Kaostech is one of the many forms of technomancy. Like the other technomantic arts, it is not truly technological or magical. It does not function according to the pure rules and logic of natural science nor the transmutative animism and sympathetic laws of alchemy. Its existence is no dependent upon the power of magic or the whim of the gods.

Kaostech is something different. It is a harnessing of primal chaos, but it is also an embodiment and an expression of that primal chaos. It is corruption and destruction given form. It is something that could not exist without a perversion of the natural order — and the creation of that perversion is at the very heart o the kaostech device’s function.

Kaostech is also known as the technology of the taint. Its devices have been called chaos machines, demon devices, and artifacts of the taint.

FORMS OF KAOSTECH

Kaostech devices can be roughly divided into two categories: bones of steel and betrayals of the flesh.

BONES OF STEEL: These are mechanical devices designed to harness and use the powers of chaos. Although their intimate connection to chaos, and their manipulation of chaotic forces, often make the construction of bones of steel seem illogical or incomprehensible, they are fundamentally machines. They are built of metal and glass and cloth. Inside they maybe filled with a baffling array of wires and gears and tubes, but their function is still easily comprehended once it has been demonstrated.

BETRAYALS OF THE FLESH: Betrayals of the flesh, rather than being mechanical devices, are living organisms. They are grown in alchemical vats, harvested from corpses, or perverted from natural creatures. Some betrayals of the flesh are independent creatures of a sort — they eat and breathe and grow. A few of them are even capable of movement.

Other betrayals of the flesh, however, are designed to be used in a parasitic symbiosis with another creature: They are grafted on as replacement parts or created through the manipulation and surgical alteration of the host creature itself.

KAOSTECH SKILLS

CRAFT KAOSTECH (Intelligence + Special) (Trained Only)

Check: A character can make a Craft Kaostech check to build, repair, or modify a kaostech device. It can also be used to identify and activate newly encountered kaostech safely. The DC of the check depends on what the kaostechnician is attempting to accomplish.

Create Kaostech Device (Weekly Progress): The DC required to create a kaostech item is listed in the item’s description. The DC of the check, the skill check result, and the item’s price determine how long it takes to make a particular item.

1. Find the item’s price in silver pieces (1 gp = 10 sp).
2. Find the DC listed with each kaostech item.
3. Pay one-third of the item’s price for the cost of raw materials and expend a splash of raw chaos.
4. Make a Craft Kaostech check representing one week’s work.
5. If the check succeeds, multiply the check result by the DC of the item. If the result is at least equal to the price of the item in silver pieces, then the kaostechnician has completed the item.
6. If the result doesn’t equal the price, then it represents the progress the kaostechnician has made this week. Record the result and make a new Craft Kaostech check for the next week. Each week the kaostechnician makes more progress until their total reaches at least the price of the item.

If the check is failed by 4 points or less, the kaostechnician makes no progress. If the check is failed by 5 points or more, the kaostechnician ruins half the raw materials (and the cost of those materials must be paid again).

Create Kaostech Device (Daily Progress): Checks can be made by the day instead of by the week. In this case, evaluate the kaotechnician’s progress (check result times DC) in copper pieces instead of silver pieces.

Determine Activation Method: A kaostechnician can identify the activation method of a kaostech device by make a Craft Kaostech check (DC 20).

Identify Kaostech Device: A kaostechnician can attempt to identify a kaostech device by making a Craft Kaostech check. The DC is equal to the item’s original craft DC + 5.

Repair Kaostech Device: Generally, a kaostechnician can repair an item by making checks against the DC required to originally make the item. The cost of repairing an item is one-fifth its price. Due to the unstable nature of kaostech, if the repair check fails, the kaostechnician completely destroys the item; no further attempts are possible.

Repairing a kaostech item requires a splash of raw chaos.

Modifiers – Determining Activation & Identification: Craft Kaostech checks made to determine the activation method of a kaostech device or identifying a kaostech device are made easier or more difficult depending on the kaostechnician’s familiarity with the item in question.

Extremely Chaotic: If the character is extremely chaotic or maybe even a little made (a determination made at the DM’s discretion) they gain a +2 bonus on their check.

Extremely Lawful: If the character is extremely lawful or logical (a determination made by the DM) they suffer a -2 penalty to their check.

Familiar with Similar Item: If the character has used or dealt with a kaostech item similar to the one currently being examined they gain a +4 bonus to their check.

Obvious Use: If the device’s use is straightforward or obvious (goggles, for example) the character gains a +10 bonus on their check to determine the item’s method of activation. (They do not, however, gain any bonus for identifying the item’s function.)

Unfamiliar with Kaostech: If the character is unfamiliar with kaostech or believes the item to be magical, they suffer a -4 penalty to their check.

Try Again: No, except for creating a new kaostech device (although a failure by 5 or more points results in losing half the raw materials from the attempt).

Special: In addition to their Intelligence modifier, a kaostechnician’s Wisdom modifier also applies to Craft Kaostech checks. However, you must invert the Wisdom modifier so that a bonus acts as a penalty and vice versa.

Example: A character with a -2 Wisdom penalty gains a +2 bonus on their Craft Kaostech checks. On the other hand, a character with a +3 Wisdom bonus suffers a -3 penalty on their Craft Kaostech checks.

To create, repair, or identify a kaostech device the kaostechnician must have the right tools. Outfitting a kaostech creation laboratory costs 10,000 gp. One suitable only for repairs and identification costs 1,000 gp.

