TEXT: HALDIGAR'S
  OWER
  by Ed Greenwood
  A 1-round Advanced Dungeons & Dragons® Adventure
  for 6-8 Characters
  Set in the Forgotten Realms®
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood______________Page 1
  Half an age ago, when the world was younger, so was Elminster. In fact, he was a green and careless
  adventurer. Whilst exploring a mage's tower, he left something behind...something that, it turns out, is
  very important to someone. Someone who will destroy kingdoms to get it.
  There's not much left, now, of the mage's tower—only its upper half survives, floating in midair. There's
  also, after all this time, very little left of the mage...or is there?
  This is an AD&D® Forgotten Realms® Adventure for 6-8 Pre-prepared Player Characters, the Baron's
  [Blades adventuring band.____________ ___________________ 
  _____ 
  __
  Lord Uldonner Erendin, the Baron of Hawkhill, has been confined to his room for four days (he was
  wounded by Thaldigar's Hand, though no one in Hawkhill Castle will tell the Player Characters this) when
  he sends a note to each of his loyal Blades (the PCs), telling them: "Meet my daughter atop Harscraw Hill at
  highsun tomorrow, on horseback and ready-armed for battle. She will give you my orders then; you are to
  obey her as you would me. Forth fare the bold!" (The PCs will recognize the handwriting and the
  unmistakable wax seal as the Baron's.)
  The Castle stables will provide trained warhorse mounts and saddlebags holding a tenday-worth of
  provisions. Calling on their own resources, the PCs can alter spells freely, and can raid the Castle armories
  and tack room to equip themselves with just about anything non-magical they desire—that they can carry on
  horseback without bringing extra mounts.
  On Harscraw Hill
  The Baron's daughter, the tall and athletic Lady Nlatha Erendin, is usually flirtatious and carefree—but
  when the PCs ride up the hill, they find her grim and wary, glancing about in various directions (including
  up into the sky) often. She wears full plate armor as she sits in the saddle of her gelding on the hilltop, and
  swords, daggers, and sheathed wands can be seen at her belt. Three of the Baron's precious ioun stones orbit
  about her head: a pearly white spindle (regenerates 1 hp/turn), a dusty rose prism (+1 protection), and a
  lavender-and-green ellipsoid (absorbs spells of up to 8th level).
  Nlatha tells the PCs:
  "My father was attacked in his bedchamber five nights ago. Despite his ward-spells, a gate opened in the air
  at the foot of his bed, and out of it flew a hand—like a severed human left hand, but a foot or more long and jet
  black from the tips of its cruel talons to the stump at its nether end. A lone yellow eye in its palm glared at
  him as it hovered in the air above his feet, and from its mouthless bulk came a voice: "Yield to me the
  Ghommild!" it demanded.'
  "My father knows nothing of any 'Ghommild,' and said so—whereupon the black hand flew at his face. He
  snatched out the long knife that is always at his bedside and cut right through the hand—but he might have
  been cleaving smoke: his steel passed through the thing like empty air, leaving no mark and slowing it not
  a whit. Yet its talons were solid enough a breath later, when it clawed at his face, blinding and disfiguring
  him before it vanished.'
  "Its touch sent visions swirling into his mind, and he summoned me to write down those visions while they
  were yet fresh. Here is what he saw:
  •the crumbling top of Thaldigar's Tower, floating in the air high above the shattered, fallen stones of its
  base, in its hidden valley at the north end of Hawkhill...
  •a small, dark room whose ceiling winks with sparkling lights like stars in the night sky. It is crowded
  with many items, including what looks like an animated mask drifting in midair, and a coffer of ivory or
  bone carved into the shape of a two-headed dragon—a coffer that begins to glow, with a cold green
  radiance...
  •something spinning in darkness; something rectangular that is tumbling nearer and nearer, and
  acquiring a greenish glow as it does so...something metal and cylindrical, that looks battered and
  blackened by fire: a bracer.
  At this point, the hand hissed, "The Ghommild." Then followed one last vision:
  •My father, his face a twisted, purplish ruin of fresh scars, holding out the fire-scarred bracer to the black
  hand. The hand takes hold of it and draws away, a blue-white radiance awakening around its fingers, and
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood______________Page 2______
  then streaming out in a swirling beam to strike my father's face. There is a flash, blinding-bright, and
  when it fades my father's face could be seen whole again, his sight restored...'
  "He needs his trusted Blades to bring him the Ghommild without delay. I wish I could ride with you, but a
  blind man cannot rule Hawkhill alone, and I have my orders as you have yours. May you have as swift
  success as in your last mission. The usual promise stands: all efforts in Hawkhill's power will be made to
  restore to life and health to any and all who fall in the Baron's service."
  Nlatha points north. The land there rises, in hill after crag, to the ridge of mountains that forms the
  northern boundary of Amn. That line of peaks marches into view out of the distant west (where it meets the
  Sea of Swords) to end west of Hawkhill. Due north, there is a gap broken by several lonely tors, one of which
  is very distinctive: it looks like a spearpoint angled up to the sky, pointing east. Beyond it to the east,
  mountains rise again; the nearest is a bare, conical peak that resembles a warrior's helm.
  Nlatha speaks: "See that tor, jutting so to the east? That is the Falconspar. From there, look northeast to the
  Helm, and journey thence, as straight as ever you can in that broken country. Halfway to the Helm, along
  that line of travel, lies the patrol hut of Everstone, where three streams meet. Those little waters cleave their
  own narrow valleys as they go, and the center valley holds Thaldigar's Tower. None of my father's patrols
  enter it, and by his decree, the shepherds who dwell in Froothford to the west and Augul, the nearest hamlet to
  the south, are forbidden to enter that vale. Wolves are bad thereabouts."
  If questioned about Thaldigar or his tower, Nlatha will reveal that she's never been there, knew nothing
  about any part of it floating and other parts fallen until her father's vision, and has heard of it only from her
  father, and only these scant things: Thaldigar was a wizard who dwelt in seclusion there several centuries
  ago, and bred or created strange beasts. Whatever doom befell him shattered his tower and left it wizardless
  before Hawkhill was a barony—and not even hunted outlaws have cared to tarry in Thaldigar's Vale down
  the years.
  Nlatha says she has "much to do, and must return to the castle." She plucks the pearly white spindle ioun
  stone out of its leisurely orbit, offering it to the PCs for their use until they return. She also hands them each
  an unmarked steel flask "for healing" (each wax-sealed, cork-stoppered, identical stainless steel belt flask
  contains a potion of healing, which will restore 2d4+2 lost hit points). Then she raises a hand in salute and
  gallops off down the hillside, leaving the PCs alone with their task.
  Forth Fare The Bold (Wonders To Behold)
  The PCs will find the journey from Harscraw Hill to the hidden valley takes at least an entire day. If they
  travel briskly and follow Nlatha's directions, they'll reach the mouth of the valley at dusk, following one of
  the trails that leads to Everstone that they'll encounter shortly before that. Along their way, they'll see no
  more life than a few falcons circling high in the cloudless sky, and shepherds (who wave greetings) on
  distant hillsides with their dogs and flocks. There are no tracks or signs of large beasts.
  A prudent expedition will camp at Everstone and enter Thaldigar's Vale in the morning (nothing of interest
  will disturb the watches of the night except wolves howling on ridges to the east). The three streams meet in a
  little marsh, and then flow on as one stream—which is promptly spanned by a plank bridge taking the trail
  used by the PCs to meet two other trails (going east and southeast). The three ways meet at a stone-and-slate
  lodge or pavilion. A paddock, a lantern-tree on a hillock (for signalling) and a stable dug into the side of
  that hill all lies to the south of the pavilion. The stable has hay, and the pavilion contains rows of full, hooded
  waterbuckets and sandbuckets, hitching-rails for horses inside and out, a huge pile of firewood along one
  inside wall, and a central firepit).
  All three of the valleys are too thickly forested to take horses into (even horses being led, not ridden). They
  are narrow ravines whose floors consist of stumps, rocks, and a thick, slippery layer of rotting leaves, all
  overlaid with a deep carpet of green moss. The trunks of trees rise less than five feet apart in most places,
  and their leaves form an unbroken canopy overhead that allows only mushrooms and shelf fungi to
  flourish.
  If the PCs enter the valley at night, and press on for more than a few rounds, two of them will be caught in a
  web net dropped on them from above by a hunting gargantuan spider [effects: the sticky strands hold its
  victims fast for 12 hours or so if they have less than 13 STR, or for 1 turn of doing nothing but cutting or
  tearing at the webs (this time drops to 5 rounds for PCs possessing an 18 or greater Strength); the webs are
  readily flammable, blazing away entirely from even the smallest ignition, but caught victims will suffer
  2d4 fire damage during such a conflagration].
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood______________Page 3_______
  After 'netting' its victims, the spider will descend upon them like a grey ghost, reaching out with pincer-like
  arms to feed—but this menacing shape is actually a false spider (a construction of webbing), made by the
  real spider to reveal which of its foes will lash out with magic.
  The real spider will launch its first attack at the PC who hurls the most impressive magic at the false spider,
  striking from above (aloft in tree branches) and behind. It will choose a random PC if no magic is used, or
  several spells are cast. It will seek to web and disable as many PCs as possible before getting into a direct
  fight, and will flee if badly hurt (its nest is in the valley to the east, and holds a few rusty swords and 3
  potions of healing, which PCs will only find if they slay the spider and then drag aside its body, for the
  gargantuan spider will flatten itself over them to make its last stand, shooting webs at every foe it can
  reach). Among this treasure is a bone tube containing two pieces of parchment. One is a spell scroll bearing
  three cure light wounds spells, and the other displays only the words: "Forth fare the bold."
  GARGANTUAN SPIDER: Int Low; AL CE; AC 4; MV 9,Web 12; HD 8+8; hp 44; THACO 11; #AT 1; Dmg 2d6
  bite; SA poison (bitten victims must save vs. poison at -2 or fall into a 2d4-turn-long coma at the end of that
  round), fire webs up to 2 feet to bind a foe: this replaces bite attack for a round, but target is considered AC10,
  and affected as if by a web spell (effects as aforementioned, for web net); SD can make web nets (effects as
  aforementioned) and decoys; SZ G (10' long, 20' diameter legspread); ML 14; XP 3,000._____________
  If the PCs enter Thaldigar's Vale in daylight, they'll find it empty of any life that cares to confront them. It's
  narrow, and rises steadily as one traverses it, until the trees end in a little meadow surrounded by rock
  cliffs (readily climbable, and perhaps eighty feet high; it is about the same distance horizontally between the
  floating remnant of the tower and the nearest of any of these rocks). A gentle breeze stirs the long grass
  around a ring of shattered, weathered stones—and above them, seventy feet or more up, hangs the dark,
  windowless cylinder of stone that holds the uppermost two or three levels of the wizard's tower. A hole can be
  seen in the center of its underside.
  A First Taste of the Tower
  The base of the tower is an overgrown ring of stones perhaps eighty feet across. The grass inside the ring is
  broken by many piles of fallen, shattered stone, a few pits where such rubble didn't quite fill in the cellars it
  fell into, and one spot where the bottom three steps of the spiral stone stair that once climbed up the heart of the
  tower begin their ascent—only to end, broken off abruptly, jutting alone into the sky.
  A PC mounting these steps will feel the stairs continuing as invisible but solid plates of force. The steps lack
  any rails; falls are a very real possibility if PCs hurry on the stairs or undertake combat on them. An
  invisible spell-field holds the ruined remnant of Thaldigar's Tower aloft, and entirely fills the 'empty' air
  between the floating ruin and its shattered and tumbled base. This field will resist all PC attempts to destroy
  or modify it (from outside the tower), and prevents scrying or teleportation into or out of what is left of the
  tower. It also turns back missiles and flying PCs, birds, and monsters; the only way into the ruined tower is
  to climb the invisible spiral stair. The field has one additional property: any magic launched by someone
  on the stairs (not inside the tower) rebounds right back at its source.
  PCs who search around among the stones of the tower base will find a rusty key, almost a foot long but
  crumbling badly (which has no use in this adventure) and human bones, notably a staring skull (the
  remains of an outlaw who died of a fall from the stair long ago; his bones aren't undead).
  Only one of the cellar 'pits' (the deepest one) holds anything of interest. It is choked by a washed-down rubble
  of small stones, from which the corner of some sort of dark wooden box protrudes. If any attempt is made to
  clear away any of these stones and unearth the box, a crumpled, bloodstained piece of parchment will be
  unearthed, and begin to tumble lazily away in the breeze (any PC who tries to catch it can do so).
  The parchment will crumble if handled incautiously, but displays the scrawled words:
  Tower broken, tower old
  Magic dark and tales untold
  Ye who'd wonders behold 
  [HANDOUT]
  Must speak to the waiting cold
  Forth fare the bold
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood______________Page 4_______
  The box is about 6 feet long, 4 inches tall, and 4 inches across. A seam runs all the way around it, with
  hinges on one side, and an elaborate locked latch at the midpoint of the other side. It is matched by identical
  latches on both ends of the box. Both these locks and the box look almost new, not weathered (and radiate
  faint dweomers: preservative magics).
  Inside the box is a polished wooden staff that radiates tiny blue magical sparks (which can't ignite
  anything) when grasped by a human hand. Tiny letters are graven onto the top of the staff, to spell out the
  word "Ashuren." A PC who touches the staff directly (so that his bare flesh touches its wood) is instantly
  mentally aware that the staff has a power having something to do with 'brightness and vision,' and a power
  that has to do with 'staying in one place,' and that both powers function when silently willed to operate. If the
  PC wills either power to awaken, they will discover precisely what these powers are (both by symptom and by
  mental communication from the staff, which is otherwise non-sentient ). One is the ability to function as a
  continual light spell; the other is the ability to levitate (the staff only; alone, it can hang in midair forever; if
  held by any being larger than a halfling, their weight drags it down—though it will act as a feather fall spell
  on a falling PC of any weight). This staff is the unfinished work of a long-dead apprentice of Thaldigar,
  who never got around to infusing it with any real powers. The inscription "Ashuren" is his name, not a
  command word of the staff.
  Nothing else of interest will be found here by PCs, even if they dig for days.
  The Ascent
  PCs climbing the stairs will feel strange numbnesses and tinglings (from the magic field) surging and
  swirling through them, bringing nausea and the need to move slowly and deliberately; climbing the stair
  steadily will take at least 4 rounds (a PC who rushes up the stairs can cut ascent time to 3 rounds, but suffers
  a -2 penalty on all Dexterity Checks and a 2-point Armor Class penalty; rushing PCs can't attack or parry
  without slowing for at least a round).
  For the first round of any climb, only the swirling feelings will impede PCs, but on the second round two
  disembodied skeletal human arms (bare bones, from shoulder to fingertips) will flicker into being beside
  each ascending PC, one on either side of the adventurer. Each of these Dread holds a black, jagged scimitar
  that drips an oily black liquid (a harmless preservative oil), and will without hesitation begin to hack at
  PCs, striking at +1 to hit in any round in which a PC tries to counterattack (as opposed to simply parrying or
  defending and pressing on up the stairs). The DM™ must keep in mind that the spell-field that holds up the
  stair will hurl back all magics cast on the Dread right back at the PC(s) launching them. Dread will remain
  with the PC who 'called them' until that PC is either dead or off the stair—whereupon they will fly to attack
  other PCs on the stair (or failing that, cluster at the bottom of the invisible stairs, guarding them against all
  intruders).
  If any PC in contact with either the real (bottom steps) or invisible, magical parts of the stair happens to utter
  the words "Forth fare the bold" (they may be said with other words, but must be said in full and in the correct
  order), all of the Dread will instantly vanish—and none will reappear so long as any PC who was in contact
  with the stair at the time of the utterance remains on the stair. Thereafter, new Dread will appear only when
  any PC steps onto the invisible part of the stair (even if the PC is one who was on the stair when the pass-
  phrase was uttered), but they will promptly vanish if the pass-phrase is said again by someone on the stair.
  VAMPIRIC DREAD: Int Non- (attack until destroyed); AL N; AC 6; MV 6,F115 (B); HD 3+3; hp 25 each;
  THACO 17; #AT 1; Dmg Id8 (scimitar) or Id4 (barehanded); SA while attacking barehanded, gain (for 10
  days) half (round fractions down) of hit points damage they deal to foes; SD regenerates 2 hp/day, can't be
  turned on stairs, immune to charm, hold, sleep, shatter, disintegrate, and all polymorph spells, also
  immune to cold-based attacks, take half damage from edged and piercing attacks, take 2d4 hp damage from
  holy water (only Id4 hp from a splash); SZ S (4' long); ML 20; XP 1,400 (MC Annual 1).______________
  PCs fighting on the stairs have the following chances of falling:
  No chance in 1st round, but during all later rounds, make Dexterity Checks at the end of the round (at -1 in
  any round that the PC is struck by one or more Dread attacks; this modifier is cumulative with the penalty
  for rushing, if the PC is hurrying):
  Two successful checks: no fall.
  One successful check: tumble (1 or 2 hit points damage, even/odd roll) back
  down stairs; end up on stairs still, but add 1 round to climbing time
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood_______________Page 5_______
  Both checks fail: fall from the stair to the stone-littered ground, damage as follows:
  2d6 hp if 2nd round of ascent; 4d6 hp on 3rd round; 6d6 hp on 4th or later rounds.
