De a Taig Le) et) c9Classifieds Alabama Serious DM and player look ing for other players in the Athens, ‘Decatur, or other areas to join or DM for beginners. Also looking for pen pals from the U.S. or overseas. Expert in the D&D* game, AD&D® game, and FORGOTTEN REALMS” fantasy set- ting. I've been a player for four years and a DM for five years. All ages wel- ‘come, All letters will be answered, Wil- liam Poole, Rt. 8 Box 5334, Athens, AL 35611 (misprinted as Athens, GA last, issue), or call 205-232-9816. ‘Arizona I'm a 17-year-old male looking for a gaming group. If you're interested in having me join you, write: Elton Hicks, 3030 N. 7th St. Apt. 15, Phoenix, ‘AZ 85014, or call 602.789.0856 and leave a message. California Pm a mature, 15-year-old gamer looking for a group or official Network elub. I play the AD&D® gar and GURPS. I want to start playing Cyberpunk, Car Wars, and Warhammer Pantasy. I also would like to play Twi Tight 2000 or Traveller. I'm looking for pen pals, too. My other interests include sports, music (rap), PBM games, the FORGOTTEN REALMS" fantasy set- ting, and others, Please write: Mike Domezio, 1824 Locust St., Napa, CA, 94558. Florida Attention all Delray-Bi together. Write: Allen Hecker, 2801 §. Federal Hwy. Apt. B, Delray Beach, FL 83448. Georgia Hello north Georgia gamers! I ‘am currently running AD&D games ‘and I'm looking for new players to start fa campaign. Interested players call me at: 404-692-5030, or write: Justin Lee, 303 Ridgewood Rad., Jasper, GA 30143, Indiana Adult gamer looking for active gaming group in the Terre Haute, IN area. I play and GM the AD&D game ‘and MARVEL SUPER HEROES game, but would like to play others as well. Call Rich Haton 812-235.9020, Missouri Attention Kansas City Net ‘work members: Now there finally is a ‘Network club right here in KC! We're just getting started, so we need your help. We meet on the 13th of every ‘month, but our location changes to be ‘more convenient for our members, For information send a SASE to Alan Grimes, 1820 NE 49th St., Kansas City, MO 64115, AD&D game and Champions. [always fam willing to try new games, and am looking to form a club. Write Thomas Collison, 156-17 33rd Ave., Flushing, NY 11854, or call 718-463-0785. New York Atiention all N.V.G. area gamers! Iam a 25-year-old gamer who has been playing the AD&D game, and GAMMA WORLD® game for over 12 years. I would like to meet other gamers {to form an official Network club, Please call 718.921-1671, or write: Joseph O'Neil, 729 Bayridge Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11220, ‘ania Tam a 14-year-old gamer interested in forming a club. 1 have the AD&D game, D&D* game, GAMMA WORLD game, MERP, and, ‘Shadowrun. Please write: Sean TAZN. Elmer Ave., Sayre, PA. call 717-888-1426, Pennsylvania-Ohio The Circle of ‘Swords Gaming Guild (currently the 2nd largest Network club in the nation) invites all gamers from western Penn- sylvania and eastern Ohio to join us on the socond Saturday of each month at the Butler Public Library in Butler, PA., from Noon to 4 PM. All types of games are offered. For information write: Cir le of Swords, BO. Box 2126, Butler, PA. 16003. Wisconsin I'm looking to start or join a ‘mature gaming group. I ean meet after 5:00 p.m. almost any day. I'm interested im the D&D game, the AD&D game, STAR FRONTIERS® game, and others. Write Chris Hill, 1077 Mineral Springs Dr. #7, Port Washington, WI 53074, General Iam interested in buying rrules and accessories in good condition {or fantasy and science fiction role play- ing games. Please write: Ravindranath Sanha, 13, Mohammed Ville, El Socorro Ra, San Juan, Trinidad, West Indies, General Character Portraits and shirts handpainted. Your art or mine. Send a ‘SASE for more information. Sher Wolfe, 1685 S. Colorado Blvd. #236, Denver, (CO 80222, 303.753.0928 (callers please note that i'm on Mountain Standard Time). General Help! ve been stuck here “Jolly England’ for half my life, 'm 16 ‘and interested in the AD&D game, the DRAGONLANCE® setting in particu lar. Talso enjoy reading and writing fantasy. I'm looking for pen pals who can acquaint me with the various AD&D game settings—or who'll just write for the heek of it. Stephanie An- derson, PO. Box 544, APO NY 09127, General Are there any EVPA members in the Network? Let's share ideas for the Element Masters game. Write: Edward Tang, 7235 SE 24th St., Mercer Island, WA 98040, General Dragonslayers Unlimited is looking for new members. We are a registered Network elub dedicated to playing games by mail. We run AD&D games, DAWN PATROL? game, ‘STAR FRONTIERS games, Arcanum, ‘Heroes Unlimited, and others. If you appreciate play-by-mail gaming, Dra. _gonslayers Unlimited might be for you. For information write: Dragonslayers ‘Unlimited, c/o Bill Brierton, 3709 Pecan Ct., Waldorf, MD 20602. General Wanted: players and GMs for ‘the D&D game, ADED game, MARVEL SUPER HEROES game, Star ‘Trek, GAMMA WORLD, MERP. and DC Heroes. [also buy, trade, and sell com: ies, games, and computer games for the Commodore 64. Write: Robert Tomas: zewski Jr, 29086 Melrose, East Detroit, MI 48021. General Wanted: outof print adven- tures for the AD&D game. Also looking, for copies of Eldritch Wizardry and ‘Swords & Spells. Call Jason Binehart ‘at 414-251-8384, a - oO L Y H E D a aanAbout the Cover Artist James Holloway portrays a iaheveled paladin emerging from the wreckage of the Paladin’s Rest house. Seo The New Rogues Gallery to find out who brought down the building, Publisher Jack Beuttell Editor Jean Rabe Associate Editor ‘Skip Willia Graphic Director Paul Hanchette Cartographer Dave Conant, Production Staff Angelika Lokotz Sylvia Deering Charmaine Reynolds Volume 10, Number 6 Issue #56, November, 1990 SPECIAL MODULE FEATURE 6 winter Holiday - by Steve Hardinger ‘The Giftmaster's Annual Trip could be in jeopardy. The fate of Winter Holiday festivities rests in the hands of a band of merry heroes in this adventure for the AD&D® game. Illustrated by James Holloway FEATURES 19) the New Rogues Gallery -by Laura D. Craig Dante, Rehyak, and Clint are a trio your player characters should hope to iveid-aopecialy i your PCs beppea to live fa ugly buildings 22 smait Cons And Us - by Linda M. and Donald J. Bingle Veteran goavention goers the ingles point out the highlights of attending small eonventions and offer suggestions for che organizers of those events 24 The Living Clty - by John Miller and Jim Dawson At Black Dugas Music Shoppe, the instruments are of the finest quality ‘And some predic a magical note o two. 25> Going to town ~ by Mark Easterday Need’ town fas for your BOOT HILL* game campaign? Rall your percentile dice and a eommunity spring up before your eyes. 28 word Search - by Fran Hart Get out your pencil and dlve fhe worIf you're gama. 29 Game Fair Photo Page 31 The Genie Unteashed - by J. Paul LaFountain Computer buffs ean find adventure and a special offer for getting om line. EDITORIAL 4 Notes From HO - by Jean Rabe and Skip Williams GEN CON® Game Fair is behind us, but Winter Fantasy is just around the next turn in the dungeon eorridor. 5 Letters ~ from the members DEPARTMENTS 2 Classitiea Ads 18 Bookwyrms - by James Lowder The Empires Trilogy takes readers ta fantasy’s Far Eas 26 the Everwinking Eye - by Ed Greenwood ‘To the outsider, there isn’t much to see in Maskyr's Eye. But the people are. hardy souls who are worth meting, and there is adventure tobe found if you Took in the right places Inside Front Maller Cover ~ A New Ravens Bluff ContestNotes From HQ The Network Is Running Hot And Cold ‘The RPGA” Network was hot at this past GEN CON® Game Fair. A record umber of new members were recruited; attendance was up in nearly all of the Network's tournaments, so much so that there hardly ever was a table to spare in Bruce Hall; we overflowed the room at the Network members’ meet. ing; the breakfast was a sell-out; and we sponsored more activities than ever before. In addition to more than three dozen tournaments and seminars, the Net ‘work had its own guest of honor— Ed Greenwood—and sponsored the Miniatures Painting Competition, the Art Show and Auction, and the Mas. querade. We also had a Frequent Gamer Line where RPGA Network members who had pre-registered for the conven- tion could bypass the infamously long Game Fair check in lines and get into the shorter Members Only line. We also sold generic tickets out of the line and let people sign up for the Network there. We signed up nearly 200 new members at the convention! In the Jade Monkey Benefit tourna. ment, the Network raised §1,600 for the Okada, Ltd, Hearing Guide Dog Pro: gram. Okada is based in Fontana, WI, and it draws its name from an Indian ‘word meaning “asking for a place.” Okada takes in stray dogs and dows from pounds and animal shelters, and trains them to assist deaf people. ‘Randy Moering, and his dog, Kim, attended the GEN CON Game Fair awards ceremony to accept the dons: tion. Randy, who is deaf, explained that Kim wakes him up every morning when the alarm goes off, lets him know if a ‘smoke alarm is buzzing, brings him to the door if someone is Knocking, and alerts him to other important sounds. When Randy was called up on stage at the Game Fair, Kim jumped up to the podium right away to let Randy know someone wanted his. Another highlight of the convention ‘was the Members Meeting Wednesday night before tournaments began. Be ‘cause this is the Network's 10th year in ‘operation, we celebrated a little. We had fan anniversary cake that measured 6" long by about 3 °4' wide, Even the huge crowd of gamers couldn't finish all that cake in one night, eo a group of stalwart members lugged it up to the hotel's swallein freezer. On the way there, they contended with a deceptively small freight elevator and a narrow, twisting service corridor littered with cleaning, supplies. Late the next morning a sec ond erew of volunteers wrestled the remaining cake back downstairs and into the Network lounge, where convention-hungry gamers made short work of it. ‘Attendees at the meeting also were treated to skits put on by Network clubs competing in the Gaming Decathlon. All the skits were entertaining and ranged from the Evansville Gaming Guild portraying gaming dice to ‘MGM Grand acting out the roles of fictional characters riding on a train (where Superman happened to be a passenger), to the grand prize winners— ARC Fellowship — who showed that characters don’t always agree with their players’ decisions. Costuming ‘ranged from posterboard signs to elabo- rate medieval garb, but member Wayne Straiton sported the most striking stage dross — actually dress isn't quite the right word. It was more like a skirt (at least he's got the legs for it), topped off with an oversized bra. All in all it was the most outrageous example of cross- ender dressing the HQ staff had seen (And we've got pictures to prove it.) ‘The Game Fair was a success for the Network because of the hard work of the members. Chris Schon of Chicago, who was in charge of Network HQ, spent the entire convention seoring, tournaments, answering questions, and ‘making sure that everything ran smoothly. Marshals Mike Selinker, Bill Sherman, John Vaccaro, Rob Nicolls, Doug Behringer, and Steve Morrow sent people to gaming tables in record time. Tim Beach, a Network member who took a break from campaigning for an Towa State Reprosentative seat, worked feverishly in HQ to make sure events were scored in time for posting advancements, ‘Tadd Kaiser, Gary Haynes, Wes Nicholson, Robert Farnsworth, Ed Peterson, Randall Lemon, Walt Baas, Kira Glass, Mitzi Young, Greg Schwartz, Cheryl Schwartz, and many others worked throughout the convention to make sure other conven: tion attendees had a good time Lori and Lee Maile of MGM Grand, a dedicated crew from the Evansville ‘Gaming Guild, and other willing mem. bers staffed the Network's Frequent Gamer Line Wednesday through Satur- day of the convention. Hombert Parker, our Regional Diree- tor from Florida, took charge of the ‘masquerade for the third year running. ‘Member Dave Zenz of Milwaukee super: vised the Miniatures Painting Competi tion. And Liz and Gary M. Williams of ‘Tennessee did a superb job handling the Art Show and Auction, which was big- ser than ever before. Many, many other Network members worked to make the RPGA Network's presence at the Game Fair felt. Net- ‘work HQ's heartfelt thanks go to every volunteer who we couldn't mention in this column, and to our tournament authors and approximately 250 tourna ment judges, ‘The Network shone at the Game Fair simply because of all the hard-working members. Together we can make GEN CON Game Fair '91 even better. Think Cold! The RPGA Network's own convention, Winter Fantasy, will be held Jan. 46 at the Ramada Inn Convention Center near the Milwaukee airport. We are looking for game masters for the AD&D? game, TOP SECRETS game, Torg, Star Wars, Paranoia, and ‘more, The convention also features an RPGA Network Club Competition. See the inside front mailer cover of the U.S. version of this Newszine for more infor- mation, Ifyou are planning to come to Winter Fantasy, pre-register early. Our site space is limited, and—if necessary—we will limit attendance RPGA Network Clubs Our Network elubs are becoming more active and more numerous, We have special club competitions at conven. ‘ions, an annual Gaming Decathlon ‘open to clubs only, and playtesting available for a variety of game systems. Continued on page 30 P Oo L Y H E D R oO NLetters Housekeeping ‘Thanks for printing the article on the Ars Magica game and Lion Rampant in issue 454. 