Untrained: If you have no ranks in Craft Kaostech, you can make an Intelligence test modified by your inverted Wisdom modifier to determine the activation method of a kaostech device.

CHAOS SURGERY (Intelligence + Special) (Trained Only)

Check: A chaos surgeon can perform surgical procedures to implant intrinsic kaostech devices into the body of a living creature or replace portions of a living body with kaostech.

Attach Intrinsic Device: Each type of intrinsic device has its own Chaos Surgery DC and requires a specific amount of time to perform the procedure, as specified in the item’s description.

If the Chaos Surgery test is successful, the intrinsic kaostech device has been successfully grafted, implanted, or otherwise attached. The subject must enter a recovery period, the length of which is specified in the item’s description. During this time the subject requires complete bed rest. If the subject undertakes any strenuous activity or suffer any damage during the recovery period, they must make a Fortitude save with a DC equal to the original Chaos Surgery DC required to attach the device. If they fail the saving throw, the kaostech device fails and does not function.

If the Chaos Surgery test is failed, the intrinsic device automatically suffers chaotic failure (and has the standard 1 in 20 chance of suffering chaotic backlash or chaotic necrosis). In addition, the subject suffers 5d10 damage and 2d6 points of Constitution damage. The subject must still wait through the recovery period. If the subject undertakes any strenuous activity or suffers any damage during the recovery period, they must immediately make a Fortitude save (DC 15 + damage taken) or suffer 1d10 points of damage and 1 point of Constitution damage. (They do not need to make a second save as a result of damage taken from this failed saving throw.)

A chaos surgeon cannot attach an intrinsic device to themselves.

Treat Chaotic Necrosis: A chaos surgeon can revitalize a betrayal of the flesh that has suffered chaotic necrosis. This treatment requires 10 minutes, a successful Chaos Surgery check (DC 25), and materials worth 1/10^th the original creation cost of the device.

Modifiers:

Distractions: If the chaos surgeon is distracted (by loud noises or nearby combat, for example) while using the Chaos Surgery skill, they suffer a -2 penalty to their check.

Filth Environment: Making a Chaos Surgery check in a non-hygienic environment imposes a -2 penalty to the check. (A filthy area may also force the subject to make a Fortitude save to resist disease, as the DM’s discretion.)

Try Again: Yes

Special: In addition to their Intelligence modifier, a chaos surgeon’s Wisdom modifier also applies to Chaos Surgery checks. However, you must invert the Wisdom modifier so that a bonus acts as a penalty and vice versa.

To make a Chaos Surgery check, the chaos surgeon must have the proper tools (a scalpel, grips, cutters, forceps, rags to soak up the blood, and so forth). This surgical kit costs 1,000 gp.

Untrained: Chaos Surgery cannot be used untrained.

Go to Part 2: Using Kaostech

Go to Part 1

As I mentioned in Part 6C: The Vault of the Alexandrian Remix of Dragon Heist, you can basically run the main vault at the end of the campaign unaltered: The PCs get the vault doors open, journey down to the lower level, find the golden dragon Aurinax hanging out down there disguised as a dwarf with the dragonstaff of Ahghairon, and then somehow get the gold from him.

In practice, there are a few problems with this:

• Aurinax and his relationship with Lord Neverember is not previously established in the campaign. So at the very end of your epic story, the big conclusion hinges around this dude you’ve never heard of before. It’s very confusing and probably anticlimactic.
• If the scene ends in a fight, the low level PCs will almost certainly be brutally murdered by the CR 17 dragon.
• So the scene seems pretty heavily weighted towards social negotiation, but the way it’s designed makes this incredibly unlikely to succeed. (Multiple checks, with the designers actually telling the DM to ignore the rules to make failure more likely with stuff like “if even one character loses the contest, Aurinax senses that the group is lying to him.”)

So what you have is a confusing encounter which likely ends with the PCs either being forced to leave without the gold or being brutally murdered.

NEVEREMBER’S DRAGON

Spoilers: This is not how I ended my Dragon Heist campaign.

First, let’s identify what’s actually cool about this encounter:

• A huge pile of gold. Not only are these inherently awesome, but this huge pile of gold has been literally the goal of the entire campaign.
• Dragon fight. Dragons on top of golden hoards? Awesome. Dragon slaying? Epic.

This is largely all you need: Epic dragon fight. If you win, you claim the dragon’s hoard. Perfect note to end the campaign on.

What do we need for this to happen?

First, it shouldn’t be a gold dragon. Gold dragons are Lawful Good and explaining why one is down here guarding stolen gold inevitably leads to some sort of weird, convoluted continuity that the players aren’t going to care about at this point. (It’s the end of the adventure; it’s the time to be wrapping stuff up, not adding more back story.) It’s really easy to simplify this: There’s a red dragon. Neverember put the dragon here to guard his gold. How? I dunno. Dragon owed him a favor. He enslaved him with an artifact. It was a young dragon who just really wanted to sleep on a big pile of gold, and Neverember’s offer was irresistable.

Second, emphasize the big pile of gold. In the adventure as published, this is what the vault looks like:

Sort of a weird, complicated space with the gold tucked away in the back corner. Compare that to the epic painting of the dragon perched atop the hoard above! We don’t need all this distraction. Want a nice, simple dynamic here: Big pile of gold. Dragon.

