"Magic" Mushrooms in Greyhawk... - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

"Magic" Mushrooms in Greyhawk...

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Nov 17, 2003 18:25:59 I honestly don't know if I'm allowed to put stuff like this on the boards but this is a serious question about my campaign. Also, don't take this as some wierd "I promote drugs" crap. If you do take it that way, I will hit you...hard.

Tha aside, I was thinking of having the characters investigate a recently taken Dwarven mine (orcs attacked Iuz involved blah blah blah blah, important to current story). What I wanted to include what that the mine was much to small for the wealth it generated, and well...the dwarves were dealing drugs (mushrooms grown in a garden underground), I figured this might be cool since now the players (being the goodly heroes) would now have to contend with the orcs and such and also figure out what to do about the drug-dealing dwarves.

Any thoughts on this?
#2
zombiegleemax
Nov 17, 2003 19:26:42 It's a legitimate scenario, and one that's bound to appear in any long-running adult game. The BOVD has stuff on this subject, so why wouldn't it be fair game if it were handled in a mature light?
Whether this is in the right forum, however, is not for me to deicide.

The only caveat I would offer is that Dwarves are generally, lawful, so you would have to account for the presence of mushrooms in their society. If the substance in question is an accepted form of drug, recreation, and/or food, then it would have to be written into the description for their specific clan. However, if they their intent is to distribute it among another clan or even their enemies, then alignment might come into play.
#3
zombiegleemax
Nov 17, 2003 19:36:29 Guess I should've given some more history on these particular dwarves. They had fallen on very hard times when thier Iron Mine was played out (they later tunneled deeper and found some bloodstone deposits which they mine now) and they were in desperate need of some form of income and turned to growing the drug, when they realized how profitable it was thier dwarven greed took over and before they knew it they were full blown drug dealers.

Basically I didn't give much thought to thier lawful alignment, but I was paying more attention to dwarven greed and what they'd do if they needed the money. And besides, whats lawful in one society might not be lawful in another right?

Idk, any input now that I've given some deeper background?
#4
Aeolius
Nov 17, 2003 20:19:12 Perhaps the dwarves are not only dealing with drugs, but they are slavers as well. The drugs could come from spores. The spores could come from myconid slaves; raised like cattle for their rapport and hallucination spores.
#5
zombiegleemax
Nov 17, 2003 21:37:38 If the dwarves (as a clan) have fallen on hard times, then I'm assuming they are not selling it to their own people, for if they were, (and without tribal consent or a general acceptance of the practice), then it may be viewed by some as evil, since their intent is to profit from distributing a drug that may ultimately bring chaos to their clan.

But then, the usefulness of such a drug is called into question. Do the dwarves use the mushrooms for spiritual or religious ceremonies? Moreover, what are the medicinal benefits, if any, from such a substance?

If the distribution increases with athe founding of a tribal practice that embraces such behavior, then it could be viewed as serving the greater interests of the clan. However, if it were the other way around, then it might be viewed as evil.

Ultimately, it's up to you. There are a host of options available in a scenario like this.
#6
grodog
Nov 18, 2003 2:18:53 I like the concept of your storyline, and it's also an interesting twist on a mine!

Perhaps the dwarves were corrupted by Zuggtmoy, and are no longer Lawful or Good? :D There were some good articles on plants/herbs back in Dragon 87 that you could use as inspiration for your magic mushrooms.

In addition, Gygax wrote about magic fey mushrooms called "dweomerdots" in the Gord short story "The House in the Tree" (in the Night Arrant 1987 short story collection).
#7
zombiegleemax
Nov 18, 2003 3:30:29
Originally posted by grodog
Perhaps the dwarves were corrupted by Zuggtmoy, and are no longer Lawful or Good? :D There were some good articles on plants/herbs back in Dragon 87 that you could use as inspiration for your magic mushrooms.

