Adventure Background

Disturbance . . . change. A spirit is trapped in an icy tomb.
No. The spirit is the icy tomb. Blind to the world, it senses
only warmth. It rejoices. But then it realizes that the blood
is black.

The glacier trembles. The orcs pause in their violent revelry
as the snow and ice around their camp begins to shudder.
Their howls of horror and agony mix with the cracking of
splintered ice, with the wet sound of flesh being crushed and
pierced, of lives being swallowed.

An elemental spirit trapped by the sundering makes its
home, and indeed its body, in an icy glacier of the Icewall
Mountains. It has the ability to influence the weather near-
by, to control the shape and flow of the glacier that is its
body, and to extend its perception anywhere upon the glaci-
er’s surface or within its depths. It perceives only cold (and
its opposite) and magic.

A small tribe of orcs attempted to camp upon the domain of
this trapped spirit. It detected both the warmth of their bod-
ies and the dark magic that infused their creation. As abomi-
nations to the natural order, it decided that they should be
destroyed and, quick as thought, they were gone. The tribe
was led by a powerful kurasatch udareen, however, who
bore a valuable resource: an ancient and very knowledge-
able lore pool. Over the last few months, her remains and
gear have been frozen over into the floor of an ice tunnel,
but the lore pool, which was stored in a sturdy, stone vessel,
has remained intact within the pack still strapped to her
rigid corpse.

One important detail of its surroundings has eluded this
trapped spirit, however. Many of the slain orcs have risen as
Fell, who lumber and prowl throughout the spirit’s demesne
yet radiate no heat. In a few cases, the corpses of a few of
the undead suffered substantial bodily damage at the hands
of the spirit’s wrath; these Fell do not so much prowl as lay
in wait within sealed caverns for fresh meals to come to
them. The spirit is blind to these malevolent creatures, so
the undead share its domain unopposed.

Enter the PCs. Unluckily for them, they have been discov-
ered traveling through the coldest north by a large group of
hobgoblins led by the legate Sèitheach, a Witch Taker and
highly skilled tracker. The legate has pursued the party for
days, and has finally caught up to them here, at the border
of the trapped spirit’s domain. Luckily for the PCs, the spirit
is no friend to evil, and they may be able to enlist its aid.
Unluckily, the Fell are there to ruin everybody’s day.

Adventure

Summary

The PCs are pursued by overwhelming enemy forces into an
icy defile. A few of the lead orc scouts plow into the party
and they are all separated from the rest of the forces. A brief
melee ensues between the party and the few orcs that fell
with them. After the characters dispatch their foes, they
should make their way to the spirit’s chamber. Here, it initi-
ates contact with the party, and tries to enlist their aid in
retrieving the lore pool.

After parleying with the spirit, the characters are guided to
where the remains of the kurasatch udareen lay, broken and
frozen. Before they approach they are attacked by a group
of wandering Fell, and after a vicious combat they discover
the corpse of the orc shaman. As they reach her remains
they will also hear the sound of desperate screams drifting
down a nearby tunnel; should they investigate, they will
emerge outside upon a ledge overlooking the last stand of
the legate and his surviving orcs against hordes of Fell. The
PCs may choose to engage any of the combatants here, or
may be tempted to attempt to recover any equipment and
valuables of the fallen humanoids, but to do so is to risk
being overwhelmed by the ravaging undead.

Characters wishing to explore the ice tunnels will be court-
ing disaster, as many Fell prowl the area, and nearly the
entire population have been aroused by the presence of the
beleaguered orcs. However, should PCs locate the circle of

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Gen Con 2005: Midnight Adventure

Midnight Adventure

Gen Con 2005

Knowledge is Power

by Tony Manero

An introductory M

IDNIGHT

adventure for six 6th-level characters

broken standing stones upon the southern rise, they can
learn a valuable piece of information about the elemental.

Assuming the characters are able to return to the elemental
with the lore pool, the trapped spirit is grateful, and after
accepting the pool into itself, it offers the party an escape
path and will ensure the destruction of their pursuers.

Introduction

Read the following to the players:

You don’t know how you were discovered in this barren,
icy wilderness. You had been careful to hide your move-
ments and activities here in the Northlands. Then again,
you haven’t had time to sit and ponder what you missed.
Dozens of orcs, goblin wolfriders, and at least one legate
and his personal bodyguards have been tracking you. Last
night they found you. You’ve been running ever since.