So what I did was just have a large staircase leading down to the arched entrance of the lower vault. The vault itself was one big chamber with four pillars in the shape of dwarven hammers in  the middle of the room (matching the architecture above). In the square space between these pillars was heaped the huge pile of gold.

When the PCs arrived, I had the dragon behind the pile of gold. This gives you TWO big moments:

• Players see the gold and have a moment to really focus on and process that image.
• Dragon crawls up over the top of the pile! Oh shit!

Third, it will probably be rewarding to reduce the chance of horrible death by not having the dragon pursue the PCs if they flee. If Neverember enslaved the dragon and bound it to the vault, then this takes care of itself. Smart PCs who feel overwhelmed by the dragon will now be able to retreat, regroup, and potentially call on the powerful allies they’ve made throughout the campaign (which would make this big finale fit thematically with the rest of the campaign).

(Tangent: If you wanted to, you could hypothesize that this is a modified orb of dragonkind or a similar artifact which is suspended from the roof the vault and keeps the dragon from leaving. PCs who intuit what’s happening could use that to find an alternative solution to the dragon problem. But it’s probably an unnecessary complication.)

REALITY CHECK – HOW BIG IS THAT PILE?! If you do the math, it turns out that 500,000 coins don’t actually make for that big a pile. If you’re being generous in your assumptions, it’s probably about the size of a big pile of leaves. And why is it all in one big pile in the first place?!  Wouldn’t Neverember have his stolen hoard conveniently stored in coffers or bags or something? Why would he bring it all down here and then just pour it out on the floor?

First: Honestly, this is probably a place where you just need to care a little less. If the players do the math later and hit a fridge logic moment where they’re like, “Hey! That pile of gold shouldn’t have been that big!” it’s fine. It’s not going to detract from this big, awesome moment you had or the dragon fight that ensued.

Second: They’re in a big pile because dragons like sleeping on big piles of treasure. Stop kink-shaming. (If you want to add a bunch of leather satchels or coin coffers that have been ripped open by dragon claws and tossed in the back corner of the vault, that could be a cool touch, though.)

Third: Okay, you still care. Maybe the players have already done the math because they’ve been trying to figure out how they’re going to get all those gold coins out of the vault, so they’re already expecting a leaf pile of gold. Fair enough. Two things you can do:

• Who said the whole hoard was made up strictly of gold coins? Add a bunch of silver and even more copper to bulk things up. The gold is a thin layer on top, because dragons like the feel of gold on their scales.
• Look at that picture again. Notice the stone plinths sticking out from the corner of the hoard pile? Yup. Middle of the vault is actually a big stone pyramid and the dragon has piled all the gold and silver and copper on top of it, greatly increasing the perceived size of the pile. (Why? Dragons like big hoard piles. Again: Stop kink-shaming!)

Oh! Better yet, it’s actually a stone replica of Mt. Waterdeep. (If the PCs have been paying attention to the Dumathoin imagery throughout the rest of the vault, they might realize the Melairkyn dwarves have placed a huge sapphire worth 25,000 gold pieces in the center of this replica to echo the Heart of the Mountain. Up to them whether they desecrate the ancient holy place to dig it out. This can be a nice reward for groups that have ethically agreed to return the money to the city, however, because the sapphire wasn’t stolen from Waterdeep and the city has no claim to it.)

(Damn. That’s really cool. Wish I’d thought of this last night when I ran that final encounter.)

DESIGNING THE DRAGON

A brief digression on encounter design in 5th Edition.

With the remix of Dragon Heist I was worried, coming to 5th Edition for basically the first time, that the heists built around the villains’ lairs would be too fragile/difficult. This concern was primarily based on the number of times the book says any of the PCs going to these lairs will almost certainly die.

Not only was I taking stuff that was supposed to be too hard, I was also writing them up with adversary rosters so that the NPCs would dynamically respond to the PCs if the PCs were detected. Using this technique with encounters that are already extremely difficult can easily lead to TPKs, as I discussed long ago in Revisiting Encounter Design. (You can also read an example of this happening in actual play in my Playtest Report on Gamma World.) In actual practice, though, there was nothing to worry about for Dragon Heist: The NPCs rarely get a chance to respond dynamically because they’re generally dead before they can raise any sort of alarm.

For example, the books says that, “Lord and Lady Cassalanter are formidable spellcasters and devoted to one another. If one is assailed (…) the other arrives as quickly as possible. A direct confrontation with the Cassalanters will likely result in defeat for the characters…” But in practice the PCs can dish out so much damage that the “formidable” spellcasters will be dead before they can cast more than one spell.

In my game, for example, the PCs snuck up on Victoro, got a surprise round, and then all beat his initiative check. Two full rounds of unleashing damage on him and he was dead before he was able to take a single action.

This was not an isolated incident.

My experience with 5th Edition is still mostly limited to this single group, so it’s possible that my players are just really good. But the fact that I’m routinely seeing “Deadly” encounters (or stuff that’s even more difficult) getting curb-stomped by the PCs does leave me scratching my head on what effective encounter design actually looks like in this game. Because the point where the curb-stompings by PCs become mechanically unlikely seems to ALSO be the point where the bad guys have such outsized offensive capability that if the PC’s DON’T successfully curb-stomp them, they’re going to one-shot kill the PCs.

So right now it seems to have a real “choose your glass cannon” problem going on.