Oooh, now that's a good addition. Perhaps they don't even realize that they've been corrupted by her and despite the years that have gone by they still justify their actions and delude themselves into thinking that it's 'just for a bit longer, till we get back on our feet' kinda thing.

Originally posted by grodog
In addition, Gygax wrote about magic fey mushrooms called "dweomerdots" in the Gord short story "The House in the Tree" (in the Night Arrant 1987 short story collection).

'Dweomerdots', eh? Timothy Leary would be proud...
#8
Halberkill
Nov 18, 2003 12:10:25 That shouldn't be too taboo of a topic, being that the Dragonlance dwarves made a mushroom liquor that had the effects of lsd. Also something to take into consideration, drugs may not be illegal or particulary immoral in greyhawk. They also may be unknown to most people, save a herbalist.

Halber
#9
samwise
Nov 18, 2003 12:59:03 One of the characters in my current game would just become their number one customer.
*SIGH*
#10
zombiegleemax
Nov 18, 2003 15:43:10 [/b]Originally posted by grodog
Perhaps the dwarves were corrupted by Zuggtmoy, and are no longer Lawful or Good? There were some good articles on plants/herbs back in Dragon 87 that you could use as inspiration for your magic mushrooms.[/b]

Zggtmoy...she's like Iuz's buddy (well, as buddy as evil super-beings get) right? Because if she is it'll fit in nice with a couple clerics of Iuz who are operating the mines after forcing the dwarves out. The drugs will hopefully give the players a good choice as to what to do once the mines are returned to thier rightful owners, who, even if not evil, (which I might use the Zuggtmoy idea, not sure yet) are certainly doing something, really bad and wrong and could give me an insteresting story to play on.
#11
jrscott
Nov 18, 2003 15:54:03 Zuggtmoy is indeed an ally of Iuz. In older material, Iuz hid his soul object on her plane.

Thus they could easily be seen working together. You might have a cleric of her's as well around and perhaps dot the mine with some evidence.

Use Shriekers near the entrance, their wail will be heard done the mines preparing the enemy.

Perhaps Zuggtmoy's group might be a group of Myconid's worshipping her and taking proper care of the drug mushrooms now that the dwarves have been run off.

Other good fungi, would be Violet Fungi to use in some places .
#12
Argon
Nov 18, 2003 16:16:25 You have a few good approaches already. You wanted to play on the greed of the dwarven people Abbathor can play a role in things as well, seeing he is the Dwarven god of greed. Perhaps these dwarves actually took up the worship of Abbathor when Moradin and the other gods failed to lead them to a more profitable life Style. A priest of Abbathor could of converted these dwarves by turning what they saw as a worthless fungi into a profitable business.

This dwarven clan could be selling this stuff above ground to a human contact. It is the humans who manufacter this product and the demand for these mushrooms are exceeding goals the dwarves never dreamt possible.

Iuz could get involved because he fears having to contend with a growing power in the area. These orcs could of taken over this production and started trafficing this substance underground as well.

It might even be fun to get the PC's involved by having them believe that they are liberating a dwarven clan from occupation. But not reallizing that the real target should be the mushrooms regardless of whose supplying it.

I think you got something here. In either case you have several ways to go about using this scenario.
#13
samwise
Nov 18, 2003 17:33:14 Just for a few 'shrooms?

What if they are the only legitimate supplier for the cult of Olidamarra?
What if people need them to control the nausea from restoration potions?

Poor oppressed dwarves . . .
#14
zombiegleemax
Nov 18, 2003 18:20:50 Ok, here's what I've got now:

