TEXT: EMH-9 
   
  MARK OF HEROES 
   
  Mote in the Eye of 
  Chaos 
   
  A One-Round Dungeons & Dragons® MARK OF 
  HEROES™ Adventure for 8th-Level Characters 
   
  Design: Stephen  Radney-MacFarland 
   
  Sources: Book of Vile Darkness [Monte Cook], Complete Psionic [Bruce R. Cordell, Christopher Lindsay], Dungeon 
  Master’s Guide II [Jesse Decker, David Noonan, Chris Thomasson, James Jacobs, Robin D. Laws], Player’s 
  Handbook II [David Noonan], Eberron Campaign Setting [Keith Baker, Bill Slavisek, James Wyatt], Fiend Folio 
  [Eric Cagle, Jesse Decker, James Jacobs, Erik Mona, Matt Sernett, Chris Thomasson, James Wyatt], Five Nations 
  [Bill Slavicsek, David Noonan, Christopher Perkins], Frostburn [Wolfgant Baur, James Jacobs, George Strayton], 
  Magic of Eberron [Bruce R. Cordell, Stephen Schubert, Chris Thomason], Monster Manual II [Ed Bonny, Jeff 
  Grubb, Rich Redman, Skip Williams, Steve Winter], “Lesser Golems” from Dragon issue 341 [Campbell Pentney], 
  EMH-1 Reflections of the Multiverse [Stephen  Radney-MacFarland], EMH-3 No Ticket [Stephen Radney-
  MacFarland]. 
   
  Based on the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
  ® rules created 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. 
   
  This game product contains no Open Game Content. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without 
  permission of the author. To learn more about the Open Gaming License and the d20 system license, please visit 
  www.wizards.com/d20 
   
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, GREYHAWK and RPGA are registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. LIVING 
  GREYHAWK is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. © 2006 Wizards of the Coast, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This scenario 
  is intended for tournament use only and may not be reproduced without approval of the RPGA. 
   
   
  
  Introduction 
  Mote in the Eye of Chaos is optimized for 8th-level 
  characters. This means that it’s designed and balanced for 
  a group of four to five 8th-level characters (PCs). If your 
  group deviates from this size and strength, each encounter 
  features a section titled “Scaling the Encounter” so that 
  you, the Dungeon Master (DM), can create a more 
  enjoyable and better balanced adventure. If there are only 
  four of five PCs of the same level in your group, it’s easy 
  to use this section: just use the level entry that 
  corresponds with the PCs’ level (the optimized entry is 
  given in the main adventure text). For groups of mixed 
  levels and groups with six PCs, determine the average 
  level of the PCs, and increase that average by one for 
  groups of six PCs. Treat that level as the groups level. 
  That said, as DM you have discretion when it comes to 
  fitting the challenges of the adventure to your group. If 
  your group finds the challenges too easy or too difficult, 
  feel free to increase or decrease the level of challenge 
  appropriately. The goal is to challenge the PCs and 
  entertain the players, not to overwhelm or even 
  underwhelm them. The most enjoyable D&D games are 
  ones where failure and character death are possible, but 
  success and reward are attainable through daring and 
  smart play.  
   
  Mote in the Eye of Chaos has been designed to be part 
  of the RPGA DUNGEON & DRAGONS CAMPAIGNS: MARK 
  OF HEROES program. Like all DUNGEONS & DRAGONS 
  CAMPAIGNS adventures, it’s recommended that PCs 
  undertaking its challenges have at least one arcane 
  spellcaster, a divine spellcaster (preferably a cleric), a 
  strong warrior, and a rogue. Parties missing these valuable 
  adventuring components may find Mote in the Eye of 
  Chaos very challenging, and the chances of character death 
  higher. Please warn the players of this before play starts. 
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS CAMPAIGNS allow players to 
  “take one for the team”; that is to play a fastplay wizard, 
  fighter, rogue, or cleric in place of one of their characters, 
  and gain experience point for their character. If the group 
  lacks one of these vital four classes, suggest to your players 
  to take advantage of this option. 
   
  RPGA-Sanctioned 
  Play 
  Most likely you ordered this adventure as part of an 
  RPGA even from the RPGA website, or as part of the 
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS CAMPAIGNS retail program. To 
  play Mote in the Eye of Chaos as part of the MARK OF 
  HEROES campaign—a worldwide, ongoing D&D 
  campaign set in Eberron—you must sanction it as part of 
  an RPGA event. This event could be as elaborate as a big 
  convention, or as simple as a group of friends meeting at 
  the DM’s house.  
   
  To sanction an RPGA event, you must be at least a 
  HERALD-LEVEL gamemaster. The person who sanctions 
  the event is called the senior gamemaster, and is in charge 
  of making sure the event is sanctioned before play, runs 
  smoothly on the date sanctioned, and then reported back 
  to the RPGA in a timely manner. The person who runs 
  the game is called the table DM (or usually just DM). 
  Sometimes (and almost all the time in the cases of home 
  events) the senior gamemaster is also the table DM. You 
  don’t have to be a HERALD-LEVEL GM to run this 
  adventure if you are not the senior GM.  
   
  By sanctioning and reporting this adventure you 
  accomplish a few things. First, it allows the PCs 
  participating in play to accumulate experience points (XP) 
  and gold pieces (gp) to advance their MARK OF HEROES 
  characters. Second, it allows the RPGA to track and 
  record what character did during the adventure, and 
  future adventures a written with what the majority of 
  player did in mind—in this way characters’ action shape 
  the future of the campaign. Lastly, player and DMs gain 
  rewards for sanctioned RPGA play if they are members of 
  the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS REWARDS program. Playing 
  this adventure is worth four (4) points.  
   
  This adventure retires from RPGA sanctioned play on 
  August 6, 2006.    
   
  To learn more about the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS 
  CAMPAIGNS: MARK OF HEROES character creation and 
  development, RPGA event sanctioning, and DUNGEONS 
  & DRAGONS REWARDS, visit the RPGA website at 
  www.rpga.com.  
  .  
  Players Read No 
  Farther 
  If you are planning on playing this adventure, stop 
  reading now. The rest of the information in this adventure 
  is for the DM only. If you read farther than this section, 
  you’ll know too much about its challenges, which kills the 
  fun. Also, if you’re playing this adventure as part of an 
  RPGA-sanctioned event, reading beyond this point makes 
  you ineligible to do so.  
   
  Preparing for Play 
  To get the most out of this adventure, you need copies of 
  the following D&D books: Player’s Handbook, Dungeon 
  Master’s Guide, Monster Manual, and the Eberron 
  Campaign Setting. It is also a good idea to have a copy of 
  the Expanded Psionics Handbook, as it is possible that some 
  character playing in this adventure will be kalashtar 
  utilizing the psionics rules.  
   
  Throughout this adventure, blocks of italicized text 
  provide player information for you to paraphrase or read 
  aloud when appropriate. Sidebars contain important 
  information for you, including special instruction on 
  running or expanding the adventure. Information on 
  nonplayer characters (NPCs) and monsters appear in 
  abbreviated form in the adventure text. Full information 
  on NPCs and monsters are given in a section directly after 
  each encounter in a section titled “Combat Statistics” or 
  can be found in the Monster Manual.  
   
  This adventure may use material from various other 
  D&D sourcebooks and other official sources. While many 
  times the adventure text notes where this information 
  came from, the adventure is designed so that you don’t 
  need to have those sources during play.  
   
  Either attached to the adventure, you’ll find a special 
  RPGA Session Tracking Sheet tailored for this adventure. 
  If you’re playing this adventure as part of an RPGA-
  sanctioned event, complete and turn in this sheet to your 
  senior GM directly after play.  
   
  Background 
  Earlier in 998 YK, almost by mere chance, the Diggers’ 
  Union discovered that a group of extraplanar shapeshifters 
  called the nerra had infiltrated Eberron. While member of 
  the Diggers’ Union thwarted and opening between 
  Eberron and a strange planar place called Specurium, that 
  the mad gnome Belental Heirm theorized was some new 
  
  plane of existence, some nerra were able to escape, and 
  may still be free pursing their secret goals in Breland or 
  elsewhere in Khorviare.  
   
  Worse still, not long after the incident at the Crook 
  Observatory in Breland (as detailed in EMH-1 Reflections 
  of the Multiverse) agents of the Diggers’ Union discovered 
  that a nerra had replaced a Karrn noble named Heri 
  ir’Vessen, and that the nerra had an enclave in Northern 
  Karrnath (as detailed in EMH-3 No Ticket). They also 
  discovered, thanks to an annotated version of Heirm’s 
  Deviant Celesitia, that Specurium was not its own plan, 
  but part of Kythri, the Churning Chaos.  
   
  To be more precise, Specurium is a mote in the eye of 
  the Churning Chaos—a planar divide created by the nerra, 
  to escape enslavement.  
   
  Centuries ago, long after the githzerai of the powerful 
  Vendulzat Monastery escaped the mind flayers of Xoriat, 
  they discovered a race called the nerra drifting as nomadic 
  refugees across and obscure region of Kythri. The exact 
  reasons why they succumbed to the sins of their own 
  race’s creation, and enslaved the nerra is lost to time. But 
  since their first meeting, the githzerai of Vendulzat 
  Monastery have been using mirrorfolk slaves as soldiers, 
  spies and servants.  
   
  This status quo has recently changed. Secretly for 
  decades, the nerra have been plotting to throw off the 
  yoke of their githzerai oppressors, and have used a strange 
  planar convergence to create a powerful mote in Kythri 
  that is connected to some locations in Eberron in a 
  manner similar, but even more direct than a manifest 
  zone. They call this mote Specurium.  
   
  While Diggers in Wroat foiled their plans to create 
  such a rift in that city, the nerra were more successful in 
  the village of Icenport in northern Karrnath, and have 
  been using that enclave to create a large foothold in 
  Eberron. 
   
  While the nerra have been successful, Vendulzat 
  Monastery has not let their thralls sneak away quietly. On 
  the boarder of the Sepcurium-Kyrthri connection a 
  powerful battle has raged for months, as the githzerai 
  fight to expand the rift between the planar places, and the 
  nerra fight to close it. Day by day the nerra succeed in 
  closing the connection a little more, and when it is 
  completely closed, Specurium will become fully a part of 
  Eberron, and the nerra will win their freedom. 
   
  In a last ditch effort to stop this, the githzerai has 
  gated a small force to Icenport. This group, called a 
  zenkkma—which roughly translates into “hunt for 
  nerra”—has taken a sacred oath to thwart the nerra and 
  shut down the mote on the Eberron side, and have and 
  will use any means necessary to meet their goal, including 
  the imprisonment and enslavement of the local population 
  to help complete their goals. 
   
  Days before the PCs arrival, the zenkkma stormed the 
  village of Icenport in search for the nerra. What they 
  found was a local population with no realization that their 
  local lord and his household had been replace with 
  mirrorfolk from another plane.  
   
  The nerra, in an effort to keep up their ruse and stop 
  the zenkkma sent out a force to confront the githzerai and 
  slaad on field at the foot of Vessen Keep. Confident that 
  they would disable if not destroy the small Kytrhi host, 
  the nerra rode forth as the Frost Brigade, the local Karrn 
  soldiery, supported by the local militia of townsfolk still 
  ignorant of their heroes replacement by extraplanar 
  shapeshifters. What the nerra didn’t count on was that the 
  zenkkma carried a pair of secret weapons: magic items 
  called shatterstones, that once activated, emitted a powerful 
  supersonic explosion that damaged only creatures with 
  sonic vulnerability.  
   
  During the battle, the githzerai unleashed the power 
  of one of these shatterstones, decimating the nerra’s charge, 
  and breaking the final resistance of the village folk.  
   
  The nerra responded by strengthening the defenses of 
  Vessen Keep and waiting for the zenkkma’s assault from 
  within. This tactic might be their undoing, as shatterstones 
  have a second, ultimately more debilitating use. If its 
  explosion is let loose at the Specurium-Eberron border, it 
  will shake that connection use, causing the nerra’s mote to 
  fall back into Kythri, and doom the mirrorfolk to fall back 
  under the yoke of the Vendulzat Monastery.  
   
  Summary 
  Mote in the Eye of Chaos is an open-ended adventure, that 
  allows the PCs to discover a site and uncover a mystery at 
  their own pace.  
   
  At its start, the PCs approach the extreme northern 
  Karrnath settlement of Icenport. A usually sleepy fishing 
  and trapping village, the PCs find the village dead quiet. 
  Through investigation of the town’s main sites, the PCs 
  soon discover that they are not the only ones interested in 
  the nerra. Not so long ago, a group of githzerai and slaad 
  from the Churning Chaos of Kythri gated to Icenport and 
  assaulted the town in the desire to strike the nerra from 
  the other side of their mote.  
   
  Unfortunately, circumstance, Karrn stubbornness on 
  the part of their slaves, and the zenkkma’s chaotic nature 
  has given the Kythri invaders great difficulty.  
   
  By visiting the main sites in town, the PCs can piece 
  together the goals of the zenkkma in Icenport, free the 
  local population from the yoke of the zenkkma, and 
  discover that the nerra have been posing as the local lord 
  and his household for months.   
   
  By the end of the adventure the PCs should be able to 
  secret themselves into Vessen Keep, enter Specurium, and 
  dislodge that planar mote from Eberron for good, or even 
  make a deal with the nerra to aid in their final release from 
  their former githzerai masters.   
   
  Troubleshooting 
  Githzerai of Vendulzat Monastery 
  The githzerai in this adventure incorporate the changes 
  made to that race in the Expanded Psionics Handbook. If 
  you don’t have access to that rulebook, the following is a 
  summary of those changes. 
   
  Also, the githzerai of the Vendulzat Monastery have a 
  special unique power that allows them to see the nerra, 
  this ability is also described below.  
   
  Vendulzat Monastery Githzerai Changes 
  A psionic githzerai does not possess the spell-like abilities, 
  inertial armor ability, or spell resistance of standard 
  githzerai. Instead, it has psi-like abilities (including inertial 
  armor) and power resistance.  
   
  Psi-Like Abilities: 3/day—catfall, concussion blast, 
  psionic daze (DC 10), inertial armor. Manifester level 1st. 
  The save DC is charisma base.  
   
  Power Resistance (Ex): A githzerai has power 
  resistance equal to its Hit Dice +5. In the MARK OF 
  HEROES campaign, power resistance works exactly like 
  spell resistance due to the psionic-magic transparency 
  rules.  
   
  See Nerra (Su): all the githzerai of the Vendulzat 
  Monastery are graced with a very selective version of true 
  seeing. They all can see nerra as they truly are, and are 
  immune to the nerra’s disguise self and mirror image spell-
  like abilities.  
   
  
  Githzerai Powers 
  The following powers are all from the Expanded Psionics 
  Handbook, they are also presented in the OGL SRD.  
   