With that being said, my experience is still limited to a very specific campaign and I can already see that there are a number of other play dynamics that I need to actually run at the table. This notably includes:

1. Really huge mobs of bad guys. (These are comparatively rare in urban adventures like Dragon Heist.)
2. Long dungeon crawls or similar scenarios where long-term strategic play has a potential impact. (Also not really part of the Dragon Heist experience.)
3. Higher level adventuring. (With the remix, Dragon Heist tops out at 7th level.)

In any case, this influenced my design of the final encounter: I knew the dragon would be alone down there. But I wanted the encounter to be meaningful and challenging. It was, after all, the big finale of the campaign.

TARGET LEVEL: One other thing to discuss here is the expected level of the PCs for this finale. This is discussed elsewhere in my notes for my remix, but basically I have the PCs level up:

• After Chapter 1 (when they rescue Floon).
• After the Gralhund raid.
• After each of the heists.

There are four available heists, although the PCs may only need to do three of them. So the PCs will either be 6th or 7th level going into the Vault. (In the case of my campaign, the PCs did all four heists, but we were on a race to the end and I forgot to have them level up. So they were 6th level heading into the Vault.)

THE DRAGON: The first thing I did was to just pull up the list of available dragons. I’d decided a classic, fire-breathing red was the way to go, so:

• Ancient Red Dragon (CR 24)
• Adult Red Dragon (CR 17)
• Young Red Dragon (CR 10)
• Red Dragon Wyrmling (CR 4)

The Ancient and Adult Red Dragons are obviously too deadly. If you want to build an encounter strictly by the book, then I might suggest throwing a pair of Red Dragon Wyrmlings in there. A double dragon fight sounds cool. (You might even bump it up to a triad of wyrmlings for larger 7th level parties.)

But what I really wanted was that really iconic dragon-on-its-hoard encounter. So I decided to grab the Young Red Dragon at CR 10.

However, I’d already seen my PCs mop the floor with “deadly” CR 10 encounters. (Victoro Cassalanter, for example, is a CR 10 opponent and they’d rolled right over the top of him.) Having the dragon go, “ROAR!” and then do nothing while they turned it into a thin, red paste felt like an anti-climactic way to wrap things up.

(If it happens, that’s fine. Awesome even. The players will probably love telling the story of how they blew a dragon away. I’m just not going to deliberately design it that way, since that would be the opposite of awesome.)

What I concluded was that the plausible solution to this problem was to give the dragon some legendary actions. Generally only much more powerful monsters are given legendary actions, but they almost instantly solve the problem of the bad guy not getting to do very much before being wiped out.

Long story short, this is the dragon I designed. Feel free to plug it into your Dragon Heist finales:

YOUNG RED DRAGON
Large dragon, chaotic evil

Armor Class 18 (natural armor)
Hit Points 178 (17d10+85)
Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft., fly 80 ft.

STR 23 (+6), DEX 10 (+0), CON 21 (+5), INT 14 (+2), WIS 11 (+0), CHA 19 (+4)

Saving Throws Dex +4, Con +9, Wis +4, Cha +8
Skills Perception +8, Stealth +4
Damage Immunities fire
Senses blindsight 30 ft., darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 18
Languages Common, Draconic
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)

Multiattack.The dragon makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10+6) piercing damage plus 3 (1d6) fire damage.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6+6) slashing damage.

Fire Breath (Recharge 5-6). The dragon exhales fire in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, taking 56 (16d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS

The dragon gets 3 legendary actions. These actions can only be taken at the end of an opponent’s turn. They refresh at the end of the dragon’s turn.

Detect. Make a Wisdom (Perception) test.

Bite Attack. Make a bite attack.

Wing Attack (2 actions). Creatures within 10 ft. make DC 18 Dexterity saving throw or take 2d6+8 bludgeoning damage and are knocked prone. The dragon can then fly up to half its flying speed.

Go to Part 1 – Maps

AREA 2-11 – OFFICE

A large desk on the far side of the room has been smashed to pieces. The once-luxurious carpet is stained and soiled. Surprisingly, nothing here looks particularly rotten or aged — merely damaged.

SEARCH (DC 18): A concealed trapdoor in the floor hides a safe.

• OPEN LOCK (DC 30): The safe is empty except for a scroll – Ghul’s Commission.

GM Background: This area is protected by a preservation spell, but the ichorclaw has inflicted damage in random bouts of rage over the years.

GHUL’S COMMISSION
(ORCISH – UNTRANSLATED)

This heavy roll of parchment unrolls to reveal a text of thick, reddish-black Orcish characters. Despite being written in Orcish, the entire document appears to be elegantly scribed. Near the bottom of the page an immense black seal has been set — impressed in the wax is a skull-shaped sigil, and the wax also attaches a piece of black-and-gold ribbon to the parchment.

GHUL’S COMMISSION
(ORCISH – TRANSLATED)

This heavy roll of parchment unrolls to reveal a text of thick, reddish-black Orcish characters. Despite being written in Orcish, the entire document appears to be elegantly scribed. Near the bottom of the page an immense black seal has been set — impressed in the wax is a skull-shaped sigil, and the wax also attaches a piece of black-and-gold ribbon to the parchment.

The parchment reads:

By the divine hand of Ghul – Skull King, Banelord’s Heir, Sorcerer’s Get, and Blue Lord of the Arathian Stock – Ulthorek tal Yattaren is thus set down as the Chieftain of the Laboratory of the Beast. Within such domain, he shall rule by the Hand of Ghul.