1) Dwarves harvested the mushrooms (hallucinagenic).
2) Iuz and Zuggtmoy clerics pushed the dwarves out with a group of orcs who worked for them.
3) Cleric of Zuggtmoy is after the fungi and wishes to capitalize on them. The mushrooms in this mine are particulary large and the mushrooms are quite rare, giving them thier high price.
4) the cleric of Iuz is after the rich bloodstone deposit (part of the main plot).
5) Character are already on the way to the mines after hearing contact was lost so there's no need to further motivate them.
6) I figured on the way they could come accross the remains of the dwarven tribe, a small camp, and find maybe a couple of wierd addicts and find some info on the mines.
7) Characters go into the mines, bash some heads, find out about the drugs and dwarves, find some evidence as to what clerics are behind this and who they serve (and I have some hints to my main plot but they aren't relevant to thread).
#15
zombiegleemax
Nov 18, 2003 18:23:00 Almost forgot, The characters also find some scratched and beaten statues of the dwarven gods except the god of greed's whose statue is brand new, they might figure out this was the dwarves or they might see it as vandalism by the orcs.
#16
zombiegleemax
Nov 18, 2003 18:25:55 Ok, left out stuff again. In the dwarven camp I'll place the cleric of Abathor to tip them off that the statues were trashed by the dwarves.
#17
zombiegleemax
Nov 18, 2003 18:27:25 Can you tell I'm excited? lol
#18
grodog
Nov 20, 2003 4:34:40 Since you're in a dwarven settlement, you may want to throw in a a rapper (undead dwarf spirit, similar to a banshee, created by Roger Moore in Dragon 58).

Here are the 1e stats:

Rapper

Undead Dwarf

FREQUENCY: Very rare
NO. APPEARING: 1-4
ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 9”
HIT DICE: 4
% IN LAIR: 95%
TREASURE TYPE: See below
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-9 or by weapon
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Insanity, loss of
direction
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +1 or better
weapon to hit, invisibility
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Average
ALIGNMENT: Neutral evil
SIZE: S (4’ tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: V/240 x 4/HP

A rapper is the undead form of an evil dwarven thief or assassin
who died in an attempt to steal something. These beings typically inhabit old mines and caverns, where they attempt to lure victims
in to their doom. Rappers appear to be pale-skinned dwarves with semi-translucent skin, dressed in rags and carrying weapons or
mining tools. They can go invisible twice a day for 6 turns, but will become visible when physically attacking.

Rappers will hide in small corners of underground tunnels and make a constant, rhythmic tapping sound with their tools or weapons against the tunnel wall. This sound carries in a 120’ radius through the underground corridors and rooms; it is never very loud, but is annoying to listen to. Within the 120’ radius this tapping noise will reduce the chance of successfully listening at doors by 20% (making it impossible for non-thieves to listen at doors at all).

After listening to this tapping sound for longer than an hour, a human or demi-human or humanoid creature must make a saving throw vs. magic at +2, or else develop a form of insanity (monomania; see DMG, p. 83, for effects). Those who saved the first time against this power must save again after listening to it for a second consecutive hour, again after a third hour, and so forth.
There is a 20% chance that an affected character or creature will also develop kleptomania (DMG, p. 83). Rappers can keep up their tapping for an infinitely long duration.

If they are located and attacked, rappers will attack in a crazed manner and will howl and shriek loudly, possibly (40% chance) attracting additional monsters. Anyone struck by a rapper’s weapon
or by the rapper itself must save vs. magic or be affected as if by the 6th-level cleric spell Lose The Path for a full day. During this time the character will be unable to tell directions and must be led by hand or by force.

Rappers guard their victims’ remains. For treasure, generate the number and types of magical items owned by 1-4 random non-player characters of 1st through 6th level, according to the tables in the DMG on pp. 175-176. Hide bodies and magic items under rubble or
elsewhere in the rappers’ lair. Assume each of the dead victims
possessed treasure types J, K, L, M, N, and Q as well. A victim will not automatically possess any magical treasure or gems.

Clerics turn rappers the same as wights. Holy water does 2-8 points damage per hit. Raise Dead and Resurrection destroy them, but they
are immune to all poisons, paralysis, enchant/charm spells, and cold attacks.

For 3.5e stats, check out the Creature Catalog at http://enworld.org/cc/converted/view_c.php?CreatureID=742
#19
Argon
Nov 20, 2003 6:14:44 I can see it now. As you approach the third bend in the cavern you here the rapping of a Dwarven spirit.