You are all exhausted, hungry, and parched with thirst,
and the perpetual winter of this nightmare landscape con-
tinues to sap your vitality every moment. Only the thick
stand of pines you’ve fled into keeps the goblins from fill-
ing you with arrows. The howls and taunts of your foes
continue to hound you. The forest begins to clear ahead,
which could mean disaster for you; you’ll have little
chance against the enemies’ archers and wolfriders on
open ground. As you leave the eaves of the pine woods,
however, you spot salvation of a different sort. A huge
plateau of ice and snow rises before you. Natural forming
fissures stretch into ice canyons where the glacier meets
the mountain’s stone a few hundreds yards below you on
the slope; on the other hand, frantically glancing upward,
you see what appear to be a few openings higher up on the
glacier’s slopes. Either spot would give you a chance at
holding off the superior numbers that dog your steps.

The characters are all fatigued (as per the DMG, page 301):
characters can neither run nor charge, and take a –2 penalty
to Strength and Dexterity. The DM should seek to set as fre-
netic a pace here at the adventure’s beginning as possible.
Let the PCs ask as many questions as they like, but every 10
seconds or so of real time, have each of the PCs targeted by
a stray arrow (only hitting/confirming on a natural 20 due to
range modifiers), force all of them to make a Climb, Jump,
or Balance check as they weave in and out of the mountain-
ous terrain, and ask for Fortitude checks lest the PCs
become staggered and only able to make single moves each
round.

If the PCs choose to climb upward toward the ice caves,
they’ll be targeted by archers, and will have to endure 3
rounds of attacks by the goblins (at –4 due to range incre-
ments). If the PCs make a dash down the slope for the ice

fissures, they’ll have the goblins’ wolves on their tails, and
will need to figure out some way to delay them (rock slide,
Small PCs shooting while the others carry them, dropping
rations, etc.). If they cannot come up with anything, add
three wolves (MM, pg. 283) to Encounter 1.

Players who may want to turn and fight should be made
aware of the futility of such an action: to stop running
would bring the whole of the orc force upon the party with-
in a few rounds, and the characters would surely be over-
whelmed. At most, the wildlander may sacrifice his animal
companion to delay the enemy, but any more dramatic
action would mean that the player would likely be removed
from the adventure before it began!

The entire area both above and within the glacier itself is
extremely cold, about 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Characters
unprotected from cold would rapidly take nonlethal damage,
but the PCs are adorned in the appropriate cold-weather
gear.

Encounter 1:

The Pursuit

As they reach the caves or fissures and flee past the icy
walls, the ground beneath them proves to be increasingly
slippery, slowing their progress even further, and allowing
the pursuing foes to gain ground. Feel free to give the PCs
the idea that they are doomed, and that now is the time to
turn and fight. Then, as the first of the goblin wolfriders
plunge into the caves after them, something happens.

The fierce roars of the orcs and the cries of the goblins
sound even closer than before. Somewhere behind them
you can hear a pair of voices raised in unison: a legate,
praising their dark god Izrador.

You turn and prepare your last stand as the snarling of the
goblins’ wolf mountains reaches your ears. The first of the
beasts, its small but malevolent rider seated atop it, lopes
into the glacial passageway. The two share a feral grin. A
grin that turns to open-mouthed amazement as the glacier
trembles with sudden and shocking ferocity . . . and then
all is white.

If the PCs chose the lower fissures, the glacial walls behind
the goblins collapse, sealing the PCs and goblins in and the
rest of the forces out. If the PCs chose the higher ice caves,
the ground beneath them and the goblins collapses, dumping
both groups into roughly the same spot they would have
been had they chosen the lower fissures. In either case, the
PCs trade a few bruises and the wind being knocked out of
them for a much more manageable group of foes.

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Gen Con 2005: Midnight Adventure

Ad lib the crumbling of the ice and the battering the PCs
take, depending on which path they chose. In either case, all
characters take 2d6 points of damage and begin the turn
prone but with cover (+4 to AC due to the chunks of ice and
snow atop them). PCs that succeed at DC 14 Reflex saves
take half damage and begin the turn standing; the goblins
and their wolves automatically begin the combat prone and
their listed number of hit points accounts for the damage
from the cave-in. Draw out an irregular chamber, approxi-
mately 30 ft. long and 20 ft. wide, and scatter the tokens
representing the PCs and their foes liberally throughout the
chamber. The goblins always attack after their wolves dur-
ing the round, hoping that their mounts will be able to trip
the PCs and make them easier to hit.

Creatures

Goblin hunters (4), mounted on wolves (below): Male
goblin sniffer wildlander5: CR 4; Small Humanoid (gobli-
noid); HD 5d8; hp 18; Init +6; Spd 30 ft; AC 16, touch 13,
flatfooted 13; Base Atk +2; Grp –2; Atk +5 melee
(1d6/18–20/x2, small falchion) or +7 ranged (1d4, small
shortbow); SA —; SQ darkvision 60 ft., wild empathy, ani-
mal companion (rank 2 animal companion); AL NE; SV
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +1; Str 10, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 13,
Wis 10, Cha 8.

