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Fantasy World Adventure Isle of the Ape by

taBle of Contents Design: Gary Gygax Development: Bruce A. Heard 2 Illustration: Gary Williams mtRoouction 2 Cover: Jeff Easley BackqRouno fOR the Ounqeon TTlasteR 3 Typesetting: Betty Elmore and Carolyn Vanderbilt the laws of the Isle of the &pe maqical Items Special Thanks to Penny Petticord Oescrminq the island island Conditions movement Rates monster Statistics and encounters Distributed to the book trade in the United States by Ran- other dm notes dom House, Inc. and in Canada by Random House of Can- ada, Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors. Distributed in the United Kingdom by TSR UK Sample file Ltd. the AdventURe Beqins 6 meetinq with ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D, WORLD OF , PRODUCTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION, and the encounter Settmq TSR logo are trademarks owned by TSR Inc. encounter key s Copyright 1985 TSR Inc. All Rights Reserved. Beyond the Wall 18 This adventure is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unau- encounter Settmq thorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of TSR encounter key Inc. Ounqeon masteR maps 19, 20, 29, 30

TSR Inc. TSR UK Ltd POB 756 The Mil), Rathmore Road piayeR handouts 23-26 Lake Geneva, Cambridge CB14AD WI 53147 United Kindgom PReqeneRateo ChaRacteRS 21, 22, 27, 28 Oonqa's laiR 40 encounter Settinq encounter key TSR, Inc. PRODUCTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION" new monsteRS 46 new Spells 48

Printed in U.S.A.

ISBN 0-88038-238-4 RH ISBN 394-54877-9TSR0750 9153 0R6W0R6

This module is based on an actual portion of the Greyhawk Castle campaign initiated by the author in 1972. It contains complete infor- mation for the adventure, including outdoor maps, maps of subterranean-type areas, an expanded Monsters Attack Matrix (page 47), a Player Character's daily Journal, and finally, the monster statistics and pre-generated characters for those players who do not have sufficiently advanced characters of their own to undertake this quest. The participants of the original adventures that took place on the Isle of the Ape include the following: Don Arndt, Ernie Gygax, , Rob Kuntz, Terry Kuntz, and Mike Mornard. It is worth noting that none of these Bold Adventurers ever completed the quest, opting to risk other fell places rather than con- tinuing to face the perils of the island.

ntROduction

The place you are about to send you/ Player OnSamplee further note: filethis module has been Characters is a very deadly one indeed. Well, designed for use with Unearthed Arcana. players have been asking for high-level adven- Many of the magical items, new rules, and tures, and you are about to give them what character classes mentioned come from this they've been asking for (in spades). Before unearthly tome. they begin, and before you prepare to run, remember this: if you DM this module accord- Classes & Levels: ing to the rules of the game, and its spirit, the best of players are going to be in real trouble Barbarian 12th level and up before very long. There are not many tricks, Cleric 15th level and up traps, or clever devices here. This is an Druid 12th level and up adventure of attrition. The place is literally Fighter 15th level and up infested with horrible monsters, and the Magic-user 14th level and up sheer numbers of huge, man-eating creatures Paladin 15th level and up will soon take toll of the PCs. Unless they are Ranger 15th level and up clever about conserving their resources, the Thief, Acrobat 15th level and up adventurers will find that they have exhausted far too much of their power and not explored Not Recommended: assassins, bards, cava- half of the island. Magic-users will be particu- liers, illusionists, and monks. larly vulnerable to this. The point of all this preamble is to exhort you to be tough. That's You may easily allow groups of more than right, don't allow any sympathy to interfere six or characters of greater than 18th level of with the game as it is designed. Too many experience to adventure on the island. To han- players are marching around claiming that dle larger or stronger groups, simply increase they have characters able to handle anything. the number of monsters encountered slightly. Now is the time to let them demonstrate the Don't overdo it! Remember that a larger mettle of these invincible characters they group will have greater difficulty avoiding have. monsters, so the object is simply to allow the planned attrition to operate naturally. the unqeon master