  A PC who is parrying Dread attacks and not launching attacks of his own only need make a single
  Dexterity Check in any round in which he remains stationary on a step of the stair. PCs who lie down on
  steps and remain there for a round can parry during that round without having to make a single 'falling5
  check, but automatically suffer a 2-point Armor Class penalty.
  The Lowest Level
  The invisible stairs climb into a dark opening in the center of the underside of the riven tower; PCs using
  them will emerge into the center of a circular chamber eighty feet across that fills the bottom level of the
  surviving tower. This room is dimly lit by daylight coming in the stair-hole, and contains a flight of stone
  stairs against the wall leading up into darkness overhead, and a rusting railing (solid, massive iron as
  thick about as a stout man's torso) that projects out of one wall for ten feet and then curves smoothly
  downwards to descend four feet into the floor. Something small and rectangular lies on the floor near the
  railing.
  The "something small and rectangular" is a dark, polished wooden box about a foot long, a few inches thick,
  and half a foot across. It has a lid and latch, but no lock, and radiates a faint dweomer. If it is touched, a
  chuckle (male, and rather dry) will sound from the stair above, and a soft, husky female voice will say, "Is
  it time, then?" A male voice will reply, "Not quite. There's plenty of light yet today for more elegant slaying.
  Someone else is forever coming to the gate...forth fare, and all that..." (These are echoes of failing, fading
  scrying spells that no longer have any other power.)
  The inside bottom of this box sports a row of three wooden peg-mounts; sitting on each is a plain brass ring
  (which will alter to fit any digit that touches it; these otherwise non-magical items are still awaiting
  enchantments Thaldigar's unlikely to ever give them).
  The first time (only) anyone steps onto the stone steps leading up out of this room, the third step up will briefly
  glow with bright amber light—a harmless radiance that fades after a round.
  From this point on, every surface and item the PCs encounter radiates a magical dweomer; detect magic
  spells are effectively useless. The 'magic rebounding on its caster' property doesn't apply to the rooms of
  Thaldigar's Tower, only to the field that holds it aloft (i.e. to the invisible stairs, though anyone trying to
  hurl a spell out of a hole broken in a wall somewhere in the tower will discover the hard way that it meets the
  field and comes right back at them).
  Where The Mask Awaits
  The stairs (rising out of the room with the railing) are broad steps that curve along the inside of the circular
  tower wall, and ascend a dozen feet or so to the next level of the tower: a room in which a deep ruby-red glow
  will appear (along the lower few feet of its back wall) as the PCs first observe it. This radiance will
  backlight the contents of-the room: a stool across which three scabbarded long swords are lying—and
  floating above them, what looks like an upright iron mask.
  This room has one curving wall, and the others are straight and 40 feet long, forming a room that is almost
  square. Two closed wooden doors (located in the rearmost corners of both side walls) face each other across
  the back of the room.
  The swords and the stool are just what they appear to be. They bear preservative magics that have kept them
  looking fairly new over the centuries, but have no magical powers.
  As PCs enter this room, the floating mask will move forward slightly, hovering in the air as it surveys them
  (it can see invisible creatures and items), and ask (in a melodious, calm, almost sultry feminine voice):
  "Have you leave to pass?"
  Whatever reply the PCs give, the mask will next demand, "Surrender to me the words."
  If a PC says, "Ashuren," the mask will reply, "You are much changed, Ashuren—but you know the orders
  laid upon me. I must hear the words."
  The mask will converse politely and calmly with the PCs, using such replies as:
  •"Thaldigar made me."
  •"I am set here to guard the floors above against intruders who come to steal and despoil."
  •"Only those who speak the words may pass. All others I resist to the utmost."
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood______________Page 6_______
  •"Mighty spells are bound into me. I will use them all to fulfill the charge laid upon me."
  •"Once I was Dabratha, daughter of Shuldyn and Maethe of Calimport. I was apprentice to Thaldigar the
  Mighty; one among many, neither the greatest nor least—but the only maiden among many men."
  •"When the sun was high, and the moon was low." [This is the only answer the mask can give to any query
  involving time, its passage, or a date.]
  •"You have been warned. Advance at your peril."
  •"It would be better for you not to challenge my powers, or any magic here. I may not forgive nor make
  exception. Go elsewhere, and live."
  To any query about the Ghommild (or specific traps or features of the tower, including what lies on higher
  levels), the mask will reply simply, "I cannot say."
  The mask can't be tricked or blustered into revealing the words (the phrase "Forth fare the bold!" spoken in
  full, and with the words in the correct order, though it can be accompanied by other words spoken before and
  after), and will move to block the advance (to the right-hand door) of any PC who doesn't speak the pass-
  phrase, warning them to "Come no nearer, or ill will befall you" before hurling spells. (The mask will
  allow PCs to reach the left-hand door without attacking.)
  The mask can unleash two spells per round, while moving (and thus potentially delivering a lightning
  touch-attack to the first being she strikes during that round) and talking.
  PC attacks won't shake the mask's calm manner; she can fight one while calmly conversing with others—
  and the aggressive actions of a PC won't prevent her from later letting that PC pass, if the PC renders the
  passwords she's seeking. She seems more sad at the fates of those she has to harm than exultant, and almost
  eager to listen to any attempted pass-words (Dabratha hates this duty her essence has been trapped into,
  though she has no way of escaping it). She enjoys talking, though she can reveal only cryptic information
  about Thaldigar, life in the tower with him, his (and her) ultimate fate, and what PCs can find where in the
  tower. She knows nothing of current events in the Realms—but will be almost visibly hungry to hear such
  news.
  The mask has all the spells of an 18th level wizard (5,5,5,5,5,3,3,2,1), and these spells return 6 turns after
  being cast. They are:
  1st level: magic missile x5 (5 missiles per spell, each doing Id4+l hp at up to 5 targets)
  2nd level: blind x4, mirror image
  3rd level: dispel magic x2, lighting bolt x3 (each bolt does 10d6 damage)
  4th level: enervation x2, ice storm x3 (always 3dlO hp-damage hailstones)
  5th level: cone of cold x3 (18d4+18 hp damage cone), wall of force x2
  6th level: chain lightning x2 (12d6 hp-damage first arc), monster summoning IV (Id3 gargoyles will
  appear, attacking PCs until they retreat onto the stairs)
  7th level: power word stun, prismatic spray x2
  8th level: power word blind, prismatic wall
  9th level: Bigby's crushing hand (automatic grasp: IdlO hp damage 1st round, 2dlO on
  2nd & 3rd, 4dlO on 4th and later)
  If attacked, the mask usually responds by casting a wall of force in an angle across the room in such a way
  as to block off the right-hand door, with her behind the wall but able to pass over it (through a 2-foot-tall gap
  between the wall and ceiling), and then launches magic missile spells. She will do this even if a PC is
  trying to grapple her (and so ends up 'inside' the wall with her). Thereafter, she will blind and stun, then
  summon gargoyles to attack the PCs, and then use enervation, employing dispel magic whenever she
  judges it necessary. The mask will save her "big blast' spells for truly persistent PCs.
  If all of her spells are exhausted but the PCs persist in trying to pass her without benefit of the proper pass-
  phrase, the mask will plead with the PCs to go elsewhere, and will try to physically block their passage,
  relying on her lightning-discharge attacks to dissuade further intrusion.
  Any spellcasting PC who is struck by three such attacks will find that on the fourth mask attack to affect
  them (and any subsequent attacks), the mask 'steals' one spell (chosen at random) from their mind,
  draining it away from them and adding it those she can immediately use (she can cast such spells
  regardless of component, alignment, and class considerations).
  Psionics and death magics can't control or slay the mask, but any such attack will cause the mask to 'freeze'
  for 1 round.
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood_____________Page 7
  GUARDIAN MASK: Int Genius (will unerringly anticipate and correctly interpret PC actions); AL N; AC
  2; MV Fl 20 (A); W18; HD 7+7; hp 50; THACO 15; #AT 1; Drag 4d4 (lightning-discharge touch); SA spells;
  SD regenerates 1 hp/round, immune to blind, charm, hold, sleep, shatter, disintegrate, and all polymorph
  spells, also immune to cold-based and electrical attacks; SZ S (1.5* tall); ML 20; XP 5,000 (new)._______
  GARGOYLES (Id3): Int Low; AL CE; AC 5; MV 9,F115 (C); HD 4+4; hp 22 each; THACO 15; #AT 4; Dmg Id3
  x2 (front claws), Id6 (bite), Id4 (gore with horn); SD +1 or better weapon required to hit; SZ M (6* tall); ML 11
  (treat as 20 during this encounter); XP 420.________________________________ 
  ___
  The left-hand door leads to a long, narrow room whose back wall is the curving outside wall of the tower.
  Just inside the door is a scarred table, and atop it sits a pile of moldering parchments, with writing clearly
  visible on the uppermost sheet. Parchments lower down in the heap have slumped into scattered, shredded
  white pulp.
  PCs can easily step around the table—into a mess of mops, cracked wooden buckets, cobwebs, broken chairs,
  stools, and tables, and what looks like a collapsed clothesline sagging onto the floor under the weight of
  rotting, mold-covered rags of clothing. Larger molds cover the walls here and there.
  The broken furniture is too damp to readily burn, but will yield clubs, pegs, and even a tabletop and a 10-foot-
  pole, if PCs sort through it. The molds are large and impressive, but none are ambulatory or monstrous.
  None of the clothing is impressive or intact; it will tear and disintegrate if anyone tries to put it on. Under
  the clothesline-heap, buried among the rags, a persistently-searching PC will find rusty link of chain as big
  as his hand—attached to another link, and so on. With a little work, a seven-foot length of heavy, still-
  sturdy chain will be uncovered.
  The chain can serve as a flailing weapon, battering for 3d4 hp damage, but can only be used to launch one
  such attack per round due to it's unwieldy nature, regardless of how many attacks its wielder may usually
  be capable of. The sheer weight of the chain forces attack roll penalties on wielders of less than 17 Strength:
  -1 per point of lesser strength [i.e. -1 at STR 16, -2 at STR 15, and so on]._______________________
  If PCs examine the papers on the table, they will find the following items of interest (from the top down; those
  not listed have become unreadable pulp): 
  [HANDOUTS]
  •a piece of parchment brown with old bloodstains, that bears in fading handwriting the words: "fell to his
  death, of course. Anyone foolish enough to suspect lichdom and then tell old Wonderspells so, to his face..."
  •a torn scrap of parchment with crisp, dark handwriting: "The dream-journeying made the Master sleep so
  deeply that a band of adventurers broke in and sacked the place while he was in trance, and he never
  awakened! Thankfully for our hides, we were all in the forest where we'd been sent, carrying out his
  errand. Thus his little plan to keep himself safe from any treachery on our part thrust its blade right back on
  himself! The intruders took some things so valuable that the Master raged for days, and broke a speculum
  with the fury of the spells he hurled through it. Yet his Arts have brought nothing back. He gloated only
  once—slaying one of the thieves, no doubt—but spent more time snarling out curses on someone called
  'Elminster.' All have agreed to try to find out more about this being, but never to mention him to the Master.
  After all, none of us want to share Thorlor's fate..."
  •a page torn out of a book that bears very faint, spidery handwriting in green ink: "The Master has shut
  Marandar out of the tower into the wilds, without his spellbook—and, we all fear, sent slaying spells after
  him. All M did was suggest we destroy or repair the burned bracer that's been gathering dust on the Master's
  study table these ten winters or more. Jaster thinks the bracer has something to do with the Master's past,
  perhaps a gift from a dead wife, but Dabratha insists the Master has never known love, and thinks it holds
  magic important to him, that he cannot unlock. She even suggested we apprentices are tolerated by the
  Master solely because he will need a certain number of mages to aid him in taking control of the bracer.
  When will we be ready, I wonder? Or as Jaster put it, when will the Master ever be ready to trust us enough?"
  •a rumpled page that begins with a listing ("ten and six small diamonds, of the same size as much as
  possible/three black feathers from a yearling falcon—no older!/three fingerbones gathered from a
  wyvern's lair") and then continues with different handwriting, in darker ink: 'The Master is raving.
  Almost all of his power is locked in the Ghommild, and he has lost control over it, after thieving adventurers
  took away with them some essential he needs to govern the Ghommild's enchantments. He fades daily, like
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood_____________Page 8_______
  unto a wraith, but cannot work the greatest magics—and his last attempt to wrest his power out of the bracer
  went wild, tearing life-force from him. He was forced to flee, and now dare not approach the upper floors of
  his own tower! He is in an agony of indecision; he must send us up to fetch things, but cannot bring himself
  to trust us to do important tasks—and no wonder, after the cruelties he's visited on us. Dabratha is still
  chained in the tub of vipers. His spells keep her alive despite their venom, but do nothing to quell the pain of
  their bites, and they are hungry enough to bite often. Her screams keep us awake at night. Only fear of being
  haunted by a wraith none can keep at bay has held the rest of us here this long. What will become of us all?"
  A later entry, in different handwriting, adds: "The Master slew Crauthen this morn, after he pleaded for
  Dabratha's release. To his words I can add only this dread warning: it is clear now that we shall all fall
  before the Master's growing madness. He is beyond lichdom, now, and I cannot help but ponder on the fate of
  all Faerun if he should ever regain control of what is in the Ghommild. Can even Mystra prevail against
  what our Master has become?"
  •a rotting, largely unreadable page of parchment that says: "...'tis a ring the Master seeks..." and
  "promised us that the senior apprentice would always know where the means of resurrection might be found,
  but..." and "Whurlynd was wrong. The..." and "...no way of knowing if the chimera is the only guardian
  of that door. The Master sets new..."
  The Way On
  The right-hand door leads to a stone stair leading up, along the curvature of the inside tower wall. It has a
  gentle grade (and is therefore long enough that climbing it will take at least 3 rounds).
  Whenever PCs are on the stairs, Dread (skeletal arms wielding dripping black scimitars, just like those
  that appeared on the invisible stair) will 'fade' out of the walls. Four will appear per round, until 24 have
  emerged (i.e. PCs have been on the stairs for 6 rounds). Dread will emerge during any round in which a
  living PC is on any step of the stair (PCs who fly or are somehow hauled up the stairs without touching the
  steps won't call forth any Dread). These skeletal arms attack any PCs who don't utter the pass-phrase "Forth
  fare the bold" while in contact with the stair (regardless of whether they've said it earlier to get past the
  mask). Speaking the phrase won't make the skeletal arms vanish as it did on the outside stair, only cause
  them to avoid any PC who's said the phrase (a PC who takes advantage of this to strike at any Dread will
  promptly be attacked by all the Dread, who will thereafter ignore any utterance of the pass-phrase by that
  PC).
  On the last few (highest) steps of the stair, PCs will find a rotting leather cylinder about a foot long, with caps
  on its ends. On the step right above it is a large, old bloodstain—and, lying in the heart of that stain, the
  bones of a severed human hand. The cylinder has caps that can readily be pulled off, to reveal a rolled spell
  scroll (the spells are cure light wounds, cure blindness or deafness, and cure serious wounds).
  The cause of the long-ago amputation of some unfortunate adventurer awaits any who step upon on the step
  above the bloodstain: a scything blade that snaps down from the ceiling! It deals 6d4 hit points of damage to
  any PC who steps on that next step and fails a Dexterity Check (PCs who successfully save take only Id2 hit
  points of damage as they duck away from the blade). The step must be depressed to call forth the blade; PCs
  who leap over it can pass safely without ever seeing the rusty blade come forth. Any PC who examines the
  area will see the long seam or crack in the ceiling that the blade issues from.
  VAMPIRIC DREAD: Int Non- (attack until destroyed); AL N; AC 6; MV 6,F115 (B); HD 3+3; hp 25 each;
  THACO 17; #AT 1; Dmg 1d8 (scimitar) or Id4 (barehanded); SA while attacking barehanded, gain (for 10
  days) half (round fractions down) of hit points damage they deal to foes; SD regenerates 2 hp/day, can't be
  turned on stairs, immune to charm, hold, sleep, shatter, disintegrate, and all polymorph spells, also
  immune to cold-based attacks, take half damage from edged and piercing attacks, take 2d4 hp damage from
  holy water (only 1d4 hp from a splash); SZ S (4' long); ML 20; XP 1,400 (MC Annual 1). 
  ___ ___
  There is a black leather curtain at the top of the stairs, concealing what lies beyond. It is rotten, and will
  (harmlessly) sigh into dust if touched. Beyond lies:
  The Chamber of Mirrors
  The curtained archway at the head of the stairs opens in the center of one wall of a 30' square room. Trios of
  identical mirrors hang in rows on the walls to both left and right, with a larger, lone mirror spanning the
  wall that faces the PCs as they enter (the wall they enter through is bare).
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood_____________Page 9_______
  The room is empty except for a low wooden bench (about 5 feet long by 2 feet across and 2 feet high) that stands
  at about the center of the room, and a flimsy wooden cloak-stand (a tripod of wood supporting a 6-foot-long
  upright studded with long wooden pegs) in the near left corner. The mirrors reflect back normal images of
  the PCs. There is no visible way onwards from this room.