He's the Fifty-Cent version of all dwarven spirits! :heehee
#20
zombiegleemax
Nov 20, 2003 8:05:57 If your characters like magic mushrooms they might want to try, ayahausca and salvia divinorum if they know and alchemist that can make extract. Drugs has existed for thousands of years and tribes and cultures have used them before they were illegal. Since your dwarves are lawful they might be breaking the law if drugs are illegal, that´s up for you to decide. Elves who are chaotic might think it´s immoral but not illegal. When your characters eat magic mushroom roll d100, there is one percent the character will suffer from hallucigenic perceptive disorder that way the character will experience flashbacks when not on a trip. That could only be cured by som rare herb wich the character will have to take for the rest of his life.
#21
zombiegleemax
Nov 23, 2003 12:52:12 Ok, I figured since I'm pretty down with the mushroom plot I'd put out the other half of the plot, I figured the mines are needed by Iuz so that he can mine thousands of the bloodstones that will be needed to channel the power of an artifact to release an ancient devil who was once a powerful general in the hells.

So I figured the cleric of Iuz and cleric of Zuggtmoy would team up to split the mines.

Here's the adventure history I wrote up (sorry its kinda long)

History: The Bloodstone mines, located in the northern arm of the Lortmil Mountains were once home to a small clan of dwarves. The dwarves prospered as a result of mining the enormous quantities of iron that were snatched up right away by the local merchants. With this wealth, the dwarves lived well and their king, Gerovar Bloodstone, was known to be a king of enormous wealth, with gold statues of Moradin erected in the Bloodstone clan-hold and a forge that crafted blades made of the finest material his wealth could buy.
Unfortunately, these mines were eventually played out and the dwarves fell on hard times. With the iron mine wealth gone, the dwarves had no source of income and civil unrest became rampant. It was this time that the king began speaking with Galeran, an aged dwarven mystic and hermit who was shunned by the clan. Galeran introduced the king to the idea of profiting off the salvia divinorum, a powerful hallucinogen. Illegal in most of the surrounding human areas, the highly potent fungi fetched high prices on the black market, meaning it was the answer to the dwarves’ problems. The dwarves immediately tore down their statues and temples to the dwarven gods and put up a massive golden statue of the demoness Zuggtmoy, who the dwarves believed, due to misinformation on the part of Galeran, was a benevolent goddess of plants and fungi.
Unknown to king Gerovar at the time, Galeran was a devoted worshipper of Zuggtmoy and was simply using the king and the clan to spread the dangerous drug throughout the civilized lands. At this time, Zuggtmoy was sending Galeran prophetic dreams which eventually led the dwarf to seek out Pheodren, a powerful dark elf cleric of Iuz. Together, the both of them decided that the Bloodstone mines would prove extremely valuable to the both of them, the massive fungi gardens would satiate Galeran and the bloodstones would be Pheodren’s reward; a reward he needed to aid his master in unlocking Cyndor’s Gate. The two men hired a force of orcish mercenaries and began preparing for an invasion of the mines.
Several months ago, bandits in service to Pheodren began to harass the merchants heading to the mines. These attacks brought the bloodstone and drug trade to a halt. The dwarves prepared for battle and deployed patrols to hunt down the bandits. While the dwarves fought the bandits, the attacks persisted and supplies that were imported, especially food, began to run dry. Eventually the dwarves found themselves facing starvation.
While the dwarves’ final supplies were running out, a small force of highly disciplined orcs, augmented by a group of wizards, attacked the clan-hold. Aided by information given to them by a bitter, exiled dwarf named Eri, the orcs easily overcame the dwarven defenses and took the mines in short order. Only a handful of dwarves escaped the onslaught and now the orcs are in total control of the Bloodstone clan-hold and mines. The forges now burn once again and the mines are now being used again as well, although now for a purpose other than trade.

