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[GREYHAWK] After the Giants: The Glacial Rift of the White Wyrm part2

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Ubiquitous

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May 15, 2013, 4:58:37 AM5/15/13
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:Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 12:49:21 -0400
:From: Jason Zavoda <nem...@MAGPAGE.COM>
:Subject: [GREYTALK] After the Giants: The Glacial Rift of the White
:Wyrm
: part2

4). 5 Frost Giants, HP(89) 70, (80) 75, (78) 77, (65) 40, (62) 15.
These Frost Giants were seperated from the rest of the party when they
were attacked at the entrance to the Rift. Each was wounded in the
initial
struggle and was forced to the left when the rest went right. They
managed
to find a half buried cave and crawled through to a large cave beyond it.
Inside they found a trophy cave, dead humans and demi-humans frozen
upright in blocks of ice. Some relic from the days of Grugnirs. After
resting a bit they are now searching for a way out of the rift or the
rest
of their party, whichever they find first. They know that they were part
of a punitive expedition against several White Dragons which reside in
the
rift. These dragons have been raiding further and further afield
destroying everything in their path. Urheim a Frost Giant chieftain
decided that enough was enough and gathered dozens of Forst Giants, Yeti
Ogres and wolves into a great band prepared tro kill or capture these
White Dragons. As they approached the entrance to the rift a blinding
flash of light stunned them then a pack of Dragons attacked. They
remember
a large Female Adult and many smaller White Dragons, more than they had
ever seen at one time, perhaps a dozen or more. Panic set in and they
took flight. If it can be established that the PCs are not in league with
the Dragons the Frost Giants would not object to an alliance. They are
completely untrustworthy of course but are desperate to escape from the
rift. The Frost Giant which is the most wounded is laggging behind the
others. The 4 which are only partially wounded were considering simply
leaving him behind or perhaps killing him so that he couldn't give them
away.


ENTRANCE TO THE RIFT

At the point on the map where the path down into the rift splits
into 2 seperate paths there are signs of some violent struggle. The
entire
area is splattered with blood. A search of the ground will turn up the
right arm of a Frost Giant wedged into a shallow crevice. The arms has
been torn off at the elbow and the forearm has three deep gouges.
If magic is detected for a faintly glowing circle about 1ft in
circumfrence will appear in two spots. Each about 4ft above the ground
against either side of the walls of the pathway opposite each other.
Upon closer examination of these spots lines can be seen beneath a
coating
of ice. If the ice is cleared away, a strange glyph is revealed. If the
glyph is disturbed it will explode causing 1d10pts of damage in a 5ft
radius. If disturbed by a hand or hand held metal or conductive object,
it
will explode and do an additional 1d10pts of electrical damage to the
person disturbing it and anyone in uninsulated direct contact with that
person. The glyphs will then be destroyed.
At the time the party encounters these glyphs they are charged
only with a residual magic energy. When fully charged these glyphs form
an
invisible barrier across the entrance to the rift. If a man sized or
larger creaturee disturbs this barrier they discharge in a blinding flash
of light. A similar glyph in locations UA#2,UA#13a & LA#6 will sound a
deep gong when these glyphs are discharged. The Winter Wizard will be
aware of the destruction of these glyphs, but will only know that they
have been destroyed in some way.

The Bottom of the Rift

Except for possible Wandering Monsters the Bottom of the rift is
deserted. The description from PG#2 of module G2 is still accurate except
that thin stands of columns line the walls up and down the Rifts floor.
Visibility is poor and the PCs will have to use ehanced vision or closely
approach these objects to make out what they are.
Each column is a 10ft high spear of ice. Hundreds of these line
the walls of the rift floor. Atop each spear is the head of some
creature, Frost Giants, Yeti, Ogre, Wolf, even a few Dwarven and Human
heads are stuck upon these shafts. Each has been frozen and some are
thickly coated with layers of ice. If they are examined it will be seen
that their skull tops have been opened and emptied. If the spirits of
these slain creatures is contacted they will all relate a similar tale.
A terror descending from the sky, a brief struggle then the sight of a
massive claw or a blast of ultimate cold, then darkness. Each died under
the claw, tooth or deadly freezing blast of a White Dragon.
One skull, a leftover from the days of Grugnur, is inlayed with
gold and hidden within one eyesocket is a report from Nosnra about
his raiding activities meant for the Jarl.

