86.98
CABED ANGREN. A small Gondorian mining town in the shadow of the White Mountains, supported by about ten farming homesteads in the surrounding valley. Although too small to have an inn, the town hosts one of Gondor's three Juggler's Colleges (the others are in Pelargir and Cobas Haven), which has a guest house. The River Morthond flows on the east of the region; a stone bridge allows passage into the Vale of Erech.
✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Forlong (man - velvet chaperon, mercantile, alderman) lost two brothers to the bandits encamped at Minas Anghen (85.99), 2. Duoervis Cleg (man - old & fat but surprisingly nimble, childishly witty, master juggler) wants to prove that his Juggler's College is superior to its sisters in loftier cities, 3. Audrey (woman - cow-eyed, frank, goodwife) is willing to rent out a spare room for 5 copper/week, but won't put up with any funny business.
! - RAIDERS OF MINAS ANGHEN: Eriel (woman - almost-violet eyes, haughty, noble) is gifted with foresight, and is interested in Minas Anghen (85.99) as a home of past seers. She has disguised her status as a noblewoman while researching the history of the tower, which is currently held by a company of raiders. She knows that the old seer who dwelt at Minas Anghen possessed much magic treasure, and she's not sure if the raiders have discovered it or not. She will pay the common burglar's price and give a simple map of the layout of the tower in exchange for first pick from any treasures recovered.
★ - A burglar who pays 12 silver tuition and spends six months of intensive study at the Juggler's College gains the following art:
Juggler: Gain a +2 bonus on all Subtlety tests related to sleight of hand. Additionally, you treat falls as if they were 10' shorter.
[Credit: MERP - Haunted Ruins of the Dunlendings]
85.99
MINAS ANGHEN. A tower fortress on the shoulders of the White Mountains. Its name means "Long-eye Tower" in the Common Speech, and is sometimes named as such by the folk of Cabed Angren. Once held by local lords, the last legitimate resident was Niniel the Seer, who died of plague 100 years ago. It is now occupied by a raiding company of bandits hired by a disinherited Pelargir noble.
(6) - SEER'S GHOST: The ghost of Niniel the Seer haunts the mountain paths that lead to Minas Anghen. She can also be seen standing, impossibly, on top of the Long-eye Falls. She will try to lure heroes to rid the tower of the occupying bandits by pointing, pleadingly, towards the tower. She will be attracted to those carrying treasures that is Haunted.
Approaching Minas Anghen triggers a location-based adventure.
The Bandits
There are ten occupants in total; nine raiders and a young woman they've pressed into service. As they are defeated, mark through their names in the list.
Coerba Nine-Fingers, "The Bandit Prince" (man - braided thinning black hair, sardonic, bandit captain)
Sunil the Snake (woman - lisp, fiery, Coerba's woman)
Hirgon (man - dandy, casually cruel, bandit lieutenant)
Vagor (man - piggish, odious, bandit)
Pwyll (man - hawk-nosed, meticulous, bandit)
Dagnir (man - boss-eyed, out of countenance, bandit)
Gorlim (man - drooling, lecherous, bandit)
Dirhavel (man -bushy-bearded, bully, bandit)
Treva (woman - white haired child, sullen, thrall)
Gorghiric (man - haunted, hard drinking, shaman) *
* Alone among the bandits, Gorghiric doesn't use bandit stats. Instead, user sorcerer stats to represent him. Although not a servant of the Necromancer directly, he has lost his mind studying dark things. He can attack with a spell of fear and summon illusory phantasms, if not drunk.
What are the bandits doing?
The bandits sleep during the day; a random pair will be on watch duty at any point. During the night, each bandit has a default room where they will be (until an alarm is raised). Roll on this table to see if there are any changes to this default behavior:
- Sunil is in the Presence Room (area 9), sitting in mock judgement to settle a disagreement between Vagor and Pwyll. Gorghiric is drunk in his cell, insensate.
- Coerba is sparring with Hirgon, Dagnir, and Dirhavel in the garth (area 2). Sunil is discovering the purpose of the orbs on the rooftop (area 18). Gorghiric is in the kitchens (area 4) with Treva; he has confused her with his daughter and is weeping.