1% nice to know that the RPGA™ Network services the entire roleplaying game industry. However, when Tread the article I noticed one change that is rather large, and I ‘wanted to let your readers know about it. Lion Rampant’s address in Georgia Lion Rampant 8264 Nature's Walk Suwanee, GA 30174 ‘The address printed in the article is incorrect. This change happened after press time, but Ifelt that Network ‘members would like to know as soon as possible Also, Iam pleased to announce that Lion Rampant is extending the stand- ard 10% RPGA Network discount to cover our products. This discount is effective only on mail order or conven- tion sales. Please include your member. ship number with your order when claiming the discount. Lion Rampant views the RPGA Net: work as an important part of the gam: ing community and we want to continue to give it special attention. Lisa Stevens Vice President of Operations Lion Rampant Thanks for the up-to-date information and the kind words, Lisa. The Newszine always is intereated in hard information about role playing products and the people who make them. Game manufac- turers interested in seeing feature arti- cles about their companies and products in the Newszine should contact ‘Jean Rabe or Skip Williams atthe ad rete shown on the mailer cover The discount program nou includes Lion Rampant, 51 10" Orphyte, Data EastDraconian Games, and TSR, Inc ‘imeluding TSR Ltd in the UK. and ‘Tedco Games in Australia. Note To Members: If you answered Lion Rampant's request for feedback in issue #54, but had your letter returned, please try the updated address. A Matter of Experience First, I must tell you how much T enjoy the Newszine. I especially like the ADED® game adventures, and T often ‘use them when I run a game on short notice. Ihave a couple of questions about them, though. Would it be possible to list where more information about the monstera ean be found? The Charleston Academy in ‘issue #42 had a Nonafel. Tcan't find a listing for this critter anywhere. This ‘makes awarding XP for defeating it pretty tough. Also, how about including ‘experience listings fur the NPCs in an adventure? For now, I've developed a random system for awarding XP for defeated characters. It is based on the ‘number of XP the character has and ives a PC a pretty good chaneo to ad: vance a level ifthe dic roll is high enough. Douglas Jaffery Telkwa, BC CANADA We're glad you find the adventures use- ful. The Nonafel is listed in the Fiend Folio page 68. Tf you take a look at this issue's adven ture, Winter Holiday, you'll see that we're using @ new format for monster Statistics that includes an XP value. We're now also including XP values for NPCs. The format is the same one that TSR, Inc. uses in its published modules. ‘Most AD&D game creatures that see print in the Newszine now are included in the various Monstrous Compendiums from TSR, Inc. Check the indexes on the ‘Compendiums’ opening pages to find out which monsters are included. Your variable XP award system for defeated NPCs sounds interesting, but the “correct” procedure is to calculate the award baved on the defeated charae- ter's hit dice and abilities, just as sou would for any other “monster” Rules for doing this are on page 47 of the current Dungeon Master's Guide and on page 85 of the original DMG, for those of you who still are playing the original AD&D game. a ‘Teh hes ROLE PLAYING GAME ASSOCIATION" Nawoth = pubisras tron by TSR. ne The ral adsress tora cvesconcenee «PO. Bax 575, Lake Gonove WIS3147.laaphone: A128 025, POLYHEDRON Newazine male neo 10 af PGA" Network members, US momo fs ‘re 15 per year (kal dvery cay) Carasan fase $22 orn ase $25 pe oar ute ‘rao 85 por yea at mai). Al ces ave sb. IGctange winod note Changes olaadressior he (Galvry i mentorshin raise rust reco ‘icad 30 dare per oe ellie Galo tthe ‘hange i ons uneerupses Sony POUEDRON Newszie welcomes unedted submaners ol weten mater ane serra eampaved bys Sandee Dadone Form No {coon sich submis canbe asad byte pblaher any avert. Nosubmsson wilco ‘ekarad ures | a80 accompanied by a 88 ‘eresoo, amped erepe os wutoey 326 ‘Uns spent arangements 0 Me comary aro ‘mace po! publeaion materi aiomines ors fubisher for publestion in POLYHEDRON fe ee IRerhe matones may bo ose and pudiehes POLHEDRON Newez'ne Oued i APGAY Net work sanevonee turranans comertens 8 ‘ors winout cot 1 he pubishr TSA and 0 EGA Netwoee shal make no crer so 0 ao fate ies 1S and aro i Ho 8 ‘writen agreemertregaing sic use TSA pasta wospocivoauhorsanonexcasis rato copyngted ateralac! TSA inter sue fissona wo TSR An aot roweve: sta have "otto publeh cts perms someorecer an TSR {P publen a soomisson ta rcs Sry Copy rotted mates ot TSR whut tat tag te (ireen parmasoa of TS tooo so "a lors sessed the RPGA Network 0&0 TSA, na. il be conscered as submason or ‘ray oe rind ule or npr at te Sacro cl Ihe tor osons sano aly reas ‘seve wring, ‘Uness arerwic dats, tho aphions expressed InPOLHEDAON Newson ethos lend Ul esos an Uo pecan elt he oo lone of T8R, ne he APA Nena rt ah ‘Sandra Decne For: POCTHEDAON Vt ing Gudines,urarert Raqpet Forms, Mar= Dash Foms, Cub Forms. and Cascfed Ad Pera a avail tem Newer HO * certo rege tasters ones TSR, + devgnaes vases ey TSR, ne ostner proce names aeacmaris omnes ecemparespublonng tos prodsets Usoo me are any pri! tout merton of ar ‘tau srould ret be conse a enange 1 ‘uch tn, ©1000 TSR, ne. A Rg Reserved POMHEDRON Newasine he tical anwateWinter | Holiday A Festive AD&D® Game adventure for 4-6 characters, levels 7-9 tustrations ty domes Holloway by Steven A. Hardinger Background for the DM On the Tw The DM W Twelve drag sven bulls apiping, mn racoons leaping, Nine babies can # ft shades i and a porridge in a pair tree. Dungeon Masters’ Background on (an evil elven wizard) has <4 GRINCH (GRoup Intent on ashing Holidays) with the purpose of isrupting the joys of Winter Holiday Th aid in this, Dragon has enlisted the refighter) and Racoon (a human thief) Dragon convinced The Giftmaster (TG, for short) that she is a retired guild alternate plane and was seeking gainful employment for hei years. (But a gold dragon she She farther explained thi ment team, brought in f would free TG to concentrate more on his Annual Trip. TG readily agreed, wanting only for Winter Holiday to be more joyful for all those involved on the receiving end. GRINCH quickly was established in this managerial eapacity at the North Pole Facility, and began to spread rumors and stories amongst the Although TG initially weleomed the ind her associates, he has become suspicious of their qui tions, if not their intent. The year lead ing up to this Winter Holiday has run a bit more smoothly than usual, but not due to any actions of Dragon. Further more, the averaye overhead enst per child (OCPC) has risen an unprece dented 5.4%. This seems directly linked to Dr introduction of rather ‘annoying and tnproduictive committees ‘among the tormakers. The toymakers P oO L Y H E R Oo Nspond time in mootings and reading Tittle red books instead of carving Wooden unicorns and weaving holly baskets. Lately TG has been much too bhasy with his compilation ofthe Naughty/‘Nice Roster to give much thought to the problem, but the appear- ance of the PC party (with unknown intent) drives TG over the edge. He flees to his adopted cousin, RS. Claws, for help, shortly after the scenario starts GRINCH has “invited” (via the pair tree in the first encounter) the party to act as “security” for TG's Annual Trip. Dragon feels that she can convince or if needed, trick) the party into destroying TG in the process. When encountering the pair tree, the party ison the way to acon,” at which they expect to partici pate in a variety of swordsand sorcery Contests, games, and events. Some of the party members may even get to act outa favorite fantasy: roleplaying an unskilled and uneducated peasant. Players’ Introduction Finally! After long months of adven- turing, you opt to take a much- needed vacation—five days of contests, games, and seminars at a gathering with hundreds (or maybe thousands) of other adventurers. Expectations of suocess in the coming. tournaments run high. The party hi ‘been on the road for almost two days the sky has been cloudless and the sun pleasantly warm. Except for an ‘occasional little side trip to explore ‘caves and climb trees, it hus been an uneventful and relaxing stroll—just a perfect start for a perfect vacation. ‘The sounds of birds singing and frogs dying, er, eroaking, fills the early ‘morning air. Continuing down the road you have been following for the last several hours, you find your- selves in a huge and picturesque river valley filled with an immense orchard. Fruit trees of all types stretch as far as the eye ean see. ‘Hundreds of pear trees, arranged in precise rows, grow in the acres di rectly in front of you. The road con- Uinues through the trees and off into the distance, Encounter |— A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Con ‘As you continue through the lush ‘orchard, you notice that one of the treos on your left is rather strange. It isa huge, gnarled old pear tree. Surely one might expect to see a bird for a cat in such a tree, but a bowl? Sure enough, your double take re: veuls that way up there, in the up: permost branches, isa big brown porcelain bowl. ‘The tree is easily climbable, and the branches will hold anyone who does 50, although the poor tree will shake and bend if'a burly priest or warrior at ‘tempts the climb. Anyone who gets both feet off the ground and into the tree notices that the brown bowl, limber, and everything else in the tree (except the tree itselN appears double, That is because this is a magieal pair tree. The bow! is about eight inches in diameter and contains alphabet porridge. There in sufficient porridge in the bow! for two {good-sized helpings (or one halfling helping). But only a taste is needed to induce its magical effect (ee below ‘The porridge can be removed slowly .e., spooned or scooped), but will not fall ont by itself even ifthe how dumped, thrown, etc, However, jostling the bowl makes some porridge slop