TEXT: 1
  The Ghosts 
  of Aniel
  CREDITS
  Design: 
  Stephen Kenson
  Editing: 
  Jesse Decker
  Web Production: 
  Sue Cook
  Web Development
  Mark A. Jindra
  Graphic Design: 
  Sean Glenn, Cynthia Fliege
  Based on the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game by E. Gary Gygax
  and Dave Arneson. , and the new DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game
  designed by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard
  Baker, and Peter Adkison.
  D&D, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, and DUNGEON MASTER are registered trademarks owned
  by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All Wizards characters, character names, and the distinc-
  tive likenesses thereof are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America.
  Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is
  prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations,
  places, or events is purely coincidental.
  ©2001 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All rights reserved. Made in the U.S.A.
  INTRODUCTION
  The Ghosts of Aniel is a DUNGEONS & DRAGONS adventure
  suitable for four 6th-level characters. The difficulty of the
  adventure can be adjusted by changing the level of the princi-
  ple foe or by altering the number of his phase spider servants.
  To tailor the encounters to groups of different levels, refer to
  table 4–1 on page 101 of The Dungeon Master’s Guide. The
  adventure is set in the Celadon forest, but it is easily adapted
  to any forested region in an existing campaign. Maps of elven
  dwellings similar to Revan’s are available for download at
  http://www.wizards.com/dnd/DnD_MW_Intro.asp.
  ADVENTURE SYNOPSIS
  Aniel (an-EE-el) is an elven hamlet in the Celadon Forest. Like
  most elven communities, it has limited contact with the outside
  world, but a few weeks ago all contact with Aniel stopped. None
  of the elves were seen in the communities surrounding the
  forest, and no one heard anything from them. The group sent to
  investigate returned with tales of finding Aniel abandoned but
  also of strange and terrible things happening there; whispering
  voices, moaning sounds, objects moving of their own accord. It
  seems clear that Aniel is haunted.
  Although the locals fear to return to the haunted village, they
  feel something must be done. If the elven hamlet is haunted,
  the ghosts there must be laid to rest, and the mystery behind
  the town’s demise must be solved. Whatever fate befell the town
  might affect other settlements, so a new party must investigate.
  The characters discover the hamlet is abandoned and
  haunted, although not necessarily in the way some think.
  There is actually only one ghost in Aniel, the spirit of a venge-
  ful elf. The other inhabitants of Aniel are victims of this
  ghost, who used magic to transport them to the ethereal
  plane, trapping them there until they are rescued. The charac-
  ters must find a way to overcome the ghost and his minions
  and return the people of Aniel to the material world.
  ADVENTURE HOOKS
  The characters can become involved in this adventure in a
  number of ways. The simplest is for them to receive a request
  for aid from the people living in the area around the Celadon
  Forest. They might be passing through and hear stories about
  the haunted elven settlement of Aniel and realize that the sur-
  rounding areas might also be in danger. If the group has
  adventured in the area before, the local folk ask them to go to
  Aniel and find out what’s happening.
  Characters might be traveling through the forest headed
  elsewhere and stumble upon Aniel. The abandoned hamlet
  offers a mystery that some adventurers will be eager to solve.
  
  2
  An elf or half-elf player character might know of Aniel or
  even have friends or family there. The group might be in the
  area planning a visit, only to discover that something terrible
  has befallen the village. Other characters might have friends
  living in Aniel who are now among the missing.
  BACKGROUND
  The village of Aniel was home to an elf named Navae, a stu-
  dent of the arcane arts. Navae was fascinated by a magical
  gemstone called the galadiir, owned by Revan, Aniel’s greatest
  wizard and Navae’s teacher. Navae’s fascination with the gem’s
  secrets became an obsession when he discovered that the gal-
  adiir was won in a battle with the Drow long ago. Navae
  nursed an unhealthy interest in the dark elves from the time
  he first heard stories about them as a child. He longed to pos-
  sess the galadiir and unlock its secrets, but his teacher Revan
  told him it was not something to be toyed with, and
  instructed him to leave it alone.