Skills: Hide +11, Knowledge (Northern Marches) +2,

Knowledge (Northlands) +2, Listen +10, Move Silently +7,
Search +6, Spot +10, Use Rope +3, Survival +2.

Feats: Alertness, Improved Initiative.
Languages: Black Tongue (1), Erenlander (1), Trader’s

Tongue (1).

Possessions: Small leather armor, small shortbow, 10

arrows, small falchion, 3 man-days of rations.

Wolf Animal Companions (4): CR —; Medium Animal;
HD 4d8+8; hp 16; Init +3; Spd 40 ft; AC 17, touch 13, flat-
footed 14, Base Atk +3; Grp +5; Atk +5 melee (1d6+3,
bite); SA trip attempt w. successful attack (+3 modifier, no
chance to be tripped in return); SQ lowlight, scent; AL N;
SV Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +1; Str 17, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 2,
Wis 12, Cha 6.

The ice tunnels are approximately 5 to 10 feet high and vary
from 3 feet wide to 30 feet wide. The ice of the walls,
floors, and ceilings is incredibly thick and strong as stone,
with hardness 8 and 15 hit points per inch of thickness.
Each section of the caves (as divided by encounters) may
have different environmental effects on movement.

The tunnel is dimly lit by the diffraction of light thr ough
the thick ice; the entire tunnel complex is lit with the equiv-
alent of shadowy illumination (PHB, pages 164-165), mean-
ing that characters are always considered to have conceal-
ment with which to Hide.

Encounter 2:

Taking a

Breather

The cave that the PCs begin in has a stone floor. However,
once they step out of that area, they are in ice caves, which
have the following conditions: Movement upon the ice costs
2 squares of movement, and the DC of Balance and Tumble
checks increases by 5. A DC 10 Balance check is required
for those attempting to run or charge across this surface.
This puts the PCs at a slight advantage over the less dex-
trous Fell.

As the PCs recover from their ordeal, the spirit of the gla-
cier awakens more fully to their presence. It was the spirit
that closed off the cave, attempting to destroy the goblins;
when the PCs’ blood (even from minor wounds, if none sus-
tained hit point damage during the fight) touches the glacier,
it knows them to be pure and “natural” creatures of Aryth.
Read the following to the PCs:

As you are taking stock of your situation here in the cold
dark, something catches your eye: a gentle, bluish radi-
ance emanates from the wall of ice comprising the eastern
side of the chamber in which you are trapped. Before your
eyes the ice melts, trickling down onto the chamber floor
and then freezing again before it can reach your boots. As
the ice continues to melt, it leaves a narrow passageway in
its wake.

Assuming the PCs make their way toward the glow, they
walk for several minutes before reaching the cavern labeled
Area 2. If they entered at the bottom of the glacier, the tun-
nel trends steadily upward; if they climbed and entered
through the ice caves, it trends steadily downward. The PCs
may rest for a while, if they like (long enough to remove the
fatigue from Encounter 1), but should eventually follow the
tunnel. If they do not, the chamber begins to collapse and
the glacier begins to close around them, eventually funnel-
ing them in the direction the spirit wishes them to go.

Following the gently sloping tunnel at a leisurely pace that
feels like heaven compared to the past day’s desperate
flight, you enter a roughly oval-shaped cavern, approxi-
mately 30 feet across and with several entrances and exits.
Judging from the sheer cold and the unearthly blue glow,
this place feels like the heart of the glacier, if not literally
then figuratively. As you look around, you see glowing
shapes and swirls of movement appear in the ice of the
walls, and then what appear to be characters forming
before your eyes upon the luminous blue ice!

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Gen Con 2005: Midnight Adventure

The spirit attempts to make use of vague symbols formed
from pockets of melting and refrozen ice, then uses gentle,
graceful wave motions in pockets of water to represent safe-
ty, then even makes simple attempts to form runes from
ancient tongues that it knows. The channeler may attempt to
make a DC20 Knowledge (History) check to recognize the
runes, while the rogue may make a DC 20 Decipher Script
check to accomplish the same thing; either one will recog-
nize the runes for “Share,” “Parley,” and “Touch.”

DMs are encouraged to roleplay the trapped spirit’s efforts
to communicate. You can use use humor (dripping cold
water down a surly character’s neck) or intimidation (freez-
ing a PC’s gauntleted hand to the ice) or anything in
between.