  Catfall 
  Psychoportation 
  Level: Psion/wilder 1, psychic warrior 1 
  Display: Auditory 
  Manifesting Time: 1 immediate action 
  Range: Personal 
  Target: You 
  Duration: Until landing or 1 round/ level 
  Power Points: 1 
  You recover instantly from a fall and can absorb some 
  damage from falling. You land on your feet no matter 
  how far you fall, and you take damage as if the fall were 
  10 feet shorter than it actually is. This power affects you 
  and anything you carry or hold (up to your maximum 
  load). You can manifest this power with an instant 
  thought, quickly enough to gain the benefit of the power 
  while you fall. Manifesting the power is an immediate 
  action, like manifesting a quickened power, and it counts 
  toward the normal limit of one quickened power per 
  round. You can manifest this power even when it isn’t 
  your turn. 
  Augment: For every additional power point you spend, 
  this power reduces your damage as if the fall were an 
  additional 10 feet shorter. 
  Concussion Blast 
  Psychokinesis [Force] 
  Level: Psion/wilder 2 
  Display: Auditory 
  Manifesting Time: 1 standard action 
  Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./ level) 
  Target: One creature or object 
  Duration: Instantaneous 
  Saving Throw: None 
  Power Resistance: Yes 
  Power Points: 3 
  A subject you select is pummeled with telekinetic force for 
  1d6 points of force damage. You can choose to have the 
  power deal an equal amount of nonlethal damage instead. 
  Concussion blast always affects a subject within range that 
  you can see, even if the subject is in melee or has cover or 
  concealment (you cannot use this power against creatures 
  with total cover or total concealment). 
  Nonmagical, unattended objects (including doors, walls, 
  locks, and so on) may also be damaged by this power. 
  Augment: You can augment this power in one or both of 
  the following ways. 
  1. For every 2 additional power points you spend, this 
  power’s damage increases by 1d6 points. 
  2. For every 2 additional power points you spend, this 
  power can affect an additional target. Any additional 
  target cannot be more than 15 feet from another target of 
  the power. 
   
  Daze, Psionic 
  Telepathy (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting] 
  Level: Psion/wilder 1 
  Display: Material and mental 
  Manifesting Time: 1 standard action 
  Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels) 
  Target: One humanoid creature that has 4 HD or less 
  Duration: 1 round 
  Saving Throw: Will negates 
  Power Resistance: Yes 
  Power Points: 1 
  As the daze spell, except as noted here. 
  Augment: For every additional power point you spend, 
  this power can affect a target that has Hit Dice equal to 4 
  + the additional points. 
   
   
  Inertial Armor 
  Psychokinesis 
  Level: Psion/wilder 1, psychic warrior 1 
  Display: Visual; see text 
  Manifesting Time: 1 standard action 
  Range: Personal 
  Target: You 
  Duration: 1 hour/level (D) 
  Power Points: 1; see text 
  Your mind generates a tangible field of force that provides 
  a +4 armor bonus to Armor Class. Unlike mundane 
  armor, inertial armor entails no armor check penalty or 
  speed reduction. Because inertial armor is composed of 
  psychokinetic force, incorporeal creatures can’t bypass it 
  the way they do normal armor. 
  Your inertial armor can be invisible or can appear as a 
  colored glow, at your option. 
  The armor bonus provided by inertial armor does not 
  stack with the armor bonus provided by regular armor. 
  Augment: For every 2 additional power points you 
  spend, the armor bonus to Armor Class increases by 1. 
   
  The Denizens of Kythri and Moral 
  Ambiguity  
  In this adventure the PCs interact with two neutral 
  societies in a struggle over the course of how their society 
  progresses. The githzerai of the Vendulzat Monastery have 
  benefited over the enslavement of the nerra for centuries, 
  and believe the health of their society, and their ability to 
  protect themselves from the daelkyr rests on that race’s 
  subjugation. The rules of the zenkkma allow the githzerai 
  extreme moral lenience in achieving their goal.  
   
  On the other hand, the nerra are a people starving for 
  self-reliance, and will pursue any means necessary to 
  achieve that. Their centuries-old enslavement has stamped 
  out any compassion for non-nerra. They see their plight as 
  so desperate, that their freedom if not very existence 
  allows them—no, necessitates them—to achieve their goal 
  no matter the cost.  
   
  To this end both the githzerai and the nerra and 
  neutral in the most selfish, desperate, and ambiguous 
  sense, and at many times individuals tip the scale toward 
  evil with more frequency than it tips toward the other 
  side. While neither are true villains, both do villainous 
  things. This form of neutrality can be, and should be very 
  disturbing to the usual heroes and evil-hating neutrals that 
  populate PC groups.  
   
  Prologue: Into the 
  Frozen North 
  Check to see who has the Story Objects “Knowledge of 
  the Nerra” and “True Nature of the Deviant Celestial”. 
  Matron Martra would prefer choosing a group that had at 
  least a majority of members with these bits of knowledge.  
  In this case, her normally severe manner is dialed down a 
  couple of notches. 
  If the PCs are suboptimal, here demeanor is less formal 
  and friendly.  
   
  Either way, the jest of her the conversation prepares 
  the PCs for a trip to the northern wilds of Karnnath, 
  where the Union believes a large enclave of nerra might 
  be hidden. The nerra have been impersonating Lord Heri 
  
  ir’Vessen, a minor Karrn noble, so the search begins in his 
  ancestrial home of Icenport, a remote fishing and trapping 
  village. 
   
  The day after the briefing the PCs are given airship 
  tickets from Wroat to Korth, and the next day they are off 
  on their trip to Karrnath.  
   
  From Korth, the PCs hitch a ride with a fast House 
  Orien carriage to Bastion, and then hitch ride with a more 
  plodding Orien caravan to Ice. From Ice they are show a 
  road—more like a glorified path—called the Icenport 
  Road. This tract follows the Iceflow River for a while, and 
  then snakes off west, going around the Karrnwood almost 
  100 miles to the isolated village of Icenport. The going is 
  slow and very cold.  
   
  Part One: Icenport 
  As the PCs approach Icenport via the Icenport Road, read 
  or paraphrase the following.  
   
  Rounding a craggy hill, the village of Icenport comes into 
  view. The snow-covered settlement is flush against a partially 
  frozen bay. Beyond its guardian inlet rages the cold and 
  violent Karrn Bay. 
   
  Icenport is a mass of small and stout wooden buildings, 
  many of them seem to be squat homes, partially buried to 
  insulate them from the bitter cold. Aside from the numerous 
  smaller structures, two large structures dominate the 
  landscape.  
   
  The first sits in the middle of the village—a large 
  Longhouse. You have seen similar structures in other northern 
  Karrn communities. These Longhouses serve as town hall, 
  tavern, and even markets. A plume of gray smoke wafts from 
  the open top of the longhouse. Strangely, it is the only plum of 
  smoke coming from any building in the village. 
   
  The second dominating structure an open-flame lighthouse 
  that sits on the rocky peninsula on the east flank of the harbor’s 
  inlet. Square and stout, and toped by a strange and seemingly 
  unnatural flame, the structure looks different than the tall 
  graceful spires of Breland.  
   
  Taking in the sights, the most striking feature of Icenport 
  may be how quiet it is. Except for the Longhouse no fires seem 
  to burn throughout the entire village, and no living creature 
  moves within the city.  
   
  The quietness of Icenport is due to the insurgence of the 
  strange Kythri zenkkma that has taken over the village. 
  Not only have the githzerai and slaad enslaved the 
  population, their unnatural presence has scared away the 
  local fauna. While the PCs walk through the town, a 
  successful Knowledge (nature) check DC 20 confirms that 
  it seems like the local animals are actively avoiding the 
  general area, but it does not allow the PC to pinpoint a 
  specific area of avoidance smaller than the settlement and 
  its environs.  
   
  Let the PCs explore the town and its main buildings as 
  they see fit. It will not be long before they find out what’s 
  going on in the poor town of Icenport. 
   
  Lighthouse 
  The northernmost of the town’s three larger structures, 
  the lighthouse is a mix of fortress and towering wick for a 
  massive continual flame machine that warns ships and foes 
  of the harbor’s presence.  
   
  A square and squat tower, the lower levels of the lighthouse 
  appear to be the remnants of some older fort that once guarded 
  the harbor. Atop its battlements rises a narrow ivory tower, 
  some 40 feet in height. A massive orange flame crowns the 
  upper tower. Too bright to be normal fire, and seeming to 
  neither emanate heat nor perform actual combustion, the 
  flames are likely everburning in nature.  
   
  A Spellcraft check (DC 17) confirms the lighthouse 
  illumination is everburning in nature and on a scale 
  typically not seen outside of large cities. A Knowledge 
  (arcane) or artificer knowledge success (DC 25) theorizes 
  
  that the mechanism that fuels such a large light evocation 
  must be large, and fueled by a great ruby focus or many 
  lesser ones kept in constant rotation. 
   
  Upon arriving in Icenport, the zenkkma stormed the 
  lighthouse, mistaking its fantastic illumination as a show 
  of power rather than a thing with a practical use. 
  Believing they would cripple whatever warlord ruled this 
  place, and maybe even find those aiding the nerra, they 
  ripped into the structure, killing the Taggul brothers, the 
  lighthouse guardians, in the process, and easily secured the 
  lighthouse as their own. 
   
  The lighthouse is now the children’s prison under the 
  watch of Bogvut, a fat and melancholy red slaad. The 
  rotund Bogvut feeds his depression with large amounts of 
  comfort food…usually mud slaad tadpoles while on 
  Kythri. He’s gone hungry since arriving on Eberron, but 
  is tempted by a new potential food—the children that 
  J’ranz has ordered that he guard.  
   
  The path to the lighthouse is slippery (ground 
  movement doubled, Balance and Tumble DC increased by 
  5), but the slick path serves as an annoyance rather than a 
  hazard. His “moral” dilemma serving as a distraction in 
  the noisy machine chamber, Bogvut only notices the PCs 
  approach if they are extremely noisy (like busting down 
  the front door) or they trounce around atop the 
  lighthouse’s lower observation area (area 6). 
   
  While the cold frozen ground is not a tracker’s favorite 
  palette, the pure amount of pedestrian activity lately has 
  made it relatively easy for a skilled tracker to pick out 
  clues. A DC 19 Track check can pick out at least a score 
  pair of Small humanoid feet—maybe human children—
  beat a path to the lighthouse less than a week ago. They 
  were joined by Medium humanoids and two Large 
  creatures with clawed and webbed feet. A DC 25 Track 
  check finds the distinct path of many of the Medium 
  humanoids and the larger of the two webbed foot 
  creatures leaving the place and heading back to town.  
   
  The entrance to the tower was damaged during the 
  initial assault on the lighthouse, but it has been repaired 
  somewhat, and barred from the inside. Without benefit of 
  a knock spell, chime of opening, or magics that would 
  otherwise bypass the portal, the PCs may have to bust it 
  down (2 inch thick; hardness 5; hp 20; Break DC 23). 
  That noise alerts Bogvut, who instantly suspects 
  something amiss—he knows Y’errzalt or J’ranz would just 
  bring Xierxox to passwall in.  
   
  Lighthouse Characteristics 
  The lower level of the lighthouse is constructed of 
  stonework that slants upward toward the battlements of 
  the upper observation area. The outer walls are a sturdy 5-
  foot thick (hardness 8; hp 600 per five foot square), but 
  fairly easy to climb (DC 20).  
   
  Walls are wood (6 inch thick; hardness 6; 60 hp per 
  five foot facing) inside the lower works. The doors are 
  simple (1 inch thick; hardness 5; hp 10), and many are 
  damaged. 
   
  The lighthouses upper works are masonry (1 ft. thick; 
  hardness 8; hp 90), made smooth by a layer of plaster 
  (Climb 22).  
   
  1. Demolished Living Area 
  Beyond the barred door is a ransacked mess of overturned 
  tables, strewn chests and trunks, and violently scattered objects. 
  While the quickest of inventories of the mess deduces this was 
  once a living area, not a thing stirs here, and the fireplace on 
  the far left wall is cold, and has been for days, at least.  
   
   
  The mess here is what’s left of their initial assault. 
  While there is nothing or real value among the wreckage, 
  proper investigation yields clues. The tracks from outside 
  continue on into this place, and the placement of the 
  debris and tracks allows an expert tracker (DC 25) to 
  determine that an initial assault of the larger creatures and 
  a number of the Medium creatures was followed by the 
  trail of the smaller humanoids. An Investigate search (DC 
  15) finds the head of a rag doll. Analyzing the clue 
  determines that the particular style of doll is a favorite of 
  children in northern Karrnath, thus deducing that the 
  Small humanoid tracks were likely made by children.  
   
   
  Development: The door leading to the Old Armory 
  has been busted off its hinges, but the door itself has been 
  propped up in the doorway.   
   
  2. Old Armory (EL 4) 
  Like the entry chamber, this room has been ransacked. Many 
  of the weapon racks that once lined the walls are little more 
  than broken and splintered wood littering the stone floor. 
  Weapons are strewn about the place; most damaged. Only one 
  weapon still hangs on a fragment of a rack, seeming 
  untouched by the destruction—a glowing longsword of a 
  strange, almost alien design.  
   
  Among the weapons that litter the ground, a few are still 
  usable. There is a masterwork guisarme, an alchemy blade 
  (see sidebar), a repeating crossbow, and 10 bolts—three 
  of them are +1 flaming bolts and the other seven are 
  masterwork. The strange glowing sword still hanging on 
  the rack is of githzerai make (Knowledge [planes] DC 
  30). A cunningly trapped weapon it’s been glamered by a 
  Nystul’s magic aura to be a +1 chaotic outsider bane 
  longsword. It is one of a trio of similar sword the maniacal 
  Y’erzalt has place throughout the village as a sick joke.   
   
  Trap: Though the sword looks of masterwork (and 
  thanks to the glamer, of magical) construction, it’s actually 
  a trap that damages its wielder when used.  
   
  Eyeblast Poison Trapped Githzerai Longsword: 
  CR 3; mechanical device; touch trigger*; repair reset; 
  poison spikes (2d6 damage, Reflex DC 20 negates; if 
  injured by spikes, Fort DC 22 or blindness for 24 hours); 
  Search DC 25; Disable Device 20).  
   
  *The touch trigger activates the first time the weapon 
  strikes and does damage to a creature or object.  
   
  Development: The northern door is damaged, but 
  still stands. It’s unlocked. The doorway on the western 
  wall gapes open, its portal dashed and splintered on the 
  floor beyond.  
   
  3. Storage Chamber (EL 5) 
  The door to this chamber is damage but still stands. When 
  opened, the portal balances precariously on its lower 
  hinge.  
   
  This large storeroom holds a number of barrels, crates, sacks 
  and tins, but covering much of it is a strange pulsating 
  growth. Covered in a tangle of yellow-green and orange 
  pseudopod that move in waves and then stop to vibrate 
  strangely, the growth appears to be a fungus, but is 
  otherworldly, and smells of rank carrion.  
   
   
  The strange pulsating growth is a patch of Kythri 
  insanity mold (see sidebar) left here by the zenkkma’s blue 
  slaad. Xierxox was so disturbed at the contents of one the 
  many tins of salted fish that he fouled the place with 
  mold. Once disturbed, it explodes, inundating the room 
  with its spores (see sidebar).  
   
  Under the strange Kythri mold growth, this dry 
  storage contains rations, drink, and general supplies. 
  Along the bags of flour, the before mentioned tins of 
  salted fish, crates of nails, and cords of wood are a pair of 
  barrels of the heavy dark ale favored on the shores of the 
  Karrn Bay, and small keg of the Brelish brandy enjoyed 
  
  on special occasions by the former Hanz Taggul. In the 
  same general area stands a small crate similar to those used 
  by the Aundarians to ship bottles of wine (Knowledge 
  [local] DC 20 recognizes). Instead of wine, the straw-
  packed crate stores four flasks of alchemist’s flame, and 
  one of acidic flame.  
   
  4. Damaged Spiral Stairs (EL 3) 
  The trail of devastation continues into this chamber. The door 
  to this chamber was busted off its hinges, and lies shattered on 
  the floor beyond. Mud and debris leads to the stairs, damaged 
  by the passage of violence. Poking out under the stairs is a pair 
  of legs in blood-soaked trousers. The right foot, devoid of shoe or 
  stocking, is dead white.  
   
  Exploring the underside of the spiral stair further, the PCs 
  find the legs splayed out from behind the stairs are no 
  longer attached to a body. Xierxox chomped poor Hanz 
  Taggul in half with a massive bite, and this is all that 
  remains.  
   
