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  BASEMENT ADVENTURE #3 
  Pits & Perils 
  THE SERPENTINE EGG 
  An Adventure for 3-5 Characters of 7-9th Level 
   
  by 
  James & Robyn George 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Copyright (C) 20l6 by James & Robyn George  
   
   
  Electronic Edition    
   
   
  All rights reserved.  No part of this book may be  
  reproduced or transmitted in any form or by  
  any means whatsoever without express written permission  
  from the authors, except in the case of  
  brief quotations embodied in critical articles and  
  reviews.  Please refer all pertinent questions to the publisher. 
   
   
  Printed in the United States of America 
   
   
  www.oldehouserules.com 
  First Printing, July 20l6  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Cover and interior art from  
  the public domain and, where it applies, 
  re-imagined by James S. George  
   
   
  This adventure is based on an  
  early game in the authors' own campaign 
  and has been re-imagined for 
  use in anyone's setting, being expandable 
  with just a little extra work! 
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  TABLE OF CONTENTS 
   
  INTRODUCTION.......................... 
  l 
  BACKGROUND............................ 
  l 
  THE ASTRAL COLLEGE................ 
  2 
  COLLEGE HALL......................... 
  2 
  THE SANCTUM LIBRARIUM............. 2 
  THE COUNCIL OF MAGI................ 
  3 
  SECRET OF THE EGG.................. 
  4 
  NAVIGATING THE EGG................. 
  4 
  LEVEL 1: THE UPPER DECK......... 
  7 
  EPILOGUE AND AFTERMATH........... 14 
  ORIGINAL ENEMIES.................... 14 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
  1 
   
  INTRODUCTION 
   
  This volume is third in an ongoing series of Basement Adventures 
  designed exclusively for Pits & Perils, so named because they imitate the 
  homebrew look and feel of the earliest published scenarios; manually 
  typed in someone's basement, Xeroxed off, stapled, and delivered through 
  amateur channels, sometimes in Ziploc baggies back when the hobby was 
  still new and ultimately the domain of the hobbyist. 
   
  Note that these adventures employ material from all the official 
  supplements, and the referee is encouraged to use them.  However, they 
  are just as free to make substitutions, etc. 
   
  As always, this scenario is just a guide to get started with!  
   
  BACKGROUND 
   
  Something strange is happening in the world.  Savants of the Astral 
  College, a powerful guild of magicians, have been experiencing psychic 
  messages and, sometimes, terrifying visions as an unknown presence 
  reaches out for help.  Worse still, these disembodied messages threaten to 
  disrupt the flow of magic and tear the very fabric of reality itself, 
  bringing chaos and destruction beyond all imagining. 
   
  Luckily, the savants of the College have labored to produce a special 
  crystal capable of locating the source of this distress and safely 
  teleporting an entire party there, although given the mystery, this is a 
  one-way proposition!  To make matters worse, they have insufficient 
  manpower to spare and feel that only an experienced and diverse group 
  has any chance of success, and the odds are slim.   
   
  Having earned a reputation for bravery, the College has sent agents 
  abroad to summon the party and invite them to hear their desperate 
  proposition: namely, travel to the source of the distress, resolve their 
  troubles, and safely return.  They will be paid 6,000 GP and offered 
  whatever equipment they may need, plus a bonus for recovering artifacts 
  for addition to the College's already impressive archives.  A daunting 
  challenge indeed, but the survival of the world is at stake... 
   
   
  
   
  2 
   
  THE ASTRAL COLLEGE 
   
  Understanding that magic could be a danger if misused and fearing 
  persecution from the nobility, the Astral College was founded as a means 
  of organizing magicians and holding them to principled standards of 
  professional conduct.  However, it also seeks to build and leverage its 
  considerable political influence to protect its interests, and this has led 
  to intrigue between the church(es) and noble houses.  
   
  Even so, it mostly works as intended and serves mainly as a guild to 
  support itself through tithes and membership dues, but also as a center of 
  magical research, and part of this means being on guard for magical 
  threats to the kingdoms.  So when the College's savants began receiving 
  psychic messages from an unknown source, the potential threat was taken 
  seriously, and its arch-mages became involved. 
   
  Needless to say, the College has ample resources to recruit and compensate 
  the party for their efforts, and here the game begins. 
   