  In secret, Navae sought out forbidden lore and became cor-
  rupted. He came to worship the spider-goddess Lolth, and she
  granted him powerful allies, phase spiders he could command.
  He dreamed of when he would be a great and powerful wizard,
  ruling over others. He decided that the key to his power was to
  possess the galadiir, so one night he crept into Revan’s home to
  steal it. Unfortunately for Navae, a hunter named Tarien
  noticed his suspicious behavior and followed him. Tarien
  called out as Navae laid hands on the galadiir, waking Revan.
  In the struggle, Revan was bitten by a phase spider and fatally
  poisoned, but Tarien struck Navae a fatal blow.
  Clutching the magical gemstone in his fist, Navae cursed
  Tarien. “I may be dragged into death,” he said, “but where I go,
  you will all soon join me.” The galadiir flared with power, and
  Navae died. Tarien went to Revan’s aid, but he was too late to
  save Revan’s life. His people buried Revan with honor, while
  Navae’s body was cremated and the ashes scattered.
  Three days later, the people of Aniel awoke to find that the
  world had become gray and lifeless, and they were unable to
  touch anything. They found themselves trapped on the ethe-
  real plane, unable to touch or communicate with the physical
  world. Navae returned as a ghost, using his powers and his
  spider minions to terrorize the people of the village, who
  were unable to call for help. They tried when visitors first
  came to Aniel, but Navae frightened them away. They
  mounted an attack against the ghost, but everyone in the
  attacking party died except for Tarien, who was badly
  wounded. Tarien managed to kill Navae yet again, but the
  ghost simply reappeared a few days later, as powerful as ever.
  Now the only hope for the people of Aniel is that someone
  will come to save them.
  Aniel (hamlet): Conventional; AL CG; 100 gp limit; Assets
  750 gp; Population 146 (146 elves, 4 half-elves).
  Authority Figure: Tarien, male elf Rgr3 (formerly Revan, male
  elf Wiz6)
  Others: Brd1 (2), Clr1 (2), Ftr2 (2), Rog1 (1), Sor1 (2), Wiz2
  (1), Wiz1 (2), Adp 2 (1), Adp1 (2), Exp4 (1), Exp2 (2), Exp1 (4),
  Com6 (1), Com3 (10), Com1 (110), War3 (1), War1 (2).
  Notes: Aniel is a small elven community in the depths of the
  forest. The homes are built on the ground or in the tree
  branches to blend harmoniously with the environment.
  There are thirty homes in Aniel, scattered around an area of
  ten large trees. many of the highest level characters in Aniel
  have recently died because of Navae.
  Wilderness Encounters
  Characters may encounter dangerous creatures while travel-
  ing through the forest to Aniel. The Celadon Forest is filled
  with wildlife, although elven hunters normally keep danger-
  ous creatures away from the trails. It takes the characters
  eight hours to reach Aniel from the outskirts of the forest,
  and there is a 1-in-10 chance of an encounter each hour they
  travel through the woods. If an encounter is indicated, roll on
  the Celadon Forest Encounters Table to determine what the
  characters run into.
  Celadon Forest Encounters
  1d10
  Encounter
  No. Encountered
  CR
  EL
  1
  Dire boar
  1
  4
  4
  2
  Ettercap
  2
  4
  5
  3
  Harpy
  2
  4
  5
  4
  Owlbear
  2
  4
  5
  5
  Dire lion
  1
  5
  5
  6
  Worgs
  8
  2
  5
  7
  Manticore
  1
  5
  5
  8
  Troll
  1
  5
  5
  9
  Shadow Mastiff
  1
  5
  5
  10
  Ethereal Elf*
  1
  2
  2
  * This encounter indicates that one of the inhabitants of
  Aniel finds the characters in the forest and follows them,
  trying to contact them and ask for their help. If the characters
  are able to detect the ethereal elf in some way, see The Elves
  of Aniel encounter (below) for guidelines about what they
  can learn about the current situation.
  Encounters in Aniel
  There are four encounters in the hamlet of Aniel, described
  below.