Now the bandits were defeated by the characters in a previous adventure which is why they can now access the mines.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Nov 17, 2003 18:25:59	I honestly don't know if I'm allowed to put stuff like this on the boards but this is a serious question about my campaign. Also, don't take this as some wierd "I promote drugs" crap. If you do take it that way, I will hit you...hard. Tha aside, I was thinking of having the characters investigate a recently taken Dwarven mine (orcs attacked Iuz involved blah blah blah blah, important to current story). What I wanted to include what that the mine was much to small for the wealth it generated, and well...the dwarves were dealing drugs (mushrooms grown in a garden underground), I figured this might be cool since now the players (being the goodly heroes) would now have to contend with the orcs and such and also figure out what to do about the drug-dealing dwarves. Any thoughts on this?
#2 zombiegleemax Nov 17, 2003 19:26:42	It's a legitimate scenario, and one that's bound to appear in any long-running adult game. The BOVD has stuff on this subject, so why wouldn't it be fair game if it were handled in a mature light? Whether this is in the right forum, however, is not for me to deicide. The only caveat I would offer is that Dwarves are generally, lawful, so you would have to account for the presence of mushrooms in their society. If the substance in question is an accepted form of drug, recreation, and/or food, then it would have to be written into the description for their specific clan. However, if they their intent is to distribute it among another clan or even their enemies, then alignment might come into play.
#3 zombiegleemax Nov 17, 2003 19:36:29	Guess I should've given some more history on these particular dwarves. They had fallen on very hard times when thier Iron Mine was played out (they later tunneled deeper and found some bloodstone deposits which they mine now) and they were in desperate need of some form of income and turned to growing the drug, when they realized how profitable it was thier dwarven greed took over and before they knew it they were full blown drug dealers. Basically I didn't give much thought to thier lawful alignment, but I was paying more attention to dwarven greed and what they'd do if they needed the money. And besides, whats lawful in one society might not be lawful in another right? Idk, any input now that I've given some deeper background?
#4 Aeolius Nov 17, 2003 20:19:12	Perhaps the dwarves are not only dealing with drugs, but they are slavers as well. The drugs could come from spores. The spores could come from myconid slaves; raised like cattle for their rapport and hallucination spores.
#5 zombiegleemax Nov 17, 2003 21:37:38	If the dwarves (as a clan) have fallen on hard times, then I'm assuming they are not selling it to their own people, for if they were, (and without tribal consent or a general acceptance of the practice), then it may be viewed by some as evil, since their intent is to profit from distributing a drug that may ultimately bring chaos to their clan. But then, the usefulness of such a drug is called into question. Do the dwarves use the mushrooms for spiritual or religious ceremonies? Moreover, what are the medicinal benefits, if any, from such a substance? If the distribution increases with athe founding of a tribal practice that embraces such behavior, then it could be viewed as serving the greater interests of the clan. However, if it were the other way around, then it might be viewed as evil. Ultimately, it's up to you. There are a host of options available in a scenario like this.
#6 grodog Nov 18, 2003 2:18:53	I like the concept of your storyline, and it's also an interesting twist on a mine! Perhaps the dwarves were corrupted by Zuggtmoy, and are no longer Lawful or Good? :D There were some good articles on plants/herbs back in Dragon 87 that you could use as inspiration for your magic mushrooms. In addition, Gygax wrote about magic fey mushrooms called "dweomerdots" in the Gord short story "The House in the Tree" (in the Night Arrant 1987 short story collection).