  COLLEGE HALL 
   
  The party is brought to COLLEGE HALL, given time to rest, and then 
  summoned to a private council to discuss the situation.  Until they depart 
  on their mission, they will be quartered in the guest wing and given 
  whatever reasonable equipment (per the basic list) they need to undertake 
  their quest, including mounts and rations, where necessary. 
   
  THE SANCTUM LIBRARIUM  
   
  Obviously, any higher-level magicians in this setting will already be 
  familiar with the College and may even be acting members.  If not, every 
  effort will be made to recruit them, and one enticement is access to a 
  massive library, the SANCTUM LIBRARIUM, where any member can roll once 
  per month to receive a magical BOON:   
   
  2d6 
  RESULT 
  2-6 Add +10% to all earned experience*  
  7-8 Locate potion (savant) or scroll (magician) 
  9-12 Roll spell/psychic-related dice at +1* 
   
   
  *Bonuses apply to the next adventure only 
   
  Membership dues are 10% of all treasure won, calculated annually, or 
  service of equal value, and indeed, some magicians dedicate their entire 
  lives to such service and work as scribes, etc.  Alternately, one can 
  donate any permanent magic item to stand against dues, per the referee, 
  consistent with the needs of the College and the item being offered. 
  
   
  3 
   
  THE COUNCIL OF MAGI 
   
  Once the party is settled, they will be taken to a secret council of 
  ranking arch-magi.  These will explain that the savants of the College 
  are receiving what appears to be psychic distress signals, usually, 
  visions of a great stone egg coupled with intangible feelings of despair 
  and a sense of imprisonment.  These seem to be centered on a nearby 
  field just a day's journey from the College.  
   
  Thanks to a combined effort, the savants have crafted a psychically 
  attuned crystal capable of teleporting the entire party to the source of 
  distress, although this is only a one-way trip!  This proposition is 
  clearly fraught with risk, but there is a terrible possibility that should 
  these messages become more desperate, they threaten to block all magic, 
  rending the fabric of reality and destroying everything!  
   
  Armed with this knowledge, and with assurances that return will be 
  possible once the summons is answered, the party has (or should) agree to 
  make the trip.  And a prize of 6,000 GP also helps... 
   
  The following ranking members lead the council: 
   
  THELINGUS MAGMERUM is a kindly, but shrewd, old man who fits the 
  classical image of a sorcerer.  He is quite alarmed at the prospect of a 
  psychic power blotting out magic (a sort of static interference), but 
  likewise seeks any knowledge of who or what is causing this phenomenon, 
  going so far as to offer an additional bonus of 4,000 GP if tangible 
  artifacts can be safely brought back. 
   
  WYNONA YLYANA is the College's ARCH-PROPHET or savant.  She appears 
  impossibly old and wise and seems to read the characters before actually 
  speaking to them.  As prophetess, she empathizes with those sending the 
  distress signal as fellow psychics, which they clearly are, and only wants 
  them to be assisted, although she also fears for the fate of the world, 
  supporting the additional reward for any captured artifacts. 
   
  THELINGUS (M/L/INT) AK: 1 (staff) LL: 15 (14 HP) ME: 50' SP: 16 
   
  The arch-mage knows the following spells: Bolt (lightning), Call, Fade, 
  Foil, Hole, Jinx, Mask, Rise, Ruin, Ruse, Stun, Urge, and Ward   
   
  WYNONA (Ms/L/INT/WIS) AK: 1 (staff) LL: 15 (14 HP) ME:50' SP: --  
   
  As a savant, Wynona has no spell points, but is able to perform all 
  psychic abilities without saving dice.  Given their positions, the referee 
  should assume both have access to a wide array of magical items, noting 
  that they prefer negotiation over direct combat in most situations. 
  
   
  4 
   
  Where applicable, the following applies:    
     
  Lawful (L) 
  Strength (STR) 
  Wisdom (WIS) 
  Neutral (N) Dexterity (DEX) 
  Constitution (CON) 
  Chaotic (C) Intelligence (INT) Charisma (CHA) 
   
  SECRET OF THE EGG 
   
  The psychic distress signal originates from an otherworldly source, 
  specifically, a stranded extraterrestrial vessel buried underground and 
  home to a psychically gifted reptilian race (the OVULAK). 
   
