TEXT: THE THUNDER BELOW
  An adventure for four 17th-level characters
  CREDITS
  Design:  JAMES JACOBS
  Editor:  DALE DONOVAN
  Editorial Assistance:  MIRANDA HORNER, PENNY WILLIAMS
  Typesetting:  NANCY WALKER
  Cartography:  TODD GAMBLE
  Web Production:  JULIA MARTIN
  Web Development:  MARK A. JINDRA
  Graphic Design:  SEAN GLENN, CYNTHIA FLIEGE
  Based on the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and on the new edition of the 
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game designed by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, and Peter Adkison.
  Table of Contents
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  ®
  1
  Introduction ..................................................................2
  Preparation ...................................................................2
  Adventure Background .................................................2
  Adventure Synopsis ......................................................4
  Starting the  Adventure ................................................4
  Sarwin Village ...............................................................5
  Searching the Village ................................................5
  Specific Clues ...........................................................7
  Tracking the Culprits ................................................8
  Using Magic .............................................................8
  Research ...................................................................9
  Tanya’s Tale .............................................................10
  What Next? .................................................................12
  Routes to  Sarwin Castle ............................................12
  Encounter Areas .........................................................14
  The Orc Camp (EL 23+) .............................................14
  Sarwin Castle ..............................................................19
  Timeline ..................................................................19
  The Invaders of Sarwin Castle ...............................21
  Tiboquoboc..............................................................21
  Alraugh ....................................................................24
  Irika .........................................................................26
  Muraxus ..................................................................27
  Lzierabel ..................................................................30
  Sarwin Castle Features ...............................................34
  Encounter Areas in Sarwin Castle .............................34
  Ground Floor ..........................................................34
  Second Floor ...........................................................44
  Tower Levels ...........................................................53
  Dungeon Level ........................................................61
  The Stasis Chambers .............................................63
  Concluding the Adventure .........................................66
  
  INTRODUCTION
  “The Thunder Below” is a DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® adven-
  ture that can easily accommodate larger groups of PCs, and
  it can handle parties of 15th or 16th level or even 19th or
  20th level, once a few adjustments are made. (See the “Scal-
  ing the Adventure” sidebar.) Lower level parties need more
  time to recover between adventures, while higher level or
  larger parties require less time but gain fewer experience
  points than would lower level characters.
  This adventure is “world-neutral” and designed to be
  dropped into any campaign with little modification.
  Names of large cities, famous NPCs, and the like are kept
  generic so you can replace them as necessary. Names of
  deities are taken from the Player’s Handbook, but you can
  substitute the names of equivalent deities from your own
  campaign. You should also adjust this scenario as you see
  fit to account for the heroes’ past activities; make it seem a
  homegrown part of your campaign. Ideally, you can fore-
  shadow the events of this adventure by having player char-
  acters travel to the village of Sarwin before it suffers the
  terrible doom at the start of this scenario, or you can even
  have them meet and interact with various members of the
  Sarwin family before things fall apart. Their return to
  Sarwin and Sarwin Castle can be much more dramatic
  with a little planning.
  This adventure features several opportunities for the
  party to bite off more than it can chew. Most of the foes are
  long-time allies and they fight well together. To prevail,
  players should expect to have their characters make multi-
  ple attempts against their enemies and possibly whittle
  down their foes’ defenses over the course of several attacks
  before swooping in for the final blow. Keep in mind,
  though, that a deadline is detailed later in the adventure
  under the Timeline section. In short, the players have
  approximately six days to stop Tiboquoboc the ghostly orc
  druid from raising the Thunder Below.
  PREPARATION
  Before you run “The Thunder Below,” you should have a
  copy of the three core rulebooks (the Player’s Handbook,
  the DUNGEON MASTER’s Guide, and the Monster Manual).
  This adventure also makes use of many monsters and
  prestige classes found in other Wizards of the Coast
  products, such as the Monster Manual II, the Fiend Folio,
  the Manual of the Planes, and Masters of the Wild. When
  material from these books is used, enough information is
  included in the text to allow you to run the encounter
  with ease, or suggestions on how to replace this material
  with information found in the core books is given. All
  material drawn from earlier sources has been updated to
  be fully compliant with the newest edition of the game.
  You should note that this adventure introduces two
  minor artifacts (the sky key and a book of infinite spells) and
  two major artifacts (the stasis scepter and the skytower portal).
  These artifacts are quite powerful, and you should be famil-
  iar with the powers they grant to their users before run-
  ning the adventure. Honorable PCs won’t try to claim any
  of these artifacts for their own, although using them in the
  course of the adventure is certainly acceptable (and in
  some cases required for success). Once the adventure ends,
  the PCs should allow the artifacts to remain in the posses-
  sion of the Sarwin family. Those who do not and try to
  claim them as their own do so at their own risk, for the
  spirits of Annah and Zebulahr Sarwin soon learn of the
  theft of their creations, as detailed in the section Conclud-
  ing the Adventure.
  ADVENTURE
  BACKGROUND
  Although a small settlement, Sarwin is old and steeped in
  tradition. Founded nearly 600 years ago by the cohorts and
  adventuring companions of the newly wedded Annah and
  Zebulahr Sarwin, the village sprung up overnight. With
  their powerful magic and well-trained minions, the Sar-
  wins easily repulsed the uncoordinated hordes of orcs and
  giants that assaulted the region after every spring thaw.
  Likewise, their presence quelled the frequent earthquakes
  that had plagued the region. Today, the orcs and giants are
  a distant memory, and the few earthquakes to strike the
  region have been minor and explained to the children of
  Sarwin as “underground thunder,” or long-delayed echoes
  of ancient battles between the orcs and giants.
  Since that time, the people of Sarwin have known peace
  and relative quiet (with the exception of those increasingly
  rare earthquakes). Although Annah and Zebulahr have
  long since passed away, their family line has remained
  strong and it has held the estate with efficiency and grace,
  much to the appreciation of the folk of Sarwin. Little do
  the villagers know the true nature behind the earthquakes
  or the source of the orcs’ obsession with the region . . . that
  the Sarwin family has been keeping a terrifying secret
  from them for the past six centuries.
  It was not by chance that Annah and Zebulahr chose
  this remote location to retire. In one of their final adven-
  tures, the Sarwins defeated a powerful cult of orcs that
  worshiped an ancient being known as Ubothar, the Thun-
  der Below. The Sarwins knew that Ubothar was not a
  deity, but an immense creature of awesome power that
  had slumbered for eons deep beneath the site of the orc
  cult temple, and that the leader of these orcs, a powerful
  druid named Tiboquoboc, was close to finishing a com-
  plex ritual that would not only let him awaken the Thun-
  der Below, but also allow him to control and direct its
  actions. Fortunately, the Sarwins defeated the orc cult
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  2
  
  before this calamity took place. They destroyed the nearly
  completed artifact, but they could do nothing about the
  lingering threat of the Thunder Below.
  So instead, they chose to become its jailers. They retired
  and built their castle over the slumbering beast’s home. If
  left alone, they knew that Ubothar would sleep until the
  end of the world. They intended merely to prevent others
  from attempting to follow in Tiboquoboc’s footsteps. They
  passed on this information to their children when they
  grew old enough, and eventually to their grandchildren,
  but impressed upon them the importance to keep the exis-
  tence of Ubothar secret. If no one knew of the beast’s exis-
  tence, then no one could try to awaken it.
  And so time passed. Annah and Zebulahr eventually
  passed away, and generations of Sarwins continued to
  dwell in the castle, providing for the village down in the
  valley below and helping to repel the armies of orcs that
  periodically tried to reclaim their ancestral homes. Eventu-
  ally, the orcs forgot about Ubothar, only knowing that they
  once dwelt where the Sarwins dwell now. Therefore, the
  situation would have progressed for untold centuries
  more, except for the curiosity of one young wizard.
  Arezi Sarwin was unusually smart, even as a child. By
  age nine, she had already mastered several wizard cantrips,
  and even the sleep spell. Unfortunately, with her gifted
  intellect came a strong sense of egoism and selfishness. As
  the youngest child in a family of seven children, her par-
  ents (already burdened with the responsibilities of protect-
  ing a large village from orcs and other monstrous invaders)
  had little time to devote to her. They noted her intelli-
  gence and called in the best tutors they could, but invari-
  ably, Arezi grew bored with their lessons and used her
  cantrips and sleep spell to wreak havoc with them. By age
  12, she had humiliated and driven off enough tutors that
  her parents could no longer find anyone willing to take
  the job. Exasperated, they finally decided to let the preco-
  cious young girl “teach herself” by letting her have full
  access to the family libraries. For several years, this seemed
  to be the ideal solution.
  If they had paid closer attention, Arezi’s parents would
  likely have noticed the shift in Arezi’s attitude. As it was,
  she was free to become increasingly bored and frustrated
  with life in the remote location. By the time she turned 15,
  Arezi had already read all the tomes in the castle libraries
  many times over and had spent many long hours exploring
  the surrounding countryside on her own. She wanted
  nothing more than to be away from her dull family, to
  study under a famous archmage in the capital city perhaps,
  or to go on grand adventures like her ancestors did.
  On her 17th birthday Arezi discovered the secret door
  in the rooms below Castle Sarwin. Intrigued, she explored
  and quickly realized she had stumbled upon something
  big. She made her way through several ancient chambers,
  bypassing numerous deadly traps through a combination
  of sheer luck and the fact that some of them were keyed to
  allow a Sarwin to pass safely, and finally came to a large
  room dominated by a seemingly bottomless pit. Throwing
  caution to the wind, she used a levitate spell and stepped
  into the pit to see where it went.
  The descent took much longer than she anticipated,
  and for the first time she began to think that she might be
  in over her head. Just when panic was about to set in, she
  reached the bottom of the shaft: a strange shallow dome of
  what looked like purple stone. She only had a moment to
  wonder why the dome seemed to be moving slightly, as if
  with a monstrous heartbeat, before she fell victim to the
  evil that had been lurking in the pit’s depths for over 600
  years.
  In a heartbeat, the ghost of Tiboquoboc, the ancient orc
  druid who had lingered in the depths of Sarwin Castle for
  these six centuries, possessed Arezi. He had little problem
  taking over Arezi’s body and ransacked her memories to
  piece together what had happened over the last several
  hundred years. He was enraged to learn that not only had
  his tribe been forced to flee their ancestral lands and eke
  out an existence in the harsh mountains to the north for
  the past six centuries, but that Ubothar, which he had
  come to view as the personification of the destructive
  forces of nature, had remained imprisoned and slumbering
  for this span of time as well.
  So, Tiboquoboc wasted no time in rebuilding his plans,
  this time in the form of a young human wizard. His desire
  to awaken Ubothar had grown over the years; he believed
  that the lands of the southern nations, now dominated by
  humanity, were the rightful lands of the orcs. By awaken-
  ing Ubothar, he hoped to destroy these nations so he could
  rebuild them as he willed. So he stole what treasure he
  could from the castle above to finance his plans, and then
  fled using his druidic magic to regain control over the scat-
  tered orc tribes to the north.
  It took the ghost only a few months to unite the orc
  tribes, even with his somewhat incongruous new appear-
  ance. His major coup here was securing the near-blind
  devotion of a powerful orc chieftain named Alraugh (in no
  small part due to a gift of a powerful falchion Tiboquoboc
  built especially for the orc chieftain); with his support,
  gaining control of the scattered Ironmaw Orcs was a rela-
  tively simple task. Tiboquoboc was pleased to discover that
  his people’s relocation to the mountains hundreds of years
  ago had bred into them an unheard-of hardiness and
  strength, and that many of the orcs of these northern
  tribes were powerful barbarians. 
  Yet, Tiboquoboc knew that a group of barbarians alone
  couldn’t guarantee his success in an attempt to retake Sarwin
  and awaken Ubothar. He was also delighted to find that one
  of his allies from 600 years ago, a now-powerful green dragon
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  3
  
  named Alorzulan, still lived and was willing
  to rekindle old ties. He continued to seek out
  other powerful allies who shared his hatred of
  the southern human nations, creating more
  magic weapons to bring pain and harm to
  humanity as gifts in return for their aid.
  Within only a few years, he was ready for his
  revenge against the Sarwins.
  In the three years since her vanishing,
  Arezi’s family had done everything in their
  power to locate their missing daughter, but
  to no avail; Tiboquoboc’s indomitable will
  and powerful magic prevented all magical
  attempts to divine her location. They had
  given her up for lost by the time she
  returned to Sarwin. “She” lured the Sarwins
  into an ambush, and slew them all before
  she turned her attention to the village of
  Sarwin. The orc barbarians surged through
  the village, quickly overwhelming it and
  slaughtering everyone they found there.
  The strongest resistance Tiboquoboc
  encountered didn’t manifest until the ghost
  tried to reenter Castle Sarwin. The deaths of
  the current rulers of the region triggered a
  host of powerful wards and called in several
  powerful elemental beings to guard key
  areas of the castle; Annah and Zebulahr had
  foreseen that their family might one day
  lose control of the site, and in anticipation
  of this event, created these latent effects in
  the castle to protect it during just such a
  development. For the last several days, Tibo-
  quoboc and his most valued minions have
  slowly but surely been penetrating farther
  into the dangerous castle and are closer
  than ever to reaching the Pit of Ubothar
  below the castle and finally realizing the
  end to her terrible quest . . . the awakening
  of Ubothar itself!
  ADVENTURE
  SYNOPSIS
  This adventure begins when the party
  arrives in the ruined, empty village of
  Sarwin. Investigation of the town shows
  that it recently has been attacked by what
  appears to be a large band of orcs. Further
  investigation reveals the fact that these orcs are still lurk-
  ing in the area, and that the large castle overlooking the
  entire region has been invaded by these enemies. Once
  they realize things aren’t as they seem in Sarwin, the PCs
  can learn much about the situation, either through divina-
  tion magic, interrogation of captured orc prisoners, or old-
  fashioned observation and investigation.
  Eventually, they realize that a powerful group of orcs
  led by what appears to be a female human druid/wizard is
  trying to accomplish something terrible in the castle
  itself. The elemental wards surrounding the castle make
  approaching it from the air difficult, and the orcs have
  erected powerful defenses at the main entrance. An
  observant party discovers a little-used secret entrance to
  the castle that allows them to gain entry relatively unno-
  ticed by Tiboquoboc’s forces and the elemental guardians
  of the castle.
  Once inside, the party members find themselves in the
  midst of an ongoing battle between Tiboquoboc’s minions
  and the elemental guardians of the castle, neither of which
  take kindly to the group’s intrusion into the place. The
  party’s ultimate goal should be to stop Tiboquoboc, prefer-
  ably by destroying the ghost without killing Arezi. 
  STARTING THE 
  ADVENTURE
  The Thunder Below begins when the party arrives at the
  empty, ruined village of Sarwin. The fact that the village is
  so remote, combined with the fact that Tiboquoboc has
  kept the movements of his small but highly trained strike
  force fairly limited and small in scope, has kept their activ-
  ities hidden from the world at large. The party’s exact rea-
  sons for visiting Sarwin can vary, as long as they arrive at
  the village after Tiboquoboc’s forces have already
  destroyed the village. You should arrange for their arrival
  in the village to correspond with sunset, to make their first
  view of the ruined hamlet more moody and sinister.
  Alternatively, if one of the characters in the party is a
  ranger, druid, or other character attuned with the natural
  world, she could receive a terrifying dream or vision in which
  she sees a strange, tattooed human woman floating above a
  deep pit in an underground room. As the vision progresses,
  the woman begins chanting and gesticulating wildly, and an
  image of an ancient orc seems to become superimposed over
  her figure. Suddenly, a flash of brilliant light leaps from the
  pit and the character has a momentary glimpse of something
  unimaginably huge lurching to life in the pit’s depths. At this
  point, the character awakens or recovers from the vision, but
  the experience fills her with almost overwhelming terror and
  despair. After a few minutes, these feelings lessen into little
  more than disturbing memories, but the character retains a
  sense of urgency and feels a strange pulling against her mind
  and perhaps her soul. Following this pull eventually brings
  the character to the ruins of Sarwin.
  If you intend to run this adventure as part of an on-
  going campaign, you can introduce Sarwin earlier in the
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  4
  Scaling the Adventure
  The majority of the villains
  encountered in this adventure
  are monsters that have advanced
  beyond their basic number of Hit
  Dice, or creatures that have
  gained class levels. You can
  adjust the adventure for lower- or
  higher-level characters by simply
  adjusting these extra Hit Dice or
  class levels. For every level above
  or below 17, you should adjust
  extra Hit Dice by four and class
  levels by one. Adjusting the
  number of creatures encoun-
  tered can also quickly adjust the
  encounter level.
  Many of the locks in this
  adventure assume that PCs take
  20 on Open Lock checks to open
  them; if the rogues in your party
  are higher level or lower level
  than 17th, you may need to
  adjust the Open Lock DCs up or
  down by one per level of differ-
  ence. Likewise, many other skill
  check DCs (particularly those for
  Disable Device checks) may
  need similar adjustments.
  Remember, if you run this
  adventure for less- or more-pow-
  erful characters, you may need
  to adjust the level of treasure
  given as well. “The Thunder
  Below” has a somewhat higher
  amount of treasure to be gained
  than the standard 17th-level
  adventure (mostly because of
  the large number of NPCs with
  gear who are encountered, but
  also partially due to the fact that
  there are some nice stashes of
  loot an honorable or good party
  isn’t expected to keep), so you
  will not have to make as many
  adjustments for higher-level
  characters as you may for those
  of lower levels. As always, make
  sure that the amount of wealth
  you hand out to the characters is
  in line with the standards of your
  campaign.
  
  campaign when the party is lower level. Perhaps they pass
  through the town while traveling. They may even be
  friends with or related to someone who lives in or has
  recently retired to Sarwin. Then, later in the campaign
  when you wish to run this adventure, the return to Sarwin
  will be more dramatic, and the group may have more emo-
  tional investment in rescuing Arezi and repelling the
  invaders from the region.
  SARWIN VILLAGE
  You should place Sarwin somewhere just beyond the
  fringe of civilization in your campaign world, preferably
  nestled between a large mountain range and vast, dense
  woodlands in a temperate or even sub arctic region. In the
  GREYHAWK® world, Sarwin could be located in the foothills
  of the Griff Mountains in or the Rakers, near Timberway
  Forest. In the FORGOTTEN REALMS® setting, the village
  could be located somewhere along the northern fringe of
  the Lurkwood. Sarwin’s environs are wild and even dan-
  gerous, but until Tiboquoboc’s recent assault, the Sarwin
  family has been more than equal to the job of protecting
  the village from this danger.
  Until very recently, Sarwin was a relaxed but thriving
  hamlet consisting of about 36 buildings, including a trad-
  ing post called “Aaron’s General Store,” a church dedicated
  to Pelor (or an equivalent deity, such as Lathander in the
  FORGOTTEN REALMS campaign), a mill, and the only two-
  story building in town—a combination inn and tavern
  called “The Hawk and Mouse.” Water for the village was
  provided for by several deep wells, and food came from a
  large community garden in the southwest reach of the vil-
  lage and from animals caught by local hunters. Most of the
  villagers lived as trappers or worked at the mill. A large and
  well-defended caravan arrived monthly to pick up furs and
  timber and to restock the general store, the tavern, and the
  mill with necessary gear and supplies.
  Life in Sarwin was simple, but sadly, those times are
  gone forever.
  Tiboquoboc led his small band of orc barbarians and
  other monstrous killers down into the village on a moon-
  less night three days before the party arrived in Sarwin.
  The assault was brutal, quick, and efficient. Those villagers
  who weren’t slain were rounded up and taken by the orcs,
  while the bodies of the dead were given over to Alorzulan,
  the green dragon with which Tiboquoboc forged an
  alliance. Those few villagers who still survive are now held
  prisoner in the orc camp near Sarwin Castle.
  The characters need to piece together what happened in
  Sarwin before the adventure can progress. Several methods
  of investigation and spells can be used, and such efforts typ-
  ically yield the results detailed in the following sections.
  SEARCHING THE VILLAGE
  Tiboquoboc knows from his months of secret observation
  of the village that the next supply caravan isn’t due in town
  for another three weeks, and he hopes to be done with the
  rituals of awakening long before then. Nonetheless, he
  knows that if the outside world finds out what happened,
  opposition to his actions won’t be far behind. In an attempt
  to stave off such intervention, one of Tiboquoboc’s first
  orders after his minions successfully devastated Sarwin
  was to have them gather the dead and do what they could
  to hide what happened in town. Unfortunately, the assault
  was a tad destructive (as most assaults by orc barbarians,
  giants, and dragons tend to be), and hiding the devastation
  was impossible. 
  Tiboquoboc then decided to make it appear that the vil-
  lage had been the target of an attack by a group of druids.
  He subjected the village to an earthquake spell and a few
  flame strikes to add to the damage, and then he had the
  monsters cover up their tracks and traces of their passage
  as best they could. He knew that the subterfuge wouldn’t
  hold up under close observation, but neither did he want
  to spare the time and energy to do a better job when he
  could be awakening Ubothar.
  As a result, when the party arrives at Sarwin, it is obvi-
  ous the place is empty and has been recently attacked. Sev-
  eral buildings are wholly or partially collapsed, and large
  scorch marks scar surviving buildings and the ground in
  many places. Yet no bodies of the inhabitants or even any
  domesticated animals are in sight.
  Searching the ruined village is a major task. Taking 10
  with a Search check on the entire village (including all
  buildings except the nearby mill) would take a character
  well over 10 hours of work. It’s more likely that the charac-
  ters narrow their search to specific portions of the town. In
  any case, whenever a character searches a location in
  Sarwin, ask for a Search check. As the player rolls, you
  should make a secret d% roll to determine if a potential
  clue exists in that particular location.
  Searching Outside: If a character searches a location out-
  side, there’s a 20% chance that the character’s immediate
  surroundings hide a clue. If a character searches a burnt
  area, any potential clues have been destroyed. The burnt
  areas themselves are actually clues, though. A character
  who thinks to make a Knowledge (arcana) check against
  these scorch marks can learn with a successful check (DC
  25) that this damage was caused by magical or supernatural
  fire. Likewise, a character who thinks to make a Knowl-
  edge (nature) check can learn with a successful check (DC
  25) that the damage was most likely not caused by natural
  effects.
  Searching Minor Buildings: If a character searches one of
  the many buildings in Sarwin, there is a 40% chance that
  the building has a clue.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  5
  
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  6
  
  Searching Major Buildings: If a character searches the
  general store, the mill, or the Hawk and Mouse Tavern,
  there’s a 100% chance that a clue waits to be found in the
  region. Note also that each of these locations shelters an
  additional unique clue. No clues at all are in the church.
  If a clue is nearby, the nature of the clue discovered
  depends on the result of the character’s Search check. Each
  location that yields a clue can yield only a single clue . . .
  further checks on that same particular location turn up
  nothing new. The exception to this rule is each major
  building; up to six separate clues can be discovered in each
  of these buildings (although duplicate clues are possible).
  Search Check
  Result
  Clue Discovered
  20 or less
  No clue discovered.
  21–25
  Tracks: The character discovers a few strange
  tracks on the ground. A character with the Track
  feat can determine more information from tracks,
  as detailed in the next section.
  26-30
  Minor Battle Evidence: The character discovers
  something: a partially cleaned-away swath of
  blood against a wall, a forgotten severed body part
  that rolled behind a rock, or a dropped dagger
  caked with blood. A successful Heal check (DC
  21) determines that the blood or body part is only
  a few days old. These body parts and weapons are
  from now-dead villagers.
  31–35
  Major Battle Evidence: This is like a result of 26–30
  above, except that the body part or weapon is
  from one of the attacking orcs. The major differ-
  ence here is that this fragment can be used to scry
  upon a living creature (see Using Magic to
  Unravel the Mystery below).
  36–40
  Bone and Gristle Fetish: This fetish should be found
  in a tuft of dense grass, or perhaps behind a piece
  of furniture where it bounced after it fell unno-
  ticed. This fetish is detailed below under the
  section on Specific Clues. No more than six of
  these fetishes can be found.
  41–45
  Strange Green Scale: This scale could be found at
  the bottom of an open rain barrel, or kicked
  absently under a porch. It is detailed in full under
  the section on Specific Clues. No more than 3 of
  these scales can be found.
  46 or more
  Dull Yellow Feather: This feather can be found only
  once, and it is detailed in full under the section on
  Specific Clues. Only one of these 
  feathers can be found.
  SPECIFIC CLUES
  Player characters can discover the following three clues
  anywhere in Sarwin.
  Bone and Gristle Fetish: The orc barbarians carry numer-
  ous fetishes into battle, either woven into their hair, as
  body piercings, or tied to weapons. Although the shape of
  each fetish is different, they are all the same style of work-
  manship. A successful Knowledge (local) check (DC 20)
  reveals that the fetish is of orc manufacture. If this check
  makes a DC of 30, the character also realizes that the fetish
  is not crafted in the style of any current orc tribes of the
  region. Once this information comes to light, a successful
  Knowledge (history) or bardic knowledge check (DC 30)
  reveals that the style of fetish is identical to those used
  over 600 years ago by the now (supposedly) extinct Iron-
  maw tribe. Further details on the Ironmaw tribe are in the
  section below on Researching the Enemy.
  Dull Yellow Feather: This feather fell from Irika’s wing
  during the battle. A successful Knowledge (nature) check
  (DC 30) correctly identifies it as a harpy’s feather.
  Strange Green Scale: This scale fell from one of Alorzu-
  lan’s chimera minions. A successful Knowledge (arcana)
  check (DC 30) correctly identifies this scale as a chimera’s
  scale, although it does not reveal the fact that the chimera
  it came from is significantly more dangerous than the stan-
  dard chimera.
  The following locations each harbor additional specific
  clues.
  Church and Cemetery: Muraxus the aranea was sent alone
  into the church to assassinate Sarwin’s resident priests (all
  four of them) several minutes before the attack, to prevent
  the use of clerical magic to defend against the assault. The
  aranea was so efficient in his duties here that the church
  and cemetery suffered no damage in the attack and seem
  almost untouched. No clues as to the nature of the attacks
  are here, apart from the fact that a large cupboard in the
  back hangs open and empty. This cupboard once con-
  tained several healing potions and scrolls that Muraxus
  stole after assassinating the clerics; they fed the bodies to
  the chimeras.
  Mill: Alorzulan and his chimera minions attacked the
  mill exclusively. As a result, the mill is corroded and
  ruined. Characters who sift through the rubble here and
  make a successful Knowledge (arcana) check (DC 30) come
  to the conclusion that some sort of dragon (most likely a
  green dragon) participated in this attack. Additionally, a
  character who investigates the immediate surroundings in
  search of tracks can discover an overgrown trail that leads
  into the woods to the west of the mill. A successful Survival
  check (DC 30) discovers this track, which eventually leads
  to Castle Sarwin (see Taking the Back Road below).
  Aaron’s General Store: This place has been completely
  cleared out by the orc marauders, who gathered up the
  supplies stored here to outfit their camp. The general store
  itself was owned and run by a retired soldier named Aaron.
  When the orcs attacked, Aaron fell back on his training
  and organized many of the villagers into fighting back
  against the overwhelming forces. Aaron still lives, having
  been captured. A successful Search check (DC 30) behind
  the counter uncovers a cleverly hidden panel in the floor-
  boards that was missed by the Ironmaw orcs. Aaron kept a
  small nest-egg of treasure here for emergencies; this stash
  consists of three leather bags of 200 gp each and a ring of
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  7
  
  protection +1 awarded to him upon retiring. Aaron kept the
  ring secreted in here so it wouldn’t get lost. 
  The Hawk and Mouse: The majority of the battle took
  place in and near this tavern/inn; here the villagers of
  Sarwin made an attempt to rally, only to be slain in one fell
  swoop when Alorzulan blanketed the area with several
  cloudkill spells. Anyone who enters the Hawk and Mouse
  immediately recognizes the telltale stink of decaying flesh
  wafting down from the upper floor. The PCs can find the
  source of this stink in one of the upper rooms if they make
  a successful Search check (DC 20); hidden in a secret
  closet is the badly decayed and poison-bloated body of a
  halfling traveler named Tanya Silverdusk. She hid in here
  as the orcs and other creatures attacked the village, but suc-
  cumbed to the poison gas. The marauders missed her body
  on their search and have not been back since to notice the
  stink. Her body still wears her equipment; a shortbow +1, 20
  arrows, a dagger, masterwork studded leather armor, and
  an amulet of natural armor +1. Recovering Tanya’s body can
  provide the characters with significant information if they
  use speak with dead or restore her to life.
  TRACKING THE CULPRITS
  A character with the Track feat can attempt to search for
  tracks in the area. It has been three days since the attack,
  and the orcs have taken pains to cover their tracks, but
  the battle itself was large. The ground in Sarwin and the
  surrounding region is firm. A successful Survival check
  (DC 20) made anywhere in the vicinity of Sarwin uncov-
  ers a few isolated tracks here and there. It’s obvious that
  the tracks have been partially covered. There’s a 20%
  chance per successful Survival check made in this way
  that one of the tracks uncovered is that of a giant’s or
  dragon’s making.
  Attempting to follow the tracks out of the village is
  more difficult. The group of marauders left Sarwin to the
  west, carefully avoiding the road and straying from the
  stony ground there (hard ground for purposes of tracking)
  only when necessary. Although they numbered about 20
  in all (including the frost giant rangers), they took pains to
  cover their path. Additionally, Tiboquoboc used a control
  weather spell to blanket the path with rain for 24 hours.
  Since it has been at least three days, the Survival check to
  track the marauders from Sarwin up to the orc camp
  requires a successful check against a DC of 45.
  USING MAGIC
  High-level characters have numerous options available to
  them to aid their investigation. This section details what
  sorts of information they can unveil with the aid of spells. 
  Clone: Since the bits of flesh the characters can find in
  Sarwin (including Tanya’s body) are decomposing and not
  from a living body, this spell cannot be used to restore life
  to any of the villagers. 
  Commune: This powerful spell can be of great assistance
  to the party in unraveling what happened in Sarwin.
  Depending upon the questions asked, the party can learn
  anything about the situation in the region quite quickly.
  As a general rule, you should use the results of these
  answers to guide the characters to investigate Sarwin
  Castle, to provide them with warnings or advice on how to
  prepare for the battles ahead of them, or to further drive
  home the point that they are working against the clock.
  Every second they delay puts Tiboquoboc 1 second closer
  to reaching the Pit of Ubothar and awakening the ancient
  menace below Sarwin Castle.
  Commune with Nature: Since Tiboquoboc and his min-
  ions are currently housed within the walls of Sarwin Castle,
  they cannot be directly sensed with this spell. If the caster
  tries to detect the presence of powerful unnatural creatures
  in the region, he detects a strange and disturbing presence
  that infuses the flora and fauna of the entire area. This taint
  feels strange, alien, and impatient, and gives the caster the
  feeling of imminent doom. This sensation is caused by the
  taint of Ubothar’s ancient presence in the region.
  Contact Other Plane: As commune, above.
  Discern Location: If the caster has been to Sarwin before
  or knows one of its inhabitants (or even one of the inhabi-
  tants of the castle), this spell can locate the person if he or
  she still lives. Note that all the Sarwins except for Arezi are
  dead, and Arezi herself (although possessed by Tibo-
  quoboc) is in Castle Sarwin for the majority of this adven-
  ture. If this spell is used to locate a surviving villager (such
  as Aaron), the spell guides the caster to the orc camp.
  Divination: If someone casts a divination to aid their
  efforts, you should use the opportunity to drive home the
  point that the party is operating under a deadline of only a
  few days. You can provide the caster with the following
  cryptic phrase when this spell is cast, modified as needed
  to fit the specific parameters of the divination in question:
  “That which was dead treads the path of the living after thirty
  score of slumber, carried on the soul of an innocent and bound to
  the will of a slumbering legacy. Return the dead to death and the
  living to life, lest the Thunder Below waken to rend the world.”
  Find the Path: Note that for this spell to function, the
  caster must indicate a specified destination. Using this
  spell to find the path to Sarwin Castle leads the caster
  along the western road from Sarwin and directly through
  the orc encampment; it does not indicate the secret
  entrance into the castle dungeon.
  Legend Lore/Vision: This spell can be used to divine
  information about several subjects key to this adventure. A
  spellcaster can use this spell to learn about any of the
  topics detailed under the section on Research below.
  Raise Dead/Reincarnation/Resurrection/True Resurrection:
  These spells can bring back Tanya Silverdusk to life if her
  body is discovered in the Hawk and Mouse. If she is
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  8
  
  restored to life, she is both incredibly grateful to the charac-
  ters and morbidly afraid that the dragon that poisoned her
  knows that she’s alive again and could come for her at any
  moment. She can tell the characters much about the force
  that attacked Sarwin, though, if they treat her with kindness
  and support. Her story is given below under Tanya’s Tale.
  Scrying/Greater Scrying: If the characters knew someone
  from Sarwin or the castle, they could try to scry upon them
  to learn what they can of their current whereabouts. Since
  the majority of these subjects are dead, though, chances of
  learning much are slim. Any surviving villagers are kept in
  large cages inside the giant barracks in the orc camp. Alter-
  natively, they party can use any number of objects that
  they found while searching Sarwin to scry upon their
  owner, although this dramatically increases the target’s
  saving throw if the scryer does not possess any other
  knowledge of the target.
  Simulacrum: Any of the body parts found during the
  search of Sarwin (including Irika’s feather or one of the
  chimera scales) can be used to create a simulacrum. This
  can help the party determine what kind of creatures they
  may be up against, as well as any particular weaknesses
  they may have, and provides them with interesting allies
  and minions that could even help them infiltrate the orc
  camp or the castle. Since simulacrums have no memories
  in common with their source, though, their immediate
  usefulness as informants is limited.
  Speak with Animals/Speak with Plants/Stone Tell: These
  spells can piece together information about the attack on
  Sarwin. Note, however, that all domestic animal life within
  the town has been killed. Stone tell provides the most
  detailed descriptions, and any of these spells can inform the
  caster of the direction in which the attackers left Sarwin
  after the assault, if the proper questions are asked.
  Speak with Dead: This spell can be used on Tanya’s body
  if it is recovered. Depending on the questions asked, the
  caster can extract much of the information given below in
  Tanya’s Tale.
  RESEARCH
  As the adventure progresses, the characters uncover the
  true nature of their foes. High-level characters have the
  ability to teleport, to travel to other planes, and to cast pow-
  erful divination spells such as commune or vision. It’s
  entirely possible that a powerful spellcaster takes advan-
  tage of this fact to learn what he can about any number of
  topics pertinent to the adventure.
  Teleporting to a large library or similar location to
  research these subjects is just as valid a method as casting
  spells such as legend lore, but not quite as efficient. A char-
  acter who magically travels to another location to research
  one of these topics must make an Intelligence check to
  successfully perform the research. Each attempt takes
  1d4+1 hours of work, successful or not. Each topic below
  has a table of information keyed to different Intelligence
  check results; each check reveals all the information equal
  to and less than the DC of the check.
  Note that these tables assume that the character is per-
  forming the research in a well-stocked library, such as one
  found in a large city. Researching in a somewhat smaller
  library imparts a –4 penalty on the Intelligence check, and
  researching in a significantly smaller library imparts a –10
  penalty on the check. 
  Alternatively, a character can research one of the fol-
  lowing topics by speaking to sages or other learned indi-
  viduals. Doing so requires a Gather Information check and
  1d4+1 hours of interviewing.
  If a divination spell such as legend lore or vision is used to
  research one of the following topics, all information listed
  is learned.
  Ironmaw Orcs: This topic can be researched in any area
  that focuses on either history or on orcs.
  Intelligence
  Gather Info.
  Check Result
  Check Result
  Information Learned
  10 or less
  20 or less
  None.
  11–15
  21–25
  The Ironmaws were an orc tribe
  that died out approximately 600
  years ago. They were named for
  their tribal tradition of capping
  their tusks with iron.
  16–20
  26–30
  The Ironmaws were noted for
  their ferocity, their impressive
  barbarism, and their terrifying
  hatred for humans.
  21–23
  31–35
  A powerful druid traditionally
  led the Ironmaws.
  24–26
  36–40
  The ancestral land of the Iron-
  maws includes the region now
  controlled by Sarwin Castle and
  the nearby hamlet.
  27 or more
  41 or more
  The Ironmaws were slaughtered
  600 years ago by Annah and
  Zebulahr Sarwin. At the time, 
  a powerful druid named
  Tiboquoboc led the Ironmaws.
  Major Villains: All the major villains in this adventure are
  quite powerful. If a villain’s name or description is secured,
  his or her history can be researched in any location. Villains
  that can be researched in this adventure include Alorzulan,
  Alraugh, Irika, Lzierabel, Muraxus, and Tiboquoboc.
  Intelligence
  Gather Info.
  Check Result
  Check Result
  Information Learned
  10 or less
  20 or less
  None.
  11–15
  21–25
  Description.
  16–20
  26–30
  Personality.
  21–23
  31–35
  Class levels (if any) and
  signature magic item.
  24–26
  36–40
  Allegiances and allies.
  27 or more
  41 or more
  Current goals.
  Sarwin: This topic can be researched in any location.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  9
  
