Something Wild

Home , Allen Varney, Robh Ruppel, Something Wild (module)

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AN INTRODUCTION 2 Including the Tale ofGarond the Claw, the Background of our story, a Summary of the Adventure, notes on Preparing for Play, and a look at the Forces of Contention.

CHAPTER I: RATTLING THE CAGE 10 In which our Heroes see a man become a Tiger, hear whispers of Villains who've given the Law the Laugh, and watch the gentle Citizens and beasts of Sigilfall prey to dark Forces of Nature.

CHAPTER II: THE HILLS ARE ALIVE 24 In which our Heroes struggle to keep their Skins in a canyon of Enemies, and learn that the best Part of an Animal may be what's inside.

CHAPTER III: THE BELLY OF THE BEAST 40 In which our Heroes unleash the Animal within, witness the corruption of a Plane, forge an alliance with a Cat, and discover that Dreams can be more than just airy Pictures.

AN APPENDIX 61 Including a new Magical Item, a particular Weapon used by hunters on Carceri, the statistics for Friends and Foes in this adventure, and reference tables for Magic and random Encounters. Sample file CREDI+S Designer: Ray Vallese • Editor: Allen Varney Cover Artist: Robh Ruppel • Interior Two-Color Artist: DiTerlizzi Color Plates: Jeff Miracola, Alan Pollack, Adam Rex • Conceptual Artist: Dana Knutson Cartographer: Roy Boholst Project Coordinator: Andria Hayday • Art Director: Bruce Zamjahn Electronic Prepress Coordinator: Dave Conant • Typography: Angelika Lokotz Border Art: Robert Repp • Graphic Design: Greg Kerkman, Dawn Murin Proofreaders: Michele Carter, Bill Slavicsek Playtesters: John Cummings, Keith Cummings, Todd Cushman, Dave Lubash, Bob Newell, Ted Zuvich

TSR, Inc. TSR Ltd. ADVANCED DUNGEONS ft DRAGONS, ADfrD, RAVENLOFT, FORGOTTEN REALMS, MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM, and the Lady of Pain logo are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. 201 Sheridan Springs Rd. 120 Church End PLANESCAPE and the TSR logo are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. All TSR characters, Lake Geneva Cherry Hinton character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. £ Wl53147 Cambridge CBl 3LB 1996 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Random House and its affiliate companies have worldwide distribution rights in the book trade for English-language products of TSR, Inc. United Kingdom U.S.A. Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors. Distributed to the book and hobby trade in the United Kingdom by TSR Ltd. This material is protected under the 2619 copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material contained herein is prohibited without the express written consent of TSR, Inc. "t i

I dream of the hunt. Bursting recklessly through ripping thorn bushes, slinking through silent clearings, losing myself in forests black enough to swallow me whole. Hot wind on my skin, sharp roots cutting my legs. The AN air thick with the pun- gent scent of blood. The prey is near, crouching, INTRODUCTION cowering, quivering as it imagines the points of my teeth pressing into its throat. A heartbeat pounds in my head like a war drum, punctuating my belly's screams for meat. Suddenly, brittle ferns crash to the ground before me. A monstrous shadow rises from nowhere to make the forest darker than black. My den is not near but I turn and run and jump and run, sweating and grunting and panting as the war drum pounds double time but the shadow dwarfs me still, becoming the starless night. As I am caught and crushed in its jaws, as the breath and life are squeezed from my body, as my blood stings my eyes and stains its teeth, I scream for release for daybreak for waking, but there is only pain and cries and death. Powers help me, this is not a dream!

+ HINK TALC • GAR0ND CLAW • +ime +eeic seme HUN + ERS More of us died in the raid than I'd expected. The leth tunnels were so ripe eN A LI++LE FIELD + RIP withSample the scent of filefiends that we couldn't sniff out a trail until thefarastu had already found us. First thing the stinking monster did was summon two ~ GAR0ND more of its blasted friends, then all three gehreleths tore into our pack - vanishing from sight, slashing, biting, sapping our strength, filling my hunters with some kind of magical fear. I hit back with magic of my own, but the 'leths shrugged off most spells. They're hard game to hurt - not like our usual prey, the kind that fights with fang and claw. Tougher than the prisoners we stalk through the canyons. Harthenflew atonefarastu with his bare fists. Stuck to the beast's gummy flesh. Before he could pull free, one of the other 'leths ripped his head off. I killed that fiend myself. All told, the pack lost eight. But we took down two 'leths and drove the third deeper into the maze of tunnels. By Malar's claw, those sodding fiends will learn to keep out of our dens and hunting grounds! My mate, Venia, and I were the only ones left to bury our dead. One of the fallen 'leths wore a black stone triangle in a loop around its neck; before we left I ripped it free and tied it around my own neck. To honor Harthen and the others. As we tried to sniff our way back out of the tunnels, we found that the attack had muddied the trail. Took several wrong turns. I crept down one low passage to see where it led when a sudden flash of bright light blinded me. I crouched, still as death, ready to pounce. When I regained my sight I found myself hunched deep in tall weeds, insects buzzing in the air, a warm breeze

• 2 • on my face, a blistering sun beating down on me. I smelled the ape just before he swung down from a nearby copse of trees. Played dead to draw him closer, then lunged up. The beast spoke - spoke! - cry- ing "No, wait!" But too late - I broke its neck, a clean kill. Glorious to work with my hands again after using enchanted metal against the leths. But an ape that speaks - that thinks - like a man? By Malar's claw, had I lost my senses? I explored the new plains and hills for hours - so green, so vital! - catching more small mammals and reptiles than ever roamed the Land of the Hunt. None spoke, though I swear on Harthen's grave a striped badger tried to cast a spell on me. I napped lightly in the shade of some mammoth ferns. Then a humanoid in a panther's mask broke through the brush. I held my attack and asked where I was. "Krigala," he said. "The Beastlands. Are you the prime who went missing in yesterday's tour?" When I said I lived on Carceri, he motioned for me to follow him through a

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