back the "recently" dead), they'll find him very grateful for their
help. He is the legendary Hazuk, from ages past, and relates that he was
working on a magical experiment to explore the "animal nature" of the human
mind (and what manner of rationality might be found in the magical creatures
known as "beastmen" and "minotaurs") when it went awry, and he ended up
summoning one into his own laboratory. He tried a powerful spell to try to
freeze his foe, but when he was mortally wounded in the process, he simply
extended it to the whole of the laboratory so that there would be no chance of
this monster escaping.
He will gladly allow the Warriors to take the gold and treasure items found in
the room. If any Warriors were lost in the "pits", he will inform their
friends of the true nature of the traps, and that they are safe. (If anyone
got caught in the Magic Circle, unfortunately there's no consolation he can
offer for that. . . . )
He gives each surviving Warrior an additional treasure item -- Roll from the
Dungeon Treasure Table. If you don't like the first result, roll again, and
pick the better of the two.
He's also willing to enchant one weapon per Warrior so that it becomes a
magical weapon -- It has no special power other than that it is permanently
magical. (Certain creatures, such as Ethereal undead monsters, Daemons, etc.
are harder to hit without magical weapons.) He can also provide them (and any
comrades lost in the pits) free transportation immediately to the nearest
Village, Town or City of their choice without having to roll for Hazards.
At the GM's discretion, he might also be willing to tutor a Warrior.
Particularly, if you are treating Ogre Mercenaries and Barbarians as if they
can't read, it is possible they might be able to learn how to read from the
Wizard.
Leaving and Returning to the Adventure
If the Warriors should at some point in the adventure decide to leave and head
back to a Settlement to rest and regroup, they are only a day's journey away
from the Settlement they just left to come here. They may travel to that
Settlement over the course of a day, without having to encounter any Hazards
along the way. It will have the same Special Locations, though any visit to
the traders will require new rolls to see what is in stock. If Warriors were
thrown out of town because they were "acting weird" (or whatever), all is
forgiven and they may come back in again on a subsequent visit.
However, if the Warriors should start making an excessive number of treks back
and forth (GM's discretion), or start getting flippant about the fact that the
journey is short, so they can bypass various problems (i.e. Okay, we're
wounded, step outside. Poof! We're healed! Back into the Tower. We got
thrown out? Step outside. Go back in. We're back in the Settlement again!)
then you might start keeping track of the total time elapsed on a cumulative
basis towards reaching Catastrophic Events. Keep in mind that it's a day's
travel to/from the Tower.
Travel to some other (perhaps bigger) Settlement is possible, but keep in
mind that the Warriors could end up getting sidetracked (having to visit
another dungeon instead), and have to cover the same distance to get back to
this particular Settlement.
If the Warriors leave the Tower and come back, the Minotaur Statues will have
totally regenerated, and there will be a full complement of 12 Giant Spiders
ready to pounce on the Warriors when they enter the Fountain Room (though the
webs won't be back).
If the Warriors should think to bury the remains of the Dwarven Skeleton (after
defeating it or giving it last rites) and the peasants, give a permanent Luck
point to anyone who helps out.
Settlement Events
Just to be different, if the Warriors make a return trip to the Settlement,
you might handle some of the Events slightly differently, in order to better
relate to this particular adventure. The following are a couple of sample
ways that Events might be handled in a different way to make them more
meaningful for the adventure:
24 Circus -- Instead of giving this fortune about the "stranger from
Erengrad", try giving the Warrior a useful tip on the adventure instead! This
could be especially useful if the Warriors have reached a dead end trying to
bypass the puzzles, and is up to your discretion as GM, of course. One idea
might be to simply have the fortune-teller describe a vision of one of the
clues that the Warriors overlooked (in the Fountain Room, Library, Idol Room,
etc.), if the Warriors have not been diligent in searching. The fortune-
teller is able to describe the setting to a point where the Warrior should be
able to guess the very location that is being described, and hint at part of
the message ... Oh, but the ball grows cloudy, and the whole message cannot be
read. (The Warrior can hopefully get the bright idea to go back to the
location later and get the rest of the information. =) )
45 Pet Dog -- How about letting the dog come along for the adventure, for
once? (Of course, this would depend on whether you might have a suitable
miniature. A Citadel war-hound might be close enough, or else various
miniatures companies produce less vicious creatures.) The dog conveniently
vanishes from the table any time Monsters appear, ducking under the fallen
timbers, into a hole, or whatever. However, while he's present, and if the
Warriors are particularly stumped, he could do the ol' Lassie routine, perhaps
growling in the magical trap rooms, sniffing at the tattered parchment that
has the poem on it, circling the Magic Circle but refusing to enter it, etc.