Dark Clouds Gather - 1st Edition

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91
51
An Adventure for 5-8 Characters, Level 7-9
Adventure Module
for
5-8 Characters
of
Levels 7-9
CONTENTS
DARK CLOUDS GATHER
2
2
From the
D.irk
Pa51
3
Thp
Adventure
Abbreviations
3
THEDARK SKY
4
(Map M: areas l-6/Maps
2
&
6:
areas FI-F9)
Recrnt Events
The Scarralrre
4
7
CREDITS
THUNDER
ON
THE MOUNTAIN
(Map
M
-
areas 7-9/Map
8)
Tikka-ti-jarra
ThrEagles
10
Storyline: Jim Bamhra,
Phil Gallaghrr
&
Grarme
Morris
Editing
&
Production: TSR UK Design
Team
Art: Brian Williams
Cartography: Paul Ruiz
Playtrsting: Pat Whitchcad, Gerard
Loncrg-an, Matt Connrll,
Sirve
Watrrs
&
Rob Martinsen
I1
13
THEPEAKS
OF
LIGHT
(Map M:
areas
10-12
Maps
10 &
11: airas El-E8
&
TLT6)
The Journvy
Mount Edrrglow
Devral's Island
The Crystal Citadel
Leaving Mount Ederalow
14
14
15
17
17
21
MAPS
'
d"'
23
DEATH IN THE SKIES
(MapC
.
areas
Cl-CZ3)
The Cloud Castle
MODULE FOLDER
23
1
'
The Approach
23
OUTSIDE
Inside the Castle
24
'
'
Map
M:
CLOIJDSCAPE MOUNTAINS
Aftermath
28
PULL-OUT SHEETS
(hetwcen pages
14
&
15)
INSIDE
Map
2:
LIJRNESI.YE
6:
FANJYR WAY-STATION
8:
TIKKA-TI-JARRA
10:
SILVER MINE
I I:
MOUNT EDERGLOW
&
THE
CRYSTAL CITADEL
Man
C:
THE CLOUD CASTLE
NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS
I
NEW MONSTERS
I1
Ba'atun
I1
Ycsorkh Pahych
111
Soul Beckoner
111
IV
IV
WANDERlNG MONTERS
THE
SKYFISH
I1 you
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Dmrllmred
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toy and hobby
trade
TSRO
pioducl. plrasr write
to:
TSK,
Inc.
TSR UK Ltd.
by
regional dirttibutrns.
Diruibutcd m
ilir
Uoiwd
Kmgdmn
hy
J.SR IIK Lrd.
PO6
756
Thr
Mill,
Rathmorr
Road
Lake
Geneva
Cambridge CBI
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13147
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Kingdom
r-4
ISBN 0-8ROJR-2%-R
9151
TSR, Inc.
PRODUCTS
OF
VOUR IMAGINaTION"
This is an ADVANCED DUNGEONS
&
DRAGONS@module
for
5-8
characters of
levels
7-9.
Theadventurr takes plare in and
around the Cloudsrapr Mountains:
a
large
snow-covered mountain rangr, cut by
a
single pass
-
the Scarrahere.
FROM THE DARK PAST
In ages past, when the land was young and
the dwarves had not yet emerged from
beneath the mountains, the Arch-mag?
Devral
creatrd a wondrous citadel for
herself, high in theCloudscapeMountains.
With her mighty magics, Devral trans-
formed the ice on Mount Ederglow into a
crystal citadel with walls
as
hard
as sicel.
Isolated from the rest of the world, Devral
and her assistants researched dccp into
magical flight. Thry made many amazing
discoveries which cu1minatf.d in the con-
struction of the skyfish
-
an incredible
flying device in the form of
a
giant manta
ray (see Pull-out Sheet IV).
One day
Devral's
researches were inter-
ruptrd by threedesperate aarakoaaenvoys.
In anguished tones, they begged her aid
against "the snow demons''
-
fearsome
white, winged creatures who had becn
attacking their nests and slaying aarakocra
without merry. Devral listened
closrly
to
their taleand resolved
to
help the birdfolk.