  Intelligence
  Gather Info.
  Check Result
  Check Result
  Information Learned
  10 or less
  20 or less
  None.
  11–15
  21–25
  Sarwin was founded nearly 600
  years ago by a small group of
  powerful adventurers who also
  constructed the nearby Sarwin
  Castle. The village sprung up
  overnight when two married
  adventurers Annah and
  Zebulahr Sarwin, and their
  cohorts and companions,
  settled in the remote location.
  With their powerful magic and
  well-trained minions, the
  Sarwins repulsed the
  uncoordinated hordes of orcs
  and giants that assaulted the
  region after every spring thaw.
  Likewise, their presence
  seemed to quell the frequent
  earthquakes that had plagued
  the region. Today, the orcs and
  giants are a distant memory,
  and the few earthquakes to
  strike the region have been
  minor and explained to the
  children of Sarwin as
  “underground thunder,” or
  long-delayed echoes of ancient
  battles between the orcs and
  giants.
  16–20
  26–30
  Sarwin Castle itself is power-
  fully defended against attack,
  which is a legacy of its
  powerful founders. Rumors
  hold that ancient allegiances
  with powers from the
  Elemental Plane of Air have
  allowed the Sarwins to recruit
  aid from this strange realm
  in crafting the defenses of
  their castle.
  21 or more
  31 or more
  The youngest Sarwin child, a
  gifted (but precocious) girl
  named Arezi, vanished from
  the castle three years ago.
  The Sarwins spared no
  expense in their attempts to
  find her but ultimately were
  forced to give her up for lost.
  Almetha Sarwin, Arezi’s
  mother, was particularly
  broken hearted about this
  development and rumor
  holds that she is slowly
  descending into some sort of
  terrible madness.
  Ubothar: This is a significantly more obscure subject
  and can be researched only in an area that contains records
  of ancient history or particularly obscure arcane lore.
  Intelligence
  Gather Info.
  Check Result
  Check Result
  Information Learned
  20 or less
  30 or less
  None.
  21–23
  31–35
  Ubothar is mentioned in passing
  as an ancient deity of the stone
  and earth. He was said to be
  particularly destructive, but his cult
  is now extinct. His cultists knew
  him as “The Thunder Below.”
  24–26
  36–40
  Ubothar’s cultists did not receive
  clerical magic from him,
  although druids who embraced
  the destructive aspect of the
  natural world served them. Some
  believe that Ubothar was actually
  an abstract concept invented by
  these druids to give this destruc-
  tive force a face so their minions
  could grasp the concept of
  worshiping it more easily.
  27–29
  41–45
  Ubothar is neither deity nor
  faceless philosophy; it is in fact
  an immensely powerful creature
  left over from the forging of the
  world by the deities eons ago.
  Ancient prophecies hold that
  Ubothar shall awaken to herald
  the end of the world.
  30 or more
  46 or more
  Ubothar is said to sleep in a state
  of suspended animation deep
  under Sarwin Castle, and this
  creature was the totem spirit of
  the now extinct Ironmaw Orcs.
  TANYA’S TALE
  If Tanya is brought back to life, she can relate the following
  story of the attack on Sarwin to the party. As she recounts
  her tale, she grows increasingly horrified and distressed,
  until finally breaking down in hollow sobs as she finishes. 
  A speak with dead spell can extract some of this informa-
  tion as well, assuming the correct questions are asked. 
  “I was down in the common room eating a late supper,
  just after nightfall, when I heard screams outside. Lots
  of them. Everyone else in the room started to panic,
  running around like a bunch of fools, and I barely
  avoided being trampled and somehow got up the stairs.
  I ran into this room and looked out the window and . . .
  and saw dozens of orcs tearing through the streets
  below. They were roaring and frothing at the mouth
  and all covered with weird tattoos and patterns of
  scars, and were tearing down doors and dragging out
  villagers and killing them in the street. And at the edge
  of town were these huge blue-skinned giants, with
  jagged horns in the center of their heads. These giants
  were on the outskirts of town and I could see them
  from my vantage point only when they would lurch
  out to crush anyone unlucky enough to escape the
  marauding orcs in the center of town. I tell you . . . it
  was appalling. Horrifying. I admit it . . . I froze in panic.
  As I watched, things got worse.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  10
  
  Tanya remains quite distressed; in her mind, the attack on
  Sarwin just occurred. Despite this, though, burning feel-
  ings of shame that she didn’t do more to fight the orcs,
  combined with a deep sense of boundless gratitude for
  being brought back to life, overwhelms her fears and she
  offers to serve the person who brought her back to life in
  any way she can. She wants to exact revenge on the orcs
  (particularly their leader), but she knows that she can’t do
  this alone. If treated kindly and with respect, she quickly
  becomes a completely devoted ally and friend to her new
  patron. If it becomes clear that her new patron is too cruel
  or domineering for her tastes, Tanya continues to serve but
  sneaks off into the wilderness to make her way back home
  the first chance she gets.
  D Tanya Silverdusk: Female halfling rogue 5; CR 5;
  Small humanoid; HD 5d6+5; hp 22; Init +4; Spd 20 ft.; AC
  19, touch 15, flat-footed 19; Base Atk +3; Grp –3; Atk +2
  melee (1d3–2/19–20, dagger) or +9 ranged (1d4–1/�3, +1
  shortbow); Full Atk +2 melee (1d3–2/19–20, dagger) or +9
  ranged (1d4–1/�3, +1 shortbow); SA sneak attack +3d6; SQ
  evasion, halfling traits, trap sense +1, trapfinding, uncanny
  dodge; AL CG; SV Fort +3, Ref +9, Will +3; Str 7, Dex 18,
  Con 12, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 10. 
  Skills and Feats: Balance +14, Climb +8, Escape Artist
  +12, Hide +16, Jump +12, Knowledge (nature) +6, Listen
  +3, Move Silently +14, Search +10, Survival +5, Tumble
  +16; Acrobatic, Point Blank Shot.
  Evasion (Ex): If exposed to any effect that normally
  allows a character to attempt a Reflex saving throw for half
  damage, Tanya takes no damage with a successful saving
  throw.
  Halfling Traits: Tanya has a +2 morale bonus on
  saving throws against fear, a +1 racial bonus on all saving
  throws, +1 racial attack bonus with a thrown weapon or
  sling, and a +2 racial bonus on Climb, Jump, Listen, and
  Move Silently checks (already figured into the statistics
  given above).
  Trap Sense (Ex): Tanya has a +1 bonus on Reflex
  saves made to avoid traps and a +1 bonus to AC against
  attacks made by traps.
  Trapfinding: Tanya can use the Search skill to locate
  traps when the task has a DC higher than 20.
  Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Tanya can react to danger
  before her senses would normally allow her to even be
  aware of it. She retains her Dexterity bonus to AC (if any)
  regardless of being caught flat-footed or struck by an invis-
  ible attacker. (She still loses any Dexterity bonus to AC if
  immobilized.)
  Possessions: Masterwork studded leather armor, +1 short-
  bow, 20 arrows, dagger, amulet of natural armor +1.
  Description: Tanya’s skin is tanned from a life spent
  outdoors. She lets her unruly shoulder-length auburn hair
  do what it wants and tends to dress in browns and dull
  greens. Her eyes are an unusual shade of light green, and
  although they give her a striking appearance, she remains
  self-conscious of their unusual hue and avoids making eye
  contact with others.
  “The villagers started to rally around the general
  store down the street at one point, but then this thing,
  looked like a human woman with wings and taloned
  feet, flew up and perched on the roof opposite the
  store and called down to the villagers. She told them in
  a strangely soothing voice to take down the barricade,
  and in a heartbeat nearly a dozen of the villagers just
  threw down their bows and did just that! The orcs were
  on them in a second . . . I don’t think the poor fools had
  time to realize what they had done.
  “It was then that this orc, he must have been 7 feet
  tall, waded in. He was waving around a glowing red fal-
  chion and wore some sort of black scale armor and had a
  magic shield floating around him that blocked attacks . . .
  I figured he was the leader ‘cause the other orcs seemed
  afraid of him. He was approaching the center of the
  battle down the street, and it wasn’t until then that I got
  over the horror of it all. I took out my bow and shot the
  leader right in the throat . . . but he didn’t fall. He barely
  even flinched! He just looked up toward me with anger
  in his red eyes and barked out something as he pointed
  up at my window. I don’t think he saw me exactly, but I
  wasn’t taking any chances and ran out of the room and
  into the adjoining one.
  “Before I got to the window, a tremendous set of
  roars tore through the night. I ran to the window and
  peeked out and saw that some sort of huge monster
  had landed in the street directly below me . . . it looked
  like a bear, but it was larger than an elephant and had
  these huge bat wings and two extra heads . . . a feral-
  looking goat head to the left and a green dragon head
  to the right of the central bear head. And if that wasn’t
  bad enough, a second one landed on a nearby building
  and nearly crushed it.
  “I heard the downstairs door bust in at that point.
  Sounded like the surviving villagers had made it to the
  tavern and were barricading up the doors and win-
  dows. But those bear monsters . . . they wouldn’t be
  stopped by a few nailed boards. I’m ashamed to say it,
  but I ran into that closet and hid.
  “A few moments later . . . I heard something like huge
  wings flapping. Wings larger even than those of the bear
  monsters. Then the whole building shook as if some-
  thing massive had landed on the roof. And then a voice, a
  terrible voice, spoke from above, terrible and thunder-
  ous. This was followed by a hissing noise, and in seconds
  a thick brown cloud poured into the closet. The stuff
  burned my skin and stole my breath . . . I tried to clamber
  out of the closet but couldn’t find the door . . . my eyes
  felt like they were covered with hungry ants and my
  lungs seized up . . . and then . . . and then . . . I, I died.”
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  11
  
  Personality: Tanya has little interest in social con-
  ventions and prefers to spend her time alone, exploring
  the wilderness. She’s got a good heart, but she’s also seen
  the worst that civilization has to offer and tends to distrust
  people unless they display obvious acts of kindness (such
  as bringing her back to life). She prefers to remain in the
  background and let her friends do the talking, and she is
  quiet and unassuming.
  Goals: Her natural distrust of society stems from a
  series of bad experiences with a thieves’ guild in a distant
  city; she eventually fled the guild with a price on her head
  and spent the next several years avoiding contact with
  people. She came upon Sarwin a week ago and was
  charmed by its quaint, out-of-the-way charm and the open-
  ness and honesty of its people, and she had been seriously
  considering settling down in the village when the attack
  came. If brought back to life, she repays the kindness with
  gratitude and what can bloom into a strong, loyal friend-
  ship with her benefactor. Apart from this, her driving goal
  is to seek revenge against the orcs who destroyed Sarwin
  just when she was hoping she found a place to live.
  Ad Hoc Experience Award: If the characters learn
  this information from Tanya, award them experience
  points as if for a CR 14 encounter.
  WHAT NEXT?
  Although a need for swift action exists in this adventure,
  no NPC can point the player characters in a particular
  direction. The decisions of the PCs after they find Sarwin
  destroyed are largely up to them. Physical and magical
  investigation should point them in the right direction, but
  ultimately, their choices are their own. The remainder of
  this adventure presents options in an open, almost free-
  form format, and provides enough detail so you can handle
  any approach that your high-level party may take to deal
  with Tiboquoboc’s nefarious plans.
  ROUTES TO 
  SARWIN CASTLE
  The road leading west from Sarwin leads up a rocky
  embankment and eventually to the impressive castle that
  sits atop a stony promontory. Were it not for the thick fir
  trees, the castle would be visible from Sarwin (and vice
  versa). As it is, it’s a short walk from the hamlet of Sarwin
  to the castle. Yet this road to the castle represents the most
  obvious route to the castle; a high-level party has numer-
  ous options of approach. Several of these are detailed
  below. Your group may come up with other methods as
  well; if they do, use the details below to determine the dif-
  ficulties they face.
  Taking the Main Road (EL 14+): Although the
  main road to Sarwin Castle represents the most obvious
  route to the castle, it’s also the most dangerous route
  since it is heavily guarded. The road itself is about 30 feet
  wide. Its southern edge drops away in a steep slope that
  descends into the forest below, while its northern edge
  rises up abruptly into the mountains. The cliff into which
  the road is carved averages about 500 feet in height, with
  the road climbing slowly upward for the length until it
  reaches the top at the orc camp near the castle itself.
  Climbing up or down the cliff requires a successful
  Climb check (DC 15) per move action.
  Creatures: At three points along the road, a single
  progeny of Alorzulan lurks hidden in the crags above the
  path. Each progeny takes 10 on its Hide check, for a Hide
  check result of 37, and since they lurk about 50 feet above
  the level of the road, Spot checks against them suffer a –5
  penalty due to the distance. Naturally, this penalty also
  applies to the progeny’s Listen and Spot checks to notice
  stealthy characters sneaking up the road.
  If the progeny sees anyone moving up the road, it
  immediately reacts by hurling rocks and using its breath
  weapon at the group below. As long as the progeny
  remains on the cliff, it has cover from attackers (and the +4
  bonus to its AC) on the road below. It continues to attack
  until it is engaged in melee, its targets flee, or its hit points
  drop below 100, at which point the progeny flies off to the
  orc camp to warn Alorzulan of the intrusion. Once the orc
  camp is alerted, Alorzulan sends a group of five Ironmaw
  Ragers down the road to make sure it is clear of trespassers.
  At the same time, he and his two chimeric dire bear min-
  ions take to the skies to search for intruders along the
  roadway as well. If they find intruders, he sends his min-
  ions in to attack in melee while he blasts the group from
  above with spells and his breath weapon.
  If Alorzulan finds the group to be too powerful to
  directly assault, he calls for his surviving minions to retreat
  to the camp and they immediately fortify it against an
  attack. Alorzulan himself is constantly under the effects of
  Lzierabel’s status spell, so if he takes any damage or suffers
  any ill effects, she takes note and immediately casts a send-
  ing spell on Alorzulan to determine what’s going on,
  reporting his response to Tiboquoboc.
  Statistics for Alorzulan, his progeny, and the chimeric
  dire bears can be found in the section detailing the orc camp.
  Taking the Back Road (EL 16): Unknown to Tibo-
  quoboc and his minions (though known to Arezi; she has
  so far hidden this information from Tiboquoboc since he’s
  simply never inquired about it), an overgrown track from
  the Sarwin Mill leads up to a secret entrance into the dun-
  geon of the castle itself. Following this trail is difficult,
  since it hasn’t been used in years, and requires three
  separate Survival checks (DC 30) to follow. A character
  with the Track feat can follow the path automatically once
  it is discovered.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  12
  
  If she has been brought back to life, Tanya Silverdusk
  has heard about this ancient trail and mentions it to her
  saviors once it becomes obvious to her that they are trying
  to decide how to approach the castle. She heard rumors
  about the escape route from the castle’s basements and that
  an overgrown track that ends up at the mill leads to a
  secret entrance to the castle. She hasn’t been on the path
  herself since these same sources made sure to let her know
  the path is quite dangerous.
  The overgrown condition of this track also provides the
  group with excellent cover against observation by Alorzu-
  lan or other airborne enemies. The track itself isn’t without
  dangers of its own, however.
  At one point, the track passes through a particularly
  dense patch of woodland that has become overgrown with
  a strange, pallid fungus. Farther along, the track passes by a
  small batch of rundown buildings that were once used as a
  hunting lodge but have been long since abandoned. 
  Finally, the track ends at a 200-foot-deep gorge. A fallen
  ancient tree bridges the gorge (Balance check DC 9 to
  cross). The opposite side of the gorge rises up about 300
  feet to the foundation of Castle Sarwin. A narrow path
  leads most of the way up this cliff (Balance check DC 7 to
  navigate), and ends at what looks like a rough cliff face. A
  successful Search check (DC 25) is required at this location
  to uncover the secret door. This door is kept locked with
  an arcane lock (caster level 20), but is untrapped. It opens
  into area 71 of the castle dungeon.
  Creature: In the years since their abandonment, an
  assassin vine of monstrous proportions has grown up in
  the area of the ruined hunting lodge. The colossal plant
  itself is rooted in the largest building, but its vines can
  easily reach the overgrown track to grab at food.
  D Colossal Assassin Vine: CR 14; Colossal plant;
  HD 50d8+450; hp 675; Init –1; Spd 5 ft.; AC 19, touch 1,
  flat-footed 19; Base Atk +37; Grp +70; Atk +46 melee
  (2d8+25, slam); Full Atk +46 melee (2d8+25, slam);
  Space/Reach 30 ft./30 ft.; SA constrict 2d8+25, entangle,
  improved grab; SQ blindsight 30 ft., camouflage, immu-
  nity to electricity, low-light vision, plant traits, resistance
  to cold 10 and fire 10; AL N; SV Fort +36, Ref +15, Will +17;
  Str 44, Dex 8, Con 28, Int –, Wis 13, Cha 9. 
  Skills and Feats: Hide –17.
  Constrict (Ex): A Colossal assassin vine deals 2d8+25
  points of damage with a successful grapple check.
  Entangle (Su): The assassin vine can animate plants
  within 30 feet of itself as a free action (Ref DC 36 partial).
  The effect lasts until the vine dies or decides to end it (also
  a free action). The save DC is Wisdom-based. The ability is
  otherwise similar to the entangle spell (caster level 20th).
  Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a Colossal
  assassin vine must hit with its slam attack. It can then
  attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provok-
  ing an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it
  establishes a hold and can constrict.
  Blindsight (Ex): Assassin vines have no visual
  organs but can ascertain all foes within 30 feet using
  sound, scent, and vibration.
  Camouflage (Ex): Since an assassin vine looks like a
  normal plant when at rest, it takes a DC 20 Spot check to
  notice it before it attacks. Anyone with ranks in Survival or
  Knowledge (nature) can use one of those skills instead of
  Spot to notice the plant.
  Plant Traits: An assassin vine is immune to poison,
  sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, and polymorphing, and
  mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms,
  patterns, and morale effects). It is not subject to critical
  hits. Low-light vision.
  a Trap: This fungus (and its dangerous properties)
  can be recognized with a successful Knowledge (nature)
  check (DC 25) as a rare kind of fungus known as moon-
  wort. This fungus constantly exudes invisible clouds of
  tasteless spores into the air; anyone breathing in these
  spores must make a Fortitude save (DC 20) or suffer 1d6
  points of temporary Wisdom damage and become over-
  whelmed with feelings of rapture and pleasure for 1
  minute. While so overwhelmed, a new saving throw must
  be made once every minute. This toxin is a form of poison,
  so any resistances or immunities to poison a character pos-
  sesses apply to moonwort spores. The characters can cir-
  cumvent the large patch of moonwort (which is about 600
  feet in diameter), but they must make a successful Survival
  check (DC 30) to pick up the overgrown track again on the
  other side. 
  Through the Woods and Up the Cliffs: The
  woods and mountains surrounding Sarwin and the castle
  are quite rugged and wild, although they are riddled with
  hunter’s trails in places. A group of characters could make
  its way to the castle by traveling through the woods or up
  around through the mountains to the north, but both of
  these routes are both dangerous and time consuming.
  The woodlands of this region are dense and filled with
  massive trees. The mountains are rugged. Detailed rules
  for running encounters in these types of terrains can be
  found on pages 87–90 of the revised DUNGEON MASTER’s
  Guide. Despite the rugged nature of this terrain, it should
  prove little problem for a group of high-level characters to
  navigate. The main thing that approaching the castle via
  such a route will do, however, is to needlessly delay their
  approach, allowing Tiboquoboc to penetrate farther into
  the castle’s defenses.
  Flight (EL 19+): Characters can use magic or flying
  mounts to approach Sarwin Castle from the air. Unless
  such characters do so invisibly, however, chances are good
  that enemy forces on the ground spot them. Alorzulan in
  particular is quite adept at spotting flying intruders.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  13
  
  If flying characters are seen before they reach the
  castle, Alorzulan rallies the orcs at the camp, then he and
  his two chimeric dire bears fly up to engage the intruders
  while the orcs and progeny in the camp below attack with
  arrows and hurled rocks.
  Creatures: Unfortunately, once a flying party
  approaches within 200 feet of Castle Sarwin from the air, the
  castle’s elemental defenders enter the fray. Alorzulan and
  Tiboquoboc’s other minions have had a few encounters with
  these elementals before and no longer approach within this
  range of the castle in the air. Each of these elementals is a 48-
  HD elder air elemental. Currently, four of these creatures
  patrol the region directly around the castle; they attack any
  flying creatures that come within 200 feet of the castle. They
  do not attack creatures on the ground or on the cliffs, and
  they do not pursue enemies out of range or into the castle
  itself. They do attack anyone they notice climbing the outer
  walls of the castle or walking on its roof. If any of these ele-
  mentals are slain, more soon arrive to replace them. These
  elementals are brought in to this plane by the Skytower
  portal in area 61 of Sarwin Castle; if this portal is destroyed, no
  further elementals can come through to harass flying intrud-
  ers. If the party continues to fly near the castle, or if they
  actually try to enter via one of the towers, Apori the djinni
  sorcerer enters the fray as well. See the description of area 61
  for more details.
  D Advanced Elder Air Elementals (4): hp 414;
  see the Skytower Portal sidebar for details.
  Magical Travel: Spells such as ethereal jaunt and
  shadow walk allow characters to traverse dangerous terrain
  quickly and efficiently, while other spells such as teleport
  and transport via plants permit characters to move from one
  location to another instantaneously. These methods of
  travel represent the most efficient and safe ways for the
  characters to approach the castle, although many of them
  require at least some foreknowledge of their destination to
  function. On their initial foray into the castle, the charac-
  ters probably have to rely on one of the more mundane
  methods listed above to reach the castle.
  ENCOUNTER AREAS
  Two major encounter areas are detailed here: the orc camp
  and Sarwin Castle. Each of these areas is presented as they
  exist when the adventure begins. As time progresses and
  Tiboquoboc’s plan grows closer to completion, certain con-
  ditions in one or both areas change. These changes are
  noted both on the timeline and room descriptions below.
  At the same time, both encounter areas are dynamic; the
  creatures present adapt and react to the actions of the PCs.
  You should familiarize yourself with both locations and
  their numerous denizens before you begin play.
  THE ORC CAMP (EL 23+)
  The bulk of Tiboquoboc’s forces dwell in a crude camp that
  has been hastily erected on a large open area, directly on
  the road that connects Sarwin Castle to the hamlet below.
  The Ironmaw orcs who live in this camp have been told by
  their master that they need only to prevent the approach
  of intruders to the castle; since the orcs don’t believe that
  anyone is coming up here before Tiboquoboc awakens
  Ubothar, they have fallen into a somewhat relaxed status.
  Only Alorzulan and his minions and progeny remain com-
  pletely alert.
  The camp itself consists of a crude palisade of sharp-
  ened tree trunks surrounding about a dozen simple huts.
  The gaps between the palisades are just wide enough to
  function as arrow slits. Two hastily built gates block the
  roadway where it enters and exits the encampment; the
  orcs keep both gates closed and barred with thick timbers
  at all times. A pair of permanent buildings is found in the
  camp as well; one (the commander’s barracks) was once a
  guard post, and the other (the giant barracks) was a stable. 
  sWooden Palisade:3 ft. thick, 20 ft. tall; hardness 5; hp
  300 per 10-foot by 10-foot section; break DC 30; climb DC 20.
  s Wooden Gates: 1 ft. thick, 20 ft. tall; hardness 5; 
  hp 120; break DC 25; climb DC 20; Open Lock DC 30*.
  *The bars on the inside of the gates can be removed
  from the outside with a successful Open Lock check, but
  unless the check succeeds by +10 or more, the bar drops
  noisily to the ground and alerts the denizens of the camp
  of the intrusion.
  The chieftain’s hut is locked (DC 30) and protected by
  an alarm spell cast by Alorzulan. Inside are two things of
  interest. First of all, two large chests contain the equip-
  ment and wealth the attackers looted from the ambushed
  Sarwins; this is detailed below. The second are the last few
  surviving villagers.
  Creatures: In addition to the 30 Ironmaw barbarians
  who live in the camp, eight progeny of Alorzulan, two
  chimeric dire bears, and the dragon Alorzulan himself call
  the place home. Even though several of the barbarians and
  progeny are stationed elsewhere in the region (mostly on
  the road leading up to the castle from the village or at the
  castle itself), enough of these monsters remain at the camp
  at all times to provide a danger to even the best-prepared
  parties.
  Unless they have been recalled, three of the progeny
  are stationed on the road leading up to the castle and two
  are in the castle itself, leaving three of them in the camp.
  Likewise, 20 of the Ironmaw barbarians are at the castle
  itself, leaving only 10 here at the camp. Both of the
  chimeric dire bears lurk in the western section of the
  camp, sleeping off their latest meals. The orcs are wary
  around these beasts and don’t quite trust that Alorzulan
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  14
  
  has full control over them. Alorzulan himself prefers to
  lurk in a set of nests he’s built up against the palisade near
  the northern gate; this location affords the dragon an
  excellent view of the road leading down to the village.
  D Ironmaw Barbarians (10): Male and female orc
  barbarians 12; CR 12; Medium humanoid; HD 12d12+36;
  hp 114; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 18;
  Base Atk +12; Grp +18; Atk +20 melee (1d12+10/�3, +1
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  15
  
  human bane greataxe) or +13 ranged (1d8+6/�3, [+6 Str
  bonus] composite longbow); Atk +20/+15/+10 melee
  (1d12+10/�3, +1 human bane greataxe) or +13/+8/+3
  ranged (1d8+6/�3, [+6 Str bonus] composite longbow);
  SQ damage reduction 2/—, fast movement, illiteracy,
  improved uncanny dodge, indomitable will, light
  sensitivity, greater rage 4/day, trap sense +4, uncanny
  dodge; AL CE; SV Fort +11, Ref +5, Will +4; Str 22, Dex 13,
  Con 16, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 6. 
  Skills and Feats: Climb +19, Intimidate +13, Listen +15;
  Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Critical (greataxe), Power
  Attack, Weapon Focus (greataxe).
  Illiteracy: The Ironmaw barbarians do not know how
  to read and write.
  Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): An Ironmaw bar-
  barian can no longer be flanked, since he can react to oppo-
  nents on opposite sides of him as easily as he can react to a
  single attacker. This defense denies rogues the ability to
  use flank attacks to sneak attack him. The exception to this
  defense is that a rogue at least four levels higher than the
  Ironmaw barbarian can flank him (and thus sneak attack
  him). 
  Indomitable Will (Ex): While in a rage, an Iron-
  maw barbarian gains a +4 bonus on Will saves to resist
  enchantment spells.
  Light Sensitivity (Ex): Orcs are dazzled in bright
  sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.
  Greater Rage: While an Ironmaw barbarian rages,
  the following changes to his statistics are in effect: HD
  12d12+72; hp 150; AC 16, touch 9, flat-footed 16; Grp +21;
  Atk +23 melee (1d12+14/�3, +1 human bane greataxe) or
  +13 ranged (1d8+6/�3, [+6 Str bonus] composite long-
  bow); Full Atk +23/+18/+13 melee (1d12+14/�3, +1
  human bane greataxe) or +13/+8/+3 ranged (1d8+6/�3, [+6
  Str bonus] composite longbow); SV Fort +14, Will +7; Str
  28, Con 22; Climb +22. His rage lasts for 9 rounds.
  Trap Sense (Ex): An Ironmaw barbarian gains a +4
  bonus on Reflex saves made to avoid traps and a +4 bonus
  to AC against attacks made by traps.
  Uncanny Dodge (Ex): An Ironmaw barbarian gains
  the ability to react to danger before his senses would nor-
  mally allow him to even be aware of it. He retains his Dex-
  terity bonus to AC (if any) regardless of being caught flat-
  footed or struck by an invisible attacker. (He still loses any
  Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized.)
  Possessions: +2 hide armor, +1 human bane greataxe, com-
  posite longbow (+6 Str bonus), 20 arrows, amulet of natural
  armor +2, gauntlets of ogre power*, potion of cure serious wounds,
  potion of bear’s endurance, potion of enlarge person, 214 gp.
  * Figured into statistics above.
  D Progeny of Alorzulan (3): Male half-blue
  dragon/half-frost giant ranger 3; CR 14; Large dragon (aug-
  mented giant, cold); HD 14d10+112 plus 3d8+24; hp 226;
  Init +2; Spd 40 ft., fly 80 ft. (average); AC 30, touch 11, flat-
  footed 28; Base Atk +13; Grp +32; Atk +27 melee (1d6+15, 2
  claws) and +22 melee (1d8+7, bite) or +26/+21/+16 melee
  (2d6+16 plus 1d6 electricity/19–20, +1 shock longsword) and
  +25 melee (1d8+7/19–20, dagger) or +15 ranged (1d6+15,
  rock); Space/Reach 10 ft./10 ft.; SA breath weapon (60-ft.
  line of lightning), combat style (two-weapon combat), rock
  throwing; SQ darkvision 60 ft., favored enemy (humans
  +2), immunities (cold, electricity, paralysis, sleep), low-
  light vision, rock catching, vulnerability to fire, wild empa-
  thy +5; AL LE; SV Fort +20, Ref +9, Will +6; Str 40, Dex 14,
  Con 27, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 15. 
  Skills and Feats: Appraise (traps) +3, Climb +31, Craft
  (trapmaking) +18, Hide +24, Intimidate +19, Jump +35,
  Knowledge (nature) +4, Move Silently +13, Spot +18, Sur-
  vival +8; Cleave, Endurance, Great Cleave, Improved Over-
  run, Improved Sunder, Power Attack, Stealthy.
  Breath Weapon (Su): Once each day, the progeny
  can breathe a 60-foot line of lightning. Each creature in the
  area takes 6d8 points of electricity damage (Reflex DC 25
  half). 
  Combat Style: The progeny has selected two-weapon
  combat as his combat style.
  Favored Enemy: The progeny has selected humans
  as a favored enemy. He gains a +2 bonus on his Bluff,
  Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when
  using these skills against humans. He gets the same bonus
  on weapon damage rolls against creatures of this type.
  Wild Empathy (Ex): The progeny of Alorzulan can
  use body language, vocalizations, and demeanor to
  improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions
  just like a Diplomacy check to improve the attitude of a
  person. His bonus on this check is +5.
  Possessions: Large +1 shock longsword, Large dagger, +2
  shadow chain shirt.
  D Chimeric Advanced Dire Bears (2): CR 16;
  Huge magical beast; HD 36d10+288; hp 486; Init +1; Spd
  40 ft., fly 50 ft. (poor); AC 25, touch 9, flat-footed 24; Base
  Atk +27; Grp +51; Atk +42 melee (4d6+16/19–20, claw);
  Full Atk +42 melee (4d6+16/19–20, 2 claws) and +40 melee
  (2d6+8/19–20, 2 bites) and +39 melee (1d8+8, butt);
  Space/Reach 10 ft./5 ft.; SA breath weapon (20-ft. cone of
  acidic gas), improved grab; SQ low-light vision, scent; AL
  LE; SV Fort +28, Ref +21, Will +21; Str 43, Dex 12, Con 27,
  Int 4, Wis 12, Cha 10. 
  Skills and Feats: Hide –7, Listen +18, Spot +18, Swim +29;
  Alertness, Cleave, Diehard, Endurance, Hover, Improved
  Critical (bite), Improved Critical (claw), Improved Natural
  Attack (bite), Improved Natural Attack (claw), Multiattack,
  Power Attack, Run, Weapon Focus (claw), Weapon Focus
  (bite).
  Breath Weapon (Su): Once every 1d4 rounds, a
  chimeric advanced dire bear can breathe a 20-foot cone of
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  16
  
  corrosive gas. Each creature in the area takes 3d8 points of
  acid damage (Reflex DC 34 half).
  Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a chimeric
  advanced dire bear must hit with a claw attack. It can then
  attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provok-
  ing an attack of opportunity.
  The chimeric creature template is found in the Monster
  Manual II.
  D Alorzulan: Male very old green dragon; CR 20;
  Huge dragon (air); HD 29d12+290; hp 478; Init +4; Spd 40
  ft., swim 40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor); AC 40, touch 12, flat-
  footed 40; Base Atk +29; Grp +49; Atk +39 melee (2d8+12,
  bite); Full Atk +39 melee (2d8+12, bite) and +37 melee
  (2d6+6, 2 claws) and +37 melee (1d8+6, 2 wings) and +37
  melee (2d6+18, tail slap); Space/Reach 15 ft./10 ft. (15 ft.
  with bite); SA breath weapon (50-ft. cone of corrosive gas),
  crush 2d8+18, frightful presence, spell-like abilities, spells;
  SQ blindsense 60 ft., damage reduction 10/magic, dark-
  vision 120 ft., immunities (acid, paralysis, sleep), keen
  senses, low-light vision, spell resistance 25, water breath-
  ing; AL LE; SV Fort +26, Ref +16, Will +22; Str 35, Dex 10,
  Con 30, Int 16, Wis 23, Cha 27. 
  Skills and Feats: Bluff +40, Concentration +42, Diplo-
  macy +12, Hide –8, Intimidate +44, Knowledge (arcana)
  +35, Knowledge (history) +35, Knowledge (nature) +35,
  Listen +40, Search +35, Spellcraft +7, Spot +40, Swim +20,
  Alertness, Cleave, Flyby Attack, Hover, Improved Initia-
  tive, Maximize Spell, Multiattack, Power Attack, Widen
  Spell, Wingover.
  Breath Weapon (Su): Once every 1d4 rounds,
  Alorzulan can breathe a 50-foot cone of corrosive gas.
  Each creature in the area takes 18d6 points of acid damage
  (Reflex DC 34 half).
  Crush (Ex): Whenever Alorzulan flies or jumps, he
  can land on opponents as a standard action, using his
  whole body to crush them. His crush attack affects Small
  or smaller opponents within a 15-foot-by-15-foot area. Each
  potentially affected creature must succeed on a DC 34
  Reflex save or be pinned, automatically taking 2d8+18
  points of bludgeoning damage during the next round
  unless the dragon moves off. If Alorzulan chooses to main-
  tain the pin, treat it as a normal grapple attack. Pinned
  opponents take damage from the crush each round if they
  don’t escape. 
  Frightful Presence (Ex): Whenever Alorzulan
  attacks, charges, or flies overhead, each creature in a 270-
  foot radius that has 28 or fewer HD must make a DC 32
  Will save. Failure indicates that the creature is panicked
  for 4d6 rounds (if it has 4 or fewer HD) or shaken for 4d6
  rounds (if it has 5 or more HD).
  Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day—suggestion (DC 21);
  1/day—plant growth. Caster level 11th.
  Spells: Alorzulan casts spells as an 11th-level sorcerer.
  Keen Senses (Ex): Alorzulan can see four times as
  well as a human in shadowy illumination and twice as well
  in normal light. He also has darkvision to a range of 
  120 feet.
  Water Breathing (Ex): Alorzulan can breathe
  underwater indefinitely and can freely use his breath
  weapon, spells, and other abilities while submerged.
  Sorcerer Spells Known (6/8/8/8/8/5; save DC 18 +
  spell level): 0—acid splash, dancing lights, detect magic, flare,
  light, mage hand, message, prestidigitation, read magic; 1st—
  alarm, charm person, mage armor, magic missile, silent image;
  2nd—cat’s grace, detect thoughts, mirror image, scorching ray,
  web; 3rd—keen edge, lightning bolt, stinking cloud, tongues;
  4th—charm monster, dimension door, polymorph; 5th—cloud-
  kill, mind fog. 
  Alorzulan casts alarm on the front door of Sarwin castle
  each dawn, so his daily allotment of 1st level spells is gen-
  erally less one.
  Possessions: Alorzulan wears the following items: ring of
  protection +4, ring of charisma +6 (functions as a cloak of
  charisma +6), amulet of health +4. He also owns a set of ring
  gates. He’s hung one of these ring gates from the roof of a 15-
  foot-diameter cave deep underground. The exits of this
  cave have been sealed off with numerous walls of stone. The
  remainder of his treasure is stored in this cave; Alorzulan
  has little trouble reaching through his ring gate and retriev-
  ing whatever he needs from this pile, although retrieving a
  specific item takes him 1d4 rounds of groping. This hoard
  consists of 80,000 cp, 25,000 sp, 16,000 gp, 850 pp, gems
  worth a total of 10,000 gp, art objects worth a total of 14,000
  gp, potion of darkvision, +3 light mace, wand of levitate (20
  charges), cloak of elvenkind, staff of swarming insects (16
  charges), potion of blur, potion of hide from undead, potion of
  spider climb, oil of magic vestment +3, divine scroll of blind-
  ness/deafness (caster level 5), divine scroll of shapechange
  (caster level 17), arcane scroll of summon monster I (caster
  level 1), arcane scroll of spectral hand (caster level 3), arcane
  scroll of dispel magic and nondetection (caster level 5), arcane
  scroll of mind fog, transmute mud to rock, and dominate person
  (caster level 9), arcane scroll of polar ray (caster level 15).
  Description: Alorzulan is a powerfully built creature who
  has seen countless battles. Like his orc allies, he wears his
  battle scars with pride, forcing captured clerics to heal
  them only when the scars interfere with his mobility or
  strength. The most unnerving thing about the green
  dragon’s countenance is his eyes, which smoke with an
  almost-liquid green gas. This smoke does not hamper his
  vision in any way. 
  Personality: Alorzulan is a crafty, patient dragon. He
  didn’t exist for 780 years by making brash and hasty deci-
  sions. He is also very loyal and supportive of those few
  creatures he chooses as allies or friends; Tiboquoboc is one
  of these allies. Unlike many dragons, Alorzulan prefers a
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  17
  
  nomadic life, and travels wide and far. Although slightly
  less intelligent than most green dragons his age, Alorzu-
  lan’s force of personality and willpower more than make
  up for this minor shortcoming.
  Goals: Tiboquoboc rescued Alorzulan from being
  killed by a group of adventurers over 600 years ago, and
  since Tiboquoboc’s apparent death at the hands of the Sar-
  wins, Alorzulan has nurtured a growing hatred for all
  humanity and plans a grand vengeance scheme that
  includes the creation of a hybrid race of giants trained as
  rangers and a unique breed of incredibly powerful chimera
  based on ancient dire bears.
  Locations: Every morning, Alorzulan travels to the front
  doors of Sarwin Castle to cast an alarm spell. He then
  returns to the orc camp.
  The villagers locked in the chieftain’s hut are all tied
  tightly with ropes and kept in four large cages pushed up
  against the back half of the structure. One of the cages is
  now empty except for several bloodstained ropes. Each of
  the remaining three cages contains five malnourished,
  wounded, and terrified villagers. They are gagged and
  bound (Use Rope DC 27 to untie), and sick with exhaus-
  tion, barely able to grunt and moan in hope if they see
  strangers enter the hut. If rescued, the villagers are little
  help to the party, although they can all recount various
  tales of terror of the attack on Sarwin similar to the story
  told by Tanya Silverdusk. They want nothing more than to
  escape back to the village and start rebuilding their lives,
  although with so many of their neighbors dead, this may
  be difficult.
  Eleven of the villagers are 1st-level human commoners,
  all are currently at 0 hit points and are exhausted. The
  twelfth is Aaron Ganileer, one-time proprietor of the
  Sarwin general store. Like the other villagers, he is
  exhausted.
  D Aaron Ganileer: Male human warrior 4; CR 3;
  Medium humanoid; HD 4d8+11; hp 29; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.;
  AC 11, touch 11, flat-footed 10; Atk +7 melee (1d3+3 non-
  lethal, unarmed strike); AL LN; SV Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +2;
  Str 16, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 13. 
  Skills and Feats: Intimidate +8, Ride +8, Swim +10; Iron
  Will, Toughness, Weapon Focus (longsword).
  Possessions: None.
  Treasure: Both of the chests in the chieftain’s hut
  are locked (Open Lock DC 30) but not trapped; Tibo-
  quoboc figures that Alorzulan and his minions are all
  the protection the chests need. Each chest contains a
  large number of items looted from the bodies of the Sar-
  wins ambushed by Tiboquoboc, including 450 gp, 120
  pp, 15 pieces of jewelry (worth a total of 7,500 gp), a
  masterwork mace, a masterwork longsword, a master-
  work rapier, two masterwork daggers, a suit of master-
  work breastplate armor, a ring of protection +2, three rings
  of protection +1, a +1 heavy metal shield, a pair of rings of
  friend shield, a wand of cure serious wounds (14 charges), a
  wand of lesser restoration (11 charges), a wand of remove dis-
  ease (33 charges), a scroll of heal, a scroll of restoration, a
  scroll of greater restoration, and a scroll of raise dead.
  Tactics: If the orc camp comes under attack, the Iron-
  maw barbarians and the progeny use ranged weapons
  (arrows and thrown rocks) until they are forced into
  melee, at which point the barbarians enter their rage. They
  focus their attention on humans, letting the chimeric dire
  bears take care of other creatures. Alorzulan takes to the air
  if the camp is attacked and strafes the camp with his breath
  weapon every few rounds, taking pains not to harm his
  allies (but remember, his progeny are immune to acid
  damage). When not using a breath weapon, he cast spells
  from a distance and enters melee only if the battle seems to
  be an assured victory or to defend himself. If things start to
  go badly, Alorzulan flees to the north but comes back
  when he is healed up to exact vengeance.
  Note also that since Lzierabel has cast status on Alorzu-
  lan, she becomes aware of trouble at the orc camp the
  instant he is wounded or otherwise harmed. She immedi-
  ately casts a sending spell to inquire, and reports Alorzulan’s
  reply to her allies in the castle, and they are ready to come
  to the camp’s aid if needed.
  Development: Although some parties might be
  tempted to directly assault the orc camp, such a tactic
  could be suicide. A far better plan would be to avoid the
  camp entirely, but if the group must launch an attack, they
  would be well advised to stage their assaults in numerous
  quick raids to slowly whittle away at the camp’s defenses.
  Tiboquoboc replenishes orc barbarians and progeny in the
  camp with those stationed at the castle as those in the
  camp fall, but he and his principal allies in the castle
  remain within despite the eventual fate of the orc camp.
  Should the party stage multiple raids on the orc camp
  in an attempt to whittle down its defenses, the progeny
  and Alorzulan take matters into their own hands and
  begin to search for the characters when they retreat to
  heal and regroup. If he can’t find their hideout, he directs
  the orcs and progeny to try to capture a personal item or
  body part from the party members the next time they
  attack. He then brings any captured parts to Tiboquoboc
  so the druid can use greater scrying to find out where
  they’re hiding.
  Although Alorzulan remains fiercely loyal to Tibo-
  quoboc (as do his chimeric minions and progeny), the
  Ironmaw barbarians eventually grow restless and worried
  if the PCs continue to launch successful attacks against
  their encampment. If the total number of Ironmaw barbar-
  ians in the region is reduced to half their original number
  (11 barbarians), they rebel against Tiboquoboc and Alorzu-
  lan and try to flee into the northern mountains. Alorzulan
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  18
  