  The cloak-stand and the bench are both normal pieces of furniture, but hidden on the underside of the bench
  is a smooth, foot-long, tapering stick of wood inscribed at its butt end with the word: "Challatha." This is a
  wand of magic missiles with 6 charges remaining (that is, six 1d4+l hp-damage missiles can be called
  forth before the magic of this wand is exhausted; its enchantments don't inform any user of how many
  charges remain). It is operated by silent force of will, but the command word is necessary to discharge two
  missiles in the same round (direct flesh contact with the wand will communicate this and the function and
  operation of the wand). The wand is found in a still-sturdy leather sheath that has been slid through holes in
  cross-members on the underside of the bench, and held in place by leather end-straps; it can be stealthily
  and readily freed, but its recessed location makes it invisible to a casual glance under the bench (to find it, a
  PC must get a good, direct look at the underside of the bench, and moving or shaking the bench won't cause it
  to 'fall out').
  The mirrors appear as simple rectangles of polished, silver-coated steel set into the wall, with their lower
  edges about 4 feet above the floor. They are 5 feet wide and 7 feet tall (except for the one on the back wall,
  which is 7 feet tall but 20 feet wide). If any mirror is stared at intently for more than 2 rounds, its surface
  will begin to shimmer, and the reflection of the PCs will fade, revealing another scene 'beyond' the mirror
  (in the descriptions hereafter, the sentences in quotation marks describe the initial view the PCs have of
  these scenes).
  At any time, a PC who tries to touch the face of a mirror will find that their hand sinks into it as if into empty
  air, and it can be readily climbed through—but unless its surface has shimmered, such a journey is made
  'blind,' without knowing what lies beyond. Once a mirror has shifted its scene, it remains so for 1 full turn
  (its state never affects travel back and forth through its frame, just visibility).
  The areas beyond the mirrors are (with one exception: the way onwards) located in extra-dimensional
  space; breaking through walls in such areas will lead to a swirling chaos that precipitously carries all PCs
  in the vicinity to a random destination elsewhere in Faerun. They will arrive safely, but probably without
  some clothing, gear, or items they possessed before their trip (for tournament purposes, such a journey will
  whisk any affected PCs into a naked tumble into the hearth of the great hall in the Baron's Castle, in front of
  the astonished Lady Nlatha at dinner—while the fireplace is occupied by a crackling fire, of course).
  Near Left-Wall Mirror: "A gloomy, straw-strewn room in which several wild boar grunt and snore, with
  one of them moving restlessly about."
  This stinking chamber was a larder of sorts for the occupants of the tower, and is a 60-foot-square stone room
  that contains only 8 Wild Boar, dung, straw, a water-trough, and an invisible teleport device that removes
  dead boars and brings in food (rotting vegetables and plants of all sorts) or fresh boars from a satrap's
  paddock in distant Calimshan.
  The teleport is large enough to whisk a PC elsewhere, but to an unknown destination, and operating on an
  unknown schedule; for tournament purposes, it will flash into visibility and work only for a PC who
  possesses the Ghommild, and other beings accompanying that PC.
  Magic operating in this chamber improves longevity and checks diseases of all sorts—but also makes
  anyone entering it feel lazy and sleepy; after 6 rounds of exposure, any PC attack rolls are made at -1.
  The boars will rouse themselves to attack any intruder—first one boar, then a second and third joining the
  fray two rounds after any round of battle, and then all the rest two rounds after that. The boars can't pass
  through the mirror, but PCs can escape back through it at any time (if they can reach it; the boars can see out
  of it, and are well aware of its dimensions and location; they typically form a wall of porcine flesh between
  any intruder and the mirror).
  WILD BOAR (8): Int Animal (aggressive); AL N; AC 7; MV 15; HD 3+3; hp 20 each; THACO 17; #AT 1;
  Dmg 3d4; SA will continue to attack even when mortally wounded (must be reduced to -7 hit points); SZ S (3'
  high at shoulder); ML 10; XP 175._________________________________________________
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters___by Ed Greenwood______________Page 10______
  Center Left-Wall Mirror: "A dark chamber in which chains ending in manacles dangle in a small forest
  from the ceiling, and heaps of bones gleam yellow-white below."
  This 40-foot-square room is the 'pit of vipers' where Dabratha was tormented. The delicate, crumble-at-a-
  touch skeletons of thousands of snakes that died of hunger here form the heaps on the floor.
  If PCs stir and shift these bones for at least a round, they will find a plain, bright-polished brass ring lying
  on the floor. It is a ring of resurrection (identical to a rod of resurrection, except that it can be worn and used
  by a character of any class). Though a wearer has no way of telling this without recourse to examination
  spells, the ring has 12 charges left—and when the last one is expended, it will crumble into dust. If exhausted
  while trying to bring a character back to life that it lacks sufficient charges to successfully resurrect, the
  character rises as a zombie (a 'standard' undead, under the control of the ring-wearer).
  If this ring is placed on a finger or toe of a skeleton or undead creature (even one whose body is incomplete),
  it will instantly bring them back to life, restoring a whole body, health, and alertness.
  Far Left-Wall Mirror: "A bedchamber dominated by a huge four-poster bed, upon which a skeleton in a
  gown of flame-orange silk is reclining. It beckons seductively, shifting itself against the pillows, and
  flicks a lock of its long dark hair back over one shoulder-blade. The mane of silky brown hair is rooted in
  its scalp—which is the only flesh still clinging to its brown-hued bones."
  This skeleton is all that remains of Thaldigar's wife, Shoubra, her wits clouded by the powerful
  enchantments that took her into undeath and the ancient furnishings of her bedchamber from decaying.
  (They also prevent her from being turned or dispelled, and 'heal' her; any PC who examines Shoubra
  closely will see that her bones are entirely covered with a webwork of tiny cracks from earlier breakages—
  caused by the attacks of revolted adventurers—that have fused together again). In life, she was very
  beautiful, graceful, and sensuous, and she retains the mannerisms that so captivated Thaldigar. The
  DM™ should roleplay Shoubra to be as seductive as possible, silent until PCs enter her chamber (wholly or
  partially), but able to see and hear out into the central room as soon as her mirror shimmers.
  Shoubra just barely realizes how lonely she is; she'll try to embrace any PC who enters her scented
  bedchamber, regardless of their gender or manner, and address them as "Thaldigar"—even if there are
  multiple PCs in the room at once. She'll repeatedly try to kiss and clasp her arms about PCs, undaunted by
  any attacks they may make on her, but will do them no harm.
  She has no idea she's dead or skeletal, and will make provocative movements and gestures as if smooth
  flesh still cloaked her bones. She won't believe PCs who described her present state to her, and can't see it in
  any of the mirrors set into the walls of the tower; if shown it in a mirror provided by a PC, she'll shriek and
  then rush against a PC to weep and clutch at them, scared and despairing.
  She'll plead with PCs not to leave her if they seem about to do so, and will beg to be allowed to accompany
  them, plaintively offering her services ("I'm an expert seamstress and a fair scribe of letters...! can sing,
  and, well, I'm an expert seamstress...") and obeying instantly if told to be silent or to do something.
  If PCs are patient in questioning her, they can learn a lot about Thaldigar (in the form of bewildered,
  halting, fragmentary replies). She has no idea (and won't believe, if told) that Thaldigar went mad, or that
  he is now some sort of undead, but does recall his rage after "some thief called Elminster" stole "his most
  precious magic," leaving him unable to "command the Ghommild." Shoubra can be taught to do simple
  tasks (opening something, getting something out, and putting it somewhere specific are about the limits of
  her abilities; if overburdened with too many such things to do, she tends to do them at odd times, regardless
  of the wishes of others) and to speak even quite complex phrases (though someone will have to repeat them ad
  nauseam to her, to bring this about), and can be taken out of the tower without suffering any harm. The
  skills she claims to possess and real (and she retains them in undeath). In life she disliked travel and even
  going out-of-doors (so she'll keep to any rooms she's placed in, wandering only very occasionally, in a sort
  of friendly, befuddled haze). She can freely pass through the mirrors (and, in fact, all around the tower).
  Shoubra (SKELETON): Int Average (confused); AL N; AC 7; MV 12; HD 1; hp 8; THACO 19; #AT 1; Dmg
  Id4 or Id6 if armed (but won't attack); SD regenerates 2 hp/day due to enchantments, can't be turned or
  dispelled, immune to charm, fear, hold, sleep spells and cold-based attacks, takes half damage from edged
  and piercing attacks, takes 2d4 hp damage from holy water (only Id4 hp from a splash); SZ M (5'6" tall); ML
  20;XP65.
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood_____________Page 11_______
  The 40-foot-deep-by-60-foot-long, pleasantly-scented room contains the four-poster with its canopy,
  cushions, linens, pillows, and curtains; a silk-covered footstool; a chamberpot (beneath the bed), a dressing-
  table (festooned with a crowded colony of stoppered glass scent-bottles) with a chair, and a wardrobe full of
  fine feminine gowns, slippers, boots, and undergarments (Shoubra will try to take an armful of her favorite
  things with her if allowed to accompany the PCs). Shoubra has no jewels (earlier adventurers seized them,
  though she doesn't remember this).
  Shoubra knows the way upwards (see "Rear Wall Mirror," hereafter; it's a door in the rear wall of the
  Chamber of Mirrors, hidden by an illusion), and will volunteer this information to the PCs if they can't find
  this door. (If the PCs have smashed Shoubra, this advice will take the form of a ghostly voice, pleading with
  the PCs to come back for her.) Thaldigar didn't allow her into the upper levels of the tower, so she knows
  nothing useful of what awaits there.__ 
  __ 
  __ ______________ ___ __________ ____
  If PCs destroy or disable Shoubra and go on, she'll appear whenever they try to leave the tower, whole again
  and pleading with them to take her along. (If treated unkindly, she'll somehow appear inside Hawkhill
  Castle a tenday later, to plead with them again.) 
  __
  Rear Wall Mirror: "Mists drift gently above a placid forest pool; sunlight is trying vainly to stab down
  through the deep green dimness that cloaks the scene; the moss-girt trunks of huge trees rise all around. A
  flitting flash of blue marks the flight of a bird through the trees in the distance."
  This scene is the work of Thaldigar's mighty enchantments. The birds (whose calls resound pleasantly in
  the distance at random intervals) are illusions. PCs passing through the mirror will find that the entire
  warm, softly lit 'forest' is a series of illusions. The pool is Thaldigar's pleasantly-warm bathtub, whose
  enchantments continually carry away soapy or soiled water and bring fresh. The actual size of the chamber
  is roughly 40 feet square; attempts to walk into the trees will result in rude impacts with unyielding stone
  walls.
  PCs feeling along these walls will find three flat dishes of soap flakes, a thick maroon bathrobe, and a
  small (three inches across by an inch deep), round glass jar which contains a mint-green, jellylike
  substance. This is a full jar of Keoghtom's ointment, containing five applications, each of which will
  nullify any poison or disease, or restores ld4+8 lost hit points. These items are completely concealed by the
  forest illusions, and can only be found by feel, though they are readily visible once drawn out into the
  vicinity of the pool.
  Hidden behind the cloaking illusion of a tree in the rear right corner of this room is a closed, unlocked
  wooden door that opens onto a stone stair curving upwards (to "The Tapestry Chamber").
  Near Right-Wall Mirror: "A small table stands in the center of a square, stone-walled room that has a
  closed door in the center of its back wall. The tabletop glows with a gentle golden radiance, clearly
  displaying a crown sitting on it. Red, blue, and green gems on the spires of this crown wink and sparkle
  with their own competing glows. A chair is drawn up beside the table, and on it sits a skeletal pelvis and
  legs...which rise and walk towards the mirror!"
  This human skeleton ends in mid-spine (a 'spike' of vertebrae projects up from the pelvic bones), its upper
  half vaporized by the spells of an earlier band of adventurers. It is curious rather than dangerous, and won't
  do anything except walk around, moving towards any activity (i.e. it will follow PCs henceforth, unless
  prevented from doing so by damage to it or by barriers). Due to the enchantments that sustain it, it can't be
  turned or dispelled. It can't speak, but can 'see,' and even read. It is very intelligent, and will instantly
  understand PC suggestions (such as "stamp once to tell us 'yes,' twice for 'no'").
  This is all that remains of Thorlar, once Thaldigar's senior apprentice. It will be eager to carry PC packs
  and gear draped over it, just to be going elsewhere and doing something. It can freely pass through the
  mirror. Though Thorlar tends to act like a little child (either eager or petulant), he is by nature kindly and
  helpful, not evil. (If Shoubra encounters the skeletal legs, she won't know who they belong to, and with a
  puzzled air will try to question them as to their identity; if the PCs don't think of the stamping code, she
  might suggest it aloud—and the remains of Thorlar will instantly respond.)
  The marble tabletop glows with a continual faerie fire which will survive removal of the table from the tower
  (or even disassembly of the table itself), but the furniture here offers nothing else of interest. The 40-foot-
  square room is as bare as it looks. The door at the back of the room is unlocked and unguarded, opening into
  the room by means of a pull-ring, and leads to a short, dark passage (that links up with the "center right-
  wall mirror" room next door).
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood______________Page 12______
  The crown is a circlet of bright-polished steel that will alter in size to fit the forehead of a wearer. Its twenty
  thumb-sized gems are worthless pebbles that lose their radiances and gemstone looks if twisted out of their
  settings—except for the three that are ioun stones, with powers as follows (operable only when the stones are
  orbiting the head of their "owner," the last being to grasp them): a clear spindle (sustains person without food
  or water); a pearly white spindle (regenerates 1 hp/turn); and a dusty rose prism (confers +1 protection).
  Center Right-Wall Mirror: "A stone pedestal stands in the center of a small, bare, stone-walled room. The
  top of the pedestal is lit by a faint, flickering pale white glow, which shows that there are smudged markings
  on the pedestal-top...markings made with purple chalk. The wan radiance also shows a closed wooden door
  in the back right-hand corner of the room."
  The 40-foot-square room is as bare as it looks—except for one nasty surprise awaiting PCs entering through
  the mirror frame: the dark bulk of something large and dead lies on the floor against the mirror-wall
  (invisible 'below the sill' when looking through the mirror). "Dust lies thick on the dull, staring eyes of its
  goat head, its lion head, and its dragon head." The dragonlike wings of this chimera are shredded stumps,
  slashed through by edged weapons of some sort (that are now missing from the room, though PCs should be
  told that they may lie hidden under the corpse), but there is no sign of violence on the rest of its body, nor any
  bloodstains around; how it died here is a mystery. PCs will have to leap to avoid landing on it.
  Perhaps the chimera was slain by whoever wiped his hand (four fingers) across the chalk design on the
  plinth, and took whatever lay within its central ring.
  PCs who examine the plinth will see that the flickering radiance is actually coming from the purple chalk
  (it will cease entirely if the chalk is disturbed further), and that the entire surface of the plinth is thickly
  coated in dust—except for a small, circular bare patch in the center of a ring of purple chalk, where
  something (now missing) recently sat.
  (If Shoubra is questioned about this, she'll recall that a sculpted electrum head "that spoke spells aloud"
  always sat on the plinth; she knows nothing of its present whereabouts, any purple chalk, or how a chimera
  came to be—and die—here. She does vaguely recall that "there's something under the plinth," too.)
  Before the pattern of purple chalk was disarranged, it was a large circle with a tail (like a capital letter "Q"),
  with two tiny circles bisecting the tail like pearls threaded on a necklace-string. (If PCs restore the chalk to
  its former, unbroken state, the flickering radiance will wink out, but nothing else will happen.) A circle is
  graven into the side of the plinth that faces away from the mirror, but the meaning of this mark is a mystery
  (there are no other markings on the plinth).
  The door at the back of the room is unlocked and unguarded, opening into the room by means of a pull-ring,
  and leads into a short dark passage (leading to the "near right-wall mirror" room).
  If PCs think to move the plinth, it will require a combined strength of 20 to move—but will slide aside to
  reveal a ten-inch-square, 2-foot-deep storage niche that contains a long wooden box with a handle on its top!
  The wooden box is held closed by two hook-and-eyes, on opposing sides, and holds nine long, narrow steel
  vials, cork-stoppered and wax-sealed, that bear no markings and contain a clear, colorless, odorless
  liquid. These are a\\ potions of extra-healing (drinking one down restores 3d8+3 lost hp, or one can quaff
  three Id8-hp-restoring doses).
  Far Right-Wall Mirror: "A sleeping human lady lies on empty air in the center of a small, bare, stone-
  walled room. She lies flat on her back as if there was a casket or bed beneath her instead of five feet of
  nothingness, and her hands are clasped about the hilt of a naked longsword that lies along her body, its point
  below her knees. A faint, steady amber glow comes from the sword, illuminating the room and the still lady
  in her gown."
  The 40-foot-square room is as empty as it appears, and there is no way into or out of it save through the
  mirror. The lady wears a finely-made green silk gown, leather boots of the very finest make (with copper
  toes and copperclad spiked heels), and a russet undermantle visible at her cuffs and throat. Her long fair
  hair has been woven into a thick braid and placed within her bodice, and she looks asleep or dead (there is no
  sign of breathing). She is solid (not an illusion), but can't be moved or awakened; swords and spells will
  both bounce harmlessly off her. Her eyelids can't be opened, and her joints can't be bent (or broken, no
  matter how much force is used). Only her fingers can be made to move; they'll release the sword-hilt
  instantly if a PC takes hold of it—whereupon the lady will vanish, leaving the PC holding the sword.
