Dark Clouds Gather - 1st Edition.pdf - Advanced Dungeons & Dragons { 1st edition} - R5700

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An Adventure for 5-8 Characters, Level 7-9

Adventure Module for 5-8 Characters of Levels 7-9

CONTENTS

DARK CLOUDS GATHER

From the D.irk Pa51

Thp Adventure

Abbreviations

THEDARK SKY

(Map M: areas l-6/Maps 2 & 6: areas FI-F9)

Recrnt Events

The Scarralrre

CREDITS

THUNDER ON THE MOUNTAIN

(Map M - areas 7-9/Map 8)

Tikka-ti-jarra

ThrEagles

Storyline: Jim Bamhra,

Phil Gallaghrr & Grarme Morris

Editing & Production: TSR UK Design

Team

Art: Brian Williams

Cartography: Paul Ruiz

Playtrsting: Pat Whitchcad, Gerard

Loncrg-an, Matt Connrll,

Sirve Watrrs & Rob Martinsen

THEPEAKS OF LIGHT

(Map M: areas 10-12

Maps 10 & 11: airas El-E8 & TLT6)

The Journvy

Mount Edrrglow

Devral's Island

The Crystal Citadel

Leaving Mount Ederalow

MAPS

' d"'

DEATH IN THE SKIES

(MapC . areas Cl-CZ3)

The Cloud Castle

MODULE FOLDER

The Approach

OUTSIDE

Inside the Castle

' '

Map M: CLOIJDSCAPE MOUNTAINS

Aftermath

PULL-OUT SHEETS

(hetwcen pages 14 & 15)

INSIDE

Map 2: LIJRNESI.YE

6: FANJYR WAY-STATION

8: TIKKA-TI-JARRA

10: SILVER MINE

I I: MOUNT EDERGLOW & THE

CRYSTAL CITADEL

Man C: THE CLOUD CASTLE

NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS

NEW MONSTERS

Ba'atun

Ycsorkh Pahych

111

Soul Beckoner

111

WANDERlNG MONTERS

THE SKYFISH

I1 you haw any qurs~ion~

rhir 01 any othrr

nirtributed IO the book tiadr in Ihr I!nilcd Stair. by

teganlin~

Random Hourr, lnc, arid tn Crrrsd;, hv Random Hniirr

01 Canada, Lcd. Dmrllmred to tlic toy and hobby trade

TSRO pioducl. plrasr write to:

TSK, Inc.

TSR UK Ltd.

by regional dirttibutrns. Diruibutcd m ilir Uoiwd

Kmgdmn hy J.SR IIK Lrd.

PO6 756

Thr Mill, Rathmorr Road

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Cambridge CBI <AD

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ISBN 0-8ROJR-2%-R

9151

TSR, Inc.

PRODUCTS OF VOUR IMAGINaTION"

This is an ADVANCED DUNGEONS &

DRAGONS@module for 5-8 characters of

levels 7-9. Theadventurr takes plare in and

around the Cloudsrapr Mountains: a large

snow-covered mountain rangr, cut by a

single pass - the Scarrahere.

FROM THE DARK PAST

In ages past, when the land was young and

the dwarves had not yet emerged from

beneath the mountains, the Arch-mag?

Devral creatrd a wondrous citadel for

herself, high in theCloudscapeMountains.

With her mighty magics, Devral trans-

formed the ice on Mount Ederglow into a

crystal citadel with walls as hard as sicel.

Isolated from the rest of the world, Devral

and her assistants researched dccp into

magical flight. Thry made many amazing

discoveries which cu1minatf.d in the con-

struction of the skyfish - an incredible

flying device in the form of a giant manta

ray (see Pull-out Sheet IV).

One day Devral's researches were inter-

ruptrd by threedesperate aarakoaaenvoys.

In anguished tones, they begged her aid

against "the snow demons'' - fearsome

white, winged creatures who had becn

attacking their nests and slaying aarakocra

without merry. Devral listened closrly to

their taleand resolved to help the birdfolk.