                                                                GHUL THE SKULL KING

AREA 2-12 – GREAT HALL

A massive table of stone stands in the middle of this room. Massive, yet elegant, high-backed chairs stand around it. A large ambry of oak stands against the north wall.

AMBRY:

• 18 silver goblets (worth 25 gp each)
• 3 bottles of ancient orcish bloodwine (worth 250 gp each)

GM Background: The room is protected by a preservation spell.

AREA 2-13 – TORTURE CHAMBER

This room is filled with implements of torture, including a bloodstained rack, iron maiden, and manacled chair. (The room is protected by a preservation spell, so the blood is still fresh.)

AREA 2-14 – PRISON CELLS

The bars of each cell are activated by a switch on the wall opposite the doors.

SHATTERED CELL (A): This cell is empty and the bars have been broken and bent outward. (This is where the ichorclaw came from.)

SKELETON (B): An orc’s skeleton lies in this chamber.

SKELETON (C): An elf’s skeleton lies in this chamber.

AREA 2-15 – BATTERED BLUESTEEL

This bluesteel door has been battered from the outside, bending it hideously inward. However, it has lost none of its strength and remains equally impassable. No password is written nearby.

AREA 2-16  – SMASHED CENTURION CHAMBERS

The centurions are absent from these chambers, but the smashed remnants of their machinery is still present. (See Area 2-10.)

AREA 2-17 – EMPTY CHAMBER

This chamber appears empty.

SEARCH (DC 18): There is a keyhole in the center of the southern wall. Cleverly hidden.

KEY: The key for this secret door is located in Area 2-8.

AREA 2-18 – VAULT SECURITY

Four iron rods, each topped by a ball of brass, stand in the corners of this room. The iron door in the far wall has no handle. Instead, a large impression in the shape of an orc’s hand is in the center of the door.

IRON DOOR (3 in. thick): hardness 10, hp 90, break DC 30. The door will open if anyone holding Ghul’s Commission (from Area 2-11) places their opposite hand in the depression.

• It can also be fooled with a Use Magic Device check (DC 30).
• Any other attempt to open the door will trigger the trap.

TRAP (CR 4): magic device, proximity trigger (alarm), automatic reset, spell effect (lightning bolt, 5^th-level wizard, 5d6 electricity, DC 14 Reflex save half damage); Search DC 28, Disable Device DC 28. (Cost: 7,500 gp, 600 XP)

• A lightning bolt bursts from each of the four iron rods.

AREA 2-19 – THE RESEARCH VAULT

The walls of this iron-shod chamber are lined with numerous shelves both little and small. The shelves are covered with small, carefully crafted niches, each of which was clearly designed to hold some unique item. All of the niches are now empty.

GM Background: The vault was emptied when the complex was abandoned. It once held a variety of odd artifacts and the like, waiting to be analyzed by Ghul’s researchers, but now nothing of value remains.

AREA 2-20 – BEAST KENNELS

These were once beast kennels. The wooden doors leading to them are almost entirely rotten away through sheer age.

The kennel rooms contain feeding troughs and watering troughs.

Large channels from each room lead out to a 6-inch-wide gap in the middle of the hall’s floor. Beneath this gap is a 50-foot-deep pit down which charnel waste was washed. (There’s nothing on interest down there.)

AREA 2-21 – THE ARENA

This bloodstained arena was once used to test the creations of the laboratory and instill a blood-thirst in the hounds. It is an open pit, with the upper level described in Area 1-19.

AREA 2-22 – WEAPONS STORAGE

Hanging from the walls and iron racks down the middle of this room are a great variety of weapons, all designed for beasts: Tines, serrated harnesses, and the like. All of them have been crafted to appear as vicious and merciless as possible.

There are also a selection of short iron spears, designed to enrage creatures.

The vast array is impressive, but a closer inspection reveals that most of them are unusable — either custom-crafted for unusual creatures; with important bits rotted away; or their metal rusting and fatigued from age.

AREA 2-23 – COLLAPSE

The ceiling of this room has been weakened by the fissure (which was created by an earthquake many years ago).

OPENING THE DOOR: Opening the door to requires a Strength check (DC 18), but also causes the ceiling to collapse.

• TRAP (CR 6): mechanical, location trigger, repair reset, ceiling falls down (8d6, crush), multiple targets (all targets in room), never miss; Search DC 20, Disable Device DC 16

FISSURE: The fissure leads down to Area 1 of Goblin Caverns of the Ooze Lord.

Go to Part 1 – Maps

AREA 2-1 – THE COLD THRONE

GLOWGEMS: The vast chamber is filled with an eery, silver, sepulchral light emanated from countless small glowgems in the ceiling.

• The glowgems magic is failing with age, but each would still be worth 5 gp. (There are a total of 600 such gems, although prying them out would be a major undertaking.)

POOL: Most of the room is filled with a large, but shallow pool of dark, silvery-grey liquid.

• UNHOLY WATER: The pool is unholy water. (Elestra and Dominic will suffer damage as if exposed to acid.)

AROUND THE POOL: A ten-foot-wide walkway circles the pool, with various hallways and doors leading out of it. A bluesteel door can be seen along a wall near a recessed edge of the pool.