  takes great offense at this and attacks the fleeing orcs with
  his breath weapon and spells; observant PCs can take
  advantage of this development as they see fit.
  Finally, although Lzierabel and Tiboquoboc both pos-
  sess methods to bring slain orcs back to life, they prefer
  not to waste resources and time to bring fallen warriors
  back to life; these methods are reserved for the principals.
  Ad Hoc Experience Award: If the characters
  rescue some or all the villagers, grant them XP for a CR
  equal to the character’s level –7. Thus, a 17th-level charac-
  ter gets a reward of 425 XP for each villager released.
  SARWIN CASTLE
  Once Tiboquoboc defeated the Sarwin family and over-
  came the village, he turned his attention to the castle itself.
  He knows the layout of the castle quite well, thanks to
  Arezi’s memories. What Arezi (and by extension, Tibo-
  quoboc) didn’t know about were several powerful contin-
  gent magic effects that sprang into being when he slew the
  castle’s keepers. This act triggered several magical effects
  that activated the castle’s defenses. These defenses are con-
  trolled in large part by a powerful djinni named Apori,
  who has served the Sarwins since not long after the castle
  was built, and include several powerful guardians and
  wards from the Elemental Plane of Air. Arezi knew noth-
  ing of these wards, and thus Tiboquoboc was initially taken
  aback by the difficulty he faced when he tried to reenter
  the Pit of Ubothar. Most of his resources and energy lately
  has been put into various attempts to regain entrance to
  the pit, and the violent clashes he and his minions have
  had with Apori and her air elemental guardians have
  turned Sarwin Castle into a war zone.
  Tiboquoboc’s ultimate goal is to gain access to the Pit of
  Ubothar (encounter area 84) and complete the ritual of
  awakening he started 600 years ago. This ritual is fairly
  complex and time-consuming, and before he can start it he
  needs to be in control of the castle.
  When the PCs arrive in Sarwin hamlet, Tiboquoboc has
  just started to regain control of the castle. He brings with
  him Alraugh, Irika, Muraxus, and Lzierabel (and her min-
  ions Amiryll and Zorkulak) to aid his efforts, leaving the
  rest of his forces under the watchful eye of Alorzulan. The
  progress of their invasion of the castle is given on the fol-
  lowing timeline. As time goes on, and Tiboquoboc’s forces
  start to control more of the castle, their resources are
  slowly diminished. The longer the party waits to tackle the
  Castle, the better their chances of defeating Tiboquoboc
  and his minions becomes. But at the same time, the longer
  they wait the more likely it is that Tiboquoboc can shore
  up his defenses in the Pit of Ubothar and awaken the beast.
  If he awakens the Thunder Below, the PCs may find them-
  selves faced with a battle that they cannot win.
  TIMELINE
  Three Days Ago: Tiboquoboc’s forces arrive in the
  region. While his minions lurk in the mountains directly
  north of the castle, he approaches the castle as Arezi after
  having Alorzulan horribly wound her body, accompanied
  by his allies (all of which are shielded by invisibility cast by
  Irika or Lzierabel). He calls out to the guards and then pre-
  tends to stumble and faint. The guards rush to his side, and
  then, upon realizing lost Arezi has finally returned horri-
  bly wounded, they send for the Sarwins. The entire family
  comes rushing out to Arezi’s aid, and as they try to heal her
  wounds, Tiboquoboc’s invisible allies spring the ambush.
  The battle is over in less than a minute, and the entire
  Sarwin line, except for Arezi herself, lies dead on the
  ground. The bodies are looted and the remains fed to the
  chimeric dire bears. Lzierabel heals Tiboquoboc’s wounds
  and then he unleashes the full might of his forces upon the
  village. That night, as they bask in the glory of their suc-
  cesses, the progeny and Ironmaw orcs quickly build the
  orc camp.
  Two Days Ago: Once he is satisfied that the orc camp
  is secure, Tiboquoboc and several of his allies attempt to
  enter Castle Sarwin only to find it has become trapped by
  several lightning traps and is guarded by numerous air
  elementals. After being forced to retreat, they attempt to
  invade the castle through the towers, only to be soundly
  thrashed by several powerful air elementals and a power-
  ful djinni named Apori. Enraged at this turn of events,
  Tiboquoboc selects several Ironmaw barbarians, and they
  and several of the druid’s allies try again to get into Castle
  Sarwin. This time, armed with foreknowledge of what to
  expect, they defeat the guardians and traps on the ground
  floor of the castle. Emboldened by his success, he heads
  straight down into the dungeons toward the Pit of
  Ubothar only to find the entrance has been blocked by a
  powerful effect resembling a wall of force that blocks even
  extradimensional movement. After wasting several hours
  and resources on failed attempts to get into the pit with
  magic and force, they retreat back up to the ground floor
  to cast several divination spells. Through these efforts,
  Tiboquoboc learns that the guardian djinni of Sarwin,
  Apori, controls both the elementals and the means to acti-
  vate and deactivate the wards around the Pit of Ubothar.
  This device, a stasis scepter, can lift these wards with ease.
  Yesterday: After recuperating from the previous
  night’s battles, Tiboquoboc fortifies his position on the
  ground floor of the castle, and then begins a series of daily
  forays into the upper floors of the castle with his allies in
  an attempt to reach Apori and take the stasis scepter from
  her. In the meantime, Tiboquoboc seals all the stairways
  leading up with walls of stone, except for the one in area 28,
  in an attempt to further fortify the ground floor.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  19
  
  He meets with his allies at 8:00 at night after they
  waken from a day’s rest. They go over their tactics for the
  day and discuss the previous day’s successes and failures
  for about an hour, and at 9:00 they climb the stairs in area
  28 and begin to assault the upper floor. On this day, they
  secure areas 49–52, and close off the two doors to area 37
  with walls of stone. Lzierabel casts several planar ally-type
  spells to set demonic guards at key locations in the ground
  floor and dungeon.
  Day 1: The PCs arrive in Sarwin on this day at a time
  selected by you; it’s recommended that they arrive in the
  village as the sun sets to provide a more chilling introduc-
  tion to the ruined village. The rest of this timeline proceeds
  as if the PCs do nothing to oppose Tiboquoboc; if they do,
  you need to alter Tiboquoboc’s progress accordingly.
  At 8:00 that night, Tiboquoboc and his minions make
  another attempt to explore the upper floors. He uses trans-
  mute rock to mud to destroy the wall of stone blocking the
  north door from area 51. They defeat the guardians in areas
  34–37 and in areas 45–46 before being forced to retreat
  from the guardian of area 47 at 11:30. He blocks off area 37
  from the northern section with a wall of stone this night. 
  Lzierabel and Irika use all their available healing spells
  to cure the wounded. Tiboquoboc uses three charges from
  his staff of conjuration.
  Day 2: Tiboquoboc and his minions meet again at 8:00
  at night to plan the night’s attack. They head upstairs at
  9:00 again, and although they find that several more air ele-
  mentals have appeared, they secure the same areas they
  breached the previous day, in addition to areas 38, 39–41,
  44–45, and 53–56 before they are forced to retreat at 12:00
  midnight. Among the loot they discover is a large cache of
  diamonds hidden in a wall safe in area 56 (15,000 gp in all).
  This stash was originally meant as a resurrection fund for
  slain members of the Sarwin family, and it will be put to
  use by Lzierabel the next day. Alraugh is slain by a particu-
  larly tough air elemental, as are three of the Ironmaw orcs
  that serve Tiboquoboc as guards.
  Tiboquoboc has used two more charges from his staff of
  conjuration. He replaces the three slain Ironmaw orcs with
  new orcs from the orc camp.
  Day 3: Lzierabel casts a resurrection spell on Alraugh,
  using up most of the diamonds (10,000 gp worth) the
  group discovered in area 45 the day before. Alraugh loses a
  level of barbarian as a result, but he remains as loyal as ever
  to Tiboquoboc.
  The group meets again at 8:00, and this time the spell-
  casters use more divination magic to determine that a
  magic key called the sky key is hidden in room 43; the div-
  inations reveal that the key is kept in a nearly impregnable
  metal safe, so Tiboquoboc prepares a transmute metal to
  wood spell that day in place of a quickened poison spell.
  They head upstairs again at 9:00 and defeat several more air
  elementals and add area 43 to their list of conquests. They
  find the sky key hidden in the room and use it to access
  areas 26, 48, and 60, whereupon they are attacked by sev-
  eral powerful air elementals, Tisa the ghaele fighter, and
  Apori herself. The battle is furious and they are once again
  forced to retreat. All Tiboquoboc’s bodyguards (four Iron-
  maw orcs and the progeny half-dragon) are slain, as are
  Irika and Alraugh (again). They escape with Irika’s body
  and gear, but lose Alraugh’s body and gear to Apori.
  That evening, Tiboquoboc and Lzierabel have a fierce
  argument; Tiboquoboc wants her to use miracle spells to
  bring back Irika and Alraugh from the dead but Lzierabel
  refuses to do so since it would cost her more than she
  wants to lose in experience. They finally come to an agree-
  ment; Irika is raised from the dead (using the rest of the
  diamonds from the stash) and Lzierabel and her cohorts
  accompany Tiboquoboc the next day.
  Tiboquoboc replaces his four orc bodyguards and his
  progeny half-dragon guard from replacements from the
  orc camp.
  At 5:00 on the morning of Day 4, Muraxus decides
  he’s had enough and sneaks out of the castle and flees to
  the south. He steals a fair amount of loot from area 18 as
  he does.
  Day 4: Tiboquoboc flies into a rage and slays his four new
  orc bodyguards when he discovers that Muraxus has not only
  stolen some of the best loot, but has also abandoned him. He
  replaces the slain orcs with more orcs from the camp, and
  then organizes an all-out attack on the main tower at 8:00,
  inviting Alorzulan into the castle for the meeting as well.
  At 9:00, the group goes upstairs to assault the Skytower
  again. At the same time, Alorzulan, the chimeric dire bears,
  and any remaining progeny attack the tower from outside.
  This two-pronged assault on Apori’s home is successful, and
  in the terrific battle that results, Apori causes the Skytower
  portal to self-destruct. The resulting explosion, coupled
  with the significant damage done to the tower by Alorzulan
  and his minions from outside, is enough to slay everyone in
  areas 60–62 and causes the Skytower to break apart and
  plunge down the cliff into the forest below. Lzierabel and
  Amiryll, shaken by the explosion, decide to flee to Lzier-
  abel’s monastery with the aid of a miracle spell cast to dupli-
  cate a word of recall. They leave Zorkulak behind; Lzierabel
  figures she can always get a new undead bodyguard.
  Although Arezi herself is slain, Tiboquoboc himself is
  protected from the explosion since he possessed her at the
  time of detonation. His ghostly form emerges from Arezi
  moments after the destructive explosion, and although he
  has a few moments of regret at losing so many powerful
  allies, Tiboquoboc remains eager to recover the stasis scepter
  from the ruins of the Skytower. He spends the better part
  of the night searching the ruins of the tower (much of
  which slid down the cliffside into the forest below), until
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  20
  
  he finally finds Apori’s remains and the stasis scepter at 3:00
  in the morning. He returns to area 49 to rest and recover
  and prepare for the ritual of awakening. He also possesses
  an Ironmaw orc in the area.
  Day 5: Tiboquoboc wakens at 1:00 in the afternoon
  and immediately descends into the dungeon level with
  Alorzulan (polymorphed into a smaller form). They get into
  the Pit of Ubothar with ease using the stasis scepter. Tibo-
  quoboc demands Alorzulan guard him while he begins the
  intensive 24-hour ritual needed to awaken Ubothar at 2:30
  in the afternoon.
  Day 6: At 2:30 in the afternoon, Tiboquoboc success-
  fully wakens Ubothar. See the section on Concluding the
  Adventure for details on what happens next.
  THE INVADERS OF SARWIN CASTLE
  Tiboquoboc and his allies are not static; they do not remain
  in only one room during this adventure. Thus, their statis-
  tics are presented here rather than keying them to specific
  chambers. These NPCs are all quite complex, and you
  should strive to play them with the same intelligence and
  dedication that your players use for their own characters.
  TIBOQUOBOC
  The primary villain in this adventure is Tiboquoboc; he’s
  also the most complex villain in the adventure. As a ghost,
  Tiboquoboc can use his malevolence ability to possess
  living hosts; for the most part, he prefers to remain in con-
  trol of Arezi Sarwin since he has grown used to controlling
  her and takes a perverse glee in using one of his hated ene-
  mies in this manner. He remains with Arezi until he is
  forced to flee her body (such as if he is successfully turned
  by a cleric) or she is slain or incapacitated, at which point
  he seeks out a new host as soon as possible.
  Tiboquoboc’s history and goals are detailed in full at the
  start of this adventure under the Adventure Background
  section.
  As long as Tiboquoboc is possessing Arezi, he has the
  following statistics:
  D Tiboquoboc (while possessing Arezi):
  Female human ghost druid 6/sorcerer 5/geomancer 9; CR
  20; Medium humanoid (augmented undead); HD 6d12+12
  plus 5d12+10 plus 9d12+18; hp 15; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; AC
  18, touch 9, flat-footed 17; Base Atk +12; Grp +12; Atk +14
  melee (1d6+2 plus 1d6 cold/18–20, +2 ghost touch icy burst
  scimitar); Full Atk +14/+9/+4 melee (1d6+2 plus 1d6
  cold/18–20, +2 ghost touch icy burst scimitar); SA malevo-
  lence, manifestation, telekinesis; SQ animal companion,
  darkvision 60 ft., ley lines +2, nature sense, rejuvenation,
  resist nature’s lure, spell versatility 8, trackless step, turn
  resistance +4, undead traits, wild empathy +11, wild shape
  (Small or Medium animal 3/day), woodland stride; AL NE;
  SV Fort +19, Ref +12, Will +30; Str 10, Dex 12, Con 14, 
  Int 13, Wis 26, Cha 20. 
  Skills and Feats: Concentration +21, Hide +8, Knowledge
  (arcana) +19, Knowledge (nature) +24, Listen +24, Search
  +9, Spellcraft +24, Spot +24; Augment Summoning, Craft
  Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wondrous Item, Extend
  Spell, Natural Spell, Quicken Spell, Spell Focus (conjura-
  tion).
  Malevolence (Su): The Will save to resist Tibo-
  quoboc’s malevolence attack is DC 25.
  Manifestation (Su): When manifested, Tiboquoboc
  can be harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, magic
  weapons, or spells, with a 50% chance to ignore damage
  from any corporeal source. He can pass through solid
  objects at will, and his own attacks pass through armor. He
  always moves silently. He can strike with his ghost touch
  weapon. His spells affect targets on the Ethereal Plane nor-
  mally and targets on the Material Plane normally unless
  they rely on touch.
  Telekinesis (Su): Tiboquoboc can use telekinesis at
  will (caster level 20th) as a standard action, once every 1d4
  rounds.
  Animal Companion: Tiboquoboc currently has no
  animal companions.
  Ley Lines: As a geomancer, Tiboquoboc has forged
  magical connections with the mountains and forests of the
  world. While in forested or mountainous terrain, he casts
  any spell at +2 caster level.
  Nature Sense: Tiboquoboc can identify plants and
  animals with perfect accuracy. He can determine whether
  water is safe to drink or dangerous.
  Rejuvenation (Su): Tiboquoboc is bound to his
  mortal remains, and must remain within 60 feet of their
  location at all times. His remains currently consist of noth-
  ing more than a partial skeleton that weighs 40 lbs. While
  he is possessing Arezi, he carries these bones wrapped in
  cloth in her Heward’s handy haversack; this allows him full
  mobility in the physical world. The partial skeleton has
  hardness 6 and 10 hit points. If his bones are destroyed, his
  link to the realm of the living is severed and he loses this
  ability. While this means he can travel wherever he wishes
  even while not possessing someone, it also means that if
  his ghostly form and his remains are destroyed, he is for-
  ever dead. Naturally, Tiboquoboc is quite protective of his
  remains.
  Resist Nature’s Lure: Tiboquoboc gains a +4 bonus
  to saving throws against the spell-like abilities of fey crea-
  tures (such as dryads, nymphs, and sprites).
  Spell Versatility: As a geomancer, Tiboquoboc has
  learned how to blend divine and arcane magic. He can mix
  and match spellcasting parameters from his sorcerer or
  druid class to gain maximum possible advantage for any
  spell of 8th level or less. This allows him to cast his
  sorcerer spells as druid spells (and thus suffer no chance of
  arcane spell failure from armor). He uses his Wisdom
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  21
  
  score to set the save DC for his sorcerer spells, as well as to
  determine bonus sorcerer spells. He can spontaneously
  convert any of his sorcerer spells into summon nature’s ally
  spells as if they were druid spells.
  Trackless Step: Tiboquoboc leaves no trail in natural
  surroundings and cannot be tracked.
  Turn Resistance (Ex): Tiboquoboc is treated as a 24-
  HD undead for the purpose of turn, rebuke, command, or
  bolster attempts.
  Undead Traits: Tiboquoboc is immune to mind-
  affecting effects. He cannot be raised, and resurrection works
  only if it is willing. Darkvision 60 ft.
  Wild Empathy (Ex): Tiboquoboc can use body lan-
  guage, vocalizations, and demeanor to improve the attitude
  of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy
  check to improve the attitude of a person. His bonus on
  this check is +11.
  Wild Shape (Su): Tiboquoboc can change into a
  Small or Medium animal and back again three times per
  day as per the polymorph spell. Unlike the standard use of
  the spell, however, he may adopt only one form. Tibo-
  quoboc regains hit points as if he has rested for a day. He
  does not risk the standard penalty for being disoriented
  while in his wild shape. He gains all the creature’s special
  abilities when he does so.
  Woodland Stride: Tiboquoboc may move through
  natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain
  at his normal speed and without suffering damage or other
  impairment. However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas
  that are enchanted or magically manipulated to impede
  motion still affect him.
  Druid Spells Prepared (6/7/7/7/6/5/4/3/2; save DC
  18 + spell level, or 19 + spell level for conjuration spells): 0—
  flare (2), know direction (2), resistance (2); 1st—charm animal,
  entangle, faerie fire, obscuring mist* (2), produce flame (2); 2nd—
  animal messenger, cat’s grace, flame blade, owl’s wisdom, resist
  energy, summon swarm*, wood shape; 3rd—call lightning, conta-
  gion, extended flaming sphere, poison, sleet storm*, spike growth,
  wind wall; 4th—dispel magic, extended greater magic fang (3),
  flame strike, ice storm; 5th—baleful polymorph, call lightning
  storm, transmute mud to rock, transmute rock to mud, wall of
  thorns*; 6th—extended wall of fire, fire seeds*, quickened flame
  blade, transport via plants; 7th—fire storm, greater scrying, quick-
  ened poison; 8th—finger of death, quickened flamestrike.
  Sorcerer Spells Known (6/8/6; save DC 18 + spell
  level or 19 + spell level for conjuration spells): 0—acid
  splash*, dancing lights, detect magic, ray of frost, read magic,
  touch of fatigue; 1st—burning hands, enlarge person, grease*, ray
  of enfeeblement; 2nd—mirror image, web.
  Possessions: +2 ghost touch icy burst scimitar, +1 ghost
  touch wild dragonhide full plate, staff of conjuration (13
  charges), ring of x-ray vision, amulet of proof against detection
  and location, periapt of wisdom +6, cloak of resistance +5, pink
  and green sphere ioun stone (+2 Cha), druid’s vestments,
  Heward’s handy haversack, wand of charm person (caster level
  1st, 14 charges).
  Only the haversack and the wand of charm person are
  Arezi’s; the others are Tiboquoboc’s items. One of his
  first acts after possessing Arezi was to reclaim these from
  his bones, which he carries around in Arezi’s magic
  haversack.
  The geomancer prestige class is detailed in Masters of the
  Wild. This prestige class allows one to use the magical
  power of the natural world to combine divine and arcane
  magic into something more. As a result, the geomancer
  drifts increasingly closely to nature himself. This drift is a
  physical change, and as such, it does not affect any bodies
  Tiboquoboc possesses. He retains the ability to use his
  other powers, however.
  As Arezi, Tiboquoboc appears as a once-pretty young
  human woman. His long tenancy in her body has left its
  mark, though, especially in the numerous grotesque tribal
  tattoos he has applied to her face, shoulders, arms, and
  back. Her black hair is wild and unkempt, her posture
  somewhat slouched, and her manner of speaking rough
  yet calculating. A player who makes a Sense Motive check
  (DC 20) while interacting with Arezi notes something
  even more strange and chilling . . . a hard to shrug-off
  hunch that when she looks at you, more than one set of
  eyes is watching.
  Tiboquoboc used to have both an animal companion
  and a familiar, but both recently died in encounters with
  Apori’s traps and minions. Naturally, this has only further
  fueled his hatred, rage, and need to unleash Ubothar upon
  the world.
  If he is forced out of Arezi’s body in any way, his statis-
  tics change to the following:
  D Tiboquoboc: Male orc ghost druid 6/sorcerer
  5/geomancer 9; CR 25; Medium undead (augmented
  humanoid, incorporeal); HD 6d12 plus 5d12 plus 9d12; hp
  130; Init +1; Spd fly 30 ft. (perfect); AC 25, touch 16, flat-
  footed 24; Base Atk +12; Grp —; Atk +15 melee (1d6+2 plus
  1d6 cold/18–20, +2 ghost touch icy burst scimitar); Full Atk
  +15/+10/+5 melee (1d6+2 plus 1d6 cold/18–20, +2 ghost
  touch icy burst scimitar); SA corrupting gaze, malevolence,
  manifestation, pounce, rage, telekinesis; SQ animal com-
  panion, darkvision 60 ft., drift, incorporeal subtype, ley
  lines +2, low-light vision, nature sense, rejuvenation, resist
  nature’s lure, spell versatility 8, trackless step, turn resist-
  ance +4, undead traits, wild empathy +11, wild shape
  (Small or Medium animal 3/day), woodland stride; AL NE;
  SV Fort +17, Ref +14, Will +28; Str –, Dex 12, Con –, Int 13,
  Wis 26, Cha 20. 
  Skills and Feats: Concentration +24, Hide +13, Knowl-
  edge (arcana) +19, Knowledge (nature) +24, Listen +24,
  Search +9, Spellcraft +24, Spot +24; Augment Summoning,
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  Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wondrous Item,
  Extend Spell, Natural Spell, Quicken Spell, Spell Focus
  (conjuration).
  Corrupting Gaze (Su): Tiboquoboc’s gaze attack has
  a range of 30 feet. The target can make a DC 25 Fortitude
  save to avoid 2d10 points of damage and 1d4 points of
  Charisma damage.
  Malevolence (Su): The Will save to resist Tibo-
  quoboc’s malevolence attack is DC 25.
  Manifestation (Su): When manifested, Tiboquoboc
  can be harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, magic
  weapons, or spells, with a 50% chance to ignore damage
  from any corporeal source. He can pass through solid
  objects at will, and his own attacks pass through armor. He
  always moves silently. He can strike with his ghost touch
  weapon. His spells affect targets on the Ethereal Plane nor-
  mally and targets on the Material Plane normally unless
  they rely on touch.
  Pounce (Ex): If Tiboquoboc charges a foe, he can
  make a full attack even though he has moved.
  Rage: While Tiboquoboc rages, the following changes
  to his statistics are in effect: AC 23, touch 14, flat-footed 22;
  SV Will +30. His rage lasts for 8 rounds.
  Telekinesis (Su): Tiboquoboc can use telekinesis at
  will (caster level 20th) as a standard action, once every 1d4
  rounds.
  Animal Companion: Tiboquoboc currently has no
  animal companions.
  Drift: As a geomancer, Tiboquoboc’s powerful con-
  nection to the brutal side of nature (in particular, to the
  power of Ubothar) has caused him to drift closer to this
  savage realm physically. This has caused the following
  changes to his appearance: 
  • His skin has turned green and scaly. 
  • His touch causes flowers to wilt. 
  • His eyes have become as sharp as a rat’s, granting him
  low-light vision. 
  • He became as swift as an elk, increasing his land speed by
  +5 feet. 
  • Deer antlers grew from his forehead (granting a gore
  attack for 1d6 damage). 
  • His mouth extended into a crocodilian shape (granting a
  bite attack for 1d6 damage). 
  • He can enter a battle rage like a wolverine (if he takes
  damage, he rages as a 1st-level barbarian). 
  • He can pounce like a leopard (when he makes a charge
  attack, he can follow with a full attack). 
  • He has become unnaturally graceful, and gains a +2 bonus
  on Reflex saves.
  Ethereal: The following changes apply to Tibo-
  quoboc’s statistics against ethereal opponents: Spd 35 ft.;
  AC 20, touch 11, flat-footed 19; Grp +15; Atk +15 melee
  (1d6+3, gore) or +17 melee (1d6+6 plus 1d6 cold/18–20, +2
  ghost touch icy burst scimitar); Full Atk +15 melee (1d6+3,
  gore) and +10 melee (1d6+1, bite) or +17/+12/+7 melee
  (1d6+6 plus 1d6 cold/18–20, +2 ghost touch icy burst scimitar)
  and +10 melee (1d6+1, gore) and +10 melee (1d6+1, bite);
  Str 16. Pounce (Ex): If Tiboquoboc charges a foe, he can
  make a full attack even though he has moved. Rage: AC 18,
  touch 9, flat-footed 17; Grp +17; Atk +17 melee (1d6+5,
  gore) or +19 melee (1d6+9 plus 1d6 cold/18–20, +2 ghost
  touch icy burst scimitar); Full Atk +17 melee (1d6+5, gore)
  and +12 melee (1d6+2, bite) or +19/+14/+9 melee (1d6+9
  plus 1d6 cold/18–20, +2 ghost touch icy burst scimitar) and
  +12 melee (1d6+2, gore) and +12 melee (1d6+2, bite); SV
  Will +30; Str 20.
  Incorporeal Subtype: Tiboquoboc can be harmed
  only by other incorporeal creatures, +1 or better magic
  weapons, spells, spell-like abilities, or supernatural abili-
  ties; immune to all nonmagical attack forms. He has a 50%
  chance to ignore any damage from a corporeal source
  (except for force effects, such as magic missiles, and attacks
  made with ghost touch weapons); can pass through solid
  objects (but not force effects) at will. His attacks ignore
  natural armor, armor, and shields (though deflection
  bonuses and force effects work normally). Tiboquoboc
  moves silently (cannot be heard with Listen checks unless
  desired).
  Ley Lines: As a geomancer, Tiboquoboc has forged
  magical connections with the mountains and forests of the
  world. While in forested or mountainous terrain, he casts
  any spell at +2 caster level.
  Nature Sense: Tiboquoboc can identify plants and
  animals with perfect accuracy. He can determine whether
  water is safe to drink or dangerous.
  Rejuvenation (Su): Tiboquoboc is bound to his
  mortal remains, and must remain within 60 feet of their
  location at all times. His remains currently consist of noth-
  ing more than a partial skeleton that weighs 40 lbs. While
  he is possessing Arezi, he carries these bones wrapped in
  cloth in her Heward’s handy haversack; this allows him
  full mobility in the physical world. The partial skeleton
  has hardness 6 and 10 hit points. If his bones are
  destroyed, his link to the realm of the living is severed and
  he loses this ability. While this means he can travel wher-
  ever he wishes even while not possessing someone, it also
  means that if his ghostly form and his remains are
  destroyed, he is forever dead. Naturally, Tiboquoboc is
  quite protective of his remains.
  Resist Nature’s Lure: Tiboquoboc gains a +4 bonus
  to saving throws against the spell-like abilities of fey crea-
  tures (such as dryads, nymphs, and sprites).
  Spell Versatility: As a geomancer, Tiboquoboc has
  learned how to blend divine and arcane magic. He can mix
  and match spellcasting parameters from his sorcerer or
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  23
  
  (kept in Arezi’s magic haversack) and his gear. Possessing
  someone near this equipment is his most efficient method
  of accomplishing this goal, but he could also send one of
  his minions to gather the lost items. Since this temporarily
  deprives him of the ghostly equivalents of his gear, he is
  loath to use this tactic.
  One particularly devastating tactic that Tiboquoboc can
  utilize while he is in ghostly form is to hide in the walls of
  the castle and use his ring of x-ray vision to observe and spy
  on his enemies. Since he has no Constitution score, he can
  use this ring for as long as he desires with few repercus-
  sions. He can even hound enemies by using summoning
  spells to call in creatures to attack from his safe vantage
  point out of sight in a wall.
  Goals: Tiboquoboc’s goal in Sarwin is to reach the Pit
  of Ubothar and complete the ritual of awakening he
  started so long ago. Before he can do so, however, he must
  gain control of the castle’s defenses. He and his allies have
  discovered that access to the pit itself has been blocked by
  wall of force and dimensional lock spells. Lacking the means
  to remove the walls of force, they used divination magic to
  determine that both spells were controlled by a magical
  scepter in the possession of a powerful djinni named
  Apori. Unfortunately for Tiboquoboc, Apori is also the
  party responsible for the potent guardians and traps that
  greeted them when they first invaded the castle. Since
  then, Tiboquoboc and his allies have been working at find-
  ing a way into Apori’s sanctum to defeat her and gain con-
  trol of the stasis scepter she possesses.
  Locations: Tiboquoboc holds a meeting with his
  minions at 8:00 PM in area 51, and he spends the next sev-
  eral hours searching the various rooms on the second floor
  of the castle for a way into the Skytower. Afterward, he
  reads and sleeps in area 49.
  ALRAUGH
  The current leader of the Ironmaw Orcs is a savage, mur-
  derous, hate-filled orc named Alraugh. He has absorbed
  and honed his hatred of humanity, focused after a lifetime
  listening to the tales of how his people’s ancestral home
  was wrested from their control and their holy leader laid
  low by humans. When Tiboquoboc sought out the Iron-
  maw orcs after escaping Sarwin in Arezi’s body, he quickly
  learned of Alraugh’s hatred and after a tense meeting, he
  convinced the orc warlord of the truth of his identity.
  D Alraugh: Male orc barbarian 14/fighter 4; CR 18;
  Medium humanoid; HD 14d12+56 plus 4d10+16; hp 185;
  Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; AC 22, touch 13, flat-footed 22; Base Atk
  +18; Grp +22; Atk +30 melee (2d4+17 plus 2d6/15–20, +3
  vicious human bane falchion) or +20 ranged (1d8+8/�3,
  masterwork [+8 Str bonus] composite longbow); Full Atk
  +30/+25/+20/+15 melee (2d4+17 plus 2d6/15–20, +3 vicious
  human bane falchion) or +20/+15/+10/+5 ranged
  (1d8+8/�3, masterwork [+8 Str bonus] composite long-
  bow); SQ darkvision 60 ft., damage reduction 3/–, fast
  movement, improved uncanny dodge, indomitable will,
  light sensitivity, rage 4/day, trap sense +4, uncanny dodge;
  AL CE; SV Fort +17, Ref +6, Will +7; Str 26, Dex 12, Con 18,
  Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 14. 
  Skills and Feats: Intimidate +23, Jump +21, Listen +17;
  Cleave, Diehard, Endurance, Great Cleave, Improved
  Critical (falchion), Iron Will, Power Attack, Quick Draw,
  Weapon Focus (falchion), Weapon Specialization (fal-
  chion).
  Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Alraugh can no
  longer be flanked, since he can react to opponents on
  opposite sides of him as easily as he can react to a single
  attacker. This defense denies rogues the ability to use flank
  attacks to sneak attack him. The exception to this defense
  is that a rogue at least four levels higher than Alraugh can
  flank him (and thus sneak attack him). 
  Indomitable Will (Ex): While in a rage, Alraugh
  gains a +4 bonus on Will saves to resist enchantment
  spells.
  Greater Rage: While Alraugh rages, the following
  changes to his statistics are in effect: HD 14d12+98 plus
  4d10+28; hp 239; AC 20, touch 11, flat-footed 20; Grp +29;
  Atk +33 melee (2d4+21 plus 2d6/15–20, +3 vicious human
  bane falchion) or +20 ranged (1d8+8/�3, masterwork [+8
  Str bonus] composite longbow); Full Atk +33/+28/+23/+18
  melee (2d4+21 plus 2d6/15–20, +3 vicious human bane fal-
  chion) or +20/+15/+10/+5 ranged (1d8+8/�3, masterwork
  [+8 Str bonus] composite longbow); SV Fort +20, Will +10;
  Str 32, Con 24; Jump +24. His rage lasts for 10 rounds.
  Light Sensitivity (Ex): Alraugh is dazzled in bright
  sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.
  Trap Sense (Ex): Alraugh gains a +4 bonus on reflex
  saves made to avoid traps and a +4 bonus to AC against
  attacks made by traps.
  Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Alraugh gains the ability to
  react to danger before his senses would normally allow
  him to even be aware of it. He retains his Dexterity bonus
  to AC (if any) regardless of being caught flat-footed or
  struck by an invisible attacker. (He still loses any Dexterity
  bonus to AC if immobilized.)
  Possessions: +3 vicious human bane falchion, masterwork
  (+8 Str bonus) composite longbow, 40 arrows, +3 moderate
  fortification scale mail, +2 animated heavy steel shield, belt of
  giant strength +4, amulet of health +2, ring of protection +2.
  Alraugh is a powerfully built orc covered with tribal tat-
  toos and scars marking him as a warlord of the Ironmaw
  tribe. His hair hangs in long dreadlocks to his waist.
  Tactics: Alraugh is not a subtle fighter. Although he is
  shockingly charismatic for an orc, his grasp of tactics is not
  deep. His preferred method of combat is to wade in to
  attack the toughest looking enemy, using Power Attack at
  THE THUNDER BELOW
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  druid class to gain maximum possible advantage for any
  spell of 8th level or less. This allows him to cast his sor-
  cerer spells as druid spells (and thus suffer no chance of
  arcane spell failure from armor). He uses his Wisdom
  score to set the save DC for his sorcerer spells, as well as to
  determine bonus sorcerer spells. He can spontaneously
  convert any of his sorcerer spells into summon nature’s
  ally spells as if they were druid spells.
  Trackless Step: Tiboquoboc leaves no trail in natural
  surroundings and cannot be tracked.
  Turn Resistance (Ex): Tiboquoboc is treated as a 24-
  HD undead for the purpose of turn, rebuke, command, or
  bolster attempts.
  Undead Traits: Tiboquoboc is immune to mind-
  affecting effects, poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning,
  disease, death effects, and any effect that requires a Forti-
  tude save unless it also works on objects or is harmless. He
  is not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability
  damage to its physical ability scores, ability drain, energy
  drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or death from massive damage.
  He cannot be raised, and resurrection works only if it is will-
  ing. Darkvision 60 ft.
  Wild Empathy (Ex): Tiboquoboc can use body lan-
  guage, vocalizations, and demeanor to improve the attitude
  of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy
  check to improve the attitude of a person. His bonus on
  this check is +11.
  Wild Shape (Su): Tiboquoboc can change into a
  Small or Medium animal and back again twice per day as
  per the polymorph spell. Unlike the standard use of the
  spell, however, he may adopt only one form. Tiboquoboc
  regains hit points as if he has rested for a day. He does not
  risk the standard penalty for being disoriented while in his
  wild shape. He gains all the creature’s special abilities
  when he does so.
  Woodland Stride: Tiboquoboc may move through
  natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain
  at his normal speed and without suffering damage or other
  impairment. However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas
  that are enchanted or magically manipulated to impede
  motion still affect him.
  Druid Spells Prepared (6/7/7/7/6/5/4/3/2; save
  DC 18 + spell level, or 19 + spell level for conjuration
  spells): 0—flare (2), know direction (2), resistance (2); 1st—
  charm animal, entangle, faerie fire, obscuring mist* (2), produce
  flame (2); 2nd—animal messenger, cat’s grace, flame blade, owl’s
  wisdom, resist energy, summon swarm*, wood shape; 3rd—call
  lightning, contagion, extended flaming sphere, poison, sleet
  storm*, spike growth , wind wall; 4th—dispel magic, extended
  greater magic fang (3), flame strike, ice storm; 5th—baleful poly-
  morph, call lightning storm, transmute mud to rock, transmute
  rock to mud, wall of thorns*; 6th—extended wall of fire, fire
  seeds*, quickened flame blade, transport via plants; 7th—fire
  storm, greater scrying, quickened poison; 8th—finger of death,
  quickened flamestrike.
  Sorcerer Spells Known (6/8/6; save DC 18 + spell
  level or 19 + spell level for conjuration spells): 0—acid
  splash*, dancing lights, detect magic, ray of frost, read magic,
  touch of fatigue; 1st—burning hands, enlarge person, grease*, ray
  of enfeeblement; 2nd—mirror image, web.
  *Conjuration spell
  Possessions: +2 ghost touch icy burst scimitar, +1 ghost
  touch wild dragonhide full plate, staff of conjuration (13
  charges), ring of x-ray vision, amulet of proof against detection
  and location, periapt of wisdom +6, cloak of resistance +5, pink
  and green sphere ioun stone (+2 Cha), master key to Sarwin
  Castle. These items of equipment (except for the ioun stone
  and key, which are real) are ghostly versions of Tibo-
  quoboc’s actual possessions. If a living creature gains pos-
  session of one of these items, the ghostly equivalent Tibo-
  quoboc uses vanishes until he can reclaim possession of
  the original item. If he is forced to vacate Arezi’s body as a
  result of being turned by a cleric, all these items vanish at
  once since Arezi, now in control of her own body after all
  these years, also controls Tiboquoboc’s gear (and his
  bones).
  In his ghostly true form, Tiboquoboc is quite horrifying
  to behold. He appears as a burly orc with a body festooned
  with tribal tattoos (the same ones he placed on Arezi’s
  body while he was in control of it). These tattoos, along
  with his eyes and mouth, seem to glow with orange inter-
  nal fire. Additionally, his geomancer drift has caused fur-
  ther changes to his appearance (see above), causing his
  skin to turn green and scaly, a pair of deerlike antlers to
  grow from his head, and elongating his jaws into a toothy
  crocodilian smile.
  Tactics: While he is in control of Arezi’s body, Tibo-
  quoboc avoids melee combat. Even though his skill with
  the scimitar remains considerable, he knows that Arezi’s
  body is fragile and if it is slain, he won’t be able to exult in
  her despair when he finally unleashes the Thunder Below
  and forces her to sacrifice herself to the beast. As a result,
  he tends to hang back in combat and use his spells to fight
  while any minions he has nearby engage enemies in
  melee. If forced into combat, Tiboquoboc prefers to use his
  wildshape ability to assume the form of a dire tiger or dire
  bear to maximize his Armor Class; remember the armor
  bonus from his wild dragonhide remains in effect in any
  wildshape form he assumes. While he remains in Arezi’s
  body, he never travels anywhere without at least four Iron-
  maw barbarians and one progeny of Alorzulan. Alraugh is
  also usually somewhere nearby to protect him. If sorely
  pressed, he attempts to escape to gather his other allies and
  strike back as an organized force.
  If he is forced to vacate Arezi’s body, his first order of
  business becomes the reacquisition of his mortal remains
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  25
  