Any character that places a bare hand upon the frozen sur-
face will greatly hasten the communication process, espe-
cially if that hand is wounded. Should this happen, within a
round of contact the elemental sends a primal surge of
imagery, emapthic pulses, and above all intense cold. As the
spirit floods the PC’s mind with these messages, the mor-
tal’s body and his very spirit “freeze”; for each round that
he maintains the connection, he suffers 1 point of Dexterity
drain and his base speed is reduced by 5 ft. The PC gains
the following images/information.

Round 1: Contentment—an ancient sleeping spirit in ice

Round 2: Hatred—the dark, filthy blood of orcs

Round 3: Desire—a seed of powerful magic covered in
filth

Round 4: Curiosity—the warm pure blood of fey and
humans

Round 5: Freedom—the release of the clean bloods and the
release of the spirit’s mind, the trapping of the filth bloods

Round 6: Power—a shard of pure ice entering a cloudy
form of darkness and evil, and drawing the darkness into
itself

The spirit wishes the PCs to find and bring back to its heart
a magic item that was carried by the orcs’ priestess, one that
will allow its consciousness to roam the world once more.
In return, it will provide the PCs with an escape from the
glacier and from the forces that hunt them. If a PC stays in
contact with the ice for 6 rounds (enough to reduce any
PC’s movement to 0 ft.!), he pulls a shard of pure blue ice
away when he removes his hand. The ice will have no pow-
ers until the PCs encounter the legates later in the adventure.

Let the PCs reason out the meaning of the images; they can
even take turns touching the ice, if they wish, but the
images for new PCs always start over at round 1 and contin-
ue upward from there. The spirit will guide the PCs to the
region where it believes the shaman’s corpse to be (remem-
ber, it can only discern warmth and cold, and the shaman’s

corpse has frozen such that it is indistinguishable from the
ice itself; the PCs will have to search the surrounding caves
to find it. It wishes the PCs to retrieve the item, return with
it to this cavern, and activate the item while burying it with-
in the ice. In return, it will keep the orcs away from its tun-
nels, and allow the party to stay within its walls until the
orcs are no longer a threat. However, unbeknownst to the
spirit, its caves are not exactly a safe haven . . . many of the
tribe of orcs it destroyed have risen as Fell. Also, not all of
the party’s foes are orcs, and these are even now entering
the glacier.

Encounter 3:

Retrieval

Movement in the ice caves cost 2 squares of movement, and
the DC of Balance and Tumble checks increases by 5. A DC
10 Balance check is required for those attempting to run or
charge across this surface. This puts the PCs at a slight
advantage over the less dextrous fell, especially the mael-
gral, who can only take single actions anyway.

After the party travels for around 50–100 ft., read the fol-
lowing aloud.

Making your way along the treacherous passage, you hear
the faint sound of heavy, tramping footsteps, a shuffling
gait, approaching from the north. Could it be the orcs
have penetrated the glacier? As you pause, the sound
grows louder, mixed in with a curious, slapping sound,
almost like the trudge of bare feet. Suddenly, four emaciat-
ed figures lope around the bend of the corridor in front of
you. They look like orcs…but as they draw closer, you look
upon dead, gray faces: some with milky-white orbs for
eyes, others with black, empty sockets. Bits of ragged flesh
fall from their exposed limbs. Sighting you, they let loose
feral howls, like creatures out of nightmare. Raising their
clawed, desiccated hands, the ravenous dead shamble
toward you.

This is fell encounter A.

The entire glacier is filled with a few hundred fell of all
types: Ungral, Faengral, and Maelgral. There are many more
of the latter two types, as over the last several weeks no
intelligent beings have visited the area; those Fell still in the
Ungral stage managed to dig their way through ice and
snow to feed on the few crippled, helpless orcs who sur-
vived the trapped spirit’s attack. The fell emerge from snow-
drifts and ice chasms as the party wanders through the
caves, so they might appear from nowhere and seem to cut
the party off. Use the fell liberally to raise the action and

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Gen Con 2005: Midnight Adventure

make the PCs feel overwhelmed and chased, but don’t let
the scenario bog down. There should be enough fell that the
PCs feel once more on the run, but not so many that the ses-
sion turns into a three-hour slugfest with the undead. There
should always be a path of least resistance through which
the party can travel. You may roll randomly to determine
what type of fell are encountered, if you prefer.

