That said, it's also quite wordy, taking ten pages to describe ten rooms, three tables, and two enemies. Those extra words aren't going to waste with the extra detail they provide, but I need something a little more legible to use at the table. So I've summarized this for my own use. A version of this summary as a document can be found here. I recommend using this in conjunction with the original PDF. Read through it, then use the summary for moment to moment play, and refer back to the original if you need specific detail. The tables aren't replicated here.
I've adapted this for GLOG, which means a couple changes to the statblock and reducing the value of treasure almost 10 times. The original values are listed at the bottom.
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| Adrian Villarespe |
Total treasure (131.3gp) plus unvalued equipment
20gp in jade shards, 12gp, 11sp, 42cp in coins (total 13.52gp), opal worth 5gp, fittings and screws worth 20gp, silver holy symbol worth 3gp, 28cp in coins, 45sp in enchanted glass, 5gp melted copper, 25gp gold-etched mace, 25gp blood rubies.
Armillary of Fatidic Stars, silver scale mail+1, shell-shaped buckler, barbed mace, 2 silver daggers, 6 flasks of oil, 1 flask of strong poison, 30' of silk rope, blackened leather armor
Statblocks
The Hated Pretender
HD 3 (15 HP) DEF 13 ATK 13(1d6 claw/claw) MOV 1x MOR 10 SAV 8
Undead, turns as 4HD
Immunities: normal weapons
Treasure: None.
Cursed: Rise from dead the next night unless its body is destroyed.
Phantasm of Vengeance
HD 1 (5 HP) DEF 16 ATK 11(1d3 touch) MOV 1x MOR 12/8 SAV 6
Undead, turns as 2HD, only by neutral or chaotic clerics
Area 1 - Gate
Mouth blocked by steel bars, door propped open with rock, lock broken.
Outside: gnarled tree, climbing to 'eyes' Area 5. Rope on branch. Dex roll to get from ground to crown.
Area 2 - Entry Chamber
Chamber, crude stone, carved from outcropping. Remains of fires on stone floor. 10' roof.
The Ward Circle: 10' diameter, magical sigils, jade plates, may be shattered (20gp). Inside circle: hear keening and objects slowly pushed out.
Area 3 - Museum of Horrors
Triple archway, relief carvings in rooms, scratched and vandalized. Right: Overlord uses device, conquers. Center: Overlord delights in torment and torture. Left: Defeat by divine intercession and slow execution.
Skeletons of small animals on the floor. Spiral staircase in left room leading to Area 4 and Area 10.
Bright sunlight in day, (1d4+party) phantasms, fixate on creatures in Area 2. 20% chance of d4 phantasms at other times. Reroll whenever passing through this area.
HP avoids these rooms at night.
Area 4 - Landing
Bare, desolate, better condition than below. Sunlight through door to Area 5, counter-weighted open.
10% chance of 1d2 phantasms passing through at any time. 10% chance of HP at night.
Area 5 - Solarium
Light pours through eyes from 11-4. 60% chance of (1d4 + half party) phantasms then. HP enjoys it in evening, here 20% of the time.
Small bones, tossed pots and urns, loose dirt, blood dragging stain. Light through trapdoor in ceiling too, hair rope, leads to roof Area 7.
Area 6 - Pretender's Abode
Windowless room, strong smell of death. Jumble of trash and broken furniture, dresser, end tables, couch, chair, terrible condition. HP rests in nest of rags. Treasure in dresser or on table when in the room: a pile of incongruous coins, 12gp, 11sp, 42cp plus a cracked opal worth 5gp.
Pitch black, HP is here in day, may be gnawing on bone, playing with treasure. Will panic if light enters the room, won't attack if stopped in 2 rounds.
Area 7 - Grotto
Sunlit in day, roofed. Fresco with bearded scowling faces, eyes scratched out and vandalized. 1d4 phantasms in day, aid and aided by phantasms in Area 8 in 1 round. Avoided by HP.
