2$   7KH 'HHS Layout

The base consists of 4 levels with the

3ULVRQ upper one being an observation dome
and the others lying embedded in the
ocean bed. There are quite a few slave
,QWURGXFWLRQ pens which hold both personal servants
and thralls used to clean out the undead
During their daring defence of the
in the ruins.
Nezumi Network, the PCs are captured
and become prisoners of the Illithids
behind the assault. They are taken to one
of their outposts near the underwater
ruins of Naga-Noth.

7KH %DVH
The base the PCs are sent to is relatively
new, established about 3 years ago. It
was built to look for the library of
quintessential necromantic knowledge
which is rumoured to contain
information on necromantic magic which The observation dome is built out of a
will be of great use for some dark greenish glass, with bronze support
crusade rumoured to start soon. The beams and 2 airlocks. The airlocks can
base is run by Flawless, a mind flayer be used to leave the dome and swim
claivoyant of the magoi sect. It is outside or to enter a submarine. The only
convinced that this library conatains submarine available to the outpost is a
some powerful item that will surely aid small scout submarine which is steered
its foul masters. by giving telepathic commands. the
second airlock is designed for transport
The Mood subs that dock length wise. These
The Base is all dark, illuminated only by transports come by every month to bring
the eldritch glow of the qualith writings supplies and take aboard salvaged goods
that cover the walls. The air pressure is which are brought to the bigger cities.
higher than normal and PCs of low There are four "elevators" which lead
constitution will feel like they are down from the observation dome. These
suffocating. vertical shafts are completely weightless
The cells are even darker than the upper due to some powerful psionic
levels and it is easy to bump into technology. Two of the lower levels can
someone. Cellmates are mere outlines be reached this way.
and it is easy to confuse people. The first underground level are the
While the base looks beautiful in some quarters. Here, Flawless lives together
ways, it is also a place of terror. The with its five assistants. It holds the
illithids smell of death an decay and their biggest living quarter where it often
sculptures are often made of human body enjoys gloating to its personal servant.
parts and bones. The cells are even The position of personal servant
worse, they are little more than stables - becomes vacant quite often, since
in fact even worse! Flawless has a short temper.

Page 1
The fighting pit is used by the mind way to teleport as they always come
flayers for amusement. Two slaves are with the prisoners.
thrown in with short blades and are shot
at with crossbows until one is dead, 3DWKV RI (VFDSH
either by the bolts or after being killed by
his opponent. Such fights take place
Y Running Away: Not the brightest
about once a month and the losers brain idea, as it takes at least 20 hours of
is eaten and his body fed to the slaves. continuous swimming to reach the
The winner is brought back to the cells shore.
and does not have to work for a week. Y Outside Help: If the PCs manage to
The Eastern storage room contains ally with any of the forces in
goods salvaged from the ruins, the Naga-Noth, they might be able to
Western one contains goods needed for escape. The polymorphed mage
running the base other than the supplies might help them if they strike an
needed for the slaves. agreement with him. The most likely
Illithids that have time off, often meet at course of action would be him
the communal pool, where they enjoy providing the PCs with enough
the water and discuss things. It is not a potions to make it to the coast.
good thing for a thrall to be summoned Another way might be to cause an
here as this often means that somebody attack on the base and use the
plans to have a snack. confusion to escape with the glove
The shrine is dedicated to the Wheel of that allows to bestow wtaer
Law. The flayers go there to gain insight breathing.
into the nature of law and evil or to Y Sucking up to the New Masters: If
torture Gladinius, the champion of chaos the PCs show enthusiasm during
who is chained down here in a constant missions or during gladiatorial
state of agony. combat, a mind flayer might make
The inner sanctum is the final level them its personal servants and after a
reachable from the dome. In the middle while will even let them live in its
is a tiny elder brain's pool. It does not quarter. In this position the PCs can
contain a full elder brain but rather a do much more than before.
significant chunk out of the god brain, Y Learn Telepathy: the only way to
which allows it to suprvise and operate the subs is to learn telepathy
communicate with the Illithids in the and obtain power points. If one of
outpost. the PCs becomes a loyal retainer of
The meditation cells around the pool are one of the mind flayers, she will find
used when flayers want to communicate this out on a pleasure trip to a nearby
with their ruler or when they long for the ship graveyard. Majestic would be
mind-numbing hum that telepathically just the kind of talker to reveal such
floods this level of the base. secrets. Telepathy could be studied
The final level are the slave pens, in secret from one of the many
reachable only by teleportation or illithids libraries which even contain
through the ethereal. The fragment of books in the human script.
the elder brain can teleport things from Y Stealing Things: There are several
this level to any other level upon mental useful items inthe base that will not
request by a guard or an Illithid. This be heavily guarded such as several
might not be apparent to the slaves who talismans of shark form, potions of
often assume that the guards have some water breathing, and small
nonmagical weapons. Stealing these
Page 2
 is easy but hiding them in the cell is absent-minded. He often takes out
not (as soon as the itmes are missing slaves to repair things which gives
the cells of those allowed to go to them a chance to lok around the
illithid quarters will be ransacked). base.
The best way is to hide them Y Pyro: This illithid is a Creator who
somewhere outside (e.g. the looks for a way to create fire
necromantic library) and use them creatures. The slaves fear it for it
when the time to flee has come. often does gruesome experiments on
Y Sneaking aboard a Sub: This is a them.
bad idea, as it will bring the PCs Y Mother: Mother is obsessed with
toone of the great mind flayer city knowledge and will often interview
domes. Not the best place to escape slaves for days. Mother has a huge
to! library and slaves sometimes have the
opportunity to sneak in there as it
0DMRU 13&V keeps them in its apartment for days.
Y Majestic: A young illithid who loves Mother is far older than Flawless and
often challenges its decisions. Since
to be flattered. While this will not let
Flawless is far more powerful, these
it be tricked in any way, it will losen
objections are usually ignored
its tounge and make it reveal
though.
important secrets. If not for its
brain-eating habits, majestic would
Y Flawless: This mind flayer has run
be a an eccentric Louis XIV the base for quite a bit now and is
nobleman in Chinese silks. quite secure in its position of power.
For more info, see the NPCs of the
Shattered Empire.
Y Chung Weng Dao: This kuo-toa
monitor has been a prisoner of the
mind flayers ever since the fall of his
home town. Chung is afraid of losing
his sanity in this hellhole and would
make a good cell-mate for the PCs.
For more info, see the NPCs of the
Shattered Empire.
Y Dong Fei: This mercenary half-fire
elemental visits the base from time to
time, especially to gloat at the
Y Brave: The name Brave is a bit
prisoners who he captured and to get
new axolotl monsters for his raids.
misleading - actually this flayer is For more info, see the NPCs of the
quite a coward! It is a dominator Shattered Empire.
with a quite complex plan to take
over this base. Nobody knows this
Y Garak: This proud and aloof gorilla
was captuered by an illithid patrol a
but it makes him appear in the
year ago and makes a good opponent
strangest places at odd times. It is
among the prisoners (e.g. stealing
hated by the slaves for its severe
food from the PCs). For more info,
punishments.
Y Godlike: This flayer is the chief
see the NPCs of the Shattered
Empire.
engineer of this base and always

Page 3
Y Gladinius the Chaos Champion:
chained to the altar of the wheel of
law as a living tribute, this powerful
warrior would only be too happy to
get his revenge. For more info, see
the NPCs of the Shattered Empire.

Y Ghyl: The sadistic leader of the deep

guard is often used to torture
prisoners into submission. For more
info on Ghyl and the deep guard, see
the NPCs of the Shattered Empire.

Page 4