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Very dense and dark, the large number of thickets and the fact that there may be only a few feet between each tree makes travel through Northwoods a long, arduous task. It normally takes up to 5 hours to cover one mile on foot. With the exception of small pack animals passage through Northwoods on horseback is impossible in all but the far eastern section of the woods. Here it begins to thin out as it approaches Lake Magnys. Deer and wild game abound in this area.
These peaceful, idyllic seeming woods are the most dangerous in the region. Only the human inhabited northwest section is relatively safe. Horses always act skittish and frightened in these woods. Even the best trained horse will bolt wildly from its rider if the opportunity presents itself. Presumably the reason for this unnatural behavior is due to the strange and mystical woodland spirits which are said to live here.
It is said that faeries abound in the Northwoods and that many an unfortunate traveler has fallen victim to the Faeries Dance presided over by the great and awful King of the Faeries. Rumor also tells of a demon-haunted pool and of terrible creatures that crawl down from the mountains.
To complicate matters more, a handful or rag-tag human, Orc and Ogre bandits roam the area preying on unsuspecting wayfarers.
The Faerie Mound
The Faerie Mound, as the players approach it, will appear as a small hill about 20 feet high and 30 feet across, situated in the middle of a small clearing. Hundreds of Faerie folk will be seen flying, running or dancing about the area. A quick inspection of the area and a successful roll on Faerie Lore will assure the players there is no Faerie Circle here. However, the skeletal remains of an Ogre lays ominously among the flowers and mushrooms atop the mound.
The faeries, being extremely curious, as well as mischievous, the players will quickly find themselves surrounded by faeries of all sorts. Though a number of these faeries will talk with the players, the rest will find some rather more imaginative ways to entertain themselves, diving into the players packs and digging through their contents, casting anything which does not catch their interest on the ground. Others will tug on the players hair or clothing or "borrow" a few items from their belts which the faeries are sure won't be needed. Others will fall back on the old standby of tying the player's shoelaces together.
After a few minutes of fun and games, a Sprite will fly out from the mound and announce, giggling all the while, that the players are summoned to appear before the mighty Balandathor, King of the Faeries. They will be led, surrounded by a cloud of faeries, around the hill until they see a small opening on its northern side. As they watch, this opening will grow larger and larger and the earth will form into steps, until the hole is large enough for even an Ogre sized character to walk down without stooping.
They will be led down this passageway single-file into the dark. Players will not be ableto refuse, as there are enough faeries in the area to insure there is no way a player could save against a Mesmerism or other spell of control. They will walk down about 30 feet until they come to a large, natural underground cavern.
Upon entering this room, which is 80 feet across north to south, and roughly 30 feet across east to west, there will be a sudden glare of light. The whole cavern is suddenly illuminated as a number of faeries cast a Sphere of Daylight. The room is literally full of faeries of all descriptions, though a roll on Faerie Lore will reveal the absence of both Toadstools and Pucks. On the far northern wall, set between stalagmites on the cavern floor, is a large stone throne. Seated on it is a horrible creature the size of an Ogre, though no Ogre ever looked like this.
Its face and hands have the appearance of toughened leather and are covered by terrible cuts, so that in some places the skin appears to held together only by very obvious and ugly stitches. Its pointed ears are the only physical features which identify it as a faerie at all. In one hand it holds a large scepter crowned with a human skull. Standing on its shoulder is a small faerie which a roll on Faerie Lore will identify as a Bogie. A similar roll to identify the large creature will leave the party in total ignorance. No faerie like this has ever been seen before.
The Bogie will step forward on the creature's shoulder and announce in a loud voice that the party should step forward and kneel before the mighty presence of Balandathor, The King of the Faeries. After they do so he will introduce himself as Malathar, Balandathor's chief advisor. At this point Balandathor will take over the questioning and demand to know what the players are doing in his forest. His voice is both loud and grating. He will accuse them of coming here only to hunt for faeries or their treasures.