  its fullest despite the level of armor worn by his enemy.
  Now that he has become Tiboquoboc’s de facto bodyguard,
  though, he takes pains to avoid these tactics and instead
  stays within 30 feet of his master so he can rush to the
  ghost’s aid if needed. He focuses his attacks on clerics or
  paladins, since Tiboquoboc has warned him that their abil-
  ity to turn undead is perhaps his greatest weakness.
  Despite his loyalty, though, the heat of battle tends to
  blind him. If he drops below 100 hit points, Alraugh’s
  ingrained hatred takes over, and he abandons Tiboquoboc
  to chase down and assault any humans in sight.
  Goals: Alraugh is loyal to Tiboquoboc and views the
  orc ghost as akin to a demigod returned from the past to
  lead his people back into their ancestral lands.
  Locations: Alraugh can be found at Tiboquoboc’s
  side, serving as a bodyguard. The only time he leaves the
  ghostly geomancer is for an hour every evening at 6:00,
  when he travels to the orc camp to make sure things are
  going well. He makes this journey with two of the Iron-
  maw barbarians that normally guard Tiboquoboc.
  IRIKA
  Irika is the newest of Tiboquoboc recruits. He encoun-
  tered her only a few short months ago as he was making
  the final preparations for his assault on Sarwin. Irika had
  captured several human merchants and was entertaining
  herself by forcing them to fight each other to the death by
  using her magic to alter their allegiances and perceptions
  of reality. Impressed with her obvious hatred of the
  humans, Tiboquoboc revealed his true nature to her after
  she had finished with the merchants. When he told her of
  his plan to deal untold pain on the human civilizations to
  the south, she readily agreed to aid him and joined his
  army at once.
  D Irika: Female harpy bard 13; CR 17; Medium mon-
  strous humanoid; HD 7d8+7 plus 13d6+13; hp 96; Init +3;
  Spd 20 ft., fly 80 ft. (average); AC 16, touch 15, flat-footed
  13; Base Atk +16; Grp +15; Atk +16/+11/+6/+1 melee
  (1d4/18–20, +1 human bane kukri) and +10 melee (1d3–1, 2
  claws); SA captivating song; SQ bardic knowledge +13,
  bardic music (countersong, fascinate, inspire courage +2,
  inspire greatness, song of freedom, suggestion) 13/day, dark-
  vision 60 ft.; AL NE; SV Fort +7, Ref +16, Will +14; Str 8,
  Dex 17, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 25. 
  Skills and Feats: Balance +5, Bluff +39, Diplomacy +14,
  Intimidate +16, Jump +1, Listen +11, Perform (oratory)
  +14, Perform (sing) +33, Sense Motive +16, Spot +3,
  Tumble +26; Combat Casting, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Mobil-
  ity, Persuasive, Spring Attack.
  Captivating Song (Su): When Irika sings, every
  creature (other than a harpy) within a 300-foot spread
  must succeed on a DC 20 Will save or become captivated.
  This is a sonic, mind-affecting charm effect. The effect
  continues for as long as Irika sings and for 1 round there-
  after. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected
  again by the same harpy’s song for 24 hours. The save DC
  is Charisma-based.
  Bardic Knowledge: Irika may make a bardic knowl-
  edge check with a bonus of +13 to see whether she knows
  some relevant information about local notable people, leg-
  endary items, or noteworthy places.
  Bardic Music: Irika can use his song or poetics to
  produce magical effects on those around her. 
  Countersong (Su): Irika can counter magical effects that
  depend on sound by making a Perform check for each
  round of countersong. Any creature within 30 feet of her
  who is affected by a sonic or language-dependent magical
  attack may use her Perform check result in place of its
  saving throw if desired. Countersong lasts for 10 rounds. 
  Fascinate (Sp): Irika can cause a single creature within 90
  feet that can see and hear her to become fascinated with
  her. Her Perform check result is the DC for the opponent’s
  Will save. Any obvious threat breaks the effect. Fascina-
  tion lasts 13 rounds. 
  Inspire Courage (Su): Each ally who can hear Irika
  receives a +2 morale bonus on saves against charm and fear
  effects and a +2 morale bonus on attack and weapon
  damage rolls. The effect lasts for 5 rounds after the ally can
  no longer hear Irika. 
  Inspire Greatness (Su): Irika can inspire greatness in her-
  self or up to two willing allies within 30 feet, granting extra
  fighting capability. The effect lasts for as long as the ally
  hears the bard sing and for 5 rounds thereafter. A creature
  inspired with greatness gains 2 bonus Hit Dice (d10s), the
  commensurate number of temporary hit points, a +2 com-
  petence bonus on attack rolls, and a +1 competence bonus
  on Fortitude saves. 
  Song of Freedom (Sp): Irika can create an effect equivalent
  to the break enchantment spell (caster level 13th). Using this
  ability requires 1 minute of uninterrupted concentration
  and music, and it functions on a single target within 30
  feet. Irika can’t use song of freedom on herself.
  Suggestion (Sp): Irika can make a suggestion (as the spell)
  to a creature she has already fascinated. A DC 20 Will save
  negates the effect. 
  Bard Spells Known (3/5/5/5/3/1; save DC 17 +
  spell level): 0—daze, detect magic, lullaby, mage hand,
  open/close, read magic; 1st—charm person, cure light wounds,
  silent image, undetectable alignment; 2nd—blindness/deafness,
  cat’s grace, invisibility, sound burst; 3rd—confusion, cure serious
  wounds, haste, sepia snake sigil; 4th—cure critical wounds,
  dimension door, dominate person, shadow conjuration; 5th—
  false vision, mass suggestion.
  Possessions: +1 human bane kukri, ring of protection +2, cir-
  clet of persuasion, cloak of Charisma +4, gold and ruby neck-
  lace worth 2,000 gp, gold and ruby anklet worth 1,700 gp.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  26
  
  Irika’s feathers and skin both are a distinctive dull
  yellow color. The tips of her wing feathers are black, as is
  her hair and her narrow eyes. She has a violent, predatory
  look to her visage, and she enjoys singing lullabies of ter-
  rible tortures she’s visited upon her past victims.
  Tactics: Irika prefers to use her magic and captivating
  song to sow dissent among her enemies. Once she has con-
  fused, suggested, dominated, and charmed at least half her
  enemies, she gives them orders to fight each other to the
  death for her entertainment; those who resist are capti-
  vated with her song and become victims to those who can’t
  resist her commands. She’s a coward at heart though, and if
  she’s engaged in melee, she turns herself invisible and tries
  to flee, only to sneak back later to get her revenge.
  Goals: In actuality, by virtue of her bardic lore, Irika
  quickly recognized Tiboquoboc for what he was . . . the
  same ancient cultist who nearly unleashed Ubothar in
  ancient times. While she has little love for the nearby
  human nations, she does enjoy kidnapping travelers and
  merchants for her idle entertainment. Ubothar’s awaken-
  ing would quickly depopulate her hunting grounds. She
  decided to ally with Tiboquoboc so she could monitor his
  progress; her skill at bluffing and concealing her true
  motives has kept her true reasons for joining with him
  quite well hidden. Irika hopes that Tiboquoboc will fail in
  his mission, or that some resourceful band of adventurers
  will stop him. If not, she will try to step in and stop him at
  the last moment. She’s not sure how she plans to do this
  yet, but the introduction of the PCs into the picture gives
  her an idea.
  You can use Irika as you see fit to provide additional
  assistance to the PCs if they need it. She doesn’t want to
  reveal her hand too much, and she certainly doesn’t want
  to bring Tiboquoboc’s wrath down on her head, so she
  does her best to keep her aid to the PCs as subtle as she
  can. One preferred method might be to charm or domi-
  nate a character while he or she is alone. She then imparts
  her advice to her charmed minion, while impressing upon
  them not to reveal how they came upon this information.
  Possible aid she can give includes information on Tibo-
  quoboc’s true nature, his actual goals, and his standard
  movements through the castle. In any case, once the threat
  posed by Tiboquoboc is lifted, Irika quickly grows tired of
  the alliance and tries to kidnap one of the PCs for her per-
  sonal enjoyment.
  Locations: Irika meets with Tiboquoboc every morn-
  ing at 8:00 to 9:00 in area 51, and then spends the next sev-
  eral hours helping him search and fight on the upper floor.
  After they are forced to retreat, she prefers to spend the
  rest of the night flying about outside (although she has to
  walk outside the influence of Apori’s elementals) above
  the forests. If the party is overly visible at night, a slight
  chance exists that she notices them and come to
  investigate; you should stage such an encounter only if you
  feel it’s warranted and the party might need some guid-
  ance (since Irika is not completely in agreement with
  Tiboquoboc’s plans). She returns to the castle by 6:00 in
  the morning and rests and relaxes in area 31 until the next
  night’s meeting.
  MURAXUS
  Muraxus is the only member of Tiboquoboc’s army to have
  sought out the orc geomancer, rather than the other way
  around. Muraxus spent much of his time traveling from
  city to city in the southern nations, entertaining himself
  by wooing rich aristocrats and luring their husbands and
  lovers into duels. After quickly slaughtering his opponent,
  he revealed his true form to his one-time lover and then
  skipped town for his next conquest, leaving a dead noble
  and a grieving and often insane lover in his wake.
  Recently, though, he bit off more than he could chew
  when he chose the lover of a powerful local thieves’ guild
  master as his target. Forced to flee the civilized reaches of
  the world when an angry guild of powerful thieves began
  hunting him day and night, Muraxus spent many long
  months wandering around the fringes of civilization in
  growing boredom and disgust. The one-horse towns had
  little to hold his interest, and every time he tried to return
  to the south he quickly found that word of his arrival pre-
  ceded him; it seems that the thieves’ guild he tangled with
  had contacts in all the major cities.
  Frustrated, he returned to the northern wilds to try to
  decide what to do. It was during these travels that he
  stumbled onto the Ironmaw orcs. The orcs immediately
  attacked what looked like easy prey, and Muraxus had a
  grand time dancing around them and tormenting them
  with quick jabs and cuts before Tiboquoboc put a stop to
  the fun. Tiboquoboc saw potential in the aranea, though,
  and told him that he was building a small but highly
  trained army to bring pain to the southern humans;
  Muraxus agreed immediately to assist, eventually hoping
  to recruit Tiboquoboc’s aid in destroying the thieves’ guild
  as well.
  D Muraxus (Hybrid Form): Male aranea rogue
  6/duelist 7; CR 17; Medium magical beast (shapechanger);
  HD 3d10+6 plus 6d6+12 plus 7d10+14; hp 108; Init +7; Spd
  50 ft.; AC 23, touch 17, flat-footed 23; Base Atk +14; Grp
  +15; Atk +19 melee (1d6+1 plus poison, bite) or +19 ranged
  (web) or +20 melee (1d6+2/15–20, +1 human bane keen
  rapier); Full Atk +19 melee (1d6+1 plus poison, bite) or +19
  ranged (web) or +20/+15/+10 melee (1d6+2/15–20, +1
  human bane keen rapier); SA poison, precise strike +1d6,
  sneak attack +3d6, spells, web; SQ acrobatic charge, canny
  defense, change shape, darkvision 60 ft., elaborate parry,
  enhanced mobility, evasion, grace, improved reaction +2,
  low-light vision, trap sense +2, trapfinding, uncanny
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  27
  
  dodge; AL LE; SV Fort +9, Ref +20, Will +7; Str 13, Dex 21,
  Con 14, Int 20, Wis 10, Cha 16. 
  Skills and Feats: Balance +7, Bluff +22, Climb +7, Con-
  centration +8, Diplomacy +7, Disable Device +19, Escape
  Artist +14, Intimidate +5, Jump +18, Listen +18, Open Lock
  +17, Perform (dance) +15, Search +16, Sense Motive +15,
  Spot +18, Tumble +26; Combat Expertise, Dodge,
  Improved Feint, Iron Will, Mobility, Spring Attack,
  Weapon Finesse.
  Poison (Ex): Muraxus delivers his poison (Fortitude
  DC 13, initial damage 1d6 Str, secondary damage 2d6 Str)
  with each successful bite attack. The save DC is Constitu-
  tion-based.
  Precise Strike (Ex): Muraxus can strike precisely
  with his rapier, dealing an extra +1d6 points of damage.
  Any creature immune to critical hits is also image.
  Spells: Muraxus casts spells as a 3rd-level sorcerer.
  Web (Ex): Muraxus can throw a web up to six times
  per day. This is similar to an attack with a net but has a
  maximum range of 50 feet, with a range increment of 10
  feet, and is effective against targets of up to Large size. The
  web anchors the target in place, allowing no movement.
  An entangled creature can escape with a DC 13 Escape
  Artist check or burst the web with a DC 17 Strength check.
  The check DCs are Constitution-based, and the Strength
  check DC includes a +4 racial bonus. The web has 6 hit
  points, hardness 0, and takes double damage from fire.
  Acrobatic Charge (Ex): Muraxus can charge in situ-
  ations where others cannot. He may charge over difficult
  terrain that normally slows movement. Depending on the
  circumstance, he may still need to make appropriate
  checks to successfully move over the terrain.
  Canny Defense (Ex): Muraxus adds +5 to his Dex-
  terity bonus to modify Armor Class while wielding a
  melee weapon (included in the statistics above). Any cir-
  cumstance that causes Muraxus to lose his Dexterity bonus
  to AC also negates this ability.
  Change Shape (Su): Muraxus’s natural form is that
  of a Medium monstrous spider. He can also assume two
  other forms: a half-elf or a Medium spider-half-elf hybrid.
  He remains in one form until he chooses to assume
  another. A change in form cannot be dispelled, and he
  does not revert to his natural form when killed. A true
  seeing spell reveals his natural form when he is in
  humanoid or hybrid form.
  Elaborate Parry (Ex): If Muraxus chooses to fight
  defensively or use total defense in melee combat, he gains
  an additional +7 dodge bonus to AC.
  Enhanced Mobility (Ex): Muraxus gains an addi-
  tional +4 bonus to AC against attacks of opportunity
  caused when he moves out of a threatened square.
  Evasion (Ex): If exposed to any effect that normally
  allows a character to attempt a Reflex saving throw for half
  damage, Muraxus takes no damage with a successful
  saving throw.
  Grace (Ex): Muraxus has an additional +2 competence
  bonus on all Reflex saving throws (already figured into the
  statistics above).
  Improved Reaction (Ex): Muraxus gains a +2
  bonus on Initiative checks.
  Trap Sense (Ex): Muraxus has a +2 bonus on Reflex
  saves made to avoid traps and a +2 dodge bonus to AC
  against attacks made by traps.
  Trapfinding: Muraxus can use the Search skill to
  locate traps when the task has a DC higher than 20.
  Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Muraxus can react to danger
  before his senses would normally allow him to do so. He
  retains his Dexterity bonus to AC even if he is caught flat-
  footed or struck by an invisible attacker.
  Sorcerer Spells Known (6/6; save DC 13 + spell
  level): 0—daze, detect magic, ghost sound, mage hand, resistance;
  1st—expeditious retreat, feather fall, shield.
  Possessions: +1 human bane keen rapier, ring of protection +2,
  gloves of dexterity +2, headband of intellect +2. Muraxus cannot
  use these items in monstrous spider form.
  Muraxus (Spider Form): Male aranea rogue 6/duelist
  7; CR 17; Medium magical beast (shapechanger); HD
  3d10+6 plus 6d6+12 plus 7d10+14; hp 108; Init +6; Spd 50
  ft., climb 25 ft.; AC 15, touch 14, flat-footed 15; Atk +18
  melee (1d6+1 plus poison, bite) or +18 ranged (web); SA
  poison, sneak attack +3d6, spells, web ; SQ acrobatic
  charge, change shape, darkvision 60 ft., elaborate parry,
  enhanced mobility, evasion, grace, improved reaction +2,
  low-light vision, trap sense +2, trapfinding, uncanny
  dodge; AL LE; SV Fort +9, Ref +19, Will +7; Str 13, Dex 19,
  Con 14, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 16. 
  Skills and Feats: Balance +6, Bluff +22, Climb +15, Con-
  centration +8, Diplomacy +7, Disable Device +18, Escape
  Artist +13, Intimidate +5, Jump +18, Listen +18, Open Lock
  +16, Perform (dance) +15, Search +15, Sense Motive +15,
  Spot +18, Tumble +25; Combat Expertise, Dodge,
  Improved Feint, Iron Will, Mobility, Spring Attack,
  Weapon Finesse.
  Poison (Ex): Muraxus delivers his poison (Fortitude
  DC 13, initial damage 1d6 Str, secondary damage 2d6 Str)
  with each successful bite attack. The save DC is Constitu-
  tion-based.
  Spells: Muraxus casts spells as a 3rd-level sorcerer.
  Web (Ex): Muraxus can throw a web up to six times
  per day. This is similar to an attack with a net but has a
  maximum range of 50 feet, with a range increment of 10
  feet, and is effective against targets of up to Large size.
  The web anchors the target in place, allowing no move-
  ment. An entangled creature can escape with a DC 13
  Escape Artist check or burst the web with a DC 17
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  28
  
  Strength check. The check DCs are Constitution-based,
  and the Strength check DC includes a +4 racial bonus.
  The web has 6 hit points, hardness 0, and takes double
  damage from fire.
  Acrobatic Charge (Ex): Muraxus can charge in situ-
  ations where others cannot. He may charge over difficult
  terrain that normally slows movement. Depending on the
  circumstance, he may still need to make appropriate
  checks to successfully move over the terrain.
  Change Shape (Su): Muraxus’s natural form is that
  of a Medium monstrous spider. He can also assume two
  other forms: a half-elf or a Medium spider-half-elf hybrid.
  He remains in one form until he chooses to assume
  another. A change in form cannot be dispelled, and he
  does not revert to his natural form when killed. A true
  seeing spell reveals his natural form when he is in
  humanoid or hybrid form.
  Elaborate Parry (Ex): If Muraxus chooses to fight
  defensively or use total defense in melee combat, he gains
  an additional +7 dodge bonus to AC.
  Enhanced Mobility (Ex): Muraxus gains an addi-
  tional +4 bonus to AC against attacks of opportunity
  caused when he moves out of a threatened square.
  Evasion (Ex): If exposed to any effect that normally
  allows a character to attempt a Reflex saving throw for half
  damage, Muraxus takes no damage with a successful
  saving throw.
  Grace (Ex): Muraxus has an additional +2 competence
  bonus on all Reflex saving throws (already figured into the
  statistics above).
  Improved Reaction (Ex): Muraxus gains a +2
  bonus on Initiative checks.
  Trap Sense (Ex): Muraxus has a +2 bonus on Reflex
  saves made to avoid traps and a +2 dodge bonus to AC
  against attacks made by traps.
  Trapfinding: Muraxus can use the Search skill to
  locate traps when the task has a DC higher than 20.
  Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Muraxus can react to danger
  before his senses would normally allow him to do so. He
  retains his Dexterity bonus to AC even if he is caught flat-
  footed or struck by an invisible attacker.
  Sorcerer Spells Known (6/6; save DC 13 + spell
  level): 0—daze, detect magic, ghost sound, mage hand, resistance;
  1st—expeditious retreat, feather fall, shield.
  Muraxus (Half-Elf Form): Male aranea rogue
  6/duelist 7; CR 17; Medium magical beast (shapechanger);
  HD 3d10+6 plus 6d6+12 plus 7d10+14; hp 108; Init +7; Spd
  30 ft.; AC 23, touch 17, flat-footed 23; Base Atk +14; Grp
  +15; Atk +20 melee (1d6+2/15–20, +1 human bane keen
  rapier); Full Atk +20/+15/+10 melee (1d6+2/15–20, +1
  human bane keen rapier); SA precise strike +1d6, sneak
  attack +3d6, spells; SQ acrobatic charge, canny defense,
  change shape, darkvision 60 ft., elaborate parry, enhanced
  mobility, evasion, grace, improved reaction +2, low-light
  vision, trap sense +2, trapfinding, uncanny dodge ; AL LE;
  SV Fort +9, Ref +20, Will +7; Str 13, Dex 21, Con 14, Int 20,
  Wis 10, Cha 16. 
  Skills and Feats: Balance +7, Bluff +22, Climb +7, Con-
  centration +8, Diplomacy +7, Disable Device +19, Escape
  Artist +14, Intimidate +5, Jump +18, Listen +18, Open Lock
  +17, Perform (dance) +15, Search +16, Sense Motive +15,
  Spot +18, Tumble +26; Combat Expertise, Dodge,
  Improved Feint, Iron Will, Mobility, Spring Attack,
  Weapon Finesse.
  Precise Strike (Ex): Muraxus can strike precisely
  with his rapier, dealing an extra +1d6 points of damage.
  Any creature immune to critical hits is also image.
  Spells: Muraxus casts spells as a 3rd-level sorcerer.
  Acrobatic Charge (Ex): Muraxus can charge in situ-
  ations where others cannot. He may charge over difficult
  terrain that normally slows movement. Depending on the
  circumstance, he may still need to make appropriate
  checks to successfully move over the terrain.
  Canny Defense (Ex): Muraxus adds +5 to his Dex-
  terity bonus to modify Armor Class while wielding a
  melee weapon. Any circumstance that causes Muraxus to
  lose his Dexterity bonus to AC also negates this ability.
  Change Shape (Su): Muraxus’s natural form is that
  of a Medium monstrous spider. He can also assume two
  other forms: a half-elf or a Medium spider-half-elf hybrid.
  He remains in one form until he chooses to assume
  another. A change in form cannot be dispelled, and he
  does not revert to his natural form when killed. A true
  seeing spell reveals his natural form when he is in
  humanoid or hybrid form.
  Elaborate Parry (Ex): If Muraxus chooses to fight
  defensively or use total defense in melee combat, he gains
  an additional +7 dodge bonus to AC.
  Enhanced Mobility (Ex): Muraxus gains an addi-
  tional +4 bonus to AC against attacks of opportunity
  caused when he moves out of a threatened square.
  Evasion (Ex): If exposed to any effect that normally
  allows a character to attempt a Reflex saving throw for half
  damage, Muraxus takes no damage with a successful
  saving throw.
  Grace (Ex): Muraxus has an additional +2 competence
  bonus on all Reflex saving throws (already figured into the
  statistics above).
  Improved Reaction (Ex): Muraxus gains a +2
  bonus on Initiative checks.
  Trap Sense (Ex): Muraxus has a +2 bonus on Reflex
  saves made to avoid traps and a +2 dodge bonus to AC
  against attacks made by traps.
  Trapfinding: Muraxus can use the Search skill to
  locate traps when the task has a DC higher than 20.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  29
  
  Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Muraxus can react to danger
  before his senses would normally allow him to do so. He
  retains his Dexterity bonus to AC even if he is caught flat-
  footed or struck by an invisible attacker.
  Sorcerer Spells Known (6/6; save DC 13 + spell
  level): 0—daze, detect magic, ghost sound, mage hand, resistance;
  1st—expeditious retreat, feather fall, shield.
  Possessions: +1 human bane keen rapier, ring of protection
  +2, gloves of Dexterity +2, headband of intellect +2. Muraxus
  cannot use these items in monstrous spider form.
  In his humanoid form, Muraxus appears as a charming
  male half-elf with blonde hair, sparkling green eyes, and a
  quick smile. His true form is far more horrendous; a huge
  white spider with orange and black stripes. His hybrid
  form grotesquely combines the most hideous and most
  handsome features of his other forms.
  Tactics: Muraxus prefers to travel in his humanoid
  form while in civilization, and it is in this form that he
  engaged in his duels. Lately, however, he has spent most of
  his time in his hybrid form. In combat, Muraxus is quick
  and difficult to catch; he starts every combat by casting
  expeditious retreat and then makes heavy use of his Spring
  Attack feat to run in, take a single shot at a victim with his
  rapier, and then move back to a position of safety. He
  always uses Combat Expertise to full effect.
  If any attractive female elves, humans, or half-elves are
  in the party, Muraxus takes it upon himself to seek one of
  them out once he learns of the PCs’ presence in the region.
  He approaches the PC in humanoid form and tries to con-
  vince her that he’s a villager that escaped from the orc
  camp. He concocts all sorts of stories of his imaginary
  imprisonment in the orc camp, and he eventually tries to
  convince the group to come with him back to the orc camp
  to help rescue the villagers. If the party’s already rescued
  the villagers, he leads them to some hidden location in the
  woods, claiming that there’s a second stockade of prisoners
  hidden there. In either case, he’s leading the group into an
  ambush with as many progeny as still survive.
  Goals: Muraxus’ true goal is to gain the friendship of
  Tiboquoboc, so he can use him as an ally when he returns
  to the south to take on the guild that forced him into exile.
  Muraxus is not aware of Tiboquoboc’s plans to awaken
  Ubothar; he believes the orc ghost merely wants to exact
  vengeance on the Sarwins and loot their treasury.
  Nonetheless, he’s begun to suspect that Tiboquoboc has
  been holding out on some critical information.
  Like Irika, if Muraxus can be convinced that Tibo-
  quoboc’s plans for the southern nations include their
  destruction through the awakening of an ancient monstros-
  ity, he might be convinced to join forces with the party. His
  cooperation should be more difficult to secure than Irika’s,
  though, since he demands that the party help him defeat
  the guild as part of the payment for his assistance.
  Locations: Muraxus meets with Tiboquoboc at 8:00
  every evening in area 51, and then accompanies him,
  Alraugh, and Irika as they attempt to whittle away at
  Apori’s defenses on the second floor. Their progress
  through these areas is detailed in the timeline above. After
  they’ve exhausted themselves for the day, Muraxus retreats
  to area 18 for several hours to catalog and organize the loot
  they’ve discovered so far before retiring to area 29 at about
  2:00 AM to eat and sleep.
  LZIERABEL
  Lzierabel is without a doubt the most infamous of Tibo-
  quoboc’s current allies. Once upon a time, she was a priest
  of St. Cuthbert (or any similar deity often worshiped by
  honest, hard-working common folk) and ran a small but
  respectable church in a small town to the south. She had a
  well-deserved reputation for kindness and charity, and
  never charged people for the use of her healing powers.
  Those who insisted on donating to her or the church often
  found themselves actually being turned away from her aid.
  This policy rankled the upper echelon of the church to no
  end, since the donations brought in by healing are one of
  their major sources of income. In particular, one greedy
  cleric by the name of Tersten was offended by Lzierabel’s
  activities, and he set into motion a convoluted chain of
  events that eventually resulted in a terrible plague that dev-
  astated Lzierabel’s parish. She stemmed the plague, but not
  before it killed nearly half of her congregation. Her rage at
  the plague knew no bounds when she soon thereafter dis-
  covered it had been engineered by one of her fellow priests.
  Lzierabel brought the matter to the attention of the
  church, but unfortunately for her Tersten was too glib and
  too well connected. He used his connections and silver
  tongue to turn the church against Lzierabel, including pro-
  ducing a forged document that seemed to indicate Lzier-
  abel had signed her soul over to Nerull (or a similar power-
  ful evil deity). The church bought Tersten’s lies
  completely, and quickly and quietly tried to excommuni-
  cate Lzierabel. Unfortunately, this was the final straw for
  poor Lzierabel. Having exhausted her resources and
  choices in the church to bring justice, she went a little mad
  and vowed that if the church believed her to be a cultist of
  Nerull, she would see to the last of her days just how
  devoted a cultist of Nerull she could be. She started her
  servitude to Nerull on the spot by summoning a gargan-
  tuan fiendish monstrous centipede into the chamber. The
  fiendish vermin caused much destruction and killed three
  clerics before it was defeated . . . but in the resulting chaos,
  Lzierabel had vanished.
  Since then, rumors that she had retreated deep into the
  northern mountains where she had taken over a remote
  monastery and perverted it into a huge temple of Nerull
  began to spread. These rumors are correct; Lzierabel has
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  30
  
  accepted the cruelty of Nerull completely into her heart
  and now revels in the power and freedom he affords her.
  She hasn’t once looked back.
  When Tiboquoboc started searching for allies, he
  quickly heard rumors of the Golden Priest of Nerull who
  ruled a nearby Nerullite temple. He traveled there and
  found Lzierabel to be a woman after his own heart. The
  two of them shared a deep interest in Conjuration magic,
  and they spent many hours late into the night in conversa-
  tion. Eventually, Tiboquoboc told Lzierabel of Ubothar,
  and of how he intended to complete his ritual of awaken-
  ing to destroy the southern nations. Lzierabel was immedi-
  ately intrigued and agreed to aid him in his efforts, if only
  for a chance to unleash a creature as terrible as Ubothar
  upon the church of St. Cuthbert.
  D Lzierabel: Female aasimar cleric 12/thaumaturgist
  5; CR 17; Medium outsider (native); HD 12d8+36 plus
  5d4+15; hp 117; Init +2; Spd 30 ft.; AC 22, touch 12, flat-
  footed 20; Base Atk +11; Grp +11; Atk +12/+7/+2 melee
  (2d4+1/19–20/�4, +1 human bane keen scythe); Full Atk
  +12/+7/+2 melee (2d4+1/19–20/�4, +1 human bane keen
  scythe); SA daylight, rebuke undead 7/day; SQ contingent
  conjuration, darkvision 60 ft., extended summoning,
  improved ally, outsider traits, planar cohort resistance to
  acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5; AL LE; SV Fort +12, Ref +7, Will
  +21; Str 10, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 28, Cha 18. 
  Skills and Feats: Bluff +19, Concentration +23, Diplo-
  macy +6, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (religion) +16, Listen
  +11, Spellcraft +11, Spot +11; Augment Summoning, Craft
  Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wondrous Item, Extend
  Spell, Martial Weapon Proficiency (scythe), Quicken
  Spell, Spell Focus (conjuration).
  Daylight (Sp): Lzierabel can use daylight once per day
  (caster level 17th).
  Contingent Conjuration: If Lzierabel snaps her
  fingers (a free action for her), a summon monster IX spell
  summons a hezrou demon.
  Extended Summoning: All spells from the sum-
  moning subschool that Lzierabel casts have their durations
  doubled, as if the Extend Spell feat had been applied. The
  levels of these summoning spells don’t change. This ability
  stacks with the effects of the Extend Spell feat.
  Improved Ally: Whenever Lzierabel casts any form
  of planar ally spell to obtain an ally that shares at least one
  aspect of her alignment, she makes a Diplomacy check to
  convince the creature to aid her for a reduced payment.
  Her check result adjusts the creature’s attitude to helpful,
  it will work for 50% of the standard fee, as long as the task
  is not against its nature. Lzierabel may have only one such
  planar ally at a time, though she may bargain for tasks from
  other planar allies normally.
  Planar Cohort: Lzierabel can use any of the planar
  ally spells to call a creature to act as her cohort. She may
  have only one such cohort at a time. Lzierabel currently
  has Amiryll as a planar cohort.
  Cleric Spells Prepared (6/9/8/8/8/7/6/5/4/3; save
  DC 19 + spell level or 20 + spell level for conjuration
  spells): 0—cure minor wounds** (3), detect magic, guidance,
  mending; 1st—command, cure light wounds** (3), disguise
  self*, doom, obscuring mist**, sanctuary , summon monster I**;
  2nd—cure moderate wounds** (4), desecrate, invisibility*, spir-
  itual weapon, summon monster II**; 3rd—animate dead*,
  blindness/deafness, contagion, cure serious wounds** (3),
  extended resist energy, extended status***; 4th—air walk,
  confusion*, cure critical wounds**, extended magic vest-
  ment*** (3), lesser planar ally**, sending; 5th—extended
  greater magic weapon***, quickened cure light wounds**,
  quickened divine favor, quickened shield of faith, slay living*,
  spell resistance , true seeing; 6th—greater dispel magic, mis-
  lead*, planar ally**, quickened bull’s strength, quickened cure
  moderate wounds**, summon monster VI**; 7th—blasphemy,
  destruction*, quickened cure serious wounds**, quickened
  prayer, summon monster VII**; 8th—greater planar ally**,
  polymorph any object*, quickened divine power, summon mon-
  ster VII**; 9th—miracle, quickened plane shift, time stop*.
  *Domain spell. Deity: Nerull. Domains: Death (death
  touch 1/day), Trickery (Bluff, Disguise, and Hide are cleric
  class skills).
  **Indicates a conjuration spell.
  ***Indicates a spell Lzierabel casts every night after she
  prepares her spells.
  Possessions: +1 human bane keen scythe, +1 animated heavy
  steel shield, +1 mithral invulnerability full plate, periapt of
  wisdom +6, phylactery of undead command (functions as a phy-
  lactery of undead turning, except that it aids evil clerics in the
  ability to rebuke or command undead, 10 doses of pow-
  dered diamond worth 400 gp each (for casting greater glyph
  of warding), 3 doses of powdered diamond and opal worth
  5,000 gp each (for casting various symbols), 8 large books on
  demons and conjuration magic (worth 500 gp apiece).
  She casts greater magic weapon on her scythe and magic
  vestment on her shield and full plate every evening; these
  spells increase the enhancement bonus for these three
  items to +4. She also casts status on Tiboquoboc, Amiryll,
  Alorzulan, Muraxus, and Irika every morning (she actively
  dislikes Alraugh and prefers not to touch him if possible).
  All these spells are extended and have durations of 34
  hours; she is rarely encountered without them active.
  Her celestial blood augments Lzierabel’s natural beauty;
  her golden hair seems to blaze with light, her voice is crys-
  talline and sweet, and her skin is flawless and smooth.
  Only in her deep violet eyes is there any hint of the depths
  of her rage and insanity.
  Tactics: Lzierabel is never encountered without her
  two allies, Amiryll and Zorkulak. In combat, she begins by
  casting time stop and then casting as many summon
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  31
  
