Players' Map

Sample file Introduction

Swamplight is an adventure designed for experienced characters. This module requires Dungeons|3&iragons that the PCs have more than strong sword OFFICIAL GAME arms and flashy spells. They must think and ADVENTURE make careful decisions, as their actions will determine whether good is aided or whether SooampLight they unknowingly assist the villains in their ultimate, evil goal. Introduction 1 The adventure is suited for player charac- Adventure Background 2 ters of 7th through 9th level. If using this Running the Encounters 6 adventure with lower level player characters A. Living Trees 8 with little magic, the DM might have to cut B. Evil Fog 9 back on the number of creatures encountered. C. Favorable Fog 10 For example, if the PCs encounter the algoids D. Hunting Party 12 and the animated trees, use fewer trees. Do E. Deadly Darters 13 not lower the number of lizard men in the vil- F. False Heroes 14 lage of Fen, as the PCs' true goal does not lie G. Temple Ruins 15 in defeating peaceful, neutral creatures. H. Village of the Lizard Men 18 This adventure easily can accommodate I. Swamplight 27 higher level PCs or PCs who have a wealth of J. Headed for Danger 28 magic at their command; simply add to the K. Double Danger 29 number of creatures encountered and boost L. Lair of the Rajah 30 their hit points. The rakshasa rajah could be Resolution Sample32 change filed into a maharajah, which is more powerful and has more spells. Credits Although there is plenty of fighting, Swamp- Design: Jean Rabe light stresses problem solving and role play- Editing: Lance Kandler ing. The adventure presented to the players is Cover Illustration: Paul Jaquays much more involved below the surface, and Interior Illustrations: Terry Dykstra in reality things are not the way they seem. Cartography: John Knecht Creatures that look like something are indeed Typography: Angelika Lokotz something else, and jumping to conclusions could get the PCs in trouble and prevent them ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and AD&D are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. from achieving their aim. MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM and the TSR logo are trademarks Experience points are listed with each crea- owned by TSR, Inc. ©1993 TSR, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. ture encountered, so killing monsters will Random House and its affiliate companies have worldwide distribu- gain the PCs the amount specified. However, tion rights in the book trade for English language products. Distrib- uted to the book and hobby trade in the United Kingdom by TSR Ltd. the PCs should get additional experience Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors. points if they find the real menace in the This product is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the mater- adventure and defeat it. The amount of expe- ial or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express writ- rience awarded is left up to the DM. ten permission of TSR, Inc.