- Gorghiric is speaking with Coerba in his sitting room (area 13), trying to convince him to let him perform a human sacrifice to appease the dark powers. Dagnir and Gorlim are searching the tower for Craun, a bandit who went through a portal in the Room of Doors (area 15) and became lost; they swear they can hear him crying out sometimes.
- Sunil is browbeating Vagor, Pwyll, Dagnir, and Gorlim to help Treva with the cleaning in the kitchens (area 4). Gorghiric is discovering the purpose of the orbs on the rooftop (area 18).
The Outer Structure
1. Gates: Heavy wooden doors bar entrance to the courtyard. They are open at night (so the bandits can come and go as they please) but barred during the day.
2. Garth: The central courtyard is weedy and overgrown. There are two wells, an enclosure for horses, and a henhouse. There is a single bedraggled chicken.
- Two Wells: One of the wells drips into a rushing river and produces clear, cold water. The other drops down into the secret prison (25).
3. Hallway: A hallway to the servant's quarters.
4. Kitchen: A large, rustic stone kitchen with two hearths. It is in a state of disarray: kettles, cleavers, unwashed pots, old bread. Treva, the bandits' nineteen-year-old thrall, works and sleeps here.
5. Dagnir and Gorlim's Bedroom: A bedroom with beds and two locked chests. Dagnir and Gorlim are usually here.
- Chests: Dagnir's chest contains 21 copper pennies and a bottle of fine red Belfalas wine. Gorlim's holds 16 copper pennies and a book, Tales Behind the Cotton Curtains, which contains bawdy pictures.
6. Dirhavel's Bedroom: An untidy bedroom strewn with eight bottles of wine (three empties), three longswords, and a poleaxe. A locked chest sits at the foot of the bed. Dirhavel is usually here.
- Chest: The chest contains several woolen tunics and a leaking bottle of oil for cleaning swords. The chest has a false bottom that contains a purse with 75 copper pennies and a massive gold chain (worth 5 gold).
7. Vagor and Pwyll's Bedroom: An odd couple's bedroom: half tidy, half squalid. Vagor and Pwyll are often here, arguing.
- Searching the room: Under Pwyll's mattress is a golden headband set with green tourmalines worth 16 silver. Under Vagor's bed is an old boot with a gold ring (worth 1 gold) hidden in it, as well as various apple cores, wine bottles, chicken bones, etc.
8. Stables: Five horses are bedded on old leaves. The horses are:
- Stubby: An old nag. No tail. -2 Morale.
- Stubborn: An old nag. -2 Morale.
- Frello: An old nag. Bites.
- Swiftfoot: A good piebald horse.
- Prince: A good bay horse.
The Tower
9. Presence Room: A black oak throne set on a central dais dominates this room. Eight beech chairs line the outer wall. A huge tapestry with an abstract, Arabesque pattern hangs at the back of the room.
- Throne: The throne conceals mechanisms that control traps in this room.
- A foot pedal in the floor drops the portcullis in the entrance to the tower.
- A button in the left armrest opens a 10' x 5' pit in the floor that drops into an underground river that eventually cascades down Long-eye Falls. A Strength Δ8 test is allowed for a burglar to grab the edge of the pit. Falling in is almost certain death.
- Both Coerba and Sunil know of these mechanisms. If the company is captured, Coerba will hold a mock trial for them in this room and use the floor traps against them.
- Tapestry: The tapestry conceals the door to area 10.
10. Dining Room: A seven foot long oval table of oak. Two doors afford exits: one leads to a privy; the other opens onto a stairwell at one end and a door into the kitchens at the other.
11. Hallway: A window lights this narrow corridor. A privy (unkeyed) is at one end.
12. Hirgon's Bedroom: Fine quarters. A silver mirror with a jade frame (15 silver) hangs prominently on the wall. The bed has a purple satin quilt. There is a locked chest. Hirgon is often here.
- Chest: The chest contains fine wool tunics and heavy silk surcoats. There is a purse containing 32 silver pennies and a green glass jar containing 5 doses of marigold salve (prevents infections).
13. Coerba's Sitting Room: A pleasant room with cushioned benches and carved applewood chairs. Trinkets (worthless) decorate the hearth. A painting of a dwarf forging six keys hangs on the wall. Coerba is often here.