  Poor Hanz was not the only casualty to Xierxox’s 
  devastating wake. While the wooden spiral stairs still 
  climb up to the trapdoor on the ceiling, the slaad’s 
  massive progress have noticeably damaged the stairs. Only 
  with nimble care (Dexterity or Balance DC 15) can a 
  creature reach the top without collapsing the stairs. 
  Failure causes both the creature and the stairs to collapse. 
  Those on or under the collapsed stairs must succeed a DC 
  14 Reflex save or take 2d6 points of damage from falling 
  debris, and the noise alerts Bogvut of the PCs presence 
  (see area 6).  
   
  Atop the stairs (and 10 feet above the ground) is a 
  curious trap door that opens downward. Even from this 
  side of the door, one can hear the whining of the continual 
  flame machine beyond. The following words have been 
  painted on the door in blocky script Common.  
   
  “Heads low or heads ache” 
   
  The cryptic phrase serves as a reminder that the trap door 
  opens into a space a scant two feet from the dangerous 
  machine (see area 5). 
   
  5. Machine Chamber (EL 8) 
  Beyond the trapdoor is a whizzing confusion. A dangerous 
  spinning device churns just over the entrance into the 
  chamber. There is just enough room to crawl under the 
  spinners to a safe area in the room beyond.  
   
  Alternatively, the PCs could enter this chamber via the 
  trapdoor on the southeast corner of the ceiling that 
  connects with the lower observation level (area 6).  
   
  The massive continual flame machine spins 
  dangerously in the northwestern corner of the room. This 
  three-tiered contraption spins a trio of four-spoked 
  spinners, each spoke ending in a ruby focus. The first tier 
  spins only two feet above the trap door, which means 
  Medium or Small creature in that square must crawl (see 
  Player’s Handbook page 142) or possible tumble (DC 12; 
  failure takes damage) out of that square or take damage 
  from the spinning machine (3d6 points).  
   
  There are no mechanisms to control the machine in 
  this chamber, they are all located in the tower of the 
  lighthouse, but strong, cunning, or foolish may attempt to 
  hamper the machine’s movements.  
   
  Disabling the Machine: To disable the machine, a 
  PCs has to crawl to them machine’s central pillar, open 
  the hatch and basically short out the complicated Khyber 
  and Eberron shard core of the machine. Doing so requires 
  a DC 20 Disable Device check, and takes 2d4 rounds. In 
  order for a PC to aid the disabling PC, he or she must 
  also be adjacent to the machine’s 
  central pillar.  
   
  Sabotage: There more than one 
  way to disable a machine, and 
  sabotage, while crude and 
  destructive, can be quicker than an 
  artificer’s careful prodding. There 
  are two basic ways to sabotage the 
  machine—gum up its works, or 
  damage it.  
   
  Gumming up the works may 
  take some fast thinking on your 
  part, and players tend to be rather 
  resourceful and inventive, but it will 
  almost always involve using some 
  object or force to stop the machine’s 
  movement. The rotation of the 
  machine has a Strength of 18, and 
  does 1d6 points of damage each 
  round to objects impeding it (only 
  metal and stone retain their 
  hardness). Strong characters can 
  attempt to grab (AC 20; creature 
  takes 2d6 damage if it misses) and 
  hold the machine (opposed 
  Strength checks each round; lose 
  grip and take 2d6 damage if the 
  creature loses the check). The 
  problem with impeding the 
  machine’s rotation is that it causes 
  an arcane build up, and eventually it 
  explodes. Every round there is a 
  cumulative 5% chance the machine 
  explodes. When it explodes dealing 
  5d6 points of damage to creatures 
  in the chamber not protected by the 
  
  makeshift pen. That pen provides just enough cover to 
  save the children within.  
   
  Attacking the machine is more difficult than it seems. 
  The fast moving arms do an extraordinary job of 
  protecting it from projectiles and melee attacks, and its 
  magic enhances it natural protection with a healthy 
  deflection bonus (AC 20, touch 20). The machine has a 
  hardness of 10, and 80 hit points.  
   
  Turning it Off: The controls that turn the machine 
  off and on are in the tower (area 7), at the bottom of the 
  ladder leading up to the upper observation platform.  
   
  Creature: The machine is not room’s only danger. 
  Standing guard over a makeshift pen holding Icenport’s 
  children is Bogvult, the red slaad. If alerted to the PCs 
  presence, he waits here ready to pounce at first 
  opportunity. If not alerted the PCs catch him in a 
  disturbing, and somewhat compromising position. 
   
  A fat and red toadlike humanoid stands over a makeshift pen. 
  His right arm—blue, bloated, and misshapen—dangles forth 
  a young boy of maybe nine or ten summers. The creature is 
  about to drop the boy into his massive snaggletoothed maw.   
   
  If this is the case, give the PCs a surprise round. Bogvult 
  responds by flinging his victim back into the pen, and 
  moving forward to face the new challenge.  
   
  Bogvult (Red Slaad with single blue claw slaad 
  graft): hp 48; Melee bite +11 (2d8+5) and claw +9 
  (1d4+2 plus implant) and blue claw graft +9 (2d6+2); 
  MM 228-229.  
   
  Tactics: Bogvult, no brilliant tactician, relies on brute 
  strength first. Typically starting with a pounce attack, he’ll 
  target known spellcasters first, using Mobility to plow past 
  defenders. A coward at heart, the slaad saves his stunning 
  croak as a means to secure escape when the battle goes 
  against him. In the most dire straits, an against his 
  intensely solitary nature, he’ll attempt to summon another 
  red slaad 
   
  Bogvult does not use his implant ability in this 
  combat. 
   
  Development: If captured, Bogvult is an 
  uncooperative prisoner. He is stubbornly evasive during 
  questioning, afraid of what J’ranz and the leaders of the 
  Vendulzat Monastery will do with him if he cracks. His 
  fear is so strong it’s virtually impossible (+20 to DCs) to 
  intimated him or engage in diplomacy. Once cracked, 
  though, he is a valuable source of information about the 
  strengths, locations, and number of the zenkkma.   
  The cramped makeshift pen holds 33 children, 
  the youngest less than a year old, the oldest almost 13. 
  While they faced the slaad with brave resolve, they break 
  down once rescued. Even the whine of the continual fame 
  machine can’t drown out the cries and demands of the 
  children. It takes magic (numerous sleep or hypnotism 
  spells, a few hypnotic patterns or deeper slumbers, or a calm 
  emotions casting generally does the trick), much coaxing 
  (Diplomacy DC 30) or a stern hand (Intimidate DC 20) 
  to get the children quiet and under control  
   
  Questioning the children finds that they have been 
  locked in this place for almost three days. They were taken 
  from their families after the “toad demons and flat-faced 
  green men” defeated Warlord Gergus and the Frost 
  Brigade and turned them to shinny men. They think the 
  invaders want to enter Vessen Keep, but don’t know why. 
  They are all quiet convinced that only Lord Vessen and 
  his men can enter the keep. If the PCs ask why, the 
  children treat them as if they’re daft. Growing up in 
  Icenport, the magically impenetrable nature of Vessen 
  Keep is one of life’s axioms that need no explanation to 
  children.  
   
  More pressing to some PC’s peace of mind, the 
  children confirm the slaad had not eaten any children—the 
  heroes burst in at just the nick of time.  
   
  Treasure: The rubies at the end of the 12 spokes of 
  the continual flame machine are worth 100 gp each, but 
  taking them would deprived Icenport of their ability to 
  repair the lighthouse.  
   
  Scaling the Encounter 
   
  9th-level Characters: At this level, Bogvult isn’t quite 
  so solitary, and attempts to summon a second red slaad 
  before the PCs enter the Machine Chamber (hp 52; MM 
  228-229). 
   
  10th and 11th-level Characters: At this level, 
  Bogvult isn’t quiet so solitary, and summons a second red 
  slaad with automatic success before the PCs enter the 
  Machine Chamber (hp 52; MM 228-229). 
   
  6. Lower Observation Platform 
  Climbing or flying up to this large platform finds old and 
  worn battlements surrounding an old but sturdy wooden 
  platform that serves as roof for the machine chamber (area 
  5) and floor for the platform. While sturdy and stable, the 
  platform floor creaks loudly with each footfall, and only 
  the lightest of steps (Move Silently DC 15) succeeds in 
  concealing platform movement from Bogvult.  
   
  The trapdoor in the southeast corner of the platform 
  opens into the machine chamber. There was once a ladder 
  attached to the trapdoor, but Bogvult destroyed it to 
  better secure the children’s prison. The floor is 10 feet up, 
  which means that the red slaad needs only to reach its 
  edges, and a move action to squeeze his way through (a 
  move action where Bogvult is considered squeezed; this 
  action provokes attacks of opportunity).  
   
  The View: While the lower observation platform does 
  provide a fairly good view of the town and the harbor, 
  and eagle-eye PCs (Spot DC 25) can reconnoiter the 
  smoke of small campfires coming from deep within the 
  Vessen Wood, this vantage point offers very little evidence 
  to the fate of the townspeople. The upper observation 
  platform offers them a better point of view.  
   
  7. Upper Tower 
  The upper tower is a 10-foot radius masonry work that 
  features little more than the continual flame machine 
  controls, and a narrow spiral staircase winding up to the 
  upper observation platform. Large iron pipes push the 
  eldritch energy from the machine up to the flame atop the 
  lighthouse. 
   
  Turning off the machine is a matter of just figuring 
  out how the controls work (Knowledge [arcane], artificer 
  knowledge, or Intelligence DC 12), and activating the 
  right series of levers (move action).  
   
  8. Upper Observation Platform 
  A simple unlocked trapdoor opens up onto this 
  uppermost spot on the lighthouse. The pipes continue up 
  about 8 feet above the observations deck, its contents fuel 
  the continual flame with cold and harmless-to-the-touch 
  arcane energy. The illumination should be almost blinding 
  here, but a crafty ward against the evocation allows those 
  standing on the observation desk a normal—if not 
  breathtaking—view of the Karrn Bay, harbor, and 
  countryside around Icenport.  
   
  Those taking advantage of the vantage, see that 
  nothing moves in the village. Scanning to the south and 
  west does give them a limited view of the mining camp in 
  the Vessen Wood.  
  A Spot check DC 15 clearly sees the fires of the far camp 
  and movement by over a dozen humanoids, while a DC 
  
  25 picks out the blue slaad—though just as a hulking 
  azure creature shambling about the place. The longer the 
  PCs watch, the more they can discover about the camp 
  and its relationship with the ghost town. Observing from 
  this vantage for more than an hour spies a group moving 
  from the camp to the longhouse. The group consists of a 
  half-dozen githzerai warriors (lead by O’lani), Xierxox, 
  and a group of 8-14 townsfolk. If the PCs have already 
  wreaked havoc in the longhouse, the group’s arrival is 
  followed by a rather frantic commotion before the group 
  decides to investigate the lighthouse. If the PCs have yet 
  to visit the longhouse, the group deposits the townsfolk, 
  grabs the next shift, and returns to the mining camp.  
   
  New Rules  
  The alchemy blade is a new exotic weapon from Magic of 
  Eberron (page 137). The Kythri insanity mold is an 
  entirely new hazard.  
   
  Alchemy Blade (Exotic Weapon) 
  An alchemy blade appears much like a normal short 
  sword. Two slender channels form a grove on each side of 
  the blade, and the pommel is built to accept a flask of 
  either alchemist’s fire or alchemist’s frost. (It could also 
  accept a flask of acidic fire or alchemist’s spark, but a 
  single use of either of these would render the weapon 
  useless.) 
   
  When a flask of alchemist’s fire or alchemist’s frost is 
  plugged into the pommel, the weapon is primed. When 
  you strike a target with a primed blade and deal damage, 
  an internal alchemical pump instantly expels the fire or 
  frost through hollows in the hilt and out along the 
  channels in the blade. In addition to taking any damage 
  dealt by the blade, the target also takes damage as if it had 
  been struck by the flask attached to the weapon. Adjacent 
  creatures, including the wielder, are not subject to splash 
  damage. If the blade deals critical damage, the frost or fire 
  damage is not multiplied.  
   
  Priming an alchemy blade is a standard action that 
  provokes attacks of opportunity. When not primed, the 
  alchemy blade deals damage as a short sword. 
   
  Kythri Insanity Mold (CR 5) 
  If disturbed (attack, affected by a spell, or even touched), 
  a 5-foot square patch of this mold explodes in a cloud of 
  hypnotic and hallucinogenic spores. The cloud spreads out 
  instantaneously like a burst from the original 5-foot 
  square into the adjacent squares in all direction. Creatures 
  within the cloud must succeed a DC 15 Will save or suffer 
  effects similar to that of a confusion spell cast by a 10th-
  level wizard (lasts 10 rounds), but with the following 
  changes to the behavior chart.  
   
  d%  
  Behavior 
  01-10 
  The creature acts normally, but the virulent and 
  unpredictable spores infect the creature, growing at 
  a supernatural pace. The creature becomes host to a 
  patch of mold, similar in all ways to the 5-foot 
  square patch described above. This infected 
  creature’s own movement may disturb its spores. 
  Whenever the creature moves faster than half its 
  speed or when it attacks, it must succeed a Tumble 
  (for movement only) or Dexterity check DC 13. 
  Failure cause the spores explode at the end of its 
  movement or attack. An infected creature can always 
  opt to fail the check. You can also rule that other 
  violent or compelled movement by the creature 
  either triggers a check or automatically causes the 
  spore’s explosion. When a spore explodes it does 
  1d6 points of damage to the creature it infects, 
  along with its normal effect.  
  11-20 
  Act normally. 
  21-50 
  Do nothing but babble incoherently. 
  51-70 
  Flee away from the mold’s original location at top 
  possible speed. If a creature was infected by a mold, 
  and that mold cause the confusion effect, the 
  creature flees in a random direction. 
  71-100 
  Attack nearest creature.  
   
   
  Kythari insanity mold does not cause confusion in or infect 
  creatures immune to poison or confusion effects. Infected 
  creatures only remain so for the confusion duration (10 
  rounds), so delay poison effectively neutralizes both the 
  confusion and the infestation. Creatures infected by spores 
  cannot be infected again by spores for another 24 hours, 
  though it can suffer the confusion effects from other molds.  
   
  Slaad Graft: Blue Claw 
  Some particularly canny slaadi have discovered the secret 
  of nurturing a red slaad’s egg pellet into a graft with the 
  form and power of blue slaad’s claw. Once grown, a graft 
  of this type can only be applied to its red slaad “parent”, 
  granting it a more powerful claw attack: 
   
  Location: Red Slaad arm. 
   
  Description: This graft takes the place of the red 
  salads lower arm. The lower arm takes the form of a blue 
  slaad’s massive appendage, while corded tendrils of blue 
  flesh-wrapped muscle wrap around the upper arm, and 
  piercing the slaad’s body at the shoulder and flanks of the 
  chest, digging in through flesh purple welts.  
   
  Activation: Blue claw is always active. It requires no 
  action on the slaad’s part.  
   
  Effect: This graft increases the damage of one red 
  slaad claw attack to 2d6+2 (half strength bonus). It is 
  possible for a red slaad to have two of these grafts, and 
  thus enhancing the damage for both claw attacks, but few 
  do so, as the graft claw does not retain the ability to 
  implant eggs. 
   
  Construction: Requires Slaad Fleshgrafter, lesser 
  restoration spell, 3,000 gp, 240 XP, 6 days 
   
  Graft Donor: Arm of a blue slaad.  
   
  Graft Sacrifice: 4 hp 
   
  Price: 6,000 gp 
   
  Longhouse  
  Sitting in the middle of town, this large arched-roofed 
  building serves as tavern and town center. All of the major 
  celebrations and events of Icenport take place within the 
  insulated and elemental-warmed hall of the longhouse.  
   
  The cornerstone of the foundation bears glowing runes that 
  state, “Firepit constructed and ensured by the Liugwen 
  Binders Guild.”  
   
