Temple of the

Burning Man
One-Round D&D 3rd Edition Living Greyhawk
A One-
Adventure

Round One
by Jon Cazares and Brandon Kaya

An important archeological dig is occurring on Scragholme Island. It may reveal information important to the survival
of the revived Shield Lands. You, among others, have been chosen to accompany the archeologists to the dig site. An
adventure for 1st and 2nd level characters.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, GREYHAWK, and RPGA are registered trademarks of Wizards of
the Coast, Inc. LIVING GREYHAWK is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Scenario detail
copyright 2000 by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This scenario is intended for
adventure use only and may not be reproduced without approval of the RPGA Network.
This is a RPGA Network adventure game. A four-hour time
block has been allocated for playing the game (or this round 4 players 5 players 6 players 7 players Lvl Cap
of the game), but the actual playing time will be about three T1: 4-12 5-13 6-14 7-15 4nd
hours.
It is a good idea to ask each player to put a name tag in The level cap indicated the highest level of character
front of him or her. The tag should have the player's name allowed to play this adventure. Characters of levels higher
at the bottom, and the character's name, race, and gender at than the highest level shown for the highest tier cannot
the top. This makes it easier for the players to keep track of be played.
who is playing which character.
Scoring the game for RPGA points:points The RPGA has
three ways to score this game. Consult your convention Lifestyle
coordinator to determine which method to use:
1. No-vote scoring: The players write their names and At the beginning of every scenario, each PC is required to
numbers on the scoring packet grid, you fill in the top pay upkeep costs matching the level of lifestyle they wish
of the grid. That is all. No one is rated. This method is to maintain. The cost of each lifestyle will be indicated at
used for people who are just playing for fun. the beginning of the scenario. The lifestyles, and the
2. Partial scoring: The players rate the game master and the effects that each has on play, are:
scenario on their player voting sheet, and provide
personal information, but don’t vote for other players. Destitute You have no living space, and must carry all
The game master rates the scenario and completes your gear everywhere. You eat poor quality
personal and event information, but does not rate the food. You wear a peasant outfit, your only
players as a team or vote for players. This method is change of clothes.
used when there is no competition, but the Poor You sleep in poor accommodations, and eat
convention coordinator wants information as to how poor quality food. You wear a peasant outfit,
the game masters are performing, or the game master and have two sets of clothing.
wants feedback on his or her own performance. Common You have common lodgings, and eat
3. Voting: Players and game masters complete the entire common quality food. You have normal
packet, including voting for best player. If this method clothing for your profession (adventuring);
is used, be sure to allow about 15-20 minutes for the nothing fancy. You probably have two or
players to briefly describe their characters to the other three sets of clothing.
players, and about 5-10 minutes for voting. This High You stay in good quality lodgings, and eat
method is used when the players want to know who good quality food. You wear anything in
played the best amongst them, or when the adventure value up to courtier’s outfits, and generally
is run in adventure format with winners and prizes. buy a new set of clothing every two weeks.
Multi-round adventures usually required advancing a Luxury You have luxurious accommodations (twice
smaller number of players than played the first round, the cost of good accommodations), and you
so voting is required for multi-round adventures. eat excellent foods. You can throw a
When using Voting, rank the players in order of your banquet for your friends every day, and
voting choice while they are completing their forms, so frequently do. You wear clothing up to the
that you are not influenced by their comments on your value of noble’s outfit, and buy a new set of
abilities. clothes every week.

The players are free to use the game rules to learn about Lifestyles come with bonuses or penalties to Diplomacy,
equipment and weapons their characters are carrying. Intimidate, Disguise, and Bluff skill checks. These
Some of the text in this scenario is written so that you penalties, shown below, should be applied at the DM’s
may present it as written to the players, while other text is discretion, and can sometimes backfire—for example, a
for your eyes only. Text for the players will be in bold italics.
italics PC with a poor lifestyle would not have a penalty when
It is strongly recommended that you paraphrase the player talking to a beggar, but would when talking to a city
text, instead of reading it aloud, as some of the text is official. A PC with a high lifestyle should have a penalty
general and must be adapted to the specific situation or to when dealing with a group of street thugs, where a PC
actions of the player characters. with a destitute lifestyle might not.

DMs are encouraged to role-play these reactions

whenever possible.
LIVING GREYHAWK Tier
Lifestyle Cost Skill Modifier
Structure Destitute 14 sp -2
To determine the tier, add the character levels of all the Poor 43 sp -1
characters. In addition, add the levels of any henchmen or Common 12 gp 0
High 250 gp +1
animals according to the values on their certificates. Luxury 500 gp +2
Compare the total to the chart below to find the tier.

Temple of the Burning Man Round 1 Page 2

 of power that have to do with the water for purposes
unknown.
Guarded by one team of soldiers, the leaders of
Adventure Summary and Critwall send a small team of scholars and diggers into
the swamps, to investigate this temple and what lies
Background therein.
The kuo-toa is an enigmatic underwater race of vile
beings. They worship a foul, long-forgotten god, and Adventure Synopsis
practice forbidden lore and human (or other land
dwelling races) sacrifice to appease their deity. Three The adventure doesn’t really begin until the characters are
hundred years ago a kuo-toa uncovered a ritual to in the swamps; the introduction leads them from
summon a powerful sea demon, The Eldritch Wave. The Critwall, across the Nyr Dyv and on to the Island. The
rite was complex and dangerous but offered great power. characters meet the other Pathfinders (a mixture of low-
Creating the needed artifact, the priest summoned the and mid-level NPCs), including the leader, Sergeant Duc.
creature but was not powerful enough to enact the proper Then they meet the archeologists and travel through the
binding rituals, and, in its demonic rage the fiend swamps, avoiding snakes, for two days as they travel to
destroyed half the underwater city. the dig site. Before they can uncover anything important,
A great hero of the kuo-toa eventually found a means two trolls attack them.
to destroy it. A powerful force of magic flame, ever The sergeant will not risk any of the “greens” (low
burning even underwater, consumed the Eldritch Wave. level pathfinders) and orders the veterans to tackle the
The demon was dead but its flaming shell remained. trolls. They bring the creatures down but a lot of blood
The hero impaled the body with a magic sword it had slips into the swamps, additional trolls will be looking for
stolen from a surface dweller. It then hid the body by the group.
dragging it to a far away place. That was not good enough The characters are sent with one (or more) of the
for the leaders of the kuo-toa. The demon had destroyed archeologists deeper into the swamps to enter the temple,
half the city and killed many kuo-toa, so they banished remove whatever artifact they are searching for (although
the priest who summoned the Eldritch Wave until he no one is quite sure what to look for) and come back.
found a way to seal it up for eternity. Sergeant Duc tells the characters that the group will have
The priest took his followers to the cave containing no problem holding out against a few lousy trolls.
the flaming corpse. Over the course of dozens of years The characters enter the temple, breaking the outer
they constructed an underwater temple to hold the seal and releasing the kuo-toa from stasis. The kuo-toa
burning body. They carved a history of the demon, should defend the temple from the invaders. The characters have
other kuo-toa stumble across the temple, which explains the opportunity to explore the small caves, some roughly
in detail how to destroy the beast, should it ever awaken worked, some are not worked at all. Then the kuo-toa
from death. ambush the characters, capturing some (if not all) of them
The priest then summoned three great demons, in and bringing them to the Temple of the Burning Man.
circles of binding, and forced them to guard the burning The kuo-toa woke and found the summoning portals
body. The priest found it particularly amusing to summon empty, and in a panic, are trying to summon another
hated enemies of the kuo-toa and force them to protect a demon. They plan on sacrificing the characters to appease
kuo-toa temple. the demon. The kuo-toa summon the very same type of
Then twelve kuo-toa were placed in stasis to further demon that was used to guard the temple before, a hated
safeguard the temple. If ever the seal to the surface world enemy of the their race. The priest is not nearly as
was broken, the stasis would drop and the kuo-toa would powerful as the as the priest who summoned the first
deal with the invaders. The priest then dropped the demon, and lacks the skill to properly bind the demon.
artifact next to the stone altar with the rest of the The result is that the summoned demon is able to attack
offerings, returned to his city, and quickly forgot about whatever it wishes, but is unable to physically leave the
the whole mess. circle.
Three hundred years passed. After the demon refuses to eat one of the characters,
Occasionally a kuo-toa enters the Temple from the it turns its attention on the kuo-toa, devouring any in
underwater entrance and leaves an offering or two, but sight. Then it tries to get the characters to release it from
the only significant changes have occurred in the last fifty its circle by lying and telling them, despite its appearance,
years. There was a great storm that shook the temple and it is a good creature.
caused massive damage to the history room. Then the Whether or not the characters free the creature is up
Crook of Rao was used and the demons were banished to them. Once all the kuo-toa are dead or have fled to
back to their plane of existence. gather reinforcements, the characters are free to
The high priests in Critwall have reason to believe investigate the temple and the burning man.
that a recently uncovered scroll points to an underground They escape the temple, remove all the artifacts and
temple of Sahaugin design. The temple seems to contain the archeologists assume the powerful relic they are
an artifact of power. They have heard rumors about mad searching for is the sword in the burning man. Returning
wizard Waqounis, leader of the occupied forces in to the swamp they find out that several of the soldiers
Axeport. It seems as if the Mad One is searching for relics have been killed, repelling troll attacks.

Temple of the Burning Man Round 1 Page 3

 In the morning, the soldiers pack up and head back Your entire
entire team heads off into the swamps of
to Bright Sentry. Upon arrival they are given several small Scragholme Island.
trinkets, seaweed necklaces, small statues and such to sell
to some collectors for a little extra coin for a job well The Pathfinders have are a mixture of low level greens
done. They will then give these trinkets to the PCs. and mid-level veterans, totaling almost 20 soldiers and 5
The characters sell the items to a collector, receiving archeologists. The soldiers are ordered to protect the
half up front and are asked to return the following scholars and assist them in finding the artifact. Sergeant
morning for the other half, after he has had some experts Duc is no-nonsense and when he issues orders, he expects
check out the items. Characters return the following them to be obeyed! No questions asked.
morning to get the rest of the coin and find only the dead For two days the group scours the swamps, criss-
bodies of the collector and everyone involved. crossing and following maps to find the location the
After investigating the scene, the city guards arrive scholars are looking for. Encourage the PCs to roleplay
and arrest anyone inside the house on the charge of and get to know some of the NPCs. The journey itself will
murder. be uneventful until they arrive at the dig site.
The important NPCs for the scenario are as follows:

