TEXT: www.stupormundi-rpg.com
  
  The Hounds 
  of Adranos
  n adventure for 
  Stupor Mundi 
  A
  Written by Paolo Guccione
  Illustrated by Dario Corallo
  You will need the “RuneQuest Core Rulebook” and the “RuneQuest Companion”, or the “RuneQuest Deluxe” rulebook, in order to play 
  this scenario. All of these books are available from Mongoose Publishing. 
  Ownership of the Stupor Mundi supplement, available from Alephtar Games, is recommended but not required.
  “RuneQuest (TM)” and the RuneQuest logo are Trademarks owned by Issaries, Inc. and are used according to the terms of the RuneQuest 
  logo Licence version 1.0.  A copy of this licence can be obtained from Mongoose Publishing. The mention or reference to any company 
  or product in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned.
  “Stupor Mundi – Rolepleying in the world of Frederick II” is a Trademark of Paolo Guccione and Alephtar Games.
  The contents of this book are Open Game Content. A copy of the Open Game Licence can be obtained from Mongoose Publishing or 
  from Wizards of the Coast. This scenario can be reproduced and distributed free of charge for non-commercial purposes, as long as its 
  contents are left unaltered.
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  Summary
  The adventurers are visiting the town of Adernium in 
  Sicily,  when  they  get  involved  in  the  mysterious 
  disappearance  of  a  young  man  with  an  unknown 
  connection to the local ruler. By investigating the mystery, 
  they discover that the poor youngster has been abducted 
  by a daemonic hound.  The adventurers must dare  the 
  underground lair of the beast in the very depths of Mount 
  Etna, only to discover that the magical canine was in fact 
  trying to protect the man. Once out of the dungeon, the 
  party must confront the real threat that was attempting at 
  the man's life in a final showdown.
  Introduction
  Our  action  takes  place  in  Adernium,  a  town  on  the 
  western slopes of Mount Etna, in Sicily, on a midwinter 
  night between 1220 and 1250 AD. This small centre is 
  what remains of the town built by Dyonisius more than 
  1500 years before, and is now ruled by a Norman petty 
  noble named Wilhelm. The adventurers are on a simple 
  mission given them by their usual employer, and must 
  spend a night in this town on their way to the eastern coast 
  of Sicily. They have rented a room at the local tavern, 
  which acts also as an inn on the rare occasions when some 
  strangers need to sleep there.
  While spending their evening eating and drinking what the 
  town has to offer, and possibly initiating a conversation 
  with the local wenches, they notice a young man who is 
  feasting and laughing very loudly with his friends. The 
  man buys them a round of drinks, too. If there is some 
  Muslim in the party, who cannot accept the gift, the man 
  insists that he takes at least some goat milk. No matter 
  how  loudly  his  friends  warn  him  that  “A  Saracen  is 
  always a bandit, not worth of your generosity”, he is too 
  happy (and too drunk) to fall prey to the natives' usual 
  distrust for Arabs.
  If the adventurers inquire about the youngster's name they 
  learn that he it is Leonidas. A simple test of an appropriate 
  Lore  can  tell  them  that  it  is  a classical Greek name, 
  somehow unusual for a commoner in this lowly land. The 
  man will not tell anyone why he is so happy, 
  Howls and blood in the 
  night
  After some more drinking, Leonidas and friends leave the 
  tavern and head home, staggering visibly after drinking 
  way too much alcohol. Leonidas takes with him a huge 
  flask of wine, drinking from it on the way home. Within a 
  few  minutes,  some  screams  and  an  ominous,  blood-
  chilling howl are heard in the night. Two villagers rush 
  out  of  the  tavern  to  see  what  happened.  Shortly 
  afterwards, a middle-aged woman enters the tavern and, 
  looking  at  the  adventurers,  tells  them:  “You,  kind 
  travellers. You look like men-at-arms. May I beg for your 
  help in this sorrowful night? Something went wrong, and I 
  fear for my poor Leonidas.” Of course the adventurers 
  will accept. Just in case they ask for a reward, there is a 
  couple of sheep worth a total of fifty silver coins for them.
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  Mythical Background
  Adranos was a fiery deity of Magna Graecia. Many scholars believe that he was in fact just another 
  incarnation of Ephestus, as this adventure tends to confirm. In 400 BC tyrant Dyonisius I of Syracusae 
  ordered the construction of a city on the slopes of the great Sicilian volcano, Mount Etna. The city was 
  built near a great temple of Adranos that had been there for centuries, and so it was named after the deity, 
  Adranon. The huge statue of the god that was in the temple, wielding a monumental spear that looked 
  like it had a flaming tip, would guard the citizen from all dangers alike, be they eruptions or invaders. 
  The temple itself was guarded by a host of one thousand magnificent hounds, sacred to the god. These 
  beasts, who were bigger and stronger than normal dogs, could discern the actual mind of all visitors, and 
  more than once did they tear ill-intentioned guests into pieces. One peculiar behaviour that they usually 
  showed was that of accompanying guests back home if they were too drunk to find their own way.
  