Area 8 - Pumpkin Patch
Half-roofed, quite pleasant. Chipped stone tub in room, surrounded by dried blood glyphs, pumpkin plant growing inside. Broken furniture in corner, 20gp fittings and screws. HP here 90% at night. If encountered here, -2 reaction. If destroyed, but pumpkin unharmed, will parley next time automatically, be better inclined.
1d4+4 phantasms patrol between here and Area 9 in day.
Area 9 - Battlements
Oval patio, open air. Pair of stone benches. Armillary of Fatidic Stars, 6' sphere of gears and discs, spheres welded in familiar patterns, markings in magic language. Powerful magic item, see table. Works for prophecy just once, but can still banish the phantasms.
Area 10 - Crypt
Brightly lit, polished stone. 5' radius circle in center, covered in mosaic. Jumble of bones at stairs. Along south wall, 2 bodies, adventurers. 450 pieces of enchanted glass in ceiling(1cp, 45sp). Hp has never been down here, no idea about it. In day, 20% chance of 1d4 phantasms passing through. At night, 2d10+10 phantasms on every surface.
If Armillary is set to the pattern here, will banish the phantasms.
Circle in center is raised, in common: "These Sainted Dead Shall be Free to Roam the Night's Heavens". Will break under more than 100lbs, drop to pit for 1d6 damage. Bones at the bottom, disturbing them summons 1d6 phantasms.
4 sarcophagi, roughly human, not detailed. Inside are skeletons with useless copper plate, can be melted down for total 5gp metal content. The west one also holds gold-etched mace, 25gp.
In north, more ornate sarcophagus behind iron bars. Broken with strength with -10 penalty, using leverage and ropes effectively guarantees it. Opening sarcophagus triggers blade trap, +6 to hit, 1d8.
Inside is bird-head skeleton, bronze plate, bone scroll with 10 blood rubies.
Changes Made
I changed the value of the treasure here to fit GLOG. I was assured by other people who had run PotHP that it's not meant to level a new party, and the value of the treasure here isn't very much. The original values for treasure in Labyrinth Lord are as follows:
Total treasure, 1109.28gp plus unvalued equipment
200gp in jade shards, 12gp, 8ep, 112sp, 428cp in coins (total 31.48gp), opal worth 50gp, fittings and screws worth 200gp, silver holy symbol worth 30gp, 28sp in coins, 45gp in enchanted glass, 50gp melted copper, 250gp gold-etched mace, 250gp blood rubies.
I didn't know quite how to change the save values for the HP and phantasms over, so I just eyeballed it.
To answer a few questions on Prison.
ReplyDeletePrison of the Hated Pretender is almost 8 years old now, written in one 3 or 4 hour sitting without an edit - so it's keying is a product of that time and method -- woefully outdated.
As to its play goals, I always figured it as a 0-level funnel adventure with the Armillary (which cannot be moved or disassembled without destroying it - but likely has some value even broken)setting a broad goal or puzzle for the campaign/next adventure.
The treasure within is sparse, designed more to help equip under-equipped 0-levels.
The monsters purposes are as follows:
Phantoms are designed as a 1/2 HD nuisance monster, their danger is in numbers and they are likely a threat only to ill equipped PCs with poor AC and low HP. They're basically giant rats.
The Hated Pretender is not intended as especially dangerous either. He can be dangerous for sure, but he's designed as a pitiful figure. He's got enough HP to last a couple of rounds and can do enough damage (and two attacks) to be mildly scary - but he's not going to wipe out even a party of 0-level adventurers.
That's really the goal of the piece, to create a little playground for new players with a few puzzles and a bit of treasure that helps introduce a less combative play-style then most contemporary play.
Anyway - glad you enjoyed the adventure, and appreciate you sharing the GLOG version. If you have any questions on it feel free to ask - here or on DoS.
Thanks for responding! I wasn't quite sure how to run the phantoms, that clears a lot up. I'm probably going to use Prison as an introduction adventure for a single player, outfitted with a few hirelings.
ReplyDelete