over the sides—the bowl could make a real mess if placed in a pack. Anyone gazing into the porridge sees the letters floating in the goop align ‘themselves into words—thanks to Larry the Leprechaun, who is hiding nearby and watching the party. The initial message reads: “Please help (stop). Eat pear (stop), Merry (sto "The pears are large and plump, have healthy yellow color, and are sweet and crunchy. The pears and the porridge, but not the tree, radiate strong magic if detection is attempted. Eating a pear teleports the eater (and the pear core) to the North Pole Facility (ee encounter #2), Do not reveal the fate of the tele ported PCs until all have eaten a pear this will help keep the party from wan- dering off in separate directions. Tis Larry's job to see that all in the party partake in these pleasant pomes; he will use signs in the porridge, illu- sions, or other tricks to get the PCs to taste the paired pears. Ifthe PCs won- der out loud about the situation, Larry answers their questions—probably by ‘using his illusions to form words in the porridge. However, he will not reveal any names or Winter Holiday related details, such as The Giftmaster's name ‘or the location of those who have eaten pears. Merry” is a common way for TG to sign correspondence, but the party could believe this to be the name of the sender of the message. Have fun letting the party earry on a conversation with a bow! of porridaze. ‘The porridge itself is incredibly bitter; if tasted, a save vs. death must be made. Failure indicates an overwhelming (and irresistible) urge to clear one’s palate with the nearest sweet (ie. an entire pear; suecess indicates it's just lousy porridge. A saving throw is required for every bite taken. Leprechaun (1): Int Exceptional; ALN; AC 8; MV 15; HD 2-5 hp; hp 5; THACO 20; #AT 0; Dmg nil; SA invisibitity, polymorph non-living objects, create illusion, ventriloguism (all at will); SD cannot be surprised due to excellent hearing; MR 80%; SZ T 2" tall; ML 11; XP 270, Larry knows nothing of GRINCH except Dragon's name and looks. He only ‘knows (or eares) that Dragon supplies him with a few gold pieces, a mug af ‘grog, and occasional vietims for practi- cal jokes and tricks. Encounter 2—Twas the Knight Before Winter Holiday ‘This encounter takes place in the Ad- ministrative Building (see map 1). A. Sitting Room [After biting into the pear, and a brief feeling that your stomach is in Upper Slobovia while your feet are in Lesser Marunk, you notice that you | are no longer in that pleasant pome place, the orchard valley Istend, Sou are now in large, well Appointed room, obvionsly a sitting oor, The trappings ofthis cozy chamber are all ress and dark me hogan; a roaring fireplace completes the scene. The room is about 20’ by 40" and has three doors. The center of | the chamber i occupied by a large table covered with bows, platters, And flagons of all types. The table and its utensils hold an incredible fcray of fine food and drink. The Y H E D R fo) Nchamber is lit by a stunning brass and cut glass chandelier. Under the table isa lavishly-carved wooden garbage can. Regardless of the time or order in which the PCs eat the pears, they arrive here simultaneously, still elutching their half-eaten pears. By the time the entire party hus arrived there are about 30 hhours left in the eountdown to the start of TG's Annual Trip. The status of the countdown is known by everyone em- played at the North Pole Facility Everything in this chamber is as it appears. The food is incredibly deli- cious. The warbage in the ean—a few banana peels~is fresh and still eo0l to the touch. Bull was justin here for a snack, This should alert a quick player ‘that someone is nearby. B, Tunnel to Main Complex ‘The corridor is 10° wide by 10° high. Itdips gently at first, but rises again 50 yards or so in the distance. Its lit by torches in iron wall sconces every 30' on opposite walls, As you travel down the corridor, you ean hear a small, male voiee humming a tun ‘The tune is some appropriate Winter Holiday song {juage’s choice) and be. longs to Larry the Leprechaun (again). Larry's job here is to get the party turned around and through the right door in the sitting room. Larry will only that their potential employers lie in the direction from which they came. Larry ate a pear, too, and used his invis ibidity and illusions to cover his exit from the Sitting Room (encounter 2a). You are encouraged to add any detail to this encounter that might be fun (re member, Larry is a playful, harmless, cute little leprechaun), such as giving, Larry an armful of presents or more food for the sitting room table. Ifthe party insists on moving toward the main complex, Larry uses illusions to make a section of corridor look ice en- crusted. If the PCs wall under the ice, Larry stages a dramatie cave.in that nearly buries the party and completely. blocks the corridor with broken ice; otherwise this can be a short encounter. €. Storage Closet ‘The room beyond the door is steeped in shadows. You are just about to reach for your holy symbols when you realize that it’s just dark in here. In the dim light from the chandelier in the sitting room, you can see that this narrow room is packed with long. shelves stacked high with boxes, sacks, and barrels ofall sorts ‘The boxes contain office supplies and other administrative materials. Deeper in the closet are old records, mostly laughty/Nice Rosters and other similar papers. Lengthy searching reveals eight tigerskins, used when GRINCH ven- tures outside the complex. Ifthe party wastes much time exploring the closet, 1 visit from Larry the Leprechaun may ‘be useful to speed the PCs along. D. GRINCH Council Chamber ‘The double doors are ornately earved mahogany with deeply polished brass fittings and adorned with beautiful holly wreaths loaded with little red berries. As you approach, three mur- ‘muring voices can be heard: Female voice (elven accent): “They should be here by nov.” Deep male voice (orcish accent): “Maybe they got lost.” Female voice: “I surely hope that is not the case; Larry better not have screwed up again: ‘Male and female voices (human. accents): "Yes, Right. Absolutely.” ‘Sounds of eating mask the remain- der of the conversation. ‘When the party opens the double doors The room beyond has the same brass | and mahogany appointments as seen before. Seated at a large curved table ‘at the opposite end of the room are | three humanoids. At the center sits a lanky, but comely, female elf, with an | elongated but otherwise blunt nose. ‘She is wearing shimmering, almost | scaly, deep-red robes. To her left is ‘the biggest and perhaps most rmusen. lar halfore you've ever seen. On the celts other side is a middle-aged hu- | man woman, unremarkable in all aspects, save the mask-like birth- ‘mark over her eyes. As you take all of this in, the elven woman rises and speaks. Hers is the voice you heard first at the double doors. She says: “Ah, welcome! Weleome to the North Pole Facility, Winter Holiday Cen- tral and home of this plane's greatest, and most generous creature, The Giftmaster (TG to his friends). Cam called Dragon, and these are my associates: Bull,” she indicates the half-ore, “and Racoon,” indicating, the human woman. “Please be com: fortable, take a seat! We are the modest administrative wing of TOs operation, dealing with the economic and logistic aspects of his Annual ‘Trip. Bull handles the physical plant dotails—maintenance and so forth, while my colleague Racoon is respon- sible for worker relations and pay: roll. [handle everything else, such as the reason that you all have been invited here. That reason is security, the security of Winter Holiday. “Allow the PCs to take all this in and to consider their feelings about Winter Holiday. Dragon continues: “The six of you have been invited here to insure that this year’s Annual Trip proceeds smoothly. Normally, this would be a rather simple request, as no one ever hhas interfered with TG midwinter dole-out. The problem lies with TG himself. You see, the old man is get- ting on in years and appears some- what senile. Racoon, Bull, and Ihave discussed this matter in some detail, ind we feel that Winter Holiday itself may be in danger. TG will need 1 security force—that is, yourselves — to guide him and help him along the right track so that all of the gifts for the Nice little girls and boys may be distributed quickly, efficiently, and ‘equitably. Imagine the anguish in the hearts of millions of children if ‘TG's trip fails. His reputation would be ruined. The consequences might ‘be most grave. So, what do you say: would you like the job?” Full descriptions of Dragon, Bull, and Racoon are given at the end of encoun ter 19, During this encounter, Dragon will be exceptionally cordial to the party and will be very careful of what She says. She needs the POs to fulfill hher grand plan to disrupt Winter Holt day. ‘The players probably will ask many questions. Make up any answers that Y H E D R oO N‘are consistent with the scenario and the ieneral legends about Winter Holiday, ‘and that will help convince the PCs to take the assignment. Dragon might give any of the follow. ing answers (note that while none of these comments are entirely true, none are outright lies, so they remain unde- tected by common divinations that detect falsehoods. ‘*TG’s recent behavior as been odd and inexplicable. Dragon feels he might do something truly distasteful if left alone, She has a terrible feeling about this ‘year’s Annual Trip. *All the toy makers also have bad feel ings. They still love TG, but are becom- ing increasingly unhappy and inefficient. * Dragon believes anybody ean make the Annual Trip if necessary. °TG is not likely to allow anyone to use his magical Sleigh and Reindeer, an item essential to the Annual Trip. Dragon will offer the party any appar- cently reasonable payment, but it must be asked for. She will also assure the party that she possesses the means for their return home, but iteannot be used until at least 48 hours after the party's arrival on this plane. Ifthe PCs want to interview other staff members of the North Pole Facility, Dragon explains that all ofthe higher-level manager and toymaker-types are far too busy, given that this is Winter Holiday Eve Eve, and the start of the Annual Trip is, about 48 hours away. Ifthe party per sists in this vein, let them conduct brief interview with a janitor, The janitor, a human named Bryan, suffers from a hacking cough and is totally awed to be summoned into GRINCH presence. The only useful information Bryan ean provide is that he has an anxious feeling that some- thing unknown, but related to the An. ‘nual ‘Trip, is terribly wrong, If the party is incredibly bright and figures out about the present teleporter (Gee sleigh description in encounter 4), ‘Dragon states she knows of no such device, and she doesn’t know how TG cearries all the presents, The party is not allowed the rapid access to the sleigh enjoyed by Larry (see encounter 11a, Intermission). Ifthe party asks for any aid (magic or mundane), Dragon apologetically in forms them that nothing is available, unless they want some toys (but to take ‘those might deprive some child who has been waiting all year). Enterprising PCs, however, may stock up on food from the Sitting Room or office supplies from the Closet. ‘When the PCs have agreed to take the ‘assignment (or when you think the negotiation with GRINCH has gone on Jong enough), read the following: [ Inthe middie of your conversation with Dragon and her associates, & small humanoid, perhaps a eross nd halfling, his with savedust and paint, rushes in and hands a slip of paper to Dragon. As she reads, her face becomes grim. “Bad news” she says. “Bad news indeed, my friends Tt'seems that TG's senility is worse than we thought. Justa few mo- ‘ments