  monster spells as she can, placing them to flank enemies.
  She casts the following quickened spells in order, one per
  round (continuing to cast them once time stop runs out, if
  necessary): shield of faith, divine favor, divine power, bull’s
  strength, and prayer. She then wades into combat with her
  scythe, saving the majority of her spells to use against tar-
  gets she cannot match in melee combat. If hard pressed,
  she uses her quickened plane shift to flee, bringing Amiryll
  and Zorkulak if she can get to them in time. If forced to
  flee in this manner, she does not return during this adven-
  ture but she doubtless harbors a grudge against the PCs
  and acts against them in the future.
  Goals: Lzierabel’s goals are the same as Tiboquoboc’s:
  to release Ubothar onto the southern nations. She isn’t
  quite as invested in this goal as Tiboquoboc, though, and
  has little problem abandoning the plan if she comes up
  against strong opposition. She would dearly love to see
  the southern nations and the Church of St. Cuthbert pay,
  but would rather live to try again than die in a vain
  attempt to do so today.
  However, should she become aware of any clerics of St.
  Cuthbert in the party, her goals change and she obsesses
  on any such characters, turning all her resources toward
  killing the cleric (or at the very least slaying his friends
  and loved ones).
  As mentioned above, Lzierabel also runs a large
  temple dedicated to Nerull farther in the mountains. This
  monastery could become the focus of future adventures
  in the region, especially if Lzierabel survives the events
  in this adventure and lives to carry on a new hatred for
  the PCs.
  Locations: Lzierabel and her two minions can usu-
  ally be found in areas 22–25. She only rarely leaves these
  rooms during the invasion of Sarwin . . . and does so regu-
  larly only at 8:00 at night to attend meetings with Tibo-
  quoboc in area 51. These meetings generally last for 1
  hour, after which she returns to her chambers below.
  D Amiryll: Female succubus assassin 3; CR 10;
  Medium outsider (chaotic, evil, extraplanar, tanar’ri); HD
  6d8+12 plus 3d6+6; hp 55; Init +4; Spd 30 ft., fly 50 ft.
  (average); AC 27, touch 14, flat-footed 23; Base Atk +8; Grp
  +9; Atk +12 melee (1d6+1, claw) or +13 ranged
  (1d8+2/�3, +1 seeking composite longbow [+1 Str bonus]);
  Full Atk +12 melee (1d6+1, 2 claws) or +13/+8 ranged
  (1d8+2/�3, +1 seeking composite longbow [+1 Str bonus]);
  SA death attack, energy drain, sneak attack +2d6, spell-like
  abilities, summon tanar’ri; SQ +1 save against poison,
  damage reduction 10/cold iron or good, darkvision 60 ft.,
  immunities (electricity, poison), outsider traits, poison
  use, resistance to acid 10, cold 10, fire 10, spell resistance
  18, telepathy 100 ft., tongues, uncanny dodge; AL CE; SV
  Fort +8, Ref +12, Will +7; Str 12, Dex 18, Con 15, Int 18,
  Wis 12, Cha 28. 
  Skills and Feats: Balance +6, Bluff +23, Concentration
  +11, Diplomacy +22, Disguise +21, Escape Artist +13, Hide
  +13, Intimidate +25, Jump +3, Knowledge (nobility and
  royalty) +13, Listen +18, Move Silently +16, Search +13,
  Spot +18, Tumble +16; Persuasive, Point Blank Shot, Rapid
  Shot, Weapon Finesse.
  Death Attack: If Amiryll studies her victim for 3
  rounds and then makes a sneak attack with a melee
  weapon that successfully deals damage, she can either par-
  alyze or kill the target (Fort DC 17 negates).
  Energy Drain (Su): Amiryll drains energy from a
  mortal she lures into some at of passion, or simply by
  planting a kiss on the victim. If the subject is not willing to
  be kissed, grapple, which provokes an attack of opportu-
  nity. Her kiss or embrace bestows one negative level. The
  kiss also has the effect of a suggestion spell, asking the
  victim to accept another kiss from her. The victim must
  succeed on a DC 21 Will save to negate the effect of the
  suggestion. The DC is 21 for the Fortitude save to remove a
  negative level. These save DCs are Charisma-based.
  Spell-Like Abilities: At will—charm monster (DC
  23), detect good, detect thoughts (DC 21), ethereal jaunt (self
  plus 50 pounds of objects only), polymorph (humanoid form
  only, no limit on duration), suggestion (DC 22), greater tele-
  port (self plus 50 pounds of objects only). Caster level 12th.
  The save DCs are Charisma-based.
  Summon Tanar’ri (Sp): Once per day, Amiryll can
  attempt to summon one vrock with a 30% chance of suc-
  cess. This ability is the equivalent of a 3rd-level spell.
  Outsider Traits: Amiryll cannot be raised, reincar-
  nated or resurrected (though a limited wish, wish, miracle, or
  true resurrection spell can restore life). Darkvision 60 ft.
  Poison Use: Amiryll is trained in the use of poison
  and never risks accidentally poisoning herself when apply-
  ing poison to a blade.
  Tongues (Su): Amiryll has a permanent tongues abil-
  ity (as the spell, caster level 12th). Amiryll usually uses
  verbal communication with mortals.
  Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Amiryll can react to danger
  before her senses would normally allow her to even be
  aware of it. She retains her Dexterity bonus to AC (if any)
  regardless of being caught flat-footed or struck by an invis-
  ible attacker. (She still loses any Dexterity bonus to AC if
  immobilized.)
  Assassin Spells Known (4/1; save DC 19 + spell
  level; 15% chance of arcane spell failure): 1st—obscuring
  mist, sleep, true strike; 2nd—cat’s grace, pass without trace. 
  Possessions: +1 studded leather armor, +1 seeking composite
  longbow (+1 Str bonus), 40 arrows, quiver of Ehlonna, slaying
  arrow (1 human), black adder venom (5 doses).
  Lzierabel casts greater magic weapon on Amiryll’s long-
  bow and magic vestment on her studded leather armor every
  evening; these spells increase the enhancement bonus for
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  32
  
  these three items to +4. All these spells are extended, and
  they have durations of 34 hours; she is rarely encountered
  without them active.
  Amiryll is a dangerous succubus assassin that Lzier-
  abel recruited as a cohort as a benefit of her fifth level of
  thaumaturge. Amiryll has served Lzierabel for many
  years now, and the two of them have become lovers as
  well as allies. Their bond is based primarily on lust
  rather than devotion, though, and neither will die for
  the other. Amiryll has often traveled south to assassi-
  nate key members of the church of St. Cuthbert at Lzier-
  abel’s request.
  Amiryll’s natural form is of a seductive elven woman
  with pale blue skin, red hair, goatlike horns, and large bat-
  like wings. She prefers to use her spell-like ability to poly-
  morph to become Lzierabel’s exact duplicate, to further
  confuse her enemies and spread her mistress’ notoriety
  through her own assassinations.
  D Zorkulak: Male blood fiend; CR 14; Large undead
  (extraplanar); HD 12d12; hp 78; Init +6; Spd 40 ft., fly 80 ft.
  (perfect); AC 34, touch 12, flat-footed 32; Base Atk +6; Grp
  +19; Atk +14 melee (1d6+9, claw); Full Atk +14 melee
  (1d6+9, 4 claws) and +9 melee (1d8+4, bite); Space/Reach
  10 ft./10 ft.; SA blood drain, domination, energy drain,
  spell-like abilities; SQ alternate form, create spawn,
  damage reduction 15/good, darkvision 60 ft., fast healing 5,
  gaseous form, immunity to electricity, resistance to acid
  20, cold 20, fire 20, spell resistance 24, turn resistance +6,
  undead traits; AL CE; SV Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +13; Str 28,
  Dex 15, Con –, Int 17, Wis 20, Cha 21. 
  Skills and Feats: Bluff +13, Concentration +20, Diplo-
  macy +7, Hide +21, Listen +28, Move Silently +25, Search
  +26, Sense Motive +28, Spot +28; Combat Reflexes, Dodge,
  Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility.
  Blood Drain (Su): Zorkulak sucks blood from living
  victims when he hits with his bite attack. Each successful
  bite attack deals 1d4 points of Constitution drain.
  Domination (Su): This attack functions like a gaze
  attack, except that it is a standard action, and creatures
  merely looking at Zorkulak are not affected. Any creature
  within 30 feet that Zorkulak targets for the attack falls
  instantly under his influence as though by a dominate mon-
  ster spell (caster level 18th; Will save DC 21).
  Energy Drain (Su): Any living creature hit by
  Zorkulak’s claw attack must succeed on a Fortitude saving
  throw (DC 21) or gain one negative level. For each nega-
  tive level bestowed, Zorkulak heals 5 points of damage. If
  the amount of healing is more than the damage he has
  taken, he gains any excess as temporary hit points. If the
  negative level has not been removed before 24 hours have
  passed, the afflicted opponent must succeed on a Fortitude
  save (DC 21) to remove it. Failure means the opponent’s
  level (or Hit Dice) is reduced by one.
  Spell-Like Abilities: At will—detect good, detect
  magic, teleport without error (self plus maximum load of
  objects only); 3/day—chaos hammer (DC 19), darkness,
  unholy blight (DC 19); 1/day—blasphemy (DC 22), desecrate
  (DC 17). Caster level 18th.
  Alternate Form (Su): Zorkulak can assume the shape
  of a dire bat, fiendish dire bat, dire wolf, howler, or night-
  mare as a standard action. This ability functions like the poly-
  morph spell (caster level 12th), except that Zorkulak also
  gains all the special abilities of the form assumed. While in
  his alternate form, he loses his natural claw and bite attacks,
  but he gains the natural weapons and special abilities of his
  new form. He can remain in that form indefinitely. 
  Create Spawn (Su): An outsider with the evil sub-
  type slain by Zorkulak’s energy drain attack (negative
  levels equal to current Hit Dice, or drained below 1st level)
  rises as a blood fiend 1d4 days after death. The new blood
  fiend does not have any of the abilities it had in life.
  Fast Healing (Ex): Zorkulak heals 5 points of
  damage per round so long as he has at least 1 hit point. Fast
  healing does not restore hit points lost from starvation,
  thirst, or suffocation, and it does not allow Zorkulak to
  regrow or reattach lost body parts. If reduced to 0 or fewer
  hit points, Zorkulak automatically assumes gaseous form
  and attempts to escape. His fast healing begins as soon as
  he has rested anywhere for 1 hour. A dismissal, dispel evil,
  banishment, dictum, or holy word spell cast on him while his
  current hit points are below 1 destroys him utterly.
  Gaseous Form (Su): At will, Zorkulak can assume
  gaseous form as a standard action. This ability functions
  like the gaseous form spell (caster level 5th), except that
  Zorkulak can remain gaseous indefinitely and has a fly
  speed of 20 feet (perfect).
  Turn Resistance (Ex): Zorkulak is treated as an 18-
  HD undead for the purpose of turn, rebuke, command, or
  bolster attempts.
  Undead Traits: Zorkulak is immune to mind-affect-
  ing effects, poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, dis-
  ease, death effects, and any effect that requires a Fortitude
  save unless it also works on objects or is harmless. He is
  not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability
  damage to its physical ability scores, ability drain, energy
  drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or death from massive damage.
  He cannot be raised, and resurrection works only if he is
  willing. Darkvision 60 ft.
  Possessions: Pale blue rhomboid ioun stone (+2 enhance-
  ment to Strength), dusty rose prism ioun stone (+1 insight
  bonus to AC), bracers of armor +2.
  Zorkulak is a blood fiend, an undead vampiric demon
  detailed in the Fiend Folio. Lzierabel encountered him sev-
  eral months ago while exploring an abandoned drow
  temple with Amiryll. Lzierabel gained complete control
  over the blood fiend using her clerical ability to control
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  33
  
  undead, and since then she has grown rather fond of the
  blood fiend and uses it as a bodyguard.
  Zorkulak is a massive beast about the size and general
  shape of an ogre. He has a deep purple scaly hide and four
  muscular arms tipped with razor-sharp talons. His eyes
  glow red, and his wolflike muzzle is constantly stretched
  into a hungry sneer around teeth a bit too large to fit com-
  fortably in his mouth.
  SARWIN CASTLE
  FEATURES
  This large stone castle was built not quite 600 years ago.
  During these six centuries, the Sarwin family has lived
  within the castle until their untimely destruction recently.
  The castle itself is in good repair, but it definitely has a
  “lived in” feel. Although to casual observation the castle
  may seem to be standard, in truth it is quite well fortified
  and defended. Adventurers built it, after all.
  The area descriptions that follow present the conditions
  as they exist when this adventure begins. As the adventure
  progresses, Tiboquoboc and his forces slowly penetrate
  further into the castle, and certain traps and guardians
  under Apori’s command are destroyed. The Development
  section of each room notes any changes that occur as the
  timeline progresses.
  The following standard features apply throughout the
  castle:
  s Walls, Floors, and Ceilings: 5 ft. thick; hard-
  ness 16; hp 900; Break DC 65; Climb DC 15.The walls of
  Sarwin Castle are made of reinforced granite that has also
  been magically treated as detailed on page 59 of the DUN-
  GEON MASTER’s Guide. The walls (including floors and ceil-
  ings between levels of the castle), both inner and exterior,
  are generally 5 feet thick and are painted with soft, neutral
  colors. Most are hung with colorful tapestries that serve to
  break the monotony of the walls and keep in the heat.
  Most rooms average 12 feet high, although the top 2 feet of
  each room consists of elaborate networks of supporting
  beams made of wood. Illumination (see below) usually
  leaves these beams in shadow, and as a result, they make
  excellent places to hide. The floors are bare stone but often
  covered with large rugs or furs. 
  Doors: Most of the doors in Sarwin Castle are
  strong wooden doors. A few of them (indicated in the
  text) are iron. While all the doors can be locked, the
  majority of them were kept unlocked; exceptions are
  noted in the text.
  Servants used the numerous secret doors in the castle
  to gain better access to the various rooms without disrupt-
  ing the masters of the house or their guests. Each of these 
  secret doors is made of stone and requires a successful
  Search check (DC 20) to discover. The secret doors do not
  have key locks. Unless specifically mentioned in the text,
  the orcs have discovered and know how to open all the
  secret doors in the castle.
  s Strong Wooden Door: 2 in. thick; hardness 5; hp
  20; Break DC 25.
  s Iron Door: 2 in. thick; hardness 10; hp 60; Break 
  DC 28.
  s Secret Stone Door: 4 in. thick; hardness 8; hp 60;
  Break DC 28.
  Illumination and Noise: Continual flame is the
  preferred method of illumination in Sarwin Castle.
  Most rooms and hallways have small crystals embedded
  every 20 feet or so in the supporting timbers above;
  these crystals serve as the focus for these continual
  flames. When darkness is preferable, a wooden slat pulls
  out and over the crystal, blocking the illumination
  until it is opened again.
  Wandering Monsters: Although no true wander-
  ing monsters are in Sarwin Castle, a large number of Iron-
  maw Orcs, progeny, and powerful NPCs work for Tibo-
  quoboc in the castle. As the party explores the castle, they
  doubtless attract the attention of these fellow intruders,
  who come to investigate any loud noises or unusual devel-
  opments that are brought to their attention.
  ENCOUNTER AREAS IN
  SARWIN CASTLE
  Although those encounter areas in Sarwin Castle that con-
  tain traps or guardians are given an EL, remember that
  Tiboquoboc and his allies often move around the cham-
  bers of the castle, and if they are encountered in an
  unusual area, the encounter level of that room may be
  much higher than what is listed.
  GROUND FLOOR
  The ground floor of Sarwin Castle is nearly entirely con-
  trolled by Tiboquoboc and his forces by the time the party
  reaches it. His minions have each selected particular
  rooms as personal chambers while they try to work their
  way through the upper floors and into the towers to gain
  control of the stasis scepter.
  1. Entrance (EL 16)
  As the only conventional entrance into Sarwin Castle,
  Tiboquoboc has taken extra precautions to make sure that
  no unwanted entrants come in via these doors. The doors
  themselves are locked and trapped, as detailed in the Trap
  section below.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  34
  
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  35
  
  Visitors to Sarwin Castle were greeted here, and servants
  took their luggage and travel cloaks for storage in the guest
  rooms or in the cloak room (area 6) before they were led into
  the reception hall (room 2). The defaced statue to the south
  was of Annah and Zebulahr Sarwin, the one-time founders
  of the castle, as a successful bardic knowledge or Knowledge
  (nobility and royalty) check (DC 25) can determine. The
  scorch mark is the remains of a powerful lightning trap the
  first Ironmaw orc triggered when she set foot in the room.
  Creatures: Tiboquoboc has posted four Ironmaw bar-
  barians here as guards. They moved the table and chairs in
  here from a nearby room and now pass the time playing
  dice while seated here. They don’t expect any intruders
  and are effectively “taking zero” on their Listen and Spot
  checks. If they notice intruders, they immediately leap to
  action. If it becomes obvious that they can’t handle the
  intruders themselves, they flee through the door to the
  west to alert their allies and master.
  DIronmaw Barbarians (4): hp 114, see the orc
  camp above for full statistics.
  Trap: The front door into this room is kept locked and
  barred. Bypassing these wards requires two Open Lock
  checks. The lock is of amazing quality and can be defeated
  with a successful Open Lock check (DC 40). The bar itself
  is more crude and can be defeated with an Open Lock
  check (DC 30), but if it is not succeeded by at least +10, the
  bar drops to the ground when disarmed from the other
  side and alerts any of the denizens in the room.
  Additionally, two separate magical wards are on the
  door itself, and a third one is on the ground directly south
  of the door.
  First, Alorzulan casts an alarm spell on the front door
  every morning at 8:00; the spell’s duration lasts until 6:00
  the following morning. If triggered, the alarm generates
  an audible alarm.
  Second, Lzierabel has placed a greater glyph of warding on
  the door itself; the glyph triggers if the door is opened
  without the correct password.
  Third, Lzierabel has placed a second identical greater
  glyph of warding on the floor just inside the door.
  All three of these wards can be bypassed by uttering the
  phrase “Death to all Sarwins.”
  a Greater Glyph of Warding (Flame Strike)
  Trap: CR 7; spell; spell trigger; no reset; spell effect (glyph
  of warding [flame strike], 17th-level cleric, 15d6 fire, DC 19
  Reflex half damage); Search DC 31; Disable Device DC 31.
  Market Price: 44,100 gp.
  Development: The orcs are caught off guard only
  once. If the party defeats them or drives them off, then
  returns to this room later after having retreated from the
  castle to recover, they find that the traps and locks on the
  door have been replaced and the four barbarian guards sta-
  tioned here have been increased to six. Tiboquoboc draws
  these six additional guards from the orc camp. If the PCs
  have defeated all those orcs, he reassigns orcs from other
  areas in the castle, as long as they aren’t his personal guard
  of four barbarians (whom he never reassigns).
  Lzierabel has access to enough spell components for
  greater glyphs of warding to cast the spell 10 more times;
  keep track of how many glyphs she replenishes throughout
  the adventure.
  If the party repeatedly uses this area as an entrance to
  the castle (three or more times should suffice), Tiboquoboc
  also has Lzierabel station Amiryll here. The succubus assas-
  sin assumes the form of a seventh Ironmaw barbarian. If
  she hears the PCs before they make it into the room, she
  hides in the rafters above so she can prepare a death attack.
  Otherwise, she hangs back for the first 3 rounds of combat
  to study the characters.
  2. Reception Hall (EL 17)
  Visitors to Sarwin Castle waited to be greeted by one of
  the Sarwins in his large room. Tiboquoboc’s minions
  haven’t been too gentle searching the chairs for loose
  change, and many of the chairs have been dragged off to
  other rooms (such as area 1) to provide more comfortable
  accommodations.
  The Ironmaw orcs posted in areas 13 and 17 keep this
  room under strict observation. They won’t join any com-
  bats that take place in here with the guardian, though, for
  they quite rightly fear her. A character that examines the
  walls separating this room from either of these other areas
  and makes a successful Search check (DC 25) notices sev-
  eral cleverly hidden peepholes in the wall.
  Creature: At Tiboquoboc’s request, Lzierabel con-
  jured a marilith demon with a greater planar ally spell to
  This large, grand room has seen better days. The ban-
  ners on the walls have been slashed to pieces, and the
  three statues (two against the west wall, one on the
  east) have been smashed and defaced. A long thin
  carpet leading up to a large door to the south has fared
  a little better, but not much. Several comfortable
  stuffed chairs and couches lie strewn about the room
  in various stages of disrepair.
  This room is fairly plain and functional. The east and
  west walls are hung with recently slashed and torn
  banners; the fragments of these banners lie in heaps on
  the floor where they fell. To the south stands a badly
  defaced statue of two humans, a man and a woman,
  standing arm in arm. A table surrounded by four large
  comfortable chairs sits in the middle of the room. Two
  doors provide exits at the southern end of the room:
  one in the east wall and one in the west. A large scorch
  mark mars the northern half of the room.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  36
  
  guard this room. The marilith has been paid for a full
  week’s service, and as such, remains in this room until
  Day 6 of the adventure. She is currently hiding in the
  shadows in the south alcove of the room next to the door
  to area 14; if she hears trouble approaching from area 14
  she relocates to the alcove in the east wall near the door
  leading to area 9.
  D Kolkitar: Female marilith; CR 17; Large outsider
  (chaotic, extraplanar, evil, tanar’ri); HD 16d8+144; hp 216;
  Init +4; Spd 40 ft.; AC 29, touch 13, flat-footed 25; Base Atk
  +16; Grp +29; Atk +24 melee (1d8+9, slam) or +28 melee
  (2d6+12/19–20, +3 fey bane thundering cold iron longsword);
  Full Atk +24 melee (1d8+9, 6 slams) and +22 melee (4d6+4,
  tail slap) or +28/+23/+18/+13 melee (2d6+12/19–20, +3 fey
  bane thundering cold iron longsword) and +28 melee
  (2d6+7/17–20, +3 keen longsword) and +28 melee
  (2d6+7/19–20, +3 longsword) and +26 melee (2d6+4/19–20, 3
  masterwork longswords) and +22 melee (4d6+4, tail slap);
  Space/Reach 10 ft./10 ft.; SA constrict (4d6+13), improved
  grab, spell-like abilities, summon tanar’ri; SQ damage reduc-
  tion 10/good and cold iron, darkvision 60 ft., immunities
  (electricity, poison), outsider traits, resistance to acid 10,
  cold 10, and fire 10, spell resistance 25, telepathy 100 ft.; AL
  CE; SV Fort +23, Ref +18, Will +18; Str 29, Dex 19, Con 29,
  Int 18, Wis 18, Cha 24. 
  Skills and Feats: Bluff +26, Concentration +28, Diplo-
  macy +30, Hide +19, Intimidate +28, Listen +31, Move
  Silently +23, Search +23, Sense Motive +23, Spellcraft +23,
  Spot +31, Use Magic Device +26; Combat Expertise,
  Combat Reflexes, Multiattack, Multiweapon Fighting,
  Power Attack, Weapon Focus (longsword).
  Constrict (Ex): Kolkitar deals 4d6+13 points of
  damage with a successful grapple check. The constricted
  creature must succeed on a DC 27 Fortitude save or lose
  consciousness for as long as it remains in the coils and for
  2d4 rounds thereafter. The save DC is Strength-based.
  Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, Kolkitar
  must hit with her tail slap attack. She can then attempt to
  start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack
  of opportunity. If she succeeds on the grapple check, she
  can constrict.
  Spell-Like Abilities: At will—align weapon, blade
  barrier (DC 23), magic weapon, project image (DC 23), poly-
  morph, see invisibility, telekinesis (DC 22), greater teleport
  (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), unholy aura (DC
  25). Caster level 16th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
  Summon Tanar’ri (Sp): Once per day, Kolkitar can
  attempt to summon 1d4 dretches, 1d4 hezrou, or one
  nalfeshnee with a 50% chance of success, or one glabrezu
  or another marilith with a 20% chance of success. This abil-
  ity is the equivalent of a 5th-level spell.
  Outsider Traits: Kolkitar cannot be raised, reincar-
  nated, or resurrected (though a limited wish, wish, miracle, or
  true resurrection spell can restore life). Darkvision 60 ft.
  Feats: Kolkitar’s Multiweapon Fighting feat allows
  her to attack with all her arms at no penalty.
  Possessions: +3 fey bane thundering cold iron longsword, +3
  keen longsword, +3 longsword, 3 masterwork longswords,
  cloak of resistance +4, major circlet of blasting, potion of bull’s
  strength, gold and sapphire ring worth 1,900 gp, emerald
  nose ring worth 1,300 gp, jade comb worth 600 gp, gold
  ring worth 600 gp, matching amethyst earrings (four total)
  worth 500 gp each, coral hairpin set with pearls worth 500
  gp, gold chain bracelet worth 200 gp, silver necklace worth
  100 gp, tarnished gold bracelet worth 20 gp.
  Tactics: Kolkitar drinks her potion of bull’s strength the
  instant she perceives trouble, and then she casts project
  image in the northern portion of the room. She then
  begins to wall in the party each round with progressively
  restrictive blade barriers. If her true location is noticed, she
  wades in to melee the intruders, using Combat Expertise
  to full effect to increase her Armor Class by +5. If neces-
  sary, she risks moving through blade barriers, trusting her
  spell resistance to protect her. She fights to the death. The
  specifics of her contract with Lzierabel do not include pro-
  tecting other areas of the castle, so she does not leave this
  room to fight enemies unless they try to attack her with
  ranged weapons or spells.
  Ad Hoc Experience Award: No experience points
  are gained for defeating Kolkitar, as it was conjured here
  by Lzierabel and as a result, it is technically a part of the
  experience points the party can earn for eventually defeat-
  ing the Nerullite cleric.
  3. Northern Tower Access (EL 14)
  These stairs go down to area 78. Tiboquoboc has sealed the
  stairs that once led up to area 34 with a wall of stone to pre-
  vent intrusion from above by elementals.
  4. Storeroom
  This room was used to store tools and supplies for repair
  work throughout the castle. There is nothing of interest in
  here, but Tiboquoboc’s minions did their best to loot the
  place nonetheless.
  Several large cabinets dominate this hexagonal room.
  Someone has torn them apart, and the contents lie
  strewn about the room in heaps.
  Two flights of stairs in this room provide exits; one
  flight leads upward and one leads downward.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  37
  
  5. Furniture Workshop
  The servants used this room to repair and mend furniture.
  When the Ironmaw orcs went to town and looted the
  room, one of them got a little too careless and cut off the
  tip of his pinky finger on the lathe. He smashed the
  machine apart in his rage, but never bothered to retrieve
  the bit of severed finger. A successful Search check (DC
  30) uncovers it where it landed under the lathe. The partic-
  ular orc who lost his finger is now serving as one of Tibo-
  quoboc’s bodyguards, and as such can be a valuable compo-
  nent for scrying on the orc druid’s location.
  Development: If Tiboquoboc becomes aware of the
  fact that the PCs are using the orc to scry on him, he kills
  the orc in rage and feeds the body to the chimeric dire
  bears, replacing the poor orc with another one from else-
  where in the castle.
  6. Cloak Room
  Visitors who arrived at Sarwin for day visits stored their
  cloaks and other traveling gear in this room. The barrels once
  contained several selections of fine ale that a visiting mer-
  chant recently gave the Sarwins as a gift. Tiboquoboc attacked
  a few hours later, and as a result, the barrels of ale were never
  moved from this location. The Ironmaw orcs smashed one
  barrel to see what was in it, and, delighted to find the ale,
  they’ve been slowly but surely draining them dry.
  Treasure: Three of the barrels here are still full. Each
  weighs a little more than 50 lbs., but they can be sold to a
  tavern or other connoisseur of fine ales for a respectable
  price of 250 gp each.
  7. Secure Storage
  Visitors could store important documents or other valu-
  ables in the secure containers, if they were only staying in
  the castle for a day or less. The orcs found the once locked
  door to the north too tempting to ignore and smashed it in
  and looted what they could from these containers. The col-
  lected loot has been piled area 18 for sorting and disburse-
  ment later. Nothing of value remains in here.
  The orcs have not yet discovered the secret door that
  leads to area 11.
  8. Mending Room
  The servants who made repairs to clothing and banners
  and flags used this room. The orcs searched this room but
  didn’t realize that much of the fabric was valuable and left
  it to lie on the ground.
  Treasure: Some of the fabric in here consists of fine
  silks and other rare cloth. Characters who can sort the
  good fabric from the commonplace with a successful
  Appraise check (DC 15) can find that there’s about 30 lbs.
  of high quality fabric here, worth 100 gp per lb.
  9. Armor Hall
  This room once displayed the suits of armor worn by the
  various warrior ancestors of the Sarwin line. The orcs have
  been through here several times looking for valuables, but
  unfortunately the armor here is nothing more than fancy
  duplicates of the actual suits worn by the Sarwins and is ill
  suited for battle.
  10. Commander’s Barracks
  The commander of the house guard, a dwarf by the name
  of Theophilus, lived here. He and the remainder of the
  house guards perished quickly when Tiboquoboc finally
  reached the Castle, even though they had nearly an hour
  to prepare their defenses.
  Treasure: The orcs haven’t discovered a small hidden
  safe recessed in the north wall. Opening the safe requires a
  successful Open Lock check (DC 45) and reveals a large
  stash of gold coins (480 in all) that Theophilus used to pay
  the guards.
  This large room seems to have once been a comfortable
  bedroom, but it has been torn apart with an apparent fury.
  A row of armor that stood along the southern wall now
  lies in scattered disarray on the floor.
  This room contains several tables and a large, long cup-
  board against the west wall. The cupboard has been
  thoroughly searched; its contents (linens and swaths of
  fabric) now lie in piles on the floor.
  The door into the north wall of this room has been
  crudely smashed apart. This room contains several files
  and chests, all of which have been thoroughly torn
  apart in a crude search.
  A pungent odor of alcohol assaults your senses as you
  enter this room. The walls of this large room are stud-
  ded with dozens of pegs; a few plain-looking cloaks
  still hang on them. Several large barrels lie stacked in
  the northern section of the room; they are surrounded
  by a large stain on the floor, along with the remains of
  a smashed barrel. A door in the south wall has been
  similarly smashed apart.
  This room contains several workbenches and a few
  large machines used to repair broken furniture. Most
  of the machines seem to have been partially disman-
  tled. A particularly large and horribly battered lathe
  sits against the far wall, its blade stained with a swath
  of blood.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  38
  
  11. Guard Barracks
  The orcs have scavenged anything of value from this room.
  12. Guard Barracks
  As with the barracks across the hall, this room has been
  picked clean by the orcs.
  13. Eastern Observation Chamber (EL 14)
  This room was used by the guards of the castle as one of
  two guardrooms and observation chambers (the other is
  area 16). The hinged disks can be opened like tiny doors to
  reveal cleverly hidden peepholes, allowing characters in
  this room to observe things in areas 2 and 15 comfortably.
  Creatures: Two Ironmaw barbarians guard this
  room, one each keeping a watch on areas 2 and 15. If they
  see any intruders enter area 2, they quickly slip out of this
  room to warn the closest superior (most likely Lzierabel in
  area 22) of the intrusion. If they see intruders enter area
  14, they wait to see how any battles there turn out before
  slipping out to alert their superiors. If they are surprised in
  here, they fight back as best they can until they can make
  it out to warn their superiors.
  DIronmaw Barbarians (2): hp 114, see the orc
  camp above for full statistics.
  14. Banquet Hall (EL 16+)
  Castle Sarwin has no throne room; the Sarwins have tradi-
  tionally held “court” in the form of banquets in this room.
  The head of the household sat in the large chair at the
  southern end of the table while he heard the grievances
  and desires of his or her visitor over a scrumptious meal.
  The invaders have brought up much of the food from
  storage downstairs and piled it onto the table here for con-
  venience; when someone’s hungry, they just wander in
  here and grab a handful of food. Much of the food is start-
  ing to spoil, but the orcs care little about that.
  The stairwells to the south once provided access to both
  the upper and lower levels, but now only the stairs down
  to area 67 below are passable. The stairs leading up once
  led to area 46, but Tiboquoboc sealed them off with a wall
  of stone spell to prevent any intruders from above from
  sneaking down to the ground floor.
  Creatures: There’s a good chance (75%) of encountering
  6 off-duty Ironmaw barbarians in this room, eating or relaxing
  or throwing knives at one of the doors for sport. If these six
  orcs aren’t encountered here, they are automatically encoun-
  tered the next time the party enters this room or area 21.
  DIronmaw Barbarians (6): hp 114, see the orc
  camp above for full statistics.
  Tactics: If a battle breaks out in here, the Ironmaw
  orcs are sure to make a racket. Their bellowing quickly
  draws the attention of the two guards in area 18 and any
  orcs observing the room from areas 13 or 16. Additionally,
  Amiryll and Zorkulak’s Listen checks are good enough
  that if battle breaks out in here, they automatically hear it
  and alert Lzierabel. The three of them come to investigate
  any battle in this room 1d4+2 rounds after it starts. If they
  find the orcs to be nearly slain, they quickly retreat to warn
  Tiboquoboc, with Zorkulak guarding the retreat if neces-
  sary. If the PCs look like they’re having a hard time of it
  still, they join the combat to help finish them off.
  15. Food Preparation Chamber
  This is where the servants prepared banquets for the Sar-
  wins. The orcs have torn the place apart in a greedy search
  for nice silverware to loot . . . all that remains in the rubble
  are the common utensils and cookware.
  16. Western Observation Chamber (EL 14)
  This room is functionally identical to area 13.
  This small room contains a table, a pair of chairs, and
  numerous metal disks attached to hinges set into the
  walls at eye level.
  This long, relatively narrow room has been torn apart.
  Utensils, pots, pans, and various other items lie in
  broken, battered heaps on the ground. It looks like the
  place may have once been a food preparation chamber
  of some sort.
  A massive oaken table surrounded by tall-backed
  wooden chairs dominates this large room. The largest
  chair, sitting at the south end of the table, is almost a
  throne, but it has been badly damaged. The room reeks
  of the slowly rotting food piled on the table. A badly
  damaged statue sits against the east wall, its head on
  the ground by its feet. Numerous cabinets, also torn
  apart, line both the east and west walls. Two flights of
  stairs lead up and down to other levels of the castle in
  the southwest corner.
  This small room contains a table, a pair of chairs, and
  numerous metal disks attached to hinges set into the
  walls at eye level.
  This room was obviously a barracks. Six bunks sit
  against the walls, their mattresses torn apart and
  strewn on the floor. The lockers at the foot of each
  bunk have been likewise savaged.
  This room was obviously a barracks. Six bunks sit
  against the walls, their mattresses torn apart and
  strewn on the floor. The lockers at the foot of each
  bunk have been likewise savaged.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  39
  
  Creatures: Two Ironmaw barbarians guard this
  room, one each keeping a watch on areas 2 and 15. If they
  see any intruders enter area 2, they quickly slip out of this
  room to warn the closest superior (most likely Lzierabel in
  area 22) of the intrusion. If they see intruders enter area
  14, they watch; if a battle erupts, they race in to help, other-
  wise they wait for the intruders to leave before they take
  an alternate route to their nearest superior to warn them. If
  they see the intruders enter area 15, they prepare actions to
  attack anyone who comes into this room.
  DIronmaw Barbarians (2): hp 114, see the orc
  camp above for full statistics.
  17. Kitchen
  This room hasn’t seen use since the Sarwins were slain; the
  orcs have little interest in preparing food when that pre-
  cious time can be spent eating the food. 
  18. Smoking Room (EL 14+)
  The orcs have been given free reign by Tiboquoboc to loot
  the upper floors of the castle; what he wants is in the
  towers above and the dungeons below. He has forbidden
  anyone to claim anything for their own until after their job
  here is done, though, so the orcs have selected this room to
  stash their ill-gotten gains for now.
  Creatures: Two Ironmaw orcs guard the loot at all
  times . . . as much against each other as from anyone else
  coming in to steal from them. They raise the alarm as best
  they can if they’re encountered here, but their greed makes
  them brave beyond words and they absolutely won’t leave
  the treasure behind, preferring to fight to the death to
  protect it.
  If the party enters this area between the hours of 10:00
  and 2:00 at night, there’s a fairly good chance that they
  come across Muraxus here as he sorts, organizes, and
  appraises the loot. The actual time at which he can get in
  here to catalog the loot is detailed in the Timeline above.
  He doesn’t have much actual skill at appraising, so the
  process is fairly long and tedious since he’s forced to use
  books and ledgers gathered from the Castle Library (area
  49) to assist him.
  DIronmaw Barbarians (2): hp 114, see the orc
  camp above for full statistics.
  Treasure: The mound of loot in this room is a tangled
  mess of all sorts of art, gold, and goods. You can detail it as
  exact as you wish, but it’s probably easiest to simply tell the
  PCs that there’s about 200 lbs. of loot here, and that it’s
  worth about 100 gp per pound.
  Development: If the party invades the castle and then
  retreats to recuperate, the Ironmaw orcs become desperate in
  their worries that the PCs intend to steal their treasure. Tibo-
  quoboc suspects otherwise, but to soothe the worries of his
  minions he agrees to place a wall of stone over the entrance to
  this room to keep out intruders. He promises to remove the
  wall when they’re ready to leave the castle; his orc minions
  grudgingly accept this as the best course of action.
  19. Washroom
  Day guests of the castle could use this room to wash up
  before meals. Nothing of interest is here now that the orcs
  have smashed the washtubs and fouled the towels.
  20. Cleaning Supplies
  The orcs treated this room with the same searching finesse
  they treated other rooms. Unfortunately, the jugs of lye,
  water, soap, and other cleaning solutions in here reacted
  poorly when they were dumped out, and several orcs were
  forced to retreat screaming in pain with chemical burns.
  They have since avoided this room.
  21. Common Room (EL 16+)
  This large and oddly shaped room seems to have been a
  combination game room, lounge, study, and conserva-
  tory. Most of the contents of the room, while once fine
  and fancy, are now ruined and battered. The whole
  place has the stink of orcs in it, and the layers of filth
  building up in the room indicate that many orcs have
  spent long hours in this room lately. One door in the
  eastern wall is particularly striking; it seems to be
  made of some sort of black metal with finely detailed
  etchings of clouds, lightning bolts, and frolicking
  genies. This door has no handle, but it does have a
  single tiny keyhole set in its exact center.
  This room seems to have been torn apart; cleaning sup-
  plies, mops, brooms, and acrid puddles of liquid pool
  on the floor, filling the room with a bitter reek.
  This room contains several washbasins and towel
  racks, all of which have been smashed beyond use.
  This was obviously once a comfortable smoking room,
  complete with numerous overstuffed chairs and couches.
  These pieces of furniture have been haphazardly pushed
  up against the west wall, crushing several glass cigar cases
  in the process. A huge mound of what appears to be loot
  gathered from throughout the castle—silverware, candle-
  sticks, paintings, coins and jewelry, sculptures, and what-
  not—has been piled in the middle of the room. It looks
  like someone’s made a fairly organized attempt to organ-
  ize the loot, and several books and ledgers sit near the
  stack, but they still have a long way to go.
  This large and well-appointed kitchen includes a huge
  fireplace. The entire room has been thoroughly torn apart.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  40
  