Over
the next few days she cast many
powerful spells and discovered that thr
snow demons were called ba'atun (pro-
nounced "hah-TOON") and were led by an
evil, hlack female named Yesorkh Pahyeh,
who had the power
to
possess other
crraturcs (see Pull-out Sheet
111).
The
Freeing of
Yesorkh
With
llic
giants' castle in her power,
Ycsorkh/I.achlan's attention has turned to
the anrakocra. Rrrently, three aarakorra
nests have been destroyed and the remain-
ingaarakocra now live in fear of thr "wil"
giant and his dark, sinister castle.
One fateful day thirty years ago,
a
young
cloudgiant ralled LactiIan "horrowrd" the
gem (without his parents'knowledge) and,
while using
it
in a game, accidently rolled
itoff
thesideof thccloud. Upon hittingthe
ground, the gem shattered, and Yesorkh
Pahyeh was frce! At once she sped
to
her
ancient lair, whereaclutchof ba'atun eggs
had bren carefully stored centuries before.
Fear also grips the human villagc-ers of
Lurneslyc (arra
2).
For the dark clouds
call
to mind an ancient prophecy
of
"dark
demons from the sky", related by
a
parchmrnt in the possession of Bernhardt,
the head cleric of the villaxe
is??
Pull-out
Sheet
I),
Devral quickly devised
a
plan
to
defeat the
ba'atun andcalled upon
a
familyofneutral
good cloud giants
to
help her. The cloud
giants were more than willing to rid the
mountains of the ba'atun menace. Moving
their flying cloud castle under cover of
night, the giants led the aarakocra assault
on the ha'atun. As Yesorkh attempted to
possess one of thr giants, Devral swept in
on her magical griffon (see
arra
T3)
and
cast a trap the soul spell, imprisoning the
black ha'atun within the confines of
a
magical gem. Without their leader, the
ha'aiun were soondestroyed. Theaarakocra
returned to their peaceful existencr and,
over ihecenturies, the terror of the ha'atun
was forgotten.
Having no idea of the length of her
imprisonment, Yesorkh's greatest fear
was
that Devral still lived. So she hatchrd the
eggs and hid from the world while thc
ha'atun grew to maturity. In the darkness
of her ancient lair she nurtured her anger,
reliving the humiliation of her defeat.
Long she brooded on how
to
exact her
vengeanceandpunish the hated aarakocra,
but at last ihr ba'atun
WCR
ready, and
Yesorkh's plot could be put intoaction
.....
In order
to
turn the frightened human
populace against thc aarakocra. Yesorkh's
minions have attacked caravans travelling
through thr Scarrabrre Pass, and have left
aarakocra corpses amid thr carnage, as
though thc birdfolk were the aggrcssors.
The discovery of thesr corpsrs Ird Rern-
hardt
to
bclicvr that the aarakocra
arr
ihe
demons of which his parchment foretold.
The Darkness Spreads
,Meanwhilr Kirraka, the head shaman of
the aarakocra, after consuming some
magiral, trance-inducing Charrak seeds
(see page
II)
has expcricnrtd a vision in
which
a
mysterious group of adventurcrs
appeared to him. Convinced that these
adventurers
air
the
key
to
the aarakocra's
survival he has setit an aarakocra envoy,
Tcho'eh (pronounced "rho-AY"), in srarch
forthem in the lowlands. But thr lowlands
are no longcr safr for thc birdfolk.
Yrsorkh's
policy to incriminateand isolate
the aarakocra has worked
well.
frar
now
Already venerable, Devral guarded the gem
imprisoningYesorkh, but
as
her timegrew
near, she gavr
it
io
the cloud giants for safe
keeping. For over twenty fivr centuries the
gem lay hidden in
the
depths
of
the giants'
stronghold, hut with the passing of time,
the giants' memorics
of
the ba'atun
dimmcd. Finally, the gem's function
as a
prison faded from thrir minds altogether,
anditcame
to
brconsidcrrdasjustanother
valuahle stone.