Numbered Areas
(Note all boulders have been removed, all passagesways, except
those specifically noted have been widened to a width of at
least 20ft)

UA#1. (Old Guardroom Ice Cavern)

This room appears to simply be a wide empty chamber, but melded
in
the walls are 61 Ice Men. They are spaced evenly around the walls of the
cavern. They will attack any creature that has moved more than 20ft into
the room. They will pursue this attack till the creature or creatures are
dead or have moved out of visual range. Any surviving Ice Men will then
return to UA#1 and reposition themselves along its walls. One of the Ice
men is wearing an Ice Collar (G#2) which allows anyone with an Ice Mirror
to view what is happening around it.
Any of the Guardsmen, the Guards Captain, the Winter wizard
or his apprentices can command them and give them a set of new orders.
But the Winter Wizard can always overide any commands and set orders
which
only he can overide.

UA#2. (Old Guardroom Ice Cave)

The passageway outside of this cave has not been widened. The
entrance
to this cave is blocked by a leather tarp. 11 Ice Men are hidden in the
passageway outside of the tarped of entrance. 10 of them will attack
anyone who comes within 10ft of the tarp, the eleventh will strike a gong
set near the entrance way then turn and fight intruders.
The room is fairly large and set with sconces each holding
a globe of ice with a continual light spell cast upon it. A metal hood is
held on a chain below each sconce and can be set over the globe which
would completely block out the light. These globes can be removed easily
but if fractured or melted even slightly the spell will be immediately
snuffed out. The Southwest corner contains a large bed. There is a table
several chairs, a weapons rack and several large wooden chests.
The weapons rack has a Longsword +1 magical, it glows when
good aligned creatures are within 30ft. A short sword +1 finely crafted
a half dozen throwing daggers (a much used target made of straw is
against
the south wall) a shield, steel helm and equipment for maintaining
weapons
and armor (oil, rags, a small hammer, sharpening stone, etc..)
One very large chest contains a top layer of blankets, then a
Giant sized helm. More of a crown with 12 rough uncut diamonds set in
gold
around its rim. These diamonds are huge and each is worth 1,000gp
if properly cut. The gold of the crown has been poorly processed and has
a
very red tinge, there is easily 20lbs worth. A smaller locked coffer
holds 5 1/2lb lumps of this reddish gold fasioned in the shape of huge
teeth. A pouch in the coffer contains 50gold coins minted in Geoff.
The 2nd chest contains rations and wrapped cuts of meats.
The 3rd chest has clothing, a pair of boots, odds and ends, and a
dozen bottles of Rockflints Dwarfstrength Whiskey.
There is a strange glyph set on the forhead of a carved
dragonshead near the entrance to the room.
The rooms occupant,
Herv Ftr Level6 Al LE, AC(10)3 with chainmail+1 and shield, HP45
will normally be found either asleep, or sitting at the table checking
his
Ice Mirror which lets him view what is happening around active Ice
Collars. He will more than likely be sipping his whiskey. By evening he
will be bored and a little drunk (-1 to hit and damage) while awake he
will be dressed and armored but he has taken to leaving his weapons on
his
weapons rack unless cleaning them or practicing. He wears a gold ring
with
a crest of an eagle in flight on it and a key to the coffer in chest #1
around his neck. Herv also wears an ice collar with a glyph (gn#1) carved
on it. The Ice Collar grants him immunity to the cold weather.
Hervs assignement is to oversee the Ice Men and warn, through use
of the Ice Mirror, the Guard Captain and the Winter Wizard. If the glyph
at the entrance goes off or if he sees anything through the Ice Mirror
he will send the Collared Ice Man and half the Ice men to investigate.
He will immediately press a glyph on the mirror (GN#2) to alert the
wizard
then glyph (GN#3) to alert the guard captain.
Herv will fight if cornered but will seek to escape to the lower
level if at all possible. Unbeknowest to him the Ice Collar has enslaved
him to the Winter Wizard. If Herv attempts to surrender ( which he will
if
reduced to 1/2 of his HP) the Winter Wizard will use his master Ice
Mirror
to take over Hervs will. He will then fight to the death at (-3 to hit).
The Ice Collar can also be exploded by the Winter Wizard, this will shear
off the wearers head.
If Herv can be communicated with, perhaps in spirit, or if the
Winter Wizard is never alerted or is not able to view Hervs actions, then
Herv knows the following. Herv was recruited by a powerful mage several
years ago to act as a bodyguard along with a dozen other experienced
warriors. They explored the ruins of a temple at the cost of several of
the guardsman and one of the three apprentices to the wizard and made
away
with an item which had been held in the chamber beneath the temple. After
a brief sojourn in the city of Greyhawk where the wizard consulted sages,
libraries and other wizards they headed west and eventually made their
way
to Geoff, then overland through the gnome infested Stark Mounds. The
wizard paid a good deal of tribute money and magical weapons to the
Dwarves of the mountains west of the Stark Mounds and then they proceeded
to the Glacial Plateau. Here in the Rift the wizard made some sort of
compact with a aged White Dragon. They've been here now about a year, and
Herv is very sick of it, not the job he signed up for. within the last
few
hours things livened up quite a bit when a large force of Frost Giants
tried to enter the rift. The dragon female and her brood living in the
upper areas were able to cause much damage and drive them to the western
caves of the rift but not destroy them. His opposite, another guardsman
named Shevez must have been killed since his Ice Collar (GN#4 ) as well
as the collar around an Ice Man in his area (G#3) are both not
functioning.
Herv knows the layout of the upper area, The lair of the Female
Dragon and an idea of which caves hold Dargons in the UA. In the LA he is
only familiar with areas LA#1 and LA#5-9
Hervs Ice Mirror sits on his table. His is a Minor Ice Mirror, a
creation of the Winter Wizards. Each Minor Ice Mirror is formed entirely
of Ice in a circle with a 6inch radius. Around the edge of the mirror are
twelve projections the size of a small coin, each marked with a seperate
glyph and spaced evenly like the hours on a clock. Each glyph corresponds
to a glyph marked on an Ice Collar. By placing a thumb or finger on a
single glyph it allows he user to see what the wearer of the Ice Collar
would see at eye level. The Mirror does not see with the actual eyes of
the Ice Collars wearer and will function on even if the wearer is blind,
uncoscious or merely has there eyes closed. If the wearer of the Ice
Collar is killed the collar will be destroyed and no sight can be seen
by touching the corresponding glyph on the mirror. If 2 or more glyphs
are
touched at the same time the Mirror will show only a blurred swirl of
color. The Mirror shows only what can be seen. Sounds, smells, etc...
are not transmitted to its user.