ago, it was discovered that he took the Sieigh and Reindeer and flow south. We don't know where he went or for what reason, but he must be brought back to the North Pole Facility at all costs so that Winter Holiday ean goon. Actually, only the Sleigh and Deer are critical, as there | are alternate drivers available. To | repeat, the Sleigh and Reindeer must bbe returned at any cost. Here are ight doses of magic exgnog, which will allow you to fly almost as fast as the Sleigh and to see the twinkling silver trail left by the Sleigh” She gives you eight flagons containing the potion and leads you toward the exit ‘The magic eggnog allows variable ‘light speed (base move up to 1,024) for sufficient time to reach R. S. Claws? island (encounter 4). Furthermor very high degree of maneuverability provided: square turns, hovering, air brakes, and power dives are all availa. ble. Ifthe PCs ask for protection from the cold, Dragon gives each of them a ti: igerskin from the closet. These are ade: quate protection, but they clash loudly with anything a particularly style- ‘conscious PC might wear, Encounter 3—On the Second Day of Winter Holiday So far, the flight south has been uneventful. It has been an absolute thrill (and a bit frightening) to ly at such incredible speeds while following the twinkling, silvery trail | left by the Sleigh and Reindeer. After a few hours of this, though, it has gotten a bit boring. It looks like that’s about to change, however; abead are two large shapes moving ‘to intersect the trail. As you close rapidly, the shapes resolve themselves into huge turtles with whitefeathered wings. One of the creature is equipped with alarge | After all this flight time, the terrain hhas changed to swamp. The party has ‘one round to reaet before the turtledoves close to attack. The PCs will ‘quickly discover that they must slow to normal flying speeds (36 or less) to avoid overshooting a target. Spell casters must slow before casting, otherwise they might fly into their own areas of effect. ‘The turtledoves are aggressive and {ight until destroyed, but the party may simply choose to fly past the hapless turtledoves, which cannot catch up. The doves will, however, get one attack at ~4 as the party flies past. ‘Turtledoves (2): Int Low; ALN; AC2 (Gop, 5 thead, wings, and underside); ‘MV 6, F1 15 (C); HD 7+7; hp 31 each; ‘THACO 12; FAT 1; Ding 2-8; SA bite inflicts serenity, victim must save vs, paralyzation or refrain from hostile factions for 1d4+1 melee rounds; SZ H (6 Diameter); ML 11; XP 1400 each. ‘Turtledoves are known to fill their lairs with gaudy, hollow glass balls. Dead ‘turtledoves continue to float, thus the shells of these creatures are highly prized as components for potions of fying and other similar magics. One of the turtledoves carries a large leather case, which contains three musical horns made of shiny brass tubing formed into a cireular coil, Encounter 4—My Deer Friends ‘The flight south continues into ‘warm, tropical regions. Soon you find yourselves over an ocean. The sight bof the fiery orange-red sunset re- flected on the brilliant blue water is | spectacular, The water is incredibly clear: even from this altitude, large aquatic creatures and colonies of ‘multi-colored coral growing on the ‘ocean floor are clearly visible, The P oO L10 ‘wail let by the Sleigh and Reindeer descends toward a small but lush ‘tropical island just ahead. As you get | closer to this island, the trail ean be seen Lo end amongst extensive and obviously very old stone ruins in a large clearing. Grazing within the clearing are 10 reindeer. The Sleigh ‘snowhere in sight ‘The ruins are ancient and almost com- pletely crumbled, with only two recog- nnizable structures: the well and the bakery. Both of these structures hide an entrance to R. S. Claws’ lair. The well is ‘generic: about 5' in diameter, easily climbable on the inside (convenient hhand and foot holes have been gra- ciously provided, and are visible when looked for). The surface of the cold, ‘murky water lies 50’ from the top of the well. Halfway down the well is a 3° diameter tunnel leading to the lair (see map 3 and encounter 5). To allow per- sons of large bulk (ie., TG) entrance, the tunnel expands as needed to accom- ‘modate the crawler. ‘The bakery is the only structure re- maining in the ruins which resembles @ building. The west (front) wall is almost, gone, but the rest of the structure is Still sound. It contains rotten tables, rusted metal cooking implements, a hhuge oven, and the Sleigh (see descrip. tion below). The aven’s chimmey is an impressive stone edifice, 20’ high and 6” square on the outside. The top of the chimney can be reached by climbing the stonework. The flue is 4’ square, suff cient in size to allow entrance by a large humanoid, and is tapped by a rusty iron cap. The inside of the chimney is sur prisingly clean and has a metal ladder to allow one to climb down. About 45' down in the interior of the chimney is the entrance to Claws’ lair (see map 3 ‘and encounter 5), Also in the bakery is the sleigh of delivery. TG flew it through. the remnants of the front wall before rushing to Claw's lair via the bakery chimney; how else would TG make an entrance? Sleigh of Delivery: Upon casual inspec tion, the sleigh appears to be a normal vehicle with exceptionally bright red land green paint. However, when one sits in the driver's seat a complex array fof buttons, dials, and lights appear The sleigh is actually a highly sophisticated Geviee (hus GRINCH interest), requir: ing a small platioum key to operate ‘Attempting to operate or molest the sleigh or control panel when the key is not in the appropriate slot requires a save vs. death magic at ~4, Failure indicates the vietim has fallen into a deep sleep, appearing dead, for one turn. During this sleep the vietim has strange and vivid dreams of sweetened plums eavorting about. If hitched to the full taam of reindeer, the sleigh travels ‘at phenomenal rates (often exceeding & ‘base move of 1,000 and including in. stantaneous travel) so that TG ean quickly distribute prosonts to millions ‘of households and halfling holes and (more importantly) get home early. With, a full team, the sleigh is maneuverabil: ity class A. Without deer, the sleigh moves at 48, and is maneuverability class C, The rumble seat ia especially. spacious, being a receiving area for teleportation of presents from the North Pole Facility. The teleport feature is one way—from the North Pole Facility to the sleigh. ‘The reindeer are grazing near the jun- gle’s edge. During this encounter, the deer are suspicious of the PCs, but oth cerwise friendly and curious. The rein- deer try to convince the party to stop pursuit, Obviously, the deer will fail in this. When pressed, the deer grudgingly that the entrance to Claws’ lair is "well-hidden,” and easy to find ifone “wets awhile” (see encounter 5). Ifthe players are slow to get useful informa: tion from the reindeer, the deer offer to trade secrets, Whomever in the party reveals the deepest, most sensitive secret (within character), will be told the elues to the entrance. ‘Reindeer (10): Int High; AL Goody. goody; AC 4; MV 12, FI 36 (B) (when the ‘whole team is hitched to the sleigh of delivery travel can be instantaneous), HD 8; hp 33 each; THACO 12; 4AT 3; Dmg 1-4/1-4/1-6; SA if both front hhooves hit, the back hooves also can attack (14/14); SD immune to fear, depression, or similar mental fogs, but have some difficulty flying through other fogs unless Rudolf is prosont; SZ L (no wimps for TG), ML 11; XP 1400 each, Just a reminder: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolf, and Buck, Further. ‘more, common myths are inaccurate as to the correct size of TG's herd: it actu- ally eontains 10, not nine, Deer. The lesser-known member of the sleigh schlepers is Buck, who usually stays at the North Pole Facility and does the group's accounting. However, bared of tthe books, Buck hus decided to seek a Dit of adventure. So far he's having a great time. Encounter 5—And They're Here on R.S. Claws’ Island Important Notes: A. The PCs will not notice the secret door in this room, even if they look for 1B. The Eggnog Potion duration expires ‘as the PCs enter this room, Your craw (or slide, if entranee is, from the chimney) ends in a large chamber illuminated by torchlight. In the far corner is an archway filled | with a shimmering gold and green pattern. The arch itself has rather ‘unusual stonework, being a rounded “-M(" shape and constructed of red- and white-striped stone blocks. Four large, brown and white dogs with slender heads, pointed muzzles, and Jong, silky fur, lie next to the arch way. Since you started on this assign- ment, you've gotten used to some ‘weird things, so the feathered wings ‘on the dogs are no surprise. After few seconds, two of the collies rise, ‘open their jaws in huge, sleepy ‘yawns, and approach, ‘This room is the first element in Claws! security system, Nobody can pass ‘through the arch while carrying magic items or while magical effects (potions, spells, etc) are operating. Conjured or summoned creatures are real (for pur- poses of this encounter), not magical effects, so they ean pass through. Extra dimensional spaces (such as bags of holding), however, are magic items and ‘cannot pass the arch. Nothing the PCs ‘or eollies can do will alter the urehway's impermeability. ‘The dogs are colliebirddogs. Claws placed them here to explain the arch: ‘way to would-be visitors and to safe. ‘guard the magic items left behind. The dogs’ names are Spot, Blotch, Stain, and. Spill. At some point in the ensuing conversation, the colliebirddogs reveal what they are and what their job is. ‘They are friendly, cheerful, and inguisi tive (although not particularly trustwor thy, loyal, brave, or reverent). The dogs don’t get many visitors, and they want to get a little something from the PCs besides conversation, They hint that. P Oo L Y H E D R Oo Nsome Winter Holiday spirits (meaning, the remaining Exynog) would be real nice. Besides, they'll probably find it and drink it while the PCs are gone anyway, Colliebirddogs (4): Int Avg.; ALN; AC 4; MV 15, F1 80 (Dy, HD 7; hp 31 each: THACO 19; #AT 1; Dmg 1-6; SA Can, recite “Twas the Night Before Winter Holiday” at will, this soliloquy has the effect of an enthrall spell cast at 8th level except that any creature can be affected; SD detect magic once a turn; SZM;ML 12; XP 975 cach, Encounter 6— Ring In The New Year ‘As you approach this doo, the sound] of ringing bells is noticeable, Pause for player actions, if any. With the door open, the source of the din, now much louder, is visible: the room contains many matching sets of bells, Each set contains five bells whieh ring simultaneously. The bells ‘dom pattern. The bells are ofall shapes and sizes, from tiny brass dinner bells to large ships’ bells Furthermore, they are constructed of many different materials: steel, cop per, glass, brass. One set even ap- pears to be made of solid gold. In the corner opposite where you stand is a large, formidable-looking door th has no apparent hinges or handle. ‘The center of this chamber is adorned with a short, carved stone table; upon the table sits a small but ornate gold casket. ‘The exit door on the north wall is magi cally locked and eannot be opened ex cept under one condition: the door unlocks for a few seconds after the set of gold bells—there are five ring. These bells ring once every five minutes or 80, ‘but not before the players have spent a few minutes role-playing and struggling ‘with the problem. The five gold bells ring rather poorly, sounding more like ull thuds then clear peals. There are 5 sets of bells in the room. Each set is fused to a central bar which rotates to ring the bells. The bar is in turn rooted magically in its sockets in the wall. IF the gold bells