Sergeant Duc, male human Ftr7: Ftr7 Medium-size humanoid

Introduction: The Early Bird (5 ft. 11 in. tall); HD 7d10+28; hp 80; Init +1 (+1 Dex); Spd
Earlier this morning you received the summons to report for 20; AC 16 (+5 chainmail, +1 Dex); Atks +11/+6 melee
duty as a Pathfinder. Spiky rays of sunlight leak from the sky, (1d10+5 [crit 19-20], bastard sword) AL NG; SV Fort +11,
shadowing Critwall as you gather with perhaps two hundred Ref +3, Will +3
other Pathfinders at the east gate. Str 17, Dex 13, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 10
The duty officers begin to forming groups and issuing Skills: Climb +5 (-4 chainmail), Listen +6, Search +6,
orders. No one around you seems to know what is happening. Spot +6, Swim +3 (-10 weight); Feats: Blind Fight, Combat
Sleepy-
Sleepy-eyed humans grumble, whilst stoic dwarves wait Reflexes, Endurance, Great Fortitude, Improved Bull
patiently. A small pocket of elven rangers farther on whisper Rush, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (bastard sword),
amongst themselves,
themselves, while a group of three halflings talk in Weapon Specialization (bastard sword)
hushed tones while smoking small brown pipes. Equipment: Chainmail, bastard sword, pouch
The duty officer approaches your group and calls you containing 12 gp, 2 sp
closer together. The officer is young. You do not recognize him.
His uncertain and cracking voice betrays his inexperience. Sergeant Duc is in his 40 ft.s and a hardened veteran of
“Thank you for coming so early.” He says. “Um…we only battle. He’s 5 ft. 9’’, bald and is a bit of a maverick. His
have a few assignments left to, um…well, here, take this one.” dark eyes are hard and he rarely blinks. For a soldier, he
He passes you a writ. A quick scan reveals the words doesn’t like to talk about battle or war much. His usual
“Scragholme Island.” Glancing farther down you realize you response is simple: “War is a nasty business and usually
are being ordered to serve as guards for some sort artifact dig. not fit for stories.” He will go to great lengths for the
The young duty officer doesn’t know much more about soldiers under his command. He is no-nonsense and
your assignment. “Your commanding officer, um…whoever doesn’t like his orders questioned. He cares less about the
that ends up being, will have more information for you, “liberation of the Shield Lands” and more about keeping
surely,” he mumbles. his men alive.
With that your
your group packs up and heads off with He doesn’t really see the significance in this
another group of Pathfinders, heading toward the Nyr Dyv. mission—he has no love of magic or magic artifacts. But
The journey is uneventful and tiring. Hardened trail he knows that these swamps are filled with trolls and
rations and long walks do not improve your mood. A few of worse, and that the archeologists people need to be
the other soldiers know a bit more details of you
yourr mission. protected. He would gladly abandon the mission in order
“Apparently, a month or so back, a group of Pathfinders to save lives.
uncovered a scroll with information about water magic and
artifacts.” The soldier says. “Some sort of spy uncovered a plot Calton Hawkyns, Pathfinder 3rd Class (male human
that involves that crazy wizard Waqounis. He seems to be Rgr7)
looking for some artifact mentioned in that scroll. I’ve heard Hawkyns is the second in command. He and
the high priests of Heironeous think it’s buried somewhere on Sergeant Duc have worked together for many years.
Scragholme Island.” Hawkyns is a premier scout with sharp eyes and swift
That seems to clear things up a bit. You take a ferry across legs. He travels light and is armed with only a few
the channel and finally meet your commanding officer, daggers. He pretends he knows all sorts of grisly details
Sergeant.
Sergeant. Duc. He is short and bald, tough looking with hard, about the enemy secrets that he delights in using to scare
dark eyes. greens. He is more loyal to Sergeant Duc than to the army
He brings you to camp, where another six soldiers are of the Shield Lands.
waiting.
After brief introductions he orders you to pack up and Olmahr Pathfinder 1st Class (male human Brd1)
Neeyl Olmahr,
prepare for the rendezvous with the digging scholars. Neeyl is new to the Pathfinders. He has a fine
speaking voice, which is good because he talks all the

Temple of the Burning Man Round 1 Page 4

time. He knows of all sorts of trivial facts (Did you know
that the average orc tusk weighs three pounds?), or, at Encounter 1: The Dig
least, thinks he does. He cracks many bad jokes (Why After two brutal days in the insect-
insect-infested swamps the
didn’t the skeleton cross the road? He did not have the constant
constant bickering of the three artifact hunters comes to an
guts.), and despite all sorts of annoying traits, he’s is abrupt end. Kalari, the elf, has made a discovery. He provides
friendly, helpful, and generally likable. At the very least, some obscure evidence to the others that apparently proves the
he keeps up the spirits of the group. artifact is not Sahaugin in design but kuo-
kuo-toan. The kuo-
kuo-toa
are ancient, enigmatic race of water breathers who zealously
Mauthue Gulkin (male human Exp5; Knowledge worship a vile deity. The find excites Kalari. You overhear
(Archeology) +11) him explaining to Sergeant Duc that the kuo-kuo-toans were very
Mauthue was born and raised on Scragholme Island. logical in their thinking. He seems to think there are only so
Fifty-years-old, he is also the oldest member of the many places they would hhave ave hidden it. Given some time,
expedition. He is a kindly old man who delights in a Kalari believes that he can reason out where they would have
quick tale of adventure. He is convinced that the artifact kept the artifact. The three scholars order the digging to halt
is of Sahaugin design and has several (non-magical) while they discuss the next move.
charms to ward against their magic. He expects this to be Sergeant Duc orders the more experienced Pathfinders to
his last field mission. He admits that he is getting on in patrol the around the area, while the rest of you stay nearby.
age although despite that, he seems quite spry.
The characters are kind of stuck at this point. They
Jyn Argot (male human Exp3; Knowledge (Archeology) probably won’t have much to offer to the scholars and
+8) right now, deep in the scrag swamps. Allow them a little
Jyn is a handsome young man with sandy hair and more time to roleplay because nothing significant
blue eyes. Jyn studied magic in Greyhawk where he happens until nightfall. A few key things that happen
found his true love wasn’t magic at all, but, rather, it was while they wait…
antiquities. After realizing this fact about himself, he • One of the characters overhears a conversation
abandoned the pursuit of magic and apprenticed himself between Sergeant Duc and Hawkyns. Hawkyns is
to a scholarly group of artifact hunters, much to the telling Duc that he has uncovered three troll nests in
disgust and dismay of his parents. After five years as this part of the swamp. If they pick up our scent…he
apprentice he struck out on his own. This is his first leaves that unspoken.
archeology mission, and he is quite excited and eager to
• A different character overhears part of the scholar’s
prove himself. He is very well traveled and seems to have
conversation. Apparently, because everyone thought
a specific fondness for the Rhennee (they have such a
the scrolls were referring to Sahaugin artifacts, a few
fascinating culture!). He is also the group’s cartographer.
things were translated incorrectly. That’s why they
have been digging in the wrong place.
Kalari Yelloweyes (male elf Wiz6; Knowledge
(Underwater Races) +9) • A poisonous snake bites Neeyl. This event happens
Kalari is an ageless looking elven wizard from the near nightfall. A Pathfinder who is a cleric of St.
south. He was brought in specifically for his knowledge Cuthbert slows the poison with a spell, but cannot
of water races and their designs. No one realizes he is a neutralize its effects. He thinks he can make an
wizard and he sees no reason to tell the Pathfinders or his antidote with some of the herbs and medicines he
fellow archeologists about his magical abilities. He has with him but needs one more ingredient—some
doesn’t really like humans, he believes that the race is too moss from a black spry tree that grows in the swamp.
arrogant for their own good, but he needed the coin and He begins to prepare the antidote, and sends anyone
they paid well and covered all expenses. His spells are all with an appropriate skill to look for the moss. If any
locating and/or water related, he has no combat spells. He characters wander into the swamp, play up the
is more interested in the mission than the safety of the tension, the weird noises, the dark twisting shadows,
humans. Although he has a brilliant mind, he knows but don’t have them encounter anything. If they
nothing of the dangers of Scragholme Island other than successfully find some of the moss (Profession
the obvious reference to the Scrags. (herbalist), DC 12, or Heal, DC 16) Neeyl is saved.
Otherwise he dies from the poison.
The soldiers are broken down as follows: • If Neeyl dies, the veterans become very tense. They
• The Characters know that trolls track by scent and can smell the
stink of a dead body from a distance. They hope that
• 5 Pathfinders 1st Class (levels 1-4)
the natural odor of the swamp covers the smell of the
• 5 Pathfinders 2nd class (levels 5-6) body. If Neeyl receives the antidote he is unable to
• 3 Archeologists remain active and is violently sick whenever he is
• 2 Diggers, both strong and burly. awake. The Priest of St. Cuthbert orders him to rest.

About an hour before nightfall the scholars think they

have figured out where to dig, about a mile to the north.
The camp is packed up and the group moves through the

Temple of the Burning Man Round 1 Page 5

swamp. The entire journey makes the veterans uneasy. The foul and murky water hides any dangers. You notice
They caution against the move, opting to move camp in Kalari has only a small satchel he slings across his back. A
the morning. The scholars disagree saying the group can small dagger strapped to the side of the satchel appears to be his
easily reach the location before nightfall. only weapon.
The more experienced Pathfinders reluctantly agree. “Follow
“Follow me.”
Kalari slips into the water.
About a half-
half-hour past sunset the scholars halt. Excited they
start setting up pole lanterns in the swamps, obviously ready to Characters may choose to or not to remove armor,
start the dig now. Sergeant Duc advises against lighting the weapons, and heavy equipment. Kalari does not force
lanterns, afraid
afraid that it will attract the trolls. There is a quick them. Anyone trying to swim carrying a lot of weight will
argument until Sergeant Duc refuses to allow any light source. have difficulty. While not impossible, make any
Too late—
late—one of the digger’s lanterns suddenly blazes characters swimming with a large amount of weight very
into the night. Immediately a series of harsh and bestial calls aware of the difficulty. The rules for swimming and
are heard off to the north, followed by several more to the east. drowning are found in the Player’s Handbook, page 74 and
You are pushed aside as Sergeant Duc calls for order. One in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, page 85.
of the Pathfinders extinguishes the light and Duc orders a If asked, Kalari suspects the entrance to be
circular formation around the civilians. He orders silence and underwater. His reasoning is as follows:
mumbles a pray to Heironeous. Long minutes pass as you wait 1) That would explain why it hasn’t been found
quietly for the unknown, and the night turns eerily silent. 2) The Koa-Toans are more comfortable in water
Down the circle you hear a sharp intake of breath, and quickly than on land. Therefore, it would stand to reason
turn in that direction. You see the first troll shamble out from that they hid the artifact underwater.
the fens.
Sergeant Duc orders the aattack.
ttack. He is quite correct on both accounts. Kalari tells the
characters that he suspects there to be some sort of
The soldiers battle in the darkness against two adult trolls. entrance in this area. Characters who look (Search, DC
This fight is not a combat encounter. Tell the battle’s story 15) will find a man-made, or rather a Koa Toan-made,
as the veterans fight the two trolls with occasional help entrance, about three feet under water. The entrance is a
from the less experienced Pathfinders. wide and squat door, some 4 feet wide and two feet high,
After their battle ends Sergeant Duc orders all the and totally submerged.
troll bodies to be bound together with several dry ropes, If Characters can’t find it, Kalari will find it in about
then he lights the rope on fire. The trolls burn. ten minutes. The entrance is the size of a human door,
Two Pathfinders fall in the combat. sealed from the inside. Kalari will cast knock to force the
Sergeant Duc knows that more trolls will be coming locks and seals open. It is very difficult to open the door
and has the Pathfinders dig in and find a defensive (Strength, DC 25) because of its weight. Up to three
position near the base of a few large uprooted trees. characters can attempt to force the door. Use the rules for
Now the trolls can only attack from one side. He cooperation on page 62 of the Player’s Handbook.
says it’s too dangerous to move through the swamp at The characters can look for a way to open the door
night; the group has to hold out until morning. (Search, DC 14). If successful, they find a lever that opens
Unless he has already done so, this is when Kalari the door. The lever is buried deep in the muck on the
reveals to the others that he is a wizard. He tells Duc that bottom of the swamp. It rises out of the muck when the
he can see in the darkness with a spell and can guide a door is unlocked. The rise of this lever causes a burst of
handful of soldiers to an underwater entrance he air bubbles so PCs should spot this easily (DC 5).
discovered during the battle. If the characters are unable to open the door or find
Kalari says his location spells have detected a fault in the lever, Kalari will find the lever.
the nearby swamp, something that doesn’t fit. He is sure When the door opens swamp water does not spill
that is the location of the temple. into the open doorway. The cave beyond is already filled
Sergeant Duc sends the Characters with Kalari. “Find with water from the Nyr Dyv.
this damn artifact and bring it back here. We’ll hold out.” Kalari swims down to investigate. Since the entire
area is submerged, he uses the spell breathe water. He
dives under and the characters are left waiting deep in the
swamp, in the dark.
Encounter 2: Temple of the
the At this point they will be able to hear cries of pain
and sounds of battle from back where the others are. Let
Burning Man them sit and roleplay for only few minutes before Kalari
Kalari leads you into the swamp, not too far from the others. emerges, taking a huge gasp of air. He tells the characters
He begins removing his clothes until he wears only the they have to swim for a ways before they will be able to
essentials and he suggests you do the same. come up for air. He is very excited because of what he
“Your gear will be safe here. The trolls are not interested believes to be an enormous discovery.
in your trappings, only your flesh. We need to swim from here It should be obvious to any characters in armor or
on out.” carrying excessive equipment that they cannot make the