1-3—Fell A: 1d8 Maelgral orcs

4-6—Fell B: 1d4 Faengral orcs

7-9—Fell C: 2 Ungral orcs

10-11—Fell D: 1d6 Maelgral orcs, 1 Faengral orc

12—Fell E: 1 Ungral orc, 2 Faengral orcs, 4 Maelgral orcs

Creatures

Maelgral orc, Warrior1: CR 1/2; Medium Undead (orc,
maelgral); HD 2d12; hp 17; Init +2; Spd 30 ft.; AC 14 (+2
natural, +2 scale), touch 12, flat-footed 16; Base Atk +1;
Grp +6; Atk/Full Atk Slam +6 melee (1d6+5); Space/Reach
5 ft./5 ft.; SQ single actions only, undead traits; AL CE; SV
Fort +5, Ref +2, Will –2; Str 20, Dex 10, Con —, Int 3, Wis
5, Cha 2.

Skills: Balance –2, Listen –3, Spot –3.
Possessions: Brittle and broken scale mail.

Faengral orc, Warrior1: CR 2; Medium Undead (orc,
faengral); HD 1d12; hp 9; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; AC 18 (+1
Dex, +3 natural, +4 scale), touch 11, flat-footed 17; Base
Atk +1; Grp +6; Atk/Full Atk 2 claws +6 melee (1d4+5) and
bite +6 melee (1d6+5); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; SQ undead
traits; AL CE; SV Fort +5, Ref +1, Will –2; Str 20, Dex 12,
Con —, Int 5, Wis 7, Cha 4.

Skills: Balance –3, Listen +2, Spot +2
Feats: Multiattack, Power Attack.
Languages: Orcish.
Possessions: Scale mail.

Ungral orc, Warrior1: CR 2; Medium Undead (orc,
ungral); HD 1d12; hp 9; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; AC 18 (+1 Dex,
+3 natural, +4 scale), touch 11, flat-footed 17; Base Atk +1;
Grp +5; Atk/Full Atk +5 melee (1d12+6, vardatch) or +5
melee (1d6+4, bite) or +2 (1d6+4, javelin); Space/Reach 5
ft./5 ft.; SQ undead traits; AL CE; SV Fort +5, Ref +1, Will
+0; Str 18, Dex 12, Con —, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 7.

Skills: Balance –3, Listen +0, Spot +0.
Feats: Power Attack.
Languages: Black Tongue (1), Old Dwarven (2),

Orcish.

Possessions: Scale mail, vardatch, 3 javelins.

Area 3A.

When the elemental spirit destroyed the previous orc tribe, it
split the northern hill in two. The entire encampment col-
lapsed within the resulting rift, sending rough tents, ropes,
cured skins, foul foodstuffs, and orcs plummeting into the
cleft. Within this cavern are the remnants of that fall, par-
tially buried among the ice and snow. If the party makes a
concerted effort digging among the ice and frozen corpses,
they can salvage the following: enough cured hide and
material to assemble two tents, 200 feet of hemp rope, a
handful of stone and metal tools of various types, and about
15 man-days of frozen rations. At the DM’s option, the
composition of this food may be so foul (orcs will eat most
anything) as to require a DC 10 Fortitude save for the per-
son eating the food; failure results in the gestation of a ran-
dom disease.

Area 3B.

The violent upheaval caused by the trapped spirit caused a
large fissure to open within the ice of this tunnel. It is
approximately 20 feet long and 10 feet wide across its
jagged span, and is 100 feet deep. The tunnel floor on the
opposite side has a few jagged, raised areas of stout ice
resulting from the spirit’s wrath. Characters attempting to
jump across should use the Jump rules (PHB, page 77), with
the following modifications. Keep in mind the DC 10
Balance check to run across the icy surface as one begins
the jump (failure could mean an uncontrolled slide into the
fissure!). An individual successfully jumping across must
make a DC 15 Balance check to keep his feet, or take 1d6
damage from the slip-and-fall landing upon the jagged ice.
An individual failing the Jump check by less than 5, and
attempting to grasp the far edge of the chasm, must make a
DC 20 Reflex save, as the edge is incredibly slick and diffi-
cult to grasp. Any more severe failure, of course, results in a
100-foot plummet, and the likely death of the jumper.

Characters that salvaged rope and tools from Area 3A could
rig the means to cross the chasm safely; characters could,
for instance, utilize the Use Rope skill (PHB, page 86) to
create a primitive grappling hook to facilitate a crossing. A
skilled climber might also make it across, though the icy
walls of the cavern will make this very difficult (Climb DC
25).

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Gen Con 2005: Midnight Adventure

Encounter 4:
Jackpot

When the PCs reach the room labeled Area 4, read the fol-
lowing aloud:

Ahead of you, you see a ghastly sight: the body of an orc
shaman, dressed in filthy brown robes, its frozen flesh
gray and withered, its limbs and body broken. A look of
terrified surprise is frozen forever upon the mottled face.
The corpse is mostly encased within the floor of the tun-
nel; only one black, grasping hand reaches upward from
the ice. As you draw closer you see items upon the body: a
knife at its belt, a small pack upon its back, and an oak
staff clasped within its other gnarled fist. All are complete-
ly covered by the frozen floor.