  The Elves of Aniel
  When the characters first arrive in Aniel, they find the
  
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  entire hamlet apparently deserted, with no indication of what
  happened to the people who lived there. There are signs of
  forest scavengers raiding the elves’ food stores, but otherwise
  nothing. Homes and possessions remain undisturbed. There
  are no bodies or signs of violence. There are also no signs of
  habitation for the past several weeks. A careful search of the
  area (Search, DC 20) turns up a relatively fresh grave on the
  outskirts of the hamlet. This is the gravesite of Revan the
  wizard (see Adventure Background for details). He’s been
  dead for at least a few weeks, and there are still signs of the
  phase spider bite that killed him on his right leg.
  The inhabitants of Aniel actually haven’t gone anywhere.
  They’re all around the characters, but invisible and incorpo-
  real to them. If the characters have any means of detecting
  ethereal beings (such as see invisibility or true seeing) and
  use it, they can see (and hear) the elves around them. As soon
  as the elves realize one or more of the characters can see
  them, they begin babbling at them in Common and Elven,
  pleading for their help and trying to tell them what’s hap-
  pened. It takes the elves roughly 15 minutes to calm down
  and organize themselves well enough to present the back-
  ground information clearly. A character can speed this
  process by making DC 15 Diplomacy check. If the Diplomacy
  check is successful, the elves calm down in one round.
  Once the tumult is calmed down, Tarien steps forward to
  explain the situation to the characters. He tells them about
  the events from the Adventure Background section from his
  point of view and to the best of his knowledge. He also
  explains that he thinks the galadiir can restore the elves to the
  material world and possibly put Navae to rest, but the elves
  have been unable to reach it from the ethereal plane. It’s kept
  in a locked and protected case in Revan’s home. Tarien (or
  another elf) can show the party where it is and tell them
  about the traps guarding it, although he can’t disarm them
  (see Revan’s Home, below, for details).
  Ghostly Attacks
  Shortly after the characters enter Aniel, Navae begins to
  harass them with ghostly hauntings and sudden attacks. The
  ghost uses his telekinesis ability to slam doors and windows,
  knock over objects, send things flying through the air, and
  even to push climbing characters, resulting in a 20-30 foot fall
  from the upper tree-houses (doing 2d6-3d6 damage).
  Navae also has his phase spiders attack the characters, with
  only one spider appearing at a time. The spider shifts to the
  material plane, attacks, and phases back out again immedi-
  ately as a move-equivalent action. Unless the characters have
  a means of detecting ethereal beings, the spiders always sur-
  prise them and catch them flat-footed (eliminating their Dex
  bonuses to AC). If the characters can detect ethereal beings,
  check for surprise normally, but keep in mind that the people
  of Aniel will also try to warn the characters if they spot one of
  the phase spiders about to attack. It requires a Spot or Wilder-
  ness Lore check with a DC of 20 to determine that the phase
  spiders attacking the characters are not all one creature, but
  several different ones. Characters who speak with the elves
  can find out there are three phase spiders total in the hamlet,
  under Navae’s control.
  Navae’s goal is to kill all of the characters except for one he
  can possess with his malevolence ability, allowing him to get
  at the galadiir again. But before that happens, he wants the
  characters to get at the gem for him, and may try to convince
  them to do so (see below).
  Phase Spiders (3): CR 5; Large magical beast; HD 5d10+15;
  hp 42; Init +7 (+3 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative); Spd 40 ft.,
  climb 20 ft.; AC 15 (-1 size, +3 Dex, +3 natural); Atk bite +7
  melee (1d6+4 and poison); Face/Reach 10 ft. x 10 ft./5 ft.; SA
  Ethereal jaunt, poison; SQ AL N; SV Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +2;
  Str 17, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 7, Wis 13, Cha 10.
  Skills:
  Climb +12, Move Silently +11, Spot +9, Feats:
  Improved Initiative.
  SA–Ethereal jaunt (Su): A phase spider can shift from the
  Ethereal to the Material Plane as a free action, and shift back
  again as a move-equivalent action. This ability is otherwise
  identical with ethereal jaunt cast by a 15th-level sorcerer.
  SA–Poison (Ex) Bite, Fortitude save (DC 15); initial and sec-
  ondary damage 2d6 temporary Constitution.