ISBN 0-56076-588-7 9424XXX1501 Adventure Background

For many decades, the city of Chala, nestled foot tall gold and platinum statue of the deity, on the banks of the Leal River, boasted a pros- a beautiful woman with the head of a lion. perous fishing business. The community's life To the people of Chala, Tefnut represents the revolved around the wide, slowly rolling moisture in the atmosphere and is responsible river that meandered miles northward into for the rains that keep the river wide and full the Blackweed Swamp. of life. The interior of her temple smells like Men trained their sons and daughters to be the earth after a steady shower. The statue in fishermen and taught them how to trap the her image, which was crafted by one of the vil- large lizards that lived on the banks of the lage elders more than 40 years ago, is worth river and in the swamp. The strongest youths thousands of gold pieces. The statue's eyes are were schooled in building flat, maneuverable flawless blue sapphires which nearly match boats that could easily navigate the shallows the color of the Leal, and the statue is admired and avoid becoming hung up on the massive by all those who enter the temple and gaze willow tree roots that edged far into the water. upon the religious work of art. Craftsmen created wondrous lures to catch Unfortunately for Chala, someone did more the biggest of fish that hugged the bottom, than look. Four weeks ago, an acolyte of Tef- and artisans fashioned fine jewelry from pol- nut discovered that the statue was missing. ished stones pulled from the riverbed and Immediately the council of elders was con- made boots and other garments from lizard vened and the village was searched. No sign skins. of the statue was found. The elders feared The city enjoyed lucrative trading contracts that the increasing presence of visiting city with merchants from communities inland and officials, many of whom had seen the statue, to the south. As the city grew, young men were responsible. While the visiting officials traveled to Chala to seek adventure in the were quickly proven innocent with detect lie swamp to the north, or to marry and establisSampleh spell files cast by the Tefnut clerics, the elders gainful river-related careers. believed that the officials had related informa- Officials from southern inland cities ad- tion about the temple and the statue to others mired Chala, and many secretly dreamed of in their home communities, tempting listen- running a community as affluent and inde- ing thieves. pendent. Some made trips to Chala to study The visiting officials lent their support to the city's government to learn if there was finding the statue, not wanting trade between something other than the river contributing to Chala and their home communities soured by its fortune. the theft. The officials called upon skilled The people of Chala quickly welcomed trackers to aid in the search, and they were at these officials, treating them like royal visitors last partially rewarded. and regaling them with stories of the river The trackers discovered bits of moss in the and the city's past. The Chalans explained temple, moss that could have only come from they did indeed owe their happiness to the the Blackweed Swamp to the north. Further- great Leal, but the river, their good fortune, more, outside the temple and at spots along the the prosperous fishing industry, and their fine riverbank, they noticed humanoid, webbed crafts were all gifts of their god, Tefnut. In- tracks—the footprints of lizard men. deed, the largest structure in Chala was a tem- Immediately, a band of adventurers was ple that honored the god, and inside it rested sent into the swamp to find the lizard men the community's most valuable treasure—a 1- and regain the statue of Tefnut. That was Adventure Background

nearly four weeks ago and those adventurersSample, Th filee Real Story and four other parties who followed them, have not returned. There is much more to the theft of the As the next few weeks passed, fishermen statue, of course, and Tefnut is not bringing began disappearing, leaving only their empty tragedy upon the city. Unbeknownst to the boats floating on the Leal. The few young people of Chala, lizard men had nothing to do men who ventured up the banks of the river with the theft. and into the swamp in search of their missing A small group of rakshasa, lead by an exiled, fathers also disappeared. Trappers were dis- over-ambitious rajah, has settled in the swamp. covered clawed to death near their traps, yet They have been feasting off the occasional no animal tracks were seen anywhere within band of adventurers who traveled through the several feet the bodies. quagmire in search of excitement and riches, The once-prosperous city was thrown into and small hunting parties of lizard men. panic, and the Tefnut clerics began preaching The rakshasas sought isolation so they that disaster was at hand because the people could scheme to regain control of the rakshasa allowed the god's statue to be stolen. They community from which they were banished. warned that if the statue was not recovered, However, when they discovered the teeming and the lizard men punished, Chala would city of Chala and the lizard men village, they fall into ruin and the population would die at decided the lizard men and the humans the hands of the lizard men. would have to leave. To this end, the raksha- Adventure Background

sas studied both communities and decided to • If one of the PCs is a cleric to a god from the start a war between the two. Egyptian mythos, he or she could have The statue of Tefnut was taken by a rak- learned of the statue's theft and be asked to shasa, in the guise of a lizard man, in an at- lend aid. tempt to precipitate the conflict. Using spells • One of the player character's relatives, or to hide his presence, the rakshasa sneaked into perhaps an NPC acquaintance, is living in the lizard men village and placed the statue on Chala. The individual contacts the PC and top of the village's totem; this would incrimi- explains the town's woes and need for nate the lizard men. assistance. If everything works according to the rak- No matter what avenue the DM selects, the shasas' plans, at least one and possibly both adventure should begin with the players' communities will be wiped out, and the rak- introduction below. It will serve to provide the shasas will have their solitude—and plenty of PCs with a little background information. bodies to feast on. Chala is not detailed, as the adventure does It is into this dangerous and deadly situa- not involve moving about the community. It is tion the player characters are plunged. a sizable river community, with buildings and All of the rakshasas in the Blackweed Swamp docks all along the riverside and extending as have adopted the guise of lizard men. This will much as a half-mile away from the river. make it difficult for the PCs to realize what they face until it is possibly too late. Players' Introduction