It
was
a
rimplr matter
for
Ycsorkh to
possess an unsuspcrting merchant, and in
this guise she
was
able
to
possess Lachlan,
now
an
adult cloud giant. Lachlan had
inhcriied thc castlr from his parents and in
his form, Yesorkhdiscovered that shecould
control the cloud castlr and through it,
certain aspects
of
the wrather. Gradually
castle lost
its
whit? glow while the
clouds surrounding
it
brcamr dark and
oppressive.
th~
2
DARK CLOUDS GATHER (From the Dark Past)
Aerial Combat
Monsters likely
to
IC
involved in aerial
combath;tvethreehit point totalslistedfor
them, e.%.hp
12/6/3.
The first figure is the
creature's normal hit points; the figurc
aftrr the slash shows at which point
it
becomes unable
to
continue stahlr flight
and
is
forcrd
to
land; and the third figure
shows at what point the creature simply
plummets from the sky (see
DMG
pi3).
Thefigoresallow for the fact thatfcathrred
wings
(cf.
aarakocra)
arc
harder to damage
than membranous ones (cf. ba'atun).
ABBREVIATIONS
In this module, thc statistics of moilstem
and non-player characters have been stan-
dardised. The information is given after
the monster'dNPC's name,
as
follows:
AC
=Armour Class;
MV
=
Movement Ratc;
MC
=
Manoeuvrability Class (see
DMG
p50);
HD
=
Hit Dice (monsters)or Class/
Level (NPCs only);
hp
=
current hit points
(figures in brackets indicate maximum hit
points
of
wounded crcatures);
#AT
=
Number
of
attacks;
D
=
Damage caused by
attacks;
SA/SD
=
Special Attacks and/or
Special Defences;
MR
=Magic Resistance;
Int
=
Intelligence (monsters and minor
NPCs
only);
AL
=
Alignment;
xp
=
Experience Points awarded for overcoming.
grips thrvillagersof Lunrrslyr~nd
thr.
best
an aarakocra can hope
for
is a quick and
painless death.
perhaps tradesmen in a nearby town hme
asked them
to
discover why
a
number of
merchant caravans have not arrived.
The following additional abhrrviations
are used:
As
in any role-playing adventure, players'
actions can lead
to
unpredictable results,
and
it
may
be
necessary
to
adapt the
adventure to suit your players. The char-
acters have plenty
of
opportunities to
deviate from the proposed course of the
adventureor even toabandon theaarakocra
to
their fate.
11
is up to yon as DM, as
10
how
much influenceyou bring
to
bear in order
to
avert this, taking particular account
of
thealignmentsof the characters.
In
various
places the flow of the adventure
is
depen-
dent on the actions
of
certain
NPCs.
You
should use these NPCs to guide the adven-
turers. If, as might happen, this dors not
work out, you must find an alternative
means of continuing the adventure. For
example, if Tcho'ch is killed in Lurneslye,
another aarakocra envoy should meet the
charactrrs
to
guide them to Tikka-ti-jarra.
THE
ADVENTURE
C
=
Cleric;
F
=Fighter;
MU
=
Magic User;
S
=
Strength;
I
=
Intelligence;
W
=
Wisdom;
D
=
Dexterity;
C
=
Constitution;
Ch
=
Charisma;
MM
=
AD&D@
Monster Man-
ual;
MMII
=
Monster Manual
11;
FF
=
FIEND
FOLIO@
tome;
BHB
=
AD&D
Players Handbook;
DMG
=
AD&D
Dun-
geon Masters Guide.
The adventure begins near the village
of
Lurneslye on
the
road leading to the
Scarrabere Pass. In the village, the adven-
turers have the opportunity
to
rescue
Tcho'eh, the innocent aarakocra envoy
from the clutches of
the over-zralous
Bernhardt.
THACO
=
To Hit
Armour Class
Zero. This
is thr
roll
on a d20 needed by
a
creature
to
hit an opponent with
AC
0 (see
DMG
p196-
215).
In most cases, the
roll
needed
to
hit
other armnur classes
=
THACO
minus
AC.
Some creatures, whose hit probability is
very low, have been given a THACO
of20',
and you should consult therelrvant tables
(see
DMG
p74-5)
to
find the
rolls
needed
to
hit other armour classes.