  Navae’s Deception
  If the characters do not make contact with the people of
  Aniel and have no means of seeing ethereal beings, Navae
  uses his manifestation ability to appear to them. He claims to
  be one of the elves trapped by the curse of an evil wizard, and
  only able to speak to them for a brief time through a magical
  spell. He tells them that a magical gem in Revan’s home can
  save the elves if the characters can get it. Navae knows the
  galadiir is in a cabinet closed with an arcane lock, but he does-
  n’t know about the fire trap placed on it (it was done after he
  died). He asks the characters to get the gem, then fades away,
  telling them to hurry.
  Navae follows the characters to Revan’s home and attempts
  to possess the character nearest to the galadiir, as described
  on the next page.
  
  4
  The Galadiir
  The solution to the problem in Aniel lies with the galadiir,
  the magical gemstone Navae wants. After Revan’s death, the
  elves of Aniel replaced the galadiir in its wooden box and
  used one of Revan’s scrolls to cast a fire trap on the book (with
  a caster level of 7, for 1d4+7 damage), keyed to the elders of
  the hamlet. They then placed the box inside a stout cabinet
  built into Revan’s study and sealed it with an arcane lock. Sev-
  eral of the elves, including Tarien, know where the galadiir is,
  but unfortunately they don’t know exactly what it can do,
  since that knowledge was lost with Revan and no one has yet
  had time to go through his various notes and journals.
  Revan’s home is built in and around the trunk of a large tree
  near the middle of Aniel, about 20 feet off the ground. A spiral
  staircase winds around the trunk of the tree up to the humble
  home. The interior contains a sleeping room and a combina-
  tion study and laboratory where Revan worked. The cabinet
  holding the galadiir can be found in the second room. In addi-
  tion to the gem, the cabinet contains five scrolls with arcane
  spells all at caster level 7 (1—charm monster and dimension door;
  2—silent image and sleep; 3—knock and locate object; 4—dispel
  magic; 5—see invisibility). The last scroll will allow the charac-
  ters to communicate with the people of Aniel, if they don’t
  already have the ability among them. The cabinet also contains
  a wand of polymorph self that belonged to Revan with 18 charges
  remaining. The DC to break open the cabinet door is 28 with
  the arcane lock in place (18 otherwise) and picking the physi-
  cal lock is DC 30 (Tarien has the key with him, on the ethereal
  plane, where they don’t do anyone any good).
  Navae keeps a close eye on the characters and follows them
  if they go to Revan’s home. As soon as one of the characters
  has the box containing the galadiir, Navae uses his malevo-
  lence ability and attempts to possess him or her, ordering his
  phase spiders to kill the rest of the characters. He then casts
  sanctuary, followed by expeditious retreat, and flees from the
  area as quickly as possible.
  Navae, male elf ghost Clr1/Wiz3: CR 6; Medium undead
  (incorporeal); HD 4d12; hp 31; Init +2 (+2 Dex); Spd fly 30 ft.
  (perfect); AC 17 (+2 Dex, +5 deflection bonus); Atk +3 melee
  (1d4, corrupting touch); Face/Reach 5 ft. x 5 ft./5 ft.; SA Man-
  ifestation, corrupting touch, malevolence, telekinesis; SQ
  Undead, incorporeal, rejuvenation +4 turn resistance; AL CE;
  SV Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +8; Str 10, Dex 14, Con —, Int 14, Wis
  16, Cha 20.
  Skills: Concentration +6, Hide +12, Knowledge (religion) +6,
  Move Silently +4, Search +12, Spellcraft +6, Spot +12, Feats:
  Scribe Scroll, Toughness (x2).
  SA–Manifestation: can become visible and attack by touch
  or spells. 
  SA–Corrupting Touch: Incorporeal attack doing 1d4
  damage. 
  SA–Malevolence: Can possess a character by touch, Will
  save (DC 19) to resist. 
  SA–Telekinesis: Can move objects at will like a telekinesis
  spell at caster level 12.