PLATFORM: In the center of the pool there is a raised platform surrounding a large pit of some sort. Several large rods of iron with large brass balls at the end of them are positioned around this platform. An arch of stone rises over the pit and, at the apex of the arch, there is a huge throne wrought from intricately detailed and gothic steel.

• BOTTOMLESS PIT: The pit seems to be bottomless. Lights dropped down it seem to go on forever before finally passing beyond sight. (It’s actually 10,000 feet deep, ending in an immense pit of Pits of chaos are described in The Complex of Zombies.)
• PITONS IN THE PIT: The goblins have driven pitons to climb up more than a hundred feet from a fissure below. This leads down to Area 2 of the Goblin Caverns of the Ooze Lord.

THRONE OF THE OVERSEER: The throne is kaostech. The metal is cold to the touch, but not harmfully so. A hidden panel (Search DC 25) can be recessed, revealing a long, spongy cable with a plug at one end of it (which could be plugged into a headclamp).

• If activated, 12 separate spheres emerge from the throne of the overseer. The operator of the throne can control these spheres to fly anywhere within this complex. The operator can see and hear through them and even manipulate objects through them with an effect similar to telekinesis.
• The throne is a fully tainted (not faintly tainted) object.

AREA 2-2 – LARDER OF GREEN SLIME

Various pieces of ancient and scarred wood lie scattered here and there, suggesting that this might have been a storeroom of some sort.

SPOT (DC 18): The green slime on the ceiling.

GREEN SLIME: Currently quiescent, but 1d4 rounds after someone enters the room, the presence of life rouses it and it drops from the ceiling.

• 5-foot square deals 1d6 Con per round or 2d6 damage vs. wood/metal (ignoring hardness). It does not harm stone.
• First round of contact, it can be scraped off. After that it requires cold damage, fire damage, sunlight, or remove disease. Can also be hacked off, but this causes at least 1d6 points of damage to the victim and requires 1d3 rounds.

GM Background: The preservation magicks on this larder wore out and the green slime got in. It devoured everything edible and then entered its quiescence.

AREA 2-3 – JEWEL SCARABS

The walls and floor of this chamber glitter. It takes a moment to realize that they are completely covered in the gleaming carapaces of large scarab beetles. Each carapace appears to be studded with large gemstones.

JEWEL SCARABS: There are 10 surviving jewel scarabs in this area — 3 ruby scarabs, 5 emerald scarabs, 2 opal scarabs.

• +15 racial bonus to their Hide checks from being able to scuttle through the “dead” shells covering the floor.
• GM Note: Jewel scarabs were a personal pet project of one of the researchers here. He used this area to display them, but the shelves they once occupied have long since rotten away.

TREASURE: There are 54 scarabs here. Each is a beautiful work of art. Although some of their gems have been destroyed or lost, they have an average value of 350 gp each. They weigh 10 pounds each. (Total Value: 18,900 gp. Total Weight: 540 lbs.)

CONSTRUCT LORE: Three successful Knowledge (arcana) checks (DC 25), each requiring eight hours of work, could reverse engineer the workings of a jewel scarab. An additional eight hour session for each of the other two jewel scarabs would discover their gem-type properties. Such techniques could probably fetch another 5,000 gp for each type of jewel scarab if explicated.

JEWEL SCARAB (CR 2) – N Small Construct
DETECTION – tremorsense 30 ft., Listen +6, Spot +4
DEFENSES – AC 16 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +4 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 15; hp 17 (2d10)
ACTIONS – Spd 30 ft., fly 40 ft. (average), burrow 15 ft., climb 10 ft.; Melee bite +1 (1d4-1); Ranged +2; Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.; Base Atk +1; Grapple -4; SA spell-like abilities
SQ –

STR 9, DEX 12, CON –, INT 1, WIS 15, CHA 10
FORT +6, REF +4, WILL +2
FEATS: Alertness
SKILLS: Climb +9, Hide +7 (+15 in sand), Listen +6, Spot +4

Spell-Like Abiltiies

Ruby scarab: 6/day—flare (DC 14)

Emerald scarab: 6/day—acid splash (+3 ranged touch, 1d3 acid)

Sapphire scarab: 6/day—ray of frost (+3 ranged touch, 1d3 cold)

AREA 2-4 – LAB OF CONSTRUCTS

A large forge is built into one corner. Strange metal frames are built up here and there throughout the room. The middle of the room is dominated by a large stone worktable.

GM Background: This room was once used as a lab for building constructs.

TOOLS: The material here is badly damaged, but could still be of some use (2,000 gp). The transportable goods weigh 5,000 pounds.

AREA 2-5 – PARTS STORAGE

The walls of this room have been carved out with numerous cubbyholes, cabinets, shelves, and other storage areas. They are covered in a great, eclectic variety of materials.

KNOWLEDGE (ARCANA) (DC 15): Identifies the material as golem construction parts worth 5,000 gp. (Total Weight: 1,000 lbs.)

AREA 2-6 – RUINED CONSTRUCTS

Several large, rack-like structures run down the length of either side of the room. Most of them are empty, but two of them contain mechanical constructs.

CONSTRUCTS: These contructs have been opened up and have either been disassembled or were never complete to begin with.

• The lazuline razor that patrols this level was also built in this lab. The two constructs here clearly come from a similar school of design, but are quite distinct in form and (presumably) function.

AREA 2-7 – THE ADAMANTINE DRILL

A large drill (literally ten feet long and half as thick) is suspended from a scaffolding in the center of this room. It’s flanked by two workbenches.