Temple of the Burning Man Round 1 Page 6

swim. Try to keep the characters from returning to the The Submerged Entrance & General
battle with the trolls.
Kalari attempts to reason with any characters Information on the Caves
planning on heading back to the battle. The entire entry cave is filled with water from the Nyr
• This place has been sealed for a long time. There Dyv. Kalari has a tiny glass vial that holds some sort of
should be nothing down there to fight. The phosphorescent substance that illuminates a small
characters won’t need their weapons, armor or other portion of the water. Treat it as a torch for lighting.
heavy equipment. Take small weapons if it makes the The swim isn’t hard. Kalari swims down, deeper into
characters feel better the cave and through a passage before entering a cave
• Kalari needs all the manpower he can get to dig up or with air. The entire swim takes about two rounds. The
move obstacles on the way to the artifact, and the characters must make swim (DC 10) rolls each round.
PCs have been ordered by Sergeant Duc to assist Kalari explains to characters that the previous cave
him. they exited had only this exit. Characters still have to
• The other Pathfinders are capable of fighting the tread water (swim DC 8) though there is plenty of stale
trolls. The characters would only be a liability to the air. Air funnels into the caves from several small locations
veterans. They would have to look out for the throughout the swamp, but none of them are large
characters as well as themselves, endangering them enough to use as an exit.
needlessly. All passages between caves are completely
submerged, the air pockets can only be found in the
• Kalari needs an extra mind. He has entered temples caves.
and tombs where riddles and traps guard the None of the caves are lit unless otherwise stated.
treasures. He needs help solving or disarming them. Only the important locations on the map have been
In other words, the rest of the game takes place in fleshed out in detail. If there is no description about a
the temple so try to get the characters to stay. If someone cave, assume it is empty. Strange movements under the
absolutely refuses to enter the temple or heads back to the water or sounds coming from the darkness above can be
rest of the group, let them. used to heighten the tension in the otherwise empty
caves.
Scrags (10): CR 5; Large Giant (9 ft); HD 6d8+36; hp 63 Unless otherwise stated, the caves themselves are
(each); Init +2 (+2 Dex); Spd 20, 40 swim; AC 18 (-1 size, rough and crudely cut. The passages are jagged and
+2 Dex, +7 natural); Atks +9/+9/+4 melee (1d6+6, claws; unworked around the edges but there is ample space to
1d6+3, bite); SA Rend; SD Regeneration 5, Scent swim, each entrance is about fifteen feet in diameter.
Darkvision 90 ft.; AL CE; SV Fort +11, Ref +4, Will +3. Any underwater combat will raise silt and mud after
Str 23, Dex 14, Con 23, Int 6, Wis 9, Cha 6 1 round of combat, effectively blinding everyone. Normal
Skills: Listen +5, Spot +5; Feats: Alertness, Iron Will. rules will apply for blind fighting and underwater
SA - Rend (Ex)—If a scrag hits with both claw attacks, combat.
it latches onto the opponent’s body and tears the flesh. As well, when fighting underwater any slashing or
This automatically deals an additional 2d6+9 points of blunt weapons do half damage unless the character is
damage. affected by a freedom of movement spell or a similar effect.
SQ – Regeneration 5 (Ex)—Fire and acid deal normal If the PC does not have a swimming speed (i.e., failed
damage to a scrag. If a scrag loses a limb or body part, the Swimming check) or a freedom of movement effect, the PC
lost portion regrows in 3d6 minutes. The creature can suffers a –2 circumstance penalty to Dexterity, attacks,
reattach the severed member instantly by holding it to and damage when underwater. Any slashing weapon,
the stump. The scrag must be mostly submerged in water blunt weapon, claw attacks, or tail attack also inflicts half
to regenerate; Scent (Ex)—Trolls can detect approaching damage (subtract 2 first, then take half the rest). A
enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell successful hit still inflicts at least 1 point of damage.
(see Monster Manual, p. 10 for full effect).

These hungry creatures fight without thought of harm Cave 1: Entryway

unless fire or acid is used against them. When they have Despite Kalari’s assurance that the cave is empty, it is not.
lost more than half of their hit points to such attacks they A number of kuo-toas have been held in magical stasis
retreat. until the ward on the entryway was broken. When the
Characters who come back to fight should have a characters opened the entryway without the proper ritual,
more experienced Pathfinder come to their aid when they the stasis dispelled.
get in trouble. Try to avoid killing characters, but if they The kuo-toas are all assassins and have extensive
insist of fighting the Scrags there is a good chance they knowledge in hiding themselves in the water.
get killed. They watched Kalari swim around, enter the other
cave and come back to the exit. The creatures swam back
to the temple and make sure nothing has been disturbed.
Though they understood that the magic stasis might hold
them for a long time, they have no idea it would be
hundreds of years.

Temple of the Burning Man Round 1 Page 7

 To see more about the kuo-toan defenders go to: swiftly swim into Kalari’s pale light. There is a brief
Repelling the Invaders,
Invaders below. thrashing, and then the light floats up to the surface.
Unless the characters somehow intervene, the kuo-toa
Cave 2: The Beginning will successfully kill Kalari.
If characters persuade Kalari to leave, he grudgingly
Kalari’s dim phosphorescent pale green light eerily illuminates does so and the kuo-toa try to kill him later.
a tiny area of the dwarfing darkness. The water is bone
chillingly cold.
Kalari’s eyes widen in anticipation. He then speaks in a Cave 4: Ambush
Ambush
breathless whisper: “From here we have a few choices. We can As Kalari has already related to you, this passages curves
head north, from my brief excursion down tha thatt passage it leads around to the east. It then it turns into a dead end.
to some sort of…I think this is perhaps a sacrificial room.
Down to the south there was a short passage that bent around Characters have one chance to notice the inky blackness
to the east, I didn’t pursue that one further. The other option is (Spot DC 15), rapidly filling the water, devouring the
unsavory at best. There is another passage that lleads
eads straight meager underwater light source.
down.” It only takes a few brief seconds for the light to be
engulfed. Allow characters an action (if they noticed the
Kalari isn’t sure where to go and he will take advice water) and then the kuo-toa attack.
from the characters. He is intrigued by the passage that If the light is raised above the water it will illuminate
goes straight down but is also uneasy about it. If pressed the air space but the water below will be pure black.
on the subject he will simply shrug his unease off as a “gut The kuo-toa use this attack to draw the characters to
feeling” that it is a trap. He is a very rational elf, and can the Temple. They attack using their nets to capture the
be talked into ignoring his “gut” with little effort. group. Anyone captured by the Koa-Toa is bound and
Nothing else of interest is in the cave. brought down to the Temple. The kuo-toa only capture
If they take the passage that goes straight down go to one person each. Once each kuo-toa has a captive they
the section titled: Cave 5: The Temple of the the Burning will swim off, leaving anyone else behind. If Kalari has
Man.
Man not been killed yet, the kuo-toa will attempt to do so.
After 4 rounds of combat he takes a fatal blow. If the kuo-
Cave 3: The History Cave toa flee before then (i.e., successfully capture as many PCs
Floating on the surface of the water in this cave are chunks of as they can), Kalari is injured but still alive.
debris. Kalari slips down underwater, taking his pale light
with him. It gets darker as he swims away but the cave does Tier 1 (EL 3)
not go pitch-
pitch-black. You watch as the green light moves around kuo-
kuo-toa (2)
(2): CR 2; Medium-Size Monstrous Humanoid
the bottom of the cave for several seconds before reemerging. (Aquatic); HD 2d8+2; hp 12 (each); Init + 0; Spd 20 ft. / 50
“Yes.” Kalari says. “Definitely a sacrificial cave of some ft. swim; AC 16 (+6 natural); Atks: +3/-2 melee (1d4+1 +
sort. It seems to be safe, come take a look.” poison, coral dagger; 1d4, bite) or +2 ranged (special, net);
SA poison; SQ keen sight, slippery, adhesive, immunities
Any PCs who swim down with Kalari will see the alien (poison, paralysis, hold spells), electricity resistance 30,
carved glyphs and sigils etched into the floors and cave light blindness, amphibious; AL NE; SV Fort +3, Ref +3,
walls. Most are now worn from a few centuries of being Will +5
submerged and are unrecognizable as anything but Str 13, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 8
squiggles. Some however retain their image and a few Skills: Escape Artist +18, Listen +9, Move Silently +5,
retain their potent magic. Search +10, Spot +11; Feats: Alertness, Great Fortitude
This room is not a sacrificial room as Kalari suspects. SA: poison (Ex)—each time a character is hit by a
He believes the symbols are religious in nature and are dagger, small microbes enter his or her bloodstream. The
used to offer worship and prayer. Rather, this is a history character must make a Fortitude save at (DC 12) or suffer
room. Every time a sigil is touched there is a 1 in 20 a 1 damage to Str, Dex and Con. Secondary damage is an
chance it still retains magic. Assume that if a character additional 1 point to Str, Dex and Con.
touches enough sigils he or she eventually finds an active SQ: keen sight (Ex)—kuo-toa eyesight is so keen that
one. The magic has lost its potency over time and all that they can spot a moving object even if it is invisible,
remains are vague impressions of places, random kuo-toas ethereal or astral. Remaining perfectly still protects from
and visions of the destruction of the underwater city. this ability; Slippery (Ex)—webs, magical or otherwise,
If enough time is spent in this room, Kalari will don’t affect kuo-toa and they can usually wiggle free from
figure out his error. He comes across a few working sigils most other forms of confinement; Adhesive (Ex)—anyone
and wants to spend more time in the room, to study. He who makes an unsuccessful attack against a kuo-toa must
begins to investigate every single glyph and spends a long succeed at a Reflex save (DC 14) or the weapon sticks to
time in here. If this happens the kuo-toa will try to sneak the shild and is yanked out of the wielder’s grasp.
up and kill him. Creatures using natural weapons are automatically
Two of them slip into the room and try to attack him grappled if they get stuck; Light Blindness (Ex)—abrupt
when everyone else is up for air. Characters can make a exposure to bright light (sunlight or daylight spell) blinds
Spot roll (DC 15), to notice two human sized, dark shapes the kuo-toa for 1 round. They also suffer a –1 competence

Temple of the Burning Man Round 1 Page 8

penalty to all attack rolls, saves and checks while The characters could have a variety of skills to roll
operating in bright light; Amphibious (Ex)—kuo-toa can determine if they understand what is happening. Allow
survive indefinitely on land. any appropriate roll and give them any information you
Equipment: coral dagger, net, ink bladder. deem they understand, judging on the skill used and
referring to the section titled: Repelling the Invaders.
Invaders
Augmented Tier (EL 4) Characters have a few options.
For the augmented tier, double the number of kuo-toa. • Wait and hope for rescue from above. Perhaps
someone escaped capture or went for help?
We were unable to locate any rules for underwater • Leave it up to chance to see if a better opportunity of
combat. escaping present itself
• Try to thrash around and escape. (earning them the
Cave 5: The Temple of the Burning Man kick to the head.)
Change as appropriate whether the PCs are entering of
their own free will or bound by the kuo-toa and dropped It takes about five more minutes for the kuo-toa to finish
into the Temple. The text bellow assumes they are bound the summoning. Once the carvings are completed, they
and thrown but still conscious: lace the carvings with a liquid and perform the chant to
summon the demon. The chant is a bizarre sounding
Rough hands bound you and now you are being dragged language, with frequent gestures to the water and to the
through the water at an amazing speed. The rushing water ground, as if praying to some god below.
pounds against your entire body, you cannot even move, let
alone attempt escape. Suddenly you are jerked to a stop. Again Suddenly everything goes silent.
the strong, rough hands grab you and shove you out of the There is a dark noise that rips through the chamber. The
water. There is a brief second of confusion and panic as you ground inside the large sigil falls away. Like sand it tumbles
realize you are falling.
falling. As you fall you notice a harsh, endlessly down some twisted spiral.
flickering light, and creatures, not wholly man, not wholly The kuo-
kuo-toa spring
spring back away from the portal. Still
fish, below. You twist in the fall and see a pool farther below bound, you’re a scant ten feet from the pit. A soft hissing echoes
you. Then you smash into the water. from the hole.