  SQ–Undead: Immune to mind-influencing effects, poison,
  sleep, paralysis, stunning, and disease. Not subject to critical
  hits, subdual damage, ability damage, energy drain, or death
  from massive damage.
  SQ–Incorporeal: Can be harmed only by other incorporeal
  creatures, +1 or better magic weapons, or magic, with a 50%
  chance to ignore any damage from a corporeal source. Can
  pass through solid objects at will, and own attacks pass
  through armor. Always moves silently. 
  SQ–Rejuvenation: Successful level check vs. DC 16 allows a
  ghost to return 2d4 days after being destroyed. 
  SQ–Turn Resistance Turn resistance +4.
  Possessions: None.
  Arcane Spells Prepared (4/3/2): 0—daze, ghost sound, mage
  hand, resistance; 1st—cause fear, expeditious retreat, spider climb;
  2nd—knock, web. 
  Spellbook: 0—all cantrips; 1st—cause fear, expeditious retreat,
  mage armor, magic missile, shield, spider climb, true strike; 2nd—
  knock, web.
  Divine Spells Prepared (3/2): 0—cure minor wounds, guid-
  ance, resistance (2); 1st—obscuring mist, sanctuary, protection from
  good (domain spell).
  Once he’s sure he’s evaded any pursuit, Navae opens the box
  (setting off the fire trap, which he didn’t know was there, but
  the damage isn’t likely to incapacitate him). He uses the gem’s
  final wish to transform the character’s body into his own,
  making his possession permanent (and effectively killing the
  character). He then leaves Aniel and the player characters to
  their fate.
  The Galadiir: The stone the people of Aniel call the galadiir
  is a beautiful dark opal worth 8,000 gp for the gem alone. But
  its actual value is far greater. It is an ancient relic won from
  the Drow long ago and guarded by the people of Aniel, passed
  down over the years. The Galadiir is a gem of three wishes (simi-
  lar to a ring of three wishes, p. 195, DMG). One wish was used in
  the defeat of the Drow. Navae used the second to bring about
  
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  his curse, leaving one wish remaining. The characters can use
  it to undo the effects of the curse, rescuing the people of
  Aniel and ensuring that Navae’s spirit is put to rest.
  CONCLUSION
  If the characters overcome Navae and use the galadiir (or
  some other means) to restore the people of Aniel, they receive
  the gratitude of the elves, who offer the characters the (now
  non-magical) galadiir as a reward for their efforts, and hold a
  celebration in their honor. If the characters managed to find
  some way of restoring the elves without using the final wish
  from the galadiir, the people of Aniel offer to use it to grant
  the characters one wish of their choice (provided it’s some-
  thing the elves find worthy).
  If Navae managed to possess one of the characters and use
  the galadiir’s final wish to make his possession permanent,
  the characters have a greater challenge ahead of them. They
  have to find some other means of restoring the people of
  Aniel, which may entail a quest to find a powerful spellcaster
  or magic item. They also have to find Navae if they are to have
  any hope of recovering their companion. The former ghost
  goes to ground. He plans to accumulate power and knowl-
  edge before seeking out the Drow in order to serve Lolth. He
  can become an adversary of the characters in the future.
  Rewards
  The characters receive experience points for overcoming
  the various challenges in this adventure as follows:
  Defeating Navae: 1,800 XP
  Defeating the phase spiders: 1,200XP  each
  Overcoming the fire trap spell: 300 XP
  Discovering the truth of what happened in Aniel: 1,500 XP
  Add any additional experience for wilderness encounters on
  the way to Aniel to determine the party’s final XP total.
  ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  Steve Kenson has been a freelance writer in the RPG indus-
  try for five years and a gamer for far longer than he'd care to
  admit. He's written for a number of games including Shad-
  owrun, MARVEL SUPER HEROES and DRAGONLANCE: FIFTH AGE.
  His work appears regularly in DRAGON magazine. Steve main-
  tains a website with gaming articles he has written and infor-
  mation about his current projects. It can be found at
  http://members.aol.com/talonmail. He can be
  reached by email at talonmail@aol.com.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/D&D 3rd Edition/3.0 Adventures/The Ghosts of Aniel.pdf