  The Ironmaw orcs stationed in the castle use this area as a
  common room in which to relax, sleep, and entertain
  themselves while they aren’t on guard duty.
  The door to area 26 is made of adamantine and is nearly
  impossible to bypass without the correct key; see the
  description of area 26 for more details on this door.
  Creatures: There’s a good chance (75%) of encounter-
  ing six off-duty Ironmaw barbarians in this room, eating,
  relaxing, or throwing knives at one of the doors for sport.
  If these six orcs aren’t encountered here, they are automat-
  ically encountered the next time the party enters this
  room or area 21.
  DIronmaw Barbarians (6): hp 114, see the orc
  camp above for full statistics.
  Tactics: If a battle breaks out here, the Ironmaw orcs
  are sure to make a racket. Their bellowing quickly draws
  the attention of Lzierabel, Amiryll, and Zorkulak, who are
  found in the suite of rooms directly to the north. These
  three come to investigate any battle in the room 1d4
  rounds after it starts. If they find the orcs to be losing or
  already slain, they retreat to shore up the defenses in area
  22, with Zorkulak guarding the retreat if necessary. If the
  PCs look like they’re having a hard time of it with the orcs,
  they join the combat to help finish the heroes off.
  22. Servants’ Common Area (EL 18+)
  This room was once a common area for the servants of
  Castle Sarwin to relax and enjoy their off hours. Lzierabel
  and her two cohorts have chosen these rooms to settle
  down in for the duration of their stay, although they’ve
  relocated some of the furniture from other rooms to
  upgrade the less-comfortable stuff that was in here when
  they first moved in.
  The massive painting on the eastern wall is Amiryll’s
  work; it depicts the unholy symbol of Nerull, as a success-
  ful Knowledge (religion) check (DC 15) can determine.
  Creature: Lzierabel has become the default healer for
  Tiboquoboc’s forces. As such, he is loath to risk her in the
  dangerous battles against Apori’s traps and minions above.
  He has requested that she remain on the ground floor as a
  result. This situation suits Lzierabel just fine, since it gives
  her more time to waste in idle pleasures with Amiryll or to
  toy with conjured creatures. She has selected the servants’
  quarters (areas 22–25) as her temporary lair, although she
  has had Zorkulak remove most of the furniture and
  replace it with better, fancier furnishings from other areas
  of the castle. She can usually be found in these chambers.
  During the night, Lzierabel and Amiryll can be found in
  this room. Lzierabel spends her time studying the books of
  demonology she brought with her from her temple, and
  Amiryll busies herself with practicing her weapon play,
  singing, or finishing the painting of Nerull’s unholy
  symbol on the wall. During the day, the two retreat to the
  bedchamber (area 25), although they are quick to rush into
  this room if they hear trouble.
  Additionally, Lzierabel has recruited the guardian serv-
  ices of a nycaloth named Yib-N’gith by casting a planar ally
  spell. She has paid the nycaloth to guard this room for a
  week; thus, it remains until Day 6 of the adventure.
  D Yib-N’gith: Male nycaloth; CR 13; Large outsider
  (evil, extraplanar); HD 11d8+33; hp 82; Init +2; Spd 40 ft.,
  fly 90 ft. (good); AC 20, touch 14, flat-footed 18; Base Atk
  +11; Grp +21; Atk +16 melee (1d6+6, claw) or +16 melee
  (2d8+9/�3, greataxe); Full Atk +16 melee (1d6+6, 2
  claws) or +16/+11/+6 melee (2d8+9/�3, greataxe);
  Space/Reach 10 ft./10 ft.; SA improved grab, rake 1d6+6,
  spell-like abilities, summon yugoloth, wounding; SQ
  damage reduction 10/good, darkvision 60 ft., immunities
  (acid, poison), outsider traits, resistance to cold 20, elec-
  tricity 20, and fire 20, spell resistance 24, telepathy 100 ft.;
  AL NE; SV Fort +10, Ref +9, Will +7; Str 22, Dex 14, 
  Con 17, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 16. 
  Skills and Feats: Bluff +17, Concentration +17, Diplo-
  macy +7, Hide +12, Intimidate +5, Knowledge (arcana) +8,
  Knowledge (the planes) +8, Listen +14, Move Silently +16,
  Search +8, Sense Motive +14, Spellcraft +10, Spot +14,
  Dodge, Flyby Attack, Mobility, Spring Attack.
  Improved Grab (Ex): Yib-N’gith may use this ability
  whenever he hits with both claw attacks. If he gets a hold,
  he can rake. He can use this ability only while airborne. If
  he establishes a hold on a nonflying opponent of Medium
  or smaller size, he can ascend with the grabbed creature.
  Rake (Ex): If Yib-N’gith gets a hold, he can make two
  rake attacks (+15 melee) with his hind legs for 1d6+6
  points of damage each.
  Spell-like Abilities: At will—deeper darkness, dese-
  crate, fear (DC 17), invisibility, mirror image, teleport (self plus
  50 pounds of objects only), see invisibility. Caster level 11th.
  The save DCs are Charisma based.
  Summon Yugoloth (Su): Once per day, Yib-N’gith
  can attempt to summon another nycaloth or 1d3 mez-
  zoloths (detailed in Manual of the Planes) with a 30% chance
  of success. This ability is the equivalent of a 4th-level spell.
  Wounding (Ex): Wounds resulting from Yib-N’gith’s
  claw attacks continue to bleed as if they possessed the
  wounding weapon quality.
  Outsider Traits: Yib-N’gith cannot be raised, reincar-
  nated or resurrected (though a limited wish, wish, miracle, or
  true resurrection spell can restore life). Darkvision 60 ft.
  This room seems to be in good repair and looks to be a
  combination lounge and game room. The furniture is
  either overly plush or quite spartan. The banners on
  the eastern wall have been torn down, and a partially
  finished painting of a massive, bloody scythe with
  human skulls dangling from it dominates its face.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  41
  
  Possessions: Ring of protection +3, gauntlets of ogre power +2,
  potion of bear’s endurance, potion of cure moderate wounds.
  Yib-N’gith looks like a big gargoyle with powerful bat-
  like wings and thick green skin. All four of his arms have
  razor-sharp claws. His head is vaguely canine, with small
  webbed ears and horns. Nycaloths are fully detailed in the
  Manual of the Planes.
  Traps: Lzierabel has placed a single greater glyph of
  warding on every door leading into this chamber. These
  glyphs can be bypassed by uttering the phrase “Death to
  Cuthbert.” She has told the other orcs and her allies that
  she has warded these doors, but only she, her minions, and
  Tiboquoboc know the password.
  a Greater Glyph of Warding (Flame Strike)
  Trap: CR 7; spell; spell trigger; no reset; spell effect (glyph
  of warding [flame strike], 17th-level cleric, 15d6 fire, DC 19
  Reflex half damage); Search DC 31; Disable Device DC 31.
  Cost: 1,420 gp to hire NPC spellcaster.
  Tactics: If combat breaks out in here, Lzierabel and
  Amiryll come to join the fun (if they weren’t in the
  room already) from area 25. Likewise, Zorkulak emerges
  from area 24 as soon as he hears sounds of battle. These
  three follow their tactics as detailed earlier. Yib-N’gith
  prefers to fight simply, using his claws as weapons in
  melee to devastating effect. If things start looking bad,
  Lzierabel and Amiryll try to flee to alert Tiboquoboc,
  leaving Yib-N’gith and Zorkulak to their respective
  fates.
  Development: If the party attacks Lzierabel and her
  allies here and then retreats, she fortifies the chambers as
  best she can with magical spells (numerous glyphs of ward-
  ing and symbols, for example) and perhaps a few more
  planar allies. If her chambers are attacked a second time
  and she survives, she decides to cut her losses and returns
  to her monastery far to the north without another word,
  abandoning Tiboquoboc to fate.
  23. Servants’ QQuarters
  The servants of Sarwin castle, slaughtered and fed to
  chimeric dire bears, once called this room home.
  Lzierabel has no desire to search these rooms, figuring
  (rightly) that there’s nothing of interest in here. As a result,
  neither she nor her minions suspect the existence of the
  secret door in the north wall.
  Treasure: The footlockers are locked with average
  locks (Open Lock DC 20); each contains a couple changes
  of common clothes and 2d6 copper pieces.
  24. Records Room (EL 14)
  This is where the seneschal of the castle kept track of
  schedules, payments to servants, tax payments, shipments,
  and other paperwork. Lzierabel wasted little time convert-
  ing it into a small shrine dedicated to Nerull, as a success-
  ful Knowledge (religion) check (DC 15) notes. This room
  is under the effects of a desecrate spell centered on the altar;
  Lzierabel recasts the spell once every other day or so (since
  it has a duration of 34 hours).
  Creature: Zorkulak stays in this room while Lzierabel
  is in the area. He lurches out of the room to join any
  combat he hears in the main room.
  25. Seneschal’s Chambers
  This was the personal quarters of the castle’s seneschal,
  although it has of late served as the personal quarters for
  Lzierabel and Amiryll. The cabinet against the western
  wall contains, among other miscellaneous supplies, a huge
  collection of keys that fit all the various door locks on the
  ground and upper floors (but not the towers or dungeon).
  One peg is missing; this peg is labeled “Master Key.” Tibo-
  quoboc currently carries this key on his person.
  Creatures: During the daytime, Lzierabel and
  Amiryll are in this room; otherwise, they’re most likely
  found in area 22.
  26. Skytower Storage (EL 18)
  The door connecting this room and area 21 is made of
  adamantine and protected with powerful magic. Beyond
  is the Skytower, the tallest tower in Sarwin Castle. Con-
  sisting of areas 26, 48, 60, 61, and 62, the Skytower was
  built to be both a vault and a nearly impregnable labora-
  tory for Sarwin wizards; both Annah and Zebulahr
  Sarwin were wizards who specialized in air elemental
  magic, and their greatest legacy to the castle is the con-
  struction of the Skytower.
  The Skytower can be entered only by one of three
  doors. The first is this small one that connects the tower to
  area 21. The main entrance to the Skytower is found in
  This large room is fairly clean and organized. A large
  bed sits along the northern wall, and a desk and two
  chairs are to the south. To the east is a long wall of cab-
  inets and cupboards.
  This small room looks like it was once an office for
  bookkeeping or something like that, but it has obvi-
  ously been redecorated with a far more religious motif.
  The papers on the desk against the west wall have been
  swept off into a pile in the corner and replaced by an
  elaborate, small shrine of bones and skulls held
  together with melted wax, sinew, and candles.
  This long narrow room contains seven bunk beds and
  twelve small footlockers.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  42
  
  area 36. A third, secret entrance into the tower is located in
  area 47. All three entrances are warded with powerful
  magic and traps that prevent intruders from entering; the
  treasury and the laboratories in the Skytower are among
  the most important and well-defended rooms in Sarwin
  Castle, but not the most important. 
  Annah and Zebulahr Sarwin, as a trial run of sorts for
  the protective wards they planned to build around the Pit
  of Ubothar, undertook the construction of Skytower and its
  protective wards. They learned much from their work on
  the Skytower and applied what they learned to the creation
  of the gauntlet of rooms surrounding the Pit to make this
  part of the castle (areas 81–84) the truly impregnable vault.
  The stairs in the center of the room lead up to area 48. 
  Creature: An advanced elder air elemental protects
  this room, like many of the other rooms in the Skytower.
  The elemental attacks anyone who enters the room with a
  blind fury, but takes care to avoid damaging any of the
  items stored here and won’t activate its whirlwind power
  as a result. It can sense the presence of the sky key (cur-
  rently hidden in area 43), and if it senses someone in this
  room carries that item, it holds off its attack for 3 rounds.
  If, by this time, no one has clearly identified themselves as
  a member of the Sarwin family here under the watchful
  eye of Apori, the elemental attacks at once. If it can, it cap-
  tures the sky key and returns it to Apori.
  DAdvanced Elder Air Elemental: hp 414; see the
  Skytower Portal sidebar for details.
  Trap: The door connecting this room to area 21 is
  nearly impossible to bypass without the sky key. If the sky
  key is inserted into the door’s keyhole and turned to the
  left, the door turns ethereal for 3 rounds. When it solidi-
  fies after these 3 rounds, any object or creature standing in
  the doorway is pushed gently (but inexorably) into area 21.
  If the sky key is inserted into the door’s keyhole and turned
  to the right, it instantly teleports to a display case in area
  61, and the door itself lances the person who turned the
  key with a powerful bolt of electricity. Anyone who tries to
  pick the lock quickly finds that the keyhole is merely a
  hole in the door; there are no tumblers or moving parts
  inside it, and thus the door cannot be unlocked in this
  manner. The keyhole can be activated blindly with a suc-
  cessful Use Magic Device check (DC 50), although the
  epic nature of the door makes this nearly impossible for
  most nonepic characters. Any attempt to unlock the door
  with either skill (Open Lock or Use Magic Device) triggers
  the lightning trap against the person making the skill
  check. The door also blasts anyone who successfully deals
  damage to it with a similar bolt of lightning. The door can
  emit this bolt of lightning once per round, as long as the
  lightning trap is active. The door itself is effectively an epic
  magic item, but since it cannot be removed from this loca-
  tion without destroying it, its value to thieves is limited.
  The stone walls of the Skytower (including the floors
  and ceiling) have also been magically enhanced, as detailed
  below. The sparkling “dust” on the walls is actually a thin
  layer of magically treated lead that prevents many divina-
  tion spells from seeing through the walls.
  Finally, each room in the Skytower is protected with a
  dimensional lock spell cast at caster level 25. These dimen-
  sional lock spells have been made permanent by the same
  25th-level casters, so a caster of lower than 25th level
  cannot dispel them.
  s Magical Adamantine Door: 2 in. thick; hardness
  20; hp 80; Break DC 60; SR 38; the door self-repairs damage at
  the rate of 10 hp/round (this effect can be negated for 1d4
  rounds with a successful dispel magic against caster level 25). 
  s Magically Treated Reinforced Masonry
  Walls: 5 ft. thick; hardness 16; hp 900; Break DC 65; SR
  38; the walls self-repair damage at the rate of 10 hp/round
  (this effect can be negated for 1d4 rounds with a successful
  dispel magic against caster level 25).
  a Lightning Trap: CR 17; magic device; touch trig-
  ger; automatic reset; bolt of lightning (20d10 electricity,
  Reflex DC 14 halves); Search DC 28; Disable Device DC 28,
  dispel magic against caster level 25th disables for 1d4
  rounds. Market Price: 79,900 gp.
  Treasure: Hundreds of spell components and magic-
  item creation components are stored in the numerous con-
  tainers on the shelves here. The total value of these compo-
  nents is 22,000 gp, approximately 220 gp per pound.
  Development: On the night of Day 3, Tiboquoboc
  and his allies make it into this room and slay the elemen-
  tal. They also clean out all the spell components and move
  them to area 18 for sorting. 
  27. Latrine
  The orcs, being orcs, have treated this room poorly. For-
  tunately, there’s nothing of value in here, so the party
  needn’t spend any more time than is necessary in this
  filthy room.
  28. Guard Room
  The stairs leading up here lead to area 52. The flight lead-
  ing down goes to area 63.
  Creature: Tiboquoboc convinced Alorzulan to loan
  him two of his progeny. He keeps one of the half-dragons
  nearby as a personal guard, but he has posted the second
  This room contains two stairways: one leading up and
  one leading down. The room is otherwise unremarkable.
  This small room contains a large washbasin, as well as a
  lavatory. It’s horribly filthy and reeks of the worst stink
  that a lavatory has to offer.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  43
  
  one here to guard against any of Apori’s elemental minions
  trying to use these stairs to invade the ground floor. So far,
  none of the elementals on the upper floors have tried to do
  so, but Tiboquoboc is taking no chances.
  The progeny is hiding in the stairwell leading down,
  and it attacks anyone it doesn’t recognize after bellowing
  for aid.
  DProgeny of Alorzulan: hp 229, see the orc camp
  for full statistics.
  Development: If the progeny here is slain and the
  PCs return to this room after leaving to recuperate, they
  find a new progeny has been stationed here. The new prog-
  eny is taken from the orc camp, so if all those progeny have
  been slain, Tiboquoboc decides to cut his losses here and
  leave the room undefended.
  29. Lounge
  The Sarwins used this room as a place to visit and talk with
  guests who were not staying overnight in the castle.
  Muraxus chose this room as his quarters not only because it
  looked the most comfortable of the ground-floor rooms, but
  because he noticed the secret door in the east wall and
  thought that a room that looked like it had only one entrance
  or exit but that actually had two could come in handy.
  Creature: Muraxus can be found in this room, relax-
  ing, sleeping, or reading between the hours of 2:00 AM
  and 8:00 PM. Otherwise, this room is empty; Muraxus car-
  ries all his valuables on his person and has no need to leave
  guards or traps here.
  Treasure: Many of the pieces of artwork found in this
  room are quite valuable. Muraxus has, of course, noticed
  this; another reason he chose this room as his own during
  his stay was to keep the Ironmaw orcs from trashing the
  delicate artwork found here. There are 14 pieces of art,
  each weighing 1 lb., and each worth about 2,000 gp.
  Development: If he’s still alive by 5:00 AM on Day 3,
  Muraxus has had enough of Tiboquoboc’s plan and sneaks
  out. As he does so, he gathers all the art in this room in a
  sack for his own use before heading off to area 18 to select
  some more treasure before he flees the area.
  30. Nursery
  Servants or guards who had children were allowed to rear
  them here in the Sarwin nursery as part of the benefit of
  their positions in the castle. Those few who had children
  here rescued them from this room before Tiboquoboc’s
  forces invaded the castle, but they were unfortunately all
  eventually cornered in area 74. Now, the room contains
  nothing of interest.
  31. Nursemaid’s Bedroom
  The nursemaid who tended the nursery next door stayed
  in this room until Tiboquoboc’s forces invaded; now, it
  serves as the lair for Irika the harpy bard.
  The huge cabinet against the north wall is filled with
  various mundane cleaning supplies and medical gear,
  along with the room’s treasure.
  Creature: Irika returns to this room only during the
  day to sleep; at night, she’s either helping Tiboquoboc raid
  the upper floors, or flying around the surrounding coun-
  tryside looking for what trouble she can find. Like
  Muraxus, Irika carries all her valuables with her, and as a
  result has no need for traps or guardians in this room.
  Treasure: A search of the cabinets (Search check DC
  20) uncovers a small stash of potions: 4 potions of cure light
  wounds and 2 potions of remove disease.
  32. Storage
  There’s nothing of interest here anymore; the Ironmaw
  orcs have taken anything of value and relocated it to
  area 18.
  33. Guard Room
  The stairs lead up to area 50, although normally a wall of
  stone blocks the stairwell just at the top.
  SECOND FLOOR
  When Tiboquoboc slew the Sarwin family and activated
  Apori and the elemental guardians, most of the second
  floor and the towers above became magically warded and
  guarded by elementals. When the adventure begins, most
  of the rooms on this floor remain under the control of the
  elementals. Apori, having learned a bit about the situation
  This room contains two stairways: one leading up and
  one leading down. The room is otherwise unremarkable.
  This long, narrow room is filled with crates, boxes, and
  other containers. They have all been upended and
  their contents strewn about the floor . . . mostly clean-
  ing supplies and firewood.
  This is a plain but comfortable bedroom. A small desk
  and chair sit next to a bed, and nearby a large cabinet
  stands against the north wall. This room has a strange,
  unpleasant reek to it . . . it almost smells like a huge
  bird’s nest or slowly rotting vegetation.
  It looks like this brightly colored room once contained
  several cribs, a table and chairs, and several toy chests.
  The place has been torn apart; brightly colored wall hang-
  ings and dangling mobiles are heaped in tangled piles
  with the shattered remains of the cribs and furniture.
  This thickly carpeted room contains several large chairs
  and couches. A set of shelves filled with books and art
  objects sits against the west wall. Spectacular paintings
  hang on the southern and eastern walls, their subjects
  depicting beautiful landscapes of various types.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  44
  
  at hand, has commanded these elementals to attack
  anyone they encounter. As the days go by, Tiboquoboc and
  his minions slowly but surely begin to whittle away at its
  defenses.
  Most of the rooms on this floor can be divided into
  smaller rooms with the use of numerous partitions. A par-
  tition consists of a wooden frame with strips of thick
  parchment or leather stretched over them. These parti-
  tions can be reconfigured to provide privacy to certain
  parts of the rooms or removed altogether to open up the
  space. This was the Sarwins’ answer to the problem of
  changing numbers of family members and guests; the par-
  titions can divide larger rooms into as many smaller rooms
  as needed. Additionally, they can be easily painted and
  decorated to customize a room with little or no damage to
  permanent walls. Partitions are flimsy, though, and
  although they provide total concealment to someone
  standing behind them, they do not provide any apprecia-
  ble cover.
  s Wooden Frame Partition: 1 in. thick; hardness
  0; hp 1; Break DC 8.
  34. Northern Tower Access
  These stairs lead up to area 53. Tiboquoboc has sealed the
  stairs that once led down to area 3 with a wall of stone to pre-
  vent elementals from gaining access to the floor below.
  35. Great Hall of Sarwin (EL 19)
  Four of the large paintings depict important events from
  the history of Sarwin Castle. 
  The first depicts the castle’s construction, focusing on a
  spire of almost glowing stone that represents the Sky-
  tower. The rest of the castle is in a very early stage of con-
  struction. Anyone who looks at this painting and makes a
  successful Knowledge (architecture and engineering)
  check (DC 25) notes that the way the castle’s foundation is
  built in the northeast quadrant seems to be strangely over-
  built, as if the builders were forced to compensate for some
  deficiency in the ground there. This is, of course, a hint to
  the extra fortification the builders gave to the chamber in
  which was located the Pit of Ubothar.
  The second painting depicts the completed castle
  with Annah and Zebulahr standing before the main
  entrance.
  The third shows a large mass of orcs being forced to
  retreat to the northern mountains by several spellcasting
  wizards defending the castle.
  The final painting depicts the foundation of the village
  of Sarwin, with Sarwin Castle visible in the background.
  (This painter employed a bit of artistic license here, since
  even in these early days, the view of the castle was blocked
  from the village by the tall trees.)
  Most of the remaining two dozen paintings are merely
  portraits of previous Sarwins and have little bearing on
  this adventure. One notable exception is the newest set of
  portraits, which includes all the Sarwin children of the
  current generation. The youngest child, a brooding girl of
  the age of about 16, is recognizable with a Knowledge
  (local) check or an Intelligence check (DC 30 in either
  case) as Arezi, although about five years younger and with-
  out the tribal tattoos Tiboquoboc has gifted her with. Natu-
  rally, characters who haven’t met Tiboquoboc in Arezi’s
  body yet won’t realize the significance of this painting.
  Creatures: This hallway is guarded by two advanced
  elder air elementals. The two elementals regularly patrol
  back and forth, up and down the hall. 
  DAdvanced Elder Air Elementals (2): hp 414;
  see the Skytower Portal sidebar for details.
  Treasure: The paintings are all masterwork pieces of
  art. Each (there are 28 total) is worth 500 gp to a collector.
  36. Main Entrance to the Skytower
  Both of these doors and the wall they are set into are magi-
  cally protected as detailed in area 26 above
  Trap: These double doors are nearly impossible to
  bypass without the sky key. If the sky key is inserted into
  either door’s keyhole and turned to the left, both doors
  turn ethereal for 3 rounds. When they solidify after these 3
  rounds, any object or creature standing in the doorway is
  pushed gently (but inexorably) into area 36. If the sky key is
  inserted into the door’s keyhole and turned to the right, it
  instantly teleports to a display case in area 61, and that
  door lances the person who turned the key with a power-
  ful bolt of electricity. Anyone who tries to pick the lock
  quickly finds that the keyhole seems to be merely a hole in
  the door; there are no tumblers or moving parts inside it,
  and thus the door cannot be unlocked in this manner. The
  keyhole can be activated blindly with a successful Use
  Magic Device check (DC 50), although the epic nature of
  A pair of massive black metal doors that stand nearly
  10 feet high dominates this area. Each is expertly deco-
  rated with intricate etchings of clouds, lightning bolts,
  and cavorting genies and sylphs. Each door has a single
  keyhole set in its center, but neither has a visible
  handle or any hinges. Intricate carvings of genies that
  seem to be holding the doors in place flank the doors.
  This 20-foot-wide hall is lined on either side with
  doors. The ceiling above arches upward into stony
  vaults with intricate supporting beams. Banners and
  paintings line the walls; each either depicting some
  event of import from the castle’s past or portraits of
  past Sarwins.
  Two flights of stairs in this area provide exits: one flight
  leading upward and one leading downward.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  45
  
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  46
  
  the door makes this nearly impossible for most nonepic
  characters. Any attempt to unlock the door with either
  skill (Open Lock or Use Magic Device) triggers the light-
  ning trap against the person making the skill check. The
  door also blasts anyone who successfully deals damage to it
  with a similar bolt of lightning. Each door can emit a bolt
  of lightning once per round, as long as the lightning trap is
  active. The doors themselves are effectively epic magic
  items, but since they cannot be removed from this location
  without destroying them, their value to thieves is limited.
  s Magical Adamantine Doors (2): 2 in. thick;
  hardness 20; hp 80; Break DC 60; SR 38; the door self-
  repairs damage at the rate of 10 hp/round (this effect can
  be negated for 1d4 rounds with a successful dispel magic
  against caster level 25).
  a Lightning Trap: CR 17; magic device; touch trig-
  ger; automatic reset; bolt of lightning (20d10 electricity,
  Reflex DC 14 halves); Search DC 28; Disable Device DC 28,
  dispel magic against caster level 25th disables for 1d4
  rounds. Market Price: 79,900 gp.
  37. Trophy Hall
  The trophies mounted here may look impressive, but they
  are ultimately more sentimental in value than anything
  else. Among the mounted heads are a dire bear, a dire tiger,
  a blue dragon, a green dragon, a purple worm, a tyran-
  nosaurus, and a yrthak.
  Treasure: None of the suits of armor or mounted
  weapons are magical, but they are all masterwork quality.
  Two greatswords, one halberd, one orc double axe (both
  ends masterwork), a dire flail, a breastplate, a tower shield,
  two suits of half plate, and a suit of full plate can be found
  here. These are not the original items won in combat by
  various Sarwins, but masterwork duplicates; the originals
  have all long since been donated to museums.
  38. Western Guest Suite (EL 12)
  This guest suite was empty at the time Tiboquoboc’s forces
  attacked.
  Creature: While Apori guards the halls and airy castle
  environs with exceptionally powerful air elementals, she
  has used the Skytower portal to call upon the assistance of a
  number of powerful invisible stalkers to guard the actual
  rooms on the upper floors. One such invisible stalker lurks
  in this room. His duty is to protect the room itself; he does
  not pursue attackers out of this room.
  D Advanced Invisible Stalker: CR 12; Huge ele-
  mental (air, extraplanar); HD 24d8+96; hp 204; Init +7; Spd
  30 ft., fly 30 ft. (perfect); AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 15;
  Base Atk +18; Grp +34; Atk +25 melee (2d6+8/19–20, slam);
  Full Atk +25 melee (2d6+8/19–20, 2 slams); Space/Reach
  15 ft./15 ft.; SQ darkvision 60 ft., elemental traits,
  improved tracking, natural invisibility; AL N; SV Fort +12,
  Ref +17, Will +10; Str 26, Dex 17, Con 18, Int 14, Wis 15,
  Cha 11. 
  Skills and Feats: Hide –5, Listen +31, Move Silently +30,
  Search +29, Spot +31; Alertness, Combat Expertise,
  Combat Reflexes, Improved Critical (slam), Improved
  Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Power
  Attack, Weapon Focus (slam).
  Elemental Traits: The advanced invisible stalker
  has immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, and stun-
  ning. It is not subject to critical hits or flanking. It cannot
  be raised, reincarnated or resurrected (though a limited
  wish, wish, miracle, or true resurrection spell can restore life).
  Darkvision 60 ft.
  Improved Tracking (Ex): An advanced invisible
  stalker is a consummate tracker and makes Spot checks
  instead of the usual Survival checks to trace a creature’s
  passage.
  Natural Invisibility (Su): This ability is constant,
  allowing the advanced invisible stalker to remain invisible
  even when attacking. This ability is inherent and not sub-
  ject to the invisibility purge spell.
  Development: On day 2, Tiboquoboc and his min-
  ions slay the invisible stalker.
  39. Eastern Guest Lounge
  This room and its accompanying chamber (area 40) were
  reserved for the castle’s most important guests; this suite
  allowed such guests to have their own private dining areas,
  studies, and whatever else they desired. When Tiboquoboc
  attacked, these rooms were in use by a visiting aristocrat by
  the name of Anthony Kilpatrick. His habit of soundly
  sleeping late every day allowed him to sleep through the
  attack on the Sarwins and the village, but he awoke when
  This room has enough furnishings to outfit a study, a
  common area, a dining room, and even a library. At
  one point, it looks like these areas were all separated by
  several thin wooden partitions, but the partitions lie in
  scattered fragments all over the room, and many of the
  pieces of furniture are upended. Here and there, you
  see splashes of blood, with a particularly large swath of
  blood on the floor near the door to the east. 
  This room contains enough furniture to comfortably
  furnish no less than three bedrooms. Thick carpets
  cover the stone floor, and strips of cloth hang loosely
  from the ceiling to cover the sight of the support tim-
  bers above.
  This 20-foot-wide hallway is lined along the north and
  south walls with trophies of all sorts: suits of armor,
  weapons, banners, and the mounted heads of various
  dangerous animals and magical beasts hang on display.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  47
  
  Tiboquoboc and his minions invaded the castle. Since he
  was in the castle when the wards went off, Apori
  understood he was likely an ally but she wasn’t sure.
  Rather than risk angering the Sarwins, she simply didn’t
  place any wards or guardians in this room, but did place an
  elder air elemental in front of the door to make sure he
  wouldn’t leave until it was safe.
  Of course . . . Anthony knew nothing of this and when
  he was confronted by an apparently hostile elemental, he
  foolishly attacked it. The elemental beat and battered him,
  destroying much of this room in the process. He fled to
  area 40 but the elemental followed and quickly killed him
  there before returning to patrol the outer halls.
  40. Eastern Guest Suite
  The body is that of Anthony Kilpatrick, slain on the first
  day of the assault on Sarwin by an elder air elemental.
  Creature: If Anthony is brought back to life, he has
  the following statistics.
  D Anthony Kilpatrick: Male human aristocrat 4; CR
  3; Medium humanoid; HD 4d8+8; hp 26; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.;
  AC 11, touch 11, flat-footed 10; Base Atk +3; Grp +3; Atk +3
  melee (1d3 nonlethal, unarmed strike); Full Atk +3 melee
  (1d3 nonlethal, unarmed strike); AL LN; SV Fort +3, Ref +2,
  Will +5; Str 10, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 15. 
  Skills and Feats: Appraise +8, Bluff +9, Diplomacy +18,
  Intimidate +4, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) +8, Sense
  Motive +6; Iron Will, Simple Weapon Proficiency, Skill
  Focus (Diplomacy).
  Treasure: Anthony wears jewelry, including a pair of
  gold rings (each worth 500 gp), a silver necklace set with
  pearls (worth 1,000 gp), a sapphire earring (worth 800 gp),
  and a jeweled smoking jacket once worth 500 gp but now
  ruined by blood and mangling.
  Development: If Anthony is brought back from the
  dead (this requires resurrection or a more powerful spell
  since his body is too mangled for a raise dead to work), he is
  thankful to the point of being obnoxious. He promises all
  sorts of monetary awards if the PCs can escort him back to
  his home (several hundred miles to the south), and he’s
  good for it. If he makes it back home safely, he rewards the
  party not only with 10,000 gp in art objects and gems, but
  his gratitude can open all sorts of political and diplomatic
  doors since he is the owner of a fairly popular and success-
  ful tavern in a large city. He knows little of the current sit-
  uation in Sarwin, unfortunately.
  On day 2, Tiboquoboc and his minions loot the body
  here but leave the remains where they lie.
  41. Partition Storage
  This room is minor enough that Apori didn’t place any
  guardians in it.
  42. Study (EL 12)
  This is where the Sarwin family relaxed or worked on mis-
  cellaneous diversions and projects. The one-time master of
  the house had recently decided to add an additional tower
  to the southern face of the castle, and just recently finished
  this attractive scale model of the new addition.
  The secret door to the south is quite well hidden; a suc-
  cessful Search check (DC 35) uncovers it.
  Creature: Apori placed another of the powerful invis-
  ible stalkers in this room, mostly to help prevent the dis-
  covery of the secret door to the south.
  DAdvanced Invisible Stalker: hp 204; see area 38
  for statistics.
  Trap: The secret door to the south provides alternative
  access to the room in which the sky key is hidden, so Apori
  placed a symbol of insanity on the door. The symbol activates
  if the door is opened.
  a Symbol of Insanity: CR 9; spell; spell trigger;
  no reset; spell effect (symbol of insanity, 16th-level sorcerer,
  Will DC 22 negates); multiple targets (all creatures within
  60 feet); Search DC 33; Disable Device DC 33. Cost: 6,280
  gp to hire NPC spellcaster.
  Development: Tiboquoboc and his minions attack
  the invisible stalker in here on day 2, but they are forced to
  retreat from it after dealing a total of 120 points of damage
  to it.
  43. Master Bedchamber Suite (EL 18)
  This huge room is split into four sections with the aid
  of a number of wooden partitions. One section is a
  lounge, one a private bath, one looks to be an office,
  and one a bedchamber.
  This long room contains several desks, bookshelves,
  and long tables. On one table stands a scale model of
  Sarwin Castle, except this one has an additional tower
  between the two southern towers.
  This large room is filled with dozens and dozens of
  wooden frame partitions. Several of them seem to be
  damaged. The area closest to the door seems to be a
  workshop dedicated to manufacturing and repairing
  the partitions.
  This room contains enough furniture to comfortably
  furnish no less than three bedrooms. Thick carpets
  cover the stone floor, and strips of cloth hang loosely
  from the ceiling to cover the sight of the support tim-
  bers above. A horribly mangled body lies against the
  nearest bed in a large pool of dried blood.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  48
  
  This set of rooms was the personal chambers of the patri-
  arch and matriarch of the Sarwin family; the ruling couple
  Tiboquoboc and his allies recently slew (along with all the
  other members of the Sarwin family) were Alexei and
  Hannah Sarwin. This is also the place where the Sarwins
  hid the sky key, and as such, Apori has placed several
  guardians and traps in the room.
  The secret door to the north is quite well hidden, but a
  successful Search check (DC 35) uncovers it.
  In the southern wall in the section of the room that
  serves as a bedchamber is a cleverly hidden wall safe. A
  successful Search check (DC 40) discovers it, but to figure
  out how to open it a character must first make a successful
  Disable Device check (DC 40) to find the hidden catch that
  causes a panel to slide back and expose the safe’s door.
  Once the trick to opening this panel is known, it may be
  reset and reopened quickly as a standard action. The safe
  itself is locked with a series of five combination locks. To
  unlock the safe, a character must unlock all five locks in
  succession. Unfortunately, the locks are on a timing device
  and automatically relock after 6 rounds. If an Open Lock
  check fails by 5 or more, the auto-lock mechanism triggers
  and relocks all opened locks as well. Each lock has a sepa-
  rate auto-lock mechanism, and each one can be disabled
  with a successful Disable Device check (DC 35).
  Further complicating the opening of the safe are the
  two traps placed on it.
  The correct combination to open the safe
  (23–98–11–22–61) allows it to be opened in only 1 round,
  and bypasses both traps. This combination is not written
  down anywhere in the castle, but powerful divination
  magic might uncover it.
  Creatures: Apori used the gate function of the Sky-
  tower portal to call in a particularly powerful guardian for
  this chamber: a dangerously powerful marut. The
  inevitable detests being forced to serve as a common
  guardian, but the power of the Skytower portal left it little to
  do about it but complain.
  D Advanced Marut: CR 18; Huge construct (extrapla-
  nar, lawful); HD 28d10; hp 194; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; AC 33,
  touch 9, flat-footed 32; Base Atk +21; Grp +41; Atk +31 melee
  (2d6+12 plus 3d6 sonic or 3d6 electricity/19–20, slam); Full
  Atk +31 melee (2d6+12 plus 3d6 sonic or 3d6 electric-
  ity/19–20, 2 slams); Space/Reach 10 ft./10 ft.; SA fists of thun-
  der and lightning, spell-like abilities; SQ construct traits,
  damage reduction 15/chaotic, darkvision 60 ft., fast healing 10,
  low-light vision, spell resistance 25; AL N; SV Fort +11, Ref
  +10, Will +12; Str 35, Dex 13, Con –, Int 12, Wis 17, Cha 18. 
  Skills and Feats: Concentration +39, Diplomacy +8, Hide
  –13, Listen +7, Sense Motive +34, Spot +38; Ability Focus
  (fists), Awesome Blow, Cleave, Combat Casting, Great Forti-
  tude, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (slam),
  Improved Overrun, Improved Sunder, Power Attack.
  Fists of Thunder and Lightning (Su): An
  advanced marut’s left fist delivers a loud thunderclap
  whenever it hits something, dealing an extra 3d6 points of
  sonic damage and causing the target to be deafened for 2d6
  rounds (Fortitude DC 30 negates the deafness). Its right
  fist delivers a shock for an extra 3d6 points of electricity
  damage, and the flash of lightning causes the target to be
  blinded for 2d6 rounds (Fortitude DC 30 negates the
  blindness). The save DCs are Strength-based and include
  the advanced marut’s Ability Focus feat.
  Spell-Like Abilities: At will—air walk, dimension
  door, fear (DC 18), greater command (DC 19), greater dispel
  magic, mass inflict light wounds (DC 19), locate creature, true
  seeing; 1/day—chain lightning (DC 20), circle of death (DC
  20), mark of justice, wall of force; 1/week—earthquake (DC
  27), geas/quest, plane shift (DC 21). Caster level 14th. The
  save DCs are Charisma-based.
  Construct Traits: An advanced marut has immu-
  nity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease,
  death effects, necromancy effects, mind-affecting effects
  (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale
  effects), and any effect that requires a Fortitude save unless
  it also works on objects or is harmless. It is not subject to
  critical hits, subdual damage, ability damage, ability drain,
  fatigue, exhaustion, or energy drain. Cannot heal damage,
  but can be repaired. Darkvision 60 ft. and low-light vision. 
  Fast Healing (Ex): The creature regains hit points at
  the rate of 10 points per round. Fast healing does not
  restore hit points lost from starvation, thirst, or suffocation,
  and it does not allow a creature to regrow or reattach lost
  body parts.
  Traps: Since this room contains the sky key, Apori
  spared nothing in protecting it. The main door into this
  room is warded with a symbol of insanity that triggers if it is
  opened. The secret door to the north provides alternative
  access to the room in which the sky key is hidden, so Apori
  placed an additional symbol of insanity on it. The symbol
  activates if the door is opened.
  Two traps also protect the wall safe. The first trap trig-
  gers each time a lock is picked on the safe with a successful
  Open Lock check; this is a magic trap that automatically
  resets every round and targets the person who made the
  Open Lock check with an energy drain. The second trap
  triggers when the safe is opened without the correct com-
  bination being used; doing so triggers an insanity mist
  vapor trap in the safe.
  a Symbol of Insanity: CR 9; spell; spell trigger; no
  reset; spell effect (symbol of insanity, 16th-level sorcerer,
  Will DC 22 negates); multiple targets (all creatures within
  60 feet); Search DC 33; Disable Device DC 33. Cost: 6,280
  gp to hire NPC spellcaster.
  a Energy Drain Trap: CR 10; magic device; visual
  trigger (true seeing); automatic reset; Atk +8 ranged touch;
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  49
  
  spell effect (energy drain, 25th-level wizard, 2d4 negative
  levels for 24 hours, DC 23 Fort save negates); Search DC
  34; Disable Device DC 34. Market Price: 71,000 gp.
  a Insanity Mist Vapor Trap: CR 8; mechanical;
  location trigger; repair reset; gas; never miss; onset delay (1
  round); poison (insanity mist, DC 15 Forti-
  tude save resists, 1d4 Wis/2d6 Wis); multi-
  ple targets (all targets in a 10-ft. by 10-ft.
  cube in front of the safe); Search DC 25; Dis-
  able Device DC 20. Market Price: 23,900 gp.
  This trap is hidden inside the Energy Drain
  Trap and cannot be found or disabled until
  the Energy Drain Trap is disabled.
  Treasure: There really doesn’t look
  like there’s much inside the safe, but in
  truth, the safe contains the bulk of Sarwin’s
  treasury. Found in the safe are three scroll
  cases, a very large book, and a small metal
  box. The first scroll case contains the deed
  to Sarwin Castle. The second scroll case con-
  tains 12 letters of credit in the name of vari-
  ous rulers and organizations in the southern
  nations. Each of these letters grants the
  owner a payment of 10,000 gp. Collecting
  on one of these letters must be done in
  person, though, and most of the guilds will demand proof
  that the collector is indeed a Sarwin before releasing the
  funds. The third scroll case contains an arcane scroll of
  wish and a divine scroll with two true resurrection spells. The
  book is in fact a book of infinite spells with 14 pages remain-
  ing; it is currently open to a legend lore spell. The metal box
  is unlocked and untrapped; it contains the sky key.
  Development: Apori would have much preferred to
  take the key itself into the Skytower, but the wards and
  locks on the safe are too complex for both her and her ele-
  mental minions to figure out; she could probably bash the
  wall down and the safe with it, but she doesn’t want to risk
  damaging the building (or the sky key). She hopes that the
  safe is strong and cleverly hidden enough to keep the key
  secure until the current danger passes. If the PCs get the key
  out of the safe, Apori can sense it and directs all the elemen-
  tals and invisible stalkers still alive on these floors to track
  down the sky key and bring it to her at once. Air elementals
  simply attack the carrier in an attempt to get the key, but
  invisible stalkers demand the PCs hand over the key before
  attacking. If the PCs make a counter demand of any sort,
  such as a demand to speak to Apori, the invisible stalker
  agrees to deliver their request to Apori but still demands the
  key before he does so. This is perhaps the most effective
  (and safest) method to secure a meeting with the djinni sor-
  cerer; see the description of area 61 for more details.
  On day 3, Tiboquoboc and his minions get into this
  room, slay the guardians, and get the sky key out of the safe.
  Tiboquoboc can spy the hidden safe with ease thanks to his
  ring of x-ray vision, and he bypasses the difficult locks by
  transmuting the metal safe into a wood safe, and then
  simply has Alraugh pry the safe door open. Doing so trig-
  gers the safe’s trap and kills Alraugh, but Tiboquoboc gets
  the sky key (and the book of infinite spells) so it’s a win for
  him. He has no interest in the other contents of the safe,
  but Muraxus does and he takes them when no one else is
  looking.
  44. Bedchamber Suite (EL 16)
  This is where the children of the Sarwin Family dwelt.
  Little of interest is in here now, though, except for the
  guardian creatures.
  Creatures: Apori placed four advanced invisible
  stalkers in this room.
  DAdvanced Invisible Stalkers (4): hp 204; see
  area 38 for statistics.
  Treasure: A hidden wall safe is in this room, and it is
  currently empty.
  Development: Tiboquoboc and his minions slay
  these invisible stalkers on day 2.
  45. Classroom
  Typically, the family would bring in three or four tutors
  every winter season, allow them to stay in the West Guest
  Suite, and employ them to teach the children on various
  classical subjects in this room. No tutors were in the castle
  when the invaders attacked, so this room hasn’t been in
  use for some time. Nothing of interest is in here.
  46. Private Banquet Hall (EL 14)
  The Sarwins and favored guests had private banquets in
  this room. The walls of the hexagonal section are magic
  (strong illusion, CL 25), and if anyone in this room says
  “Show me the world” in any language, these walls become
  transparent, affording a magnificent view of the landscape
  beyond. The walls can be returned to their normal state by
  the command phrase, “Hide me from the world.” This
  effect is one of the few powerful magical effects Annah
  This large room is fairly open and empty; a large circu-
  lar table sits in the hexagonal area to the west.
  This long room contains several writing desks and a
  small workshop. Numerous bookshelves line the walls.
  This large room has enough furniture to furnish at
  least six separate bedrooms; it looks like several wood
  partitions can separate the room into numerous
  smaller ones as well.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  50
  Sky Key—Minor Artifact
  This light blue crystalline key
  seems almost weightless. It
  can open any of the adaman-
  tine doors that bar entry into
  the Skytower of Sarwin Castle.
  In addition, all creatures of the
  elemental type with the air sub-
  type automatically regard the
  carrier of the sky key with no
  worse than an “indifferent” atti-
  tude and do not attack the car-
  rier on sight. If the carrier of the
  sky key attacks an elemental, it
  immediately becomes hostile
  and tries to take the sky key for
  itself.
  Strong Abjuration; CL 20th;
  Weight —.
  