Any character failing a Fortitude save (DC 10) is knocked Give the characters a moment to react.
unconscious for a few seconds from the impact. All
characters are dragged out of the water and tossed onto a Dark, twisted tentacles shoot out with amazing speed. They
cold, rock floor. Once all PCs are out of the water give flap about with sick, wet splashe
splashes,s, leaving behind a green
them a few seconds to collect their senses, then describe slimy residue. Then one of the tentacles finds (pick a PC) and
their surroundings. they all suddenly converge on him. He disappears down
into the pit.
You are lain on the hard rock floor surrounded by humanoids Horrified screams tear through the cave.
resembling large bipedal fish. They are eerily silent as they
work. The cave is large, and only a small portion of it is lit by Once again allow characters to react. Most likely they will
the human-
human-sized figure, burning atop an altar. try to escape by rolling away or breaking the nets.
The figure is laid on its back, hands folded across its
stomach and a white-
white-hot sword protrudes from its chest. This The screams last only for a few seconds and then all is silent. A
burning man is crackling and popping as it burns. moment later the body is tossed out of the pit and into the
Except for the one fish man watching you, the other five water.
are working around a large symbol on the ground, etching
and ccarving
arving into the rock. Three other symbols are carved into Anyone watching the kuo-toa notices they suddenly look
the rock floor around the altar. These, however, seem to have agitated at this turn of events. At this point there might be
some sort of white powder filling the etchings. mass chaos as characters try to escape and the kuo-toa try
Small religious statues and trappings litter the floor, most to shove them back toward the pit. The next few things
broken and shattered. A few few scattered gems and jewels catch that happen are this:
the firelight. • A snaky, plant like tentacle comes out and splits apart
into hundreds of tiny cilia like eye stalks. They
Characters are hard pressed to escape. The kuo-toa search the room for something to devour. Eventually
watching them is not stupid. Any attempt to spellcast or they begin to focus on the tasty kuo-toa.
escape will earn them a kick to the head (automatic hit, • The dark, twisted tentacles will spring out again, this
1d3+1 [subdual], kick). If any character finds some way to time engulfing kuo-toa. After the body is pulled into
escape under the watchful eye of the kuo-toa, they are not the pit there are breaking sounds, like twigs
able to free the others lest the guard notices. Any attempt snapping, followed by a sickening sucking noise that
to overpower the kuo-toa would bring about the wrath of lasts for a few seconds. Then the eyestalks come out
the other five. again, searching.

Temple of the Burning Man Round 1 Page 9

This repeats itself until all the kuo-toa are devoured. For Equipment: coral dagger, net, ink bladder.
each new person that enters the Temple, the eyestalks
come out and see if it is kuo-toa, if not, then they go back Repelling the Invaders
down into the darkness. If the kuo-toa escape into the
water, they flee with no plans of returning unless they The kuo-toa, once awoken from the stasis, immediately
have reinforcements and powerful kuo-toa priests. head to the temple to check on the body and the artifact.
The character that was pulled into the pit had a There they discover the body and artifact untouched but
harrowing experience and unless he or she succeeds in a the guardian demons dispelled. This disturbs the kuo-toa.
Will save (DC 10, or 15, see below) is panicked (suffers a – They split up and a number of them prepare the ambush
2 moral penalty on saving throws and must flee, see to bring any invaders down into the Temple, while the
Dungeon Master’s Guide, p. 85 for full effect). The thing other half prepare to summon another guardian demon.
pulled him or her down into the darkness, into a thick, The kuo-toa follow the characters around the caves
putrid liquid, surrounded by a filthy smell of rotting fruit. for a bit and determine that only one of them is a
The demon licks, pokes, and prods the character. danger—the one who can breathe water—Kalari.
Plunging him or her in and out of the liquid, until it The kuo-toa attempt to kill him in the ambush. The
decided it wasn’t kuo-toa and, rather, tasted nasty. Then it summoning needs sacrifices so the characters are targeted
flung the character out of the pit so its foul taste wouldn’t to capture.
pollute the liquid it lived in. Any character failing the save The kuo-toa are armed with three weapons. Each
receives a certificate, reminding them of this encounter carries a small dagger like object made from some sort of
and giving them a fear of dark, enclosed spaces. A hardened, jagged coral. Drawstring nets, capable of
successful check on the Will save means the character holding one man sized creature. And ink filled bladders
was shaken up severally but recovers. that they empty into the water to blanket all light.
Remember to subtract any kuo-toa that were They will always use the ink bladders first to
defeated in previous encounters. The demon kills most of completely mask their approach in the water. Then they
the kuo-toa and that is where they focus their attacks use the drawstring nets to engulf a character into
until the first couple are consumed. They then flee from helplessness. Once they capture a character, they swim
the battle as fast as possible. off towards the Temple and toss characters down into the
pool below and then, after a moment, dive down to follow
Tier 1 (EL 6) them.
kuo--toa (6): CR 2; Medium-Size Monstrous Humanoid
kuo There is a connection between the pool and the
(Aquatic); HD 2d8+2; hp 12 (each); Init + 0; Spd 20 ft. / 50 ambush passage but it takes more time to swim that
ft. swim; AC 16 (+6 natural); Atks: +3/-2 melee (1d4+1 + twisted path. The secret passage cannot be opened from
poison, coral dagger; 1d4, bite) or +2 ranged (special, net); the ambush side, only from the pool side of the passage,
SA poison; SQ keen sight, slippery, adhesive, immunities so even if characters discover it, they will be unable to
(poison, paralysis, hold spells), electricity resistance 30, open it with anything but a knock spell.
light blindness, amphibious; AL NE; SV Fort +3, Ref +3, If characters enter the temple by way of the secret
Will +5 passage they catch the kuo-toa by surprise, perhaps even
Str 13, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 8 stopping the summoning; however, the kuo-toa are
Skills: Escape Artist +18, Listen +9, Move Silently +5, keeping track of the characters. So if they lose sight of
Search +10, Spot +11; Feats: Alertness, Great Fortitude them for longer than a minute, it won’t be hard for the
SA : poison (Ex)—each time a character is hit by a kuo-toa to figure out where they have gone.
dagger, small microbes enter his or her bloodstream. The The kuo-toas use the same tactics in combat that they
character must make a Fortitude save at (DC 12) or suffer used in the ambush. If they are fighting out of water, they
a 1 damage to Str, Dex and Con. Secondary damage is an use the coral daggers.
additional 1 point to Str, Dex and Con. If the characters are captured, the kuo-toa finish the
SQ: keen sight (Ex)—kuo-toa eyesight is so keen that preparations for the summoning, complete the circle and
they can spot a moving object even if it is invisible, summon back one of the demons to protect the temple.
ethereal or astral. Remaining perfectly still protects from Unfortunately for the kuo-toa, they succeed. The
this ability; Slippery (Ex)—webs, magical or otherwise, demon is a mortal enemy of the kuo-toa’s god. The priest
don’t affect kuo-toa and they can usually wiggle free from who originally summoned the demons centuries ago was
most other forms of confinement; Adhesive (Ex)—anyone more powerful than the priest who summons the demon
who makes an unsuccessful attack against a kuo-toa must during this adventure. The priest is not powerful enough
succeed at a Reflex save (DC 14) or the weapon sticks to to bind the creature. It cannot escape the circle but can
the shild and is yanked out of the wielder’s grasp. attack whatever it wants. And it enjoys the taste of kuo-
Creatures using natural weapons are automatically toa more than any other meat, and finds out immediately
grappled if they get stuck; Light Blindness (Ex)—abrupt it detests the taste of human, dwarf, elf, gnome, hafling or
exposure to bright light (sunlight or daylight spell) blinds half-orc flesh.
the kuo-toa for 1 round. They also suffer a –1 competence The kuo-toa will attempt to flee into the pool and
penalty to all attack rolls, saves and checks while escape into the Nyr Dyv. They do not want to fight the
operating in bright light; Amphibious (Ex)—kuo-toa can demon.
survive indefinitely on land.

Temple of the Burning Man Round 1 Page 10

The Demon of the Pit greets characters, drinks his potion of water breathing,
The demon is a creature from a watery portion of the finds the passages into the Nyr Dyv from the pool and
Abyss. It is a highly intelligent fiend. Once summoned it swims back up. When he comes back a few hours later he
tests the circle and finds it incomplete. It cannot escape sets up a rope to pull characters up through the ceiling
but it can speak, use powers and attack whatever it wants. tunnel. It takes a considerable time to box, pack and haul
It wants to be freed. It has no way to charm or up all the artifacts.
beguile the characters so it tries to use its wits. Once all They do not bring the body. It is left on the altar or
the kuo-toa have been killed it eventually raises a wherever characters moved it.
pseudopod that opens to reveal a human like mouth. A Half of the soldiers were killed in the swamps but
voice, watery and disgusting, speaks: nearly a dozen Scrags were felled. No one has any arrows
or bolts left. The journey back to Bright Sentry is tense
Know that I am not pleasant to gaze upon, at least not to your but uneventful. Most of the soldiers are injured and travel
species of flesh. We are alike. We hunt the kuo-
kuo-toa. They are is slow.
enemy mine. My race hunts the—the—they die. They hunt us—us—we Once back in Bright Sentry, Sergeant Duc rewards
die. War it is. I beg of you flesh to break the circle. Destroy a the characters with a small bag of trinkets from the cave,
portion that I may be free. Not trapped like beastly slave. no jewelry with precious stones, just antiquities. He tells
Allow me freedom. If you have a soul that is clean, I beg of you characters to sell them because, “They did a damn find job
flesh to help me. Wish that I could be more pleasant to gaze gaze and I know how much soldiers get paid.”
upon, but I can not. I am not a monster. He suggests selling them to some dealer or personal
collector in Bright Sentry. Due to the items’ connections
This is all a lie. The creature is an evil demon. If the to a water civilization they will probably find a much
characters help it by breaking the circle, read: better price here on the island, where the locals trade
with the Rhennee.
Putrid green ooze rises from the pit until it is level with the It isn’t hard for character to find a collector. The
ground. A line of the burning fluid sizz sizzles
les out of the pit collector will estimate the value to be around 900 gp for
towards the pool of water. The sizzling fluid burns a channel all 8 pieces. He will give them half up front and the other
into the rock. The putrid fluid pours down the channel into half in the morning after he has some of his people look
the water. You see a horrid sight of bulbous plant like pods and the piece over to make sure none are fakes. Explain that
dark tentacles slither through the channel into ththee pool. this is all very routine and that this is simply how it’s
done, there is really no cause for alarm, hopefully
If characters do not free him the demon remains silent characters don’t think the poor guy is going to leave town
for the entire time they are in the cave. It will wait for or anything.
another. Play this part out like it is not part of the game, play it
Statistics are not given for the demon. The characters like it is part of the conclusion and therefore not really
should not fight it. If they free the demon, it flees. If they relevant. It’s just the time where the characters get the
do not free it, it doesn’t attack them. gold. Don’t let them understand than something
significant is about to happen.
Find out who goes to pick up the rest of the gold,
probably not all of them (this is important) but once again
Conclusion make it sound like its no big deal. When characters arrive
Once everything calms down the character can to pick up the gold at the collector’s house, there is no
investigate the cave. They find hundreds of items strewn answer. A quick investigation finds the back entrance
about the chamber. Several gems have shaken loose from open. The bodies of the collector and a few others are
jewelry items, small statues, trinkets, hundreds of found, piled up in a bedroom. There are no signs of a
antiquities from an underwater civilization. A detect struggle. The wounds are rough and jagged, with burning
magic will reveal the burning figure, the sword and the infections.
summoning circles as magic. They find their pieces lain out on a table, judging
No matter what characters do the burning figure will from the bloodstains, it looks as if a few people were
not extinguish. The body looks like a pile of human killed right around the table. One of the pieces is missing.
shaped ash but disturbing it does not cause it to collapse. The city guard will then enter the house and arrest
The sword is magical but not the artifact that everyone everyone for murder.
will believe it is. The sword is a simple +1 longsword and
was used to pin the burning figure to the altar (and to The End of Round 1
drag the figure through the water) anyone with a high
Strength that can somehow prevent the damage from the
burning figure can remove the sword from the body.
Remember that the sword is white hot. Allow any Experience Point Summary
well-thought-out plan to succeed in removing the sword. To award experience for this adventure, add up the values
It can be tossed into the water to cool off. for the objectives accomplished. Then assign the
Eventually, Calton Hawkyns comes in to help them discretionary roleplaying experience award. The
escape. He falls through the ceiling tunnel into the pool, roleplaying award should be given for consistent

