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The Kobold Road is a marvelous construction of stone and enchantment. A permanent Wither Plant spell has been imbued into the very stone of the road, so that its entire 30 mile length through Northwoods is completely free from vegetation. Any Man of Magic who has the ability to Recognize Enchantment can attempt to recognize and identify the spell.
Until the Kobolds were so rudely ejected from their stronghold in Mount Nargash, the road simply provided quick and easy access to and from the major caravan routes. Recently the Kobold survivors have been using a secret facility to capture food, the two legged variety, and in doing so have spawned the myth of the cursed road.
One particular short stretch of road, no more than a hundred feet long, which lies deep in the heart of Northwoods, was specially constructed to capture unwanted users of the road, and to serve as a forward scout post.
Here, beneath the surface of the earth, lies a series of chambers and deadfalls/holding pens which keep secure any unfortunate who activates one of the traps.
The trap system operates as such: as stated earlier, the surface of the road is made up of blocks of stone, granite to be precise, ten feet long by six feet wide. Within the trap zone ten of these rectangular stones are hinged at one end so that when stepped on the unhinged end of the stone drops down at a steep angle. In effect it creates a ramp which the victim slides down and then into one of the holding cells below. As soon as the weight of the victim is off the stone an automatic series of counterweights pull the stone back up and lock it in place, ready for the next victim.
All players traveling on the road through this area must roll a D20, a roll of 1,2, or 3 indicates that a player has fallen into one of the traps. Roll 1D10 to determine which trap the player has fallen into.
If the player has a Physical Prowess of 12 or more, he/she can attempt to leap off the trap as it opens. In this case both the gamemaster and the player should roll a D20, adding on any bonuses to Dodge. If the player's total is higher than the gamemaster's then the player has leapt clear of the trap. Otherwise the player will fall and take 1D6 points of damage in the process.
The Kobold Trap Vaults
Room A - This small room is now being used as a barracks by the twenty surviving members of the Kobold garrison from the Nargash-Tor stronghold. The floor is covered with sleeping pallets and litter. There is also an extremely offensive smell to the room. It is as if something died in it recently, which is probably not too far from the truth.
On the west wall there is a narrow stairway made of stone going up towards the surface, under the road. This leads to one of the paving blocks, which due to a set of counter balances similar to the ones on the trap blocks, can easily and quickly be raised and lowered to allow exit. If a player makes a successful roll on Locate Secret Compartments/Doors, he/she will be able to find this access route. Otherwise the traps are the only way in. In the north-west corner of the room there is a small periscope which can be pushed up. When raised, the top of the periscopeemerges in a clump of bushes to the north side of the road and cannot be seen from more than five feet away. It certainly cannot be seen by anyone traveling on the road.
Room B - This room is being used as a cooks room, pantry and armoury. On the south wall is a small cookstove on which a pot of stew is bubbling. Hanging from the west wall are parts of what is apparently the main ingredient of the stew. It appears to be an Ogre. On the north wall hangs a large variety of weapons and shields, all of Kobold size. With the exception of a few short swords which could be used by the larger races, only Kobolds, Dwarves Gnomes, Goblins and Hob-Goblins can use these weapons. All are of ordinary quality. As in Room A there is a stairway to the surface and a periscope.
Room C1 thru C10 - These are all holding cells. With the exception of a few crawling insects they will be empty, should one of the players drop in. The walls are made of stone, polished so no one can climb up the sides of the walls. The only exit in each room is a stout wooden door with reinforcing straps of iron running across it. Each door can take 100 S.D.C. of damage before collapsing.
Within 1D10 melees after a player has fallen in, a Kobold will arrive to see what it has caught. He will not open the door but will look through a peep-hole. Depending on the size and the apparent ferocity of his captive he will go and fetch up to ten of his comrades to help subdue their guest. There is, of course, no light down here as Kobolds have excellent night vision.
These Kobolds are much more interested in lunch than they are discussion, with the player acting as the blue-plate special. Their only goal at this point is to subdue and kill the player as quickly as possible, with little injury to their own numbers.
At first they will call into the cell and tell the player to lay down his weapons and surrender. If the player does so the Kobolds will swarm in, bind him and with no ceremony silt the player's throat. If the player resists then they will attack him en masse.
The player's only hope in this situation is to talk fast while the chance is available, telling the Kobolds that the group is going to Nargash-Tor to get Rhaznor. If he does this, all attacks will cease and the Kobolds will withdraw. Shortly after this Urylic, the commander of the Kobolds will arrive to question the player.
Urylic's attributes are:
4th level Soldier
Alignment: Miscreant
Hit Points 27
Skills
Hand to Hand, +2 to Damage, +3 to Parry and Dodge, 2 attacks per melee
With Large Sword he is +2 to Strike, +2 to Parry.