  Being a curious race, the Ovulak visited the campaign world to collect 
  specimens of indigenous life, but were totally unprepared for the 
  powerful magic that permeated everything.  Among the captured life forms 
  was a COCKATRICE, which escaped and turned the entire vessel, and all 
  inhabitants, to magical stone!  This happened because their ship (called 
  the EGG) is actually a living organism capable of surviving the rigors of 
  deep space and having a bond with its masters. 
   
  While the Egg is alive, the Ovulak have both machines and robots not 
  affected by the cockatrice, and the latter will target intruders to the 
  vessel, being programmed to eradicate all threats on sight... 
    
  NAVIGATING THE EGG 
   
  Since the Egg is a living thing, no doors are found, and rooms are 
  accessed through membranous (15' diameter) round portals, now frozen in 
  their current state.  Among the non-living artifacts on the ship are 
  metallic cylinders containing alien writing (vital clues for the players 
  to decipher) and devices meant to aid psychic contact. 
   
  Note that the Egg is (apparently) abandoned, and the referee should 
  reinforce a sense of lonely isolation.  Even so, combat encounters exist, 
  and these can be supplemented by random incidents rolled whenever a 
  party lingers in an area marked (E) for more than 1 turn: 
   
  2d6 
  NAME 
  ATTACKS 
  LEVEL 
  MOVE NUMBER SIZE 
  2-6 
  Robot 
  1 
  5 (6 HP) 
  20' 
  1-2 
  M 
  7-9 
  Specimen* 
  -- 
  -- 
  -- 
  -- 
  -- 
  10-11 Voider# 
  1(*) 
  3 (5 HP) 
  50' 
  2-4 
  M 
  12 
  Warmonger 
  4(*) 
  7 (12 HP) 
  30' 
  1 
  H 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  *Any surviving specimen from the lockdown (area 5) 
  #Being ethereal, these were unaffected by the cockatrice 
   
  Assume a 1-3 in 1d6 chance, although these can be assigned as needed... 
  
   
  5 
   
   
   
  
   
  6 
   
   
  
   
  7 
   
  LEVEL 1: THE UPPER DECK 
   
  The party will find themselves in a small stone chamber that should 
  initially be described as an ordinary dungeon.  Over time, however, the 
  referee should introduce increasingly alien elements, including what  
  looks to be screens and strange dials on the walls, now turned to stone 
  through some unknown means.  Smart players, especially sci-fi fans, will 
  quickly identify this as a spaceship, although for realism, the referee 
  should limit their descriptions to medieval terms...     
   
  1 - Unbeknownst to the party, this chamber is a teleportation hub 
  intended for small landing parties to the surface.  The referee should 
  describe a detailed "statue" depicting a pair of reptilian humanoids, 
  possibly some previously unknown deities (?) worshipped by a forgotten 
  cult from ages past.  Both are standing, and wise characters (or those who 
  bother to ask) may detect a hint of surprise in their otherwise alien 
  features, although this is debatable.  
   
  Entrants will appear on a slightly raised and circular dais (the 
  teleportation device), although the walls here are otherwise smooth and 
  devoid of markings beyond the aforementioned alien "statues".  
   
  2 - This lengthy passage was formerly a decontamination chamber, 
  complete with stone pipes and nozzles the referee should try to describe 
  in low-tech terms.  Here, returning parties would be cleansed of any 
  microbial infestations before entering the ship to report their findings 
  and deliver specimens to the lockdown in area 5, below. 
   
  A pair of ROBOTS (best described as golems) are stationed here and 
  immediately target any intruders.  Being non-living, they avoided the 
  magic that turned the rest of the ship to stone, something thoughtful 
  players may pick up on.  These are designed to look much like their alien 
  makers, i.e., slender reptilian humanoids: 
   
  AK: 1 (claws/laser) LL: 5/+1 (7 HP) ME: 20' (--) SE: M/+0 
   
  The robots attack with powerful "claws" and a head-mounted laser 
  effective to a range of 60', but with a minimum of 20', meaning they fire 
  these first before closing in for melee (+1 damage as a golem), being 
  programmed accordingly.  They fight to the end. 
   