  and Zebulahr invested in the castle outside the Pit of
  Ubothar and the Skytower.
  Creatures: Apori has placed two advanced invisible
  stalkers in this room.
  DAdvanced Invisible Stalkers (4): hp 204; see
  area 38 for statistics.
  Development: Tiboquoboc and his minions slay
  these invisible stalkers on Day 1.
  47. Baths (EL 19)
  A clever network of pipes that carried steam directly under
  the various baths once heated the water in these baths;
  which bath got heated to what temperature is controlled
  by the giant water heater/stove in the corner.
  The secret door to the south is not only cleverly hidden
  (Search DC 40 to discover), but also magically enhanced
  and protected. It is, in fact, an adamantine door covered by
  a thin layer of disguising stone and paint.
  Creatures: Although nothing here is of any mone-
  tary value, the secret door was reason enough for Apori to
  station two powerful air elementals in here.
  DAdvanced Elder Air Elementals (2): hp 414;
  see the Skytower Portal sidebar for details.
  Trap: The secret door to the south is nearly impos-
  sible to bypass without the sky key. If the sky key is
  inserted into either door’s keyhole and turned to the left,
  both doors turn ethereal for 3 rounds. When they solidify
  after these 3 rounds, any object or creature standing in
  the doorway is pushed gently (but inexorably) into area
  36. If the sky key is inserted into the door’s keyhole and
  turned to the right, it instantly teleports to a display case
  in area 61, and that door lances the person who turned
  the key with a powerful bolt of electricity. Anyone who
  tries to pick the lock quickly finds that the keyhole seems
  to be merely a hole in the door; there are no tumblers or
  moving parts inside it, and thus the door cannot be
  unlocked in this manner. The keyhole can be activated
  blindly with a successful Use Magic Device check (DC
  50), although the epic nature of the door makes this
  nearly impossible for most nonepic characters. Any
  attempt to unlock the door with either skill (Open Lock
  or Use Magic Device) triggers the lightning trap against
  the person making the skill check. The door also blasts
  anyone who successfully deals damage to it with a similar
  bolt of lightning. Each door can emit a bolt of lightning
  once per round, as long as the lightning trap is active. The
  doors themselves are effectively epic magic items, but
  since they cannot be removed from this location without
  destroying them, their value to thieves is limited.
  s Magic Adamantine Door: 2 in. thick; hardness
  20; hp 80; Break DC 60; SR 38; the door self-repairs
  damage at the rate of 10 hp/round (this effect can be
  negated for 1d4 rounds with a successful dispel magic
  against caster level 25).
  a Lightning Trap: CR 17; magic device; touch trig-
  ger; automatic reset; bolt of lightning (20d10 electricity,
  Reflex DC 14 halves); Search DC 28; Disable Device DC 28,
  dispel magic against caster level 25th disables for 1d4
  rounds. Market Price: 79,900 gp.
  Development: Tiboquoboc and his minions try to
  search this room on Day 1, but they are repulsed by the air
  elementals after slaying one of them and dealing 45 points
  of damage to the other. Believing that this room holds
  nothing more of interest, they choose to ignore it on their
  next several forays into this area.
  48. Skytower Lounge (EL 19)
  This room was the official main entrance to the Skytower
  of Sarwin. It served as little more than an entrance to the
  Skytower and as a guardroom for two powerful creatures
  built long ago by Zebulahr Sarwin.
  The stairs in the center of the room lead up to area 60
  and down to area 26. 
  Creatures: An advanced elder air elemental protects
  this room, like many of the other rooms in the Skytower,
  placed here by Apori. The elemental attacks anyone who
  enters the room, but it takes care to avoid damaging any of
  the items stored here and won’t activate its whirlwind
  power as a result. It can sense the presence of the sky key
  (currently hidden in area 43), and if it senses someone in
  this room carries this item, it holds off its attack for 3
  rounds. If, by this time, no one has clearly identified them-
  selves as a member of the Sarwin family here under the
  watchful eye of Apori, the elemental attacks at once. If it
  can, it captures the sky key and returns it to Apori.
  The air in this room is cool and pleasant. The walls and
  ceiling seem to be coated with a layer of sparkling dust
  that fills the room with a soothing blue illumination.
  To the west, a set of double doors made of black metal
  stands, their faces engraved with all sorts of clouds and
  cavorting genies. A single keyhole is in the center of
  each door, neither of which has an actual handle or
  knob. The room is spartan in décor, with a pair of
  couches in the hexagonal area to the east and a pair of
  large stone statues standing near the stairs.
  This large room contains several sunken pools of vary-
  ing shapes. Numerous lacquered wooden partitions
  leaning against the north wall look like they can make
  any of the baths more private. The water in each bath is
  now cold and tepid. A strange machine sits in the
  northeast corner of the room: a complicated contrap-
  tion made of numerous dials and wheels with several
  metal pipes descending into the floor from a large
  metal tank standing in the corner.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  51
  
  But the elemental isn’t the only guardian in the room;
  the two stone statues are both greater stone golems,
  sculpted in the image of Zebulahr Sarwin’s wife, Annah.
  The two golems have served as the Skytower’s guards since
  the castle was built six centuries ago. The golems do not
  activate if a Sarwin is present in the room, unless specifi-
  cally commanded to do so by a Sarwin.
  DGreater Stone Golems (2): hp 271, see Monster
  Manual, pages 136–137.
  DAdvanced Elder Air Elemental: hp 414; see the
  Skytower Portal sidebar for details.
  Trap: Both the doors to the west and the secret door to
  the north are difficult to get through without the sky key;
  they are detailed in areas 36 and 47 respectively. 
  The stone walls of the Skytower (including the floors
  and ceiling) have been magically enhanced. The sparkling
  “dust” on the walls is actually a thin layer of magically
  treated lead that prevents many divination spells from
  seeing through the walls.
  Finally, each room in the Skytower is protected with a
  dimensional lock spell cast at caster level 25; these dimen-
  sional lock spells have been made permanent by the same
  25th-level casters, so a caster of lower than 25th level
  cannot dispel them.
  s Magically Treated Reinforced Masonry
  Walls: 5 ft. thick; hardness 16; hp 900; Break DC 65; SR
  38; the walls self-repair damage at the rate of 10 hp/round
  (this effect can be negated for 1d4 rounds with a successful
  dispel magic against caster level 25).
  Development: On day 3, Tiboquoboc and his min-
  ions destroy the elemental guarding this room. Tibo-
  quoboc can prevent the golems from attacking him and his
  allies as a benefit of possessing Arezi Sarwin.
  49. Library (EL 22+)
  This luxurious library contains numerous books covering
  many topics. One sixth of the books in the library cover
  general topics of all sorts. Another third of the books cover
  details on the natural world. The remaining books are
  focused on magic and magical theory.
  Any Knowledge checks made in this library with the
  aid of these books gains a +1 circumstance bonus. Knowl-
  edge (nature) checks gain a +2 circumstance bonus, and
  Knowledge (arcana) checks gain a +4 bonus. Although
  none of the books are magical, most of them are in excel-
  lent condition. The total stock in the library is worth 9,000
  gp if it can be transported and sold as a lot.
  Creatures: Tiboquoboc has selected this area to be
  his lair while he works at trying to reach the Pit of
  Ubothar. He is resting or meditating here when he’s
  not leading a foray into the northern sections of the
  floor. He relies mostly on his allies and minions to pro-
  tect him, but he keeps a personal guard of four Iron-
  maw orcs and one progeny of Alorzulan nearby him at
  all times.
  DIronmaw Barbarians (4): hp 114, see the orc
  camp above for full statistics.
  DProgeny of Alorzulan: hp 229, see the orc camp
  for full statistics.
  DTiboquoboc: hp 142, see The Invaders of Sarwin
  Castle above for full statistics.
  50. Southwest Tower Access
  The stairs going up lead to area 58 and those going down to
  area 33. Tiboquoboc has sealed off both stairways with wall
  of stone spells.
  51. Conservatory
  This room is where Tiboquoboc meets with his allies every
  evening at 8:00; they normally sit on the couches to the
  north.
  Treasure: The musical instruments (they number 15,
  including the three large ones in the middle of the room)
  are all masterwork quality.
  52. Southeast Tower Access
  These stairs lead down to area 28 and up to area 59,
  although Tiboquoboc has sealed off the stairs leading up
  with a wall of stone.
  Two flights of stairs in this area provide exits: one
  flight leading upward and one leading downward.
  This large conservatory contains several long, over-
  stuffed couches that are lined up in rows along the
  north and south wall. Several large musical instru-
  ments, including a huge harp, a grand piano, and a
  harpsichord, dominate the middle of the room. Several
  glass cabinets against the east wall contain many more
  instruments, such as horns, flutes, and lutes.
  Two flights of stairs in this area provide exits: one
  flight leading upward and one leading downward.
  The walls of this large room are dominated by book-
  shelves, which are in turn piled with hundreds of
  books. More freestanding bookshelves stand in the
  middle of the room. An open area in the eastern por-
  tion of the room possesses several comfortable chairs
  and a table that provide a nice place to sit and read. To
  the west, several freestanding bookshelves have been
  pushed up against the wall to make room for a crude
  bed and shrine of some sort.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  52
  
  TOWER LEVELS
  Although Tiboquoboc has little interest in the tower
  levels of the castle (with the obvious exception of the Sky-
  tower, areas 60–62), each of these rooms is guarded by air
  elementals brought in by Apori using the Skytower Portal.
  She understands that these towers provide a convenient
  way for intruders to invade the castle and has shored up
  the defenses of these rooms accordingly.
  53. Northtower Entrance (EL 17)
  The stairs lead down to area 34. Leading up, they end at a
  strong wooden trapdoor that has been locked with an
  arcane lock spell by Apori. Additionally, she has protected
  this room with a creature and a trap.
  Above, the trapdoor leads to the tower roof and an
  impressive view of the surrounding terrain. Characters
  who clamber up here (or try to land here from outside)
  immediately attract the attention of Apori and the four
  elder air elementals that protect the airy region around the
  castle.
  Creature: A single elder air elemental guards this
  room and attacks anything that enters.
  DAdvanced Elder Air Elemental: hp 414; see the
  Skytower Portal sidebar for details.
  Trap: Apori has placed a symbol of insanity on the trapdoor;
  it activates when the door is opened.
  a Symbol of Insanity: CR 9; spell; spell trigger;
  no reset; spell effect (symbol of insanity, 16th-level sorcerer,
  Will DC 22 negates); multiple targets (all creatures within
  60 feet); Search DC 33; Disable Device DC 33. Cost: 6,280
  gp to hire NPC spellcaster.
  Development: On day 2, Tiboquoboc and his allies
  slay the air elemental and disarm the symbol of insanity.
  54. Storage
  This area is used as storage for various religious parapher-
  nalia such as incense, braziers, repair materials, holy texts,
  and the like.
  The door into this room is locked (Open Lock DC 30).
  Treasure: A successful Search check (DC 20) uncovers
  15 bottles of holy water and two doses of incense of meditation.
  55. Chapel
  This room was a small chapel dedicated to Pelor (or an
  equivalent deity from your game world) that was tended
  by a single cleric. The servants, guards, and Sarwins them-
  selves were all devout worshipers of this deity, and the
  castle’s cleric held regular services here. This chapel is
  modest and unassuming, but it was much loved by the
  inhabitants of the castle.
  56. Priest’s Quarters (EL 4)
  The castle’s cleric rushed out to greet “Arezi” with the rest
  of the Sarwin family when she (under the control of Tibo-
  quoboc) arrived at the castle a few days ago. The cleric
  snatched up his magic scrolls and potions from the chest,
  not knowing what he might need to tend to Arezi’s condi-
  tion, and was slain with the rest of the Sarwins when Tibo-
  quoboc’s ambush was sprung.
  A hidden wall safe can be discovered with a successful
  Search check (DC 30). Unlike the wall except in area 43,
  this safe is relatively easy to pick. A successful Open Lock
  check (DC 30) opens the safe, which is trapped.
  Trap: The wall safe is protected by a glyph of warding
  that triggers if it is opened by someone who does not recite
  the pass phrase “Pelor’s light shines through the darkest of
  nights.”
  a Glyph of Warding: CR 4; spell; spell trigger; no
  reset; spell effect (glyph of warding [blindness/deafness],
  5th-level cleric), Search DC 28; Disable Device DC 28.
  Cost: 150 gp to hire NPC spellcaster.
  Treasure: Inside the safe is a single silk pouch con-
  taining 15 diamonds worth 1,000 gp each. These diamonds
  were an emergency reserve to be used as spell components
  for spells to bring back the dead.
  Development: On day 2, the trap is disarmed and the
  diamonds taken by Tiboquoboc’s minions.
  This chamber seems to be a combination of personal
  bedchamber and shrine. A large chest at the foot of the
  bed sits carelessly open, and its contents are half-
  strewn across the floor.
  This hexagonal chamber has several comfortable-look-
  ing benches against the north and south walls that face
  toward the center of the room and a large dais. A large
  banner with a holy symbol hangs from the rafters
  above the dais, and a small altar and podium sit at its
  center.
  This room is filled with a large number of crates and
  boxes; they look intact and unmolested.
  Two flights of stairs in this area provide exits: one
  flight leading upward and one leading downward.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  53
  
  57. Solarium (EL 19)
  This area was used by the Sarwins to relax in the sunlight
  during the summer.
  Creature: Since it’s open to the air, any characters in
  this area quickly attract the attention of the elder air ele-
  mentals that patrol the area around the castle itself; assume
  that one of them passes within sight and hearing distance
  to this area once every 1d10 rounds.
  DAdvanced Elder Air Elemental: hp 414; see the
  Skytower Portal sidebar for details.
  Trap:The door in the east wall is locked with an arcane lock
  cast by Apori (CL 16), and it bears a symbol of insanity as well.
  a Symbol of Insanity: CR 9; spell; spell trigger; no
  reset; spell effect (symbol of insanity, 16th-level sorcerer,
  Will DC 22 negates); multiple targets (all creatures within
  60 feet); Search DC 33; Disable Device DC 33. Cost: 6,280
  gp to hire NPC spellcaster.
  58. Aviary Access (EL 19)
  The stairs lead down to area 50. Leading up, they end at a
  strong wooden trapdoor that has been locked with an
  arcane lock spell by Apori. Additionally, she has protected
  this room with a trap. The sacks contain various types of
  birdseed, and the cupboard contains various tools for tend-
  ing and grooming the expensive birds above.
  Above, the trapdoor leads to the tower roof, which is flat
  and contains several large and extravagant birdcages. The
  birds inside the cages are normal but rare examples of local
  birdlife. They haven’t been fed or watered since the Sarwins
  died, and several of them have already died of thirst. 
  Characters who clamber up here (or try to land here
  from outside) immediately attract the attention of Apori
  and the four elder air elementals that protect the airy
  region around the castle.
  Trap: Apori has placed a symbol of insanity on the trap-
  door; it activates when the door is opened.
  a Symbol of Insanity: CR 9; spell; spell trigger;
  no reset; spell effect (symbol of insanity, 16th-level sorcerer,
  Will DC 22 negates); multiple targets (all creatures within
  60 feet); Search DC 33; Disable Device DC 33. Cost: 6,280
  gp to hire NPC spellcaster.
  Development: On day 2, Tiboquoboc and his allies
  slay the air elemental and disarm the symbol of insanity.
  59. Observatory Access
  The stairs lead down to area 52. Leading up, they end at a
  strong wooden trapdoor that has been locked with an
  arcane lock spell by Apori. Additionally, she has protected
  this room with a trap.
  Above, the trapdoor leads to the tower roof, which is
  flat and contains several fairly comfortable weather-
  proofed chairs and tables. A small stone shed at the edge of
  the tower roof is locked (Open Lock DC 30) and contains a
  pair of masterwork telescopes. Each telescope weighs 25
  lbs. and grants a +2 circumstance bonus on Search checks
  made to find distant objects. They are each worth 2,000 gp.
  Characters who clamber up here (or try to land here
  from outside) immediately attract the attention of Apori
  and the four elder air elementals that protect the airy
  region around the castle.
  Trap: Apori has placed a symbol of insanity on the trap-
  door; it activates when the door is opened.
  a Symbol of Insanity: CR 9; spell; spell trigger;
  no reset; spell effect (symbol of insanity, 16th-level sorcerer,
  Will DC 22 negates); multiple targets (all creatures within
  60 feet); Search DC 33; Disable Device DC 33. Cost: 6,280
  gp to hire NPC spellcaster.
  60. Skytower Research Laboratory (EL 21)
  This laboratory has been used to create numerous types of
  magic items or research any number of spells in the past.
  The latest Sarwins, with the exception of Arezi, were not
  that heavily into magic, though, so for the past two decades
  this chamber has lain unused.
  The stairs lead down to area 48 and up to area 61.
  A spellcaster who uses this laboratory to learn a new
  spell gains a +4 circumstance bonus on Spellcraft checks
  made to learn the spell. Alternatively, up to four spellcast-
  ers can share this space and gain a +2 circumstance bonus
  on such checks.
  Many of the tools and resources found in this room are
  magically enhanced to streamline and assist in the process
  of creating magic items. Any magic items created in this
  lab cost 5% less to create and thus reduce the XP cost
  needed to create the item. The final item functions nor-
  mally. This is more a property of this room rather than a
  property of the tools within; removing the tools to a
  This large room is quite well equipped and obviously
  some sort of laboratory. Several writing desks and lab
  tables fill most of the room’s free space. Two large barrels
  and a stone basin are located in the southeast corner. The
  walls shimmer and sparkle with a faint glow.
  This large room contains a flight of stairs that lead
  down and up. 
  This large room contains a flight of stairs that lead
  down and up. Several large sacks lie stacked against
  one wall next to a wooden cupboard.
  This roofless chamber is exposed to the sky above. Sev-
  eral weatherproofed couches sit about this area,
  flanked by verdant potted plants and small tables.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  54
  
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  55
  
  different location renders this effect null until the tools are
  returned.
  Creatures: This room provides direct access to the
  portal chamber above. As a result, Apori has placed several
  elemental and outsider guardians in this room to prevent
  any intruders from reaching the portal above. Three
  advanced elder air elementals are posted here; they imme-
  diately attack anyone who enters the room. Also located
  here is a ghaele eladrin fighter named Tisa called by Apori
  through the Skytower portal.
  DAdvanced Elder Air Elementals (3): hp 414;
  see the Skytower Portal sidebar for details.
  D Tisa (Humanoid Form): Female ghaele eladrin
  fighter 4; CR 17; Medium outsider (chaotic, eladrin, extra-
  planar, good); HD 10d8+50 plus 4d10+20; hp 137; Init +6;
  Spd 50 ft.; AC 34, touch 12, flat-footed 32; Base Atk +14;
  Grp +23; Atk +28 melee (2d6+19/19–20, +4 holy greatsword);
  Full Atk +28/+23/+18 melee (2d6+19/19–20, +4 holy
  greatsword); SA gaze, spell-like abilities, spells; SQ alternate
  form, damage reduction 10/evil and cold iron, darkvision
  60 ft., immunities (electricity, petrification), low-light
  vision, outsider traits, protective aura, resistance to cold 10
  and fire 10, spell resistance 28, tongues; AL CG; SV Fort
  +16, Ref +10, Will +11; Str 28, Dex 15, Con 20, 
  Int 14, Wis 17, Cha 18. 
  Skills and Feats: Concentration +18, Diplomacy +19,
  Handle Animal +20, Hide +14, Knowledge (religion) +15,
  Knowledge (the planes) +15, Listen +16, Move Silently
  +14, Ride +17, Sense Motive +16, Spot +16; Combat Exper-
  tise, Dodge, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative,
  Improved Trip, Mobility, Weapon Focus (greatsword),
  Weapon Specialization (greatsword).
  Gaze (Su): Tisa can slay evil creatures of 5 or fewer
  HD at a range of up to 60 feet with her gaze (Will DC 19
  negates). Even if the save succeeds, the creature is affected
  as though by a fear spell for 2d10 rounds. A nonevil crea-
  ture or an evil creature with more than 5 HD must succeed
  on a DC 19 Will save or suffer the fear effect. The save DCs
  are Charisma-based.
  Spell-Like Abilities: At will—aid, charm monster
  (DC 18), color spray (DC 15), comprehend languages, continual
  flame, cure light wounds (DC 15), dancing lights, detect evil,
  detect thoughts (DC 16), disguise self, dispel magic, hold monster
  (DC 19), greater invisibility (self only), major image (DC 17),
  see invisibility, greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects
  only); 1/day—chain lightning (DC 20), prismatic spray (DC
  21), wall of force. Caster level 12th. The save DCs are
  Charisma-based.
  Spells: Tisa can cast divine spells as a 14th-level cleric.
  She has access to the Air and Animal domains.
  Alternate Form (Su): Tisa can shift between her
  humanoid and globe forms as a standard action. In
  humanoid form she cannot fly or use her light rays, but she
  can use her gaze attack and spell-like abilities, make physical
  attacks, and cast spells. In globe form, she can fly and use
  her light rays and spell-like abilities, but she cannot cast
  spells or use her gaze attack. The globe form is incorporeal,
  she Tisa has no Strength score while in that form. She
  remains in one form until she chooses to assume a new one.
  A change in form cannot be dispelled, and she does not
  revert to any particular form when killed. A true seeing spell
  or ability, however, reveals both forms simultaneously.
  Outsider Traits: Tisa cannot be raised, reincarnated or
  resurrected (though a limited wish, wish, miracle, or true resur-
  rection spell can restore life). Darkvision 60 ft.
  Protective Aura (Su): Against attacks made or effects
  created by evil creatures, this ability provides a +4 deflec-
  tion bonus to AC and a +4 resistance bonus on saving
  throws to anyone within 20 feet of her. Otherwise, it func-
  tions as a magic circle against evil effect and a lesser globe of
  invulnerability, both with a radius of 20 feet (caster level
  14th). 
  Tongues (Su): Tisa can speak with any creature that
  has a language as though using a tongues spell (caster level
  14th). This ability is always active.
  Cleric Spells Prepared (6/7/7/6/5/4/4/3; save DC 13 +
  spell level): 0—cure minor wounds, detect magic, guidance,
  light, resistance, virtue; 1st—bless, calm animals*, command,
  divine favor, obscuring mist*, sanctuary , shield of faith; 2nd—
  aid, align weapon, bear’s endurance, hold animal*, lesser restora-
  tion, remove paralysis , zone of truth; 3rd—daylight, gaseous
  form*, prayer, remove curse, searing light, water breathing;
  4th—death ward, dismissal, divine power, restoration, summon
  nature’s ally IV (animal)*; 5th—control winds*, flame strike,
  raise dead, true seeing; 6th—banishment, blade barrier, chain
  lightning*, heal; 7th—animal shapes*, holy word, summon
  monster VII.
  Possessions: +4 holy greatsword, +4 chain shirt.
  D Tisa (Globe Form): Female ghaele eladrin fighter
  4; CR 17; Medium outsider (chaotic, eladrin, extraplanar,
  good, incorporeal); HD 10d8+50 plus 4d10+20; hp 137; Init
  +6; Spd fly 150 ft. (perfect); AC 24, touch 16, flat-footed 22;
  Base Atk +14; Grp —; Atk +16 ranged touch (2d12, light
  ray); Full Atk +16 ranged touch (2d12, 2 light rays); SA
  light ray, spell-like abilities; SQ alternate form, damage
  reduction 10/evil and cold iron, darkvision 60 ft., immuni-
  ties (electricity, petrification), incorporeal subtype, low-
  light vision, outsider traits, protective aura, resistance to
  cold 10 and fire 10; spell resistance 28, tongues; AL CG; SV
  Fort +16, Ref +10, Will +11; Str –, Dex 15, Con 20, Int 14,
  Wis 17, Cha 18. 
  Skills and Feats: Concentration +18, Diplomacy +19,
  Handle Animal +20, Hide +14, Knowledge (religion) +15,
  Knowledge (the planes) +15, Listen +16, Move Silently
  +14, Ride +17, Sense Motive +16, Spot +16; Combat Exper-
  tise, Dodge, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative,
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  56
  
  Improved Trip, Mobility, Weapon Focus (greatsword),
  Weapon Specialization (greatsword).
  Light Ray (Ex): When in globe form, Tisa can project
  light rays with a range of 300 feet. This attack overcomes
  damage reduction of any type.
  Spell-Like Abilities: At will—aid, charm monster
  (DC 18), color spray (DC 15), comprehend languages, continual
  flame, cure light wounds (DC 15), dancing lights, detect evil,
  detect thoughts (DC 16), disguise self, dispel magic, hold monster
  (DC 19), greater invisibility (self only), major image (DC 17),
  see invisibility, greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects
  only); 1/day—chain lightning (DC 20), prismatic spray (DC
  21), wall of force. Caster level 12th. The save DCs are
  Charisma-based.
  Alternate Form (Su): Tisa can shift between her
  humanoid and globe forms as a standard action. In
  humanoid form she cannot fly or use her light rays, but
  she can use her gaze attack and spell-like abilities, make
  physical attacks, and cast spells. In globe form, she can fly
  and use her light rays and spell-like abilities, but she
  cannot cast spells or use her gaze attack. The globe form is
  incorporeal, she Tisa has no Strength score while in that
  form. She remains in one form until she chooses to
  assume a new one. A change in form cannot be dispelled,
  and she does not revert to any particular form when
  killed. A true seeing spell or ability, however, reveals both
  forms simultaneously.
  Incorporeal Traits: Tisa is harmed only by other
  incorporeal creatures, magic weapons, spells, spell-like
  abilities, and supernatural abilities. She has a 50% chance
  to ignore any damage from a corporeal source, except for
  force effects or attacks made with ghost touch weapons.
  She can pass through solid objects, but not force effects, at
  will. Her attacks ignore natural armor, armor, and shields,
  but deflection bonuses and force effects work normally
  against them. Tisa always moves silently and cannot be
  heard with Listen checks if she doesn’t wish to be.
  Outsider Traits: Tisa cannot be raised, reincarnated or
  resurrected (though a limited wish, wish, miracle, or true resur-
  rection spell can restore life). Darkvision 60 ft.
  Protective Aura (Su): Against attacks made or
  effects created by evil creatures, this ability provides a +4
  deflection bonus to AC and a +4 resistance bonus on
  saving throws to anyone within 20 feet of her. Otherwise,
  it functions as a magic circle against evil effect and a lesser
  globe of invulnerability, both with a radius of 20 feet (caster
  level 14th). 
  Tongues (Su): Tisa can speak with any creature that
  has a language as though using a tongues spell (caster level
  14th). This ability is always active.
  Trap: The stone walls of the Skytower (including the
  floors and ceiling) have been magically enhanced. The
  sparkling “dust” on the walls is actually a thin layer of
  magically treated lead that prevents many divination spells
  from seeing through the walls.
  Finally, each room in the Skytower is protected with a
  dimensional lock spell cast at caster level 25; these dimen-
  sional lock spells have been made permanent by the same
  25th-level casters, so a caster of lower than 25th level
  cannot dispel them.
  s Magically Treated Reinforced Masonry
  Walls: 5 ft. thick; hardness 16; hp 900; Break DC 65; SR
  38; the walls self-repair damage at the rate of 10 hp/round
  (this effect can be negated for 1d4 rounds with a successful
  dispel magic against caster level 25).
  Development: Tisa isn’t quite as eager to attack
  intruders as the elementals; it has spoken at length with
  Apori and knows the general description of Tiboquoboc
  and his minions. If the party doesn’t include any orcs,
  giants, harpies, demons, or undead, Tisa hesitates before
  joining the elementals and uses detect evil to scan the party.
  If there are no evil creatures in the party, she commands
  the elementals to halt the attack (which they do, begrudg-
  ingly) while she asks the party to explain themselves
  quickly. A quick-witted and honest party should gain Tisa’s
  trust, which goes a long way toward earning the aid of
  Apori. If she detects evil in the party, or if they attack her,
  she joins the battle.
  If combat breaks out in this room, Apori hears and casts
  her short duration defensive spells on herself before flying
  down the stairs to aid in the combat. If Tisa has already
  started to make a truce with the party, Apori takes over the
  conversation as detailed in area 61.
  On day 3, Tiboquoboc and his allies reach this chamber
  and a fearsome battle ensues. Two of the elementals are
  slain before Tiboquoboc and his allies are forced to retreat.
  On day 4, an even more destructive battle ensues, but this
  time Tiboquoboc and his allies win and Tisa, the remaining
  elemental, and Apori are slain.
  61. Skytower Portal (EL 21)
  This room is the current lair of a powerful djinni sorcerer
  named Apori. She has served the Sarwin family for just over
  600 years, part of a period of 1,000 years of servitude as
  This large room is swirling with blasts of alternating
  cold and hot gusts of forceful wind. The room itself is
  empty except for a large ring of glowing blue crystal to
  the southeast. This ring is attached to the floor, walls,
  and ceiling by thin, taut adamantine chains that hum
  with tension. Swirling vortices of white mist churn
  inside of the ring, and a shrill howling, as if of wind
  over hollows in a broken landscape, emanates from it.
  The walls of the room glow with sparkling energy. A
  flight of stairs leads both up and down in the center of
  the room.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  57
  
  payment for the fact that Annah and Zebulahr once saved
  an entire city of djinni on the Elemental Plane of Air from
  being destroyed by a flight of half air-ele-
  mental black dragons. Her task is to guard
  Sarwin Castle, in particular, the Skytower
  and the Pit of Ubothar below. She knows all
  about the history of the region, including
  Tiboquoboc’s ancient attempt to awaken
  Ubothar. She does not know that it is Tibo-
  quoboc who has possessed Arezi, though.
  Apori was allowed by the Sarwins to
  spend most of her time on the Elemental
  Plane of Air in her cloud villa. The Skytower
  portal has been bonded to her, and as long as it
  exists, she can sense the general condition of
  the castle. When Tiboquoboc slew the Sar-
  wins, the resulting blast of spiritual energy
  called her here. She quickly began to set up
  wards and conjure guardians to protect the
  castle, and only once they were in place did
  she start to research what had happened.
  Unfortunately, she’s too afraid to leave the
  Skytower for long; the time it took to place the
  numerous symbols of insanity in the castle was
  almost too long for her sense of duty to the
  portal to bear. As a result, she is still fairly igno-
  rant as to the exact nature of the invaders.
  Creature: Apori appears as a strik-
  ingly beautiful woman with dark skin and
  bright blue eyes. Her long black hair is
  braided into dozens of thin braids that
  snake and curl in the air. Mystic tattoos on
  her face and arms in various blue and black
  inks further enhance her exotic appearance.
  Apori spends most of her time patiently
  standing guard in this room, waiting for the
  inevitability of the castle invaders to breach
  the defenses of the Skytower. She’s fairly
  certain that no one can reach the Pit of
  Ubothar without the stasis scepter she carries,
  but if she senses the wards around the Pit
  collapse, she immediately abandons her
  post here, gathers up Tisa and any elemen-
  tals she can, and flies down into the dun-
  geon to punish and slay the transgressors.
  It’s far more likely, though, that she is con-
  fronted here in the Skytower. She might also
  sense intruders flying near the castle or clam-
  bering around on its walls or roof, in which case she sends
  elementals after the intruders. She only leaves this room to
  aid Tisa and the elementals in area 61, or to help repel flying
  or climbing intruders outside that the three elementals are
  having a hard time with.
  D Apori: Female djinni sorcerer 16; CR 21; Large out-
  sider (air, extraplanar); HD 7d8+28 plus 16d4+64; hp 163;
  Init +9; Spd 20 ft., fly 60 ft. (perfect); AC 23, touch 14, flat-
  footed 18; Base Atk +15; Grp +23; Atk +18 melee (1d8+4,
  slam); Full Atk +18 melee (1d8+4, 2 slams); Space/Reach 10
  ft./10 ft.; SA air mastery, spell-like abilities, whirlwind; SQ
  darkvision 60 ft., immunity to acid, outsider traits, plane shift,
  telepathy 100 ft.; AL CG; SV Fort +14, Ref +15, Will +15; Str
  18, Dex 20, Con 18, Int 17, Wis 12, Cha 29. 
  Skills and Feats: Appraise +13, Bluff +25, Concentration
  +30, Craft (trapmaking) +29, Diplomacy +23, Escape Artist
  +15, Hide +1, Intimidate +11, Knowledge (arcana) +29,
  Listen +11, Move Silently +15, Sense Motive +11, Spell-
  craft +33, Spot +11; Combat Casting, Combat Expertise,
  Combat Reflexes, Craft Wondrous Item, Dodge, Extend
  Spell, Improved Initiative, Maximize Spell, Mobility.
  Air Mastery (Ex): An airborne creature takes a –1
  penalty on attack and damage rolls against Apori.
  Spell-Like Abilities: At will—invisibility (self only);
  1/day—create food and water, create wine (as create water, 
  but wine instead), gaseous form (1 hour), major creation
  (created vegetable matter is permanent), persistent image
  (DC 24), wind walk. Caster level 20th. The save DCs are 
  Charisma-based.
  Whirlwind (Su): Apori can transform herself into a
  whirlwind once every 10 minutes and remain in that form
  for up to 7 rounds. In this form, she can move through the
  air or along a surface at her fly speed. The whirlwind is 5
  feet wide at the base up to 30 feet wide at the top, and up to
  50 feet tall (at least 10 feet). 
  Apori’s movement while in whirlwind form does not
  provoke attacks of opportunity, even if she enters another
  creature’s space. Another creature might be caught in the
  whirlwind if it touches or enters it, or if Apori moves into
  or through the creature’s space. Any Medium or smaller
  creature might take damage when caught in the whirlwind
  and be lifted into the air. 
  An affected creature must succeed on a DC 20 Reflex
  save upon coming into contact with the whirlwind or take
  3d6 points of damage. It must also succeed on a DC 20
  Reflex save or be picked up bodily and held suspended in
  the powerful winds, automatically taking 1d8 points of
  damage each round. A creature with a fly speed is allowed a
  DC 20 Reflex save each round to escape the whirlwind. The
  creature still takes damage but can leave if the save is suc-
  cessful. The save DC is Strength-based and includes a +3
  racial adjustment. 
  A creature trapped in the whirlwind cannot move
  except to go where Apori carries it or to escape the whirl-
  wind. It can otherwise act normally but must make a Con-
  centration check (DC 15 + spell level) to cast a spell. A
  creature caught in the whirlwind takes a –4 penalty to
  Dexterity and a –2 penalty on attack rolls. 
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  58
  Stasis Scepter (Artifact)
  The stasis scepter is a minor arti-
  fact created centuries ago by
  Arezi and Zebulahr Sarwin. This
  short rod is a length of adaman-
  tine, platinum, and gold, all
  braided together and set with a
  large, clear opal at one end. The
  stasis scepter’s purpose is to
  enclose an object, creature, or
  area in a shield of force and
  stasis not unlike that generated
  by a temporal stasis spell.
  To place a creature or object
  in temporal stasis, the wielder of
  the scepter need only make a
  melee touch attack. The creature
  or object struck can resist the
  effect with a successful Fortitude
  save (DC 28), otherwise the crea-
  ture or object is placed in tempo-
  ral stasis. This effect is perma-
  nent, although only one creature
  or object can be placed in stasis
  at a time by the scepter. Placing a
  second target in stasis immedi-
  ately lifts the effect from the pre-
  vious victim.
  To place an area in tempo-
  ral stasis, the wielder needs to
  concentrate on the area for 1
  minute while holding the
  scepter. The region to be so
  affected must be a location that
  is well known by the user, and
  must be within a mile of the
  user’s current location, but,
  aside from that, any barriers
  between the user and the loca-
  tion to be placed in stasis are
  irrelevant. The area to be
  encased in stasis can be no
  larger than 500,000 cubic feet;
  the affected area can be shaped
  as desired by the user. Creatures
  within the area when it is placed
  in stasis are not themselves
  placed in stasis and may move
  about freely within the confines 
  
