MARCO CONCEPTUAL

Assuming their sleep is not disrupted ahead of schedule, the offspring begin to awaken before the parent. Parties that faced the lone offspring before should realize the trouble they are in, and either flee at once or attempt to kill each offspring as it awakens. Ultimately, however, they likely need to flee.

The Ravager and offspring all have one imperative: cause as much mayhem as possible. They start by attacking anyone in the chamber with them. If no targets present themselves, they make their way for the entrance to the level, destroying as they go. Should they reach it, they all split and go their separate ways; one or two of the offspring that survive this far likely work their way deeper into Rappan Athuk, causing great damage until they are stopped. On the surface, even one of the offspring is a deadly adversary; having several of them plus the Ravager itself creates a widening swath of destruction as they spread and systematically destroy every dwelling and sentient creature they come across. Ultimately, it is likely that the party members shall need to seek allies, possibly even with great enemies, to amass enough firepower to put these creatures down for good.

Alternately, should you not wish these doomsday weapons unleashed, you might allow the characters the opportunity to restore the field. Nycristi, the sister of the Oracle, can inform them how to do this. Three PCs must volunteer for sacrifice, giving up their life forces forever to restore each of the three energy beams. Their remains become new, undead guardians for the beam.

If you wish to have a less tragic outcome, you could also reduce the number of offspring, or eliminate them entirely. Armed with the weapons and devices located within this complex, along with their own native abil- ity, the PCs should have a good chance of halting the Ravager before it reaches the surface.

L E V E L 4 : T H E U P P E R T E M P L E O F O R C U S

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Level 4

Exits: Stairs to Level 5; rat tunnel to Level 6A

Wandering Monsters: Check once every 30 minutes in cavern areas only on 1d20:

1-2. 1d4 ogres

3. 1d4 wights

4-5. 3d6 dire rats

5. 2d6 stirges

6-7. 1d6 Acolytes of Orcus (see the Appendix for stats)

8-20. No encounter

Detections: Characters will detect major evil from room 4-9, owing to the presence of a temple of Orcus.

Shielding: None.

Continuous Effects: Due to the proximity of the temple, turning rolls on this level are at –4, and the temple area acts as if a permanent dispel good has been cast (areas 4-8 through -10 only)!

Standard Features: Unless otherwise noted, all doors on this level are made of locked, iron-reinforced wood (2 in. thick; Hardness 5; hp 20; Break [DC 18], Open Lock [DC 20]). All secret doors are made of stone (1 in. thick; Hardness 8; hp 20; Break [DC 22], Open Lock [DC 20], Search [DC 20]).

Traveling in Small Tunnels: Characters must crawl through a number of tunnels to access certain areas on this level. Primary tunnels (dotted lines) are 3 to 5 feet in diameter and can be walked through only by Small creatures. Huge creatures cannot pass through these tunnels unless they are long and slender or flexible. Gargantuan creatures cannot traverse these areas at all. Huge and Large creatures make all attack rolls at –8, and Medium creatures using all but thrusting weapons attack at –4. All area affect saves are at –10 while in the primary tunnels.

Smaller tunnels (solid lines) are less than 3 feet in diameter; even Small creatures must crawl. Large creatures cannot pass through these tunnels unless they are long and slender or flexible. Huge creatures cannot pass at all. Medium-sized creatures make all attack rolls at –8, but Small creatures using all but thrusting weapons attack at –4. No saves are allowed for area effects in small tunnels.

This level houses the first of three evil temples — dedi- cated to the foul lord of the undead, Orcus — secreted within the catacombs of Rappan Athuk. Several priests, a demon and a powerful spectre, named Nadroj, guard this temple. A party might believe that this is the temple of Orcus and be fooled into believing that, should the temple be destroyed, the party has negated the primary force empowering these evil halls.

DMs should play the priests and other temple guardians as if they were the DMs’ own characters. This major encounter area within these catacombs should not be an easy quest nor softened for the meek. As they encounter extraordinary danger, several PCs may die. The survivors’ sense of accom- plishment must be high, once the priests are defeated, or they may miss the point —that this is but one of three temples and that greater challenges await discovery!

This level’s other denizens include a lair of ogres and an otyugh (unassociated with the temple). The map of this level is shown in Map RA-4.

4-1. Entrance

These stairs descend from Level 3. They are neither trapped nor dangerous in any way.

4-2. Empty

Bones and junk litter all rooms and caverns marked 4-2. DMs should spice up each of these rooms with 2d4 randomly rolled items from the Dungeon Dressing—Mi- nor Features and Furnishings table in the DMG. DMs should also roll a wandering monster check each time characters enter a room labeled “4-2.”

4-3. Water, Water, Everywhere!