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright e> 1997 by TSR. Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood_____________Page 13
  The Lady's Blade is an everbright (non-rusting), eversharp longsword +4, but its enchantments include one
  strange detrimental property of inexplicable origin: each time it successfully strikes any living (not
  undead, though all undead creatures of Thaldigar's Tower are exceptions to this!) creature, there is an even
  chance (any even result on an even/odd die roll) that it will create a duplicate of that creature (identical in
  current hit points, abilities, equipage, and attitude to the original). This duplicate is under the control of the
  original creature, not the sword-wielder—and almost always promptly attacks the sword-wielder. The
  duplicate (along with any weapons and gear it may possess) fades away after 6 rounds. The sword can
  readily be discarded by anyone, but its deadly duplication power can only be discovered by accident...all too
  often, a fatal accident. The amber faerie fire radiance of the Lady's Blade is permanent and steady; dispel
  magic spells will dim it to almost 'out' for Id4+1 rounds._________________________________
  (This was a battle-trophy that Thaldigar discovered the full properties of, tried and failed to modify entirely
  to his liking, and then didn't know what to do with. The sleeping lady is a conjured image of his devising;
  only he and Thorlar [not Shoubra] know that it's an exact likeness of his first apprentice, Eluora, who
  revealed her true [weredragon] nature one day by taking on dragon form and flying away with Thaldigar's
  best spellbook and staff. Some say that the darkness in the heart of the arch wizard was born that day.)
  The Tapestry Chamber
  The stair from the 'forest glade' bathroom reached through the "Rear Wall Mirror" of the curves upwards
  without peril or features of interest except a faint blue continual faerie fire glow on each riser that allows the
  steps to be used safely in the dark, to an open archway. The unlit 40-foot-square room beyond is furnished
  with an oval table of dark, well-polished wood (duskwood), with fourteen high-backed chairs drawn up
  around it. A large golden goblet stands on the table in front of one chair. A sideboard of the same dark wood
  runs along one wall, its half-dozen doors all swung open at odd angles, and a huge tapestry (a vivid scene of
  three pegasi-riding, robed and bearded human mages hurling spells at a furiously-flying red dragon that is
  looming up behind them, jaws agape) covers the back wall.
  The goblet seems to be half-full of ruby wine, but anyone trying to touch it will discover that everything
  passes through it, leaving it undisturbed. It is a permanent illusion (its origin and the reason behind it
  unknown, but presumably Thaldigar's work). Casting dispel magic on the goblet will cause a deep,
  booming bell to toll somewhere nearby (and above) in the tower, and—just for a moment—it will seem that
  shadowy figures of robed young men and one woman sit around the table, toasting each other with similar
  goblets.
  A close inspection of the table will reveal that nothing is hidden or engraved on its underside, nothing lies
  on the floor under it, and that its top has one odd feature: a circle of wood is inset into the wood directly above
  each of the four thick table legs.
  These circles can be turned by someone using daggerpoints or other thin tools, and so made to lift out—
  offering access to hollows in the legs. In each of these hiding-places sits a foot-long, smooth-finished,
  tapering stick of wood. These are wands, and are as follows:
  •A wand graven with the word (name of its maker) "Nelandos": a wand of paralyzation (2 charges left; its
  power won't work on any wizard or any creature [including undead] or construct found in Thaldigar's
  Tower by the PCs)
  •A wand graven with the word (name of its maker) "Ulurmreth": a wand of flame extinguishing (8
  charges remaining)
  •A wand graven with the word (name of its maker) "Jaster": a wand of magic missiles (12 charges
  remaining)
  •A wand graven with the word (name of its maker) "Dabratha": a wand of fire (3 charges remaining)
  The chairs have nothing hidden on their undersides, and the sideboard is empty, plundered of all of its
  silver platters, tureens, and cutlery by earlier adventurers.
  The tapestry on the back wall is superbly woven, its scene both vivid and lifelike. It radiates a faint
  dweomer (preservative magics that also keep its colors bright), is 12 feet tall and 36 feet long, and weighs so
  much that a minimum of three characters with a combined strength of 47 will be required to carry it about. It
  hangs from 6 stout wall hooks (which project through 6 brass rings inset in its top edge).
  Anyone examining the back of the tapestry will see the (unlocked) door hidden behind it, leads to"the
  Beknighted Stair" (the way onwards). They will also find a black leather garter clipped to the back of the
  tapestry that holds six platinum pieces (with empty slits for two more coins), and ends in a little metal box
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood_____________Page 14_____
  that holds a pink rhomboid gemstone (an ioun stone that adds 1 point to the Constitution of its possessor [but
  can't raise that ability score above 18]).
  A Beknighted Stair
  The door behind the tapestry in "The Tapestry Chamber" opens inwards, drawing the tapestry aside with it,
  to reveal a stair curving steeply upwards and to the left. The stair is empty, but when the foremost PC has
  ascended two of its steps, a metallic crashing will be heard from the top of the stair—followed by the flash
  and clatter of a weaponless man in full plate armor tumbling down the stairs. Regardless of what the PCs
  do, the knight in armor will roll to their feet (or to the bottom of the stair if the PCs flee), ending up on his
  back—whereupon his helm will fall open to reveal that it is empty; no one is inside the armor. Then the
  figure will fade away (it was solid during its fall, as sparks and the scratches it left behind will attest—as
  well as any PC who doesn't get out of the way in time, and suffers 1 hp of damage in the process).
  But When Eye Dream...
  The knight in armor appears only once; PCs climbing the stairs thereafter will encounter no impediment.
  The stair ends in an archway filled with a still-stout leather curtain, with a ruby-red radiance leaking
  around its edges. Beyond the curtain PCs will see:
  A faint, steady red glow emanates from the ceiling of the room ahead, illuminating it clearly. It is a 20-foot-
  square room with a door in the center of its right-hand wall. Cloaks and smocks hang on pegs all around the
  walls, and the room is dominated by a massive circular table, ten feet across and almost a foot thick: a
  single cross-section of a tree set upon a section of trunk from a slightly smaller tree as a base. A chair lies
  toppled on its back on the stone floor beside the table.
  Atop the table is a wizard's pointed hat (black, and covered with little silver stars); a foot-long, smooth-
  finished, tapering stick of wood; three small, rectangular blocks of incense; a fuzzy ball of twine; a
  stoppered glass jar that seems to be full of iron filings; a large white feather; two diamonds; a shiny, like-
  new steel box 2 inches thick, 4 inches wide, and 6 inches long (there is no sign of a key); and a small black
  box hinged to open like a clam.
  The ceiling emanates a ruby-red continual faerie fire radiance. The door in the right-hand wall has no
  lock, and opens into this room by means of a pull-ring. The furniture hides nothing of interest. There are 6
  smocks on the left-hand wall, 4 cloaks on the back wall, and two robes on the right-hand wall (beyond the
  door). All are non-magical, and have nothing in their pockets (the robes are wizardly garments, with forty
  or so little pockets sewn into each).
  Details of the items on the table are as follows: the hat is non-magical, and has nothing inside; the stick of
  wood is a non-magical-as-yet future wand; the three blocks of incense are all incense of meditation (if a
  priest burns one while praying and meditating in its presence for 8 unbroken hours, his spells will be of
  maximum possible effect for a 24-hour period); the twine is rough hempen string, 120' long when completely
  unrolled); the jar does indeed contain iron filings (about two pounds-worth); the feather is a wingfeather
  from a snowy owl; the two "diamonds" are actually just faceted and polished glass); the shiny steel box is
  locked (it can be readily forced open, or one of the rusty keys in the bowl in the closet [next room! opens it)
  and contains a silver-and-duskwood harmonica labelled "Harmonica of Doom" on one side, and "Blow me
  not save in just cause" on the other. 
  ___
  The Harmonica of Doom can be made to function only twice per day; a third attempt will teleport it away to a
  random distant Faerunian location, leaving its wielder behind. It always affects a 10-foot-square cube (the
  midpoint of one surface centered on, and 5 feet in front of, the harmonica-blower's waist, with the cube
  extending away from the blower).
  If blown outside the tower, the harmonica creates a time stop effect in its cube. Inside the tower, it acts as a
  disintegrate spell (for tournament purposes, fellow PCs caught in the area of effect will always successfully
  save versus the effect—but none of their weapons, gear, or anything metal on their persons, from buckles to
  toecaps, will!).
  Whenever the harmonica is blown by someone who didn't have a hand in its making (i.e. everyone except
  Thaldigar or one of his ex-apprentices), all of the blower's clothing will catch fire (if this isn't extinguished,
  or the clothing removed, within 2 rounds, damage will occur: 1 hp on the 3rd round, Id4+l on the 4th, 2d6 on
  the 5th, and Id6 on the 6th, at which time the fire dies away, leaving the clothing and the wearer's hair in
  ashes).
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood_____________Page 15_____
  The last item on the table (the small black box hinged to open like a clam) proves to hold what looks like a
  single, staring human eyeball, sitting in a cup of black velvet. Merely opening the box will cause a beholder
  to appear, floating 'asleep' above the table; if the eyeball itself (which is actually an illusion) is touched or the
  box dropped or hurled away to a violent landing, it will vanish and the beholder will 'awaken'!
  The appearance of the death tyrant (undead beholder) can be described thus:
  The air above the table shimmers, seeming to boil silently—and suddenly a dark, blue-green sphere hovers
  there, in air that was empty a moment earlier. A strong reek of mildew wafts out from this mottled monster.
  Green-and-white molds cling in a ragged carpet to the thing, and in other places, patches of skin seem to be
  crumbling away—wherever wandering green-grey veins aren't crisscrossing. The sphere is five feet
  across or more, and its lower curve is split by a huge, many-fanged mouth that is slowly drooling a milky
  fluid onto the tabletop. Bony plates surround a huge, closed single eye above the mouth—and above it,
  hanging down all around the sphere like a fringe of twitching snakes, are ten stalks that end in bulb-like
  masses of flesh. It looks old, and wise...and asleep.____________________________________
  PCs can quietly leave the room by either the stair they came by, or through the door, without activating
  Thaldigar's guardian death tyrant. Casting a dispel magic on the eyeball or the box, or dealing it more than
  60 hit points of damage, will cause the beholder to vanish as abruptly as it appeared. If the damage isn't done
  to the box in a single round, however, the death tyrant will awaken. Casting any spell except dispel magic in
  the room will also activate it:
  The spherical monster suddenly begins to move, rising towards the ceiling in one corner of the room and
  rolling over as it does so, to train ten staring eyes at you. Some of them are covered with a milky film, and
  others are dark, empty, shrivelled sockets—but at least six angry-looking orbs are glaring at you. There is
  a spattering of fluid as the large central eye, now closest to the floor, opens. 
  __
  From its vantage point at the ceiling (its lowest point is 14 feet above the floor), the death tyrant will silently
  and unhesitatingly attack every living creature in the room, using its eyestalk powers. It is fearless
  (doesn't care what happens to it), and won't surrender, retreat, bargain, or show any mercy. Its six
  surviving eyes have the following powers (yes, two of them are identical):
  •hold monster (single target; PC must save vs. spell or be held motionless for Id3 rounds after the death
  tyrant ceases to train that eye on him [or the eye is destroyed, or the PC is hooded or dragged out of sight!)
  •hold monster (single target; PC must save vs. spell or be held motionless for Id3 rounds after the death
  tyrant ceases to train that eye on him [or the eye is destroyed, or the PC is hooded or dragged out of sight])
  •sleep (single target; PC must save vs. spell or be comatose for 30 rounds [for this particular death tyrant];
  slapping or wounding by others can awaken sleeper early, but arousing takes 1 round)
  •telekinesis (250-lb. weight maximum; the death tyrant will use this power to sweep up the tabletop—which
  detaches from its base when rotated, something the death tyrant knows how to deftly do—and use it to batter
  PCs. A tabletop smash is made at the beholder's THACO, and if it hits, deals 4d4 hit points of damage, halved
  if the PC makes a successful Dexterity Check. The death tyrant also likes to use this power to snatch up a foe,
  and use the unfortunate PC as a living club to batter other PCs! A PC so 'snatched' is allowed an initial
  Strength Check. If successful, their struggles allow them to delay any impacts until the next round, and to
  divest themself of any items they desire to (typically dropping fragile things). Thereafter, the death tyrant
  sweeps them about until it turns the eye on someone or something else, or a dispel magic effect frees the PC.
  During every round, the death tyrant can smash the PC against something once. This impact does the PC
  2d4+4 hit points of damage unless they make a successful Dexterity Check (which reduces damage to ld4+2).
  If the PC is used to club other creatures, the attempt is made at the death tyrant's THACO, and both club and
  target are allowed Dexterity Checks for half damage. The full damage that a creature clubbed with a PC can
  take is 2d4+6; this is halved only in accordance with the creature's own successful Dexterity Check (i.e.
  regardless of the success or failure of the check made by the PC-club). A PC being telekinesed makes attacks
  at -4 to hit and -3 on damage, launches missile attacks at -5 to hit, and can only cast spells or activate magic
  that is awakened by silent force of will or by just a verbal component (casting spells with any somatic or
  material components is impossible)
  •slow (single target; PC must save vs. spell or move and attack at half rate; for example, a PC who attacks
  once per round would attack only once in every second round, and the attack would reach or miss its
  intended target at the very end of that second round; this effect lasts only as long as the eye is trained on the
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood______________Page 16______
  particular PC, and its onset upon a new target is as follows: the PC suddenly feels as if he or she is moving
  through molasses; breathing slows, and heartbeat becomes a drumlike, slow boom—but the actual half-rate-
  everything begins at the start of the round following first contact with the eye)
  •cause serious wounds (single target within 50 yards must save vs. spell or suffer 2d8+l hp damage)
  The death tyrant lets fly with every eyestalk power, every round, not bothering with its central eye's 140-
  yard-range, 90-degree arc anti-magic ray (i.e. PCs can cast spells to fight or escape, though the central eye
  is bathing the floor beneath the death tyrant with its nullifying gaze), and doesn't "fight smart" (an eyestalk
  power lashes out at a random PC, not the nearest, or most dangerous, or one who is spellcasting). It will try to
  bite any PC who strikes it directly with a weapon. Its body is AC 0, its eyestalks are AC 2, and both its central
  eye and smaller eyes are AC 7. (Eyestalks and their eyes have 12 hit points each, that don't count in the death
  tyrant's hit point total; attacks against specific beholder body parts are made at -2).
  DEATH TYRANT (undead beholder): Int Nil; AL LE; AC 0/2/7; MV Fl 2 (C); hp 70; THACO 5; #AT 1; Drag
  2d4 (bite); SA magic; SD anti-magic ray, immune to charm, hold, sleep spells; SZ L (5'+ diameter); ML 18;
  XP 13,000 (I,Tyrant). 
  ___
  The unlocked door in the right-hand wall leads to:
  A Skeleton In The Closet
  When the door of the closet is opened, PCs will be confronted by a human skeleton, standing just inside the
  door. It is holding up a sign that says: "Use the spell, fool." (This is an old joke Thaldigar used to play on his
  apprentices, not a direction to the PCs). The moment any PC reads the sign, it and the skeleton will vanish,
  leaving the closet empty of foes.
  The closet is 5' wide and 7' long, and is lined with dusty wooden shelves whose fronts are studded with
  wooden pegs. The rotting remnants of clothing hang on some of these pegs, thickly coated with cobwebs. A
  fist-sized black spider will boil out of hiding on one of the shelves if the PCs rummage, and scamper away; it
  is entirely harmless and can be readily killed.
  The shelves contain a bowl full of rusty keys (to chests and rooms that once held them in the destroyed lower
  part of the tower; one key opens the silver box that holds the Harmonica of Doom); ajar of iron filings; ajar
  of fishhooks; ajar of glass beads (clear, colorless pierced marbles); a broken clay pipe; a foot-long tangled
  piece of twine; ajar of candle-ends (seven stubs); two ornate glass ink-wells (the contents of both dried up);
  two quill pens that will crumble into dust if touched; and a waxed measuring cord that has been knotted at
  every foot along its length (it is 16 feet long). A high wooden stool is in one corner, festooned by the rotten,
  disintegrating remnants of a feather boa.
  Any PC who thinks to look up will discover the way onwards: a quite visible trapdoor, with swing-down
  hinges and a rotating wooden catch, forms the ceiling at the end of the closet. The ceiling is only 7' up;
  reaching the trap with the stool is ease itself.
  The trapdoor leads up into:
  A Dark, Dark Room
  Above the trapdoor is inky, utter darkness—in fact, a ten-foot-square room entirely under the sway of
  magical darkness, wherein the 'blink skeleton' from the closet below will make its stand, hacking at PCs
  who appear up the trapdoor (it gets a +4 on attack rolls directed at PCs appearing through the confines of the
  trap, until more than one PC has entered the dark room, whereupon its attack rolls become normal again).
  PCs lacking infravision or any means of dispelling the darkness must function at -4 on all attacks (with
  the loss of all damage bonuses), -4 on Armor Class, -4 on dodging and evasion saving throws, and at
  normal movement speeds, have a good chance of veering in the wrong direction, and must make a Dexterity
  Check every round or stumble and fall; this chance of tripping vanishes if movement is slow and cautious.