are removed from the ‘wall, the door can still be opened when the bells would have rung, as the magic still is operative. When the gold bell ring, the door can be opened with a gentle push. ‘A useful clue to this puzzle is provided within the caaket. The casket is built of sturdy wood, gilded with gold foil and locked. It can be unlocked, smashed, or otherwise broken. Inside, on a holly green velvet pillow, are five ornate golden rings. If, after 20 minutes, the solution still eludes the players, a visit from Larry may be useful Encounter 7—FowlI Trouble | As you proceed down the corridor, the din ofa fight—metal biting into farmor-can be heard. The corridor ends in a large circular chamber with a domed roof. A central firepit lights the chamber. Surrounding itis fa circular pool of water, 20’ in diame ter and of indeterminate depth. ‘There is an exit directly across from where you now stand. The source of the noise you heard in the corridor is nowhere in sight—until you look down. At your feet are six gees Y H E Dlooking swords and flails. A few seconds pass before they notice you, and the six geese meleeing stop. One isclearly the leader: a bit bigger and | prouder then the others, He(or ist 6?) removes its helm and speaks: "Halt! What do you desire here?” ‘The geose consider themselves honor able and chivalrous in every aspect. ‘After learning the party's intentions, introductions are made, The geese are named Huey, Dewey, Louie, Phooey, Gooey, and Ralph (the leader). To be allowed to pass, the PCs must select one of their number to fight (not to the death) the six geese. When attacking, ‘one goose will stand in front and use a ‘weapon, while the other five will attack from the rear, employing their beaks (the goose,” see below). In a general melee, half of the geese use “long” swords (treat as daggers) and the others ‘use “flails” (1-3/1-2 dmg). Ifthe PC renders all but one of the geese uncon- scious or dead, the party will be allowed ‘to pass unharmed. If the geese win, the PCs will be asked to chose another champion to earn their right to pass. If the PCs threaten to rush the geese en ‘masse, the birds reluctantly announce that the fight must be to the death. Geese (6): Int Animal; AL anything you ‘want so long as you have food; AC 1 (plate mail, MV 6, F1 21 (B); HD 1/2; hp Leach; THACO 20; #AT 1; Dmg by weapon or 1; SA +8 attack bonus on rear attacks with beak ("the goose”); SZ S;ML5; XP 15 each, Regardless of how the PCs get past the geese, when they pass the moat around the firepit, four killer frogs jump out of the water and attack. The geose are absolutely terrified of the frogs and will not aid in the defense. Killer Frogs (4): Int Non; ALN; AC 8; MV 6, Sw 12; HD 1+4; hp 17 each; ‘THACO 16; #AT 9; Dmg 1-2/1-22-5; SZ. S; ML 6; XP 35 each. ‘The frogs have recently worked their ‘way into the moat via an underground stream; the geese are just as surprised by this attack as are the PCs Encounter 8—Swami Lake After that last, fowl ruin with the six geese meleeing (not to forget, those nasty killer frogs) another encounter near the water is the last thing you want to deal with. How ‘much more of this delay in retrieving ‘TG has to be tolerated? As these thoughts run through your heads, ‘your skin begins to crawl as the ‘sound of splashing water and happy voices cut the air. At least the voices sound human this time. As you round a corner, you see a chamber containing wall-to-wall water, an K- shaped pier, and seven dark-skinned humans swimming, talking, laugh ing, and having a good time, They are wearing soggy turbans and little elze, One swims to meet you at the pier. He says in a thiek, rich aecent: “How is it that you are doing, yes? We are the swimming swamis, and this is our pool of water, yes. What is itthat we ean be for you doing?” ‘The seven swamis swimming are not really doing much of anything, except swimming and discussing minor issues like the meaning of life. The swamis ll do anything they can to help the party to cross the water. One simple solution is for the swamis to form a human chain, a swamibridge of sorte, across the water. However, the swamis will not make any useful suggestions of their own, unless the encounter takes unduly long. ‘The water is uniformly 20’ deep (and a very comfortable 84 degrees). The swa ‘mis will be philosophical and under standing about any difficulty a non-swimming PC might have about getting across. ‘The pier is made of &:inch-wide wood planks on pontoons, so that it floats on the water. The walls of the chamber are slick with condensed moisture and ge: netic slimes, and therefore inclimbable, A spider climb spell will allow the caster to cling to the wall, but because of the slick surface, no load ean be car- ried. The party probably will have to rely on help from the swamis, Swimming Swamis (7): Int High; Al. ‘optimistic; AC 10 (even I know better than to swim in armor); MV 12, Sw 6; HD 1; hp 4 each; THACO 20; #AT nil; ‘Dmg nil; SA move silently when no one is there to hear it, sharp tongue; SD witty comeback, +4 saving throw bonus fusion or other 2 Skinny; ML 9; vs. spells causing c mental calamities; XP 15 each. Encounter 9— Chocolate Milkshades (OK, s0 what could be worse than water, you ask yourselves while rounding the next corner. How about handfuls of happy Holsteins in a niee, sunny green pasture? Sure you can handle that. How about the ‘wooden buckets under most of them? How about the eight chocolate. ‘brown, but shadowy folk who are just going about their own business milk: Ing the cows? How about the table Justin front of the entrance, covered with an absolutely huge pile of deco: rated Winter Holiday cookies? Yummy! ‘Two rounds after the first PC steps into the pasture, the milkshades attack ‘with the buckets, A hit with the milk (which is fresh and warm) causes any creature—including the shades—to fall into a deep sleep for 1d8 hours if a save ‘vs. spell fails. An entire bucket must be ‘thrown to be effective. Although no one in the party is proficient with milk buckets, the large area of effect (about 85’ diameter) and fairly long range (about 10° cancels the normal nonprof ciency penalties. A cookie dunked in milk has the same effect as a full bucket ‘of milk, but the appropriate nonprofi ciency penalty must be applied. Dunked ‘cookie range is about 20°; after that they fall apart from sogginess. While there are only 22 full milkbuckets (eight start in the hands of the shades), there are essentially an unlimited num. ber af cookies. When the battle has run its course, R, 8, Claws enters and wakens the PCs if needed. Any shades which ae still awake back off; they know better than ’ to mess with Claws, Milkshades (8): Int Low (otherwise they wouldn't be stuck here milking cows); AL homogenized; AC 7; MV 12; HD 3+3; hp 17 each; THACO 17; #AT 1; Dmg hit causes save vs. spell or fall asleep for 148 hours: SD hit only by milk or enchanted weapons; SZ M; ML. LA; XP 175 each. Y H E DHolsteins (udderly too many): Int Animal; AL N; AC 9; MV 6; HD 4; hp 18 each; THACO (for a cow? who are we trying to kid}; #AT nil, Dmg nil; SZ Li ML 3; XP mil, Encounter 10— Dependent Claws you try to shake off the effects of the battle, your eyes suddenly lock onto those ofa tall lzardman. The lizard man is grizzled with age. He looks & Dit annoyed. He taps his left foot and scowls. After a few seconds of what ‘must be introspection on the lizard. ‘man’s part (and nervousness on ‘yours), the scowl softens to an ‘amused grin. He chuckles as he speaks, "Well, what ean Ida for you folks? Since you've struggled to come all this way and managed to pass. through my punderful security sys tem, I imagine your need to see me ‘must be rather urgent. In fact, it ‘must be downright critical that you speak to me, seving as how you've taken time away from your families and friends at Winter Holiday time Oh, by the way, let me apologize for nol introducing myself earlier. Lam Claws, R.S, Claws. The R. 8. is a nickname referring to my razor: sharp claws (he displays said long, nasty claws), So, who are you and why have you traveled here?” R. S. Claws must be convinced of the party's intentions to aid TG before he will allow them to meet with him. Claws’ main concern is for his very close “cousin's” well-being. Further- more, he is a bit of a serooge when it comes to Winter Holiday. Claws puts off answering any ques. tions about TG's situation with GRINCH, saying that they should ask the Bearded One himself (when he is found), s0 that there will not be any confusion or misinterprotation of the situation, TG has told Claws everything that has been going on up North (see encounter 11 for details) RS. Claws: AL NG (reformed while marooned); STR 17, INT 15, WIS 12, CON 17, DEX 15, CHA 12; AC 4; MV 6, Sw 12; F 15; hp 116; THACO 6; #AT 5(4 laws, I bite) or 4 (2 weapons attacks, 1 claw, one bite); Dmg 1-2 +2 (claw), 1-6 (ite), or by weapon (+1 “to hit” +1 damage from strengti); SA +1 “to hit” ‘Wow! That last fight was weird! As bonus on elaw attacks; $2 M; ML 14; XP.5,000, ‘Weapons: long sword, long baw, dag: seer, mace R.S. Claws appears exactly like the lizaréman that he is, but grizzled with tage. He was the only survivor of the lizardman pirate erow that was ship wrecked on what is now his home is- and. After several lonely years among the ruins, and plenty of exercise fight: ing off the local nasties (a few ores, ‘mostly), a human landed on the island. The human, who indicated he wished to get away from the rat race for awhile, was a high-level fighter who had con- tracted lycanthropy from a lucky (but now decidedly dead) wererat, During the many years on the island (Claws doesn’t reeall whether it was forty or four hundred), he learned from this strange human much about weaponry and fighting, and he practiced on the local critters. The hermit’s lycanthropy ‘was eventually cured by eontinued consumption of a variety of cranberry indigenous to the isle. So cured, the hermit returned to society, but Claws remained behind. The hermit was actu- ally TG in an alternate life, but neither Claws nor TG is cognizant of this fact (at's been a long life). During the time on the island, there was no magic to use (1G aid not Know about his innate abili- ties). Accordingly, Clave still believes ‘magic to be an unnecessary crutch in personal combat, Claws and TG met (again) on one of the latter's many An- nual Trips (Claws asked for a coconut ‘peeler), and they became fast friends. ‘TG still visits whenever possible and actually views Claws as his “cousin.” ‘The necessarily self-sufficient style of Claws’ life has left little time for Winter Holiday thoughts, so Claws is a bit of serooge. But sometimes he finds himself in deep philosophical discussions about the subject with TG. In addition, TG's love of a good pun has worn off on Claws; when these two get going the sanity of all within earshot is in danger. ‘TG has provided the name “R. 8, that is, “razor sharp.” Encounter 11— Here Comes The Giftmaster Claws leads you into a massive chamber: it must be about 40" square ‘and 20° high. The entrance is through a door in one corner; the only obvious exit is a hallway in the opposite corner. The furniture in the chamber looks like it had been built by someone shipwrecked on a trop cal island. It is constructed of bam. boo, vine, and scraps of water-stained timbers. The prominent item of fur. niture is a huge—and clearly quite sturdy, judging from the load it ‘bears—bamboo table laden with all sorts of Winter Holiday food and drink. Light is provided by several brass braziers in various spots around the room. Piled next to one of these is a set of red garments, trimmed with white fur, a wide black belt with an ornate silver buckle, and large black boots. The clothes are clearly tailored for one of large, no, make that rotund, build. Lying in a steaming, frothing tub of