  A Knowledge (local) check (DC 15) recognizes the 
  Liugwen Builders Guild as a company of Zilargo gnomes 
  who create and sell custom elemental bindings. Zilargo 
  gnomes gain a +2 bonus on this check.  
   
  The great double doors of the longhouse, while 
  difficult to open, are merely stiff, and don’t require a 
  Strength check.  
   
  Longhouse Characteristics 
  While it has a stone foundation, the majority of the 
  longhouse walls and feature are wood (6 inch thick; 
  hardness 6; 60 hp per five foot facing). The doors inside 
  are simple are simple (1 inch thick; hardness 5; hp 10), 
  but the front door is much stronger (6 inches thick; 
  hardness 6; 120 hp).  
   
    
  1. Common Chamber (EL 10) 
  
  The large open space within is rather dark; illuminated by the 
  large fire pit at its center, the gaping smoke release cutting the 
  ceiling over it, and a small smattering of dim everbright 
  lanterns scattered throughout the cavernous chamber.  
   
  An obvious place of respite from the cruel northern clime, 
  its large open area could house the entire town in times of 
  need. A scaffolding system along with a hook and pulley rig 
  dangling over the fire pit could allow one to lower entire 
  oxen—or even larger beasts—onto the smoldering breach.  
   
  Even though the massive hole over the fireplace allows the 
  snow to drift in, turned to sizzling rain by the time it reaches 
  the fire pit, the longhouse interior is warm—even cozy.  
   
  Such comfort seems lost on the general ambiance of the 
  Longhouse and the demeanor of its currents inhabitants. 
  Hard stares come from folk perched atop harder furniture. 
  Grimy-faced Karrn peasants look you up and down as if 
  Keeper himself sent you to their little corner of Khorvaire.   
   
  There is almost a score townsfolk in the longhouse, but 
  not a one is under 14 years of age. The people here are 
  closed-mouthed and nervous if not downright scared and 
  rude. PCs can get the hunch (Sense Motive DC 20) their 
  arrival in town is not real source of anxiety; there is 
  something else amiss. Those who succeed the check by 5 
  or more noticed a mix of veiled hope and frustration in 
  the eyes of most of the townsfolk. There is one exception 
  to the strange malaise gripping the people of the 
  longhouse.  
   
  Only one person in the longhouse seems to be at ease in the 
  place. On the south wall, just under the cook’s hanging 
  platform, sits a fat and grizzled looking human, who looks as if 
  he has some orc somewhere in his family tree. His feet propped 
  on the table, he takes deep swig from his flagon. After he slams 
  down his drink, and lets out a deep and rumbling belch, his 
  eyes widen with surprise at the long and loud burp. Once the 
  rumbling is complete, he begins to laugh...or rather giggles.  
   
  The strange creature is no human, or even half-orc, but 
  rather is a disguised mud slaad named Hortolz, a minion 
  of J’ranz and Y’erzalt. Taking his current form thanks to a 
  hat of disguise loaned to him by the latter githzerai, he’s 
  been tasked with keeping order in the makeshift prison.  
   
  A creature of chaos, none too bright, and a tad 
  intoxicated, Hortolz mistakes the PCs for Icengard 
  townsfolk, and calls out. 
   
  Find a seat and shut it. You’ll be working soon.  
   
   
  If there are warforged or other obvious outsiders among 
  the PCs, the mud slaad quickly realizes his mistake and 
  calls for Y’erzalt and the other githzerai for aid (see 
  below). If not, quiet and seemingly complacent PCs could 
  spend some time among the townsfolk gaining 
  information (see Development).  
   
  Confronting Hortolz, giving the cretin a reason to 
  suspect the PCs don’t belong in Icenport, heading toward 
  the upper levels of the longhouse, or trying to leave the 
  place, moves the slaad to action. First 
  he calls for the aid of Y’rezalt and the 
  other githzerai who are meditating in 
  the upper level (area 3).  
   
  Creatures: Once called by the 
  mud slaad, the githzerai warriors jump 
  down from the longhouse’s upper level 
  using their catfall psi-like ability. Each 
  activates inertial armor ability before 
  reaching the fray.  
   
  Y’erzalt: female githzerai 
  enchanter 6; hp 17; Combat Statistics.  
   
  Hortolz: mud slaad; hp 30; see 
  “Combat Statistics”, below.  
   
  Githzerai Warriors (6): 9, 8, 6, 
  5, 5, 4; Monster Manual 129, 
  modified by Troubleshooting.  
   
  Icengard Townsfolk (16): mix 
  male and female human commoner 1: 
  hp 5 each; Combat Statistics.  
   
  Tactics: After calling for help from 
  his terrestrial allies, the craven mud 
  slaad attempts to summon a red slaad 
  (20% chance of success; Monster 
  Manual pages 126-129) to protect 
  him. Whether the red slaad appears or 
  not, Hortolz follows the summons with 
  a croak, even if it means engulfing his 
  githzerai allies. An opportunistic 
  creature, Hortolz attacks when the 
  advantage is his, and cringes when it’s 
  not. He feigns death  
   
  The githzerai warriors bravely 
  move forward and engage foes, but 
  Y’erzalt hangs back, casts shield, and 
  fires magic missiles or lighting bolts 
  down on opponent. When in range, 
  she targets spellcasters with deeper 
  slumber, mindburn (either by here spell 
  or by scroll), or Tasha’s hideous 
  laughter (started with the extended 
  spell first). If the battle goes against 
  the zenkkma forces, Y’erzault uses her 
  
  dimensional leap and invisibility to evade capture and warn 
  O’lani and Xierxox of the danger that just stumbled into 
  town.  
   
  Development: Defeating the zenkkma forces here 
  turns the PCs into the town savior. The townsfolk shower 
  the PCs with adoration, ply them with information about 
  the current events in Icenport, and pepper them with 
  demands. First and foremost, if they have not done so 
  already, the townsfolk implore the PCs to save the town’s 
  children in the lighthouse. “There is a fat toad demon 
  there, with a hungry look in his eyes,” one grizzled old 
  Karrn veteran missing an arm and a host of teeth tells the 
  PCs. “I’ve seen that hunger before in Talenta, and its 
  sating ain’t pretty.” He refuses to elaborate on his Last 
  War experiences.  
   
  If Y’erzalt was able to escape and warn O’lani and 
  Xierxox, she returns with her companions and a host of 
  eight githzerai warriors about 20 minutes later.  
   
  Scaling the Encounter 
   
  9th-level Characters: Hortolz chance to summon a red 
  slaad is increased to 60%.  
   
  10th-level Characters: Hortolz automatically succeeds 
  in summoning the red slaad.  
   
  11th-level Characters: Hortolz automatically succeeds 
  in summoning the red slaad and there is a second mud 
  slaad in the preparation room (hp 45).  
   
  2. Upper Scaffolding  
  The floor of this ironbound, wood scaffolding stands 
  eight feet above the ground. It features a walkway that 
  wraps around the western side of the longhouse, and one 
  that juts out toward the fire pit. That section of the 
  walkway features the hook and pulleys that lower meat 
  down the fire pit.  
   
  3. Preparation Chamber (EL 4) 
  This barren chamber features a non-magical pulley lift to 
  the back of the bar area on the lower level to move food 
  and material.  
   
  Y’erzalt and the githzerai warriors have been using this 
  chamber to meditate, though there is little sign of their 
  use here. The exception to this is a sword that hangs on 
  the western wall. One of three trapped weapons placed 
  here by Y’erzalt, this seemingly githzerai made longsword 
  can be hazardous to anyone wielding it.  
   
  Trap: Though the sword looks of masterwork (and 
  thanks to the glamer, of magical) construction, it’s actually 
  a trap that damages its wielder when used.  
   
  Eyeblast Poison Trapped Githzerai Longsword: 
  CR 3; mechanical device; touch trigger*; repair reset; 
  poison spikes (2d6 damage, Reflex DC 20 negates; if 
  injured by spikes, Fort DC 22 or blindness for 24 hours); 
  Search DC 25; Disable Device 20).  
   
  *The touch trigger activates the first time the weapon 
  strikes and does damage to a creature or object.  
   
  4. Storage 
  The storage chamber contains extra stools, crockery, and 
  utensils for larger events, along with a good deal of just 
  general junk. A thorough search (DC 20) of the jumble 
  finds a strongbox guarded by an average lock (DC 25). 
  Inside are 3 potions of cure light wounds (CL 1) and 5 of 
  endure elements (cold) (CL 1).  
   
  Combat Statistics 
  HORTOLZ 
   
  CR 6 
  CN Mud Slaad 
  Medium outsider (chaotic, extraplanar) 
  Fiend Folio page 157 
  Init +6; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +7, Spot +7 
  Languages Common, Kythric, Slaadi 
  AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14; Dodge 
  hp 39 (6 HD); fast healing 3 
  Immune sonic 
  Resist acid, cold, electricity, and fire 5 
  Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +3;  
  Spd 30 ft. (6 squares) 
  Melee bite +9 (2d6+3) and 2 claws +7 (1d4+1) 
  Base Atk +6; Grp +9 
  Special Attacks cringe, disease, sonic screech, summon slaad.  
  Abilities Str 17, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 6, Wis 6, Cha 8 
  SQ fast healing 3, feign death, outsider traits, resistances, sonic 
  immunity 
  Feats Dodge, Improved Initiative, Multiattack   
  Skills Climb +12, Jump +12, Hide +10, Listen +7, Move Silently +11, 
  Spot +7 
  Possessions hat of disguise 
   
  Cringe (Su): As a standard action, a mud slaad can cower in 
  fear. This is a mind-affecting effect. Any opponent attempting to 
  strike or otherwise directly attack the cringing creature, even with a 
  targeted spell, must attempt a Will save (DC 12). If the save 
  succeeds the opponent can attack normally and is immune to the 
  effect of that mud slaad’s cringing for 24 hours. If the save fails, the 
  opponent can’t follow through with the attack, that part of the 
  attacker’s action is lost, and the attacker can’t directly attack the 
  mud slaad for as long as it continues to cringe. If the mud slaad 
  stops cringing and then cringes again, the opponent may attempt a 
  new Will save to attack it.  
   
  Disease (Ex): Any creature hit by a mud slaad’s bite attack 
  must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 15) or be infected with a 
  disease that transforms the victim over the next week into a mud 
  slaad. The infected creature can attempt a new save each day (DC 
  15) to throw off the infection.  
   
  Sonic Screech (Su): Once per day, a mud slaad can emit a 
  tremendous screech. Every creature within 30 feet must succeed on 
  a Fortitude save (DC 15) or take 5d6 points of sonic damage.  
   
  Summon Slaad (Sp): Once per day a mud slaad can 
  attempt to summon 1 mud slaad with a 40% chance of success or 1 
  red slaad with a 20% chance of success.  
   
  Feign Death (Ex): If an opponent strikes a mud slaad and 
  reduce it to 10 or few hit points, it can immediately attempt to feign 
  death as an immediate action. Any creature that witnesses a mud 
  slaad that is feigning death, including those creatures that watch it 
  fall, can make a Sense Motive check (DC 22) to determine if the 
  slaad’s death is genuine. A Spot check will not reveal that the 
  slaad’s death is feigned, and even a Heal or Search check isn’t 
  guaranteed to discover the deception, so adroit is the mud slaad as 
  stilling its breathing and reducing its heart rate. A successful check 
  using either skill (DC 22) is required to reveal that the mud slaad 
  still lives.  
   
  Y’ERZALT 
   
  CR 7 
  CN female githzerai enchanter 6 
  Medium humanoid (extraplanar, psionic) 
  Init +5; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +1, Spot +1 
  Languages Common, Gith; Draconic, Kythric, Slaadi, 
  Undercommon 
  AC 20, touch 20, flat-footed 15 
  hp 30 (6 HD) 
  PR 11 
  Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +7 
  Spd 30 ft. (6 squares) 
  Melee dagger +2 (1d4-1) 
  Ranged masterwork light crossbow +9 (1d8/19-20) 
  Combat Gear arcane scroll of mindburn (CL 3th; DC 13), arcane 
  scroll of glitterdust (CL 3th; DC 13), wand of lightning bolt (CL 5th; 
  DC 14; 5 charges).  
  Base Atk +3; Grp +2 
  
  Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 6th, 1d20+6 to overcome SR; 
  necromancy and transmutation are restricted schools): 
   
  3rd—dispel magic, Extended Tasha’s hideous laughter (DC 17; 
  12 rounds), deep slumber (DC 18), rage (2 creatures).   
   
  2nd—dimensional leap (2), invisibility, mindburn (DC 17), 
  Tasha’s hideous laughter (DC 17) 
   
  1st—charm person (DC 14), hypnotism (DC 16), magic missile 
  (3), shield 
   
  0—acid splash (range touch +7) (2), daze (DC 15) (2), 
  resistance 
  Psi-Like Abilities (ML 2nd): 
   
  3/day—catfall, concussion blast, psionic daze (DC 13), inertial 
  armor.   
  Abilities Str 8, Dex 20, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 12 
  SQ psionics, inertial armor 
  Feats Extend Spell, Greater Spell Focus (enchantment), Improved 
  ToughnessCW, Scribe ScrollB, Spell Focus (enchantment).   
  Skills Climb +12, Jump +12, Hide +11, Listen +7, Move Silently +11, 
  Spot +7 
  Possessions masterwork light crossbow, 20 bolts, dagger, cloak 
  of resistance +1, ring of protection +1, headband of intellect +2, 
  arcane scroll of mindburn (CL 3; DC 13), arcane scroll of glitterdust 
  (CL 3; DC 13), wand of lighting bolt (CL 5th; DC 14; 5 charges); spell 
  component pouch, traveler’s outfit.  
   
  ICENGARD TOWNSFOLK 
  CR 1/2 
  NG, CG, N mix male and female commoner 1 
  Medium humanoid (human) 
  Init +0; Senses Listen +2, Spot +2 
  Languages Common 
  AC 10, touch 10, flat-footed 10; Dodge 
  hp variable, see adventure text (1 HD) 
  Fort +1, Ref +0, Will +0 
  Spd 30 ft. (6 squares) 
  Melee club +0 (1d6) 
  Base Atk +0; Grp +0 
  Abilities Str 10, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 10 
  Feats Dodge, Toughness   
  Skills Climb +4, Jump +4, Listen +2, Spot +2  
  Possessions club, commoners outfit.  
   
  Fields of the Dead 
  When the zenkkma pushed forward from the town toward 
  Vessen Keep, a group of nerra rode out to stop them. 
  Taking the shape of Warlord Gergus and the Frost 
  Brigade, they rode out atop Vessen warhorses and met 
  their Kythri enemies on this field. And thanks to one of 
  the zenkkma’s shatterstones, they were torn apart.  
   
  The bodies of 20 varoot nerra, their mounts, and the 
  few townspeople that joined the charge litter the blood-
  soaked snow in this field, virtually untouched—he 
  presence of the unnatural zenkkma has even kept the 
  ravens away.  
   
  There is no immediate danger here, but it’s possible 
  for the PCs to encounter O’lani, Xierxox, and a band of 
  githzerai warriors here if Y’erzalt was able to escape the 
  longhouse and warn the rest of the zenkkma. The field of 
  bodies does at least let the PCs know they are on the right 
  track, and could even give them more clues.  
   
  Investigating the Scene: Using the Investigate feat 
  (Search DC 10, whether or not the PC has the investigate 
  feat or not) finds that the dead humans were killed with 
  either weapons, or massive claw or bite attacks, while the 
  nerra seem to have all been killed suddenly and with 
  something else. Their skin is spider-webbed with tiny 
  fractures, as if they were shattered. What’s left of their 
  mirror shard weaponry is littered in scattered piles of 
  fragile remains, wholly unlike the powerful weapons they 
  once were. Analyzing these clues (Search DC 25) 
  determines that the nerra were on the horses and were 
  blow back by some force powerful enough to kill and 
  shatter their alien skin. The strange part is that the blast 
  had little to no effect on the horses and townspeople 
  among the dead.  
   