#7 zombiegleemax Nov 18, 2003 3:30:29	Originally posted by grodog Perhaps the dwarves were corrupted by Zuggtmoy, and are no longer Lawful or Good? :D There were some good articles on plants/herbs back in Dragon 87 that you could use as inspiration for your magic mushrooms. Oooh, now that's a good addition. Perhaps they don't even realize that they've been corrupted by her and despite the years that have gone by they still justify their actions and delude themselves into thinking that it's 'just for a bit longer, till we get back on our feet' kinda thing. Originally posted by grodog In addition, Gygax wrote about magic fey mushrooms called "dweomerdots" in the Gord short story "The House in the Tree" (in the Night Arrant 1987 short story collection). 'Dweomerdots', eh? Timothy Leary would be proud...
#8 Halberkill Nov 18, 2003 12:10:25	That shouldn't be too taboo of a topic, being that the Dragonlance dwarves made a mushroom liquor that had the effects of lsd. Also something to take into consideration, drugs may not be illegal or particulary immoral in greyhawk. They also may be unknown to most people, save a herbalist. Halber
#9 samwise Nov 18, 2003 12:59:03	One of the characters in my current game would just become their number one customer. SIGH
#10 zombiegleemax Nov 18, 2003 15:43:10	[/b]Originally posted by grodog Perhaps the dwarves were corrupted by Zuggtmoy, and are no longer Lawful or Good? There were some good articles on plants/herbs back in Dragon 87 that you could use as inspiration for your magic mushrooms.[/b] Zggtmoy...she's like Iuz's buddy (well, as buddy as evil super-beings get) right? Because if she is it'll fit in nice with a couple clerics of Iuz who are operating the mines after forcing the dwarves out. The drugs will hopefully give the players a good choice as to what to do once the mines are returned to thier rightful owners, who, even if not evil, (which I might use the Zuggtmoy idea, not sure yet) are certainly doing something, really bad and wrong and could give me an insteresting story to play on.
#11 jrscott Nov 18, 2003 15:54:03	Zuggtmoy is indeed an ally of Iuz. In older material, Iuz hid his soul object on her plane. Thus they could easily be seen working together. You might have a cleric of her's as well around and perhaps dot the mine with some evidence. Use Shriekers near the entrance, their wail will be heard done the mines preparing the enemy. Perhaps Zuggtmoy's group might be a group of Myconid's worshipping her and taking proper care of the drug mushrooms now that the dwarves have been run off. Other good fungi, would be Violet Fungi to use in some places .
#12 Argon Nov 18, 2003 16:16:25	You have a few good approaches already. You wanted to play on the greed of the dwarven people Abbathor can play a role in things as well, seeing he is the Dwarven god of greed. Perhaps these dwarves actually took up the worship of Abbathor when Moradin and the other gods failed to lead them to a more profitable life Style. A priest of Abbathor could of converted these dwarves by turning what they saw as a worthless fungi into a profitable business. This dwarven clan could be selling this stuff above ground to a human contact. It is the humans who manufacter this product and the demand for these mushrooms are exceeding goals the dwarves never dreamt possible. Iuz could get involved because he fears having to contend with a growing power in the area. These orcs could of taken over this production and started trafficing this substance underground as well. It might even be fun to get the PC's involved by having them believe that they are liberating a dwarven clan from occupation. But not reallizing that the real target should be the mushrooms regardless of whose supplying it. I think you got something here. In either case you have several ways to go about using this scenario.
#13 samwise Nov 18, 2003 17:33:14	Just for a few 'shrooms? What if they are the only legitimate supplier for the cult of Olidamarra? What if people need them to control the nausea from restoration potions? Poor oppressed dwarves . . .
#14 zombiegleemax Nov 18, 2003 18:20:50	Ok, here's what I've got now: 1) Dwarves harvested the mushrooms (hallucinagenic). 2) Iuz and Zuggtmoy clerics pushed the dwarves out with a group of orcs who worked for them. 3) Cleric of Zuggtmoy is after the fungi and wishes to capitalize on them. The mushrooms in this mine are particulary large and the mushrooms are quite rare, giving them thier high price. 4) the cleric of Iuz is after the rich bloodstone deposit (part of the main plot). 5) Character are already on the way to the mines after hearing contact was lost so there's no need to further motivate them. 6) I figured on the way they could come accross the remains of the dwarven tribe, a small camp, and find maybe a couple of wierd addicts and find some info on the mines. 7) Characters go into the mines, bash some heads, find out about the drugs and dwarves, find some evidence as to what clerics are behind this and who they serve (and I have some hints to my main plot but they aren't relevant to thread).