  Although provisionally described as golems (or automatons), defeated 
  specimens reveal complex wiring beyond the clockwork-style gears typical 
  of similar constructs.  Each has a small and still-intact optical device 
  that, when looked through, translates any foreign writing by means of a 
  special protocol (treat as a permanent Read spell), although this is left to 
  the players to discover on their own, perhaps with a few small hints. 
  
   
  8 
   
  The optical device (OCULON) is non-functional outside the Egg and fits 
  easily in the palm of a character's hand.    
   
  3 - Here the walls hold unusual runes (alien writing) that can be 
  understood by means of an oculon that translate to read: INFORMATION 
  STORAGE or something similar.  Indeed, there are multiple recesses 
  containing shiny (1' long) cylinders along each one.  These are adorned 
  with a fine script translatable by means of the oculon, although with 
  limited results owing to the technological concepts involved:    
   
  CYLINDER #1: The Egg responds strangely here...   
   
  CYLINDER #2: Search party has returned...  
   
  CYLINDER #3: Unable to stop the strange contagion...  
   
  Optionally, and to heighten the tension and offer clues, any party 
  returning with the reader (from area 4, below) will experience whatever 
  visions the adventure so requires, and this is left to the referee and 
  their players, who can affect the outcome with their actions.    
   
  4 - This small chamber was the living quarters of the librarian, a 
  slender reptilian humanoid now turned to stone and caught in its final 
  pose, rising from what appears to be a desk.  This holds a peculiar 
  helmet-like item that can be pried loose with little effort and may be 
  worn by anyone, including magicians.  There are two rather conspicuous 
  slots above the eyes where the oculons can be fitted to activate the 
  device's true use as a psionic reading apparatus. 
   
  Once assembled, this artifact (known simply as the READER) allows the 
  wearer to handle any cylinder and receive telepathic images related to 
  its contents.  This is a more efficient means of translation, although 
  anyone lacking the intelligence ability must roll saving dice with every 
  use or suffer a debilitating headache that imposes -1 to all dice for 
  several turns thereafter (usually 1d6).  Clever referees can hint at this 
  function by giving limited visions after touching anything...  
   
  The cylinders from 3, above, can be telepathically examined with more 
  dramatic results as per the following: 
   
  CYLINDER #1: A colorful egg-shaped object is seen floating through a 
  black sea of stars, and the user gets a feeling of cosmic vastness that 
  requires saving dice to avoid 1d6 hits from the stress.  
   
  CYLINDER #2:The user receives a vision of oddly clothed reptilian 
  humanoids, identical to the "statues" previously seen, exploring a forest 
  landscape easily recognizable as the surface recently left behind. 
  
   
  9 
   
   
   
  CYLINDER #3: Several of the reptilian humanoids are seen as stone 
  statues, each wearing expressions of surprise, while a small and shadowy 
  thing moves just beyond the user's peripheral vision. 
   
  The above visions relate to the secret of the Egg; the capture and 
  subsequent escape of a cockatrice.  Note that once fully assembled, the 
  reader can no longer decipher written text. 
   
  Once again, the Egg (being a living thing) and its crew were turned to 
  stone, whereas any technological artifacts remained intact... 
   
  5 - The lockdown is a sealed area meant to hold living specimens in 
  cryogenic sleep, and the referee should impart a sense of wonder as the 
  party stumbles into a scene of utter strangeness.  It is stocked with 
  mounted glass cylinders of varying sizes containing life forms taken by 
  the reptilians for eventual study, all of them in a state of suspended 
  animation until their vessels are breached or broken. 
   
  At the center of this squats a massive (12' tall) and vaguely humanoid 
  construct (another robot) with 6 arms ending in articulated claws 
  designed to handle captured specimens.  Once the party spends a full turn 
  here (more than enough time to explore their surroundings), this will 
  activate and attempt to subdue them, treating each as captured specimens 
  per its programming.  It is also incredibly strong:  
   
  AK: 6 (pincers/*) LL: 6/+2 (18 HP) ME: 30' (--) SE: L/(*) 
   
  Being both a robot and large, the COLLECTOR scores +2 damage, although 
  only dealing physical harm every other round.  Otherwise, any successful 
  hit delivers a chemical agent that requires saving dice to avoid a deep 
  cryogenic sleep.  When this happens, the collector envelopes their victim 
  in a polymer casing (glass) and places them on a nearby shelf. 
   