  A Knowledge (nature) check DC 12 finds that the 
  horses were magebred (thick-skinned bred).  
   
  Digging Deeper: Further searching the dead (Search 
  DC 20; takes between 10 to 20 minutes) the PCs find a 
  few items of interest. First, Y’erzalt has left her third 
  trapped sword here, clutched by the corpse of one of the 
  townsfolk. A simple Investigate check (DC 15) recognizes 
  that not only does the sword seem out of place, but the 
  townsfolk was not holding the weapon when he died—it 
  was forced into his hand after. Second, the PCs find large 
  iron keys on two of the bodies. Carried by the nerras 
  impersonating Warlord Gergus and his second, the keys 
  open various locks into and within Vessen Keep.  
   
  Talking to the Dead: All of the nerra are neutral in 
  alignment, and can impart a decent amount of knowledge 
  about the events that lead up to their death. Most 
  importantly they know the location of Vessen Keep’s 
  hidden entrance, they can describe the shatterstone, and can 
  even describe the true nature of their (and by extension, 
  the Icenport’s) plight.  
   
  The dead townsfolk can relay little real information. 
  They can answer questions about the invaders, and they 
  saw the destruction of Warlord Gergus and the Frost 
  Brigade, but don’t know what to think about their town’s 
  defender’s transformation into mirror-skinned humanoids.  
   
  Mining Camp (EL 11) 
  After the zenkkma took over the town, and battled the 
  nerra on the Fields of the Dead, they determined that the 
  nerra must be held up in the keep atop the crag. 
  Unfortunately, they soon found out that the keep had no 
  discernable entrance, and if the townfolk knew how to get 
  in, they weren’t telling…not even after the githzerai holed 
  up the children in the lighthouse.  
   
  O’lani decide to mine into the crag, which should have 
  been an easy task, thanks to his blue slaad ally. This 
  became more complicated wen he found that Xierxox’s 
  passwall ability was frustrated by the heavy iron ore make 
  up of Vessen Crag.  
   
  Not one to quit, O’lani put the uncooperative 
  townsfolk to work, and the group has been mining to 
  gain access to Vessen Keep’s dungeon ever since. The 
  going is slow, the townsfolk are tired, and the member of 
  the zenkkma are both bored and frustrated.   
   
  Sneaking Up on the Camp: The Vessen Wood is 
  mostly medium forest, which is made up of trees and light 
  undergrowth, with patches of heavy overgrowth, and a 
  smattering of massive trees (DMG 87 for the game effects 
  of these tree and undergrowth types).  
  The prevalence of cover and concealment of the forest 
  makes it easy for stealthy PCs to sneak upon the camp. 
  Unless they become aware of the PCs presence in the area, 
  the zenkkma does not post guards in the forest; they’re 
  that confident of their control of the town.  
   
  Listen on all sides is harder here, due to the constant 
  ringing of the mine works. Increase the DC of the check 
  by 3 per 10 feet, not 1, but also note that Move Silently 
  checks are more difficult in undergrowth.  
   
  As long as the PCs have 70 feet of forest between 
  them and the clearing, no one in the clearing spots the 
  PCs. Once they breach that vision barrier, use the highest 
  Spot and Listen among the members of the zenkkma 
  (probably Xierxox with a Listen and Spot of +9) each 
  round to notice the PC’s approach. Leaving the work for 
  their Eberron thralls, the zenkkma is not considered 
  
  distracted, and Xierxox at the very least would relish an 
  attack just to “do something fun”.  
   
  Once they spot the PCs, the member of the zenkkma 
  leap into action, defending their mission.  
   
  Creatures: Frustrated by the drudgery of what has 
  become an extended mining operation, the creatures of 
  the zenkkma savor any assault as a delightful change of 
  pace. Their natural chaos breeding a form of attention 
  deficit, only O’lani realizes to late that the PCs might 
  mean doom to their very important mission.  
   
  J’ranz: male githzerai lurk 5; hp 40; Combat Statistics 
   
  O’lani: male githzerai zerth (monk 3/ardent 3); hp 
  30; Combat Statistics 
   
  Githzerai Warriors (10): 9, 8, 8, 7, 7, 6, 6, 5, 4, 3; 
  MM 129, modified by Troubleshooting. 
   
  Xierxox (Blue Slaad): hp 75; MM 229 
   
  Tactics: Xierxox starts off combat by letting loose his 
  chaos hammer spell-like ability, and moving forward to 
  confront his foes. A veteran of countless battles, Xierxox’s 
  favorite tactic is to take warriors out of the battle and 
  confronting softer targets, like wizards. The blue slaad 
  uses his telekinesis and hold person to incapacitate warrior, 
  with a favorite tactic involving using his telekinesis to 
  throw a warrior into the air, and letting gravity do the 
  rest.  
   
  J’ranz and O’lani work as a team, with O’lani using his 
  Stunning Fist and destiny dissonance power to weaken 
  targets, given J’ranz more opportunity to use his 
  augmented psionic sneak attack.  
   
  The remaining githzerai warriors use swarm tactics in 
  an attempt to overwhelm foes and control the battlefield.  
   
  Development: While the Kythri host savors the 
  chance to fight, a hard fight puts them in the mood to 
  negotiate—after all, fun should not get in the way of the 
  scared oath of the zenkkma. Once negations begin, the 
  Kythri invaders explain to PCs why they are here, and 
  even suggest a truce in order to stop the nerra.  
   
  Still, the githzerai can be frustrating allies. Arrogant 
  and unremorseful of their actions in Icenport, their focus 
  on the goal of the zenkkma can seem despicable to more 
  noble PCs. What’s even worse, is that the group sees, and 
  attempts to use, the PCs as fodder, ordering them to scout 
  ahead, and bear the brunt of any “nerra traps.” In almost 
  all situations they could care if the PCs live or not, and 
  will even stab them in the back if it suits their ultimate 
  purpose.  
   
  Whether or not the PCs ally with the zenkkma, if they 
  are able to secure the release or promise of release 
  (Diplomacy DC 25) of the townsfolk and their children, 
  the group is thankful, and become more helpful than they 
  ever were to the githzerai and their “toad demons.”   
   
  One of the townspeople d knows about the secret 
  entrance into Vessen Keep. The town drunk, now 
  crawling-up-the-walls sober thanks to days of hard labor, a 
  man named Goetlib Branz, saw Lord Vessen exit from a 
  secret entrance to the east one night during an ale binge. 
  Grateful for his release, he’ll gladly show the PCs where 
  he saw the secret entrance, all he needs is a sip or two of 
  ale to stiffen his resolve….  
   
  Scaling the Encounter 
   
  9th-Level Characters: There is a red slaad supporting 
  the group (hp 52; MM 128-129) 
   
  10th-Level Characters: Xierxox is joined by his 
  brother Xoxreix (hp 68; MM 229) 
   
  11th-Level Characters: Xierxox is joined by his 
  brother Xoxreix (hp 68; MM 229), and all of the 
  githzerai are under the effect of a heroism (PH 240) effect, 
  a special blessing of the zenkkma.  
   
  The Shatterstone 
  The shatterstone is a magical bomb created by the githzerai 
  of the Vendulzat Monastery to do massive damage to the 
  nerra without harming most other creatures. Creating a 
  supersonic explosion in a 60-foot radius spread, it does 
  8d6 points of damage to creatures with sonic 
  vulnerability. The explosion is harmless to other creatures. 
   
  Detonated within the mote at the Eberron-Specurium 
  border, it has the added effect of instantaneously severing 
  the tie between the two planar places.  
   
  Activating the shatterstone is a standard action that 
  provokes attacks of opportunity. Once activated, it takes 
  five rounds to power up the magical device before it 
  explodes. The only way to stop this process is to dispel the 
  item (CL 15th), which makes the shaterstone permanently 
  inert.  
   
  Combat Statistics 
  J’RANZ  
   
  CR 7 
  CN male githzerai lurk* 5 
  Medium humanoid (extraplanar, psionic) 
  Init +5; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +5, Spot +5 
  Languages Common, Gith; Kythric, Slaadi, 
  Undercommon 
  AC 21, touch 19, flat-footed 16 
  hp 40 (5 HD) 
  PR 10 
  Fort +2, Ref +9, Will +5 
  Spd 30 ft. (6 squares) 
  Melee +1 keen kukri +9 (1d4+1/16-20) 
  Ranged mwk light crossbow +9 (1d8/19-20) 
  Atk Options psionic sneak attack +1d6 
  Special Actions lurk augments (additional sneak attack, 
  unfocusing strike [DC 12], stunning attack [DC 12], solid 
  strike, ignore concealment, mental assault ) 
  Base Atk +3; Grp +4 
  Power Points/Day 12   ; 
  Lurk Powers Known (ML 5th, 1d20+5 to overcome PR): 
   
  2nd—evade attack**, extend reach** 
   
  1st—adrenaline boost**, psionic grease (DC 14), 
  sensory gloom** (DC 14) 
  Psi-Like Abilities (ML 2nd): 
  
   
  3/day—catfall, psionic daze (DC 13), psionic knock, inertial 
  armor.   
  Abilities Str 13, Dex 20, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 8 
  Feats Githzerai Knock***, Weapon Finesse 
  Skills Climb +5, Concentration +9, Escape Artist +13, Hide +13, 
  Listen +5, Move Silently +13, Spot +5, Tumble +13 
  Possessions +1 buckler, +1 keen kukri, masterwork light 
  crossbow, 20 bolts, traveler’s outfit.  
   
  Lurk Augment (Ex): 7/day—J’ranz can augment his melee 
  attack by selecting an ability from his available lurk augments. In 
  some cases, he can also use power points to increase the power of 
  his lurk augment. The power of the augment lasts for 1 round or 
  until J’ranz’s next attack. If that attack misses, that use is wasted.  
   
  Using a lurk augment is a swift action. When powering an 
  augment with power points, J’ranz cannot spend more than 5 
  power points on a single lurk augment.  
   
  Additional Sneak Attack: The lurk’s next attack deals an extra 
  1d6 points of damage from a sneak attack. For every 2 power points 
  spent, this damage increase by 1d6 points. The attack must be one 
  to which sneak attack damage applies. Minimum 1st level.  
   
  Unfocusing Strike: A creature hit by the lurk’s attack must 
  make a Will saving throw DC 12 or lose its psionic focus in addition 
  to taking damage from the attack. For every 2 power points spent, 
  the DC increases by 1. Minimum level 1st.  
   
  Solid Strike: The lurk’s attack deals an extra 2 points of 
  damage. For every power point spent, the damage increase by 1. 
  Minimum level 3rd. 
   
  Stunning Attack: A creature hit by the lurk’s attack must make a 
  Fortitude saving throw DC 12 or be stunned for 1 round in addition 
  to taking the damage from the attack. For every 2 power points 
  spent, the DC increase by 1. Minimum level 3rd.  
   
  Ignore Concealment: The lurk’s next attack ignores the miss 
  chance provided by concealment or total concealment. The lurk 
  must still attack the correct square when attacking an invisible 
  creature. Minimum level 5th. 
   
  Mental Assault: The lurk’s next attack deals 2 points of either 
  Intelligence or Wisdom damage in addition to its normal damage. 
  The lurk chooses which type of ability damage to deal when 
  activating the power. For every 2 power points spent, the ability 
  damage increases by 1.  
   
  Psionic Sneak Attack (Ex): While psionically focused, 
  J’ranz can strike a vital spot for extra damage if she attacks an 
  opponent while he is unable to defend himself effectively. This is 
  identical to the sneak attack ability of the rogue (Player’s Handbook 
  50), except the damage only applies when the lurk maintains a 
  psionic focus.  
   
  Sneak attack damage and psionic sneak attack damage stack, 
  whenever both would apply to the same target.  
  *This is class from Complete Psionic all the rules you need to run a 
  member of this class is contained within the statistic block 
  **New psionic power, see sidebar.  
  ***This feat is from Complet Psionic, it swaps out the concussion 
  blast psi-like ability with psionic knock 
   
  O’LANI  
   
  CR 7 
  LN male githzerai ardent* 3 / monk 3 
  Medium humanoid (extraplanar, psionic) 
  Init +5; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +3, Spot +3 
  Languages Common, Gith; Kythric, Slaadi 
  AC 23, touch 19, flat-footed 19; Dodge, force mantle 
  hp 30 (6 HD) 
  PR 11 
  Fort +6, Ref +11, Will +10; evasion, still mind 
  Spd 40 ft. (8 squares) 
  Melee unarmed strike +8 (1d6+1) or unarmed strike furry of blows 
  +6/+6 (1d6+1) 
  Atk Options furry of blows (see above), unarmed strike 
  Special Actions Stunning Fist (3/day—DC 15) chaos, death, and 
  force mantles (see below) 
  Base Atk +4; Grp +4 
  Power Points/Day 15   ; 
  Ardent Powers (ML 3rd, 1d20+3 to overcome PR; chaos, death, 
  and force mantles): 
   
  1st—destiny dissonance, force screen, matter agitation, stygian 
  discernment* 
  Mantles Chaos (Expend psionic focus to deal additional damage 
  to nonchaotic creatures. Deal an additional 1d6 points of damage 
  with a melee or ranged attack or a spell that deals damage) Force 
  (gain a +1 deflection bonus to AC while psionically focused), and 
  Death (Expend psionic focus to kill a dying creature, as the death 
  knell spell [DC 15; see PH 217]).  
   
  Psi-Like Abilities (ML 2nd): 
   
  3/day—catfall, concussion blast, psionic daze (DC 13), inertial 
  armor.   
  Abilities Str 13, Dex 20, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 17, Cha 8 
  SQ Fast movement, still mind 
  Feats Dodge, Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist, Weapon 
  Finesse   
  Skills Concentration +3, Escape Artist +13, Jump +7, Sense Motive 
  +9, Tumble +13.  
  Possessions cloak of resistance +2, brooch of shielding (20 
  points), potion of barkskin (CL 1st), monk’s outfit.  
  *This is class from Complete Psionic all the rules you need to run a 
  member of this class is contained within the statistic block 
  **New psionic power, see sidebar.  
   
  Part Two: The Mote 
  in Vessen Keep 
  If successful by the end of Part One, the PCs should 
  discover that their path leads to Vessen Keep—as 
  seemingly impregnable castle on the rocky cliff 
  overlooking Icenport. They should also have discovered 
  the location of its secret entrance—either by Icenport’s 
  local drunk, Goetlib Branz, or by their own cunning. 
  Hopefully they have also found one of the two keys on 
  the bodies of the nerra in the Fields of the Dead.   
   
  The secret entrance at the cliff’s base isn’t the only 
  ground entrance into Vessen keep, the ir’Vessen family 
  has other smaller and even more secret paths to their 
  ancestral home, but many are spoiled by the nerra mote, 
  and are beyond the scope of this adventure. This secret 
  “front” entrance is the best path for the PCs to enter the 
  nerra mote.  
   
  Some parties may attempt to fly up to the keep and 
  enter the keep through a window or other opening, but 
  those tactics ultimately fail. The nerras’ mote has expanded 
  on the Eberron side to the keep’s boundaries. Because of 
  this, any entrance into the keep is sealed with an 
  adamantine-hard mirror-like boundary. Even breaking 
  through the walls of the keep only uncovers a layer of this 
  hard and shiny boundary further thwarting entrance.  
   
  Using the shatterstone on the boundary does nothing.  
   