#15 zombiegleemax Nov 18, 2003 18:23:00	Almost forgot, The characters also find some scratched and beaten statues of the dwarven gods except the god of greed's whose statue is brand new, they might figure out this was the dwarves or they might see it as vandalism by the orcs.
#16 zombiegleemax Nov 18, 2003 18:25:55	Ok, left out stuff again. In the dwarven camp I'll place the cleric of Abathor to tip them off that the statues were trashed by the dwarves.
#17 zombiegleemax Nov 18, 2003 18:27:25	Can you tell I'm excited? lol
#18 grodog Nov 20, 2003 4:34:40	Since you're in a dwarven settlement, you may want to throw in a a rapper (undead dwarf spirit, similar to a banshee, created by Roger Moore in Dragon 58). Here are the 1e stats: Rapper Undead Dwarf FREQUENCY: Very rare NO. APPEARING: 1-4 ARMOR CLASS: 2 MOVE: 9” HIT DICE: 4 % IN LAIR: 95% TREASURE TYPE: See below NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-9 or by weapon SPECIAL ATTACKS: Insanity, loss of direction SPECIAL DEFENSES: +1 or better weapon to hit, invisibility MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard INTELLIGENCE: Average ALIGNMENT: Neutral evil SIZE: S (4’ tall) PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: V/240 x 4/HP A rapper is the undead form of an evil dwarven thief or assassin who died in an attempt to steal something. These beings typically inhabit old mines and caverns, where they attempt to lure victims in to their doom. Rappers appear to be pale-skinned dwarves with semi-translucent skin, dressed in rags and carrying weapons or mining tools. They can go invisible twice a day for 6 turns, but will become visible when physically attacking. Rappers will hide in small corners of underground tunnels and make a constant, rhythmic tapping sound with their tools or weapons against the tunnel wall. This sound carries in a 120’ radius through the underground corridors and rooms; it is never very loud, but is annoying to listen to. Within the 120’ radius this tapping noise will reduce the chance of successfully listening at doors by 20% (making it impossible for non-thieves to listen at doors at all). After listening to this tapping sound for longer than an hour, a human or demi-human or humanoid creature must make a saving throw vs. magic at +2, or else develop a form of insanity (monomania; see DMG, p. 83, for effects). Those who saved the first time against this power must save again after listening to it for a second consecutive hour, again after a third hour, and so forth. There is a 20% chance that an affected character or creature will also develop kleptomania (DMG, p. 83). Rappers can keep up their tapping for an infinitely long duration. If they are located and attacked, rappers will attack in a crazed manner and will howl and shriek loudly, possibly (40% chance) attracting additional monsters. Anyone struck by a rapper’s weapon or by the rapper itself must save vs. magic or be affected as if by the 6th-level cleric spell Lose The Path for a full day. During this time the character will be unable to tell directions and must be led by hand or by force. Rappers guard their victims’ remains. For treasure, generate the number and types of magical items owned by 1-4 random non-player characters of 1st through 6th level, according to the tables in the DMG on pp. 175-176. Hide bodies and magic items under rubble or elsewhere in the rappers’ lair. Assume each of the dead victims possessed treasure types J, K, L, M, N, and Q as well. A victim will not automatically possess any magical treasure or gems. Clerics turn rappers the same as wights. Holy water does 2-8 points damage per hit. Raise Dead and Resurrection destroy them, but they are immune to all poisons, paralysis, enchant/charm spells, and cold attacks. For 3.5e stats, check out the Creature Catalog at http://enworld.org/cc/converted/view_c.php?CreatureID=742
#19 Argon Nov 20, 2003 6:14:44	I can see it now. As you approach the third bend in the cavern you here the rapping of a Dwarven spirit. He's the Fifty-Cent version of all dwarven spirits! :heehee