  Searching the chamber turns up 2d6 needles (syringes) used to slowly 
  revive specimens.  As a precaution, it takes an additional 1d6 turns for 
  affected targets to reorient themselves, moving but 10' per round and 
  suffering a penalty of -1 to all dice until the agent leaves the system... 
  
   
  10 
   
  Optionally, and to keep things challenging, destroying the collector 
  generates an explosion dealing 2d6 damage in a 30' radius and releasing 
  alien gasses that revive any sleeping life forms within this range, 
  including characters and 1d6 angry and disoriented specimens taken from 
  the surface for study.  These are always hostile to a party, but suffer 
  penalties per the above rules (-1 to all dice).  
   
  The referee can roll (or choose) one or more enemies from the following, 
  ignoring duplicate results as needed:  
   
  2d6 
  NAME (NUMBER) 
  ATTACKS 
  LEVEL 
  MOVE SIZE 
  2-3 
  Gargoyle (1) 
  3 
  3 (8 HP) 
  30' 
  M/+0 
  4 
  Gremlin (2) 
  1 
  2 (5 HP) 
  30' 
  S/+0 
  5-6 
  Hellhound (1) 
  3 
  4 (7 HP) 
  40' 
  M/+0 
  7 
  Hydra (1) 
  5 
  5 (12 HP) 
  50' 
  L/+1 
  8-9 
  Tarasque (1) 
  8 
  9 (16 HP) 
  40' 
  H/+2 
  10 
  Troll (1) 
  1 
  6 (14 HP) 
  30' 
  L/+1 
  11-12 Wild man (1d6)* 
  1 
  2 (3 HP) 
  50' 
  M/+0 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  *Can be subdued and subsequently reasoned with 
    
  Enemies will either flee into the Egg (1-4 in 1d6) or stand their ground 
  and attack the characters (a 5-6 in 1d6 chance) on sight. 
   
  6 - This small chamber likewise features alien writing on the walls, 
  something that can be interpreted using an oculon or by dismantling the 
  reader to extract them.  Doing so reveals this to be the ARMORY, being 
  stocked with an assortment of items, some familiar (and obviously taken 
  from the surface) and others impossibly strange:   
   
  A wooden chest containing 1,000 GP, 500 SP, and a gem worth 750 GP, the 
  latter set in a choker of elven craft 
   
  One polymer (glass) cylinder holding a BAG OF TRICKS (the reptilians were 
  aware of its strange power and sought to isolate any danger) 
   
  A ragged sack holding 2 POTIONS OF HEALING, 1 POTION OF INSIGHT, and a 
  SCROLL OF KNOW in a bejeweled case worth 100 GP 
   
  Some 1d6 STUN RIFLES, each 3' long, are found here.  These produce the 
  equivalent of a 1st level Stun spell, and players will need to experiment, 
  describing exactly what they are doing and succeeding only when they 
  locate the pump-action lever on its underside that activates the firing 
  mechanism.  Each use requires 1d6 rounds to recharge. 
   
  Note that stun rifles are intended for living targets, but have a chance 
  of disrupting robots (1-2 in 1d6) and producing a similar effect. 
  
   
  11 
   
  7 - Unlike the rest of the level, this small chamber appears to be 
  furnished with reclining couches inexplicably made of stone, although 
  otherwise comfortable.  This can serve as a place to rest, barring 
  intrusion by wandering enemies and the like.  If undisturbed, clerics 
  and magicians can recover lost power here and damage can be healed 
  should provisions hold out that long...   
   
  From this point forward, those employing the reader, and anyone 
  possessing the wisdom ability, will feel a growing sense of some higher 
  intelligence calling out in a voice of despair.  No words are spoken, 
  however, just pure emotion.  This is coupled with the sensation of being 
  watched by a thousand invisible eyes, noting that savants may experience 
  fleeting visions of the Egg and its reptilian crew. 
   
  8 - The walls here are illuminated by what appears to be a green 
  fluorescent algae in long polymer (glass) tubes running parallel to the 
  ground.  This terminates at a high arch flanked on both sides by two 
  massive (6' high) cylinders (similar to those in the lockdown), each holding 
  something obviously powerful within.  These are VOIDERS kept in stasis 
  and activated when intruders come within 10'.     
   