  PCs who possess the blind-fighting proficiency suffer only a -2 attack penalty, and no AC penalty, retaining
  half-effectiveness in special abilities normally lost in darkness.____________________________
  Thaldigar's version of a 'blink skeleton' is a magically-augmented human skeleton that can't be turned or
  dispelled. It strikes twice per round (this one is armed with a broad sword that deals 2d4 hit points of
  damage), and in place of one of its attacks can choose to launch two magic missiles instead (each Id4+l hp-
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood
  Page 17
  damage bolt can target a different target). At the end of every round it can blink away (instantaneously
  teleport ten feet, but in a deliberate, not random direction; usually the skeleton chooses to appear behind
  another PC; a blink will never be into a solid object, and the skeleton need not make this journey). The
  skeleton will fight until destroyed, but will try to do a little damage here and a little damage there, to as
  many PCs as possible, and survive as long as it can. Thanks to Thaldigar's enchantments (and sense of
  humor) it will chuckle, hum snatches of sardonic songs (some suggested lyrics follow), and even whistle as
  it goes about its deadly work. (Such vocalizations won't begin until PCs have discovered what they're facing
  in the dark room.)
  BLINK SKELETON: Int 12 (battle cunning); AL N; AC 6; MV 12; HD 3+3; hp 25; THACO 17; #AT 2; Dmg
  2d4 (broad sword) or Id4 (barehanded); SA magic missile; SD blink ability, regenerates 2 hp/day, can't be
  turned or dispelled, immune to charm, hold, sleep, shatter, disintegrate, magic missile and all polymorph
  spells, also immune to cold-based attacks, take half damage from edged and piercing attacks, take 2d4 hp
  damage from holy water (only Id4 hp from a splash); SZ M (6' tall); ML 20; XP 975 ("new").__________
  Some of the skeleton's songs follow:
  [to the tune of Song of Reproduction]
  I had a little snickersnee
  I'd wave it all about
  Amid the bouncing heads and such
  There'd always be a shout:
  'No fair! No fair! You're already dead
  How can we win this bout?'
  I hear this o'er and o'er again
  The years they drag on by
  And as I chop more fools down
  I start to wonder why
  Adventurers go riding out
  Fire in every eye
  Why do they think the world is fair
  And only villains die?
  [to the tune of Tit-Willow]
  'Neath a tree by a river a little skull lies
  Rattle-hollow, rattle-hollow, rattle-hollow
  And he smiles at the boats as past 'im they flies
  Rattle-hollow, rattle-hollow, rattle-hollow
  And close down beside 'im are fingerbones three
  That drum there and drum on most impatiently
  "Someday soon all you sailors will be just like me!"
  He chatters hollow, rattle-hollow, rattle-hollow...
  And if you pass by there I hope you won't laugh
  Rattle-hollow, rattle-hollow, rattle-hollow
  I hates to see so stupid a fatal last gaffe
  Rattle-hollow, rattle-hollow, rattle-hollow
  That death-head's quite likely to take grave offense
  Fingerbones leaping down 'laugher' immense
  To choke you and chill you and send you down dark
  While the skull sits a-grinnin' just like a shark
  Dancin' rattle-hollow, rattle-hollow, rattle-hollow...
  [to the tune of Early One Morning]
  Out in the velvet night
  I creep to give live folks a fright
  They all fear my blade so bright
  as a-chopping heads I go
  Oh, scream lustily
  Oh, flee right trustily
  E'en a set o' dancin' bones appreciates a show!
  The trapdoor from the closet enters the dark room in the center of its floor. The room is bare of all
  furnishings and items except the burnt stub-end of a torch (discarded by some long-ago adventurer). The
  ceiling is 7' up, and right above the trapdoor the PCs enter by, it sports an identical trapdoor, leading to
  another room above. There's also a large (unlocked) double door in one wall, that leads into:
  The Ring of Power
  The hum and crackle of great magical force is instantly heard and felt by all who enter this (40-foot-square)
  chamber. The very air shimmers with white, shining ripples of force, flowing out like waves from (and
  rebounding towards) what floats in the center of this room. The room is otherwise bare and empty, and its
  surfaces display no other doors or openings.
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood______________Page 18______
  At the center of the room float four dark-robed figures, lying horizontally on their stomachs in the air about 5
  feet off the floor. They are all motionless, hovering in the same locations regardless of the ebbs and flows of
  power, and hold identical rigid poses: their arms and legs are spread wide in "X"-like poses, with their
  heads facing inwards and turned up to stare at what lies between them.
  The unmoving figures occupy the compass points around a central ring of stones, which drift in slow,
  slightly irregular orbits (so that some occasionally pass each other, or strike each other and rebound,
  drifting gently into new paths). These 12 rose-hued stones resemble ioun stones in their movements, but are
  smooth (not faceted), translucent egg-shaped gemstones of a material unknown to the PCs, and are much
  larger than any ioun stones the PCs have ever seen: each is perhaps eight inches tall. Power seems to wash
  out of them and swirl around them, rising to a humming height in close proximity to them. (They are the
  enchanted foci of the field that maintains Thaldigar's Tower.)
  This power will swirl around any PCs who enter the room, slowing them as if they were wading through
  moving water, and they'll feel an unpleasant tingling sensation. Nothing else will occur (unless they
  undertake certain actions, as noted hereafter), and PCs can freely move around the chamber and touch the
  stones or the figures.
  The figures are four staring-eyed, black-robed human males, whose gazes are fixed on the stones. They
  can't see or hear the PCs, don't seem to be breathing, and won't change what they're looking at regardless of
  what the PCs do to them. They wear no footwear, undergarments, or accoutrements—just the robes, securely
  buttoned and belted about their bodies. Their minds are gone and can't be psionically or magically
  contacted. (These are trapped former apprentices of Thaldigar whose life-forces have been artificially
  maintained by the field, but whose presence is essential to its continued existence.) PCs can remove their
  robes without apparent effect, and even forcibly change their spreadeagled poses (though their limbs, if
  released, will slowly drift back into the 'X' position in which they were found), but certain PC actions will
  cause reactive occurrences, as follows:
  The first time (only) a particular PC touches any floating figure (as a probe or tentative exploration, not with
  damaging force or intent): power surges through the PC, healing all hit point damage currently suffered,
  and banishing all diseases, curses, magical compulsions, controls—and defenses.
  All spells cast (or magic item discharges launched) by PCs against any figure or stone will be tracelessly
  and harmlessly absorbed, except for dispel magic. When used against either a figure or a stone, it causes the
  surging white forces to fade and fall away from the figure, and darkness to crawl around the room. The
  tower will shake, and stone blocks will break free around the walls of this room and topple ponderously to the
  floor, to shatter. Pitch darkness will rule the tower for an instant. Then the shaking stops and the bright
  waves of energy (alongside all other light sources) return.
  The first time a particular PC touches any stone: All current hit point damage the PC is suffering is healed.
  All spells cast by the PC are instantly and wholly remembered and 'recharged,' ready for use again (the PC
  can't, of course, choose to change any spells at this time).
  Each time a PC tries to strike (attack) any figure or stone: lightning will erupt from the floating target,
  arcing to the PC—who will be sent flying, blasted for 2d4 hit points of damage and paralyzed for Id4 rounds.
  The bolt won't reflect back on its source or leap to any other creature or items.
  If PCs try to move (tow away) any figure: lightnings of magical force (not pure electricity, and thus
  protections against lightning will be ineffective) will begin to crackle along the limbs of the figure, stabbing
  at any PCs involved in the moving, as follows: no damage on the first round, but warning tinglings will be
  felt; ld4+4 hit points on the 2nd round; 3d4 hit points on the 3rd round; 4d8 hit points on the 4th; 6d10 on the
  5th; 8dl2 on the 6th; 10dl2+10 on the 7th; and 12d20 on the 8th. If the PCs ever all release the figure, it will
  snap back to its former position (or as close to it as possible). During the towing, the field will snarl and roar
  around the PCs, tugging at them until their own movement becomes very slow and difficult (normal rate of
  12 on 1st round, 10 on 2nd, 8 on 3rd, and so on, to a minimum of 1 on the 7th and any later rounds).
  If a PC tries to move (tow away) any stone: The stone will freeze in place, and thrust out a ravening ray of
  force to strike any PC involved; this ray will wither one of the PC's limbs into powerless uselessness (unable
  to grasp, carry, or hold anything), and deal the PC 5d4 hit points of additional damage.
  If the PCs manage to destroy (disintegrate, perhaps; any attempt to use the Harmonica of Doom in such an
  attack will succeed) a figure or stone: Thaldigar's Tower collapses with a deafening roar and a chaotic
  explosion of magic. All PCs take 8d4 buffetting damage and are struck senseless in the whirlwind;
  survivors will awaken a day later, strewn (with their dead comrades) around the base of the tower. Its
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood_____________Page 19______
  tumbled stones remain, but the field and the upper remnant of the tower that floated in it are gone (along with
  the Ghommild).
  If PCs search for secret doors or otherwise closely examine the walls of this room of surging force, they'll
  immediately find a loose block in the far wall, at about chest level. It is about a foot high and two feet long,
  and can be pulled out (accompanied by a puff of black [sooty] dust) to reveal a storage niche beyond: a foot
  high, two feet wide, and three feet deep. Unfortunately, this hiding place is empty. Someone else, it seems,
  got here first.
  Stars On The Ceiling
  The trapdoor in the dark room leads up into a chamber dimly lit by many tiny winking 'stars' (twinkling
  lights set onto its ceiling). The 20-foot-square room is furnished with a bookcase along one wall, and a
  worktable against the facing wall, with a stool drawn up beside it. Of the other two walls, one is bare except
  for the ghostly outline of a human figure standing with its arms raised and outstretched, and the other sports
  a closed wooden door and a horizontal row of wooden pegs about five feet off the floor. The trapdoor enters the
  room in the center of its floor.
  The 'stars' are part of still-strong enchantments that shield this room utterly against scrying and mental
  probings (both magical and psionic) from the rest of the tower; in pattern, they don't match any
  constellations known to the PCs.
  On the stained and scarred worktable are a pile of blank parchments, a holder sporting three decayed quill
  pens (the feathers have fallen into dust, and the stems dried into gnarled, brittle curves), and a (dried-up)
  inkwell. A (non-magical) hat and scarf lie draped over the stool.
  The bookcase has five shelves, with a dusty marble unicorn-head bookend drawn up to the end of each—but it
  contains only one book, lying flat and alone on the fourth shelf from the bottom! The complete contents of the
  case are as follows:
  bottom shelf: A huge, dust-covered dark brown glass jar and an even dustier stuffed lizard-man head.
  Both of these items are non-magical. The jar's tint makes seeing its contents impossible through the glass,
  though its weight betrays its 'full' status. It holds purple chalk powder. The lizard-man head is a trophy: the
  first beast Thaldigar slew with his spells, long ago. It doubles as a sheath; the dagger that can be drawn out
  of one of its eyesockets is covered with a dark, flaking substance—a sleep venom that long ago dried out and
  lost its efficacy.
  second shelf up: A rusty iron box (about a foot square) and three identical beige pottery jars, each about as
  large as a man's fist, with lift-off lids.
  The jars are empty. The key to the locked, still-sturdy box is nowhere to be found. Anyone picking it or
  forcing it, despite whatever precautions they take, will be turned to stone—but this condition will pass away,
  leaving them unharmed, 1 round after affecting them. During this time, the box is likely to be inaccessibly
  clutched in the stony grip of the affected PC. Inside the box is a fire-scorched, battered steel wrist-bracer: the
  Ghommild!
  If any PC touches it, the air in the center of the room will flash, and a black, long-taloned hand with an
  exultant golden eye blazing in its palm will be visible in the heart of the radiance for a moment, before the
  glow and the illusory hand both fade away. The Ghommild fairly hums with power, but no PC will be able to
  find any way to utilize it—except, via identify or other spells, how to make it destroy itself.
  If a PC ever sets its self-destruction in motion, Thaldigar's Hand will appear—as a solid-seeming but
  intangible apparition—and rush about clawing vainly at the PCs. The floating tower will then explode, and
  the Ghommild will begin to glow. When it becomes blinding-bright 2 rounds later, its hum of power will rise
  into a roar, and then—at the end of the third round—it will explode, hurling any PCs within 80 feet away in
  all directions and dealing them 12d6 hit points of damage in the process.
  PCs caught in the explosion of the tower before the Ghommild's destruction will lose all of their weapons and
  gear, and be hurled—alive, but barely—against the rock walls of the valley, dazed and trembling
  uncontrollably. The Ghommild will float high above them as it brightens, and then burst in the sky like a
  terrifying firework, doing the PCs no further damage. They will slowly recover control over their battered
  bodies, and the encounter described in "Back to the Baron" will then occur; the DM™ must modify it to
  reflect the Ghommild's absence, which all parties involved will be aware of before the encounter begins.
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood______________Page 20______
  third shelf up: A pewter tankard full of broken-off twigs, and a scabbarded long sword whose pommel is an
  emerald as big as a walnut.
  The tankard is just what it seems to be (the twigs are from small maple branchlets, and were intended as a
  material component for a spell that was never cast), but the sword is a trap for thieving intruders: when
  drawn from its scabbard by anyone except Thaldigar, its revealed blade will glow gently, displaying a row
  of arcane-looking runes—and then it'll burst into a spray of acid, dousing whoever's holding it for 4d4 hit
  points of damage (no saving throw). Any armor worn by the sword's victim will begin to dissolve, smoking
  and crumbling, and will disintegrate and/or fall off completely in 4 rounds, but the victim will take no
  additional damage beyond that of the first acid burst.
  fourth shelf up: A thick brass-bound book with gilt-edged parchment pages and a hold-shut clasp (no lock).
  This is a 45-page spellbook containing one neatly-written spell per page: affect normal fires, alarm,
  burning hands, change self, chill touch, color spray, comprehend languages, dancing lights, detect magic,
  hold portal, magic missile, mending, read magic, shocking grasp, spider climb, unseen
  servant/blindness, continual light, detect invisibility, ESP, levitate, locate object, spectral hand/dispel
  magic, hold undead, infravision, lightning bolt, protection from normal missiles, tongues, vampiric touch,
  wraithform/dimension door, illusionary wall, minor creation, remove curse, wall of fire, wizard eye/cone
  of cold, hold monster, telekinesis, teleport, wall of stone/contingency, globe of invulnerability, and true
  seeing.
  top shelf: A dark, polished wooden box about a foot long, a few inches thick, and half a foot across. It has a lid
  and latch, but no lock. Beside it rests an iron warrior's helm atop a pair of gauntlets.
  The box radiates a faint dweomer. Its inside bottom sports a row of three wooden peg-mounts; sitting on each
  is brass ring (which will alter to fit any digit that touches it). Two are plain, and the third has a small
  human skull of carved ivory adorning it. The two plain rings are:
  •a ring of invisibility that levitates its user four feet straight upwards when its invisibility is activated, and
  then paralyzes them until 'turned off [by silent act of will] again (whereupon they turn visible, are free to
  move—and fall to the floor with a thump).
  • a ring of adaptation (equal in effects to a necklace of adaptation).
  The skull-head ring is:
  • a ring of undeath attunement (the wearer is rendered immune to all diseases carried by undead, all
  undead aging and draining effects, and to all undead fear effects and death undead attacks (such as a
  banshee's wail). The ring does nothing to prevent physical damage from undead attacks, and all undead
  creatures will choose to attack the wearer of this ring whenever possible (ignoring other possible targets).
  If the helm is lifted or knocked from the shelf, a telescoping metal body will emerge from inside it,
  revealing that it is a 3-foot-tall, jointed statuette of a figure in armor with an oversized head (the helm) and
  hands (the gauntlets). This armored figure is actually just armor, with a hollow interior. This disturbance
  will 'awaken' it into life. It is an iron Metagolem created by Thaldigar, with orders to destroy any living
  creatures save himself whom it finds anywhere in his tower when it is activated—and it will calmly and
  methodically set about doing so, first casting its web spell to trap PCs in the room with it, and thereafter
  striking at PCs most able to flee, using its fly spell to descend the tower interior and block their exit if need
  be. It won't take orders from any denizen of the tower, and will refuse to fight such beings (who in turn will
  refuse to do battle with it).
  METAGOLEM (Iron): Int 12; AL CE; AC 3; MV 6; HD 9; hp 40; THACO 11; #AT 1; Dmg 4dlO (fists); SA
  spells (each once/day, as 10th level mage): fireball, flaming sphere, fly, magic missile; stinking cloud,
  web', SD immune to poison, and to all wizardly alteration, enchantment/charm, and illusion/phantasm
  spells, and to all priestly charm-sphere magics, takes no damage from any electrical attack (which charges
  it), and has Str 15 for carrying purposes; SZ S (3' tall); ML 20; XP 3,000 (MC Annual Vol. 1, "Golem").
  The ghostly 'figure' on the wall is soot left behind when the explosion of an earlier guardian magic
  destroyed the unfortunate adventurer who triggered it. It is harmless, and can be readily wiped off without
  incident.