No matter what the players tell him the first time, even if it is the truth, he will accuse them of lying. He will ask them to prove their good intent by giving up their weapons. If, in the process of giving them up a players asks if they will be returned later, Balandathor will not answer. If a player refuses to give up his weapons or if at any time after they enter the faerie's mound a player tries to drive the faeries away by magic or other means, they will all be summarily ejected from the mound. Any items or weapons which have been taken from them will not be returned, and they will be ordered to leave and never return.
If all players give up their weapons, Balandathor will become much more jovial, saying he believes them now, inviting them to a feast. During all that has been going on, players who are looking about the room will see a number of faeries trying not to laugh and not doing a very good job of it. In fact ripples of amusement can be noticed spreading across the room.
All of this comes from the fact that Balandathor is a fake. He is a puppet operated by magic and Malathar the Bogie, who considers himself to be the King of the Faerie folk. The rest of the faeries don't really recognize him as such, but it keeps Malathar happy and there is always a good laugh when non-faerie folk meet "Balandathor".
Any player who gets within 10 feet of Balandathor can attempt to roll beneath either their skill in Medical or Tailor to identify him as a puppet. Malathar will never give the show away. However, if a player acts truly terrified of the puppet, a faerie will try to calm him or her down by whispering the truth to him/her.
At "Balandathor's" invitation to a feast a great cry of joy will come up from the mass of faeries, who will scatter in all directions into small tunnels in the sides of the cavern. They will return moments later bearing tiny trays of candies, cooked meats, vegetables and tiny glasses of wine. Any player who can think of a polite excuse not to join the feasting, such as "I am areligious man and this day is a day of fasting for members of my church" will be allowed to sit out. All others will be plied with much food, even by human standards. However as is the danger with faerie folk, all this food is magical and each morsel has its own effect. Consult the following table to see what the effect is for each kind of food.
Faerie Food Table
1. Wine: Extreme drunkenness for 4D6 hours. -5 to Strike, Parry and Dodge and -5 from Speed.
2. Walnut Candy: A random phobia is picked up lasting 1D6 days.
3. Almond Candy: The player's skin will take on the look and texture of tree bark, temporarily reducing the player's Physical Beauty by 6. The effect lasts 1D8 days. No player can have a Physical Beauty of less than 1.
4. Beef Cake: Males who eat this will immediately consider themselves to be of surpassing beauty and skill. Females who eat this will fall in love with the first male they see. Effects last 1D4 months, though Remove Curse will break the spell.
5. Duck: Whether the player who eats this is lucky or not is a matter for consideration. The said player gains +3 on all rolls to Dodge, but becomes very timid. The affected player will never lead a charge and would much rather run than fight. This will last 1D6 days.
6. Skunk Cabbage: This food causes the player to have a rather offensive body odor, which can be smelled up to 8 feet away. This smell will last only 1D6 hours, but each player who smells this odor must roll under his/her Mental Endurance on a D20 to avoid vomiting.
7. Green Beans: This vegetable simply causes the player to turn green. Unless a Remove Curse is cast on the player, the effect is permanent.
8. Cauliflower: This amusing vegetable causes the eater's ears to grow four times larger than normal. This will last 1D6 months unless a Remove Curse is used.
Gamemasters are invited to think up extra delicacies for the Faeries' table, as well as more interesting tricks for the faeries to play before, during and after the meal.
If after all this, the players have kept their collective senses of humor, (remember, as long as no faerie is seriously threatened or hurt, the occasional outburst of frustration or anger on the part of the party will be vastly amusing to the faeries and met with cries of "Go get ‘em tiger" and the like.) Balandathor, or Malathar if his cover has been blown, will offer to have a number of faeries guide the players to the home of the Druid of the Northwoods. Whether they accept this or not, all the player's weapons and goods, with a few minor exceptions, gamemaster's choice, will be returned, and they will be released.