water next to the laundry pile must be the owner of the dandy duds: he is a large, satisfied-looking human, with bushy eyebrows, a full beard, and long snow white hair. This must be the legendary Giftmaster. His eyes ‘open slowly, like that of a lazy eat sunbathing. He stands, dripping, lad only in red, fur-trimmed shorts, After grabbing a green- and red- striped towel, he towels himself off and he speaks. His voice is deep, but very reassuring. He radiates good humor and peace. “Ho! Ho! Ho!” he says, “And so who are our guest, RS?" Before answering any questions, TG wants to hear the PCs’ side of the story. Because of his eagerness, and a few {good words from R. S., TG is easily convinced of the party's earnestness. However, TG needs to be convinced that the party is interested in preserving Winter Holiday. He will try (very hard, in faet) to make the characters see his side of the story. ‘TG knows or suspects the following: TG is not senile, just overworked and highly involved in preparations for the ‘Annual Trip. He will admit, however, to being a bit scattorbrained at times. * Background checks on Dragon and her associates came up completely blank. TG hired them anyway, since he is such a trusting fellow. Dragon and her associates have been more enncerned with the details of the Annual Trip than with the overall Winter Holiday spirit. Sometimes P Oo L R O N14 Dragon seems to be colder than the snow blowing outside. * Since the arrival of Dragon, there has been increasing anxiety and decreasing productivity amongst the toymakers. ‘This may be connected to the commit. tees which Racoon established. The toymakers spend a lot of time in meet ings and reading litle red books, from which they occasionally quote long passages, instead of making toys, * The average overhead cost per child (OCPC) has risen an unprecedented 5.4% since last Winter Holiday; this rise ‘may be related to the committees. * Overall, the situation at the North Pole Facility is tense at best, Ifasked why he ran, TG explains that he took the Sleigh and Reindeer so they would not fall into Dragon's clutches during this critical time of year. How. fever, TG will have to return soon to the North Pole Facility to insure the final details for the Annual Trip are secure. ‘The most critical reason to return is 80 that this year's Naughty/Nice roster, currently believed to be in Dragon's hhands, ean be retrieved. This lst is absolutely essential to insure proper and equitable gift distribution; it must be retrieved at all costs Ifthe PCs suggest that they or one of the GRINCH members could make the Annual Trip in TG’s place, TG points ut that the reindeer work for him, only hho knows how to operate the sleigh, and that it takes a pretty special being to locate every child—worldwide—who deserves a gif. ‘The bottom line: TG must convince the PCs to face down Dragon, one way ‘or another. When the party is ready to return, TG and R.S. lead the party to the bakery, ‘stopping on the way to collect the par- ty’s magic. The party will be offered a reindeer ride back to the North Pole Facility. I'the party previously antago- nized the Reindeer, some apologies are in order here. RS. will not accompany the group traveling north, expressing his faith that the party is more than adequate to perform this minor tasie without his insignificant aid. ‘The Giftmaster: AL CG; STR 16, INT 16, WIS 14, CON 15, DEX 17, CHA 19; AG ~8; MV 9; Th 17; hp 71; THACO 12; 4#A7 1; Ding pummel; SZ M; ML 14; XP 6,000. ‘Thieving Abilities PP OL FT MS HS DN OW RL BS. 95 95 95 95 95 55 95 80 xb Magic Items: Platinum key (for sleigh of delivery), extra-huge capacity bag of holding (holds 3,000 Ibs, 450 eu, f,, and weighs 120 Ibs when full), fur ap of protection provides AC 0, +3, saving throw bonus, and proof against environmental extremes; it also looks swell with the red suit) Spell-Like Abilities (usable at will, cast at 12th level: haste self know naughty or nice, detect lie, comprehend languages, feather fal, levitate, change self {for those small chimneys), and create paper, bows, and wrap. ‘Most referees should have no difficulty portraying this character. TG appears ‘as an old (but not as old as he actually is)and rotund human. He is always clad in red clothes with white fur trim. The belt is wide, black, and fixed with a ‘huge and ornate silver buckle (esti ‘mated value over 1,000 gp). The boots are likewise black. TGs disposition is more than just a perpetual good mood; the man is downright jolly. He finds every little thing deeply enjoyable. He wants everyone in the world, and espe cially those around him, to share in this. He will automatically try to alter any foul moods of those near him. Tt takes a major bad event (such as GRINCH’s interference with Winter Holiday) to upset TG or make him anx- ious. TG is also an avid punster, but this fact is not generally known. ‘TG is also a consummate thief, but never refers to himself as such, Anyone questioning TG's yearly habit of eom- rmitting several million acts of breaking and entering in the guise of delivering presents will be ho-hoed off, but the ‘name duly recorded on TG's Naughty/ Nice Roster. Finally, TG's entire existence is for Winter Holiday. He is actually rather ‘uninformed (but in no way naive) about the goings-on in the world for the rest of the year. Everyone at the North Pole Facility (except GRINCED absolutely adores him, as indicated by the above- average Charisma of 19. Encounter 11—Intermission ‘Sometime during the return flight, Larry (by TG's whiskers, not again!) has gotten onto the present transportation ‘apparatus (PIA) at the North Pole Facility, and has been teleported to the rumble seat of the sleigh. Larry will cause the party grief, in the typical leprechaun style, for 10-15 minutes of playing time. Afterward, Larry simply remains with the party, invisible and out of the way, until he ‘chooses sides in the final struggle (encounter 13), Larry is too afraid of Dragon to get involved any earlier, but he is neutral and wants to see the good! evil (or PC/GRINCH) power scale stay balanced, Encounter 12— Evening the Score, Peon The party, reindeer, sleigh, and TG come to a perfect tworunner and forty-hoof landing outside the Ad- ministration Building. “I’m not sure what Dragon and her associates are planning,” says TG with an unchar- acteristically grim look. “But I'm ssure that they're in their council chamber, and waiting for you. I'm mo | ‘food in a fight, and I've just got to check on final preparations for to- night's Annual Trip. Take-off is in about four hours!” TGs face softens a bit. “Any last way that Ican help?” ‘The party has landed in the snow just outside the entrance to the Administra. tion Building (map 1). TG can provide information (that he knows), but no ‘material help outside of what his spells provide. When the party is ready: “Well, then good luck to you all. I | will wait here for you, but no more ‘than 30 minutes, for then I must be , ‘When the party opens the doors to the sitting room (room A on map 1), Admin. istrative Building: “This room has nat changed much in the two days or so that you've been gone. However, the huge table laden ‘with all that great food, eggnog, ‘cookies, and candy canes, has been replaced by a different fare: seafood. ‘That is to say, it has been replaced by a bunch of giant, although yet imma- ture, scorpions. It's clear that you ‘will have to be eareful to get past here, because these nine babies can sting.This encounter is nice and simple. The scorpions attack as soon as the door is opened, with normal chances for sur- prise. They will travel outside the room if the party allows them. Ifthe party leads the scorpions out into the snow, they will follow. ‘The scorpions will perish in the arctic cold outside, al though they stay energetic long enough to do the party some real damage. The PCs likely will be forced to kill them before the cold does. TG and the rein deer immediately heat a hasty retreat if the scorpions are led outside. The party should be bright enough to figure out that the scorpion fight will certainly alert anyone in the vieinity (including GRINCH in the couneil chamber next door). Spending time leading the scorpi- ‘ons outside will be pointless unless done quietly. Baby Giant Scorpions (9 Int Non; ALN; AC 3; MV 15; HD 5 +5; hp 17 each; THACO 17; #AT 8; Dmg 1-6/1-6/ 1-2; 8A Poison from tail sting enuses 144 additional points of damage ifthe vietim fails a save vs, poison: SZ 8; ML. 9: XP 175 each. Encounter 13—Apocalypse Winter Holiday Eve Ifthe party charges into the council ‘chamber, there is nothing to read to the players. However, if they enter slowly and cautiously, read the following: ‘Ok, so this is it. Behind that door is the final solution, While you are ‘considering whatever fate that awaits beyond the door for you and your friends, strains of music are heard drifting into the room—not whole symphony or any voices, just a flute and drums. Shortly, the drum. ming ceases, but the flute continues ‘to pour out its melodie strains, ‘The flute is playing some song appropri ate to the construction of snowmen, such as “Frosty.” ‘The final encounter in Winter Holiday A. Fight and destroy GRINCH. B, Negotiate a trade, perhaps to include TG, the Sleigh and Reindeer, the ‘Naughty/Nice Roster, and a way home, €. Join GRINCH. ‘There could be more solutions, de- pending upon the players. Furthermore, individual PCs may seek solutions dif- ferent than the party as a whole. Dragon is aware of all these possibili ties, Her main concern is the disruption of Winter Holiday, not the destruction of the PCs, who are potential converts to hor eause. Therofore, her initial re ‘sponse to the return of the party will be toestablish a passive defense and await the party's actions. She will respond in kkind, fighting to the death (not hers, she hopes) if attacked. She may negotiate if the party is in a talkative mood. Any solution is okay with Dragon as long as GRINCH’s mission is not permanently jeopardized In a fight, Larry joins the weakest ‘group, most likely the party. Ifthe groups negotiate, Larry hangs around (invisible) in case a fight breaks out. He will not initiate a fight himself, but may provide illusionary help during negotiations if he believes one side is faining an unfair advantage. Unless the party manages to defeat the scorpions quietly, GRINCH will be alerted (by the noise) that the party has returned, and thus begin at step 1 of the battle strategy outlined below (prepared by Dragon, and detailed for the judge's convenience). If the party catches GRINCH by surprise, and fights instead of nogotiates, begin at stop 6. 1. Dragon plays the drums of pienc; Racoon and Bull eat if needed. 2. Dragon casts clairvoyance to watel the scorpion fight and get some inkling ofthe party's powers and abilities. Bull plays pipes of the snowmen, but does not Start to create a snovman until the party attacks, '3 Dragon casts protection from normal missiles on herself “4. Dragon easts improved mirror image swhen she judges the time to be best. 5. Ifthe party is hostile toward GRINCH (as determined by clairooy- ance), Dragon begins to play the drums ‘again just as the PCs prepare to enter the Council Chamber; Bull begins even tion of a snowman from the pipes. The snowman appears in front ofthe door after the mirror image is cast If the party wants to negotiate, Dragon will drop the improved mirror image asa sign of good faith. Talk then begins. Ifa fight breaks out, begin the attack with the same plan as above ‘As the party enters, the snowman forms and the PCs (and Larry) must roll saving throws versus the drum effets. If Larry fails (don't forget his magic resistance), he will have to steal food from the closest PC and will conse- quently be visible. 