  The (unlocked) door leads into:
  
  THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood______________Page 21______
  The Haunted Bed
  The door opens into a 20-foot-square room whose wall, floor, and ceiling are faintly lit by an endlessly-
  swirling, slowly drifting array of luminous smokes (a magical illusion, not real smoke). This radiance
  clearly shows that the room contains only three items: a dark, circular bowl of padded leather—probably a
  bed—floating in the center of the room about three feet above the floor, and a pair of empty wineglasses on the
  floor beside it.
  The wineglasses are just what they appear to be, and hold no magic. The leather bowl is 12 feet across, and is
  a bed. It is empty, and offers no danger—but if touched, a ghostly voice will issue from it: "Is that you,
  master? Have you returned to me at last?"
  The voice will sound the first time (only) that each PC touches the bed. It is the result of an enchantment
  Thaldigar laid upon the bed to remind him of things upon awaking (it will repeat back the last words he
  uttered while touching it). Whenever the mage didn't need any reminder, he had the voice say these words to
  give pause to anyone who might manage to slip into this most private of his chambers.
  The room contains nothing else except a 4-foot-diameter circle of lighter stone set into the stone floor in the
  right rear corner. This marks a two-way breach in the field surrounding the tower: teleport spells cast by
  someone standing in the circle, or cast anywhere else on Faerun with the circle as the spell destination,
  won't be interfered with by the field.
  Back To The Baron
  Whether or not the PCs get possession of the Ghommild, and regardless of where they travel from the tower,
  they'll next encounter Elminster—either as one of the Baron's bodyguards if the PCs use magical means to
  whisk themselves back to Hawkhill, or more likely at Everstone, if they go there to retrieve their horses.
  In the latter case, the horse ridden by one of the PC warriors will be seen standing on its hind legs with its
  'arms' (forelegs) crossed, leaning one shoulder against the side of the pavilion in a very human pose. The
  horse will be smoking a curved pipe that is merrily billowing forth greenish smoke and sparks. As the PCs
  approach, the horse's head will shift shape and acquire a beard, at the same time as its hooves become hands
  (and booted feet). "Well, it certainly took you long enough," Elminster will rumble, extending one hand in
  an imperious 'give me' gesture. "The Ghommild, please."
  The DM™ should alter this encounter to fit what has befallen; the Old Mage will know if the PCs didn't
  bring out the bracer—and if they're being chased by the metagolem. He'll calmly explain (as he destroys
  the metagolem, if need be) that he's already seen to the Baron's healing—but that what's left of Thaldigar
  seems to have gone into hiding, and that they'd best watch sharp for black hands with eyes in their
  palms...
  Thaldigar's Hand is not detailed in this adventure, but a DM™ improvising for campaign use is advised
  that this form taken by the ancient (27th level CE) arch wizard is MV 7, Fl 16 (A), and is protected as if by
  permanent ironguard and minor globe of invulnerability spells. It retains Thaldigar's intelligence, hit
  points, and saving throws, has a THACO of 11 (a clawing attack), and can unleash certain spells through
  the gaze of its eye; once every second round, choose a spell from the roster of the Guardian Mask.
  Thaldigar can't call on most of his spells and the various contingencies and immunities he crafted over
  the years—they're locked up in the Ghommild. He has no intention of healing the Baron or aiding anyone
  else; if the PCs foolishly give him the bracer, he'll instantly grasp it, and it will begin to emit spells as if
  he was casting them in earnest. These spells will form an all-out attempt to destroy the PCs._________
  If the PCs ask Elminster what he took from the tower that left Thaldigar powerless to call forth his powers
  from the Ghommild, the Old Mage will reply that it was a ring—a ring now safely guarded elsewhere (the
  Simbul has it).
  If a PC tries to use the Harmonica of Doom on Elminster, the wizard's immunity to its effects will be
  revealed. He'll confiscate the item with an amused air if it's used against him, but otherwise will leave the
  PCs to their own devices (if time presses, in tournament play, he'll mass teleport the PCs into the Baron's
  great hall in Hawkhill Castle).
  And so this little slice of mayhem endeth, leaving the plates of the adventurers empty once more.-
  
  PLAYER HANDOUTS for THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 1997 by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood________HANDOUTS Page 1
  Tower broken, tower old
  Magic dark and tales untold
  Ye who'd wonders behold
  Must speak to the waiting cold
  Forth fare the bold
  -CUT ALONG DOTTED LINE-
  fell to his death, of course. Anyone foolish enough to suspect lichdom and then tell
  old Wonderspells so, to his face
  -CUT ALONG DOTTED LINE-
  The dream-journeying made the master sleep so deeply that a band of
  adventurers broke in and sacked the place while he was in trance, and
  he never awakened! Thankfully for our hides, we were all in the forest
  where we'd been sent, carrying out his errand. Thus his little plan to
  keep himself safe from any treachery on our part thrust its blade
  right back on himself! "The intruders took some things so valuable that
  the master raged for days, and broke a speculum with the fury of the
  spells he hurled through it. Yet his arts have brought nothing back. He
  gloated only once—slaying one of the thieves, no doubt—but spent more
  time snarling out curses on someone called 'Elminster.' All have agreed
  to try to find out more about this being, but never to mention him to
  the master. After all, 
  none 
  of us want to share Thorlor's fate
  -CUT ALONG DOTTED LINE-
  The Master has shut Marandar out of the tower into the wilds, without his spellbook—and,
  we all fear, sent slaying spells after him. All M did was suggest we destroy or repair the
  burned bracer that's been gathering dust on the Master's study table these ten winters or
  more. Jaster thinks the bracer has something to do with the Master's past, perhaps a gift
  from a dead wife, but Dabratha insists the Master has never known love, and thinks it holds
  magic important to him, that he cannot unlock. She even suggested we apprentices are
  tolerated by the Master solely because he will need a certain number of mages to aid him in
  taking control of the bracer. When will we be ready, I wonder? Or as Jaster put it, when will
  the Master ever be ready to trust us enough?
  
  PLAYER HANDOUTS for THALDIGAR'S TOWER 
  Copyright © 199? by TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  A FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventure for 6-8 AD&D® characters 
  by Ed Greenwood 
  HANDOUTS Page 2
  'tis a ring the master seeks
  promised us that the senior apprentice would always know where the means
  of resurrection might be found, but
  Whurlynd was wrong. The
  no way of knowing if the chimera is the only guardian of that door. The
  Master sets new
  -CUT ALONG DOTTED LINE
  ten and six small diamonds, of the same size as much as possible
  three black feathers from a yearling falcon—no older!
  three fingerbones gathered from a wyvern's lair
  The Master is raving. Almost all of his power is locked in the Ghommild, and
  be has lost control over it, after thieving adventurers took away with them
  some essential he needs to govern the Ghommild's enchantments. He fades
  daily, like unto a wraith, but cannot work the greatest magics—and his last
  attempt to wrest his power out of the bracer went wild, tearing life-force
  from him. He was forced to flee, and now dare not approach the upper
  floors of his own tower! He is in an agony of indecision; he must send us up
  to fetch things, but cannot bring himself to trust us to do important tasks—
  and no wonder, after the cruelties he's visited on us. Dabratha is still
  chained in the tub of vipers. His spells keep her alive despite their venom,
  but do nothing to quell the pain of their bites, and they are hungry enough
  to bite often. Her screams keep us awake at night. Only fear of being
  haunted by a wraith 
  none 
  can keep at bay has held the rest of us here this
  long. What will become of us all?
  The Master slew Crauthen this morn, after he pleaded for Dabratha's
  release. To his words I can add only this dread warning: it is clear now
  that we shall all fall before the Master's growing madness. He is
  beyond lichdom, now, and I cannot help but ponder on the fate of all
  Faerun if he should ever regain control of what is in the Ghommild.
  Can even Mystra prevail against what our Master has become?
  
  FORGOTTEN REALMS® Character Copyright © 1993,1994,1997 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
  DELTHRAR DAWNSTORM 9th level Neutral Good
  THACO: 12 
  Adjusted Armor Class: AC3 (studded leather armor, no shield) HP: 82
  SIR 17
  CON 16 
  Abilities, Bonuses, etc.: 
  Saving Throws: (d20)
  INT 13 
  AC bonus of-4 (dex) 
  Paralyzation, 
  Bod, Staff, 
  Petrification
  WIS 14 
  +1 to hit (str) 
  Poison, Death 
  or Wand 
  or Polymorph
  CHA14 
  +1 on damage (str) 
  8 
  10 
  9
  Deity: Mielikki
  Age: 39 
  Breath Weapon 
  Spell
  Height: 61" 
  9 
  11
  Weight: 177 lb
  Description: Tall and rangy,
  with flowing, graying black hair,
  and ice-blue eyes.
  Ambidextrous.
  Languages Spoken: Common, NG
  Weapons & where carried: Battle axe (Id8, IdlO vs. L) in hand
  Mace (Id6+l, Id6 vs. L) at belt
  Dagger (Id4,1-3 vs. L) at belt
  Long Sword (Id8, Idl2 vs. L) slung on back (baldric)
  Spells: 2,2. 
  I
  Carried: Cure Light Wounds x2 
  Entangle
  Faerie Fire
  Gear: wears studded Leather armor; belt w/coin pouch (11gp9sp6cp); high, hard boots; helm &
  gauntlets; backpack; 2 coils of hempen rope (each 24' long); flint & steel; whetstone; 2 oil-soaked
  rags; 1 (handheld) oil-lamp; 4 steel vials lamp oil; 8 spare wicks for lamp; 1 canvas sack
  containing 4 torches (wooden cudgels wrapped with nailed-on, wadded cloth, soaked in pitch);
  bandages; spare high, soft boots (1 pair); spare tunic; cloak with hood; 1 'grand' court-tunic and
  hose.
  DELTHRAR DAWNSTORM is a good-natured, easygoing ranger who's still seeking the best way to be of
  service to Mielikki. As a boy, he dreamed of becoming a Harper, and perhaps the guardian of a forest or
  country. He found no such exalted importance—and no sign of any living Harper—in his native Tethyr, but
  did acquire a deep and abiding love of its forests, and a hatred of its cruel, decadent nobility. When Tethyr
  erupted in civil war, Delthrar turned his back on his grasping, increasingly desperate countrymen, and
  headed for Cormyr, the Forest Kingdom, because a passing caravan merchant told him that the Land of the
  Purple Dragon was the strongest, noblest kingdom in all Faerun: what Tethyr should have been.
  It took Delthrar over a year to find his way to Cormyr, but he was delighted to find that the merchant had been
  right: the Forest Kingdom was a noble place. King Azoun seemed a stern and noble monarch, and his realm
  a contented place. Too contented.
  After a few years of exploring Cormyr, Delthrar grew restless for wilder terrain. Folk who wander alone in
  the King's Forest or Hullack Forest or the Stonelands are viewed with some suspicion in Cormyr, and
  Delthrar soon grew tired of having a skulking escort of Crown agents keeping their eyes on him. Deciding
  he'd had enough of Azoun's vigilant rule, Delthrar set off. After a few years, he grew weary of constant battle
  and being stalked by beasts who wanted him as dinner (they were a scant improvement over men who
  wanted him to lead them to supposed Zhentarim contacts).
  Running low on provisions, and feeling as lost as ever in his quest for a rightful role dedicated to the Lady
  of the Forest, Delthrar journeyed west into Amn, where he found Hawkhill by mere chance, and fell into the
  Baron's service as an adventurer. This brought him friends and excitements and dream-visions of
  approval from Mielikki—success at last! Whatever the Baron wants, Delthrar is eager to do...
  
  FORGOTTEN REALMS® Character Copyright © 1993,1994,1997 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
  EL'l'HHEENE 8tfa level Chaotic Good human female
  Wizard
  THACO: 1R 
  Adjusted Armor Class: AC6 (robes) 
  HP; 22
  SIR 13
  Abilities, Bonuses, etc.:
  AC bonus of-4 (dex)
  Saving Throws: (d20)
  Paralyzation, 
  Bod, Staff,
  or Wand
  9
  Spell
  10
  Poison. Death
  13
  Breath Weapon
  13
  Petrification
  or Polymorph
  11
  CON 12
  INT 18
  WIS14
  CHA16
  Deity: Mystra
  Age: 35
  Height: 6*0"
  Weight: 104 lb
  Description: Slim and very tall, with
  blue-black long hair and large, dark
  blue-green eyes. Apt to joke (and be
  sarcastic). Ambidextrous.
  Languages Spoken: Common, CG
  Weapons & where carried: Dagger (Id4, 1-3 vs. L) at belt
  4 Darts (1-3, 1-2 vs. L; can throw 3/round, ranges: 1/M2/L4) at belt
  Spells: 4,3.3.2. 
  "
  Gamed: Chill Touch
  Identify
  Magic Missile x2 (4 missiles per spell)
  ESP
  Pyrotechnics
  Web
  Fireball x2
  Wraithform
  Polymorph Other
  Wizard Eye
  Gear: wears Robes; belt w/coin pouch (Ilgp2sp3cp); belt pouch w/spell components; low^soft
  boots; backpack; spell book (listed: all spells carried plus Armor, Audible Glamer, Burning
  Hands, Change Self, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Feather Fall, Mending, Read Magic,
  Unseen Servant/Bind, Detect Evil, Knock, Levitate, Melf's Acid Arrow, Ray of Enfeeblement,
  Whispering Wind, Wizard Lock/Hold Undead, Infravision, Melf's Minute Meteors, Non-
  Detection, Protection From Normal Missiles, Tongues, Vampiric Touch, Water
  Breathing/Enervation, Fire Shield, Fire Trap, Ice Storm, illusionary Wall, Minor Globe of
  Invulnerability, Polymorph Self, Remove Curse, Solid Fog, Wall of Ice, and 16 blank pages);
  6 quills; 4 vials black squid-and-gum ink; 14 reams parchment; spare tunic; cloak with hood;
  spare high, soft boots (2 pair); 1 pair soft shoes; 2 'grand' court gowns (1 daring, 1 dignified).
  ELTHREENE is a lighthearted, fast-witted sorceress. She doesn't suffer fools gladly, and prefers an active
  life of travel and adventure to spending days on end cooped up in a room amid dust and flickering candles,
  studying some lost, arcane spell. Born in Mistledale to farm folk who were afraid of her quick wits and her
  interest in (and evident aptitide for) magic, Elthreene ran away when young.
  She was seeking magic, power, and riches, and knew that all three could be found in Sembia, known to
  Dalesfolk as "the Land of Fat Merchants." She found instead beatings, knifepoint slavery, and after a
  daring escape, hunger and forced thievery—until one night when she tried to steal food from a travel-worn,
  dusty woman who wore leather armor, and carried a harp slung on one shoulder: Storm Silverhand.
  Storm took Elthreene to Shadowdale, to learn magic from the "witch" Sylune (one of Storm's sisters).
  Elthreene acquired friends, a sense of confidence, a habit of gently jesting with companions, and a solid
  grounding in magic. When she felt ready, she set out to find the adventures she was so hungry for, and soon
  answered a call to enter the service of the Baron of Hawkhill (in the wild mountain country of easternmost
  Amn), where adventure was not lacking. She has never regretted her choice—yet...
  
  FORGOTTEN REALMS® Character Copyright © 1993,1994,1997 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
  BRELLA ILFROST 8th level Neutral Good 
  human female Fighter 
  ""
  Armor Class: AC-1 (plate mail no shield) HP: 79
  Saving Throws: (d20)
  Paralyzation, 
  Hod, Staff,
  Poison, Death 
  or Wand
  10 
  12
  Breath Weapon 
  Spell
  12 
  13 .
  Petrification
  or Polymorph
  11
  THACO: 13 
  _________.._..
  STR 18/66
  CON 18 
  Abilities, Bonuses, etc.:
  INT 14 
  AC bonus of -4 (dex)
  MS 13 
  +2 to hit (str)
  CHA 16 
  +3 on damage (str)
  Deity: Tempus +4 hp per Hit Die gained
  Age: 29
  Height: 57"
  Weight: 156 Ib
  Description: Muscular and buxom,
  with long, flowing brown hair,
  flashing amber eyes, and a quick
  smile. Ambidextrous.
  Languages Spoken: Common, NG
  Weapons~&"where carried: Long sword +2 (ld8+2, ld12+2 vs. L) at belt
  Morning Star (2d4, Id6+lvs. L) hung at belt
  Dagger (Id4, 1-3 vs. L) at belt
  Bastard (one-handed) Sword (Id8, Idl2 vs. L) slung on back (baldric;
  ^ 
  hard boots; helm & gauntlets;
  backpack; flint. & steel; whetstone; 1 oil-soaked rag; 1 sturdy iron storm-lantern (shuttered); 3
  vials lamp oil (highly flammable!) in an iron carry-box; 4 spare wicks for lantern; 1 caf^as
  sack containing 4 torches (wooden cudgels wrapped with nailed-on, wadded cloth, soaked in
  pitch); spare gauntlets; bandages; spare high, soft boots (1 pair); spare tunic; cloak with hood; 1
  'grand' courtly gown.