Temple of the Burning Man Round 1 Page 11

character portrayal and contribution to the fun of the The campaign staff reserves the right to take away
game. You can award different roleplaying amounts to any item or gold acquired for things it later finds
different characters. unreasonable but which were allowed at the time.
Award the total value (objectives plus roleplaying) to
each character. Encounter Two
• 450 gold from selling the antiquities.
Encounter One • 6 Coral Dagger (Value 20 gp, Weight 1 lb.): This
Saving Neeyl 50 XP dagger is carved from pinkish coral. It is a fragile but
usable weapon. Each time it hits an opponent there is
Encounter Two a 20% chance that it breaks, making it worthless.
Saving Kalari 100 XP • Claustrophobia – You are deathly afraid of being
Refusing to free the Demon 100 XP alone in dark enclosed spaces. Any time you find
Defeating the remaining kuo-toa 150 XP yourself in such a situation, you must make a
Recovering the antiquities 50 XP Willpower save (DC 15) or be overcome with the
desire to leave the area immediately. If you are
Total experience for objectives 450 XP unable to leave, you suffer a –5 to all attack rolls,
Discretionary roleplaying award 0-50 xp saves and checks until you are able to leave. This can
be cured by a heal spell.
Total possible experience 500 xp

Treasure Summary
Player characters may keep items from the scenario that
are listed on the treasure list below or which meet the
following conditions:

1. The item must be non-magical and specifically listed

in the text of the adventure (e.g armor on foes). If it
is not listed in the text, the characters cannot keep it.
Items of this nature can be sold for 50% of book
value, or recorded on a log sheet.
2. Animals, followers, monsters, henchmen, and so
forth (any living being, basically) may not be kept
from a scenario for any reason unless the treasure
summary lists the being specifically. It is okay for the
player characters to form relationships with NPCs,
but these will not be certed and cannot bring
material benefit to the character. Contacts (sources of
extra information) must be specifically certed.
3. Theft is against the law, but may be practiced by
some player characters. Items that are worth more
than 400 gp that are of personal significance to the
owner (including family heirlooms), and all magical
items, will be discovered in the possession of the
character by one means or another. The character
must return the item and pay a fine equal to three
times the value of the item stolen. In addition, the
PC caught receives campaign-decided penalties for
being known as a thief, such as Infamy. For other
stolen items which meet the criteria in #1 above, use
your judgment and the circumstances within the
game to determine whether a PC thief gets away with
the theft or not.

Any item retained according to these rules, which does

not have a certificate, will not ever have a certificate
issued for it.

Temple of the Burning Man Round 1 Page 12

Temple of the Burning Man Round 1 Page 13
 Temple
Temple of the
Burning
Burning Man
Two-Round D&D 3rd Edition Living Greyhawk
A Two-
Adventure

Round 2
by Jon Cazares and Brandon Kaya

An important archeological dig is occurring on Scragholme Island. It may reveal information important to the survival
of the revived Shield Lands. You, among others, have been chosen to accompany the archeologists to the dig site. An
adventure for 1st and 2nd level characters.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, ALTERNITY, GREYHAWK, and RPGA are registered trademarks
of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. LIVING GREYHAWK is a trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Scenario detail copyright 2000 by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This scenario
is intended for adventure use only and may not be reproduced without approval of the RPGA
Network.
This is a RPGA Network adventure game. A four-hour time
block has been allocated for playing the game (or this round 4 players 5 players 6 players 7 players Lvl Cap
of the game), but the actual playing time will be about three T1: 4-12 5-13 6-14 7-15 4nd
hours.
It is a good idea to ask each player to put a name tag in The level cap indicated the highest level of character
front of him or her. The tag should have the player's name allowed to play this adventure. Characters of levels higher
at the bottom, and the character's name, race, and gender at than the highest level shown for the highest tier cannot
the top. This makes it easier for the players to keep track of be played.
who is playing which character.
Scoring the game for RPGA points:points The RPGA has
three ways to score this game. Consult your convention Lifestyle
coordinator to determine which method to use:
4. No-vote scoring: The players write their names and At the beginning of every scenario, each PC is required to
numbers on the scoring packet grid, you fill in the top pay upkeep costs matching the level of lifestyle they wish
of the grid. That is all. No one is rated. This method is to maintain. The cost of each lifestyle will be indicated at
used for people who are just playing for fun. the beginning of the scenario. The lifestyles, and the
5. Partial scoring: The players rate the game master and the effects that each has on play, are:
scenario on their player voting sheet, and provide
personal information, but don’t vote for other players. Destitute You have no living space, and must carry all
The game master rates the scenario and completes your gear everywhere. You eat poor quality
personal and event information, but does not rate the food. You wear a peasant outfit, your only
players as a team or vote for players. This method is change of clothes.
used when there is no competition, but the Poor You sleep in poor accommodations, and eat
convention coordinator wants information as to how poor quality food. You wear a peasant outfit,
the game masters are performing, or the game master and have two sets of clothing.
wants feedback on his or her own performance. Common You have common lodgings, and eat
6. Voting: Players and game masters complete the entire common quality food. You have normal
packet, including voting for best player. If this method clothing for your profession (adventuring);
is used, be sure to allow about 15-20 minutes for the nothing fancy. You probably have two or
players to briefly describe their characters to the other three sets of clothing.
players, and about 5-10 minutes for voting. This High You stay in good quality lodgings, and eat
method is used when the players want to know who good quality food. You wear anything in
played the best amongst them, or when the adventure value up to courtier’s outfits, and generally
is run in adventure format with winners and prizes. buy a new set of clothing every two weeks.
Multi-round adventures usually required advancing a Luxury You have luxurious accommodations (twice
smaller number of players than played the first round, the cost of good accommodations), and you
so voting is required for multi-round adventures. eat excellent foods. You can throw a
When using Voting, rank the players in order of your banquet for your friends every day, and
voting choice while they are completing their forms, so frequently do. You wear clothing up to the
that you are not influenced by their comments on your value of noble’s outfit, and buy a new set of
abilities. clothes every week.

The players are free to use the game rules to learn about Lifestyles come with bonuses or penalties to Diplomacy,
equipment and weapons their characters are carrying. Intimidate, Disguise, and Bluff skill checks. These
Some of the text in this scenario is written so that you penalties, shown below, should be applied at the DM’s
may present it as written to the players, while other text is discretion, and can sometimes backfire—for example, a
for your eyes only. Text for the players will be in bold italics.
italics PC with a poor lifestyle would not have a penalty when
It is strongly recommended that you paraphrase the player talking to a beggar, but would when talking to a city
text, instead of reading it aloud, as some of the text is official. A PC with a high lifestyle should have a penalty
general and must be adapted to the specific situation or to when dealing with a group of street thugs, where a PC
actions of the player characters. with a destitute lifestyle might not.

DMs are encouraged to role-play these reactions

whenever possible.
LIVING GREYHAWK Tier
Lifestyle Cost Skill Modifier
Structure Destitute 14 sp -2
To determine the tier, add the character levels of all the Poor 43 sp -1
characters. In addition, add the levels of any henchmen or Common 12 gp 0
High 250 gp +1
animals according to the values on their certificates. Luxury 500 gp +2
Compare the total to the chart below to find the tier.

Temple of the Burning Man Round 2 Page 15

 a handful of kuo-toa and they don’t want to risk a large
battle.
The morning after the assassination attempts the
Adventure Summary and characters are questioned in the presence of a paladin,
who will detect evil. The investigator focuses on the
Background Judge artifacts they brought forth from this Temple. The
This is the second of a two-part adventure. DMs should investigating officer of the court then releases the PCs. As
run the same group for both parts. The character the characters are all innocent and not evil, the
characters just completed the archaeological dig, received questioning should result in the PCs favor.
a bonus from Sergeant Duc and while trying to sell it, From here the characters should attempt to solve a
were accused of murder. The characters had unknowingly few of the mysteries surrounding them.
received a powerful artifact as payment. The artifact did
not radiate magic and for all practical purposes, seemed 1) Who killed the dealer and what exactly was
mundane, so the characters attempted to sell it for some stolen. There is a strong possibility that they
coin. The characters brought it to a local collector and he can’t even remember what eight pieces they
offered them a pricey sum of which he paid half up front. received from the sergeant. Unless they had
He promised the other half the next morning when the some sort of interest in archeological lore. They
characters return (after he has experts examine the probably just took the “junk” and sold it to
pieces). The dealer was murdered that night. When the someone who would appreciate it?
characters returned to the dealer’s house the following 2) Who are the Seekers and what is this message
morning to collect their payment in full, they found the they have delivered?
bodies. The city guard arrived on the scene and arrested 3) Where are the kuo-toa that attacked us? And are
the characters. there any more?
The kuo-toa who’ve escaped the Temple are bent on
revenge. Due to a mystical connection between the These questions will lead them to a variety of places and
defenders of the temple and truth (the artifact), the kuo- people. There is no specific order that should be followed
toa are able to track the artifact. They slipped into the although a logical progression would be as follows:
dealer’s house at night, killing everyone in the house and 1) They visit the crime scene. There they can
taking only truth. Now that they have the artifact back in investigate the house, but the investigators have
their possession they plan on staying in the city and removed most of the evidence, including the
killing the interlopers who dared take truth from their bodies.
protection. 2) The surviving archeologists (it is assumed that at
least one of them survived). There they can
Adventure Synopsis discover all the items that were brought out of
the Temple as they were cataloged. Then they
This adventure will take place entirely in Bright Sentry can figure out exactly what items were given to
and along the coast of Scragholme Island. Some (if not them and what items were missing.
all) of the characters have been arrested for murder and 3) The Temple of Heironeous where the sword was
are currently in the town’s only jail, a rickety old building taken. Eventually they will discover the sword
down by the coast, guarded by volunteers. was merely a +1 longsword and not the artifact
The first thing that happens, as the characters are everyone assumed it was. From there they may
shopping for new equipment ( they might not even know come to the conclusion that the artifact was
the other characters have been arrested), praying at their either something else taken from the temple or
temple or sitting in jail, is that they are visited by strange, it was never recovered. Since every little scrap
cloaked person, who call themselves The Seekers. The was taken from the Temple, it must be a
person calls out to them and delivers a cryptic message. different item. Anyone at the temple who is
Any sorcerer character receives an additional line in his studying the artifacts can reveal to the characters
message. The characters attempt to solve the riddle of the that some powerful artifacts and relics do not
message as the game progresses. radiate magic.
The truth is back in the hands of th kuo-toa. The 4) An elder woman named Lineene. She is a retired
characters are attacked by kuo-toa assassins, most likely bard, who has an enormous amount of sage and
when they are alone or in small groups, thus giving the scholarly lore. She knows a bit about the Seekers
assassins a better chance of success. The characters that and the artifacts of the kuo-toa. If characters are
have been arrested only have to wait until the next friendly to her they can gain her learned
morning when Sergeant Duc gets them out of jail. The assistance.
investigators know almost immediately that the 5) The investigating officer is a mid-level rogue
characters are not the killers but they are interested in who happens to have a knack for problem
questioning them anyway. solving and for reading people. He decides the
The kuo-toa assassins attack the characters in jail and characters are innocent. If the PCs haven’t done
possibly outside. If the characters outside are never in a anything to annoy him, though some PCs
group of two or alone, they are not attacked. There is only probably will, he will clue them in to some facts