7, Dragon easts polymorph self tiny red dragon form); Bull and Racoon move to attack, concentrating on the previously- identified spelleasters. Bull will fight until dead. Racoon will fight as long as GRINCH is winning; she will surrender otherwise, 8 Dragon casts web: Larry joins in invisible, of course), using pickpocket ing and illusion abilities to create gen- eral confusion such a3 stealing random spell components or items. 9. Dragon casts hold person on a con: venient PC or PCs. 10. Dragon uses her remaining spells as needed, without regard for Bull or Ra- coon if they are nearly dead. She will save her most destructive spells for last, hoping to capture any party members who surrender or who are knocked out. 11. Dragon's escape. I things are going badly, Dragon casts darkness 15° radius to cover her exit via teleport spell Dragon: AL LE; STR 7, INT 17, WIS 14, CON 12, DEX 16, CHA 12; AC 3; ‘MY 12; We 11; hp 39; THACO 17; #AT 1; Dmg by weapon or spell; SZ M; ML 14; XP-6,000, Weapons: dagger, 6 darts ‘Magic Items: Ring of shocking grasp, Bracers of defense AC 5, ring of protec tian #1, pipes ofthe snowmen (ee be low) ‘Spells Carried: burning hands, magie missile (x3), darkness 15° radius, web, ‘Tasha's uncontrollable hideous laughter, ray of enfeeblement, clairvoyance, hold person, protection from normal missiles, lightning bolt, improved mirror image (aew spel, ice storm, polymorph self, cone of cold, teleport, wall of farce Dragon appears as a lanky, middle-aged ‘lf. She is comely, save for her some: ‘what clongated but blunt nose, She is rarely seen out of her shimmering, deep red robes. Dragon controls GRINCH, and consequently does most of the talk: ing. Abandoned by her parents when she was young, she has developed a dislike of family events, especially Winter Holiday, and has a rather cyni- cal outlook om life. The other two mem- bers of GRINCH, in Dragon's eyes, are disposable if it will help her eause. In battle, she likes to polymorph herself into small, bird-sized creatures, often ‘employing the form of a tiny red dragon, hence her name. It is not Y H E D R Oo N16 Dragon's intention to be killed in this, operation. She merely wants to weaken Winter Holiday. Accordingly, if the battle is going against her, she will attempt to teleport out. Pipes of the Snowmen: Playing an ap- propriate tune on these platinum pipes causes a furious, blinding snowstorm, 20 in diameter, to issue forth for as long as the pipes are winded. Visibility in this blizzard is 10 feet. After one round of piping, the snow, as desigmated by the piper, forms into a vaguely human. cid shape. This requires one full round ‘When formed, the snowman attacks the nearest warm-blooded creature. The ‘aitack cannot be controlled by the piper ‘and continues until all potential targets (or the snowman) are destroyed. If at- tacked while forming, the snowman imply fails to coalesce that round. ‘Snowmen from these pipes have the following statistics: Int Non; ALN; AC 6; MV 15; HD 6 +6; hhp 33; THACO 13; #AT 2; Dmg 2-8; SA ‘a successful save vs. paralyzation oF resistance to cold reduces the damage the snowman inflicts by one half, erea ‘tures immune to cold attacks take no damage); SD double damage from fire- based attacks, any fire attacks on the snowman while itis coalescing will in snow and ice; SZ M; ML NIA. Pipes of the snowmen can be made to yield only one snowman per week. Improved Mirror Image illusion! Phantasm) Level: 4 Range: 0 Components: V.S, Duration: one roundilevel Casting Time: 4 Area of Effect: 10’ radius Saving Throw: none ‘This epell is in most respects like a ‘mirror image spell, exeept as noted above. Furthermore, 1d6 +6 images of ‘each subject within the area of effect are created, These images wink out at a rate of one per round at the end of the spell dura melee or missi for this seonario, the spell wil create 9 images of Racoon (for 10 lords. Teaping), 10 of Bull (11 pipers piping) and 11 of Dragon (12 drummers drum- ming). Racoon: AL LN: STR 15, INT 12, WIS 10, CON 15, DEX 16, CHA 14; AC MV 12; Th 13; hp 64; THACO 14; #AT 1; Ding by weapon; SZ M; ML 10, XP 3,000. Weapons: broad sword, flail, garrote, Tong bow Magic Items: Bracers of defense AC 6, broad sword +1, 20 arrows +1, boots of float like a butterfly see below) Thieving Abilities PP OL FT MS HS DN CW RL BS 95 82 80 95 8 40 95 65 x5 Racoon derives her name from the ‘mask-like birthmark on her face. In all other aspects, she is unremarkable. She is middle-aged, and of average height ‘and weight. She joined GRINCH under the pretext of neutralizing Winter Holi day. But she is actually a thieves’ guild pplant to keep an eye on the ambitious " Dragon. Before this job, she had never heard of Winter Holiday, but is in ‘trigued by the concept (access to all ‘those houses! Boots of Float Like o Butterfly: These ‘boots allow the wearer to engage in faney footwork, so us to appear to be dancing. This adds ~2 to AC. Alter. nately, the wearer may do a flip over ‘the Head of a small or medium-sized ‘opponent while engaged in melee. This function adds ~4 to AC and is per- formed in lieu of any attack for that round. Bull: ALLE; STR 18/04, INT 6, WIS 14, CON 17, DEX 15, CHA 9; AC 0; MV 12; F 12; hp 95; THACO 10; #AT 3:2 Dmg by ‘weapon(+1 “to hit” +8 damage from strength); SZ M; ML 14; XP 8,000, Magic Items: Bastard sword +1, shield +1, chain mail +3, drums of picnic (see below) Bull is the stereotypical big, stupid fighter, about 40 years old. He is smit- ten by Dragon and will do almost any- ‘thing for her. He really doesn’t understand about Winter Holiday, but if Dragon says itis bad, then it must be a really awful thing. Drums of Pienic: When these drums are played, all creatures (except the drum. mer) must roll a save vs, spells. Failure indicates the vietim immediately sits down to eat a picnic for 2-5 rounds. Halflings save at ~4. Only one saving, throw is needed per tur. When the encounters over the party ‘ll find two arolls in a desk drawer One isthe Naughty Nice roster (non magical), and the second is a scroll (usable by any class) which when read ‘will transport the party home. When ‘TG has secured the Naughty/Nice ros ter, he will leap into the sleigh and take flight. As he fades from sight he is heard to exclaim, “A merry Winter Holiay tall and oall geod nigh” P Oo fR. S. Claws’ Island (Maps 2 & 3) Reindeer Grazing Area + Door “8 Secret Door Water EE] sungle BB sand18 BOOkmMATTIMS Building Troy Denning’s Dragonwall by Jim Lowder ‘The Empires Trilogy was born early in 1989, during a discussion of a planned ‘one shot oriental FORGOTTEN REALMS" novel. David Cook had been slated to write what had been tentatively titled Path of Stones, but for various reasons, that book was shelved (though the charac ters planned for the novel did make it into the game supplement, Hal! of Herocs). Still, since the regular readers of the Realms novels had made it pretty clear that they were interested in sto ries involving Kara-Tur, TSR wanted to set at least one book there in 1990. IFit wasn't going to be a stand-alone novel, it would have to be part of a trilogy. We had a setting for the then untitled trilogy—or at least part of it—but no Girection for the story. (IF you were won: ering, the book department sometimes assigns a general direction to the FORGOTTEN REALMS and DRAGONLANCE® trilogies before we find authors who can plot the books in Getail,) Perhaps, someone suggested, there should be a war between the west ern and the eastern Realms. ‘The people at that meeting had been, up until that point, staring at a map of. Kara‘Tur plastered on one wall of the room. Now they turned to the map of the western Realms posted nearby: Mary Kirehoff, managing editor of ‘TSR’s book department, looked from one map to the other and said, "Hey! The ‘maps don't hook up! What's in between them?” After a fe v more meetings, the Hordelands—at least in concept— became part of the Forgotten Realms and the overall plot for the Empires ‘Trilogy was set. From there, David Cook went to work ‘on the first book in the Empires Trilogy, Horselords, in which a barbarian leader unites the savage tribes that populate ‘those same Hordelands. By the end of that novel, they were to attack ‘Shou Lung. At the same time, David was busy creating The Horde boxed set for the Forgotten Realms gaming crowd. ‘The elusive oriental Realms novel ‘that had instigated the initial Empires meetings suddenly became the second book of the trilogy, Dragonwall. Fre from his work on Waterdeep, the final entry in the Avatar Trilogy, ‘Troy Denning signed on to tackle the daunting task of bringing, Shou Lung to literary life (as well as create a trio of ‘modules for the upcoming Horde boxed set) Dragonwall recounts the tale of a Shou general who must rally the emper or's armies against the barbarians who have invaded his eountry. And while the first book in the series was told from the perspective of the barbarians, Dragon ‘wall details the war from the Shou point of view, Understanding the Shou perspective necessary for the story was not an easy thing. Accarding to Troy Denning, “The biggest challenge of the whole project, was trying to place myself in the shoes of a Shou general. Shou culture is not like ours, It's remarkably civilized and hhas boen civilized since the dawn of human history. But at the same time, it’s brutal beyond belief. Coming to ‘accept the idea that a people cam be highly civilized, highly cultured, but at the same sribly, tereibly vicious is very difficult.” ‘Troy also had to overeome the fact that much of the material written for TSR’ oriental fantasy setting (in the Oriental Adventures hardcover and the Karo-Tur boxed set) has focused on the Japanese facets of the culture, Shot Lung, as depicted in Dragonwall is ‘more like ancient China—a place of huge cities under the control of a mas. sive, highly structured bureaucracy. From its initial conception, the Empires ‘Trilogy was intended to show readers what it was like to live in the three sections of the Realms where the story Research played « large part in help- ing Troy understand the Shou culture, which he based in part upon the Sung Dynasty in China. But research can only go so far in helping an author write an interesting, believable charac. ter. Imagination and creativity are also vital. When asked how he prepared to write Batu Min Ho, the Shou general who is the hero of Dragonwall, Troy laughed, then noted, “I pretended like I was playing Diplomacy or, better yet, Nu clear War. [tried always to consider what would be the most efficient: means for Batu to accomplish any goal he was, pursuing. considered him a very ‘tunnel-visioned sort of character. After he set a goal, he could only be distracted from it by the most dire of circum. stances, Batu has a total disregard for his own life—or anyone elses—but at the same time, he is a very competent char. acter who has no real malice Epic, carth-shattering wars, like the ‘one that serves as the overall plot for Empires, are not uncommon in fantasy. Certainly 1989's Avatar Trilogy, which chronicled the apocalyptic fall of the gods themselves, showed that big events ‘can shake the Realms from time to time. But Troy, who worked under the psuedonym Richard Avlinson on the third novel of that trilogy, Walerdeep, is quick to point out the differences be tween the Empires Trilogy and the Avatar Trilogy. “The biggest difference has to be that, the characters in the Empires books make the action of the novels, while in Waterdeep and in many fantasy novels, the heroes are eaught up in the action, then go along with it and deal with it the best they can. In those novels, the heroes might be able to do some small thing that changes the course of history. In Empires, we deal with the people who make history on a daily basis “sa quite a challenge to write that type of character. In gaming terms, they're 20th level paladins, but they're constantly forced