cast the spell or spells requiring the compo- time, so only portions of the island can usually The Laws of the nents which are not available. be seen, and then only from relatively close Isle of the Ape proximity. Divine intervention will not happen, regard- The whole land mass is well above the Spells that do not function less of any claims to the contrary. Only one water, except for the bit of beach near the deity is aware of what goes on on the demi- southwestern tip of the island. The rest of the on this demi-plane plane that contains the Isle of the Ape, and place is sheer-sided cliffs, steep mountain- Alter Reality that is Zagyg. He is totally indifferent to what sides, and broken rocks that prevent Animal Summoning fate befalls adventurers there—it is strictly up approach to the land. There are plateaus in Astral spell to them to survive or become fertilizer. Cler- the southwest, the northwest, and the east- Augury ics praying for their spells may do so without ern ends of the isle. The central mass is a Cacodemon being affected as described above. gradually sloping basin, a saucer, if you will, Chariot ofSustarre where the daily downpouring of rain collects Commune Magical Items to form a large lake and surrounding swamp. Commune with Nature This slowly drains because the water has Contact Higher Plane The players can bring along a vast array of managed to cut a bed that leads underground Dimension Door magical items, providing that they have the and empties via a 200-foot-long waterfall on Divination means to cart them along. Remember what the west coast of the island. The whole place will function and what will not. Also be sure Drawmij's Instant Summons is very warm, and it is muggy and steaming that you keep track of where all items are Find the Path hot in the central morass of swamp and jungle. stored. If, for instance, they pack a magical Gate bag or hole full of goodies, require them to go The plateau areas are only slightly less Invisibility to Animals through the whole thing in order to retrieve overgrown than the rest of the place. The Legend Lore something. This will take lots of game time. whole island is a riot of vegetation. Limited Wish To illustrate this point to them, gather up If you have any colored illustrations of the Locate Object some smallish, disparate items, and put them Jurassic, Triassic, or similar period, be sure to Monster Summoning into a pillow case or similar container. Then, get them ready for perusal by your players Plant Door indicate a singular item (say a pen represent- during the course of the adventure. Once they Teleport ing a wand) Sampleas one that is to bfilee drawn out. are in a position to see the island, having such Teleport without Error Count. If the contents are dumped out, the illustrations open to their view at all times will Transport item can be obtained with fair rapidity. If an assist them in setting the mood for the game. Wish arm is thrown into the container, it will take a Word of Recall long time to find, for you will have placed Terrain Types other objects of similar size and shape therein All similar psionic powers are likewise use- to simulate the difficulty of retrieving items Plain areas are covered with tall grasses (3 less, including psionic invisibility. from such a bag. A portable hole will abso- to 6 feet or higher), scrub growth, ferns, and lutely require emptying—or crawling into— scattered trees. There will be occasional out- Illusions applied to reptiles are virtually use- for retrieval of items. Meanwhile, adversaries croppings of rock, small pools, ant nests, ter- less, as the brains of these monsters are too will be attacking. mite mounds, thickets, and so forth. Where dull to notice anything of such sublety. Thus, herds of herbivores graze, the rich soil and when such spells are used against these mon- Artifacts and relics, as well as special magi- volcanic ash fertilizer allow growth at an sters, they always save. cal items with powers granted from some amazing rate. Small reptiles and even mam- great being or deity, do not work at all on this mals scurry everywhere, while the huge dino- island. The demi-plane is such that their func- Invisibility-type magic of any sort is also vir- saurs roam freely. tioning is totally impaired. In other words, the tually useless, for these monsters use heat, characters must use standard equipment, odor, and sound to locate prey, not just vision. Hills are simple rolling areas of plain, with normal magic, and their own abilities in order Characters moving very quietly, camouflaged, cuts from water erosion and more frequent rock to survive. Any good adventure is a test of the and being careful to be downwind of a preda- outcroppings. In the folds between high ground abilities of the players to utilize their charac- tory creature will be able to pass unnoticed, areas there will be thickets and higher growth. ters, and they must not be allowed to rely on but otherwise, standard avoidance action items. must be taken. Simply becoming invisible will Foothills and mountains will be heavily not cause a carnivore to turn away and look vegetated wherever soil will allow growth. elsewhere for prey. Describing the Island However, the mountains are so sheer that From a distance, the Isle of the Ape appears there are few such places. Winged reptiles Spell books, spells therein, and spell com- to be a pile of jagged mountains sprinkled with will be observable flapping ponderously to and ponents must be kept track of. Unless they smoking volcanoes. At night these cones give from their nests on rocky ledges on mountain- are on hand, or can be located on the island, the place a dim, hellish glow. Of course, fog sides and foothill mesa tops. Watercourses, the spell caster concerned will not be able to and clouds enshroud the place most of the slide areas, and like places permit some growth and provide habitat for some species, mile) have only the dinosaurs and smaller life, **Time indicates how long it will take for the and cavemen and carnivorous apes dwell in not the great fish (dinichtysys). affected material to rot, rust, or mold beyond the many caves and caverns which honey- use. Multiply