DRILL: The drill is clearly unfinished, but enough of its mechanisms are intact to show that it would be some sort of self-propelled drilling construct.

• APPRAISE (DC 15): The drill’s cutting surfaces are edged with 9,000 gp worth of adamantine.

SEARCH (DC 15): Turns up a stasis box of cedar inlaid with Ghul’s skull sigil in blackoak on its lid. Within the stasis box:

• Half of the schematics for the drill (worth 500 gp). (The other half were left out have rotted away centuries ago.)
• The schematics are titled, in Orcish: DRILL OF THE BANEWARRENS.
• There are also several arcane notes, also in Orcish, that can be understood with a Knowledge (arcana) check (DC 18). These describe, in general terms, the properties of walls sealed with incredibly powerful spells and exotic materials far beyond mortal ken. Whoever was writing them seemed unsure of the exact characteristics, but the tensile strength of the drill seemed calculated to overcome them.
• GM Background: This drill was designed to penetrate the walls of the Banewarrens (a mega-adventure by Monte Cook).

AREA 2-8 – RESEARCH QUARTERS

These are similar to Area 1-10, but are under the effects of a preservation spell. The furniture is pristine, as is the floor of white tile with Ghul’s skull sigil worked into it as a mosaic.

SEARCH (DC 12): In one of the bedside tables there is a key (which goes Area 2-17).

AREA 2-9 – GHUL’S TELEPORTAL

The walls of this chamber are carved from pitch-black stone. A strange spiral pattern has been carved into the floor. Orcish letters have been carved into the far wall (reading “LABORATORY OF THE BEAST”).

TELEPORTAL: These teleportals appear throughout Ghul’s Labyrinth. The teleportal network was powered through the Tourbillion (Ptolus, p. 453). After the Signet of Shallamoth Kindred was removed from the Tourbillion, the teleportal network was left unpowered and useless. (If the teleportal network were active, one could stand on this teleportal, say the name of any other teleportal, and appear there.)

AREA 2-10 – BLACK CENTURIONS

All eight of these areas hold a black centurion. They are suspended from metal machinery bolted to the wall.

MACHINES: These kaostech machines are powered by the pit of chaos beneath the complex (thus avoiding the dangers of chaotic failure). The black centurions are connected to the machines by headplugs.

ACTIVATION: When activated, the centurions simply drop to the floor and begin moving sinuously.

• If anyone disturbs the throne in Area 2-1 they will activate in waves: 2, then 2, then 4.
• If anyone passes through this area, one will automatically activate. If it meets with difficulties, the rest in the local area will activate. If two of them are destroyed, the four in the other area will activate.

Go to Part 10

Go to Part 1 – Maps

LOWER LEVEL – PATROLS

ICHORCLAW: Areas 11 thru 15

• Attacks anyone entering those areas.
• Starts in Area 2-12.
• It originally escaped from the cells in Area 2-14.

The ichorclaw is a skeletal undead, but its chest cavity is filled with internal organs that still glisten with pulsing blood. Often too many internal organs, as it will frequently harvest organs from its victims. Its phalanages have been unnaturally lengthened, creating disturbingly gracile claws.

ICHORCLAW (CR 5) – CE Medium Undead
DETECTION – darkvision 60 ft., Listen +8, Spot +10; Init +6; Language Ancient Common
DEFENSES – AC 16 (+2 Dex, +4 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 14; hp 78 (12d12); Immune undead immunities (mind-affecting, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, energy drain, ability score damage, fatigue, exhaustion, any effect requiring Fort save)
ACTIONS – Spd 40 ft.; Melee 2 claws +9 (1d8+3 plus blood drain); Ranged +8; Space 5 ft.; Reach ft.; Base Atk +6; Grapple +9; Atk Option blood drain; SA ichor spray; Combat Feats Combat Reflexes
SQ darkvision 60 ft., sure-footed, undead traits
STR 16, DEX 15, CON —, INT 7, WIS 10, CHA 14
FORT +3, REF +7, WILL +7
FEATS: Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Improved Toughness, Lightning Reflexes
SKILLS: Balance +10, Listen +8, Spot +10

Blood Drain (Su): The long, slender claws of the ichorclaw are venous. When plunged into the body of a living victim (any time a target suffers damage from its claw attack), the ichorclaw can suck blood from them, causing the internal organs which dangle within it to pulse with fresh ichor. The target suffers 1 point of Constitution damage. Each time the ichorclaw inflicts 1 point of Constitution damage, it heals 5 points of damage.

Ichor Spray (Su): Swift Action—The ichorclaw inflicts 5 points of damage on itself and sprays blood from its dangling organs. As per the grease spell (Reflex DC 17), centered on the ichorclaw. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Sure-Footed (Ex): The ichorclaw is not affected by slippery terrain, including its own ichor spray.

LAZULINE RAZOR: Areas 3 thru 7.

• Patrols constantly through these rooms.
• Will not move into Area 2-1, but may observe from hallways or southern end of pool. (It tried to harvest the Cold Throne and got itself tagged as an enemy by the black centurions in Area 2-10.)
• If he’s having problems, he will try to lure the PCs to Area 2-3 (the jewel scarabs consider him an ally and will not attack).

The lazuline razor is a construct made up from interlocking plates of blue-tinted metal. Its head, studded with a single eye which glows like a sickly emerald, arches out with an almost prehensile neck. As it jettisons its outer mechanisms, it reveals biomechanical components at its core.