to remember to keep their armies fed when they really want. to go out and fight dragons.” a P oO L Y H E D R Oo N19 The New Rogues Gallery It Was An Ugly Building by Laura D. Craig Dante Greyshadow stared across the ‘mudldy river atthe new edifice being erected on the site of the burned-down Paladin’s Resthouse. A small lift of his lips was the only outward show of ex- pression Dante allowed himself as he remembered how the old tavern, a favor- ite haunt of Knights of Kalador, had burst into sudden and glorious pyrotech nies which he himself had engincored. But he hadn't done it alone, he thought, recalling the deed... Rezhyk and Clint ‘had been there, “Wait a moment, Dante,” Rezhyk scowled. “Let me get this straight—vou want to WHAT... “Blow up the Paladin’s Resthouse," Dante said simply. “Why?” “Why not?” Dante countered. “You said yourself there’s way too many Knights of Kalador around these days, You told me you were afraid...” “T'm AFRAID of nothing” Rezhyk sneored. “I said I was CONCERNED, there's a difference. “Alright, then. You're concerned they may discover your keep way out here, find out what you're up to, and stop your plans.” Dante knew Rezhyk in- ‘tended to find a way to resurrect the evil mage Ramallion. While he didn't exactly like the idea (Ramallion could never be trusted—dead or alive) he wasn't going to hinder Rezhyk’s re- search, It made Rezhyk a more powerful ally Rezhyk considered Dante's argument. “What do you want from me?” Clint, who had just joined the duo, chuckled softly to himself. He had to ‘admit Dante's plan was audacious, and he halfway considered donating his part in the scheme so he could strike at the paladin Gedeak the Gallant, @ personal nemesis. Business was business, though, and he couldn't let Dante think he eould touch him for charity work anytime he wanted. T'm in,” Clint said, “I'll do what you want, but there's a small matter of material eosts, labor... “Don’t try to con me, Clint,” Dante said severely. “I've known you too long. Anyway ‘You'll be paid the standard fee for a job like thin” “So what do you get out of it?” Clint asked idly. “The satisfaction of seeing my broth- ‘er'g name dragged into the mire,” Dante smiled openly this time. It was an old sore with him. His twin brother Damien had joined the Knights of Kalador. That ‘wouldn't have been so bad if he had just let Dante alone, but Damien saw it his duty to make Dante repent of his evil ways. Dante, however, didn't want to change his ways, and decided upon a ‘unique and ingenious form of retaliation—he masqueraded as his twin when the opportunity presented itself ‘and often completed “jobs” under Da “Gods.cursed thumper!” Dante called his brother privately. The term referred to the priests of the Order of Light, of ‘which Kalador was the patron, who frequently “thumped” their holy books in an effort to emphasize a point during “T'll have what you need by this time tomorrow:” Clint said. “Where should I " Dante responded. have a few things to set up for this job, and Rezhyk has to do a bit of his magic stuff before we're ready! “Fine with me,” Clint said. “Just let me know when you're going to do it s0 T can get a good seat.” “Now tell me again exactly what you intend to do with all this debris," Re- zhyk said, “Something the matter with your hearing, Rezhyk?” Clint smirked, “Tt seems pretty clear to me. ‘Indulge me,” Rezhyk said drily. “I heard it, I just don't believe it.” ‘Very well” Dante allowed a private smile. The two men with him were as lose to friends as he would admit ‘Clint has acquired a small amount of that black powder which will explode if ignited. Thave a bung from a wine key which [ want to rig up so the whole thing will detonate when the bung is tapped. What I need from you, Rezhyk, is ‘a small magical charge which will go aff at that point and blow up the keg which will be packed, not with wine, but with oi, That should be sufficiently devastat- ing to take out the entire building” ‘Since when did you start advocating: urban demolition?” Rezhyk jibed “Since my dear brother began fre- quenting the place,” Dante returned “Can you do it? fit isn't beneath your dignity, Tmean, “My dignity, as you call it, has noth- ing to do with it. Tjust like to have a good reason for what Ido. ““One thing bothers me, Dante,” Clint said. “How are you going to pack the place with those Knights of Kalador?” “Have no worries on that score’ Dante smirked at this. "My dear brother has decided to help us, albeit unknowingly, of eourse.” "Time passed and the plan was set into ‘ation. Evert the innkeeper looked at the wine consignment suspiciously. “T still insist I didn't order this keg of wine!" he scowled. ‘The vintner just shrugged. “I have the papers here: one kog of red wine to be delivered to the Paladin’s Resthouse by ‘midday. Signed by Damien Greyshadow, Knight of Kalador” Evert's face cleared. “Ahhh! So Da mien ordered it? Well, that’s different, then, Did he say why he needed s0 much brought here? My own cellar is quite well-stocked.” “T just deliver the stuf. I don't ask questions,” the vintner replied. “But I do know that you're to wait for his ar- rival this evening before tapping it.” Evert shrugged as he led the vintner to the cellar doors at the back of the inn. Who knew why the Knights did anything the way they did. All he knew or cared about was that they paid their tabs promptly and they seldom if ever trashed his tavern with brawls, If Da- ‘mien wanted a keg of wine brought hhere, who was he, Evert, to argue about it? Gedsak the Gallant rode up to the Paladin’s Resthouse and led his charger around the back to the stables, The message from Damien Greyshadow seemed rather odd. No one had ever called for a meeting of the Knights of Kalador, and certainly never ta meet at ‘a Resthouse, Why not the Guildhouse? Still, he was young, what did he know about the Order except what he had learned in his two short years as a Knight? Perhaps this was something he didn't know about yet P oO L Y H E D R O° N20 He made sure his horse was attended to, then made his way to the inn. Al ready quite a number of Knights were seated at the tables; the main topic of conversation seemed to be why they had been summoned. Apparently Damien hhad not yet arrived. ‘Gedsak took a seat near one wall. He didn't feel fully accepted by the older Knights as yet, and had decided not to join their groups unless invited. As he waited for his tankard to be filled with ale, he thought about asking for help on ‘8 serions matter. Apparently someone was committing crimes in his name. ‘The description of the criminal even ‘matched his own description to some degree. He knew he needed help on this. He refused to allow his good name to be besmirched by some hoodlum out on @ lark. “Sir Gedsal, Knight of Kalador?” a young voice asked. am he,” Gedsak replied. A small boy, about nine ar 10 years of age, staod by his table, “Tknew it!” the boy said excitedly. “I saw ye ride in. [begged Micah, the bouncer, t’ let me in t’ see ye. I know who's doin’ those nasty things an’ blamin’’em on ye!” Gedsak came instantly alert. “Ye know who the foul blackyuard is?” “Aye. ’E lives not far from 'ere, I saw ‘im beatin’ a priest, sayin’ all the while “e was Gedsak the Gallant. [ knew it wasn't you, though. Iseen ye once help- ing a poor family what didn't have ought teat: Gedsak grew more excited at the thought of closing in on his nemesis. If he could bring the scoundrel to justice, he could clear his name, “Can you lead ‘me to him, now?” If he could catch the rogue quickly, he could be back before the appointed meeting with the other Knights, and could prove he hadn't committed the crimes of which he was accused. “Aye, 'e be home now, an’ if we hurry, ye can catch ‘im afore ’e knows ‘e's been caught!” As they hurried toward the door, one of the older Knights rose to make an announcement, “have received word that Sir Da- ‘mien has been unaccountably delayed He insists he will be here as soon as possible, and asks that we partake of the keg of wine he had delivered here earlier today while we await his arrival, He also asks that we please do wait for ‘him, as his information is vital to the survival of our Order” ‘There were murmurs at this speech, those of approval at the thought of the wine, and a wonder over the contents of Damien's message. But Gedsak felt a ‘small hand tug on his and allowed him. self to be led from the building. If Sir Damien were delayed, he had a little ‘more time in whieh to trap the rat using his mame. ‘The boy ran ahead of him calling, “This way, Sir Gedsak! We must hurry! It’s not far at all!” Gedsak marvelled at the boy's exuber- ‘ance, and hurried to cateh up with him. At the street corner he pulled up and glanced around; the boy had disap- peared into the crowd. “Kalador's Light!” he muttered, “where did he go?” He drew a deep breath to call out, and stopped, realizing he didn't know the boy's name ‘Suddenly behind him the sky lit up in 1 tremendous fireball, and the pereus sion of the explosion sent him to his knees. Bits of burning wood began to fall around him and he staggered to his fet, turning to see the entire Paladin’s Resthouse a torched inferno, “Gods, NO!” he choked, and moved forward to help. Help who? the thought ‘lit through his brain. No one could have lived through that explosion. And suddenly Gedsak knew he had been used, HE would be blamed for this lat est atrocity. He turned and ran back down the street, Already a crowd was sathering and soon fingers would be pointed. Gedsak ran to save his life and avoid a lynching. ‘Around the earner a small boy melted into a small hideous ereature, It hissed a low chuckle. “Master Rethyk will be pleased,” it murmured, ‘as will his friends” ‘So you really didn’t get your brother, Dante,” Rezhyk remarked. “The blame is being put on some other hapless "dhumpe Oh, that’s just as well” Clint inter: rupted softly. “ve buen disguising my- self as Gedsak and committing crimes om his behalf” Is that why you wanted my creature to puil him out of there?” Reshyh asked. “Yeah, I'm not ready to let up on him yet Are you upset about that, Dantet “Nor really. I don't care if Damien gots the blame. It's enough that he will know Thad something to do with this episode, and he won't be able to prove it. Besides, ‘there's another bonus from this job.” “What's that?” asked Clint “They'll have to spend some of their money to rebuild the place. It needed to be blown up. Tt was an ugly building, anyway.” Clint Of The East Wood ‘9th Level Drow Male Thief (Assassin) STR: “ ‘ 2 2B Alignment: Lawful Evil Languages: Common, Elvi Weapon Proficiencies: Long bow, hand crossbow, long sword, dagger Nonweapon Proficiencies: Disguise (17), trailing (18), reading lips (1), tightrope walking (18) Magic Items: Dagger +2, ring of invisi- bility, ring of protection +1, rope of climbing Thief Abilities PP OL FT MS HS DN CW RL 80 65 60 80 90 65 95 35 Drow Abilities: Clint can cast the following spells once a day—daneing lights, faerie fire, darkness, levitate, now alignment, and detect magic. Clint hhas a 68% magic resistance. Appearance: Clint is 255 years old and is of medium height and build, with ark brown hair and eyes. He wears a scruffy beard and moustache most of the time, except in enses where shaving it would disguise his appearance. Clint is very good-looking, and uses his looks to his advantage wherever he can. Background: Clint was born the ille gitimate child of Lionel, Earl of the East Woods, He had an older half brother and half-sister who met an untimely and highly suspicious fate, but, Clint’s alibis are sound. Clint very often, appears slow on the uptake, and has a casual, laid-back attitude. He is very sharp when it comes to money and an easy take. Although he claims to be a loner, he is most often found in the company of Dante and Rezhyk. P Oo L Y H E D