Carcass Fracas! Seale It’s only BY STEPHEN J. SMITH “Carcass Fracas!” is an AD&D" SideTrok scenario designed for a party of 4-6 1st- level PCs. It is set in the MysraRa* game world simply because the featured mon- ster—the thoul—is detailed in the Mysrara MonsTkoUs ComPENDIUM* Appendix. DMs willing to import the thou! to other game worlds should have no difficulty eon- verting this brief encounter. ‘This adventure can also be used with the D&D* game system. Since Lst-level PCs in the D&D game often have fewer hit points and spells at their disposal than do their AD&D game counterparts, the DM can adjust this scenario slightly to give the heroes a better chance. A party that includes two or three 2nd level heroes or a number of magical weapons should be sufficient to give the two thouls in this sce- nario a good fight. Ifthe heroes are all 1st-level, however, the DM might want to lower the hp totals of the thouls or perhaps remove the second thou! from the pic- ture entirely, while giving the first creature maximum hp (24), DMB running a campaign in the KARAMEIKOS"™: Kingdom of Adventure sevung can use this encounter in the Barony of Halag (formerly the Black Eagle Barony) where many humanoid minions of the deposed Baron Ludwig von Hendriks still roam free. DMBs using the GravTar™: Kingdom of Magic setting might run this scenario near the towns of Briadna (near the humanoid-ruled Principality of New Kolland) or ‘Trintan (ust north of the monster-infested wastes known as the Broken Lands). If the DM sets this piece elsewhere, there are two considerations to keep in mind. First, this mini-adventure takes place in an area where hobgoblin and human raiders could logically be encountered. Second, the action occurs near a town or vil- Inge where the PCs ean receive advance warning about raiders in the neighboring 26 Issue No. 57 | countryside. This scenario relies upon ‘turning PC expectations upside-down, so itis imperative that the party hear ef hobgoblin and brigand activity in the area before having this encounter, Beginning the Adventure ‘The heroes may meet a merchant or traveler along the trail who delivers the raider warning, Regardless of who gives it, the warning should be similar to this: “You folks stay alort. There's been all sorts of trouble along the trail lately. Brigands and highwaymen have been attacking and robbing travelers for the last six months, And as if that’s not bad enough, now there are | | reports of hobgoblin raiders killing folk or capturing them for slaves. ‘Two days back a traveler named Jake Wheezler came through, swear- ing he saw a dragon sailing over- head, following the road. But I wouldn't put much credence in that tale. Judging by his breath, Td say the old fellow had tipped a few bot- tles of dwarf spirits and couldn't see three feet past his nose!” ‘The speaker can't give the heroes any more information about the brig- ands or hobgoblins, though he can (and should) give them a description of hob- goblins if the PCs have never encoun- tered these monsters before. (“They're big, mean, nasty brutes with ruddy skin and all sorts of eruel weapons.”) If the PCs ask what color Jake Wheezler’s dragon was, the speaker smiles, winks, and says, “Pink, most likely!” Jake's dragon was indeed a drunken hallucination which plays no | ‘other part in this scenario except to funetion as a red herring. Cantankerous Cadaver When the PCs are ready for the ; encounter, read or paraphrase the following,CARCASS FRACAS! Rounding a turn in the road, you spy a large humanoid figure lying face-down in the middle of the trail. ‘The figure wears leather armor of some kind, but this protective layer did the unfortunate being little ‘good: a pair of arrows are sunk deoply into ite back, ‘The PCs are assumed to be about 30 yards from the fallen figure at the start if the encounter. When they mave with- in 20’, they can see more details. ‘The fallen creature is not human. It appears to be about half a foot tailer than an average man. Its rust-col- ored arms are knotted with mus- cles, and its hairy mane is dirty ‘orange. You see no sign of weapons ‘on or near the body; either the erea- ture was unarmed or whoever Toaded its back with arrows claimed its belongings as plunder, PCs who have approached the body ‘may make successful Wisdom checks to spy what appears to be a small leather ssack sticking out from beneath the body: ‘The heroes may try to claim this prize, but they won't get it without a fight, For The Dungeon Master Although the body lying before the heroes matehes the