Dressed in chain mail armour, A.R. 13, S.D.C. 32
Carries a Bastard Sword, +3 to Damage, +1 to Parry.
Urylic is dressed in an amazing display of Kobold battle art. There is not a part of his armour, from the top of his spike encrusted helmet, to his spiked knee caps, which is not meant for attack as well as defense. This suits his personality rather well, as there is nothing he enjoys more than a good fight.
However, he has not kept himself and his men alive just by fighting. With his IQ of 21 he is a genius and only his brilliance has allowed even these few remnants of a garrison of 300 tosurvive. He will demand from the player the reason why the group is seeking Rhaznor. No matter what the answer is, as long as the player can roll below his Mental Affinity on a D20, Urylic will believe him. However, if there are some blatant errors, such as saying the Faerie Mound is in the southern area of the forest, or that the Druid of Northwoods is named Malathar, Urylic will have the player tortured to get the "truth" out of him. Urylic will apologize that they cannot perform the torture as elegantly as they could at the stronghold, because they did not have time to bring all their tools with them. Unless convinced otherwise, he will presume that all the characters are after is the kobold treasure at the stronghold.
If Urylic believes the player's story, he will give the party a map of the stronghold and an explanation of what will be found in each room, or at least what the Kobolds had in each room. Urylic will loan the group three of his men to aid them in their assault on Rhaznor, but only if the player's character specifically requests it, and can roll below his Mental Affinity.
If a player ends up being tortured for lying then he must attempt to roll below his Mental Endurance on a D20. A failed roll indicates that the player has spilled his guts, telling Urylic everything he knows. If a natural 20 is rolled the player will pick up a random insanity. The player must roll for each 5 minutes of torture and for each 5 minutes of torture the player will also take 1D4 points of damage. The torture will continue until either the player talks or dies. If the player talks, Urylic will still give the character the map, with a sincere "Why didn't you say so in the first place?"
The above trap and torture scenes will come about only if the players travel unwarily through the trap zone. If they are brought by the Druid, Urylic will come to the surface to talk, though only at night. Once he hears that the players are seeking to find Rhaznor he will automatically give them the map of the stronghold, though again he will only give them three of his men if they ask for them.
In either case, Urylic will, as things progress, explain how he and his men came to be here. About 50 years ago a contingent of Kobold soldiers and miners traveled from the Old Kingdom to Mount Nargash, where they discovered large deposits of both iron and gold. At the time it seemed a relatively safe place to start a new outpost, far enough away from any town or city in Timiro not to have to worry about being bothered. The exact location of the outpost was carefully chosen for defense.
Nestled at the far eastern end of Nargash-Tor, with Ridmarsh covering the entire entrance way, the Kobolds built what came to be known as the Kobold Road as the only way in or out of Tor. With the Road being only 10 feet wide and the swamp on either side of it, five or ten determined men could hold off a small army.
For a number of years things went on fairly well. The outpost grew as the mine shafts were extended, though they were nothing compared to some of the underground cities in the Old Kingdom. Then about a year ago, a dragon came down out of the mountains and attacked the outpost. Though it was too large to get past the entrance hall, all of the corridors being only 5 feet high, it blocked the only exit to the outside and freedom.
Over three-quarters of the garrison died in the initial defense against the dragon, or in subsequent attempts to drive it away. After about two weeks it seemed to grow tired of this sport, or perhaps it simply had its fill of Kobold flesh. In either case, it disappeared one night, literally before the eyes of the defenders. Having used no magic before this, at least none that had been noticed it was presumed to have been playing with the garrison as a cat will play with a mouse.
The remaining forty or so Kobolds then went about the business of rebuilding the outpost.About a week later a mixed group of Ogres and Orcs arrived at the entrance to Nargash-Tor saying they had heard of the dragon attack and were looking for work, offering their services as mercenaries. Against Urylic's advice, the commander of the garrison agreed to hire them.
Things settled down for about two months. Then one night, when Urylic was out on night patrol, they were met by fleeing members of their garrison who reported that the mercenaries had mutinied, killed the commander and attacked the rest of the Kobolds.
Hearing all the sordid details, Urylic decided that the outpost was a lost cause and lead the remaining Kobolds into the woods and the security of the trap vaults.
Since that time, a few months ago, Urylic has heard much about the bandits now occupying their home and of their chief, Rhaznor. The one commanding desire in his life is to see Rhaznor put to death, slowly and painfully.
In all of these situations Urylic will make clear that he expects, if the players are successful in clearing out Rhaznor and his bandits, that the outpost and any valuables originally belonging to the kobolds be returned to them. The players can have anything which the bandits have stolen and brought to Nargash-Tor, but all items of kobold manufacture are to remain there.
Not to do so will gain the players a bad reputation with the kobolds and their allies throughout the Old Kingdom and Timiro and the undying enmity of Urylic and his men.