Any faerie guide will take them by the shortest route possible. Unfortunately, the entire trip to the Druid will consist of one practical joke after another, such as leading the party through a patch of poison ivy. Such jokes can only be avoided by the party keeping their eyes open and their wits about them. The gamemaster is invited to be as creative as possible with these jokes, but at least some of them should be avoidable by the player's use of their skills. For example: the poison ivy patch trick could be avoided if one of the players making a successful roll on identify Plants/Fruits.
Several times during the course of the trip the faeries will stop and demand a song fromthe players or a joke. The gamemaster should have the players actually sing or tell a joke, with the appropriate reactions from the faeries.
While the faeries are with the party no rolls for random encounters are needed to be made as the faeries will protect the players from all harm.
Malathar the Bogie
IQ 6 / ME 9 / MA 8 / PS 5 / PP 16 / PE 12 / PB 6 / SPD 19
Hit Points: 36
Magical Abilities: all at 10th level proficiency
Animate Object
Fog of Fear
Mesmerism
Purple Mist
Sphere of Light
Ventriloquism
Wind Rush
Wisps of Confusion
Natural Abilities: Nightvision 90 feet, can shape change into any of the following; Large Spider, Scorpion, or Centipede. He can Scale Walls 92%, and Prowl at 77%
Note to the Gamemaster
Faeries are a rather unusual non-player character race and sometimes rather difficult to run. It must be remembered that faeries, for the most part, are immortal children, with a child's innocence, energy and gift of laughter. To run, dance and play is all they desire, with human intrusion only a momentary interlude in their age old games. It is almost impossible for a human to hold a serious conversation with most faeries, except on an emotional level.
Faeries hate to see anyone sad. Their minds are so flighty that only this will get through to them, for which they will do little things for the injured party, such as bringing flowers or replacing some item, but only if it is easily available and close at hand. They may go as far, if amused by the party, as carrying a message or showing a path, for which they will expect suitable recompense such as a pretty stone (not necessarily a gem), wine or perhaps just a song or a joke.
Faeries will never join with a party just to "get the bad guys" or to gain wealth. Their span of concentration is so short that after the first half hour they would be flitting away to investigate some flower or other. In the same vein, faeries will not attack or attempt to kill the players if they happen upon them, just because they are in their forest. They would much rather play tricks upon them, Taking the player's equipment, creating discontent or just plain scaring them. Only if the faeries felt their whole people were threatened or if they saw one of their kind being hurt or killed, might they become vicious. A band of faeries out for revenge is a terrible sight. Even at this, they would not remain angry for long, and would be much more likely to mutilate the offender than kill him, preferably in a manner which would affect his profession; e.g. a wizard might have his tongue cut out.
While the above holds true for most faeries, there are some exceptions: the Bogie, Spriggan, Toadstool and Puck. These like to terrorize and hurt people. The Bogie and Sprigganwould much prefer to have all non-faerie folk out of what they consider to be their areas, and they are more than willing to help them on their way with a swift kick in the rear or worse, but equally amusing. Toadstools and Pucks like the intruders dead or dying, hopefully by some method slow and painful, so they can enjoy it.
The players can make use of the different methods for driving faeries away. If they do so they had better plan on using the said devices continually. Any faltering or slip-ups on their part in the use of these procedures will result in a deluge of faeries. Each would be eager to "get back" at the stupid, ally mortals who have driven them away, even for a short time, from their ancient playground.
The result of such an attack would not be physically harmful, at least not initially. All of the character's possessions, weapons, money, packs and maybe, if the faeries were feeling really wicked, clothes, would be stripped from them. To add insult to injury, there would probably be a few faeries sitting on the sidelines making comments about the various physical and mental shortcomings of the "revealed" characters, after which they would be released to go their way. How long they would last without their gear is a matter which would not bother the faeries at all.
The Faeries Ring
This a large ring of bare packed earth about 40 feet across. The ring is surrounded by uncountable multicolored mushrooms. Any player making a successful roll on Faerie Lore will be able to identify the ring.