- Painting of a dwarf: This painting has a trace of magic set on it. A burglar wearing the Seer's Ring sees the rings as being hyper-realistic and may remove the six keys from the painting. These keys open the chests in the Seer's Vault (area 27).
14. Sunil and Coerba's Bedroom: Fine quarters. The curtained and canopied bed has draperies of velvet green, embroidered with gold; half is missing because Sunil made a cloak of it for herself. Chests of drawers hold an extensive collection of fine Gondorian clothing. A bear skin rug lies on the ground. The fireplace is carved with stone roses. Sunil is often here.
- Bear skin rug: Under the rug is a trap door that covers a shallow compartment. Opening the trap door activates a trap. Inside the compartment are:
- 105 silver pennies, bracelet of silver with garnets (10 silver), necklace set with sapphires (9 silver), a jar of madwort (a poison that addles the victim), 8 mirenna berries (heal 1 damage each), a cut sapphire, a gold circlet set with adamant (magical; acts as a helm when worn), and the Box of Panes (see below).
- Trap: Four crossbow bolts are fired from the ceiling; they make four Attack +8 versus the burglar that opened the trap door.
- Stone roses: Pressing a hidden button on the stone roses disarms the trap.
Box of Panes
This magic item controls the behavior of the Room of Doors (area 15). None of the bandits have worked this out and are rightfully cautious about experimenting with the magic items of this place.
The Box of Panes is a wooden box with nine compartments, arranged 3 x 3. The center compartment is empty. In the other compartments are colored glass cubes.
When a colored glass cube is placed in the center position of the Box of Panes, the correspondingly-colored door in the Room of Doors opens into a new location.
The cubes are:
- Black: The door opens into darkness. Those who pass through it are sent hundreds of feet deep into the earth; instant death.
- White: The door opens into a white light. Those who pass through it are suspended, as if in a changeless sleep. When the cube is moved out of the central compartment, they reappear in the Room of Doors.
- Blue: The door opens into the Wine Cellar (area 23).
- Green: The door opens into the Seer's Vault (area 27).
- Yellow: The door opens onto the Roof (area 18).
- Orange: The door opens into the Baths (area 22).
- Violet: The door opens into the Library (area 16).
- Red: The door opens exiting the Gate (area 1).
15. Room of Doors: This strange chamber takes up an entire floor of the tower. Six doors are equally spaced around the room. They are each different colors: black, white, blue, green, yellow, orange, violet, and red.
- Doors: The doors are controlled by the Box of Panes (held by Coerba and Sunil in area 14). If the Box of Panes's central compartment is empty, each of the colored doors open into a mist. If entered, the victim is transported to the Secret Prison (area 25).
- Box of Panes: If the appropriately colored cube is placed in the Box of Panes's central compartment, that door opens into a new location. The other doors still transport victims to the Secret Prison.
16. Seer's Library: A spacious and ornate library, orderly but weighted with dust. Shelves full of old books and tomes line the walls. A writing desk sits in the south of the room. A painting of elven women gathering herbs hangs on the wall.
- Note: This room can only be reached via the Box of Panes and the violet door in area 15.
- Windows: The room's six windows are one-way glass—they are coated with a silver paint, ithilcaid, that permits viewing from inside but not outside.
- Books: The books are obscure tomes written in Grey Elvish cataloging foretellings, prophetic verses, and symbologies. If studied for a month, a burglar may learn Seer's Lore. If sold to a Gondorian mystic, each would be worth a ducat.
- Desk: The desk contains a normal complement of writing tools: ink-horns, quills, sealing wax, parchment, sand, etc. Drawers contain a ring of keys and a book titled Gilrhuin's Tower.
- Ring of keys: These are keys to the mundane doors of the tower, including the secret prison.
- Gilrhuin's Tower: This book was begun by the Seer Gilrhuin and continued by adopted heir, Niniel, whom he adopted from an orphanage in Cabed Angren. The book explains the working of two magical treasures: the Box of Panes and the Seer's Ring. Towards the end of the book, Niniel expresses her desire to donate the contents of the "Seer's Vault" to the orphanage she spent her early years in.
- Painting: This painting has a trace of magic set on it. A burglar wearing the Seer's Ring sees the herbs as being hyper-realistic and may pull six uses of sweet sorrel from the painting.