  Apori can have only as many creatures trapped inside
  a whirlwind at one time as will fit inside the whirlwind’s
  volume. Apori can eject any carried creatures whenever
  she wishes, depositing them wherever the whirlwind
  happens to be. 
  If the whirlwind’s base touches the ground, it creates a
  swirling cloud of debris. This cloud is centered on Apori
  and has a diameter equal to half the whirlwind’s height.
  The cloud obscures all vision, including darkvision,
  beyond 5 feet. Creatures 5 feet away have concealment,
  while those farther away have total concealment. Anyone
  caught in the cloud must succeed on a Concentration
  check (DC 15 + spell level) to cast a spell. 
  While in whirlwind form, Apori cannot make melee
  attacks and does not threaten the area around him.
  Outsider Traits: Apori cannot be raised, reincarnated,
  or resurrected (though a limited wish, wish, miracle, or true res-
  urrection spell can restore life). Darkvision 60 ft.
  Plane Shift (Sp): Apori can enter any of the elemen-
  tal planes, the Astral Plane, or the Material Plane. This abil-
  ity transports her and up to eight other creatures, provided
  they all link hands with her. This effect is otherwise simi-
  lar to the spell of the same name (caster level 13th).
  Sorcerer Spells Known (6/9/8/8/8/8/7/6/4; save
  DC 19 + spell level): 0—detect magic, disrupt undead, flare, ghost
  sound, light, mage hand, prestidigitation, read magic, resistance;
  1st—burning hands, identify, mage armor, magic missile, ray of
  enfeeblement; 2nd—arcane lock, cat’s grace, detect thoughts, gust of
  wind, web; 3rd—dispel magic, haste, lightning bolt, wind wall;
  4th—dimension door, ice storm, polymorph, solid fog; 5th—break
  enchantment, cone of cold, Mordenkainen’s private sanctum, send-
  ing; 6th—disintegrate, greater heroism, legend lore; 7th—finger of
  death, summon monster VII; 8th—symbol of insanity.
  Possessions: Bracers of armor +6, cloak of charisma +6, stasis
  scepter, three 5,000-gp star sapphires (used to call elemen-
  tals through the Skytower portal), 3 doses of powdered dia-
  mond and opal (worth 5,000 gp each, components for
  symbol of insanity).
  Trap: The stone walls of the Skytower (including the
  floors and ceiling) have been magically enhanced. The
  sparkling “dust” on the walls is actually a thin layer of mag-
  ically treated lead that prevents many divination spells
  from seeing through the walls.
  Finally, each room in the Skytower is protected with a
  dimensional lock spell cast at caster level 25; these dimensional
  lock spells have been made permanent by the same 25th-
  level casters, so a caster of lower than 25th level cannot
  dispel them. The Skytower portal is an exception to the dimen-
  sional lock; it functions normally even in the presence of the
  dimensional lock as long as it remains fixed in place.
  s Magically Treated Reinforced Masonry
  Walls: 5 ft. thick; hardness 16; hp 900; Break DC 65; SR
  38; the walls self-repair damage at the rate of 10 hp/round
  (this effect can be negated for 1d4 rounds with a successful
  dispel magic against caster level 25).
  Treasure: The only object in this room
  is also one of the greatest treasures in the
  entire castle. This is the Skytower portal.
  Development: Despite her obsession
  with protecting the castle, Apori remains an
  intrinsically good creature and if it becomes
  apparent that the PCs aren’t the true
  invaders of the castle, she quickly calls a
  truce. She desperately wants to know what
  has been going on, what happened to the
  Sarwins, and who the actual invaders are. As
  she listens to the stories told her by the PCs,
  she slowly begins to realize what happened
  to Arezi. She remembers when she vanished
  several years ago and came to offer her aid in
  tracking her down but was gently told that
  her services didn’t extend beyond these
  castle walls, which it seemed is where Arezi
  had run off to. If Apori learns that Tibo-
  quoboc is the force that’s captured Arezi, she
  becomes both enraged and desperate, and
  she begs the party to help her defeat Tibo-
  quoboc while at the same time preserving
  poor Arezi from further harm. If the party
  agrees, she aids them with what assistance
  she can, although she would rather not leave
  the Skytower. She allows the party to
  borrow two elder air elementals at a time to
  help them defeat Tiboquoboc and his allies
  if they still live. She also allows Tisa to
  accompany them.
  On day 4, a destructive battle ensues in
  this room between Apori and Tiboquoboc’s
  minions. Tiboquoboc and his allies win and
  Tisa, the remaining elemental, and Apori are
  slain.
  62. Skytower Treasury (EL 18)
  Although the true treasure of Sarwin Castle consists of the
  artifacts in areas 43 and 61, and the contents of the safe in
  area 43, the Sarwins nonetheless often needed cold, hard
  cash for transactions. They kept a fair store of it here in one
  of the most secure places in their castle.
  Creatures: Both statues are greater stone golems that
  are identical in appearance to the two down in area 48.
  A pair of huge stone statues depicting a beautiful
  woman with a stern countenance dominates this large
  room. Beyond the two statues, to the southeast, sit five
  large chests.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  59
  of the area. Creatures that need
  to eat, drink, or breathe soon
  perish from hunger, thirst, or
  suffocation if the stasis is not
  lifted in time, however. An area
  placed in stasis remains so for
  one year. When the stasis scepter
  is used in this manner, it
  becomes inert for twice the
  duration the area remains in
  stasis (thus, for 2 years).
  A shimmering amber bar-
  rier that cannot be passed
  through by any physical or magi-
  cal means effectively surrounds
  an area placed in stasis. Effec-
  tively, a wall of force and a dimen-
  sional lock spell protects the
  area. This state persists until it
  is removed by freedom spell, a
  successful Mordenkainen’s dis-
  junction spell, or the touch of
  the stasis scepter to the amber
  field of energy.
  The stasis scepter
  can
  cancel either of these effects
  (as well as the effects of a tem-
  poral stasis spell) by touch. The
  scepter can cancel a temporal
  stasis effect in this manner even
  when it is otherwise inactive as
  a result of maintaining an area
  stasis.
  Apori does not give up the
  stasis scepter for any reason,
  since it is her greatest method
  of preventing malcontents such
  as Tiboquoboc from reaching
  the Pit of Ubothar.
  
  They animate and attack any intruders after 2 rounds if the
  pass phrase, “Behold the flawless beauty of Annah Sarwin”
  is not spoken before then.
  DGreater Stone Golems (2): hp 271, see the
  Monster Manual.
  Treasure: All five chests are locked with amazing
  locks (Open Lock DC 40), but they are not trapped. The
  first chest contains 40,000 cp. The second contains 20,000
  sp. The third contains 12,000 gp. The fourth contains 2,400
  pp and 20,000 gp in various gemstones. The fifth chest is
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  60
  Skytower Portal (Artifact)
  The stasis scepter was not the only artifact created by Annah
  and Zebulahr Sarwin; this device was created at about the
  same time by the powerful spellcasters. Unlike the stasis
  scepter, though, the Skytower portal is not portable; it is an
  integral part of Sarwin Castle. To use the Skytower portal, a
  creature must first bond itself to the portal by meditating
  before it for an hour. This bond, once forged, is permanent.
  The portal itself appears as a crystal disk held in place by
  adamantine chains. It can be used to create a gate effect once
  per day. If used to call a creature, this gate functions as the
  spell cast at CL 20. If used for planar travel, the gate created
  remains stable for 12 hours. The Sarwins through the genera-
  tions often used this aspect of the tower to explore distant
  lands and remote regions.
  The portal itself is particularly attuned to a specific
  region in the Elemental Plane of Air wherein dwell numerous
  highly powerful elder air elementals. Any creature bonded to
  the portal can call one of these elementals simply by sacrific-
  ing a star sapphire worth at least 5,000 gp by tossing it into
  the gate. One round later, an advanced elder air elemental
  (see statistics below) comes through the gate to serve the
  one who sacrificed the sapphire for a period not to exceed
  one week. Any number of elementals may be so commanded,
  as long as the user has enough star sapphires to sacrifice.
  The Skytower portal can open a hole in the side of the
  tower to allow direct passage into and out of area 61. The
  hole created is circular and 10 feet in diameter, and it appears
  anywhere on the wall as directed by the user.
  The Sarwins built one final feature into the portal—a fea-
  ture that they hoped would never be used. Anyone bonded
  with the portal may make a melee attack (using any weapon)
  to break the portal and trigger a powerful retributive strike. The
  resulting explosion deals 400 points of force damage in a 30-
  foot spread. A successful Reflex save (DC 30) reduces the
  damage to 200 points.
  The Skytower portal is not affected by the dimensional
  lock effect that blankets the Skytower itself.
  D Advanced Elder Air Elementals (2): CR 17; Huge ele-
  mental (air, extraplanar); HD 48d8+198; hp 414; Init +15; Spd
  fly 100 ft. (perfect); AC 27, touch 19, flat-footed 16; Base Atk
  +36; Grp +50; Atk +46 melee (2d8+6/19–20, slam); Full Atk
  +46 melee (2d8+6/19–20, 2 slams); Space/Reach 15 ft./15 ft.;
  SA air mastery, whirlwind; SQ damage reduction 10/—, dark-
  vision 60 ft., elemental traits; AL N; SV Fort +22, Ref +39, Will
  +18; Str 22, Dex 33, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 11. 
  Skills and Feats: Hide +3, Listen +53, Spot +53; Alert-
  ness, Blind-Fight, Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Flyby
  Attack, Great Cleave, Great Fortitude, Improved Critical
  (slam), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes,
  Mobility, Power Attack, Spring Attack, Toughness, Toughness,
  Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (slam).
  Air Mastery (Ex): An airborne creature takes a –1 penalty
  on attack and damage rolls against an advanced elder air
  elemental
  Whirlwind (Su): An advanced elder air elemental can
  transform itself into a whirlwind once every 10 minutes and
  remain in that form for up to 20 rounds. In this form, it can
  move through the air or along a surface at its fly speed. The
  whirlwind is 5 feet wide at the base up to 30 feet wide at the
  top, and up to 50 feet tall (at least 10 feet). 
  The elemental’s movement while in whirlwind form does
  not provoke attacks of opportunity, even if it enters another
  creature’s space. Another creature might be caught in the whirl-
  wind if it touches or enters it, or if the elemental moves into or
  through the creature’s space. Any Large or smaller creature
  might take damage when caught in the whirlwind and be lifted
  into the air. An affected creature must succeed on a DC 40
  Reflex save upon coming into contact with the whirlwind or take
  3d6 points of damage. It must also succeed on a DC 40 Reflex
  save or be picked up bodily and held suspended in the powerful
  winds, automatically taking 1d8 points of damage each round. 
  A creature with a fly speed is allowed a DC 40 Reflex save
  each round to escape the whirlwind. The creature still takes
  damage but can leave if the save is successful. The save DC
  is Strength-based. A creature trapped in the whirlwind cannot
  move except to go where the elemental carries it or to escape
  the whirlwind. It can otherwise act normally but must make a
  Concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) to cast a spell. A
  creature caught in the whirlwind takes a –4 penalty to Dexter-
  ity and a –2 penalty on attack rolls. 
  The elemental can have only as many creatures
  trapped inside a whirlwind at one time as will fit inside the
  whirlwind’s volume. It can eject any carried creatures
  whenever it wishes, depositing them wherever the whirl-
  wind happens to be. 
  If the whirlwind’s base touches the ground, it creates a
  swirling cloud of debris. This cloud is centered on the elemen-
  tal and has a diameter equal to half the whirlwind’s height.
  The cloud obscures all vision, including darkvision, beyond 5
  feet. Creatures 5 feet away have concealment, while those far-
  ther away have total concealment. Anyone caught in the cloud
  must succeed on a Concentration check (DC 15 + spell level)
  to cast a spell. While in whirlwind form, the elemental cannot
  make melee attacks and does not threaten the area around it.
  Elemental Traits: An advanced elder air elemental has
  immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, and stunning. It
  is not subject to critical hits or flanking. It cannot be raised,
  reincarnated, or resurrected (though a limited wish, wish, mira-
  cle, or true resurrection spell can restore life). Darkvision 60 ft.
  pqqqqrs
  pqqqqrs
  
  currently empty and is reserved for any guests who wish to
  store valuables during their stay in the Castle.
  DUNGEON LEVEL
  Although some areas of the Sarwin dungeon can be quite
  dangerous (particularly areas 81–84), for the most part, this
  adventure is unusual in that the true dangers facing the
  PCs are above ground. Sarwin Castle’s dungeon is a well-
  maintained area—more of an extensive basement than an
  actual dungeon. The castle’s builders were adventurers,
  though, and they couldn’t resist calling the basement a
  dungeon while they lived, and the affectation has stuck
  through the generations.
  63. Guard Post
  Sarwin Castle only rarely had prisoners (they had none
  when Tiboquoboc attacked), but when they did, a small
  group of guards was stationed in this area.
  64. Prison Block
  These cells are all unlocked, and they can be locked with
  the appropriate keys (all of which are kept in the cabinet in
  area 25).
  65. Secret Hideout
  Maerak Sarwin, the ruling patriarch 240 years ago, valued his
  privacy. The life of an aristocrat, with its numerous social
  functions and responsibilities grated on his nerves, so he had
  this small secret room built to serve as a place to hide out
  when things grew too stressful. None of the other Sarwins or
  servants ever knew this room existed, much to Maerak’s
  delight. Unfortunately, he suffered a powerful heart attack
  one night while reading in his favorite chair and died here.
  His wife and children believed he had left for a two-day trip
  to the south, and when he never returned, his wife quickly
  brushed over the search for him, so happy was she to have
  inherited the castle. Maerak lived as he died, in secrecy.
  The boxes and jugs at the bed’s foot once contained
  food and water for Maerak’s longer stays here, but the con-
  tents of each have long since evaporated or rotted away.
  Treasure: Maerak’s body still wears his jewelry,
  including a headband of intellect +4, a ring of freedom of move-
  ment, and his signet ring. A successful bardic knowledge or
  Knowledge (nobility and royalty) check (DC 35) recog-
  nizes the signet ring as that of Maerak Sarwin’s and allows
  that PC to recall that he supposedly vanished without a
  trace over 200 years ago.
  The books are all old collections of poetry and epic
  sagas. They are all quite rare and valuable, and are worth
  2,000 gp apiece. There are twelve books in all.
  66. Burial Preparation
  This room was used to prepare the dead for burial. Sarwin
  tradition required all the family’s dead to be wrapped in
  shrouds of disintegration, and then the shroud itself placed in
  a cherrywood coffer and placed in the appropriate niche in
  the family crypt.
  Treasure: The cabinets are all locked (Open Lock DC
  30) and contain two shrouds of disintegration each.
  67. Pantry
  This room is used to store nonperishable foodstuffs. The
  contents of the containers are mundane: grains and dried
  meats, mostly. The stairs lead up to area 14. The secret door
  to the north is very well hidden, and a successful Search
  check (DC 35) uncovers it from this side of the room.
  68. Wine Cellar
  This wine still exists only because the Ironmaw orcs
  haven’t bothered to bash in the door yet. The door itself is
  locked (Open Lock DC 30).
  Treasure: There are 230 bottles of wine in this room;
  210 of them are worth 50 gp each, and the remaining 20
  are worth 500 gp each.
  This cramped chamber is filled with numerous wine
  racks, most of which are full, displaying quite a collec-
  tion of rare and expensive alcohol.
  This large room is cluttered with boxes, crates, shelves,
  and other storage units, making the room a virtual
  maze. A flight of stairs leads up in the western portion
  of the room.
  This room contains three stone biers and three match-
  ing cabinets, and all of them are closed.
  This tiny room contains a single overstuffed chair, a
  table, and a small bookshelf containing a large number
  of well-worn books. A short but comfortable bed is
  pushed up against the west wall, and several jugs and
  small boxes are stacked at its foot. The chair contains the
  room’s only occupant: a long dead skeleton.
  This hall is lined with prison cells, each enclosed
  behind a barred iron gate. All the cells appear to be
  empty.
  This bleak chamber contains a single table surrounded by
  four chairs. A flight of stairs leads up to the southeast, and
  opposite that a row of prison cells extends to the west.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  61
  
  69. Cold Storage
  This room’s cool temperatures are maintained by a perma-
  nent magical effect that keeps the room at a temperature of
  –10 degrees Fahrenheit; this magical effect operates at
  caster level 18. Apart from the temperature, though, there
  is little of interest in here.
  70. Sarwin Crypt
  This room contains the disintegrated dead of the Sarwin line.
  There are 73 coffers in all. Each bronze plaque lists the name
  and dates of birth and death of its Sarwin. Each coffer con-
  tains a finely embroidered burial shroud wrapped around a
  handful of dust. Characters who try to search for Annah and
  Zebulahr’s coffers can find them with a successful Search
  check (DC 20), but if they open the coffers, they find them to
  be empty.
  The northern wall is magically enhanced with a stasis
  wall placed by Apori by means of the stasis scepter. As long
  as the stasis wall is in place, passage through the wall by any
  means is impossible.
  71. Secret Tunnel
  This secret exit was included during the castle’s construc-
  tion as a way for the denizens of the castle to escape unno-
  ticed out the side of the cliff face in case the castle was put
  under siege. Over the generations, most of the Sarwins
  forgot about this never-used tunnel.
  Today, this tunnel provides the PCs with the best route to
  sneak unnoticed into or out of the castle; none of Apori’s or
  Tiboquoboc’s forces even suspect its existence.
  The secret doors at either end of this
  tunnel are very well hidden from outside the tunnel, and a
  successful Search check (DC 35) is required to find them.
  The doors are quite obvious from within the tunnel.
  72. Training Room
  The guards of Sarwin Castle were expected to remain in top
  physical shape, and they used this room to keep their fight-
  ing skills sharp.
  The guards and servants of Sarwin originally fled
  through this room and into area 74 when the Ironmaw
  orcs attacked. The guards tried to hold the orcs off here,
  but were mercilessly slaughtered.
  The eastern wall is magically enhanced with a stasis wall
  placed by Apori by means of the stasis scepter. As long as the
  stasis wall is in place, passage through the wall by any
  means is impossible, and the iron door cannot be opened.
  73. Latrines
  74. Massacre RRoom (EL 116)
  The servants of the castle retreated here with their families
  and children, hoping to ride out the assault until the Sar-
  wins returned. Unfortunately, they were cornered by
  several Ironmaw orcs who took their time killing every-
  thing in here. The bodies were dragged off to feed the
  chimeric dire bears, but the tormented spirits of the
  slaughtered servants remain and seethe . . . 
  Creatures: At midnight on day 2, the restless spirits
  of the poor servants complete their transformations into
  specters. They remain hidden until the next living crea-
  ture enters the room, at which point they surge out of the
  floors and walls, trailing bits of their own clotted blood as
  they attack.
  Once enraged, the specters continue to chase and
  attack their enemies, passing through walls and barriers
  This room was once a storeroom, but it’s apparent that
  something terrible happened in here quite recently.
  Containers are smashed, and blood is on the walls,
  pooling on the floor, and even spotting the ceiling in
  places.
  This narrow room has six latrines in a row; the con-
  tents of which haven’t seemed to be emptied in a few
  days. The stink in here is oppressive and cloying as a
  result.
  Several padded mats, straw sparring dummies, training
  weights, and other objects used to train warriors are in
  this room. A large number of the items are damaged or
  sprawled on the ground in the northwest section of
  the room. Multiple bloodstains are on the walls and
  floors as well.
  Perhaps more interesting than this is the fact that
  the eastern wall shimmers with a vibrant amber glow.
  A solid iron door in the east wall is covered over with
  this energy.
  The floor of this narrow tunnel is covered with a thick
  layer of dust.
  The huge crypt is mostly open, although the eastern,
  western, and southern walls are covered with dozens
  of tiny niches measuring about 6 inches high and 18
  inches long. Inside most of them sits a cherrywood
  coffer, and under each, a small bronze plaque is
  mounted. The northern wall is free of any niches and
  shimmers with a vibrant amber glow.
  The air in this room is quite frigid . . . cold enough to
  frost your breath. Several racks of beef hang from
  hooks in the ceiling, along with a fair number of icicles.
  Numerous crates and barrels lie in the northern section
  of the room.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  62
  
  (except for the stasis barrier, of course) until they are
  destroyed.
  DSpectres (20): hp 45; see the Monster Manual for
  details.
  75. Storage Overflow
  Originally, this room was intended to be a guard room,
  but over time, it has slowly turned into another store-
  room. The supplies kept here include an eclectic mix
  of firewood, bed sheets, soap, preserved food, clothing,
  spare parts for furniture, and anything else the ser-
  vants thought they, their employers, or the castle itself
  might need.
  76. Wood Storage
  This firewood is used in the numerous fireplaces through-
  out Sarwin Castle; the last winter was mild and as a result,
  the firewood stores are still full.
  77. Well Room
  This well drops 20 feet to the surface of the water, which
  fills the remaining 40 feet of depth.
  78. Northern Entrance
  These stairs lead up to area 3.
  79. Guardroom
  A single guard, posted to make sure no one got into the
  armory, typically staffed this room. All weapons had to be
  logged in the book, but since this duty was generally seen
  as the most boring in the castle, many of the guards took to
  writing crude and often shockingly indecent stories in the
  book’s margins. When one guard finished a shift, the next
  would add to the story.
  The eastern wall is magically enhanced with a stasis wall
  placed by Apori by means of the stasis scepter. As long as the
  stasis wall is in place, passage through the wall by any
  means is impossible.
  80. Armory
  The orcs have gathered all the armor and weapons from
  this room (including those they took from the bodies of
  the fallen guards) and stacked them in the smoking room
  (area 18) with the rest of their loot for later sorting. Noth-
  ing of value remains here.
  The glowing section of wall is magically enhanced with
  a stasis wall placed by Apori by means of the stasis scepter. As
  long as the stasis wall is in place, passage through the wall
  by any means is impossible.
  THE STASIS CHAMBERS
  Encounter areas 81–84 are built around the Pit of Ubothar
  and were expressly constructed to be solid and powerful.
  On top of this, the walls have been magically enhanced
  and fortified in a method similar to those of the Skytower
  walls. Unlike the Skytower, though, these walls have not
  been treated with the lead-based powder to prevent obser-
  vation through them.
  Additionally, the walls surrounding these areas
  (although not the walls completely inside these areas) are
  encased in a nearly impenetrable sheath of temporal
  energy. This is a stasis field placed by Apori through the use
  of the stasis scepter. Mordenkainen’s disjunction and freedom
  both destroy the field, as does the stasis scepter’s touch. Until
  the field is removed, these rooms cannot be entered. Tibo-
  quoboc brings down these fields using the stasis scepter on
  day 5.
  s Magically Treated Reinforced Masonry
  Walls: 5 ft. thick; hardness 16; hp 900; Break DC 65; SR
  38; the walls self-repair damage at the rate of 10 hp/round
  (this effect can be negated for 1d4 rounds with a successful
  dispel magic against caster level 25).
  The door to this room was made of stout iron, yet it has
  been wrenched from its hinges by something strong
  enough to leave a huge dent in the door itself, which
  now lies on the ground in the middle of the room.
  Weapons and armor racks, all empty, lie in a scattered
  heap on the ground.
  The empty weapon racks are overshadowed by the
  strange sight of the eastern half of the southern wall,
  which glows with amber energy.
  The long narrow room contains a table surrounded by
  chairs; a large book sits on the table. The door to the
  north is made of iron, yet it has been wrenched from
  its hinges and now lies on the ground.
  The truly interesting thing in this room, though, is
  the eastern wall, which glows softly with amber
  energy.
  A flight of stairs leads up to the north.
  This small room is featureless except for a low stone
  well in the center. Several buckets with attached ropes
  hang from pegs on the east wall.
  This room contains several stacks of dry firewood; the
  room is nearly filled to capacity.
  This L-shaped room contains numerous bags, sacks,
  boxes, crates, and containers, most of which are
  stacked haphazardly against the walls.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  63
  
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  64
  
  81. Iron Guardians
  This room is in fact masked by a screen spell that makes the
  room appear to be nearly empty; Annah Sarwin made this
  effect permanent long ago. The pillar and bowl in the
  middle of the room are real, but the screen hides the fact that
  the walls, floor, and ceiling of the room are plated with
  highly reflective iron. The screen also hides the creatures.
  The door to the east is made of iron and locked with an
  arcane lock (caster level 25).
  Creatures: Three iron golems guard this room. One
  stands in each corner, except for the northwest corner. The
  iron golems are highly polished and exceptionally reflec-
  tive. They remain motionless until someone triggers the
  trap or until they are attacked, at which point they all
  attack immediately.
  DIron Golems (3): hp 129, see Monster Manual,
  page 136–137.
  Trap: The trap in this room depends upon one of
  the few constants of the universe to function . . . adven-
  turer curiosity. If the bowl is lifted off the pedestal, a
  brightly glowing 1-inch-diameter sphere of energy is
  revealed to be floating just off the surface of the
  pedestal. An instant later, the sphere detonates in a
  soundless explosion of light.
  Characters who have successfully disbelieved the screen
  (or everyone, if the screen has been brought down), suffer a
  –4 circumstance penalty on the saving throw to avoid the
  effects of this trap since the sunburst is reflected about the
  room so powerfully by the walls, floor, ceiling, and golems.
  Additionally, as long as the sunbursts continue to be emit-
  ted, the golems gain concealment (20% miss chance).
  a Sunburst Trap: CR 9; magic device; visual (true
  seeing); automatic reset (once every 12 hours); spell effect (sun-
  burst, 25th level, Reflex DC 22 partial) once per round for 10
  rounds; multiple targets (all creatures within 80-foot burst);
  Search DC 33; Disable Device DC 33. Market Price: 60,300 gp.
  Development: On day 5, Tiboquoboc and Alorzulan
  pass through this room. Tiboquoboc knows of the exis-
  tence of the screen effect since Arezi figured it out when
  she first snuck into this room and made her saving throw
  to disbelieve the screen.
  82. False Vault
  Paranoid adventurers may believe that the piles of treasure
  are illusory, but in fact, they are quite real. Annah and
  Zebulahr felt that stashing a considerable amount of treas-
  ure in this room was a small price to pay to trick intruders
  into thinking that this room was the actual reason for the
  magical walls and iron golem guards.
  The secret door to the east is not only difficult to find
  (Search check DC 40), but it is covered by a permanent illu-
  sion to make it appear to be nothing more than a wall. The illu-
  sion is cast at caster level 25; it must be removed or disbelieved
  before a Search check can be used to find the secret door.
  Treasure: The mounds of treasure found here consist
  of 25,000 sp, 12,000 gp, 1,300 pp, 24,000 gp in gems, and
  29,000 gp in art objects. No magical treasure exists here.
  Although this treasure is not considered part of the Sarwin
  family holdings, and is indeed not accounted for in any of
  their books or ledgers, Annah and Zebulahr do not take
  kindly to its theft (see Concluding the Adventure).
  Development: Tiboquoboc has no interest in the
  treasure in this room (although Alorzulan does stop to
  scoop a few armloads into his ring gate as he passes by).
  When Arezi stumbled into this room years ago, she was
  shocked and amazed by the treasure, and fully intended to
  investigate it further once she finished exploring the area.
  Tiboquoboc possessed her before she had the chance. 
  83. Final Passage
  This passageway seems harmless enough, but in fact repre-
  sents the final attempt by the ancient Sarwins to protect the
  Pit of Ubothar from discovery. This area is warded by three
  separate forbiddance spells (placed by a now long-dead hiero-
  phant ally of the Sarwins). One forbiddance affects the south-
  ern passage leading from area 82 to 83. The second one
  affects area 83 itself. The third one affects the longer pas-
  sageway from area 83 to area 84. Each spell is cast at caster
  level 20. These forbiddance spells are somewhat different
  from normal forbiddance spells; they are keyed to the Sarwin
  family line. Any creature not of the Sarwin family takes
  12d6 points of damage upon entering the area, with a suc-
  cessful Will save halving the damage. All three forbiddances
  have a password to bypass their effects: “Ubothar must
  sleep forevermore.”
  84. The Pit of Ubothar
  This room just feels wrong. Your hair stands on end,
  your eyes hurt, your throat seizes up at the acrid
  stink, your skin itches and shivers, and even your
  bones ache. The walls, ceiling, and floor are smooth,
  This narrow passage opens into a square room to the west.
  This large room is heaped with gold and jewels and
  overflowing chests of loot.
  This square room is empty, except for a short stone
  pillar in the center of the room. Sitting atop the pillar
  is an upturned metal bowl. There are no other exits out
  of the room.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  65
  
  This is the ultimate destination of Tiboquoboc.
  The black moss, while disturbing, is fairly harmless.
  Characters moving about on it rapidly must make a suc-
  cessful Balance check (DC 20) each round to maintain
  their footing.
  The pit itself is about 20 feet in diameter, and its walls
  are thick with the slithery moss. Climbing down the side
  of the pit is extremely difficult (Climb check DC 30);
  characters who want to explore its stinking depths are
  advised to use magic.
  The Pit of Ubothar drops into the depths of the earth,
  descending for 500 feet before ending at what appears to
  be a smooth purple floor. This floor is warm to the touch
  and feels slightly tremulous as if something nearby were
  vibrating softly. A character who makes a Spot check (DC
  30) while looking at the floor gets the unmistakable
  impression that it isn’t stone at all . . . that it’s the tiniest
  visible portion of something immense buried deep in the
  ground . . . something like, perhaps, a single huge scale . . .
  or thumbnail . . . 
  Development: Once Tiboquoboc reaches this area
  on Day 5, it takes him only 24 hours to enact the ritual
  to awaken Ubothar. Alorzulan guards over him during
  this time, as do any of his other allies who may have
  survived. Once he enters his ritualistic trance, he
  cannot rouse himself until it is complete; if his body is
  slain (or he is forced to vacate it, say, by a successful
  turn undead check), the ritual is ruined and he is free
  to defend himself.
  CONCLUDING THE
  ADVENTURE
  Assuming the party prevents Tiboquoboc from awakening
  Ubothar, they have a number of choices. Sarwin has all but
  been wiped from the map; all that remains are a few terrified
  villagers and possibly Arezi herself. Do they report the events
  to the southern nations? Do they try to take over Sarwin
  Castle as their own lair? Do they try to have the Sarwins resur-
  rected? If she survives, or is brought back to life, Arezi Sarwin
  takes several days to recover from her years enslaved to Tibo-
  quoboc, but she emerges from the experience focused and
  determined to rebuild her family’s name. Although she was
  originally chaotic neutral in alignment, over the next several
  months she slowly grows into a more organized and
  but they are covered completely with a thick black,
  spongy moss of indeterminate depth; standing on it
  makes you feel like you’re standing on a soft bed, and it
  almost seems to shift impatiently under your feet.
  The air seems thick with some sort of gray haze . . . or
  could it be spores released from the black moss? In any
  case, the room itself is otherwise empty, except for a
  yawning void in the center of the floor. The edges of
  the room pitch down toward it, almost like the inside
  of a funnel, and as you watch you almost get the
  impression that the tiny fronds of black moss seem to
  be undulating softly in its direction.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  66
  What is Ubothar?
  The strange purple floor at the bottom of the pit of Ubothar is
  indeed a tiny portion of the ancient beast. If the characters
  insist on attacking it, burning it, drilling into it, or otherwise
  damaging it, you have a number of choices. You can rule that
  nothing they do seems to have an effect on it, although this
  seems a bit ham-handed. A better option is to assume that
  the material has an effective hardness of 20, and heals all
  damage at the rate of 30 hit points per round. How many hit
  points it has is up to you.
  If you intend to allow the characters to awaken Ubothar,
  perhaps as a result of their meddling and torment of this tiny
  exposed section, you need to decide what Ubothar is. Like-
  wise, if Tiboquoboc is successful in his mission to waken the
  slumbering beast, you need to know its statistics. Don’t be
  afraid to make Ubothar’s statistics far in excess of what the
  characters could hope to take on; the point is that this crea-
  ture was terrifying enough for a pair of 25th-level wizards to
  go through all this trouble to make sure it doesn’t awaken,
  most likely because they feared that they couldn’t stop it if it
  did awaken. Using this as a guideline, Ubothar’s final CR
  shouldn’t be any less than 28.
  Some possible things that Ubothar could be include
  (but are by no means restricted to) the following options.
  • If you have the Monster Manual II, Ubothar could be a
  corpse tearer linnorm, or perhaps a half-fiend mountain
  giant.
  • If you have Savage Species, Ubothar could be a 30-headed
  Colossal purple worm (apply the multiheaded creature
  template to a purple worm advanced up to Colossal size
  and 48 Hit Dice).
  • If you have the Fiend Folio, Ubothar could be the primal
  century worm (advance the century worm’s Hit Dice up to
  120 and go from there).
  • If you have the Book of Vile Darkness, Ubothar might actu-
  ally be an exiled demon prince or archdevil; you can use
  Baalzebul’s or Demogorgon’s statistics as inspiration to
  build your own exiled fiend.
  • The Epic Level Handbook contains numerous good candi-
  dates for Ubothar; the most appropriate creatures are
  probably devastation vermin, dream larvas, gibbering orbs,
  or uvuudaums. You could also create an Ubothar by apply-
  ing the paragon or pseudonatrual template to something
  like a colossal scorpion or a behir.
  • The d20 CALL OF CTHULHU rules have numerous powerful
  deities, any one of which could make a memorable stand-in
  for Ubothar awakened.
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  repentant lawful neutral. If the PCs have shown great support
  and help to raise her family from the dead with no demand
  for recompense, she may even drift toward lawful good.
  In any case, she uses much of the resources of the castle
  to resurrect her mother, father, and siblings, and looks to
  the player characters for aid and advice. She’s quite grateful
  for all they’ve done for her, for her family, and for the
  world; she remembers Tiboquoboc’s dreams and visions
  quite vividly and knows that the awakening of the
  Thunder Below would be quite terrible. She rewards the
  PCs as best she can, allowing them their choice of awards
  from her holdings (tailor what she offers to fit your cam-
  paign). Of the four artifacts, she’s only willing to let the
  book of infinite spells out of the family; she does not want to
  give up the sky key, the stasis scepter, or the Skytower portal.
  D Arezi Sarwin: Female human wizard 3; CR 3;
  Medium humanoid; HD 3d4+6; hp 13; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.;
  AC 11, touch 11, flat-footed 10; Base Atk +1; Grp +1; Atk +1
  melee (1d3, unarmed strike); Full Atk +1 melee (1d3,
  unarmed strike); AL CN; SV Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +4; 
  Str 10, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 8, Cha 13. 
  Skills and Feats: Concentration +8, Decipher Script +8,
  Diplomacy +3, Knowledge (arcana) +8, Knowledge
  (nobility and royalty) +8, Spellcraft +13; Iron Will, Scribe
  Scroll, Skill Focus (Spellcraft), Spell Mastery (charm
  person, levitate).
  Wizard Spells Prepared (4/3/2; save DC 12 + spell
  level): 0—daze, detect magic, light, read magic; 1st—charm
  person, comprehend languages, unseen servant; 2nd—invisibil-
  ity, levitate.
  Spellbook: 0—acid splash, arcane mark, dancing lights,
  daze, detect magic, detect poison, disrupt undead, flare, ghost
  sound, light, mage hand, mending, open/close, prestidigitation,
  ray of frost, read magic, resistance, touch of fatigue; 1st—alarm,
  charm person, color spray, comprehend languages, detect secret
  doors, erase, hold portal, identify, sleep, unseen servant; 2nd—
  eagle’s splendor, fox’s cunning, invisibility, levitate, locate object.
  Possessions: Heward’s handy haversack, wand of charm
  person (Caster Level 1, 14 charges).
  The matter of Annah and Zebulahr Sarwin also exists.
  These two epic adventurers were both 25th-level wizards
  at the time they built Sarwin Castle. They ruled the castle
  for nearly 50 years after that, before finally growing tired
  with life on the Material Plane. They retired to other
  realms at this time, but they did not die. They are both
  still alive out there, somewhere. If Ubothar awakens,
  they notice. Their return to the world could be a bad
  thing or a good thing; who knows what strange changes
  they’ve undergone in the last 550 years? It’s also possible
  that the two wizards could return after sensing that their
  family line has (nearly?) died out, or that someone has
  stolen some of the artifacts or large stashes of gold from
  their home. In such a case, player characters had best be
  ready to do some quick fast talking or even quicker flee-
  ing if the two epic wizards find them to be part of the
  problem. 
  If, on the other hand, Tiboquoboc (or even the PCs)
  awakens the slumbering Ubothar, be prepared for your
  campaign to shift directions drastically. When the ritual to
  awaken Ubothar is completed, the ground immediately
  begins to shake. Anyone still in the castle has only 1
  minute to get out before the entire mountainside col-
  lapses, destroying the castle in the process as Ubothar
  hefts it from its back and strides forth into the world. See
  the sidebar “What is Ubothar?” if this terrible event comes
  to pass. The awakening of Ubothar can ring in an exciting
  new chapter in your campaign, but it can just as easily
  mean its end.
  THE THUNDER BELOW
  67
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/D&D 3rd Edition/WOTC Web Archive/3.5/Thunder Below.pdf