In the center of the ring lies the skeleton of one of Rhaznor's Ogre rangers who came hunting one time too many. On the body there is a stone ax, a giant sized dagger and 50 gold pieces.
While there will be no faeries in the area interested in dancing when the party arrives, there is a 25% chance per half hour spent in the area that some will arrive and insist that the players join them. If this happens the faeries will keep the players dancing for 1D8 days.
Salimar
The Druid's Cave
As the players walk down into a dale between two hills, they will be able to see a small stream which collects in a pool near an opening in the side of the eastern hill. In the mouth of the cave they will see what is apparently a bear sleeping in the sun. If they come closer than 100 feet to the cave, a white stag with a magnificent set of antlers will break from the woods to the west and take up a position between them and the cave. Sitting in the stag's antlers will be a number of different faeries, all of which will be laughing and pointing at the players.
If the players have been escorted to here by the faeries from the Faerie Mound they will have no trouble and will be introduced by their faerie guides. Otherwise there could be a great deal of trouble, as the stag is actually Salimar, Druid of the Northwoods in the guise of his totem animal.
If not introduced by the faeries, Salimar will demand to know who they are and what they are doing here. If the players tell him about seeking the lair of Rhaznor he will suddenly becomeinterested. Rhaznor has been hunting many animals in the woods and has been cutting down many trees. Because of this Salimar will tell the players that while he does not know exactly how to go about approaching Rhaznor's Kobold hideout, there is a Merrow who lives in Lake Magnys who might be able to help them. He will then give them directions on how to get to her home.
If brought to Salimar's cave by the faeries he will also tell them that the last survivors from the Kobold outpost have taken refuge in the deepest part of the woods and are under his protection. He will offer to guide them to their present hideout if the players will swear to tell no one afterwards.
He will go on to explain that the Kobolds are extremely suspicious of everyone, even himself, so while he can guide them he cannot guarantee what the Kobold's reaction will be.
Whether introduced or not, Salimar will change back to his human form, the faeries now sitting on his head and shoulders. He will immediately call the bear to his side. Any player making a successful roll on the skill Trap/Skin Large Animal will immediately recognize the bear as being a mountain brown bear. At any sign of danger, including a player beginning to cast a spell, the bear will launch itself at the offending player.
Salimar is an extremely gruff individual who does not really like people. He will not volunteer any more information than is needed to assure that the players leave his woods as soon as possible. He will not ask what the players want and if they do not volunteer any information he will simply tell them to leave. Any directions he gives them will be accurate.
The faeries with Salimar are very fond of him, for a non-faerie, and any attack on him will result in the players having so many Clouds of Slumber spells cast on them they will have no hope of saving against the effects.
A special note: Salimar will allow no one to go near or enter the small cave. This cave is not his, but belongs to the bear who guards him. Salimar sleeps out under the trees and the stars, like any good Druid.
Salimar the Druid
7th level Druid: totem type, Hooved
Alignment: Unprincipled
IQ 8 / ME 13 / MA 10 / PS 7 / PP 10 / PE 14 / PB 13 / SPD 22
Hit Points 42
Druidic abilities
+6 to Damage, +2 to Dodge
Recognize quality/type hooved animal 86%
Befriend Animal 80%
Calm Animal 78%
Control animal 62%
Summon Totem - General 72%
Summon Totem - Specific 64%
Metamorphosis - Induce 72%
Revert to animal IQ 15%
Chance of freezing in animal form 7%
Chance of permanent shape change 7%
Salimar also has a familiar in the form of a weasel which will never be seen by theplayers unless one of them attempts to attack Salimar from behind. A warning squeal from the weasel will result in a quick attack by the bear. Salimar uses no weapons at all, depending on his friends for help in hunting and defense.