  1. Secret Entrance 
  On the northern most cliff face of Vessen Crag, amid a 
  confusing network of false trails and tracks is the keep’s 
  main secret entrance. Finding the location with Goetlib 
  Branz’s help is difficult, but not impossible. There are 
  divination methods (such as detect secret doors, but the 
  secret door is entirely mechanical, so a detect magic does 
  not detect it), and even success at a rather difficult track 
  check (DC 35) helps pinpoints the true path of the last 
  charge of the Frost Brigade.  
   
  Once the door’s location is pinpointed, opening it 
  requires that the PCs either located the hidden keyhole 
  (Search DC 20) and use one of the keys found in the 
  Fields of the Dead, or open this amazing and arcane locked 
  
  (CL 10th) door the hard way. A knock or dispel magic 
  must suppress or dispel the arcane lock and then the 
  physical lock must be opened (DC 40) or the door can be 
  bashed down (4 inches thick; hardness 8; hp 120; Break 
  DC 38 [28 after arcane lock is suppressed or dispelled]).   
   
  Once open, the entrance slopes upward toward the 
  shrine of Dol Dorn and the stables. The everburning 
  torches of the shrine can be seen flickering in the distance 
  from the secret opening.  
   
  2. Wooden Soldiers (EL 8) 
  Atop a large marble slab adorned with numerous sconces and 
  torches, stands a tall and triumphant statue of Dol Dorn in 
  his human form. Surrounding the statue on all visible sides 
  are life-sizes wooden statues of warriors. All wear the device of 
  Vessen—the head of great black bear crushing a longsword in 
  his jaws.  
   
  Everburning touches in the sconces illuminate this shrine to 
  Dol Dorn. While the wooden statures are part of the 
  shrine, each and effigy of an ancient Vessen warlord, they 
  are also guardians of the shrine, and this entrance to 
  Vessen Keep. The nerra, who learned the guardians’ 
  secrets from Heri ir’Vessen, see their usefulness as the 
  castle’s first defense, have left them in peace, using their 
  disguise self ability to bypass them with ease.  
   
  Creatures: The statues are actually wood golems, 
  programmed to attack all but Lord Heri ir’Vessen, 
  Warlord Gergus, and the member 
  of the Frost Brigade. They 
  recognize their masters by sight 
  alone—they are virtually deaf—so 
  PCs passing the chamber via 
  invisibility or by disguising as one of 
  the lords or a member of the Frost 
  Brigade (maybe using Hortolz’s hat 
  of disguise). They attack those who 
  lack subterfuge with an undying 
  tenacity and resolve.  
   
  Wood Golems (6): hp 60, 55, 
  53, 52, 43, 41; Combat Statistics 
   
  Tactics: Mindless automatons, 
  the wood golems attack until the 
  PCs are driven out of the castle and 
  its dungeon, the intruders or dead, 
  or they are destroyed. They have 
  been programmed to know the 
  importance of flanking and attacks 
  of opportunity, but lack any further 
  advanced tactics.  
   
  Development: The iron double 
  door beyond the shrine is locked 
  (good lock DC 30) but not trapped. 
  The Vessen key unlocks the door. 
  The area just in front of the door is 
  warded with an alarm spell (8th-level 
  caster) placed by a varoot nerra 
  sorcerer. The spell triggers a silent 
  alarm that warns sorcerer, who in 
  turn reports the intrusion to Nur-
  Zumiil. The sillit nerra immediately 
  moves to the Great Hall to confront 
  the threat (see area 5).  
   
  Scaling the Encounter  
   
  9th-Level Characters: The 
  wood golems are specially prepared 
  with a magical resin that suppresses 
  their fire vulnerability. They are 
  immune to all fire effects that allow 
  for spell resistance.  
   
  10th-Level Characters: Not 
  only are the wood golems prepared 
  with the magical resin described 
  above, the statue of Dol Dorn is an 
  ill-made Stone Golem (hp 107; 
  MM 136, lacks the DR of normal 
  stone golems).  
   
  Combat Statistics 
  WOOD GOLEM  
  CR 3 
  “Lesser Golems” from Dragon issue 341 
  N Medium Construct 
  Init -1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision 
  AC 19, touch 9, flat-footed 17 
  hp variable, see encounter text (4 HD); DR 5/slashing 
  Vulnerable fire  
  Immunities ability damage, critical hits, death effects, disease, 
  effects that require a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on 
  objects or is harmless), energy drain, exhaustion, fatigue, magic 
  (see below), massive damage, mind-affecting effects (charms, 
  
  compulsion, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects), necromancy 
  effects, nonlethal damage, paralysis, poison, sleep effects, stunning 
  Fort +1, Ref +0, Will +1 
  Spd 20 ft. (4 squares) 
  Melee 2 slams +6 (1d10+3) 
  Base Atk +3; Grp +6 
  Abilities Str 16, Dex 8, Con –, Int –, Wis 11, Cha 1 
  SQ buoyant, construct traits, fast repair, fire vulnerability, low-light 
  vision, magic immunity 
   
  Buoyant (Ex): Wood golems float in water and other liquids, 
  and automatically succeed at any Swim checks to remain on the 
  surface.  
   
  Fast Repair (Su): If a wood golem is damage, its body 
  begins to warp and knit itself together, repairing 2 hit points per 
  round. This ability is identical to fast healing, except that it repairs 
  damage rather than curing it. If the golem is reduced to 0 hit points 
  or less, the wood ceases to renew and the golem is destroyed. Hit 
  points lost as a result of fire damage cannot be repaired with this 
  ability.  
   
  Fire Vulnerability: The body of a wood golem is, naturally, 
  very susceptible to fire damage. Wood golems take half again as 
  much (+50%) damage from fire. In addition, hit points lost ot fire 
  cannot be repaired by the golem’s fast repair ability.  
   
  Magic Immunity (Ex): A wood golem is immune to any 
  spell or spell-like ability (or power, psi-like ability, or infusion) that 
  allows spell resistance (or power resistance). In addition certain 
  spells and effects function differently against these creatures as 
  noted below.  
   
  Any spell that deals fire damage affects the golem normally and 
  deals extra damage, per the creature’s fire vulnerability. Antiplant 
  shell affects wood golems as if they were plants. Plant growth 
  repairs all damage dealt to a wood golem, restoring it to full hit 
  points. 
   
  3. Stables 
  This large room contains numerous stalls for horses, and the 
  supplies of a well-stocked stable.  
   
  There are three magebred horses (ECS 295; thick-
  skinned breed) still in the stable, each in their own stall. 
  The rest of the horses died in the Frost Brigades last 
  charge on the Fields of the Dead.  
   
  The horses stay feed, and the stalls stay clean thanks to 
  an assortment of magical wards and devices all bearing the 
  mark of House Vadalis.  
   
  4. Armory  
  The walls of this chamber are covered with various weapons 
  and armor racks. Hundreds of weapons are stored here, all 
  seem well made and clean, and many are adorned with the 
  Vessen device.  
   
  In the center of the room, a preserved and stuffed ogre is 
  posed with his massive greatclub ready to strike—obviously a 
  trophy of some Vessen hunting expeditions.  
   
  A storehouse in times of siege, there are dozens of 
  weapons and armor of almost every variety in this place. 
  Most of the weapons and armor in this place are the 
  normal variety found in the PH, but there are some 
  exceptions. Five of the longswords and one of the 
  greatswords are masterwork. The greatclub in the stuffed 
  ogre’s hand is a +1 thundering greatclub, and a chest 
  hidden behind of the weapon cabinets (Search DC 15) 
  contains four thunderstones.  
   
  5. Great Hall (EL 9) 
  This long hall is adorned with polished granite and brass. 
  Paintings of military actions, Vessen general, and the trophies 
  of war decorate the walls, and a truly massive table dominates 
  its center. Flanking the table in a crescent shape on the far 
  end of the room are six standing mirrors, all pointing toward 
  the head of the table.  
   
  This chamber once served as the lower most hall, and 
  tactical planning area for the keep. Once the headquarters 
  for Warlord Gergus, and meeting hall for the Frost 
  Brigade, it is now the upper-most hall of Vessen Keep 
  that has not been swallowed up by the mote.  
   
  If the PCs did not set off the alarm beyond the shrine 
  to Dol Dorn (see area 2), this place is uninhabited, 
  though the abundance of mirrors in this chamber will 
  likely put the PCs on guard.  
   
  If the PCs find the place uninhabited, but break a 
  mirror in this chamber three kalareem nerra (see area 6) 
  come to investigate through another, with two staying to 
  try to stop the PCs while the other mirror jumps back to 
  the mote to warn the others of the approach.  
   
  If the PCs set off the alarm, the stage is set slightly 
  differently. At the far end of the table sits Lord Heri 
  ir’Vessen (PCs recognize his visage if they played EMH-3 
  No Ticket)  
   
  Creature: The real Lord ir’Vessen died on the assault 
  that brought the mote to Vessen keep. Like the one met 
  on the lightning rail in EMH-3 No Ticket this one is a 
  disguised nerra; the second in command to the nerra 
  force, a cunning sillit nerra named Nur-Zemiil.  
   
  Nur-Zemiil: female sillit nerra beguiler 4: hp 65; 
  Combat Statistics.  
   
  Tactics: Nur-Zemiil’s chief goal is to convince the PCs 
  that she is Lord ir’Vessen, and that she has everything 
  under control. Politely, she asks the PCs to travel back to 
  Korth, and report the Kyrthri insurgence to agents of 
  King Kaius.  
   
  She is convincing in this role (Bluff +14 [acting 
  +16], Disguise +14), but lacks any detailed knowledge of 
  the ir’Vessen holdings or Karrnath. Even without magic, 
  the PCs could suss out her deception with cunning 
  quizzes on ir’Vessen and Karrn trivia.  
   
  If her ruse is discovered, Nur-Zemiil doesn’t panic or 
  attack, she just changes her negotiation strategy.  
   
  She gives the PC a brief history lesson on the nerra, 
  their enslavement, and their recent fight for freedom. If 
  pressed, she admits that the nerra have done some terrible 
  things to the people of Eberron to secure their, even now, 
  tenuous hold on freedom, she insists that all were acts of 
  desperation or ignorance on how the mote and the 
  conterminous state with Kythri would affect the people 
  and places of Eberron. The nerra just wish to be free, and 
  would be happy to live peacefully with the people of 
  Eberron to achieve it.  
   
  With this new tact, Nur-Zemiil is still deceiving the 
  PCs. The nerra would much rather continue pursuing 
  their infiltration of Eberron than join it through 
  negotiation, as she doubts the powers of Eberron would 
  truly accept her and her people. Such posturing is just a 
  ploy to find out more about the PCs strength, 
  connections, and personality (for future replication) than 
  it is any real deal making; unless, of course, the PC hold 
  the shatterstone.  
   
  That item is immediately recognizable by Nur-Zemiil 
  and all the nerra in the mote as their potential doom, and 
  the sillit nerra takes extreme steps to neutralize the 
  threat…including true and real negotiations (see 
  Conclusion). 
   
  Development: If negotiations go poorly, or end in 
  combat, Nur-Zemiil makes her escape through one of the 
  mirrors, mirror jumping to the mote, where the PCs likely 
  encounter her anew.  
   
  Combat Statistics 
  
  Nur-Zemiil 
   
  CR 9 
  Female sillit nerra beguiler* 4  
  N Medium outsider (extraplanar) 
  Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +14, Spot +14  
  Languages Common, Kythric 
  AC 29, touch 15, flat-footed 27 
  hp 65 (11 HD) 
  Resist Cold 15, electric 15, fire 15; SR reflective spell resistance 21 
  Fort +9, Ref +11, Will +12 
  Weakness sonic vulnerability 
  Spd 30 ft. (6 squares) 
  Melee nerra shard longsword +14 (1d8+3/19-20 plus wounding)  
  Ranged +5 shuriken (star from robe of stars) +18 (1d2+6) 
  Base Atk +9; Grp +11 
  Attack Options 3/day—shard spay (30-ft. cone, DC 16 for half; 
  5d6 plus bleeding) 
  Beguiler Spells (CL 4th; d20+4 to overcome SR) 
   
  2nd—4/day—blinding color surge* (DC 15), blur, daze 
  monster (DC 16), detect thoughts (DC 15), fog cloud, glitterdust 
  (DC 15), hypnotic pattern (DC 15), invisibility, knock, minor image, 
  mirror image (DC 15), misdirection (DC 15), see invisibility, silence 
  (DC 15), spider climb, stay the hand* (DC 16), Tasha’s hideous 
  laughter (DC 16), touch of idiocy, vertigo* (DC 15), whelming 
  burst* (DC 16).  
   
  1st—7/day—charm person (DC 15), color spray (DC 14), 
  comprehend languages, detect secret doors, disguise self, 
  expeditious retreat, hypnotism (DC 15), mage armor, obscuring 
  mist, rouse*, silent image (DC 14), sleep (DC 15), undetectable 
  alignment, whelm* (DC 15).  
   
  0—6/day—dancing lights, daze (DC 14), detect magic, ghost 
  sound (DC 13), message, open/close, read magic.  
   
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16th; 1d20+16 to overcome SR) 
  At will—change self, false vision, mirror image; 3/day--mislead  
  Abilities Str 13, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 17, Wis 14, Cha 18 
  Feats Alertness, Exotic Weapon proficiency (nerra shard 
  longsword), Improved Initiative, Spell Focus (enchantment), 
  Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (nerra shard longsword) B.  
  Skills Bluff +18, Concentration +14, Diplomacy +8, Disguise +14 
  (+16 acting), Gather Information +14, Hide +11, Intimidate +16, 
  Jump +2, Knowledge (the planes) +13, Listen +14, Move Silently +11, 
  Search +12, Sense Motive +14, Spot +14, Survival +2 (+4 following 
  track on other planes), Tumble +14.  
  SQ Armored mage, trapfinding, cloaked casting (+1 DC), surprise 
  casting, advanced learning 
  Possessions +1 chain shirt, nerra shard longsword, +2 ring of 
  protection, robe of stars (3 stars).  
   
  Armored Mage (Ex): Normally, armor of any type interferes 
  with arcane spellcasting gestures, which can cause spells to fail if 
  those spells have somatic components. A beguiler’s limited focus 
  and specialized training, however, allow you to avoid any chance of 
  arcane spell failure as long as your restrict yourself to light armor. 
  This training does not extend to any other form of armor, nor does 
  this ability apply to spells gained from other spell-casting classes.  
   
  Cloaked Casting (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, a beguiler’s 
  spells become more affective when cast against an unwary foe. You 
  gain a +1 bonus to the spell’s save DC when you cast a spell that 
  targets any foe who would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC 
  (whether the garget actually has a Dexterity bonus or not).  
   
  Mirror Jump (Su): Nerras can move through mirrored and 
  reflective surfaces at will. The effect is similar to shadow walk, but 
  the nerra travels through their home plane.  
   
  Nerra Shard Weapon: Nerras swords and daggers are made 
  out of the substance of their plane. Resembling the shards of a 
  broken mirror that have been set into a shiny hilt, they look 
  deceptively fragile. In the hands of someone with and Exotic 
  Weapon Proficiency in the weapon they are a +2 wounding weapon. 
  Those without the feat wield it awkwardly (-4 penalty to attack rolls) 
  and don’t benefit from the wounding effect. 
   
  Reflective Spell Resistance (Sp): a spell resisted bounces 
  off and is reflected back to the caster. The caster becomes either 
  the spell’s target or the point of origin for the spell’s effect, as 
  appropriate.  
   
  Shard Spray (Su): 3/day—Nur_Zemiil can release a 30-ft. 
  cone of mirrorlike shards from her hands that do 5d6 points of 
  damage to all within the cone area. All within the cone get a DC 16 
  Reflex save for half damage and to avoid further effect. Those who 
  fail their save suffer another 2 points of damage each round, as the 
  wounds persistently bleed. Multiple wounds from this type of attack 
  are cumulative. The bleeding can be stopped with a successful Heal 
  check (DC 10) or the casting of any cure spell on the wounded 
  creature.  
   