LAZULINE RAZOR (CR 5) – CE Medium Construct
DETECTION – darkvision 60 ft., Listen +9, Spot +9; Init +6; Aura disorienting (5 ft.); Languages Ancient Common
DEFENSES – AC 18 (+2 Dex, +6 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 16; hp 53 (6d10+20); DR 3/–; Immune construct immunities (mind-affecting, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, necromancy effects, critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, energy drain, massive damage, effects requiring Fort saves)
ACTIONS – Spd 30 ft.; Melee 2 slams +9 (1d6+4 plus 1 Wis); Ranged +6; Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.; Base Atk +4; Grapple +8; SA razor’s edge; Combat Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Mobility
SQ darkvision 60 ft., construct traits
STR 18, DEX 14, CON —, INT 11, WIS 10, CHA 8
FORT +2, REF +6, WILL +2
FEATS: Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Mobility
SKILLS: Balance +6, Escape Artist +7, Listen +9, Spot +9, Stealth +11

Construct Traits (Ex):

• Cannot heal damage on their own.
• Not at risk of death from massive damage.
• Immmediately destroyed at 0 hit points or less. Cannot be raised or resurrected.
• Does not eat, sleep, or breathe.

Disorienting Aura (Su): 5 ft.—Will save (DC 12) or affected per lesser confusion.

Razor’s Edge (Su): Swift Action—Once for every 10 points of damage the lazuline razor suffers, it can jettison its outer layers. These sharp metal plates explode outward, dealing 3d6 damage to all creatures within 20 feet (Reflex DC 14 for half damage). In addition, for each layer jettisoned the lazuline razor will pick up speed, which has the following effects:

• -1 natural AC
• +2 Dex (note that this keeps the razor’s base AC unchanged)
• +1 to attack and damage rolls
• +10 feet speed

When the lazuline razor reaches half of its starting hit points, it is affected as per a haste spell.

BLACK CENTURIONS: Area 2-10.

• Ordered to protect the Cold Throne at all costs. If the Cold Throne is touched, they move to attack in waves (2, then 2, then 4).
• Will also attack anyone passing through Area 2-10 who isn’t authorized. (Which is essentially everyone at this point.)

A humanoid construct of pitch black metal suspended from an elaborate half-cocoon of complicated machinery. A black centurion is utterly featureless – their faces flat black planes. They are formed from a black, mercurial substance crafted by the cunning of the master-crafters of Ghul. Normally highly unstable, the centurion’s creators have managed to both stabilize the substance into a humanoid matrix and exploit its unique properties to create a dangerous mimic.

BLACK CENTURION (CR 3) – N Medium Construct

DETECTION – darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Listen +7, Spot +7; Init +2 (Dex); Languages Ancient Common
DEFENSES – AC 17 (+2 Dex, +5 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 15; hp 64 (8d10+20); construct immunities (mind-affecting, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, necromancy effects, critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, energy drain, massive damage, effects requiring Fort saves); Resist cold 10, fire 10; Weakness vulnerable to sonic
ACTIONS – Spd 30 ft.; Melee +3 longsword +9 (1d8+3/17-20) or +3 lance +9 (1d8+3/19-20/x3); Ranged +3 heavy crossbow +8 (1d10/19-20); Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.; Base Atk +6; Grapple +9; Atk Options absorb properties; SA create weapon; Combat Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge
SQ absorb properties, create weapon, construct traits, death vapors
STR 17, DEX 14, CON –, INT 12, WIS 11, CHA 10
FORT +2, REF +4, WILL +2
FEATS: Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Critical (created weapon)
SKILLS: Balance +4, Escape Artist +4, Hide +5, Jump +7, Listen +7, Move Silently +6, Spot +7, Tumble +6
ADVANCEMENT: 9-15 HD (Medium); 16-24 HD (Large)

Absorb Properties (Ex): If a black centurion is successfully struck by a magic weapon, all that weapon’s properties are absorbed by the black centurion for 1 hour. The weapon loses its properties during that time (or until the black centurion is slain). A black centurion can manifest any of these properties (up to a total +5 enhancement bonus) in its created weapon as a free action.

A black centurion cannot hold more more than a total of +10 enhancement bonus worth of properties. Additional properties are not absorbed. As an immediate action, a black centurion can choose to give up absorbed properties to absorb new properties.

The manifested properties must be applicable to the created weapon (for example, a mace cannot be imbued with the keen property). The total enhancement bonus on a created weapon cannot exceed +5.

Create Weapon (Ex): A black centurion can spontaneously create a single weapon from its flowing metal form as a swift action. Such weapons have a +3 enhancement bonus. Created weapons are part of the black centurion’s form and cannot be used by other characters.

Construct Traits (Ex):

• Cannot heal damage on their own.
• Not at risk of death from massive damage.
• Immmediately destroyed at 0 hit points or less. Cannot be raised or resurrected.
• Does not eat, sleep, or breathe.

Death Vapors (Ex): The black mercury from which black centurions is constructed is highly unstable. If they are prevented from returning to their chambers at least once every 12 hours, a black centurion will being losing cohesion (losing 1d6 hit points per hour).

In addition, when a black centurion is destroyed they immediately sublimate into a caustic black vapor. Everyone within 30 feet of the black centurion suffers 5d6 points of acid damage (Reflex save for half damage).

Go to Part 9