Temple of the Burning Man Round 2 Page 16

 about the murders, the victims and the scene in The temple of the Burning Man
general. is vengeance, hope, blurred
6) Sergeant Duc. If characters are not moving and Speak the dark, hunt the word
shaking enough, Sergeant Duc will. He wants to goes round, goes round but never heard.
know what is going on. Assuming they told him If there are any sorcerers present it turns and directs an
about the Seekers he will send them on missions additional and final question to them.
to find things out, even if it’s to satisfy his own What is my name?
curiosity.
Once the characters have covered most of their Without waiting for a query or answer it turns and
options in the investigation they are attacked by a group moves away.
of ill-equipped ruffians. Only the leader seems to want to Somehow you
you know you will never catch it.
attack, the others simply defend themselves. The kuo-toa
priest, using tongues and charm person, convinced the Any character in jail has a similar meeting. A figure in a
leader that the characters are evil spies (who happen to be cell across from them rises from the cot and speaks the
very rich) and gets him to talk his gang into attacking the message as above. Then it lies down on a pile of blankets.
PCs. Eventually, if characters can convince a guard to
The only way characters can receive full experience investigate, they find only a pile of rats that scurry of into
for the scenario is to avoid the fights and talk their way to the corners.
its completion. If they subdue without injuring the leader The cloaked figure is a Seeker, a member of secretive
the others will run. group of cultists who worship an unknown god. They
At the end of the scenario the characters should deliver prophecy forewarning great danger and
know (or assume) all of the following: destruction. Though many sages believe the Seekers have
1) The powerful artifact that was sought by the a hidden agenda but no one has ever been able to
scholars was not the sword but, rather, was an infiltrate the group nor are there any such records of
item accidentally given to the characters and meeting places or worship centers. No one has heard
then sold to the dealer. The kuo-toa then took it from a Seeker in nearly four decades. Not much
back. information on the Seekers themselves can be found in
2) The Seekers are an ancient cult of prophecy, this adventure but more will be forthcoming as the year
soothsayers of cataclysmic events. No one progresses.
knows if they work for the forces of good or evil. The Seekers have an important role to unfold and the
The Seekers sometimes use glyphs and ruins to characters will know what is expected of them, when the
send messages and channel their magic. Seekers want them too.
The surviving kuo-toa will leave the area after their failed All the information on the Seekers can be found in
assassination attempts. one of two places in Bright Sentry. The first place is by
As characters are leaving, when no one is around, way of Lineene, a retired bard. She has a vast store of
they see a small glyph in blood. It bends and morphs into knowledge. For more information on Lineene see the
the word “truth” and they all have a vision of the future section entitled, “On the Shore.”
and gaze at the horror that is the Eldritch Wave. The second place is the Temple of St. Cuthbert. The
The characters return to Critwall, awaiting a grim servants of the god of vengeance have some knowledge
future, knowing they have more questions than answers. about the Seekers. Forty years ago the Seekers delivered a
prophecy it was given to a small church of St. Cuthbert.
No one knows what the prophecy said (or, rather, no one
admits to knowing it) but the high cleric of the church
Character Introduction struck the Seeker down with a flame strike for delivering a
The scenario assumes that not all of the characters have heresy inside the worship area of St. Cuthbert. The entire
been arrested. The DM will have to adjust the text if this church vanished overnight and all the members of the
assumption is false. clergy disappeared. If pressed about the location of the
At the start of the scenario, all characters have an church, no one actually seems to remember where it was,
encounter with a cloaked and mysterious person. As the and they will deliver the entire story as if it was a legend
characters move though the city or sit in the jail this rather than a fact.
figure approaches. After the characters receive the prophecy from the
Seeker they are on their own to solve it. If the characters
Moving swiftly through the crowd is a person cloaked in dark are not motivated to uncover the answers themselves
red. You cannot see any of its skin or facial features as it then Sergeant Duc will come on hand to kick them into
approaches. It’s head rises and instead of a face you see inky motion. If he hears about the Seekers he sends them
blackness. As the blackness glares at you each of you hear your around to find out more about these strange folks. As he
name called. A strong voice, echoing and somehow sounding puts it: “Just what the damn hells is a Seeker?”
both male and female calls out: Of course, the characters will probably attempt to
find the murderers of Dayneel Carmandy and his
Water of Life summons household. This can lead them to a variety of places for
the child of the word information. There is no forced structure the Judge has to

Temple of the Burning Man Round 2 Page 17

stick to for the investigation. Allow the characters to go by the investigators. A tiny broken piece of coral, lodged
wherever they want. There are a few logical places they in one of the corner.
should go to uncover clues and they will be laid out If the characters look for the trinkets they brought to
below. The DM should keep track of time because once Dayneel, they don’t find them. The investigators are
the sun goes down the kuo-toa assassins will start hunting currently storing them. There is nothing in the house to
the characters, striking at the most opportune moment. loot.
The DM should keep a few things in mind about the city A search of the house grounds also reveals nothing
of Bright Sentry. unless characters make a Search (DC 20), in which case
Bright Sentry is a poor and dirty city. Most of the they find a few oddly shaped footprints. They are
buildings are weather-beaten and worn. The architecture distorted enough so they are not identifiable, but
is simple in design; most houses have balconies with a certainly look strange. It is very possible they were at one-
variety of plants and flowers hanging from them. Herbs point footprints of webbed feet. Now after a night of hard
and spices are abundant here in Bright Sentry as a variety wind, they are simple distortions of prints.
of rare flora can be found in the swamps, both medicinal
and culinary can be purchased at good prices at several
competing shops. The nearly unmanned remnants of the
Shield Lands navy (the Shield Lands navy was never a The Scholars
significant force) are harbored here but mainly the docks This adventure assumes at least one of the archeologists
are used for fisherman. Every day there are many fishing from the Temple dig have survived. If all the scholars at
boats docked at or sailing near the settlement. your table were killed, do not replace them. Unless the
The entire city has the faint odor of water spray and characters themselves did something horribly wrong in
fish but near the docks, where the fish are cleaned, the part 1, at least one of the scholars survived. If they are all
scent is almost overwhelming. Just outside of the city, the dead then this avenue of investigation is dead for your
shores have sandy beaches for nearly a mile in both table. They must do without any information they would
directions. have received.
There is constant trade going in and out of Bright Any of the three archeologists can supply them with
Sentry from across the Nyr Dyv, mainly from the the following information but their most likely source
Rhennee, so their is a great need for many inns and would be to find Mauthue Gulkin as he was a native of
taverns for travelers. Of course the closer an inn or tavern Bright Sentry. His house is a small unpainted, three-
gets to the docks, the seedier its reputation becomes roomed hovel. He lives poorly, as fame has never claimed
(more often than not, the reputation is true). The people him. The interior of his house is cluttered with boxes of
of Bright Sentry are a superstitious lot by nature. There papers, scrolls and quite a few books. It seems that all the
are a lot of unexplained things that happen in port cities gold he has made over the years has gone into his passion
on large bodies of water. They know this and respect it, for books.
but obviously still fear it. The investigators have already talked to him about
The characters are staying at a run down Inn called the murder and the artifacts removed from the Temple
“Old Joii’s”. For more information on the Inn see the and the connection. He tells the characters everything he
section “Sergeant Duc.” told the investigators.

• He cataloged all the items removed from the Temple,

The House of Dayneel a total of 211 pieces. He made three copies, one he
gave to the church of Heironeous, one he gave to the
Carmandy investigators and thankfully, he has one for himself.
• He is familiar with the pieces that Sergeant Duc gave
By the time the characters arrive go the house again, the
the characters. He looked them over himself and
investigators have already done their work and have
found them to be good pieces and should have had
removed most of the evidence, including the bodies.
an open market value of around 2200 gp or perhaps
even more to a collector.
The lonely house is quiet and nothing moves within it. The
chipped white paint makes the house look older than it • He found no reason to believe there was anything
actually is. There is a slight breeze and the faint smell of fish overly remarkable about any of the pieces, except the
blows through the yard. There is a haunted feel here, as though sword. By overly remarkable, he means magic.
something evil watched. • He knows very little on kuo-toan artifacts
(underwater civilizations are not his specialty, he was
Nothing is here now. The characters should simply be a merely invited on the dig because of his familiarity of
little creeped-out because they know exactly what the swamps and his profession in general). He
happened to the people here—they were murdered. If believes he read somewhere that they name their
the house is entered the characters are not able to find artifacts after emotions or feelings or…well,
much the investigators did not uncover and remove. A something like that.
Search (DC 25) reveals the single thing that was missed • He knows nothing about the Seekers.

Temple of the Burning Man Round 2 Page 18

• He knows who Lineene is but does not know of her Observant characters will notice the connection
exact profession. He believes her to be a star reader. between the vengeance in the prophecy and the followers
He is unaware of the extent of her knowledge so of St. Cuthbert, the god of vengeance. The connection is
would never think to send the characters there and if coincidental, no one from the church knows anything
questioned about her, he’ll tell them just that. about the prophecy but the high priest of the church does
know of the Seekers and can relay the story of the
If characters talk to him after they have been attacked by disappearing church (see “Introduction” for entire story).
the kuo-toas and they suggest to him he might be in At any given time during church hours (day light)
danger he goes wherever the characters think he should there are a handful of worshipers. Most tend to be quiet
be safe. and unobtrusive but a handful are devote followers and
are can become quiet overbearing if pushed. It is clear
that the church of St. Cuthbert here in Bright Sentry is
not as prolific as it is in other areas of the Shield Lands
The Temple of Heironeous Marzden, the High Priest, is a quiet man, not at all
The temple of Heironeous is made of all white stone walls what one would expect from the leader of the church of a
and marble columns. There are several golden plaques god of vengeance. He is in his mid 50 ft.s and wears only
and shields adorning the outside walls. The words on the robes and religious trappings, no weapons or armor. He
plagues are in several different languages greetings to all prefers debate instead of combat. He is actually pleasant
who seek solace. It is well kept—the cleanest building in conversation.
you have seen in Bright Sentry. If any of the order is asked about the burning smell
The Temple is always busy. There are constant they all respond with the same automatic reply:
worshipers entering and exiting the building. The Temple “Vengeance burns.” And too them, that explains it all. The
of Heironeous is an excellent place for information; only one who will say something different is Marzden,
however, they do not have anything significant until the the High Priest. His answer is a cryptic: “Yes. You smell
day after the assassination attempt. So, if characters speak the fire but don’t see one. As vengeance should be.” He
to anyone at the Temple the day of the arrest they will doesn’t extrapolate on that. He will refer the party to
still be investigating the sword and no one thinks (or Lineene. He is quiet sure if anyone will have answers for
really has any reason to send them to Lineene, unless them, she will.
questioned about the Seekers). So no information is
gathered until following day.
If characters visit (or come back) the day after the Sergeant Duc
assassination attempts, by midday, they have finally
exhausted all means of investigating the sword and have The soldiers’ barracks in Bright Sentry is packed full and
determined it is not the artifact. It is a fine sword, being had no room for Sergeant Duc’s team so the Sergeant paid
over 300 years old, quite valuable, but holds only a simple for several rooms at a run down Inn called “Old Joii’s”.
enhancement enchantment (it is a longsword +1). The characters are in double rooms, (two beds per room).
The small team (2 clerics of Heironeous, a sorcerer There is nothing spectacular about the Inn. The food is
and a bard, they are background characters and not drawn acceptable, mainly serving fish, poultry and prepared
up. Their questioning is brief and to the point) that was seaweed. The Innkeeper is a man named Dasall (Joii was
sent from Critwall to investigate the sword wants to his father). Dasall likes to get in trouble by drinking with
question the characters about what was removed from the his patrons and sneaking out at night to visit the local
Temple. They use divination magic to detect if anyone is port taverns. He gets along quite well with the
lying. All the questions revolve around what items were Pathfinders (as long as his wife doesn’t find out about his
removed? Was anything left behind? Did you take late night adventures). The Sergeant is paying for the
anything? And other such questions. rooms, nothing else. If characters want food or drink they
As long as characters don’t lie to the artifact pay themselves. The room itself comes with one meal a
investigators there should be no problem. At this point, day.
sometime during the questioning it should come up that The Inn can act as a base of operations for the
not all relics of great power gleam with magic. They must characters. Once Sergeant Duc finds out that all the
be uncovered by using other methods. characters have been attacked he gets them together for a
Once again, if at this point they ask about the Seekers chat. He wants to know about anything else happened
they will be directed to Lineene. down in the temple that he should be aware of. This
meeting takes place after all characters have been freed
from jail, most likely, immediately after they are freed
from jail. Here Sergeant Duc can help the characters with
The Church of St. Cuthbert anything they are stuck on. He can simply offer his
The church of St. Cuthbert is a small wooden building. opinion; thus the DM can point characters in the right
Broken storm shutters bang in the wind and the entire direction or he wrong direction (depending if the DM
area smells of a roaring fire. No such blaze can be seen. wants to throw characters off track for a while).
Otherwise Sergeant Duc gets involved in the
investigation as well—sending the characters places if