17. False Door: The stairway ascends to the fourth floor and comes to a landing; the stairs continue upwards. The interior of the stair shaft and the stairs transition from wood to stone. The door on the landing has a poem written on it: "The library within is for neither man nor elf / seek the knowledge inside of yourself."
- Door: The door is a false and opens to nothing. Attempting to open the door triggers a magical trap: all weapons carried in hand erupt into flame. Their bearers suffer 2d6 damage.
18. Rooftop: An open colonnade surrounds the top of the tower and supports the roof. A stairwell winds around the central chimney, which leads up to a basin for a signal fire (18a). Between each column is a pedestal overlooking the crenellations topped with a viewing orb.
- Orb: There are twelve orbs in total. Each is a magical seeing stone that activates after about a turn (10 minutes) of concentration. They permit sight in a 30 degree arc, and lets the user view up to 30 leagues with the clarity of a spyglass at both day and night.
The Halls Under the Garth
19. Storeroom: A hallway stacked with supplies.
- Supplies: Recent additions from the bandits include: 20 sacks of oats, five barrels of wine, 8 cured hams, a sack of carrots, some boards, a saw, a hammer, and other simple construction supplies.
20. Gorghiric's Quarters: A damp underground chamber. A sleeping pallet is set in one corner. An altar is set up in the center of the room: a table overhung with a cloth, on which black candles drip wax. Gorghiric is often here.
- Gorghiric: If he hears the company coming, he will try to frighten them away with phantoms of disturbing images: headless corpses demanding retreat. If the company persists, he will ambush them with his dagger.
- Altar: Hidden under the altar is the skeleton of Niniel the Seer. Gorghiric discovered her near the secret exit in area 23. He has not told the other bandits about this. On her skeletal hand, she still wears the Seer's Ring.
Seer's Ring: A mithril band set with an adamant.
- Once a day, the ring can be twisted on the bearer's finger while they ask the question: "If I do X, will Y happen?" The ring will glow softly if the answer is "Yes."
- Once a week, the ring can be twisted on the bearer's finger while they ask the question: "If I do X, what will happen?" The ring will show the bearer a vision of the answer.
21. Well Room: A wide stone basin filled with mountain spring water which flows from a mouth in the cavern wall and out through a drain in the bottom. An inscription carved on the wall cavern reads: "Harrowing the path, narrow the way. Hide your treasures where no man strays."
- Drain: There is a secret passage reachable only by swimming down the drain, into a water-filled channel that leads to area 27. This is a Strength Δ12 feat to accomplish.
22. Baths: Two basins in a stone chamber. One has a continuously flowing stream of icy mountain spring water. The other is a large tub with a spigot. A fireplace beneath the tub can be used to warm the bath.
23. Wine Cellar: Mostly empty wine racks line both the north and south wall. On the east wall, there is a painting of a fly trapped in a spider web. A cold breeze blows through the room.
- Painting: There is a secret door behind the painting.
- This painting has a trace of magic set on it. A burglar wearing the Seer's Ring sees the painting as partially transparent and can perceive the secret door behind it easily.
- Searching behind the wine racks: Behind the southern wine rack is a concealed door that leads into an exit onto a mountain path.
24. Hidden Passageway: A hallway. The east door is made of metal and locked.
25. Secret Prison: A pulley apparatus drops down from a hole in the ceiling. A not-quite-rotted corpse lies near the metal door.
- Pulley: It is connected to a well in the garth (area 2). It is used to drop food and supplies to a prisoner held here.
- Corpse: This is Craun, one of Coerba's gang, who went through a portal in the Room of Doors and found his way here. The bandits could hear him shouting, but could never determine where his voice was coming from. He died of thirst. He is carrying a falchion and 26 copper pennies.
26. Cell: A smaller cell, containing a rotted straw-filled mattress and latrine hole. The cell has an iron grate door (currently open and unlocked).
27. Seer's Vault: A carved stone chamber that contains the wealth of the Seers of Minas Anghen—the wealth of more than 500 years. There are six oak chests standing in this room. Each is locked (but not trapped). The ghost of Niniel the Seer lingers in this room.
- Note: This room can only be reached via the Box of Panes and the green door in area 15 or by swimming in the secret passage in area 21.