  BRELLA ELFROST was born in Mulmaster—a cold, cruel city she heartily hated. The ill health of her
  father forced him to hire out Brella and her two older brothers, Thraun and Ilrar, as servants. As Brella was
  too young to be attractive, she escaped the cruelty of passion-hire. More surprisingly, she also avoided the
  drudgery of cleaning and cooking—to find herself instead in constant pain, learning the ways of warfare
  under the lash of a cruel Blade of the city, who (desiring female servants who could defend his household as
  ably as warriors) was determined to mold her into a capable battlemaid, or kill her in the attempt.
  Brella nearly died many times; her body still bears many deep, ridged scars. After four years she was
  skilled with a sword. One night her tutor, Halor, challenged her to a duel to test her. It proved to be his last
  mistake: Brella had no hope of getting past his expertly-wielded longsword, but drove him back against a
  wall with the sheer fury of her wild swings, and shoved herself against him. As his blade sliced through her
  armor and laid open her side, Brella reached a morningstar on the wall above. When she dropped it on his
  head, Halor was stunned long enough for her to wrap its chain around his throat.
  When she let go, he fell heavily to the ground, his face black and lifeless. Brella fled from Mulmaster that
  night, hiring on as a caravan-guard in Hillsfar in her haste to be away from the cruelty—and reach—of
  Mulmaster.
  She spent several summers crossing the western Heartlands, from the Sea of Fallen Stars to the Sword Coast
  and back again. Tiring of saddle-sores, she joined the service of the Baron of Hawkhill—and found friends
  among the danger. In the company of the Baron's adventurers, Brella is happy at last...
  
  FORGOTTEN REALMS® Character Copyright
  BRALAGAR 7th level Chaotic Neutral
  1993,1994,1997 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
  human male Priest
  HP: 50
  Abilities, Bonuses, etc.:
  AC bonus of -4 (dex)
  +1 to hit (str)
  +1 on damage (str)
  THACO: 16 
  Adjusted Armor Class: ACT (^hfljj-pTnaiL no
  SIR 17
  CON 14
  INT 14
  WIS18
  CHA14
  Deity: Tempus
  Age: 35
  Height: 6'0"
  Weight: 149 Ib
  Description: Burly and bearded, with
  brown hair, cold grey eyes, and a
  ready, wolfish smile. Ambidextrous.
  Languages Spoken: Common, CN
  Weapons & where carried: Dagger [allowed to clergy of Tempus] (Id4, 1-3 vs. L) at belt
  Battle axe [allowed to clergy of Tempus] (Id8, IdlO vs. L) in hand
  Mace (Id6+l, Id6 vs. L) at belt
  Flail (Id6+l, 2d4 vs. L) slung on back (baldric)
  Saving Throws: (d20)
  Paralyzation, 
  Rod, Staff, 
  Petrification
  Poison, Death 
  or Wand 
  or Polymorph
  7 
  11 
  10
  Breath Weapon 
  Spell
  13 
  12
  Spells: 5,5,3.2.
  ^^I^BB*•^H^^^^^B^MM^MII
  Carried: Bless 
  Flame Blade x2 (does ld4+2 hp (+2 more vs. undead) for 7 rds)
  Command 
  Hold Person x2
  Cure Light Wounds x3 (heals 1-8 hp/spell) Know Alignment
  Create Food & Water
  Dispel Magic
  Speak With Dead
  Imbue With Spell Ability
  Neutralize Poison
  Gear: wears Chainmail; belt w/coin pouch (12gp2sp2cp); belt pouch w/spell components; high.
  hard boots; helm & gauntlets; backpack; 1 length of hempen rope (62'); flint & steel; whetstone:
  6 oil-soaked rags; 1 file; holy symbol of Tempus (miniature sword); spare gauntlets; bandages:
  spare high, soft boots (1 pair); 1 ceremonial clerical robe.
  BRALAGAR is a brawling, hearty adventurer who hides his fears behind jokes and wild antics. A servant
  of Tempus, the Lord of Battles, he sees the right and best way to spend his life as smiting foes and having a
  good time doing it. His hobby is collecting weapons for temple altars (although those he especially likes find
  their way into his own gear), and his favourite sayings include such gems as, "We come in peace—strike to
  kill!" and "Give me taxes? I'll give you death!" (These are in addition to the usual priestly aphorisms:
  "Spill some blood for Tempus!" and "No rest for warriors—or those who watch over them, either!")
  Bralagar was born in Hillsfar to mercenary-warrior parents, and grew up in Scardale. Offered a temple-
  sentry post as a youth, he won praise for his enthusiasm and prowess in battle (he once slew four bugbears
  who came to rob the temple by night, confident that a lone boy would be easy prey). Before long, Bralagar
  entered the priesthood, becoming a bodyguard in the armed patrols of the Dalelands mounted by the clergy of
  Tempus. He fought many monsters with enthusiasm and good humour, and soon rose to command such
  patrols. The hierarchs of the Lord of Battles then told him he must travel the Realms as an adventurer for a
  time, to make more of himself than simply a competent and obedient monster-hunter.
  So Bralagar set off westwards, where he found himself in Hawkhill, one of the adventurers gathered in
  service to the Baron: a post that has thus far suited him well. More than most priests, Bralagar likes being in
  the wilds; he doesn't miss the clean linen, warmth, courtesies, and long rituals of temple life. He'd rather be
  out in the back country, in hot pursuit of adventure...
  
  FORGOTTEN REALMS® Character Copyright © 1993,1994,1997 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
  TASHRAM 7th level Chaotic Good 
  human male Priest
  THACO; 16 
  Adjusted Armor Class: AC2 (chainmai1 no shield) HP: 48
  SIR 17
  CON 16 Abilities, Bonuses, etc.: 
  Saving Throws: (d20)
  INT 16 
  AC bonus of-3 (dex) 
  Paralyzation, 
  Bod, Staff, 
  Petrification
  WIS18 
  +l to hit(str) 
  Poison, Death 
  or Wand 
  or Polymorph
  CHA15 
  +1 on damage (str) 
  7 
  11 
  10
  Deity. Tymora
  Age: 37 
  Breath Weapon 
  Spell
  Height: 6'2" 
  13 
  12
  Weight: 146 Ib
  Description: Tall, craggy-featured,
  and kindly of voice and manner, 
  (
  with unruly brown hair shot with 
  \
  silver and twinkling blue-grey eyes. 
  -,
  Often hums or whistles. Ambidextrous.
  Languages Spoken: Common, CG
  Weapons & where carried: Morning Star (2d4, Id6+l vs L) in hand
  Mace (Id6+l, Id6 vs. L) at belt
  Flail (Id6+l, 2d4 vs. L) slung on back (baldric)
  Spells: 5.5.3,2.
  Carried: Bless 
  Augury
  Command x2 
  Flame Blade x2 (does Id4+2 hp {+2 more vs. undead) for 7 rounds)
  Cure Light Wounds x2 
  Hold Person
  (heals Id8 hp/spell) 
  Withdraw
  Create Food & Water 
  Cure Serious Wounds (heals 2d8+l hp damage)
  Dispel Magic 
  Free Action
  Speak With Dead
  Carries 3~sp~ells on scrolls: Cause Serious~WoundsIdoes 2d8+l hp damage/Cure Disease!
  Dispel Magic
  Gear: wears Chainmail; belt 
  w/coin pouch (10gp9sp4cp~; high, hard boots; helm & gauntlets;
  backpack; 2 pieces chalk; 1 length of hempen rope (441); 1 iron hook; flint & steel; 3 large, empty
  canvas sacks, each with a stout leathern-thong drawstring; 1 small carved wooden bowl;
  mallet; 6 iron spikes; holy symbol of Tymora (silver disc); spare gauntlets; bandages; 4' of
  strong, black waxed cord; spare tunic; cloak with hood; 1 pair soft shoes; 1 "grand" court-tunic
  and hose; 1 ceremonial clerical robe.
  TASHRAM is a true priest of Tymora—lighthearted, adventure-loving, and given to whimsy and selflessly
  loving and helping others. A Harper of some experience in the Iriaebor area, Tashram wandered east to
  Cormyr, where he found that fighting Zhentarim was no fun at all. He found guarding a caravan against
  them even less enjoyable—so when at last it reached Amn, and he heard about the Baron of Hawkhill's call
  for adventurers, he left caravan-work behind (forever, he hopes) to become one of the adventurers of
  Hawkhill...
  
  FORGOTTEN REALMS® Character Copyright © 1993,1994,1997 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
  MASKAR 
  8th level Chaotic Good 
  human male Wizard
  Abilities, Bonuses, etc.:
  AC bonus of-4 (dex)
  Saving Throws: (d20)
  Paralyzation, 
  Rod, Staff,
  Poison, Death 
  or Wand
  13 
  9
  Breath Weapon 
  Spell
  13 
  10
  Petrification
  or Polymorph
  11
  THACO: 18 
  Adjusted Armor Class: AC6 (robes) 
  HP: 24
  SIR 13
  CON 14
  INT 18
  WIS14
  CHA15
  Deity: Mystra
  Age: 35
  Height: 6'0"
  Weight: 121 Ib
  Description: Slim, studious, with black
  hair, piercing blue eyes, and an often-
  seen, sinister smile. Ambidextrous.
  Languages Spoken: Common, CG
  Weapons & where carried: Dagger (Id4, 1-3 vs. L) at belt
  4 Darts (1-3, 1-2 vs. L; can throw 3/round, ranges: S1M2/1A) at belt
  Spells: 4,3.3.2. 
  ~~~I~~~
  Gamed: Chill Touch
  Magic Missile x2 (4 missiles per spell)
  Spider Climb
  Lightning Bolt x2
  Wraithform
  Flaming Sphere
  Levitate
  Spectral Hand
  Evard's Black Tentacles
  Wall of Fire
  Gear: wears Robes; belt w/coin pouch (9gp5sp4cp); belt pouch w/spell components; low, soft
  boots; backpack; spell book (listed: all spells carried plus Alarm, Armor, Audible Glamer,
  Burning Hands, Change Self, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Feather Fall, Mending, Read
  Magic, Unseen Servant, Wall of Fog/Bind, Blur, Detect Evil, Knock, Melf's Acid Arrow,
  Pyrotechnics, Ray of Enfeeblement, Whispering Wind, WizardLock/Hold Undead, Infravision,
  Melfs Minute Meteors, Non-Detection, Protection From Normal Missiles, Tongues, Vampiric
  Touch, Water Breathing/Detect Scrying, Enervation, Fire Shield, Fire Trap, Ice Storm,
  Ittusionary Wall, Minor Globe of Invulnerability, Polymorph Self, Remove Curse, Solid Fog,
  Wall of Ice, and 2 blank pages); 2 quills; 2 vials black squid-and-gum ink; 10 reams parchment;
  spare robes; cloak with hood; 1 pair soft shoes; 1 'grand' tunic, hose, and embroidered robes.
  MASKAR is a carefree, irreverent mage given to laughter, jests, singing, whistling, and jaunty defiance of
  danger. Born in the small village of Espar (in western Cormyr), Maskar was orphaned early and raised by
  a local Harper, the lady bard Jhanaethe Starsilver. She tested the boy's aptitude for magic and music; both
  were good, but Maskar's grasp of magic was the greater (and the rarer talent), so Jhanaethe sent him to the
  Palace in Suzail, to be apprenticed to Old Master Halagasz.
  Halagasz was a strict but diligent teacher, and sent Maskar on patrols with the local soldiery. His love of
  battle and adventure recommended him for membership in the Dragon's Claws, an elite adventuring band
  loyal to the King (a somewhat-independent, somewhat-lawless secret force used it situations where the
  regular soldiery, the Purple Dragons, would be inappropriate). The Royal Wizard Vangerdahast tests all
  young Claws, and indulges their restlessnesses for adventure, by sending them off for a year or two on
  missions far from the realm. Joining the service of the Baron of Hawkhill, and spying on conditions in
  eastern Amn as he does so, is Maskar's "official vacation." Of course, he's under strict orders never to
  reveal to anyone his personal fealty to King Azoun, and his membership in the Claws.
  
  FORGOTTEN REALMS® Character Copyright © 1993,1994,1997 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
  ZHOND 4th level Neutral Good 
  human male Wizard
  THACO: 19 
  Adjusted .Armor Class; AC6 (robes) 
  HP: 16
  SIR 14
  CON 16 Abilities, Bonuses, etc.: 
  Saving Throws: (d20)
  INT 17 
  AC bonus of -4 (dex) 
  Paralyzation, 
  Hod, Staff, 
  Petrification
  WIS 15 
  +2 hp per Hit Die gained 
  Poison,Death 
  or Wand 
  or Polymorph
  CHAW 
  14 
  11 
  13
  Deity: Mystra
  Age: 34 
  Breath Weapon 
  Spell
  Height: 5*10" 
  15 
  12
  Weight: 116 Ib
  Description: Slim, studious, with dull
  brown hair, dark brown eyes, and an 
  •
  intense expression. Ambidextrous. 
  ^
  Languages Spoken: Common, NG
  Weapons & where carried: Dagger (Id4, 1-3 vs. L) at belt
  4 Darts (1-3, 1-2 vs. L; can throw 3/round, ranges: S1/M2/L4) at belt
  Spells; 3.2.
  Gamed: Color Spray 
  Continual Light
  Magic Missile x2 (2 missiles per spell) 
  Web
  Gear: wears Robes; belt w/coin pouch (6gpl2sp7cp); belt pouch w/spell components; high, soft
  boots; backpack; spell book (listed: all spells carried plus Alarm, Armor, Audible Glamer,
  Burning Hands, Change Self, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Feather Fall, Mending, Read
  Magic, Unseen Servant, Wall of Fog/Bind, Blur, Detect Evil, Knock, Levitate, Melfs Acid
  Arrow, Pyrotechnics, Ray of Enfeeblement, Whispering Wind, Wizard Lock/Hold Undead,
  Infravision, Melfs Minute Meteors, Non-Detection, Protection From Normal Missiles,
  Tongues, Vampiric Touch, Water Breathing, and 18 blank pages thereafter); 5 quills; 1 vial
  black squid-and-gum ink: 12 reams parchment; spare tunic; cloak with hood; spare high, soft
  boots (2 pairs); 1 pair soft shoes; 1 'grand' court-tunic and hose.
  ZHOND is a haughty student of magic who enjoys acting mysterious. Born in Neverwinter, he was
  apprenticed young to Nonthur Ullamere, a kindly mage with an unfortunate habit of stealing magic from
  others by means of spying spells. Nonthur was a good teacher, and Zhond had become a capable 'undermage'
  who'd discovered a love of adventure (one of his duties was spell-hunting large forest beasts for food) by the
  time the wizard Caladram of Mirabar sought revenge for one of Nonthur's thefts by blasting Ullamere
  Towers to dust. In the ensuing battle, Caiadram and Nonthur destroyed each other—and Nonthur's home
  with six of his seven apprentices. Zhond was the lone exception, and it took him a day to blast his way to the
  surface from the wine cellar Caladram's first strike had buried him in.
  Zhond knew his magic was too paltry to keep him alive alone in the North. Waterdeep held many important
  mages, and to practise magic there one had to join a guild. That left only one safe place that valued mages:
  distant Cormyr, whose Dragon Throne was bolstered by its 'war wizards.' Grimly he set forth on the long
  and arduous journey thence, to seek his fortune and rise to wealth, respectability, and power—getting in a
  little adventuring along the way.
  Zhond found the Forest Kingdom fair. Fair and safe; too safe for Zhond to indulge his growing taste for
  danger and battle. Prospects for adventure and for joining the war wizards seemed slim, and one must eat,
  yet one can't earn coins by casting spells at will where mages are watched over and subject to strict laws.
  There was news of hired archmages warring in Sembia, so Zhond headed west, signing on as a caravan-
  guard to Amn. There he found the Baron's call for adventurers, and came to Hawkhill. Adventure in plenty
  followed, and Zhond happily settled into the Baron's service, where peril followed peril in abundance...
  
  FORGOTTEN REALMS® Character Copyright © 1993,1994,1997 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
  THORM DUNSHELD 9th level Neutral Good 
  human 
  male 
  Fighter
  THACO: 12 Adjusted Armor Class: AC0 (plate mail no shield) HP: 82
  SIR 17
  CON 16 Abilities, Bonuses, etc.: 
  Saving Throws: (d20)
  INT 12 
  AC bonus of -3 (dex) 
  Paralyzation, 
  Bod, Staff, 
  Petrification
  WIS 12 
  +l to hit(str) 
  Poison,Death 
  or Wand 
  or Polymorph
  CHA14 
  +1 on damage (str) 
  8 
  10 
  9
  Deity: Tempus
  Age: 41 
  Breath Weapon 
  Spell
  Height: 6'0" 
  9 
  11
  Weight: 189 Ib
  Description: Burly and brawny,
  with curly black hair, brown eyes,
  and a bristling moustache.
  Ambidextrous.
  Languages Spoken: Common, NG
  Weapons & where carried: Battle axe (Id8, IdlO vs. L) in hand
  Mace (Id6+l, Id6 vs. L) at belt
  Dagger (Id4,1-3 vs. L) at belt
  Long Sword (Id8, Idl2 vs. L) slung on back (baldric)
  Dagger +5 hidden in inside-left-boot sheath; will glow with/aerie
  fire when grasped and willed to do so)
  Gear: wears Plate mail; belt w/coin pouchl7gpl2sp4cp); high, hard boots; helm & gauntlets;
  backpack; 2 coils of hempen rope (each 24' long); flint & steel; whetstone; 3 oil-soaked rags; 2
  files; 1 sturdy iron storm-lantern (shuttered); 6 vials lamp oil (highly flammable!) in an iron
  carry-box; 4 spare wicks for lantern; 1 canvas sack containing 6 torches (wooden cudgels
  wrapped with nailed-on, wadded cloth, soaked in pitch); spare gauntlets; bandages; spare
  high, soft boots (1 pair); spare tunic; cloak with hood; 1 'grand' court-tunic and hose.