The shaman was carrying the “seed of power” that the spirit
wants the PCs to bring it. If the PCs seem to be having trou-
ble figuring out what they are supposed to do, let the spirit
give them clues (helping melt away the ice near the body,
making the ice closer to the body glow, etc.) PCs will need
to free the shaman’s pack from the ice, as the container
holding the item is held within. The ice surrounding the
shaman has hardness 3 and 50 hit points, but fire (whether a
lit torch, which does 1d6 fire damage per round, or magical
fire) bypasses the hardness and inflicts double damage. Only
two characters can attack or damage the ice per round due
to the enclosed space.

There is a cumulative 10% chance per round that encounter
Fell E arrives to interrupt the PCs (only one such group
arrives during this encounter; do not keep checking after the
first arrives). If the PCs use fire to melt through the ice, and
are fairly quiet, the chance is reduced by 10%; if the PCs
use tools or weapons and are fairly loud, the chance is
increased by 10%.

Should the PCs attempt to free the other items from the
body (PCs can be very resourceful), they will find a knife, a
staff, and some rank robes. The knife and robes are ordi-
nary, but the staff is magical: it has a +1 enhancement
bonus, and it grants 3 additional spell points per day for the
casting of spells with any of the elemental descriptors.

Once the PCs have the vessel containing the item, a cylinder
cleverly constructed of soft limestone, they can return to the
spirit’s chamber.

Encounter 5:
Release

Before the PCs can make good on their half of the “bar-
gain,” they must determine how to activate the magic item.
Opening the clay container will reveal what looks like a
crystalline seedling. When turned at certain angles, it will
catch any ambient light and the crystal leaves will focus
them, as if via a magnifying glass, to a point directly
beneath the tree’s branches. If that light is used to melt a
small hole in the floor of the center of the ice cave, and the
seedling is then “planted” in the bowl of icy slush and melt-
ed water, the seed will take root. Its branches then begin to
tinkle in an invisible breeze, and small motes of ice and
light, carried on this ethereal wind, will be released. One
stops in front of the PC who placed his hand upon the ice in
Encounter 2 for the longest amount of time, and speaks to
him telepathicaly (this time in words).

“You have done for me a great service, granting to me the
freedom to explore this world once more and to relearn
that which I had once known. Perhaps in time my children
of light and knowledge will take root, bringing some illu-
mination to the darkness of these times.

As a reward, I will grant you reprieve from your pursuers.
Go now, and behold their doom. I will reunite you with
your kin, as well. Now go.

With that, the glacier begins to collapse in upon itself, and
the caves begin to seal. The spirit will use glowing light to
illuminate the proper pathway to the exit, opening a sloping
cavern for them to reach the top of the glacier. Proceed to
Encounter 6.

Encounter 6:

Frozen Over

As you emerge into the bright grayness of day, it takes you
a few moments of squinting for your eyes to adjust. As
images begin to sharpen through the glare, you see you
stand high upon an icy tor. A circle of 12 ancient, ice-
encrusted menhirs stands all around you. As you move
among the stones, you see an ancient inscription, some-
what masked by clinging ice and frost, upon the largest
stone. The characters are unrecognizable to you. Looking

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Gen Con 2005: Midnight Adventure

past the stones you see a great plain of ice below you: the
foot of the glacier through which you have been traveling.
Upon this plain, a scene of utter chaos unfolds.

A horde of shambling, stumbling figures—perhaps a hun-
dred, perhaps more—stalk this field of barren ice. As you
watch, more crawl out of cracks and chasms across the
plain, fleeing the closing crevasses and caves of the glacier
and finding, to their unholy delight, the fresh prey of the
patrol that has been hounding your steps for days. They
sprint, lurch, or crawl hungrily toward small groups of
orcs clustered here and there. You look closer at one such
gathering, and at first it appears these figures might be
digging at something, as they gather tightly around a
small area, scrambling about and working frantically with
their hands...but, as you notice the surrounding crimson
stains, and hear the muffled, agonized screams, you realize
what it is they are doing. There are many such clusters
across the ice, where Fell have overwhelmed orc warriors
and feast upon their black flesh. Your eyes are drawn in
closer, where one great, armored orc flees in your direc-
tion, a group of lurching gray figures closing behind.
Suddenly, the ice gives way beneath him, and he falls,
pinned to his waist, struggling. In seconds, his pursuers
are swarming around him, and he cries out in agony as
they tear him apart.