Tcho'eh will attempt
to
recruit the adven-
turers' aid against the "evil" cloud giant
and his castle, and will lead them toTikka-
ti.jarra, the home
of
the aarakocra. Wor-
king on information from the aarakocra
shaman and a group
of
giant eagles, the
party will beable tolocateDevral'sancient
crystal citadel at Mount Ederglow. The
citadel contains Devral's magical, flying
skyiish. By recowring this fantastic artifact
the adventurrrs will be able
to
take on
Yesorkh Pahyeh in her usurped cloud
castle. and banish
thr
dark clouds forever.
Weather and Visibility
BOXED
SECTIONS
include that
insormation which the characters
would get from the first sight
of
an
area
or room.
You may either para-
phrase
or
read them outaswritten. In
cases where player characters would
instantly recognisr the monsters seen,
you should of course substitute the
monsters' name(s)forthe description
given.
During the adventure the sky will grow
increasingly dark as the black clouds
spread
ovrr
the
mountains. By thr time the
party meets the dwarves nrar Mount
Edcrglow(areal0-page15)theskyshould
heamassofhillowingblackclouds, brokrn
occasionally by
a
flash
of
lightning. The
encroaching darkness should he used
to
add to thr module's atmosphere and
to
spur the party on.
Running the Adventure
There are several ways
of
starting the
adventure. For example, the party could he
simply travcllingalons the road
to
Lurnes-
lye on thr way
io
soniewhere else. Alter-
natively, they might be following rumours
that there are bandits in the Scarrabere,
or
DARK CLOUDS GATHER (TheAduenture/Abbreviatio~)
3
RECENT
EVENTS
demon in disguise. Bernhardt hasorganiscd
a public trial of the 'demon',
to
take place
on the day
of
thc party's arrival. This trial
will see him demanding the maximum
penalty under the law
-
death by burning.
People are flocking to the village squarc
to
hear the 'drmon' confess to its sins, and to
watch Bernhardt banish the dark clouds.
the
text.
Thc actions and pcrronalitics of
rhrsr NPCs should br used to cncourage
the characrers
LO
become involved in the
adventure and,
it
is hoprd, rescue Tcho'eh.
If all else fails, Asdos can be relied upon to
brg the
party
to
intervene. Ham up this
section as much
as
you like and above all,
enjoy yourself!
Lurneslye (see Map M and Map
Z),
is a
small farming villagr governed by
a
group
of clerics of lawful neutral alignment.
Clearly visible from Lurnrslye are the
Cloudscapr Mountains. Normally pictur-
esque, with silvery-white clouds blowing
along theirpeaks, the mountains now have
a
dark and sinister appearance. Large black
clouds cast an ominous shadow
over
the
land; a shadow which is growing visibly
day by day. The clerics and villagers tear
thearrival ofwingeddemons
(as
foretoldin
an ancient prophecy), and the discovery of
aarakocra corpses in thr Scarrabere has
intensified this fear (see The Darkness
Spreads
-
page
2).
Important
NPCs
The Trial
This section is designed
10
introduce the
players
to
the adventurr. Some of the
background information which is vital
to
the successful running of this section, is
only
to
be found in the details of the thrre
major NPCs describcd
on
the Pull-out
Sheet (between pages 14 and 15). These
characters are Brmhardt, the bead clrric of
Lurneslye; Tcho'eh, the aarakocra envoy;
and Asdos,
a
visiting neutral good cleric.
You should refer
to
Pull-out Sheet
I
whenever thesecharactersare mentioned in
The villagers, normally a simple, ppare-
loving folk, are afraid and vrry cxritablr.
Bcmhardt, convinced that Tcho'eh is a
demon, intends
to
carry out the law
to
the
Irtter
and burn him
-
preferably after be
has obtainrd
a
full confession. In this he
has the full support of thevillagers. During
thr proceedings there will be numerous
shouts ot "Burn
it,
it's a demon", "Pluck
its
feathers,makeit squawk", andsoon,
as
the crowd is swept along by Bernhardt's
rhetoric.
Two days before the party arrives in
Lurneslye, Tcho'eh, an aarakocra envoy,
was captured and brought before Bern-
hardt. After briefly interrogating Tcho'eh,
Bernhardt became convinced that he was a
4
THE
DARK SKY (Recent
Evenis)
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