  The cylinders open to release their charges, who attack immediately and 
  without the limitations imposed upon other specimens in the lockdown, 
  being engineered for this purpose.   
   
  AK: 1 (bite) LL: 3/+1 (7 HP) ME: 50' (--) SE: M/+0 
   
  Note that the walls of the Egg, being psychically attuned, are always 
  opaque to these otherwise ethereal creatures and that any captured stun 
  rifles are effective against them.  Spells and/or spell effects from 
  magical items inflict regular damage, as do physical blows from ethereal 
  characters, although such attackers remain subject to the above-stated 
  restrictions on ethereal movement within the Egg. 
   
  Just beyond the archway is a human corpse turned to stone, but clearly 
  dead long before (doubtless at the hands of the hounds).  This has an 
  exquisite AMBER FIGURINE and an ARROW OF SEEKING in a quiver of rusted 
  arrows beyond a grasping hand.  There is nothing else of value.  
   
  9 - The floor of this large circular chamber is a clear polymer that 
  reveals what appears to be a sprawling hive of rounded cubicles peopled 
  with reptilian humanoids, all made of stone and frozen in the act of 
  various tasks.  This is the remainder of the Egg, to include the primary 
  living quarters of the reptilians as seen from far above.      
   
  Note that the polymer cannot be broken or otherwise breached, and that 
  doing so would be a bad idea, as the living quarters are easily 50' below! 
  
   
  12 
   
  10 - An impressive star chart (something immediately recognizable to 
  magicians and anyone with the proper skills) dominates the westernmost 
  wall behind a pair of stone reptilians locked in positions of obvious 
  surprise and looking down at a pair of cylinders.  These carry the same 
  alien writing and can be deciphered in the customary way: 
   
  CYLINDER #1: Strange energy permeates this world... 
   
  CYLINDER #2: Brought a contagion...petrification...antidote from local 
  sample... administer to the Lens of the Eye...  
   
  Deciphering either of these by means of the reader reveals a vision of 
  living reptilians turning to stone, while the second shows the Lens, 
  although no further suggestion is offered.  Otherwise, characters see the 
  lab from area 12, below, coupled with a sense of great urgency.  
   
  Note that the Lens of the Eye refers to area 9, above, this being the 
  central node of the ship, and that spells and potions are useless, being 
  much weaker than the alien solution. 
   
  11 - This smallish storage chamber contains scattered debris, mainly 
  cylinders and other useless effects, although the party should be given a 
  turn or so to see for themselves.  To the rear of this area is a badly 
  disoriented COCKATRICE that comes out charging at the nearest character 
  and turning their unlucky victims into magical stone: 
   
  AK: 1 (bite/*) LL: 2/+0 (6 HP) ME: 20' (--) SE: S/+0  
   
  There is nothing else of interest or value to be found here. 
   
  12 - The writing on the wall translates to LABORATORY, although this 
  should be obvious to anyone, as two long tables filled with beakers and 
  other alchemical implements reveals its purpose.  A MEDICAL ROBOT is 
  stationed in one corner, and this can be activated by use of the reader 
  to heal (by injection) 1d6+1 hits per character or Cure a single ill.   
   
   
  
   
  13 
   
  Note that if the party has the reader, they may "converse" with the 
  medical robot and use it to RESURRECT a single slain character, although 
  doing so negates further healing from this source.   
   
  Several earthly artifacts lay scattered across one table, including a 
  leather sack with 1,200 SP, a MAGIC HELMET, and the ALIEN ANTIDOTE, kept 
  in a polymer vial and easily opened. 
   
  Pouring the full antidote into the Lens reverses the effect within a 
  single round.  The Egg lurches violently such that saving dice are 
  required to remain standing, after which any properly attuned character 
  feels a surge of relief coursing through them.  The walls and floor of 
  the Egg remain hard and metallic, but their color changes, and the stone 
  reptilians seen below revive and start to move about freely.  
   