Temple of the Burning Man Round 2 Page 19

they are not moving themselves. He tells them to check they receive her as an ally. Lineene knows the following
out this or go talk to that person. He doesn’t want to leave information:
until this business is cleared up with the kuo-toa. He’ll be • Anything regarding the Seekers and the disappearing
damned if he’s leaving an enemy behind that he drug out church. She is suspect that it really happened,
of the swamps. attributing it to an old farmer’s tale.
• General knowledge of the Seekers as prophets who
Sergeant Duc, male human Ftr7: Ftr7 Medium-size humanoid worship an unknown God they only refer to as “The
(5 ft. 11 in. tall); HD 7d10+28; hp 80; Init +1 (+1 Dex); Spd Seeker”. No other reference has ever been made to
20; AC 16 (+5 chainmail, +1 Dex); Atks +11/+6 melee this god, although she suspects the god to be Boccob,
(1d10+5 [crit 19-20], bastard sword) AL NG; SV Fort +11, but will admit she is just guessing. They are more
Ref +3, Will +3 like a cult than an actual religion, as they are very
Str 17, Dex 13, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 10 enigmatic and secretive and no one is sure how they
Skills: Climb +5 (-4 chainmail), Listen +6, Search +6, choose their members, although she suspects dark
Spot +6, Swim +3 (-10 weight); Feats: Blind Fight, Combat rituals. They sometimes practice magic with ruins
Reflexes, Endurance, Great Fortitude, Improved Bull and glyphs.
Rush, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (bastard sword),
• If the characters have any of the trinkets they
Weapon Specialization (bastard sword)
recovered from the Temple she can tell them that the
Equipment: Chainmail, bastard sword, pouch
two necklaces are in fact, not necklaces. The twined
containing 12 gp, 2 sp
seaweed, woven with shells and rocks of various size
Sergeant Duc is in his 40 ft.s and a hardened veteran
and shape is a written form for most underwater
of battle. He’s 5 ft. 9 in., bald and is a bit of a maverick. His
civilizations. She can read both the necklaces for
dark eyes are hard and he rarely blinks. For a soldier, he
them. The first is a simple prayer to a shark god, very
doesn’t like to talk about battle or war much. His usual
brutal and violent. The second is a sweet story about
response is simple: “War is a nasty business and usually
a daughter who wants to grow up to be just like her
not fit for stories”. He will go to great lengths for the
father, a powerful priest of Blibdoolpoolp.
soldiers under his command. He is no nonsense and
doesn’t like his orders questioned. He cares less about the • If asked how she knew the characters were coming
“liberation of the Shield Lands” and more about keeping she smiles and tells them “the ocean talks.”
his men alive. • If characters present the trinkets to her and asked
her about their general worth she can estimate them
at about 1800 gp, but admits that is not her specialty.
• She knows that the kuo-toa named their artifacts
On The Shore after single words. Usually a feeling or an emotion.
Half a mile down the shore, south of Bright Sentry, is a large • If presented with the message from the Seekers she
stilted house. Virtually untouched by the weather this white claims her ignorance…although she does have a
painted house is immaculately clean. Even from a distance theory. She suspects that the prophecy is simply the
you can see the bright red curtains hanging in every window. way to summon this creature, whatever it is and that
As you near you notice a small fire on the beach. An elderly the message reveals the name of the artifact—find
woman, wrapped in blue shawls, is roasting seagull over the the name, find the word. Perhaps that would help
fire. Her weathered face smiles a pleasant, crooked smile and solve the enigma of the message.
she says, “I’ve been expecting you. Tea? Seagull?” • If (for some unknown reason) the characters have
the sword from the temple, she identifies the forging
Lineene “The Bear” Blackford is a high level bard who has mark of a father and son—a blacksmith and wizard
long since retired from adventuring. She is very wealthy team who created low powered magic items, perhaps
and has a great deal of knowledge about legends and lore. three centuries ago. The sword bears their mark. It is
She recently received a visit from a Seeker who told gave not a powerful weapon. Only enchanted once.
her a prophecy telling her she had a role to play in
important events in the near future. She deciphered the Lineene “The Bear” Blackford, female human Brd12 Brd12:
message into the following: She will be visited by a group Medium-Sized Humanoid (5 ft. 2 in. tall); HD 12d6–24 hp
of strangers who will play a pivotal role in the 22; Init –1 (Dex); Spd 10 ft.; AC 9 (-1 Dex); Atks +7/+2
resurrection and/or destruction of the Eldritch Wave. melee (she carries no weapons); AL NG; SV Fort +4, Ref
They will be seeking truth from her. So far that’s all she +7, Will +13
has been able to translate, she has not uncovered much Str 6 Dex 9 Con 7 Int 18 Wis 21 Cha 18
information about this Eldritch Wave, so she avoids any Skills: Decipher Script +10, Diplomacy +6, Gather
mention of it. She is generally friendly and well Information +10, Heal +8, Knowledge (Arcana) +19,
mannered. She sternly reminds obnoxious characters of Knowledge (History) +19, Knowledge (Geography) +19,
their lack of manners and gives them another chance. If Knowledge (Religion) +19, Knowledge (Scragholme
characters persist on being obnoxious she helps them this Island) +19, Listen +7, Perform +6, Spellcraft +6, Use
time but they do not receive her as a contact certificate. If Magic Device +7; Feats: Brew Potion, Extend Spell, Focus
characters are well mannered, friendly and likeable then (Perform), Focus (Decipher Script), Great Fortitude,
Scribe Scroll.

Temple of the Burning Man Round 2 Page 20

 Spells (3/4/4/4/3): 0-lvl—daze, detect magic, light, mage • He does not believe in anyway that the characters are
hand, mending, read magic; 1st-lvl—charm person, cure light responsible for the death of Dayneel Carmandy. He
wounds, comprehend languages, grease; 2nd-lvl—blur, daylight, understands that there are creatures of evil
invisibility, see invisibility, web; 3rd-lvl—dispel magic, haste, everywhere and that they prey on the innocent. He
hold person, gaseous form; 4th-lvl—cure critical wounds, does not tolerate any character blaming themselves
improved invisibility, summon monster IV for the death. He gives them a stern lecture on the
Equipment: blue shawls, slippers, pouch of tea leaves, order of good and evil. He feels guilt is pointless.
ring of feather falling, ring of water elemental command, stone Either you will find those responsible and kill them.
of good luck, cloak of major displacement, necklace of adaptation. Or someone else will finds them, perhaps on a later
date and kills them. He is an idealist that believes evil
Lineene is 81 years old and has lived a full life of always pays, somehow. That is the nature of evil—to
adventure and danger. Nicknamed by adventurer friends, fail.
“The Bear” because of her tiny frame, she has faced, • He knows nothing of the Seekers and has no insight
conquered or studied countless creatures, mazes, as to the message the characters received.
dungeons, traps, maps, spells and unknown
phenomenon. About twelve years ago she had her house Arlington is the official who questions any character in
built on the shore of Scragholme Island to live out the jail. His questions focus on the artifacts in general,
rest of her life in peace. When the Horned Society everything that was removed from the Temple. Were any
attacked she summoned a water elemental to carry her to of them special in anyway? His questions are brief and he
safety and she did the same thing when Iuz conquered lets the characters go the morning after they are arrested.
the Shield Lands. Due to a stroke of good luck her house When he questions the characters he has a paladin
was never destroyed so after each invasion she was able to with him to detect evil. The paladin doesn’t ask any
return to her beloved home. questions, just stares at the characters. As long as the
Now she lives alone, occasionally giving support or characters seem to tell the truth he lets them go.
help to those in need, offering information to wandering So far Arlington has figured that the characters
adventurers or performing for old friends. Her favorite accompanied this dig, helped in the excavation of
pastime is to drink hot, bitter tea and eat roasted seagull hundreds of artifacts and now something is hunting
on the shore while watching the sunset. down anyone involved. He figures it is some sort of water
She lives unafraid of the evil around her. At her age, creature, very intelligent, probably several of them. He
she has no time for such nonsense. Life should be lived to thinks the characters may be in danger but were not
its fullest. This does not mean she is blind to the horrors involved in the murder.
that surround her, she simply views the situation as one He does not seem to care that the removal of items
to be inevitably changed for the better. She understands from this dig may have caused a retaliatory strike from
all too well that she will not be around to see her beloved the inhabitants of the Temple. It doesn’t matter to him.
Shield Lands retaken from the clutches of Iuz. The dig was legal, whatever is killing people in his town is
evil and evil must be punished.
After releasing the characters from jail he will not
The Investigator actively seek them out for the rest of the game. He speaks
to the Sergeant, the archeologists and the team
At any point in the game the characters may seek out the researching the sword, determines that the source of evil
official in charge of the investigation. His name is is coming from outside the city and focuses his
Arlington Gateman and he has been an investigator into investigation elsewhere.
unknown and unexplained phenomenon here on Bright
Sentry for the last two years. If the characters want to Arlington Gateman, male human Rog4 Rog4: Medium-Sized
speak to him they can leave word at the jailhouse or the Humanoid (5 ft. 10 in. tall): HD 4d6 hp 17: Init +3 (Dex);
city building. Within a few hours Arlington will either Spd 30: AC 15 (+ 2 leather, + 3 Dex) Atks +3 melee (1d6+1
respond via message or pay the characters a visit. [crit18-20), rapier) SA: sneak attack +2d6; SD: evasion,
At no point should the characters find out where uncanny dodge: AL LG; SV Fort+1, Ref +7, Will +0
Arlington lives, which characters may find suspicious. He Str 12, Dex 17, Con 11, Int 17, Wis 9, Cha 11
does not reveal much information to the characters, Skills: Climb +8, Diplomacy +4, Disable Device +10,
believing that the characters would only be a hindrance. Gather Information +7, Hide +10, Intimidate +7, Listen
He will reveal information to the characters only after he +6, Move Silently +10, Open Lock +10, Search +10, Sense
has released them from jail. He is can tell the characters Motive +6, Spot +6; Feats: Alertness, Ambidexterity,
the following: Dodge, Track
• He figures the assassins to be some sort of water Equipment: leather armor, rapier, silver ring of court
faring creatures. Sahaugin, kuo-toa, or something appointed official of justice, pouch with 22 gold, 9 sp
else. He recognized the wounds on the victims as
being similar to wounds he received once from a Arlington is a very serious man. He never smiles. Justice
coral blade, the rough, jagged cuts and the infection. is his life. To punish the wicked, the vile and the evil is
his code. He uses his skills as a rogue to hunt those that
would prey on the innocent. To defeat them, you must