Over the next few days she cast many

powerful spells and discovered that thr

snow demons were called ba'atun (pro-

nounced "hah-TOON") and were led by an

evil, hlack female named Yesorkh Pahyeh,

who had the power to possess other

crraturcs (see Pull-out Sheet 111).

The Freeing of Yesorkh

With llic giants' castle in her power,

Ycsorkh/I.achlan's attention has turned to

the anrakocra. Rrrently, three aarakorra

nests have been destroyed and the remain-

ingaarakocra now live in fear of thr "wil"

giant and his dark, sinister castle.

One fateful day thirty years ago, a young

cloudgiant ralled LactiIan "horrowrd" the

gem (without his parents'knowledge) and,

while using it in a game, accidently rolled

itoff thesideof thccloud. Upon hittingthe

ground, the gem shattered, and Yesorkh

Pahyeh was frce! At once she sped to her

ancient lair, whereaclutchof ba'atun eggs

had bren carefully stored centuries before.

Fear also grips the human villagc-ers of

Lurneslyc (arra 2). For the dark clouds call

to mind an ancient prophecy of "dark

demons from the sky", related by a

parchmrnt in the possession of Bernhardt,

the head cleric of the villaxe is?? Pull-out

Sheet I),

Devral quickly devised a plan to defeat the

ba'atun andcalled upon a familyofneutral

good cloud giants to help her. The cloud

giants were more than willing to rid the

mountains of the ba'atun menace. Moving

their flying cloud castle under cover of

night, the giants led the aarakocra assault

on the ha'atun. As Yesorkh attempted to

possess one of thr giants, Devral swept in

on her magical griffon (see arra T3) and

cast a trap the soul spell, imprisoning the

black ha'atun within the confines of a

magical gem. Without their leader, the

ha'aiun were soondestroyed. Theaarakocra

returned to their peaceful existencr and,

over ihecenturies, the terror of the ha'atun

was forgotten.

Having no idea of the length of her

imprisonment, Yesorkh's greatest fear was

that Devral still lived. So she hatchrd the

eggs and hid from the world while thc

ha'atun grew to maturity. In the darkness

of her ancient lair she nurtured her anger,

reliving the humiliation of her defeat.

Long she brooded on how to exact her

vengeanceandpunish the hated aarakocra,

but at last ihr ba'atun WCR ready, and

Yesorkh's plot could be put intoaction .....

In order to turn the frightened human

populace against thc aarakocra. Yesorkh's

minions have attacked caravans travelling

through thr Scarrabrre Pass, and have left

aarakocra corpses amid thr carnage, as

though thc birdfolk were the aggrcssors.

The discovery of thesr corpsrs Ird Rern-

hardt to bclicvr that the aarakocra arr ihe

demons of which his parchment foretold.

The Darkness Spreads

,Meanwhilr Kirraka, the head shaman of

the aarakocra, after consuming some

magiral, trance-inducing Charrak seeds

(see page II) has expcricnrtd a vision in

which a mysterious group of adventurcrs

appeared to him. Convinced that these

adventurers air the key to the aarakocra's

survival he has setit an aarakocra envoy,

Tcho'eh (pronounced "rho-AY"), in srarch

forthem in the lowlands. But thr lowlands

are no longcr safr for thc birdfolk.

Yrsorkh's policy to incriminateand isolate

the aarakocra has worked well. frar now

Already venerable, Devral guarded the gem

imprisoningYesorkh, but as her timegrew

near, she gavr it io the cloud giants for safe

keeping. For over twenty fivr centuries the

gem lay hidden in the depths of the giants'

stronghold, hut with the passing of time,

the giants' memorics of the ba'atun

dimmcd. Finally, the gem's function as a

prison faded from thrir minds altogether,

anditcame to brconsidcrrdasjustanother

valuahle stone.