#20 zombiegleemax Nov 20, 2003 8:05:57	If your characters like magic mushrooms they might want to try, ayahausca and salvia divinorum if they know and alchemist that can make extract. Drugs has existed for thousands of years and tribes and cultures have used them before they were illegal. Since your dwarves are lawful they might be breaking the law if drugs are illegal, that´s up for you to decide. Elves who are chaotic might think it´s immoral but not illegal. When your characters eat magic mushroom roll d100, there is one percent the character will suffer from hallucigenic perceptive disorder that way the character will experience flashbacks when not on a trip. That could only be cured by som rare herb wich the character will have to take for the rest of his life.
#21 zombiegleemax Nov 23, 2003 12:52:12	Ok, I figured since I'm pretty down with the mushroom plot I'd put out the other half of the plot, I figured the mines are needed by Iuz so that he can mine thousands of the bloodstones that will be needed to channel the power of an artifact to release an ancient devil who was once a powerful general in the hells. So I figured the cleric of Iuz and cleric of Zuggtmoy would team up to split the mines. Here's the adventure history I wrote up (sorry its kinda long) History: The Bloodstone mines, located in the northern arm of the Lortmil Mountains were once home to a small clan of dwarves. The dwarves prospered as a result of mining the enormous quantities of iron that were snatched up right away by the local merchants. With this wealth, the dwarves lived well and their king, Gerovar Bloodstone, was known to be a king of enormous wealth, with gold statues of Moradin erected in the Bloodstone clan-hold and a forge that crafted blades made of the finest material his wealth could buy. Unfortunately, these mines were eventually played out and the dwarves fell on hard times. With the iron mine wealth gone, the dwarves had no source of income and civil unrest became rampant. It was this time that the king began speaking with Galeran, an aged dwarven mystic and hermit who was shunned by the clan. Galeran introduced the king to the idea of profiting off the salvia divinorum, a powerful hallucinogen. Illegal in most of the surrounding human areas, the highly potent fungi fetched high prices on the black market, meaning it was the answer to the dwarves’ problems. The dwarves immediately tore down their statues and temples to the dwarven gods and put up a massive golden statue of the demoness Zuggtmoy, who the dwarves believed, due to misinformation on the part of Galeran, was a benevolent goddess of plants and fungi. Unknown to king Gerovar at the time, Galeran was a devoted worshipper of Zuggtmoy and was simply using the king and the clan to spread the dangerous drug throughout the civilized lands. At this time, Zuggtmoy was sending Galeran prophetic dreams which eventually led the dwarf to seek out Pheodren, a powerful dark elf cleric of Iuz. Together, the both of them decided that the Bloodstone mines would prove extremely valuable to the both of them, the massive fungi gardens would satiate Galeran and the bloodstones would be Pheodren’s reward; a reward he needed to aid his master in unlocking Cyndor’s Gate. The two men hired a force of orcish mercenaries and began preparing for an invasion of the mines. Several months ago, bandits in service to Pheodren began to harass the merchants heading to the mines. These attacks brought the bloodstone and drug trade to a halt. The dwarves prepared for battle and deployed patrols to hunt down the bandits. While the dwarves fought the bandits, the attacks persisted and supplies that were imported, especially food, began to run dry. Eventually the dwarves found themselves facing starvation. While the dwarves’ final supplies were running out, a small force of highly disciplined orcs, augmented by a group of wizards, attacked the clan-hold. Aided by information given to them by a bitter, exiled dwarf named Eri, the orcs easily overcame the dwarven defenses and took the mines in short order. Only a handful of dwarves escaped the onslaught and now the orcs are in total control of the Bloodstone clan-hold and mines. The forges now burn once again and the mines are now being used again as well, although now for a purpose other than trade. Now the bandits were defeated by the characters in a previous adventure which is why they can now access the mines.