The Mountain Brown Bear
Hit Points: 54
8ft tall, 700 lbs
2 attacks per melee
claws do 1D8 damage
bite does 1D6 damage
Bonuses:
+2 to Strike
+6 to Damage
The Gnome Tribe
The Gnomes live in Northwoods under the protection of Salimar the Druid and, by extension, the faeries. There are only twelve of them and they range throughout Northwoods, never staying more than a few days in one place. They have many hiding holes dug throughout the forest and if pursued will Prowl to the nearest one and hide, apparently disappearing from view.
Though extremely shy, they are curious. Resulting in an excellent spy system set up with the faeries bringing them news of any strangers moving through their region of Northwoods. They will attempt to get close enough to the party in order to find out what they are doing in the forest.
Only one or two of the tribe will come within viewing range of the party. The rest of the Gnomes will wait a safe distance away. They will, however, stay within hearing range in case their scout needs help. If spotted by the party and chased, all the Gnomes will attempt to Prowl away to one of their many hiding holes. If one is captured, the rest will send word to the Druid via the faeries. If any attempt to harm the Gnome is made, any faerie in the vicinity will come to the aid of the captive.
The Druid will arrive in 1D6 hours, and will demand the release of the Gnome "or else". The "or else" is an attack by 4 mountain brown bears. Any players who survives this attack will be put to sleep by the faeries and will wake up a prisoner of the Pucks at the Ruined Temple.
It is possible that the gnomes will attempt to make contact with the party. This will occur only if a Human, Elf or Gnome player wanders away by his or herself from the main group. If this player can roll below his Physical Beauty on a 20 sided die, then he will be met by Bosen, chief of the gnome tribe.
If one of the gnome scouts is heard or spotted, and the party instead of chasing them, calls out that they wish to talk, there is a chance, if the person who is talking can roll below his Mental Affinity on a 20 sided die, that Bosen will shout to them over a distance to see what they want. Gnomes are not stupid and will notice if any of the players sneak off from the group. If any of the players attempt to Prowl into the forest and sneak up on Bosen or the other gnomes they will know it and all will run and disappear into the woods. They have a right to be nervous ofstrangers. Not all the folk who walk into Northwoods are on a mission of good, and there are those who hunt for gnome flesh in order to sell it at a high price to those races which favor it.
There is no possible way the gnomes will make contact with any group which contains Goblins, Hob-Goblins, Kobolds, Orcs, Ogres, Trolls or Dwarves.
If friendly contact is made with the gnomes, they will do all they can to help the players. Bosen is a Healer by profession and will heal the wounds of any member of the party who is injured. They will also re-provision the party if needed, including wineskins of gnome ale (one quart each). While they will not leave the protection of the deep woods, the gnomes will arrange for faeries to guide the players to the Druid's cave, if they have not yet been there. The faeries, playful as always, will take them by a rather roundabout route, stopping first at the faerie mound to show the party off to their friends.
Bosen the Gnome Healer and Tribal Chief
IQ 10 / ME 5 / MA 11 / PS 6 / PP 16 / PE 16 / PB 14 / SPD 15
4th level healer
Alignment: Scrupulous
Healing I.S.P.: 62
Hit Points: 36
Healing Abilities:
Exorcism 24%
Healing Touch
Lust for Life
Negate Toxins
Resurrection 48%
Soothing Touch
Bosen will do a Resurrection only if he feels it was his fault the player died; e.g. If there is an encounter rolled while the players are with the gnomes.
Because of his high Physical Prowess, Bosen is +1 to Strike/ Parry and Dodge. His high Physical Endurance gives him +1 to save vs. magic or poison.
Bosen wears studded leather armour, A.R. 12, S.D.C. 30.
He uses a light crossbow and dagger. He is +2 to Strike with the crossbow and fires 3 bolts per round. With the dagger he is +2 to Strike, +1 to Parry and +2 to Throw.
As the remainder of the gnome tribe does not fight and will only run from encounters, no statistics will be given for them, other than the average number of Hit Points is 18.