It was a rimplr matter for Ycsorkh to

possess an unsuspcrting merchant, and in

this guise she was able to possess Lachlan,

now an adult cloud giant. Lachlan had

inhcriied thc castlr from his parents and in

his form, Yesorkhdiscovered that shecould

control the cloud castlr and through it,

certain aspects of

the wrather. Gradually

castle lost its whit? glow while the

clouds surrounding it brcamr dark and

oppressive.

th~

DARK CLOUDS GATHER (From the Dark Past)

Aerial Combat

Monsters likely to IC involved in aerial

combath;tvethreehit point totalslistedfor

them, e.%.hp 12/6/3. The first figure is the

creature's normal hit points; the figurc

aftrr the slash shows at which point it

becomes unable to continue stahlr flight

and is forcrd to land; and the third figure

shows at what point the creature simply

plummets from the sky (see DMG pi3).

Thefigoresallow for the fact thatfcathrred

wings (cf. aarakocra) arc harder to damage

than membranous ones (cf. ba'atun).

ABBREVIATIONS

In this module, thc statistics of moilstem

and non-player characters have been stan-

dardised. The information is given after

the monster'dNPC's name, as follows:

AC =Armour Class; MV = Movement Ratc;

MC = Manoeuvrability Class (see DMG

p50); HD = Hit Dice (monsters)or Class/

Level (NPCs only); hp = current hit points

(figures in brackets indicate maximum hit

points of wounded crcatures); #AT =

Number of attacks; D = Damage caused by

attacks; SA/SD = Special Attacks and/or

Special Defences; MR =Magic Resistance;

Int = Intelligence (monsters and minor

NPCs only); AL = Alignment; xp =

Experience Points awarded for overcoming.

grips thrvillagersof Lunrrslyr~nd

thr. best

an aarakocra can hope for is a quick and

painless death.

perhaps tradesmen in a nearby town hme

asked them to discover why a number of

merchant caravans have not arrived.

The following additional abhrrviations

are used:

As in any role-playing adventure, players'

actions can lead to unpredictable results,

and it may be necessary to adapt the

adventure to suit your players. The char-

acters have plenty of opportunities to

deviate from the proposed course of the

adventureor even toabandon theaarakocra

to their fate. 11 is up to yon as DM, as 10 how

much influenceyou bring to bear in order

to avert this, taking particular account of

thealignmentsof the characters. In various

places the flow of the adventure is depen-

dent on the actions of certain NPCs. You

should use these NPCs to guide the adven-

turers. If, as might happen, this dors not

work out, you must find an alternative

means of continuing the adventure. For

example, if Tcho'ch is killed in Lurneslye,

another aarakocra envoy should meet the

charactrrs to guide them to Tikka-ti-jarra.

THE ADVENTURE

C = Cleric; F =Fighter; MU = Magic User;

S = Strength; I = Intelligence; W = Wisdom;

D = Dexterity; C = Constitution; Ch =

Charisma; MM = AD&D@ Monster Man-

ual; MMII = Monster Manual 11; FF =

FIEND FOLIO@ tome; BHB = AD&D

Players Handbook; DMG = AD&D Dun-

geon Masters Guide.

The adventure begins near the village of

Lurneslye on the road leading to the

Scarrabere Pass. In the village, the adven-

turers have the opportunity to rescue

Tcho'eh, the innocent aarakocra envoy

from the clutches of

the over-zralous

Bernhardt.

THACO = To Hit Armour Class Zero. This

is thr roll on a d20 needed by a creature to

hit an opponent with AC 0 (see DMG p196-

215). In most cases, the roll needed to hit

other armnur classes = THACO minus AC.

Some creatures, whose hit probability is

very low, have been given a THACO of20',

and you should consult therelrvant tables

(see DMG p74-5) to find the rolls needed to

hit other armour classes.