description of a hobgoblin, this wily fellow isn't one. And although the arrows protruding from his back are real, the monster is far from dead, ‘The fallen creature isn't a dead hob- goblin but a living thoul. A thoul is a ‘magical combination of hobgoblin, ghoul, and troll. Its appearance is usu- ally derived from its hobgoblin stock (though some have the greenish skin and long noses common to trolls). Like a ghoul, a thoul can paralyze non-elves by touch for 1d642 rounds if the vietim fails a saving throw vs. paralyzation; however, a thoul is not undead. A thou!’s trollish blood grants it lim- ited regeneration. As long as the thoul hhas at least 1 hit point remaining at the end of a combat round, it regener- atco 1 hp of damage. When the creature {s reduced to 0 hp oF below, its regener ative powers fail and it dies. Unlike a troll, a thoul ean regenerate fire- and acid-based damage The thou! lying before the PCs recent- ly survived a ran-in with human brig- ands. While serambling through a rocky ravine, the thoul was surprised by the raiders who were traveling along the ridge overhead. The thoul made a dash for the woods at the end of the ravine, sufforing two arrow hits in the back as he fled. Fearing he wouldn't reach the cover ofthe woods before taking a fatal shot, the thoul opted to collapse and play’ dead. The beast hoped to regener- ate as the humans approached to con: firm their kill, then surprise them. The thou!’s desperate plan worked better than expected. The brignncds were en route to rendezvous with another sroup oftheir outlaw band, and the Teader sent two af his men to loot the body of the “dead hobgoblin” while the remainder moved on. By the time these ‘two unfortunates had scrambled into the ravine, the thoul’s injuries had healed considerably, and the “dead” monster's savage attack took them completely by surprise. One man managed a short ery of terra before the thou!’ elaw ripped ‘across his threat. But when the main force of brigands returned to the ravine, it was too late: they saw no sign ofthe “dead hobgoblin,” only the badly mauled bodies of their two comrades, ‘The thoul crept back to his mate and told her what had transpired. The she- thoul offered to pull the arrows out of his back. but the crafty creature told her to leave them. The beginnings of a plan were forming in his wickod mind. He thought, “Why chase your prey when you can make your prey come to you?” ‘The pair of thouls now obtain many of their meals by having the mae le face- down along a trailor road with the arrows protruding from his back. When travelers stop to examine the “monster corpse,” he leaps tothe attack while the female ‘emerges from hiding to join the fray. ‘The possum-playing thoul (17 hp) ‘waits until someone moves within easy atriking diotanes (6! or 20), then he attacks, slashing at his vietim(s) with his razor-sharp claws. After this initial attack, the thoul’s mate (18 hp) ‘emerges from the bushes on the wes ‘em side of the trail (see the map) and ‘peppers the PCs with arrows, This thoul isn’t bright enough to distinguish likely spelleasters at the start of com- bat, but once she witnesses wizards or priests casting spells, she concentrates her attacks on them. ‘Thouls (2): INT low; ALLE; AC ‘MV 12; HD 3; hp 17, 13; THACO 17; #AT 2; Dmg 1-3 each (claws) or 1-6 each (arrows); SA paralyzation; SD regeneration; SZ M; ML 15; XP 270; ‘Mystana MC Appendix/111, Ifthe thouls fail a morale check, they attempt to flee, taking their coin sack ‘with them. Should the heroes give chase, the DM should remember to keep a careful record of the length of pursuit, for the thouls will be regener ating as they run. Once their wounds are fully healed, they'll turn on their pursuers and battle anew. If the PCs defeat the thouls, they may claim the monsters’ sack, This bag contains 27gp, 11 ep, 43 sp, 47 ep, a pair of plain silver rings (worth 25 gp each), a dirk + (used as a toothpick by the creatures), and a pair of giant cen- tipedes (snacks picked up earlier in the day). One of these bugs is dead, but the ‘second still has 1 hp remaining. It was only paralyzed when captured by the thouls, and now itis very angry, attack- ing whoever opens the sack. iant centipede: INT non-; AL N; AC 9: MV 15: HD 2 hp (1 remaining’: ‘THACO 20; #AT 1; Dmg nil; SA poison; SD nil; MR nil; SZ T; ML 7; XP 35; MMI42. ‘The centipede's bite delivers a toxin that can paralyze its vietim for 246 hours if a saving throw vs. poison (with a +4 bonus) is failed. It suffers a1 penalty to all saving throws. a DUNGEON 27