- Ghost: Niniel the Seer wished to invest the treasure of chest 1 to the Foundling Home in Cabed Angren, where she spent the first part of her life and was adopted by the seer Gilrhuin. She died before she could make this a reality. As a ghost, she will beg the company to fulfill this for her. If they do not, the treasures of the vault become haunted.
- Chest 1: 12 bags each containing 30 silver crowns.
- Chest 2: The Bearing-bag of Breca (can hold up to 7 slots of items in a single slot).
- Chest 3: The Bracers of Blyga (Of Archery, grants +1 on attacks with bows) and a necklace of clarity (roll 3d6 and take the best 2 dice when rolling to resist confusion and hallucinations. Additionally, you automatically identify phantoms as illusions).
- Chest 4: Axe of Armor Slaying (removes 1 from an enemy's Defense bonus from armor when succeeding on a Critical instead of a normal Critical effect) and the Bracelets of Iorn Fegic (when worn, your fists are like maces but attack with -1).
- Chest 5: Eagle brooch (of adornment: +1 bonus to any temporary magical blessing from Songs of Power and similar sources, and of grace: you take 1 less damage from singing Songs of Power per round, to a minimum of 1) and a belt of soft tread (+1 bonus to Subtlety maneuvers to move silently).
- Chest 6: This chest contains:
- 3 ingots of silver
- 3 ingots of gold
- 5 diamonds (adamants)
- 2 sapphires
- 12 lesser jewels (moonstones, moss agates, tourmalines, leucoasapphires)
88.97
SETMAENEN. A mound of earth raised over a grotto spring surrounded by seven standing stones. This was once one of the calendar temples of the Dunlendings. Today, there is an aura of fear on the place.
Those with Dunlending Lore know that, of old, this was a place of healing on Midsummer's Day, but was cursed by the Dark Lord out of jealousy that none should be worshipped but him.
Approaching Setmaenen triggers a location-based adventure. Italicized text is included for the GM's benefit and shouldn't be told to the players unless they have an appropriate lore.
1. Circle of Stones: The earthwork mound is ringed by seven standing stones. There is an entrance (area 2), cut into the mound. Next to the entrance is an evil-looking statue.
- Stones: These stones were part of the ancient Dunlendings calendar system: they seem to have a star motif. They depict periods of time demarcated by which constellations are visible in the sky. On one stone is an illustration of a picture of a woman (representing the moon) walking a circuit of 29 steps. The 7th, 8th, and 9th steps are marred.
- Statue: A squat statue of a humanoid with a leering bull's face. An evil will lives within the statue. It was erected by Sauron in the Second Age to end the worship held at this site.
- Entering the circle of stones: As long as the statue is possessed by the spirit, every burglar entering the circle of stones takes 15 - (2d6 + Valour) fear damage.
2. Door: A hole is cut into the turf of the mound. The door step is 3' above the ground level (the ancient stairs have rotted away). The entrance way is defined and supported by three huge stones forming an archway. The lintel is carved with a solar motif. It depicts the sun on the longest day of the year. Above the lintel is an opening like a transom window; it can only be opened from inside (area 3).
- Transom window: The window will allow the sun's rays inside while the stone is blocking the entrance door. (On Midsummer's Day, this would close the door to the pool, re-opening the mound. See area 4 for an explanation of this mechanism.)
3. Entrance hall: A 15' passage into the heart of the mound. Next to the door (2), set into a recess is a huge round stone (weighing 2 tonnes).
- If the door to area 5 is opened: The stone next to the door rolls into place, blocking the exit to the grotto.
4. Altar room: A cross-shaped room. To the north, west, and east are nooks with altars. Each altar has a silvery mirror set onto the wall behind it. The north altar depicts a solar motif. The western altar depicts stars. The eastern altar depicts a lunar motif. The door to area 5 is blocked by a heavy round stone.
- Shining the sun's light onto the northern mirror: If the sun's light is shone directly onto the mirror set in the northern niche, the door to area 5 will open. A counterweight will simultaneously roll the stone in the entrance hall (area 3), closing the mound off from outside access. That is to say, if the door to area 5 is opened, the entrance to the mound is closed and vice versa. This effect will happen naturally on the sunrise of Midsummer's Day.