Getting the PCs Involved A grim-faced man approaches and intro- There are several avenues to get a grouSamplep of ducefiles himself as Vant, chief village elder. player characters involved in this adventure, Behind him are other elders and many citi- fitting the action nicely into an active cam- zens of Chala. paign. "Our city teeters on the brink of disaster," • The PCs could have simply heard about Vant mutters gravely. "Our lives are in jeop- Chala's misfortune and their own opportu- ardy because the statue of our goddess was nity to make a handsome profit if they spirited from our temple. Trackers say recover the missing statue. lizard men took the statue, but I believe it • Perhaps the PCs are traveling through the was our own complacency that caused it to area and come upon the beleaguered river be ripped from our midst. We did not guard community. the golden and platinum image of Tefnut." • If the PCs are inland, a government leader The chief elder explains about the glories sympathetic to Chala's problems could hire of Tefnut and how the goddess is responsi- them to recover the statue. The leader does ble for the success of their fishing industry. not want to lose trade with the river town He pauses and glumly adds that since the and will reward the PCs for saving Chala's disappearance of the statue, the goddess fishing industry. has been seeking vengeance—fishermen • If one of the PCs is a druid, he or she could have not returned, trappers have been hear of marauding bands of lizard men killed by unknown causes. who are killing humans and denizens of the The elder begs you to aid their cause. swamp. Adventure Background

It is up to the PCs whether they agree to aid sweetwater—all the magic remaining from the Chala. If they appear indecisive, Vant sug- temple. gests that Chala is only the beginning—other The map Vant presents is the one on the cities in the area will be visited by disaster as inside front cover. To keep the players from Tefnut's rage grows. He says even adventur- seeing the DM's map on the inside back cover, ers such as themselves will not be safe. It is photocopy the players' map and let them better to right the situation now. keep it for reference, or bend the cover back to Chalans come forth and plead with the PCs keep your map hidden. to help their cause, promising the player char- The PCs are encouraged to start the quest acters what wealth they have stored away in right away. However, if they want to ask the their homes. elders or citizens questions, the chief elder Eventually, the PCs should agree. In the will not object. Careful questioning will reveal event they do not, the rakshasas may disguise the following information: themselves as lizard men and attack or kid- • No one saw the thief or thieves. The theft nap the PCs. occurred late at night when nearly every- If the PCs tell Vant they will help Chala, he one was asleep. A young man getting his provides more information: fishing equipment ready for a dawn trip reported seeing twinkling lights floating at the edge of the city. They drifted north into "We know our statue lies in the Blackweed the swamp. Swamp. Our clerics tell us this. But those • A patch of moss was found inside the tem- who tried to find it have not returned. All ple. The moss must have come from the we can see in the swamp's murky depths Blackweed Swamp. The PCs are welcome are twinkling lights that dance amiSampled the fileto take the moss with them. trees—doubtless the lights carried by the • Lizard men tracks were found outside the thieving lizard men. You are our last hope," temple and along the riverbank. Never Vant states. "You must recover the statue of before had lizard men tracks—or any other Tefnut. Surely a band such as yours will humanoid tracks—been noted near Chala. have little difficulty dealing with lizard • Chala residents did not know there were men. Once the statue is back, we will be any lizard men living nearby. However, the redeemed in the eyes of our goddess, and presence of lizard men does not surprise Chala will be saved. We will reward you them. There are a variety of lizard-creatures greatly. We will give you one-fourth of the in the swamp, some of which the citizens income from our fishing industry for the trap for food and to fashion boots and other next year if you can bring the statue back to apparel. the temple." • Shortly after the statue disappeared, fisher- men were found missing. Their boats were The chief elder presents you with a map de- recovered and there was no evidence of a tailing the Blackweed Swamp and the area struggle. The bodies of trappers were found where the fishermen and the trappers disap- mangled, but there were no tracks within peared. He wishes you well and bids you several feet of the bodies. return quickly with the statue. If the PCs ask for assistance, Vant presents them with two potions of extra healing and three vials of