Temple of the Burning Man Round 2 Page 21

become like them. He knows the ways of the street, and evil cult and should be killed. The kid is convinced that
the ways of shadows. He has always been adept at the characters are evil. Then the kuo-toa tells the kid that
problem solving and people reading. He is obsessive they are rich, if the kid goes and kills them, he can take all
about solving problems, going to great lengths, above and their coin and doesn’t have to starve anymore. The kuo-
beyond the call of duty, to find the answers and to set toa priest convinces the kid to find some friends and
things right. attack the characters; however, when they do, the only
one who is certain of this plan is the charmed kid. He is
anxious to kill the characters but the other five kids with
clubs and a few swords (not really trained) will be scared
The Kuo-
Kuo-Toa: Assassins in the witless. They want to leave but the charmed kid tries to
convince them to attack. If characters can get out of this
Night without any bloodshed, they would be doing a good deed.
The characters will be attacked by the kuo-toa at various No statistics are given for the teenagers because they
locations. The kuo-toa slipped into the city under cover of do not pose any real threat to the characters, if combat
darkness. They are able to feel truth when it is out of the ensues, the characters will win by slaughtering a couple
water but not as strong as when it is in the water, which is of the kids (the rest try to flee).
why it took them several hours to hunt the artifact down. After that, if all fails, the kuo-toa survivors slip back
They tracked it to the house of Dayneel Carmandy and into the water to plot revenge against these particular
killed everyone in the house. They located truth and land dwellers.
slipped out of the house.
The next night they will go after the interlopers— Tier 1 – EL 2
the one’s who stole truth. So a few of them stick around kuo-
kuo-toa (6): CR 2; Medium-Size Monstrous Humanoid
and try and assassinate some of the characters. They will (Aquatic); HD 2d8+2; hp 12 (each); Init + 0; Spd 20 ft. / 50
attack when characters are alone or in small groups. If the ft. swim; AC 16 (+6 natural); Atks: +3/-2 melee (1d4+1 +
single assassination (back stab) fails, they try to escape. poison, coral dagger; 1d4, bite) or +2 ranged (special, net);
Everyone in the jail gets attacked by a single kuo-toa. SA poison; SQ keen sight, slippery, adhesive, immunities
He slips into the jail, kills the guard and checks to see if (poison, paralysis, hold spells), electricity resistance 30,
any characters are awake. If not he breaks a tiny egg of light blindness, amphibious; AL NE; SV Fort +3, Ref +3,
poison into the cellblock and exits the building. He Will +5
moves outside to location where a person inside would Str 13, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 8
stick their head for fresh air. He waits for someone to try Skills: Escape Artist +18, Listen +9, Move Silently +5,
and escape from the choking gas and stabs them with his Search +10, Spot +11; Feats: Alertness, Great Fortitude
spear. If he notices any of them are awake he does not SA : poison (Ex)—each time a character is hit by a
take chances. He slips away and tosses the small egg of dagger, small microbes enter his or her bloodstream. The
poison inside their cell from outside. He then waits for a character must make a Fortitude save at (DC 12) or suffer
character as above. a 1 damage to Str, Dex and Con. Secondary damage is an
The poison gas fills the cell for forty rounds before additional 1 point to Str, Dex and Con.
dispersing enough to breathe normally. This will only SQ: keen sight (Ex)—kuo-toa eyesight is so keen that
work once and the kuo-toa leaves immediately after his they can spot a moving object even if it is invisible,
attempt. ethereal or astral. Remaining perfectly still protects from
Any character who fails a Fortitude save (DC 20) slips this ability; Slippery (Ex)—webs, magical or otherwise,
unconscious and will be violently sick for the next couple don’t affect kuo-toa and they can usually wiggle free from
of days thus losing 1 temporary point of both Strength most other forms of confinement; Adhesive (Ex)—anyone
and Constitution. Any character that fails his Fortitude who makes an unsuccessful attack against a kuo-toa must
save by more than 10, dies in 10 rounds. succeed at a Reflex save (DC 14) or the weapon sticks to
All other assassination attempts are simple. One the shild and is yanked out of the wielder’s grasp.
kuo-toa per person, they will not attack groups larger than Creatures using natural weapons are automatically
two. Give the characters a bit of a warning. Try not to grappled if they get stuck; Light Blindness (Ex)—abrupt
slaughter them. A few examples would be allowing a exposure to bright light (sunlight or daylight spell) blinds
sleeping paladin to wake from a nightmare about the kuo-toa for 1 round. They also suffer a –1 competence
something stalking him. This is his innate detect evil penalty to all attack rolls, saves and checks while
warning him of danger while he sleeps or have a walking operating in bright light; Amphibious (Ex)—kuo-toa can
character notice a heavy aroma of fish right before the survive indefinitely on land.
attack, giving him or her just enough time to avoid being Equipment: coral dagger, net, ink bladder.
surprised but still losing initiative.
The kuo-toa do not press their luck, they are few in Augmented Tier
numbers and are not stupid. They try the direct For the augmented tier each kuo-toa has maximum
assassination once, then the next day, while the PCs are hit points (18) each and they fight with Pincer Staffs.
wandering the city, a kuo-toa priest slips ashore. He uses a These staffs deal 1d10 points of bludgeoning damage,
tongues and a charm person spell to charm a local street kid threatens a critical on a 20, and deals double damage on a
(16 or so) and convinces him the characters are from an critical hit. It has a 10-foot reach and cannot be used

Temple of the Burning Man Round 2 Page 22

against adjacent opponents. A wielder that hits an It notices you. A voice that sounds like broke
brokenn glass calls,
opponent of at least small but no larger than Large size “Who are you that gaze into the future with such confidence?”
attempts to start a grapple as a free action without It moves towards you.
provoking an attack of opportunity. If the wielder gets a
hold, the staff grabs the opponent and deals 1d10 points Allow the characters to react to this. If they any of
of damage each round the hold is maintained. the following happens they wake from the dream:
• Any character attempting to disbelieve can make a
Willpower save (DC 15). Anyone succeeding
instantly fades from sight.
The Eldritch Wave: Dream of • Anyone attacking the creature or any orc will be
the Future killed swiftly by either the overwhelming number of
orcs or the creature itself. Upon death they instantly
After the characters have exhausted every form of fade from sight.
research the adventure is officially over. They either
• Anyone audibly saying, “I wake up.” Instantly fades
know, or suspect the following:
from sight.
• The sword is not the artifact it was suspected to be.
• Anyone fleeing the beach instantly fades from sight.
The artifact that the dig was searching for was in fact
a small trinket given to the characters on accident,
If the any character allows the creature to get closer read
which they in turn sold.
the following:
• The Seekers are an enigmatic cult of prophecy.
Sometimes they use glyphs and ruins for their magic. The creature moves closer and stops, at the edge of the shore,
• They have met Lineene. still in the
the water. Blood pumps from its open neck wound. The
smell of slaughtered meat hangs in the air. It knells in the
All of this takes place in two days. On the first day, water.
characters are arrested and all receive the prophecy of the “Touch my eye and see all that is holy in the water.”
Seeker. The assassination occurs that night. The following
morning, the characters are released from jail and begin Anyone touching the eye dies and instantly fades from
their investigation. By the end of the day they have sight. Fighting the creature is hopeless. Anyone attacking
uncovered everything they are ever going to uncover. At it is killed. Anyone who remains on the beach and talks to
the end of the day, Sergeant Duc tells them they are the creature earns its curiosity. It wonders why the mortal
leaving the following morning. does not fear it. It delivers the following message to one
single person (judges choice but generally someone who
The remainder of the night goes by quickly. No assassination asks any sort of intelligent question to the creature).
attempts, no visits by prophetic cultists, and no one is arrested
for murder. A night of relaxing, drinking or studying almost “You interest me (sorcerer, paladin, whatever is appropriate), I
seems…wrong. will kill you last.”
The next morning, as you gather your your equipment and At that point they all wake up, in their beds. A little
head downstairs to join Sergeant Duc’s team, there you see it, disturbed they get up and gather their equipment
equipment and head
plain as day. Painted in dark red, a small sigil on the first down to meet with the other soldiers. On the first wood step,
wooden step, leading downstairs. Your eyes all seem to see it at that leads downstairs is . . . nothing. Nothing at all.
once, before you can look away the sigil shifts andand transforms
into a single word, Truth.
Suddenly you are standing on the sandy shore
of…someplace familiar. Covering most of the beach, and Conclusion: The Sword of the
surrounding you on all sides, is a large group of orcs grunting
and howling in glee and completely transfixed on something
something Burning Man
in the water in front of them. None of them seem to notice The adventure is designed to introduce the characters to
you. events that will transpire over the course of the first year
It is a woman they watch. A woman who is dressed in in the Shield Lands. It is not a game they are intended to
smelly rags, who’s very face is distorted and blurred. You have solve all the problems. Any loose ends are designed that
a gut feeling that her face is death. way. The only real conclusion to the game is the sword.
She enters the Nyr Dyv, and moves through the water
until it touches her waist. She babbles in a maddening tongue As you arrive downstairs you are greeted by
by Sergeant Duc. He
and pulls out a silver dagger. There is a spray of red that hands the sword over and says, “It was supposed to go to some
flashes across the water as her body drops lifelessly. museum but I’ll be damned if any sword of magic that can be
Only the briefest second passes. A thing arises ffrom
rom the used against the forces of Iuz is going to hang in a blasted
water. It is a twelve-
twelve-foot tall creature with a single eye and museum. You’ve earned it, take it. Now, let’s return to to
sickly green skin that hangs & sags in unnatural ways. It has Critwall.”
a gaping neck wound that constantly shoots blood into the
water around it.

Temple of the Burning Man Round 2 Page 23

 The End being known as a thief, such as Infamy. For other
stolen items which meet the criteria in #1 above, use
your judgment and the circumstances within the
game to determine whether a PC thief gets away with
Experience Point Summary the theft or not.
To award experience for this adventure, add up the values
for the objectives accomplished. Then assign the Any item retained according to these rules, which does
discretionary roleplaying experience award. The not have a certificate, will not ever have a certificate
roleplaying award should be given for consistent issued for it.
character portrayal and contribution to the fun of the The campaign staff reserves the right to take away
game. You can award different roleplaying amounts to any item or gold acquired for things it later finds
different characters. unreasonable but which were allowed at the time.
Award the total value (objectives plus roleplaying) to
each character. Conclusion
• The Sword of the Burning Man (Value 2,320 gp, Weight
Throughout the Adventure 4 lb., Unusual): This +1 longsword was forged in the
Following up on the Seekers 100 XP year 279 by a father-and-son team, one a blacksmith
(the father), the other a sorcerer. This longsword is
On the Shore high polished silver that glows faintly in moonlight.
Meeting with Lineene and generally being The sword handle is made of simple black leather.
friendly to her 50 XP The pommel has an ebony opal that is warm to the
touch. Occasionally, you dream of the sword. In the
Assassin in the Night dream the sword mysteriously transforms from a
Surviving the assassination attempt 50 XP pale blue longsword into a flaming greatsword. The
NOT killing any of the gang of kids 50 XP dreams are all similar. In each you are battling
demons; with the sword in your hand, you never
Total experience for objectives 250 xp lose.
Discretionary roleplaying award 0-50 xp
• Lineene “the Bear” Blackford - Lineene is a retired
Total possible experience 300 xp adventurer who lives in Bright Sentry. If the
character is in Bright Sentry he/she may seek her out
for information once per adventure. As a high level
bard, she has extensive knowledge in: Decipher
Treasure Summary Script +10, Knowledge (Arcana) +19, Knowledge
Player characters may keep items from the scenario that (History of Shield Lands) +19, Knowledge
are listed on the treasure list below or which meet the (Geography) +19, Knowledge (Religion) +19,
following conditions: Knowledge (Scragholme Island) +19, Spellcraft +6,
and Legend Lore. The specific information that is
4. The item must be non-magical and specifically listed received from Lineene is at the discretion of the
in the text of the adventure (e.g armor on foes). If it Judge. This aid runs both ways, Lineene may
is not listed in the text, the characters cannot keep it. occasionally call on the character for help or
Items of this nature can be sold for 50% of book information.
value, or recorded on a log sheet.
5. Animals, followers, monsters, henchmen, and so
forth (any living being, basically) may not be kept
from a scenario for any reason unless the treasure
summary lists the being specifically. It is okay for the
player characters to form relationships with NPCs,
but these will not be certed and cannot bring
material benefit to the character. Contacts (sources of
extra information) must be specifically certed.
6. Theft is against the law, but may be practiced by
some player characters. Items which are worth more
than 400 gp that are of personal significance to the
owner (including family heirlooms), and all magical
items, will be discovered in the possession of the
character by one means or another. The character
must return the item and pay a fine equal to three
times the value of the item stolen. In addition, the
PC caught receives campaign-decided penalties for

Temple of the Burning Man Round 2 Page 24

 Critical Events Summary for Temple of the Burning Man
Please return to Shield Lands triad

Did the characters release the demon? Yes No

Was Kalari killed? Yes No

Did characters kill any of the gang of kids? Yes No

Was anyone “prophesied to die last” by the Eldritch Wave? Yes No

If so who? ______________________________________________________________

Please list any other notable or interesting things that occurred:

Temple of the Burning Man Round 2 Page 25