that duration by 10 for magical comb these areas. Reefs are razor sharp rocky shards under- items. water or pointing out of the sea. They are ***Some metals, such as gold, silver, plati- Swamp areas are very wet and heavily impassable to any kind of vessel or small boat. num, copper, brass, adamantite, mithral, and vegetated also. While grasses, ferns, and Swimmers receive Id6 points of damage per nickel, do not rust. Bronze covers itself with a reeds make up the majority of swamp growth, turn spent in that vicinity. thin layer of oxidized metal giving its charac- there will be mangrove and cypress-like trees teristic green tint, but then becomes impervi- and cycadeoids. Low mounds allow great Island Conditions ous to further rust. Thus bronze armors are trees to grow, trees resembling baobabs, not affected, however, bronze weapons banyans, and great redwoods. Occasionally The heat, dampness, and daily downpours should then do only 1/2 damage because of the the shallow water will deepen into pools of fair make life very difficult on the island. In the loss of sharpness. Silver-plated items should depth, some no more than a few yards across, western plateau areas, as well as the higher not be affected either, unless damaged so that others as large as 100 yards in diameter. hill areas elsewhere, humans can survive some of the silver coating is gone. Countless insects, from tiny gnats to mon- these conditions. In the swamps and jungle, strous dragonflies, swarm above the surface even on the savannahs, the elements combine of this mire, while hosts of aquatic insects, to cause severe difficulties. You must keep the Disease: fungi will attack humans within a leeches, batrachians, and weird fish fill the following in mind with regard to player charac- day, so that on the second and following days lower surface. ters (and their equipment) while adventuring each character has a 25% chance of a disease on the island. —fungoid, amoebic, bacterial, or viral, no matter. Jungle is a combination of rainforest, with Disease will cause general debilitation attendant huge trees, and true jungle. The Attrition: Scrolls and standard spell books within 24 hours, and this will be reflected by entire place is a riot of huge mosses and great are affected only if they remain unprotected. the loss of 1 point from each characteristic per ferns, with every imaginable sort of palm and Traveling spell books and Boccob Blessed day. When all stats are at 0, the character is cycadeoid, vine and liana filling the spaces Books are not affected by the attrition condi- dead. Cure disease will relieve all sickness, between the larger growths. Where water tions of the isle unless abandoned open. The but lost points will take 1 day each to be fills low spots mighty rushes and towering leather of traveling spell books is resistant to restored. (Begin at the bottom and work up, reeds spring up. Far overhead are many small humidity and for gaming purposes should not i.e., Comeliness, Charisma, Constitution, lizards, snakes, and toothed birds—as well as be affected by the rotting factor for the dura- Dexterity, Wisdom, Intelligence, and finally pterodactyls of all sizes. Lower down are tion of the adventure. Strength.) What is lost in a single day of illness somewhat larger reptiles and all sorts of flying Use theSample following guideline files for the chances takes seven full days to recover! and crawling insects. At ground level the and duration of equipment attrition: same is true. Everywhere there are all forms Statistics with extra percentages are also of living things—insects, invertebrates, rep- Attrition affected at the rate of one percentage cate- tiles, and the ponderous herbivorous dino- Material Chance* Time** gory per loss. Example: a character with saurs hunted by the swift carnivorous ones. 18.80 points of Strength would be reduced to Food, drinks 100% 1 day 18.75 after the first loss, etc. Paper, Characters immune to disease will still have Lake is just that, a prehistoric lake. Its parchment 5% lday a 5% chance per day of becoming ill. They, swampy verge is home to the great saurians Cloth 25% 5 days along with those suffering the 25% chance, who use its buoyancy to support their massive Rope 5% 10 days will be considered to have total natural immu- bodies while long necks feed from swamp or Leather 10% 7 days nity if four successive days pass wherein they aquatic growth. The waters are alive with Wood, are not affected by disease. amphibians and lung fish, true fish, and hard vegetal 2% 10 days Illness will be noted immediately, as a feel- smaller reptiles. Of course there are forms of Metal*** 20% 2 weeks algae and aquatic plants, and amongst them ing of weakness, dizziness, inability to think, Mineral, ivory not affected stiffness, etc. will be evident. If, at these first are crustaceans, worms, leeches, insect lar- Artifacts not affected vae, and who knows what else. Vicious car- signs, a curative is used, then no loss of fac- tors will occur. nivorous dinosaurs swim here and there *Attrition Chance determines the cumula- looking for an incautious victim, while in tive percentage chance any material starts Food: eating the natural fare of the island deeper waters they must contend with the rotting, molding, or rusting. Check when the terrible fish that lurk for prey. From its shal- doubles chances for disease. Purify Food & item is first exposed to the island's conditions Drink spells are sufficient to ensure that low edges, the water shoals to some 20 or so and thereafter once per full day of exposure. feet in depth, save where the bottom falls in spoiled food is safely edible (no chances for Reduce chances by 1/2 (rounded up) for magi- contracting disease). the north central portion. There, the water is cal items and those that are protected. from 50 to 200 feet deep. An airtight or magical container may pre- If materials are protected by storage, oil, serve food for a normal period of time, as long and like precautions against destruction, then as the food is not exposed to the isle's condi- Small lakes (those of about one square count only actual exposure time. tions. Once the spell is cast, or once the con-