  Note that the dwellers of the upper deck are immediately aware of the 
  intruders and will flee from any party, being capable of passing through 
  walls by some unknown (psychic) means and putting themselves beyond all 
  communication or violence unless cornered in the lockdown, which is 
  primarily mechanical.  Even then, they come armed with stun rifles that 
  recharge each round in their hands alone:  
   
  AK: 1 (claws/rifle/*) LL: 2/+0 (4 HP) ME: 40' (--) SE: M/+0  
   
  Note that any robots or previously released enemies will continue to 
  attack until the party reaches the brainchamber in 14, below. 
   
  13 - This area serves as a warehouse and contains many large silver 
  containers that cannot be opened through any known means and contain a 
  payload important enough to be guarded by a WARMONGER: 
   
  AK: 4 (claws/laser/*) LL: 7/+2 (14 HP) ME: 30' (--) SE: H/+2  
   
  This combat robot first attacks with a mounted laser that delivers an 
  automatic 3d6 damage divided between all targets in front of it and 
  within its maximum range of 30'.  Thereafter, it employs its 4 mechanical 
  arms to deadly effect, noting that these have a reach of 20', giving it 
  considerable range within the smaller room.  This can move easily over 
  any fallen debris using its versatile tractor-like wheels.  
   
  14 - The BRAINCHAMBER has another star chart and, if entered before 
  restoring the Egg, radiates the same despair.  Once the Egg is restored, 
  however (and the cockatrice is defeated), the reptilians appear to the 
  characters in holographic form, answer any questions, and then offer to 
  teleport the party back to the surface.  Of course, the characters may 
  wish to remain and explore distant planets, and an ambitious referee can 
  expand the Egg accordingly.  The sky is quite literally the limit! 
  
   
  14 
   
  EPILOGUE AND AFTERMATH 
   
  The party is teleported to the surface, where a massive egg-shaped 
  starship hovers above the ground, shimmering with many lights before 
  launching suddenly skyward... 
   
  Thelingus is visibly relieved that the party has returned safely and 
  reveals that the reptilians (identified as Ovulaks) have gifted him with a 
  cylinder to be deciphered by Wynona and her savants, a prize of great 
  worth that satisfies the contract in full.   
   
  ORIGINAL ENEMIES 
   
  This adventure introduces several new enemies, including an alien 
  outsider race that requires more attention.  These are described in the 
  text and in greater detail below: 
   
  NAME 
  ATTACKS LEVEL MOVE SIDE SIZE NUMBER TREASURE  
  Collector 
  6(*) 
  6 
  30' 
  N 
  L 
  1 
  -- 
  Ovulak 
  1 
  2 
  40' 
  L 
  M 
  2-12 
  -- 
  Warmonger 
  4(*) 
  7 
  30' 
  N 
  H 
  1-2 
  (*) 
   
  COLLECTOR robots are large (12' tall) and easily as strong as a giant, 
  being designed to subdue and catalogue living specimens of varying sizes 
  for later study.  Because they are large and specially enhanced, they 
  deliver +2 damage, but normally only strike to kill targets every other 
  combat round, alternately using a cryogenic suspension that requires 
  saving dice to avoid being put into deep sleep and encased in a specially 
  made cylinder that is hard to break without magic. 
   
  Recovering from cryogenic sleep requires 1d6 turns during which the 
  victim moves 10' and rolls all dice at -1.  Some (1-2 in 1d6) explode when 
  destroyed for 2d6 damage within a 30' radius.    
     
  OVULAKS are reptilian humanoids from a distant star system.  They are 
  naturally telepathic within 1 mile and employ a technology based on a mix 
  of regular science and the psychic manipulation of genetics, exploring 
  the universe in gigantic EGGS which are themselves alive and feed upon a 
  living world and even the stuff of deep space.  They can move easily 
  through these Eggs, going so far as to rearrange their molecules to pass 
  freely across the membranous walls beyond all pursuit. 
   
  Common Ovulak ROBOTS follow the rules, but WARMONGERS are built for 
  outright warfare.  The latter move on tractor-like wheels over all 
  terrain and employ a laser (30' range) first that deals 3d6 damage divided 
  between all targets in front of it and within range, closing to fight 
  using four articulated "claws" that have an impressive reach of 20' each. 
  
   
  15 
   
  REFEREE'S NOTES 
   
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Pits & Perils (osr)/Pits & Perils Adventures & Settings/Pits & Perils Basement Adventure #3 The Serpentine Egg.pdf