  THORM DUNSHELD is a wandering mercenary warrior who loves a good fight—and thinks ready sword
  for the common run of folk in all lands. He came to Suzail in search of clients, a little adventure, and to see
  if he could pick up any extra loot—which the rich nobles of Cormyr certainly seemed to have more of than did
  farmers in the Heartland backlands, yes?
  Cormyr did not warmly welcome a mercenary who so obviously enjoyed his work, and Thorm soon drifted
  east in Sembia, where he found gold in plenty and merchants eager to hire warriors to defend their own
  holdings and to attack their rivals. A dozen years of trusting no one, shrewd investing, a little smuggling,
  and hiring his own warriors to be always ready to rescue him from a treacherous employer, and Thorm
  found himself a prosperous landowner and investor—with enemies eager to see him dead on all sides.
  When walking down a Sembian street started to seem like dancing among aroused snakes, Thorm decided
  a holiday was in order—a jaunt through distant lands where his moustache, nose, and crooked smile
  weren't quite so well known...perhaps this Baron of Hawkhill's call for pet adventurers, yes?
  Thorm hastened hence, and found life in the Baron's service to be a delight. He may never go back, and
  simply kiss all his Sembian wealth farewell...after all, a dead man can't spend coins.
  Thorm is too wise a mercenary to lose his temper often. He turns aside angry words or threats with
  apparently-innocent, level-voiced comments, such as, "Nice day, yes?" or "The gods laugh at us all, yes?"
  
  FORGOTTEN REALMS® Character Copyright © 1993,1994,1997 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
  SYMBRIL CRAGAR 10th level Chaotic Neutral 
  human female Thief
  THACO: 16 
  Adjusted Armor Class: AC4 (leather armor) HP: 49
  SIR 15
  CON 11 Abilities, Bonuses, etc.: 
  Saving Throws: (d20)
  INT 14 
  AC bonus of-4 (dex) 
  Paralyzation, 
  Rod, Staff, 
  Petrification
  WIS 13 
  Poison, Death 
  or Wand 
  or Polymorph
  CHA16 
  11 
  10 
  10
  Deity: Mask
  Age: 19 
  Breath Weapon 
  Spell
  Height: 5'4" 
  14 
  11
  Weight: 89 Ib
  Description: Slim and svelte. 
  Pick Pockets: 25% Open Locks: 75% Find/Remove Traps: 45%
  with long, luxuriant brown 
  Move Silently: 70% Hide In Shadows 45% Detect Noise: 5%
  hair (tied back into a long 
  Climb Walls: 45% Read Languages: 0%
  ponytail), large blue-black
  eyes, and a sword-scarred
  left cheek. Her every
  movement is sinuous, smooth,
  and eye-catching. Ambidextrous.
  Languages Spoken: Common, CN
  Weapons & where carried: 4 Daggers (ld~4, 1-3 vs. L); 1 at belt,l in inside sheath of either boot; 1
  at back of neck, in sheath whose strap is also a throat-gorget
  3 Darts (1-3, 1-2 vs. L; can throw 3/round, ranges: SiyM2/L4) at belt
  Long Sword (Id8, Idl2 vs. L) slung on back (baldric)
  (Also, at belt, a pair of Gloves with dagger-blade finger-sheaths (do 1-2
  points each, per round; 4 attacks per round allowed when using these alone; if using another
  weapon, can't attack with these in the same round)
  Gear: wears blackened, soft-worn, nondescript and mottled Leather Armor; carries 16
  bloodstone gems (each worth 50 gp) in hollow left boot-heel; in right boot-heel, carries metal tin
  containing 1 steel coin with a razor-sharpened edge; belt w/saw-sharpened inner tang hidden
  behind buckle; 2 small bags of glass marbles (when dropped, pursuer must make a Dexterity
  Check or fall, and spend 1 round getting up again); coin pouch (16gpl4sp3cp); high, soft boots:
  gauntlets (1 pair); gloves (1 pair); 4 empty canvas sacks; backpack; 2 pieces chalk; 1 coil of
  waxed, blackened hempen rope (80'); 1 iron hook; 1 set thieves' picks & tools; flint & steel;
  whetstone; 6 oil-soaked rags; 1 file; 1 vial oil (not readily flammable—for sharpening blades;;
  mallet; 6 iron spikes; 1 sturdy iron storm-lantern (shuttered); 8 vials lamp oil (highly
  flammable!) in an iron carry-box; 2 spare wicks for lantern; velvet half-mask; 4' of strong, black
  waxed cord; spare tunic; cloak with hood; spare high, soft boots (1 pair); 1 pair soft shoes; 1
  'grand' courtly gown.
  SYMBRIL CRAGAR is a veteran thief of the Dragonreach lands, successful even in repressive Calaunt and
  in Scardale under Lashan's regime. Deeming it wise to relocate her activities (having attracted the enmity
  of several adventuring bands), Symbril fled to Sembia, where she hid or invested most of her wealth, buying
  several houses in the larger cities of the Land of Merchants. She was (she thought) well disguised as an idle
  lady of high fashion when an assassination attempt unwittingly foiled by a second band of would-be slayers
  revealed that at least two groups of her foes had discovered her wherabouts.
  Symbril promptly 'disappeared,' taking to the woods and walking west into Cormyr, acquiring a disguise
  there barely in time to avoid more pursuers, and joined a caravan heading west. In Amn she found the
  Baron of Hawkhill's call for adventurers, and answered it eagerly, looking for a change—and dangers that
  were at least of her choosing. Hawkhill proved to be a good choice, and Symbril never even thinks of
  stealing from her companions or her host; loot in plenty always seems to come her way...
  
  FORGOTTEN REALMS® Character Copyright © 1993,1994,1997 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
  CHANDLARA FLAMESTAR 9th level Chaotic Good h™™ female Eighth
  THACOl 12——Adjusted Armor Class AC-1 (plate mail no shield) 
  HP: 76
  STR 17
  Saving Throws: (d20)
  Paralyzation, 
  Bod, Staff,
  or Wand
  10
  Spell
  11 ^Ks
  Poison, Death
  8
  Petrification
  or Polymorph
  9
  Breath Weapon
  9
  CON 14 Abilities, Bonuses, etc.:
  INT 14 
  AC bonus of-4 (dex)
  WIS 13 
  +1 to hit (str)
  CHA 16 
  +1 on damage (str)
  Deity: Tempus
  Age: 28
  Height: 5'9"
  Weight: 145 Ib
  Description: Lithe and yet muscular,
  with a long fall of ash-blonde hair,
  melting brown eyes, and a snub nose.
  Ambidextrous.
  Languages Spoken: Common, CG
  Weapons & where carried:~Long sword (Td8, Idl2 vs. L) at belt
  Mace (Id6+l, Id6 vs. L) at belt
  2 Daggers (Id4,1-3 vs. L) at belt
  Bastard (one-handed) Sword (Id8, Idl2 vs. L) slung on back (baldric)
  Dagger +1 on back of neck, throat ("choker") sheath; will glow
  {faerie fire] when grasped and willed to do so)
  Gear: wears Plate mail; belt w/coin pouch (Ilgp5sp7cp); high, hard boots; helm & gauntlets;
  backpack; flint & steel; whetstone; 1 oil-soaked rag; 1 sturdy iron storm-lantern (shuttered); 7
  vials lamp oil (highly flammable!) in an iron carry-box; 6 spare wicks for lantern; 1 canvas
  sack containing 5 torches (wooden cudgels wrapped with nailed-on, wadded cloth, soaked in
  pitch); spare gauntlets; bandages; spare high, soft boots (1 pair); spare tunic; cloak with hood; 1
  'grand' formal gown.
  CHANDLARA FLAMESTAR was born in Turmish to pirate parents who sold her to a slaver, Huirlego
  Thavass. He was taking slaves east to Thay, but fell afoul of brigands in Chessenta—and in the confusion,
  Chandlara escaped and fled into the wilds. There she found a hard life of stalking game barehanded and
  being captured or found by a succession of shepherds, hunters, wandering rangers, and peddlers. Some
  were kind to her, and others made her their slave for a time. One night she snatched a sword from a
  particularly cruel merchant and ended his life with it—and her career as a warrior began.
  Hiring on in Mordulkin as a mercenary trail-guard for a 'long caravan' bound for Calimshan, Chandlara
  fell into friendship with her commander, a down-on-his-luck warrior by the name of "Black Patch"
  Thildar (he wore an eyepatch to cover the ruin of an eye lost in battle long ago), who trained her in the ways
  of a warrior—and to worship Tempus, the Lord of Battles.
  When he died in her arms years later in eastern Amn, of a wound dealt by a half-ore's poisoned blade,
  Thildar growled, "The kiss of Tempus upon ye, lass—prosper! Die rich and happy—and old!" Chandlara
  misses him terribly, but is determined to do just as he said: with the favour of Tempus, stay alive to die old,
  rich, and happy. That doesn't mean to hide away from danger and adventure, but to be as bold a warrior as
  Thildar was, always.
  Hearing that Amn is a wealthy land, where slavery is unknown, birth is less important than skill, and
  women seem free to become as important and as powerful as men, Chandlara came thence in search of
  adventure or steady work, or perhaps a place to set her eye on retiring to in the far future. In Hawkhill, she
  may just have found that place—and friends to share it with...
  
  FORGOTTEN REALMS® Character Copyright © 1993,1994,1997 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
  ILDREM THALN 9th level Chaotic Neutral 
  human male Thief
  THACO: 16 
  Adjusted Armor Class: AC4 (leather armor) 
  HP: 43
  STR 15
  CON 13 Abilities, Bonuses, etc.: 
  Saving Throws: (d20)
  INT 13 
  AC bonus of-4 (dex) 
  Paralyzation, 
  Rod, Staff, 
  Petrification
  WIS 12 
  Poison, Death 
  or Wand 
  or Polymorph
  CHA15 
  11 
  10 
  10
  Deity: Mask
  Age: 20 
  Breath Weapon 
  Spell
  Height: 5'6" 
  14 
  11
  Weight: 112 Ib
  Description: Slim and black-haired,
  with the beginnings of a 
  Pick Pockets: 0% 
  Open Locks: 75% Find/Remove Traps: 30%
  moustache, large and very 
  Move Silently: 50% Hide In Shadows: 25% Detect Noise: 59"c
  black eyes, and smooth movements. Climb Walls: 45% Read Languages: 0%
  Ambidextrous.
  Languages Spoken: Common, CN
  Weapons & where carried: 4 Daggers (Id4, 1-3 vs. L); 1 at belt,l in inside sheath of either boot
  3 Darts (1-3, 1-2 vs. L; can throw 3/round, ranges: S1/M2/L4) at belt
  Long Sword (Id8, Idl2 vs. L) slung on back (baldric)
  (Also, at belt, a pair of Gloves with dagger-blade finger-sheaths (do 1-2
  points each, per round: 4 attacks per round allowed when using these alone; if using another
  weapon, can't attack with these in the same round)
  Gear: wears blackened, soft-worn, nondescript and mottled Leather Armor; carries 4
  bloodstone gems (each worth 50 gp) in hollow right boot-heel; 2 small bags of glass marbles
  (when dropped, pursuer must make a Dexterity Check or fall, and spend 1 round getting up
  again); 2 com pouches (4gp9sp5cp and 22gp8sp); high, soft boots; gauntlets (1 pair); gloves (1
  pair); 5 empty canvas sacks; backpack; 1 coil of waxed, blackened hempen rope (80'); 1 iron
  hook; 1 set thieves' picks & tools; flint & steel; whetstone; 4 oil-soaked rags; 1 vial oil (not readily
  flammable—for sharpening blades); 1 sturdy iron storm-lantern (shuttered); 6 vials lamp oil
  (highly flammable!) in an iron carry-box; 2 spare wicks for lantern; velvet half-mask: three 4'
  lengths of strong, black waxed cord; spare tunic; cloak with hood; spare high, soft boots (1 pair;;
  1 pair soft shoes; 1 'grand' court-tunic and hose.
  ILDREM THALN is a veteran thief of Athkatla who fled to the Dragonreach with a caravan when things got
  a little too hot for him back home. With an eye on the riches spilling out of pockets in every city of the Land of
  Merchants, Ildrem got as far as Suzail (in Cormyr), where the caravan terminated, and decided to gather
  information, look around, and establish a legitimate business or reputation, as a cover for later thieving.
  Cormyr looked a lot too well-policed for freewheeling thievery, but perhaps an adventure or two...
  Ildrem found things more strict than he'd feared, and when another caravan offered a chance to return to
  Amn (but to the eastern uplands, where he'd not be known), Ildrem jumped at it. Arriving in Eshpurta, he
  discovered the Baron of Hawkhill's call for adventurers, answered it, and has never looked back...
  
  FORGOTTEN REALMS® Character Copyright © 1993,1994,1997 TSR, Inc. AH Rights Reserved.
  LASHANTAR 7th level Chaotic Good
  THACO: 16 
  Adjusted Armor Class: ACS (chainmail no shield) 
  HP: 45
  STR 16
  Saving Throws: (d20)
  Paralyzation, 
  Rod, Staff, 
  Petrification
  or Wand
  11
  Abilities, Bonuses, etc.:
  AC bonus of-2 (dex)
  +1 on damage (str)
  Poison, Death
  7
  or Polymorph
  10
  Breath Weapon
  13
  Spell
  12
  CON 12
  INT 15
  WIS18
  CHA16
  Deity: Tymora
  Age: 26
  Height: 5*11"
  Weight: 97 Ib
  Description: Slim, gentle-voiced,
  and always alert, with long blonde
  hair, dancing blue eyes, and a
  quick smile. Right-handed.
  Languages Spoken: Common, CG
  Weapons & where carried: Morning Star (2d4, Id6+l vs. L) in hand
  2 Maces (Id6+l, Id6 vs. L) at belt
  Club (Id6,1-3 vs. L) slung on back (baldric)
  Spells: 5,5,3,2.
  Carried: Command x2 
  Flame Blade x2 (does Id4-r2 hp (+2 more vs. undead} for 7 rounds)
  Cure Light Wounds x2 (heals Id8 hp/spell) 
  Hold Person x2
  Pass Without Trace 
  Speak With Animals
  Dispel Magic x2
  Remove Curse
  Cause Serious Wounds (does 2d8+l hp damage)
  Cure Serious Wounds (heals 2d8+l hp damage)
  Carries 3 spells on scrolls: Cure Blindness or Deafness/Cure Disease/Neutralize Poison
  Gear: wears Chainmail; belt w7coin pouch ("l4gplsplcpj; high, hard boots; helm & gauntlets:
  backpack; 4 pieces chalk; flint & steel; whetstone; 7 oil-soaked rags; 2 files; 1 vial oil (not readily
  flammable—for sharpening blades); holy symbol of Tymora (silver disc); 8' of strong, black
  waxed cord; spare gown; cloak with hood; spare high, soft boots (1 pair); 1 pair soft shoes; 2
  ceremonial clerical robes.
  LASHANTAR is a devout priestess, more at home in serene ritual and prayer than in the rough-and-tumble
  of the wider world. Yet to be a true servant of Tymora, one must dare often, taking life as an adventure, not a
  placid existence of routine in some cloistered abbey. "Shanta" enjoyed merchants' revels and high-society
  intrigue as she grew up in Sembia, and embraced the faith of Lady Luck to escape a life of humdrum
  drudgery as a wife, shopkeeper, or maidservant (the choices that seemed to lie ahead). Her one problem was
  that she hadn't the faintest idea of how to find true adventure, beyond flirting and whispering secrets.
  That all changed at a revel where she unburdened herself to a surprisingly friendly stranger: the
  stunningly beautiful lady Flambrella Rollingstone, from Hillsfar. Flambrella, it was whispered, came
  from very wealthy—perhaps even noble—bloodlines in distant, war-wracked Tethyr. The lady herself said
  nothing to Lashantar about her background—except to reveal that she was a Harper! She drew a dagger from
  her bodice and gave it to "Shanta," telling her that a certain lady bard, Storm Silverhand, would recognize
  it. Lashantar was to say to Storm that Flambrella had sent her for training, but was to travel to Shadowdale
  to find the bard as quietly and as unnoticed as possible.
  Lashantar did so, and found Storm to be a warm but unconventional teacher who started her service to
  Tymora by having her spy on local priests of Lady Luck! After years of working for both those priests and
  the Harpers, Lashantar grew bored—and Storm, who'd been expecting this to occur, sent her forth to find her
  own path and her own adventures. Her wanderings took her eventually to Amn, and to Hawkhill, and to
  service as an adventurer with the Baron. It is a life she increasingly enjoys...
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/Settings/Forgotten Realms/2rd Ed. - WotC - Forgotten Realms - Unpublished - Thaldigar's Tower.pdf