  Sonic Vulnerability (Ex): All nerras take half again as much 
  (+50%) damage as normal from an attack involving sonic energy, 
  regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, of the save is a 
  success or failure.  
   
  Surprise Casting (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, when you 
  successfully use the Bluff skill to feint in combat, your target is 
  denied its Dexterity bonus (if it has one) to AC for the next melee 
  attack you make against it or the next spell you cast. You must 
  remain in melee with the target, and the attack must be made or 
  the spell cast on or before your next turn. The target is not 
  considered flat-footed and therefore can make attacks of 
  opportunity against you if you do not cast defensively.  
   
  *From Player’s Handbook II; information need to run class or 
  spell is contained in statistic block, or presented in the new spells 
  and powers sidebar.  
   
  Nur-Zemiil 
   
  CR 10 
  Female sillit nerra beguiler* 5  
  N Medium outsider (extraplanar) 
  Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +14, Spot +14  
  Languages Common, Kythric 
  AC 30, touch 15, flat-footed 28 
  hp 71 (12 HD) 
  Resist Cold 15, electric 15, fire 15; SR reflective spell resistance 22 
  Fort +9, Ref +11, Will +12 
  Weakness sonic vulnerability 
  Spd 30 ft. (6 squares) 
  Melee nerra shard longsword +14 (1d8+3/19-20 plus wounding)  
  Ranged +5 shuriken (star from robe of stars) +18 (1d2+6) 
  Base Atk +9; Grp +11 
  Attack Options 3/day—shard spay (30-ft. cone, DC 16 for half; 
  5d6 plus bleeding) 
  Beguiler Spells (CL 4th; d20+4 to overcome SR) 
   
  2nd—5/day—blinding color surge* (DC 16), blur, daze 
  monster (DC 16), detect thoughts (DC 16), fog cloud, glitterdust 
  (DC 16), hypnotic pattern (DC 16), invisibility, knock, minor image, 
  mirror image (DC 16), misdirection (DC 16), see invisibility, silence 
  (DC 16), spider climb, stay the hand* (DC 16), Tasha’s hideous 
  laughter (DC 16), touch of idiocy, vertigo* (DC 16), whelming 
  burst* (DC 16).  
   
  1st—7/day—charm person (DC 15), color spray (DC 15), 
  comprehend languages, detect secret doors, disguise self, 
  expeditious retreat, hypnotism (DC 15), mage armor, obscuring 
  mist, rouse*, silent image (DC 15), sleep (DC 15), undetectable 
  alignment, whelm* (DC 15).  
   
  0—6/day—dancing lights, daze (DC 14), detect magic, ghost 
  sound (DC 14), message, open/close, read magic.  
   
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16th; 1d20+16 to overcome SR) 
  At will—change self, false vision, mirror image; 3/day--mislead  
  Abilities Str 13, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 17, Wis 14, Cha 18 
  Feats Alertness, Exotic Weapon proficiency (nerra shard 
  longsword), Improved Initiative, Silent Spell 
  B, Spell Focus 
  (enchantment), Spell Focus (illusion), Weapon Finesse, Weapon 
  Focus (nerra shard longsword) B.  
  Skills Bluff +19, Concentration +15, Diplomacy +8, Disguise +16 
  (+18 acting), Gather Information +14, Hide +11, Intimidate +18, 
  Jump +2, Knowledge (the planes) +13, Listen +14, Move Silently +11, 
  Search +12, Sense Motive +14, Spot +14, Survival +2 (+4 following 
  track on other planes), Tumble +15.  
  
  SQ Armored mage, trapfinding, cloaked casting (+1 DC), surprise 
  casting, advanced learning 
  Possessions +2 chain shirt, nerra shard longsword, +2 ring of 
  protection, robe of stars (3 stars).  
   
  Armored Mage (Ex): Normally, armor of any type interferes 
  with arcane spellcasting gestures, which can cause spells to fail if 
  those spells have somatic components. A beguiler’s limited focus 
  and specialized training, however, allow you to avoid any chance of 
  arcane spell failure as long as your restrict yourself to light armor. 
  This training does not extend to any other form of armor, nor does 
  this ability apply to spells gained from other spell-casting classes.  
   
  Cloaked Casting (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, a beguiler’s 
  spells become more affective when cast against an unwary foe. You 
  gain a +1 bonus to the spell’s save DC when you cast a spell that 
  targets any foe who would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC 
  (whether the garget actually has a Dexterity bonus or not).  
   
  Mirror Jump (Su): Nerras can move through mirrored and 
  reflective surfaces at will. The effect is similar to shadow walk, but 
  the nerra travels through their home plane.  
   
  Nerra Shard Weapon: Nerras swords and daggers are made 
  out of the substance of their plane. Resembling the shards of a 
  broken mirror that have been set into a shiny hilt, they look 
  deceptively fragile. In the hands of someone with and Exotic 
  Weapon Proficiency in the weapon they are a +2 wounding weapon. 
  Those without the feat wield it awkwardly (-4 penalty to attack rolls) 
  and don’t benefit from the wounding effect. 
   
  Reflective Spell Resistance (Sp): a spell resisted bounces 
  off and is reflected back to the caster. The caster becomes either 
  the spell’s target or the point of origin for the spell’s effect, as 
  appropriate.  
   
  Shard Spray (Su): 3/day—Nur-Zemiil can release a 30-ft. 
  cone of mirrorlike shards from her hands that do 5d6 points of 
  damage to all within the cone area. All within the cone get a DC 16 
  Reflex save for half damage and to avoid further effect. Those who 
  fail their save suffer another 2 points of damage each round, as the 
  wounds persistently bleed. Multiple wounds from this type of attack 
  are cumulative. The bleeding can be stopped with a successful Heal 
  check (DC 10) or the casting of any cure spell on the wounded 
  creature.  
   
  Sonic Vulnerability (Ex): All nerras take half again as much 
  (+50%) damage as normal from an attack involving sonic energy, 
  regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, of the save is a 
  success or failure.  
   
  Surprise Casting (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, when you 
  successfully use the Bluff skill to feint in combat, 
  your target is denied its Dexterity bonus (if it has 
  one) to AC for the next melee attack you make 
  against it or the next spell you cast. You must 
  remain in melee with the target, and the attack 
  must be made or the spell cast on or before your 
  next turn. The target is not considered flat-footed 
  and therefore can make attacks of opportunity 
  against you if you do not cast defensively.  
   
  *From Player’s Handbook II; information 
  need to run class or spell is contained in statistic 
  block, or presented in the new spells and powers 
  sidebar.  
   
  6. Mote in the Eye of 
  Chaos (EL 12+) 
  Just past the Great Hall, and up the 
  winding stairway, a passage leads to what 
  was once the upper dungeon level of the 
  keep. Now it opens up into the great mote 
  in the plane of Kythri that the nerra call 
  Specurium.  
   
  Dungeon corridor falls away into a dizzying 
  display of open space. Before you is a sea of hot 
  and airy void, seemingly miles if not scores or 
  even hundreds of miles across. Within this 
  strange sea float thousands of floating rocky islands, all adorn 
  with mirror-like shard growths.  
   
  Nerra of all types scramble on the all surfaces of the 
  islands, each governed by its own strange gravity with down as 
  each individual island’s center. The nerra move from island to 
  island by one of two ways. While some fly, others walk into the 
  mirrorlike shards, finding egress through another shard on 
  another island.  
   
  The majority of the activity of this strange place occurs in 
  the far distance, at what appears to be a violent rift in the 
  hazy boundaries of this pocket dimension. At that rift and 
  intense battle is taken place, and even at the intense distance 
  you can make out forces of nerra, githzerai, and slaad pitted 
  in the fierce breach battle.  
   
  Closer to home, the nerra in the islands closer to you have 
  noticed your entrance, and move toward their strange shard 
  portals. Four similar portals grace the large overhang of 
  Eberron reality where you are currently standing.  
   
  The physics of the mote is very similar to the Astral Plane 
  (DMG 154) with directional gravity (centered on islands) 
  and the enhanced magic that quickens magic (which has 
  given the nerra an advantage in their fight against the 
  githzerai). These physics extend to the boarder marked 
  “save zone” on the map.  
   
  For PCs who fall off the ledge or one of the islands, 
  and cannot be rescued, they are considered lost (character 
  death), as no nerra will rescue them.  
   
  The mirrorlike shard portals that serve as the mirror 
  jump points for the nerra have the following stats. 
   
  Mirrorlike Shard Portal: 5 inches thick; hardness 5; 
  hp 60; vulnerable to sonic damage (no hardness, does 
  50% more damage).  
   
  Creatures: On the first round one kalareem nerra 
  exits from each of the four mirrolike shard portal on the 
  overhang. Each round thereafter, 1d4, -1 for each 
  mirrolike shards the PCs have destroyed, kalareem nerra 
  enter the combat through the shards.   
   
  Kalareem Nerra: hp 19 each; Combat Statistics.  
  If the PCs met with Nur-Zemiil in the Great Hall, and she 
  escaped to the mote, she directs the assault on the PCs 
  from the closest island (the one shown on the map of the 
  overhang). That island floats at the same level as the 
  overhang (making it a straight 20-foot jump from the 
  
  PC’s starting position).  
   
  Nur-Zemiil: female sillit nerra beguiler 4: hp 65; 
  Combat Statistics (above).  
   
  Tactics: The nerra assault keeps coming until the PCs 
  flee, enter into some form of diplomacy with Nur-Zemiil 
  (see below), destroy all of the mirrorlike shard portals 
  (which prompts Nur-Zemiil to treat for peace) or the pry 
  Specurium away from Eberron by using the shatterstone.  
   
  Development: What could be the quickest and most 
  dramatic ending to this encounter is if the PCs use the 
  shatterstone to sever the connection between the mote and 
  Eberron. In the five rounds it takes for the shatterstone to 
  power up and explode, Nur-Zemiil and here people fight 
  frantically to stop that from happening. The best strategy 
  the nerra can employ is to capture the shatterstone, and 
  move it to the great hall via the mirrorlike portal and the 
  mirrors in that chamber. If that is impossible, because the 
  PCs shattered the portals or the mirrors, a brave kalareem 
  nerra attempts to grab the shatterstone and run it to a safe 
  part of the Vessen Keep dungeon beyond (see the map for 
  the safe zone).  
   
  If the shatterstone is used as a threat, Nur-Zemiil is 
  willing to enter into real diplomacy, agreeing to seek out 
  help from the Diggers’ Union for her peoples quest for 
  freedom from there Kythri overlords (see Conclusion).  
   
  Combat Statistics 
  KALAREEM NERRA 
   
  CR 3 
  N Medium outsider (extraplanar) 
  Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +8, Spot +8  
  Languages Common, Kythric 
  AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15 
  hp 19 (3 HD) 
  Resist Cold 10, Electric 10, Fire 10; SR reflective spell resistance 15 
  Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +5 
  Weakness sonic vulnerability 
  Spd 30 ft. (6 squares) 
  Melee 2 nerra shard longsword +9 (1d8+2/19-20 plus wounding)  
  Base Atk +3; Grp +4 
  Attack Options shard spay—3/day 
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th; 1d20+12 to overcome SR) 
  1day—mirror image  
  Abilities Str 13, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 13 
  Feats Exotic Weapon Proficiency (shard longsword)B, Exotic 
  Weapon Proficiency (shard dagger)B,  Two-Weapon Fighting, 
  Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (shard longsword)B  
  Skills Bluff +7, Diplomacy +6, Disguise +7 (+9 acting), Hide +9, 
  Intimidate +7, Knowledge (arcane) +6, Knowledge (the planes) +6, 
  Listen +8, Move Silently +9, Sense Motive +7, Spot +8 
  Possessions two nerra shard longswords.  
   
  Mirror Jump (Su): Nerras can move through mirrored and 
  reflective surfaces at will. The effect is similar to shadow walk, but 
  the nerra travels through their home plane.  
   
  Nerra Shard Weapon: Nerras swords and daggers are made 
  out of the substance of their plane. Resembling the shards of a 
  broken mirror that have been set into a shiny hilt, they look 
  deceptively fragile. In the hands of someone with and Exotic 
  Weapon Proficiency in the weapon they are a +2 wounding weapon. 
  Those without the feat wield it awkwardly (-4 penalty to attack rolls) 
  and don’t benefit from the wounding effect. 
   
  Reflective Spell Resistance (Sp): a spell resisted bounces 
  off and is reflected back to the caster. The caster becomes either 
  the spell’s target or the point of origin for the spell’s effect, as 
  appropriate.  
   
  Sonic Vulnerability (Ex): All nerras take half again as much 
  (+50%) damage as normal from an attack involving sonic energy, 
  regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, of the save is a 
  success or failure.  
   
  Shard Spray (Su): 3/day—a kalareem can release a 30-ft. 
  cone of mirrorlike shards from it hands that do 3d4 points of 
  damage to all within the cone area. All within the cone get a DC 16 
  Reflex save for half damage and to avoid further effect. Those who 
  fail their save suffer another 2 points of damage each round, as the 
  wounds persistently bleed. Multiple wounds from this type of attack 
  are cumulative. The bleeding can be stopped with a successful Heal 
  check (DC 10) or the casting of any cure spell on the wounded 
  creature.  
   
  New Spells and Powers 
  Adrenaline Boost 
  Complete Psionic 78 
  Pychometabolism  
  Level: Lurk 1, Physical Power 1, psychic warrior 1 
  Display: Olfactory 
  Manifester Time: 1 swift action 
  Range: Personal 
  Target: You 
  Duration: 1 round 
  Power Points: 1 
   
  You can increase your physical prowess and reaction speed 
  until the beginning of your next round. You receive a +2 
  insight bonus to Strength and Dexterity.  
   
  Augment: For every 3 additional power points you 
  spend, the bonus increases by 1.  
   
  Blinding Color Surge 
  Player’s Handbook II 104 
  Illusion (Glamer) 
  Level: Beguiler 2, sorcerer/wizard 2 
  Components: V, S, F 
  Casting Time: 1 standard action 
  Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level) 
  Targets: You and one creature 
  Duration: 1 round/level 
  Saving Throw: Will negates 
  Spell Resistance: Yes 
   
  You strip the color from your body and gear, turning it 
  into a lance of energy, and hurl it at a target. When you 
  cast this spell, you target a creature with the colors 
  stripped from your form. The target must make a Will 
  save or be blinded for 1 round.  
   
  You also gain the benefit of invisibility, for the 
  duration of this spell, even if the target creature succeeds 
  on its save or if its spell resistance protects it. 
   
  Focus: A small prism.  
   
  Dimensional Leap 
  Magic of Eberron 95 
  Level: Bard 2, sorcerer/wizard 2 
  Components: V 
  Casting Time: 1 standard action 
  Range: 10 ft./level 
  Target: you and touched objects 
  Duration: Instantaneous  
  Saving Throw: None 
  Spell Resistance: No 
   
  You instantly transfer yourself from you current location 
  to another spot within range. The distance traveled must 
  be an increment of 10 feet (10 feet, 20 feet, 30 feet, and 
  so on). You always arrive at exactly the spot desired, 
  whether by simply visualizing the area or by stating 
  directions and distance. You can bring along any object 
  you are touching as the spell is cast, so long as their 
  weight doesn’t exceed you maximum load. You cannot 
  bring along other creatures. 
  
   
  If this spell would put you in a place that is already 
  occupied by a solid body, the spell fails. 
   
  Evade attack 
  Complete Psionic 89 
  Psychoportation 
  Level: Lurk 2, nomad 2 
  Display: Visual 
  Manifester Time: 1 immediate action 
  Range: Personal 
  Target: You 
  Duration: instantaneous 
  Power Points: 3 
   
  You warp space, briefly creating a shimmering, translucent 
  blue sphere around yourself that deflects on attack of 
  opportunity you provoke with your move action.  
   