The PCs may seem to be home free, but they may remember
with some dread the spirit’s last words: “I will reunite you
with your kin.” The spirit does not differentiate between
humans, and so assumed that the legate and his Dorn body-
guards were captives of the orcs. It seperated them from the
orcs early on during the patrol’s initial exploration of the
glacier, and has been “funneling” them ever since. Now that
the PCs have accomplished the quest for it, the spirit has
decided to “reward” the PCs by reuniting them. The legate
and his guards step out from behind the stones, vengeful
snarls upon their faces; he gives thanks to the demon of the
glacier for delivering them to their prey, then they attack.

Creatures

Sèitheach (pronounced SHAY-uch) Fearsson, male
Erenlander Witch Taker 7/Wildlander 2: CR 9; Medium
Humanoid (Erenlander); HD 9d8+18; hp 63; Init +1; Spd 40
ft; AC 16 (+5 +1 chain shirt, +1 Dex), touch 11, flat-footed
15; Base Atk +7; Grp +8; Atk +11 melee (d10+3, Dornish
horse spear) or +8 ranged (d8, light crossbow); Space/Reach
5 ft./5 ft.; SA rebuke undead, spells; SQ master hunter
(channelers), quick stride; AL LE; SV Fort +11, Ref +5,
Will +9; Str 14, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 10.

Skills: Climb +2, Concentration +11 (+15 to cast on the

defensive), Heal +14, Knowledge (arcana) +11, Knowledge
(nature) +3, Knowledge (Northlands) +3, Knowledge (reli-
gion) +2, Listen +8, Search +3, Spellcraft +11, Spot +13,
Survival +16.

Feats: Combat Casting, Combat Reflexes, Improved

Bull Rush, Power Attack, Track, Weapon Focus (Dornish
horse spear).

Languages: Black Tongue (1), Erenlander, Norther.
Spells Prepared (6/5+1/4+1/3+1/2+1; base DC = 14 +

spell level; Domains: seeker and magic): 0—create water x
2, detect poison, inflict minor wounds, purify food and
drink, read magic; 1st—bless, command, divine favor,
endure elements, longstrider*, protection from good; 2nd—
bull’s strength, hold person, identify*, silence, sound burst;
3rd—cure serious wounds, dispel magic*, magic vestment,
prayer; 4th—locate creature*, divine power, summon mon-
ster IV.

*Indicates a domain spell. Domains: Seeker (may track

individuals with the Magecraft feat) and Magic (can use
spell completion and spell trigger items as a channeler of
one-half legate level).

Possessions: Masterwork longsword, +1 chain shirt,

masterwork Dornish horse spear, boots of the winterlands, 5
crossbow bolts +1, potion of blur, potion of pass without
trace, potion of spider climb, scroll of cure moderate
wounds, scroll of commune, scroll of neutralize poison, 12
man-days of rations, 30 gp, 120 vp worth of fine alcohol,
maps, metals.

The legate is a tall man, leaner than the Dorns among whom
he was raised, but with a cunning and resolve that compen-
sate for his lack of sheer physical power. His piercing blue
eyes and perpetual grin are often the last sight an enemy
sees before being skewered by his fierce Dornish horse
spear.

Astirax, in possessed hawk: CR 4, HD 3d8+6; hp 20; Init
+3; Spd 10 ft. (2 squares), fly 60 ft. (average); AC 17 (+2
size, +3 Dex, +2 natural), touch 15, flat-footed 14; Base Atk
+0; Grp -10; Atk/Full Atk talons +5 melee (1d4-2);
Space/Reach 2-1/2 ft./0 ft.; SA drain spell energy, posses-
sion; SQ magic subtype, bodiless, world-sense, superior
invisibility, sense magic, silver vulnerability; AL NE; SV
Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +6; Str 6, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 16, Wis
12, Cha 15.

Skills: Hide +8, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (arcana) +7,

Knowledge (local) +7, Knowledge (Shadow) +9, Listen +7,
Move Silently +8, Search +9, Sense Motive +7, Spellcraft
+7, Spot +7, Survival +7.

Feats: Iron Will, Track.

Dorn bodyguard Fighter5 (2): CR 5; Medium Humanoid;
HD 5d10+10; hp 51; Init +5; Spd 30 ft.; AC 13 (+1 Dex, +2
leather); Base Atk +5; Grp +9; Atk +11 melee (1d12+4,
greatsword) or +9 melee (1d6+3, throwing axe), or +9
ranged (1d6+3, throwing axe); SQ dorn traits; AL CE; SV
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +2; Str 16, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 6, Wis
10, Cha 6.

Skills: Balance +2, Climb +11, Intimidate +4, Survival

+3.