Tcho'eh will attempt to recruit the adven-

turers' aid against the "evil" cloud giant

and his castle, and will lead them toTikka-

ti.jarra, the home of the aarakocra. Wor-

king on information from the aarakocra

shaman and a group of giant eagles, the

party will beable tolocateDevral'sancient

crystal citadel at Mount Ederglow. The

citadel contains Devral's magical, flying

skyiish. By recowring this fantastic artifact

the adventurrrs will be able to take on

Yesorkh Pahyeh in her usurped cloud

castle. and banish thr dark clouds forever.

Weather and Visibility

BOXED SECTIONS include that

insormation which the characters

would get from the first sight of an

area or room. You may either para-

phrase or read them outaswritten. In

cases where player characters would

instantly recognisr the monsters seen,

you should of course substitute the

monsters' name(s)forthe description

given.

During the adventure the sky will grow

increasingly dark as the black clouds

spread ovrr the mountains. By thr time the

party meets the dwarves nrar Mount

Edcrglow(areal0-page15)theskyshould

heamassofhillowingblackclouds, brokrn

occasionally by a flash of lightning. The

encroaching darkness should he used to

add to thr module's atmosphere and to

spur the party on.

Running the Adventure

There are several ways of starting the

adventure. For example, the party could he

simply travcllingalons the road to Lurnes-

lye on thr way io soniewhere else. Alter-

natively, they might be following rumours

that there are bandits in the Scarrabere, or

DARK CLOUDS GATHER (TheAduenture/Abbreviatio~) 3

RECENT EVENTS

demon in disguise. Bernhardt hasorganiscd

a public trial of the 'demon', to take place

on the day of thc party's arrival. This trial

will see him demanding the maximum

penalty under the law - death by burning.

People are flocking to the village squarc to

hear the 'drmon' confess to its sins, and to

watch Bernhardt banish the dark clouds.

the text. Thc actions and pcrronalitics of

rhrsr NPCs should br used to cncourage

the characrers LO become involved in the

adventure and, it is hoprd, rescue Tcho'eh.

If all else fails, Asdos can be relied upon to

brg the party to intervene. Ham up this

section as much as you like and above all,

enjoy yourself!

Lurneslye (see Map M and Map Z), is a

small farming villagr governed by a group

of clerics of lawful neutral alignment.

Clearly visible from Lurnrslye are the

Cloudscapr Mountains. Normally pictur-

esque, with silvery-white clouds blowing

along theirpeaks, the mountains now have

a dark and sinister appearance. Large black

clouds cast an ominous shadow over the

land; a shadow which is growing visibly

day by day. The clerics and villagers tear

thearrival ofwingeddemons (as foretoldin

an ancient prophecy), and the discovery of

aarakocra corpses in thr Scarrabere has

intensified this fear (see The Darkness

Spreads - page 2).

Important NPCs

The Trial

This section is designed 10 introduce the

players to the adventurr. Some of the

background information which is vital to

the successful running of this section, is

only to be found in the details of the thrre

major NPCs describcd on the Pull-out

Sheet (between pages 14 and 15). These

characters are Brmhardt, the bead clrric of

Lurneslye; Tcho'eh, the aarakocra envoy;

and Asdos, a visiting neutral good cleric.

You should refer to Pull-out Sheet I

whenever thesecharactersare mentioned in

The villagers, normally a simple, ppare-

loving folk, are afraid and vrry cxritablr.

Bcmhardt, convinced that Tcho'eh is a

demon, intends to carry out the law to the

Irtter and burn him - preferably after be

has obtainrd a full confession. In this he

has the full support of thevillagers. During

thr proceedings there will be numerous

shouts ot "Burn it, it's a demon", "Pluck

its feathers,makeit squawk", andsoon, as

the crowd is swept along by Bernhardt's

rhetoric.

Two days before the party arrives in

Lurneslye, Tcho'eh, an aarakocra envoy,

was captured and brought before Bern-

hardt. After briefly interrogating Tcho'eh,

Bernhardt became convinced that he was a

THE DARK SKY (Recent Evenis)

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