  Augment: If you spend 4 additional power points, 
  you can attempt to avoid one successful regular attack 
  made against you (instead of an attack of opportunity). 
  To successfully evade a regular attack, you must make a 
  manifester level check (1d20 + your manifester level, 
  maximum +10) against a DC of 15. If you succeed the 
  attack misses.   
   
  Extend Reach 
  Complete Psionic 89 
  Psychokinesis 
  Level: Lurk 2, psychic warrior 2 
  Display: Visual 
  Manifester Time: 1 swift action 
  Range: Touch 
  Target: One melee weapon 
  Duration: 1 round 
  Power Points: 3 
   
  You cause a telekinetic extension to form as you strike 
  with your weapon, granting you greater reach in combat. 
  When you manifest this power, your weapon becomes a 
  reach weapon, extending its reach by 5 feet. If your 
  weapon is already a reach weapon, this power extends its 
  reach an additional 5 feet. The weapon no longer 
  threatens all the squares that it previously threatened, but 
  instead threatens those that are 5 feet farther ways. For 
  example, if you manifest extend reach while using a 
  bastard sword, you cannot attack an adjacent opponent, 
  but you can attack one 10 feet away. If you are using a 
  guisarme (a polearm with a 10-foot reach), you do not 
  threaten an opponent 10 feet away, but threaten an 
  opponent 15 feet away.  
   
  Augment: For every additional power point you 
  spend, the duration increases by 1 round.  
   
  Mindburn 
  Magic of Eberron 99 
  Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting] 
  Level: Sorcerer/wizard 2 
  Components: V, S, M 
  Casting Time: 1 standard action 
  Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels) 
  Target: One creature 
  Duration: 1 round/3 levels 
  Saving Throw: Will negates; see text 
  Spell Resistance: Yes 
   
  This spell attacks a creature’s mind, causing the target to 
  lose its highest-level remaining spell, spell slot, or infusion 
  slot each round. The target gets a save to avoid this effect 
  each round. On its first successful save, the spell ends.  
    
  Rouse 
  Player’s Handbook II 123 
  Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting] 
  Level: Beguiler 1, duskblade 1, sorcerer/wizard 1 
  Components: V, S 
  Casting Time: 1 standard action 
  Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels) 
  Target: 10-ft.-radius burst 
  Duration: Instantaneous 
  Saving Throw: None 
  Spell Resistance: No 
   
  With a loud snap of your fingers, you cause any sleeping 
  creature in the spell’s area to awaken.  
   
  This spell has no effect on creatures that are 
  unconscious due to being reduced to negative hit points, 
  or that have taken nonlethal damage in excess of their 
  current hit points.  
   
   
  Sensory Gloom 
  Complete Psionic 98 
  Psychometabolism 
  Level: Lurk 1 
  Display: Material 
  Manifester Time: 1 standard action 
  Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft/2 levels) 
  Target: Once creature 
  Duration: 1 round/level 
  Saving Throw: Fortitude negates 
  Power Resistance: Yes 
  Power Points: 3 
   
  You override your target’s nervous system and partially 
  shut down one of its senses. You can choose which sense 
  to affect when manifesting this power. Each obscured 
  sense has a different effect on the foe.  
   
  Sight: The target’s vision is hampered. It sees its 
  surroundings as if through a dense fog. Creatures that are 
  adjacent to the target seem blurry, and any attacks made 
  against an adjacent opponent are made as if that opponent 
  had concealment. Creatures more than 5 feet away from 
  the target have the benefit of total concealment.  
   
  Hearing: The target is temporarily deafened (Player’s 
  Handbook 307). 
   
  Scent/Taste: The target cannot smell or taste anything. 
  Creatures that normally benefit from the scent ability 
  (Monster Manual 314) no longer do so for the duration 
  of the power. Characters who try to ascertain the 
  properties of a potion by taste automatically fail in the 
  attempt.  
   
  Touch: The target cannot feel the ground (as if its 
  limbs had fallen asleep) or assess it position in relation to 
  the ground accurately. The target must succeed on a DC 5 
  Balance check each round to keep from falling prone. It 
  the target falls prone, it must succeed on a DC 10 Balance 
  check to stand up. Creatures that normally benefit from 
  the tremorsense ability no longer do so for the duration of 
  the power.  
   
  Augment: You can augment this power in one or 
  both of the following ways. 
  1. For every 2 additional power points you spend, you 
  can affect one additional sense 
  simultaneously. You can affect a total of 
  four senses. 
  2. For every 2 additional power points you spend, the 
  power’s save DC increases by 1  
   
  Stay the hand 
  Player’s Handbook II 126 
  
  Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting] 
  Level: Bard 1, beguiler 2, cleric 2, sorcerer/wizard 2 
  Components: V 
  Casting Time: 1 immedate action 
  Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level) 
  Target: One humanoid 
  Duration: instantaneous 
  Saving Throw: Will negates 
  Spell Resistance: Yes 
   
  If the target creature fails its save against stay the hand, it 
  refrains from attacking you or targeting you with spells 
  for the remainder of the current round. You can cast this 
  spell during an opponent’s turn after the opponent 
  announces its intention to attack you or target you with a 
  spell. If the opponent becomes subject to this spell, it can 
  choose a new target to attack, but it takes a -4 
  circumstance penalty on its attack roll due to the sudden 
  change of intentions at the last second. Likewise, the 
  subject of this spell can redirect a spell that has been target 
  on you, but it must succeed on a Concentration check 
  (DC 15 _ the spell’s level) or the spell is wasted.  
   
  Sthygian Discernment 
  Complete Psionic 100 
  Clairsentience 
  Level: Death 1, psion/wilder 1, psychic warrior 1 
  Display: Auditory and visual 
  Manifester Time: 1 standard action 
  Range: 60 ft. 
  Area: Cone-shaped emanation 
  Duration: Concentration, up to 1 min./level see text 
  Saving Throw: None 
  Power Resistance: No 
  Power Points: 1 
   
  You can detect the aura that surrounds undead creatures. 
  Furthermore, you can detect the aura that emanates from 
  negative energy effects, whether instantaneous or ongoing. 
  The amount of information revealed depends on how 
  long you study a particular area. If you fully study a 
  location, you gain benefits against the threats your power 
  might have revealed.  
   
  1st Round: Presence or absence of undead or negative 
  energy auras.  
   
  2nd Round: Number of undead or negative energy 
  auras in the area and the strength of the strongest such 
  aura present, If you are good-aligned, the strongest 
  undead or negative energy aura’s strength is 
  overwhelming (see below), and if the creature (or negative 
  energy effect has Hit Dice (or is of a level) equal to at 
  least twice your character level, you are stunned for 1 
  round and the power ends.  
   
  3rd Round: The strength and location of each undead 
  or negative energy aura. If an aura is outside your line of 
  sight, you discern it direction but not its exact location. 
  Upon spending 3 rounds studying a particular area with 
  stygian discernment, your enhanced knowledge provides 
  you wit a +2 insight bonus that you can apply toward 
  your next attack roll, saving throw, or the save DC of the 
  next power you manifest that affects the undead creature 
  you have located using this spell. 
  Augment: The strength of an undead or negative energy 
  aura is determined by the Hit Dice (or spell/power level) 
  of the undead creature (or negative energy effect) as 
  shown on the following table: 
  HD/Spell or Power Level  
  Strength  
  0-1 
   
   
   
  Faint 
  2-4 
   
   
   
  Moderate  
  5-10 
      
   
   
  Strong 
  11 or higher 
   
   
  Overwhelming 
   
   
  Vertigo 
  Player’s Handbook II 127 
  Illusion (Phantasm) [Fear, Mind-Affecting] 
  Level: Bard 2, beguiler 2, sorcerer/wizard 2 
  Components: V, S 
  Casting Time: 1 standard action 
  Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels) 
  Target: One living creature 
  Duration: 1 round/level (D) 
  Saving Throw: Will disbelief  
  Spell Resistance: No 
   
  The subject of this spell becomes dizzy as the ground 
  seems to drop away beneath its feet. The subject must 
  succeed on a DC 10 Balance check at the start of each 
  turn to take a move action. If it fails, it cannot move. If it 
  fails the check by 5 or more, it falls prone. While affected, 
  the subject also takes a-2 penalty on attack rolls and saving 
  throws. Airborne creatures receive a +4 bonus on saves 
  against this spell and do not need to make the Balance 
  check.  
   
  Whelm 
  Player’s Handbook II 128 
  Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting] 
  Level: Beguiler 1, sorcerer/wizard 1 
  Components: V, S 
  Casting Time: 1 standard action 
  Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels) 
  Target: One living creature 
  Duration: Instantaneous 
  Saving Throw: Will negates 
  Spell Resistance: Yes 
   
  You launch a magical assault that wears at the target’s 
  mind, dealing 1d6 points of nonlethal damage if it fails its 
  saving throw. 
   
  For every two caster levels beyond 1st, you deal an 
  extra 1d6 points of nonlethal damage to the subject, to a 
  maximum of 5d6 at 9th level.  
   
  Whelming Burst 
  Player’s Handbook II 128 
  Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting] 
  Level: Beguiler 2, sorcerer/wizard 2 
  Components: V, S 
  Casting Time: 1 standard action 
  Range: 30 ft. 
  Area: Cone-shaped burst 
  Target: One creature 
  Duration: instantaneous 
  Saving Throw: Will negates 
  Spell Resistance: Yes 
   
  You assail the mental faculties of creature in the area, 
  dealing 1d6 points of nonlethal damage per two caster 
  levels (maximum 5d6 at 10th level) to each creature that 
  fails its saves.  
   
  Conclusion 
  There are many ways this adventure can end successfully. 
  The PCs can free the people of Icenport from the 
  zenkkma, and then use the githzerai shatterstone to sever 
  the mote from Eberron. They could also negotiate some 
  sort of truce with the nerra, be it real or a ruse by the 
  mirrorfolk to stall the PCs meddling long enough for 
  
  them to finally divorce Specurium from Kythri. The 
  following is an overview of each of these endings.  
   
  Leaving Icenport 
  Unless threatened with the shatterzone, Nur-Zumiil will 
  treat with the PCs only to trick them into leaving Icenport. 
  She will make all sorts of promises to get the meddler away 
  from the mote in Vessen keep, but will follow through on 
  none of them.   
   
  Destroying the Mote’s Connection to Eberron 
  If the PCs successful use the shatterstone to sever the 
  mote’s connection to Eberron, they are thrown by the 
  explosion to the foot of Vessen crag. Shaken but 
  unharmed, the explosion destroys Vessen Keep but it also 
  ends the nerra’s involvement with Eberron…at least for 
  now.  
   
  True Negotiation 
  If forced into true negotiations with the PCs due to their 
  threat to use the shatterstone to destroy Specurium’s 
  connection with Eberron, she agrees to come with the 
  PCs to treat with the Diggers Union and the powers of 
  Khorvaire to find a place for the nerra on the continent.  
   
  Adventure Questions  
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS CAMPAIGNS (of which MARK OF 
  HEROES is part of) tracks character progress digitally. At 
  the adventure’s end, you report what the characters did, 
  by answering a number of questions. The answers to those 
  questions are tallied, and determine not only what 
  happens in the campaign, but also the experience points 
  (XP) and gold piece (gp) value increase each character 
  gains. 
  At the end of this adventure, you’ll find the RPGA 
  Session Tracking form, tailored for this adventure. On the 
  section titled “Adventure Questions” fill in the bubble that 
  corresponds to the best answer for the questions below. 
   
  Many times the questions ask whether or not the PCs 
  defeated an encounter. Defeating doesn’t necessarily mean 
  killing all enemies, but many times such an event suffices 
  as defeating an encounter. Sometimes PCs merely bypass 
  an encounter. Through luck or circumstance a group of 
  PCs can avoid encounters unscathed. Does bypassing an 
  encounter earn the XP that defeating it would? No. The 
  reward for getting past an encounter without actually 
  interacting with it is having extra resources to bear in the 
  next encounter. Where is the line? You are going to have 
  to make that decision, because you are the DM. 
   
  For traps, PCs get experience points just for 
  encountering them, whether or not they have been 
  disabled. 
   
  Sometimes the PCs’ actions don’t really fit the actions 
  of a particular adventure question perfectly. This especially 
  happens when you play the adventure using the “Scaling 
  the Encounter” options. In these cases find the answer 
  that best fits the spirit of their results.  
   
  1. Did the PCs save the children in the lighthouse? 
  A. No. They never went to the lighthouse. 
  B. No. They tried, but were defeated by the red slaad. 
  C. Yes.  
   
  2. How did the PCs handle the situation in the 
  Longhouse? 
  A. With guile and cunning. They found out information 
  without having to fight the zenkkma forces there. 
  B. They confronted the githzerai and their slaad, and 
  defeated them in a fair fight. Unfortunately the githzerai 
  sorcerer was able to warn her companions. 
  C. They defeated the zenkkma forces, and were able to 
  sneak up on the githzerai and slaad in the Mining Camp.  
  D. The zenkkma forces defeated the PCs.  
  E. They never faced this encounter.  
   
  3. Did the PCs find the key in the Fields of the Dead? 
  A. No. 
  B. Yes. 
   
  4. Did the PCs defeat the zenkkma forces in the 
  Mining Camp? 
  A. No. They encountered them, maybe even fought them, 
  but parleyed for peace.  
  B. No. They defeated the PCs. 
  C. Yes.  
   
  5. How did the PCs find the secret door into Vessen 
  Keep? 
  A. With the help of the town drunk. 
  B. By their own devices. 
  C. They didn’t.  
   
  6. Did the PCs defeat the wood golems? 
  A. Yes. They destroyed them. 
  B. Yes. They bypassed them. 
  C. No.  
   
  7. How did the PCs handle the nerra in the mote? 
  A. They used the shatterstone to sever the connection 
  between the mote and Eberron. 
  B. After a brief fight, they negotiated with the nerra. 
  C. They never got this far.   
   
  8. Rate the Group’s roleplaying.  
  A. Fantastic! Everyone had interesting and engaging 
  characters that interacted and challenged the adventure in 
  very fun ways.  
  B. Good. Most players had interesting and engaging 
  characters.  
  C. Okay. There was some roleplaying.  
  D. None. There was no roleplaying. They treated the 
  adventure as nothing more than a set of objectives to be 
  accomplished.  
   
  Digital Story Objects 
  Story objects are now digital. You’ll notice on both your 
  Session Tracking Sheet, and in the online reporting on the 
  RPGA database, there’s a section titled certification or 
  cert. These sections allow you to enter up to two groups 
  of five alphanumeric characters. At the end of each 
  adventure, usually in a sidebar of in the Conclusion 
  section, there is a list of story objects unique to the 
  adventure. This list also features a description of the 
  object, and the five alphanumeric character code you place 
  on the Session Tracking Sheet and the online reporting to 
  grant a character a particular story object. The story object 
  then is reported with the adventure questions, and appears 
  on the character’s online character record after the session 
  is reported. 
   Here are the story objects for this adventure, give out 
  only one.  
   
  Enmity of the Nerra 
  Cert Code: MH1027 
  With a strange magic item called a shatterstone, you 
  have stopped the main nerra insurgence into 
  Eberron. 
  
   
  Ambassador for the Nerra 
  Cert Code: MH1028 
  You have agreed to help the nerra find a place in 
  Eberron by at least presenting their cause to the 
  Diggers’ Union, and maybe the greater powers of 
  Khorvaire.   
   “Scaling t  
   
   
  
   
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/3rd Edition (3.x)/RPGA/Eberron - Mark of Heroes/EMH-09 Mote In the Eye of Chaos.pdf