Feats: Dodge, Improved Initiative, Improved Grapple,

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Gen Con 2005: Midnight Adventure

Mobility, Spring Attack, Weapon Focus (Greatsword).

Languages: Black Tongue (1), Erenlander (2), Orcish.
Possessions: Leather armor, greatsword, throwing axes

(3), potion of cure moderate wounds (x2).

Languages: Black Tongue (1), Old Dwarven (2) or

High Elven (2), Orcish.

Dorn bodyguard Fighter5 (2): CR 5; Medium Humanoid;
HD 5d10+5; hp 43; Init +7; Spd 30 ft.; AC 17 (+3 Dex, +2
leather, +2 shield); Base Atk +5; Grp +9; Atk +5 melee
(1d8+2, longsword) and +5 melee (1d4+1, spiked shield);
SQ dorn traits; AL CE; SV Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +2; Str 14,
Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 6.

Skills: Balance +2, Climb +11, Intimidate +4, Survival

+3.

Feats: Combat Expertise, Improved Shield Bash,

Improved Trip, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus
(longsword).

Languages: Erenlander (2), Norther.
Possessions: Leather armor, heavy spiked shield,

longsword, dagger, javelins (4), 2 man-days of rations.

Tactics: Sèitheach’s astirax will target the party’s channeler;
Sèitheach may have already cast up to 3 spells. He will
attempt to nullify the party’s warrior types through the use
of spells such as command, hold person, and sound burst,
while his astirax continues to attack party spellcasters. He
will order the two shield-and-sword Dorns to hold their
position and protect him as much as possible (unless they
start taking heavy ranged attacks from the party); the spring
attacking Dorns will take advantage of that feat to move,
attack, and spring back . . . the first time they fail their
Balance checks due to the ice, they’ll change their strategy
and just stand and hack instead.

Sèitheach makes maximum use of his boots of the winter-
land to stay away from the PCs until necessary, including
bull rushing individual PCs away from the rest so he can
deal with them individually.

Development: The course of this combat should be adjusted
by the DM depending on the shape the PCs are in as they
emerge. If the party is somewhat weak, have a group of fell
jump the enemies to distract them, or let Sèitheach mock
them for a bit before attacking. This encounter should be
challenging for the PCs, but should not result in their
destruction, unless they put themselves in a position which
ensures this.

The Shard: If a PC remained connected to the ice in
Encounter 2 for 6 rounds, he will have the shard of pure ice.
The ice absorbs 10 levels per day of divine magic cast by
Izrador’s legates; if the shard is within an area of effect of a
spell or its wielder is the target, the shard absorbs it.
Alternatively, if the wielder makes a successful melee attack
against (or just touches, in the case of a friendly character)
someone under the effects a legate spell, the spell can also
be absorbed.

The Astirax: The astirax, despite being unusually loyal to
Sèitheach, is not stupid or suicidal. Should it suffer wounds
equal to half or more of its hit points, it will fly away, mak-
ing for Theros Obsidia. If it makes its escape it will tell its
masters of the deadly infestation of fell upon this glacier; it
will also relate what it knows of the PCs, and may warn of
the possibility of their escape, depending on how the party
fares in combat prior to the astirax’s flight.

Conclusion

After the battle, characters can look at the incriptions on the
stones more closely. A DC 20 Decipher Script check will
translate a few snatches of the script (DM’s choice as to
which words). A DC 20 Lorebook check will reveal a series
of similar poems attributed to ancient ancestors of the oldest
Dorns of the Northlands, which were passed down over the
eons through contact with elthedar artifacts. A comprehend
languages spell will reveal the entirety of the message,
though it will take the entire duration of the spell to glean
its full knowledge due to the mystic nature of the inscrip-
tion.

The poem is as follows:

Cendara, mistress of the air
Protects her children, tall and fair
Guides them through this endless night
Of Darkness, scourge of long-lost Light

Axel, puissant lord of fire
Lord of Aryth’s inner ire
Stokes the hearts of children shamed
Restores the pride of lords again

Bodil, he of winter’s skin
Holds the world’s wisdom within
Yet seeks to learn forever more
From young and old their worldly lore

The Three will rise before the end
The wounds throughout the North to mend
Dark and Fire and Black Iron fail
Before the might of the waking Wael

Characters deciphering this riddle should determine that the
trapped elemental within the glacier is indeed Bodil. He and
his kin are prophecied to either face Izrador or at least some
of his powerful minions, and PCs have become, whether
willingly or not, Bodil’s harbingers. What they do with the
shard of Bodil and with their newfound knowledge is up to
them.

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Gen Con 2005: Midnight Adventure

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Gen Con 2005: Midnight Adventure

Map of the Glacier

Scale: 1 sq. = 10 ft.