- Investigating the eastern altar: A burglar who specifically investigates the eastern altar for hidden doors or mechanisms will find that the lunar motif is a button. Pushing this button disarms the trapped stairs in area 6.
5. Resting room: An empty room. This space was once used for worshippers to make themselves ready to enter the pool of area 8.
6. Stairs: A flight of stairs descending into the earth. At the base of the stairs, there are two pillars containing levered mechanisms.
- Walking on the stairs: The 7th, 8th, and 9th are trapped. When 40 lbs. of weight is placed on these stairs, all three stairs turn into a trapdoor that fall 40' into an underground cavern, then close again. Burglars may make a Strength Δ8 test to dive off the stairs before falling.
- Mechanisms: These two mechanisms, when both engaged, disarm the trap on the stairs.
7. Pool of the Holy Spring: The heart of the mound is egg-like, with polished white stone walls and a domed ceiling. A spring floods the room, making it a pool of cold water.
- On Midsummer's Day: If the wight in area 9 is destroyed, the pool becomes a place of healing on Midsummer's Day. A maia of Estë visits the pool on this day and stirs the waters, blessing it. A player may benefit from one of the following healing effects (player's choice) per year:
- Healing of all damage
- Curing madness or mental affliction
- Healing one long-term wound, scar, or lost body part
- Improving one negative attribute to +0
8. Trapped hallway: A hallway that slopes towards area 9.
- Trap door: The middle of the hallway has a trap door. If not specifically investigated, the first burglar in the marching order can make a Subtlety Δ10 test to notice the trap door. Those who step on the trap door fall 50' into an empty cavern below. The trap door can be navigated by walking close to the edges of the hallway.
9. Priest's treasury: This black-marble lined chamber is the trove of the ancient priests of this place: seven stone jars hold their treasures (see below). A wight haunts the room: it conjures an unearthly mist that fills the area.
- Wight: VAL: 5, STR: 2, SKI: 3, UND: 3, SUB: 2, BEA: -2, MOVE 2
END: 125, Attack: +6 (+1 sword), Defense +4 (gold-flourished, baroque armour)
Everyone who wishes to attack the wight must make a Valour Δ8 test. On a failure, they suffer 1 fear damage each round they attack the wight.
A wight suffers no criticals from any mundane weapon.
Once defeated, a wight will return from death if its body is not removed from the mound and exposed to sun. - Mist: All burglars suffer a -1 to Attack while in the mist. Hobbits are beneath the mist; treat their Defense as +2 in this room. Slaying the wight clears the mist.
Treasures:
In addition to many canopic jars that hold the ashes of previous priests, the following treasures are found within the seven stone jars:
- Anti-Ring: This silver ring that suppresses the power of all other magical rings worn. Cursed.
- Ring of Stone: With intense concentration, the wearer can turn into whatever stone they are touching for a turn (10 minutes), usable thrice a day. Additionally, the wearer is immune to any magical sigils carved into stone.
- Star Compass: A silver device reminiscent of the Antikythera mechanism. Using it allows one versed in Star Lore or Artifice Lore to accurately tell the time of day and year.
- Blue Leather Bottle Bag: This waterskin can hold one use of the Maia-stirred waters collected on Midsummer's Day and maintain its virtues, allowing the powers of the spring to be taken abroad.
- 20 diamonds
- Wishes of Woel Laebur: A tome written in the language of ancient Dunlendings. If translated, study of the tome can teach the following lores during Downtime (one lore gained for each Downtime of study): Caving Lore, Dancing Lore, Herding Lore, Song Lore, Star Lore, and Weather Lore.
[Credit: MERP - Haunted Ruins of the Dunlendings]
89.97
HAEDREC'S CAVE. Haedrec (man - garbed in yellow and red, disquieted, sorcerer) is a sorcerous hermit. His father was of Dúnedain stock and his mother was Dunlending; he follows the magical practices of his mother. He frequently has attempted to explore Setmaenen (88.97) but hasn't yet plumbed its inner mysteries. He will warn the company away from the place, saying truthfully that an evil spirit was sent by the Dark Lord to stop the worship that occurred within the mound on Midsummer's Day. This is partly from genuine concern and partly because he hopes to one day claim the treasures inside for himself.
[Credit: MERP - Haunted Ruins of the Dunlendings]
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