The twelve glyphs show

G#1 the view from an Ice Man in the group marked as Wandering
Monster 2. Upper Level
G#2 The view from the Ice Man in UA#1
G#3 This Ice collar was destroyed
G#4 This shows the view from the Ice Man at UA#23
G#5 The view from the Ice Man at LA#4
G#6 Blanked while theis Ice man is in the company of the Winte
wizard or in the presence of the Master Ice Mirror
G#7 same as above
G#8 same as above.
GN#1 This is Hervs collar
GN#2 This ice collar was destroyed
GN#3 This collar shows the view from a guardsman from LA#16
He can be seen doing various things, wandering around a large chamber
with several bunks and another guardsman (area LA#16) eating palying
cards, talking with a large blond haired warrior, the guard captain.
Passing through an empty chamber and then into a dimly lit chamber
filled with piles of animal skins (LA#17) Ocaasionally glimpses of a vast
chamber filled with rows of Ice Men, tables, alchemical equipment
and other straange devices comes into view (LA#18) when he is in the room
with the furs but something blanks out the mirror from time to time when
he is looking into this room. (The Ice collars are blinded in the
presence
of the winter wizard)
GN#4 This belongs to the other guardsman at LA#16 and what is
seen
is nearly identical to what is seen through GN#4

Rast

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May 31, 2013, 4:47:27 AM5/31/13
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Ubiquitous wrote...
> :Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 12:49:21 -0400
> :From: Jason Zavoda <nem...@MAGPAGE.COM>
> :Subject: [GREYTALK] After the Giants: The Glacial Rift of the White
> :Wyrm
> : part2
>
> 4). 5 Frost Giants, HP(89) 70, (80) 75, (78) 77, (65) 40, (62) 15.
> These Frost Giants were seperated from the rest of the party when they
> were attacked at the entrance to the Rift. Each was wounded in the
> initial
>

Why are you reposting this?

It's not like it is hard to obtain elsewhere on the internet.

Ubiquitous

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May 31, 2013, 5:18:32 AM5/31/13
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How would one look up something they don't know exists?

--
"We’re gonna punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends"
-- Barack "Dear Ruler" Obama


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