  The woman, who is Leonidas's mother, is named Irene, 
  and is carrying a staff that ends with some sort of lit torch. 
  Anyone looking at the staff and rolling below his INTx5 
  or his Spear skill, whichever is higher, notices that it is not 
  a pole-mounted torch but a spade with its tip burning with 
  an intense fire. Magical detection or an appropriate Lore 
  test  reveals  that  it  is  enchanted  with  a  fiery  spell, 
  Fireblade. In a couple of minutes' walk the group reaches 
  the source of all the yelling. At this point, Irene's spell 
  ends and the spade returns normal.
  A group of villagers has already assembled on the scene. 
  They  carry  torches  that  light  the  gruesome  sight  that 
  stands before the adventurers' eyes, and some of them are 
  searching the surrounding countryside.
  A man named Gaius, one of Leonidas's friends, is lying 
  dead on the ground with a deep, blood-soaked cut in his 
  belly and an arrow impaled in his left leg. Leaning to a 
  nearby tree is the body of a man, probably a Saracen, with 
  his eyes and his mouth still wide open like he was still 
  screaming. His throat has been literally torn open, and an 
  unbelievable amount of blood stains his leather cuirass. 
  An arabian styled open helm and a scimitar lie on the 
  ground nearby, a clear mark of the man's pointless defence 
  against whomever, or whatever, slaughtered him.
  Searching  nearby  reveals  nothing.  The  villagers  are 
  becoming nervous and mumbling that Saracen bandits are 
  in the area. If there are Muslim PCs in the party,  an 
  Influence  test  could  be  necessary  to  avoid  unpleasant 
  accidents. In any case, Sir Wilhelm and several of his 
  retainers, all mounted, appear within half an hour, and 
  stop any violence the villagers may be attempting against 
  the adventurers. The Baron quickly questions the peasants 
  about what happened, and after he discovers that Leonidas 
  is still missing, he turns to Irene and asks her: “Have you 
  seen him?”. She replies negatively, almost crying.
  At  this  point  one  of  the  armed  guys  that  came  with 
  Wilhelm states sarcastically “Leonidas's Islamic brothers 
  have shown up again. They are his only real friends. Too 
  bad poor Gaius learned it the hard way.” At this point the 
  Baron shouts “Enough, Gottfried!” and orders everything 
  carried to his castle. If they inquire about this with some 
  villager, the PCs learn that this young man is Wilhelm's 
  only son.
  Investigations and 
  discoveries
  Once the Baron has left, Irene asks the adventurers to 
  escort her home. Her hut is far away in the countryside. 
  The adventurers might want to go to the castle, instead, to 
  talk to Wilhelm, but Irene will tell them that it is useless, 
  as he never admits strangers into his manor. If they insist 
  and go to the castle, they will not be let in, and the only 
  thing  they  will  discover,  if  they  tip  the  gatekeeper 
  generously,  is  that  Leonidas  is  Wilhelm's  bastard  son, 
  although Gottfried has spread the rumour that his mother 
  conceived him lying with the devil, or with some Saracen 
  thief, instead.
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  Irene
  Village Witch, AGE 37
  Characteristics
  STR 
  7
  CON 
  15
  DEX 
  9
  SIZ 
  9
  INT
  15
  POW 
  17
  CHA 
  13
  Hit Locations
  D20 
  Hit Location 
  AP/HP
  1–3 
  Right Leg 
  -/5
  4–6 
  Left Leg 
  -/5
  7–9 
  Abdomen 
  -/6
  10–12 
  Chest 
  -/7
  13–15 
  Right Arm 
  -/4
  16–18 
  Left Arm 
  -/4
  19–20 
  Head 
  -/5
  Weapons
  Type 
  Skill Damage
    AP/HP
  Spade
  30% 1D6+1-1D2
     2/8 
  Combat Actions: 2
  Strike Rank: +12
  Magic Points: 17
  Movement: 4m
  Skills: Dodge 50%, First Aid 70%, Perception 
  50%, Persistence 70%, Resilience 35%, 
  Lore(Animal) 50%,  Lore(Mineral) 50%, 
  Lore(Plant) 50%, Healing 50%.
  Armour: None
  Runes: F (Fertility) 65%, N (Fire) 90%.
  Spells:  Endurance, Fireblade (4), Firearrow (2), 
  Heal 4, Ignite .
  
  If the adventurers take the time to ask, the villagers will 
  tell them that Irene is the village “Wise Woman”. She 
  heals the sick and invokes good weather on the crops. And 
  when the mountain bowels groan, she appeases the mighty 
  volcano. Some villagers will whisper the world “witch”, 
  especially the local priest, but no one looks scared or 
  shows  any  resentment  towards  her.  If  they  ask  about 
  Leonidas' father, they will learn that he is probably the 
  Baron, although a couple of young men will tell them that 
  Leonidas must be some devil's son.
  If the adventurers escort Irene to her hut, which is ten 
  minutes' walk from the scene, they make an interesting 
  encounter. The party sees two figures carrying another in 
  the dark. Irene has just started running towards the three, 
  screaming  “Leonidas!”,  when  the  PCs  hear  an  arrow 
  flying in the darkness and notice that the two figures have 
  dropped the third one on the ground and drawn something 
  that  looks  suspiciously  like  bows.  Realizing  what  is 
  happening,  Irene  hides  behind  a  bush  and  lets  the 
  adventurers do the fighting.
  As soon as they see the adventurers draw real weapons 
  instead of the farming tools they are prepared to face, the 
  two mysterious men give up and disappear into the night. 
  The third figure, who is moaning audibly, is still where 
  they dropped it. When they come close to it, they notice it 
  is an Arab-looking man. His left arm has been almost torn 
  away, and rags of flesh are still attached to the wound, 
  clearly showing that it was not a blade that maimed him. 
  The man is bleeding to death, and passes away in a few 
  rounds if no one can help him. Any adventurer that can 
  speak some Arabic can discern what his last words are, 
  but  if  no  one  speaks  the  man's  language  it  takes  an 
  Influence check to persuade him to speak Latin. In any 
  case his last words are “The Dog, the Hellish Dog...”
  At some point, whether by examining the man's wound, or 
  by being told what he was whispering while dying, Irene 
  realizes what happened and screams: “No! It cannot be! 
  The Hounds took him!” When the adventurers inquire 
  about  her  thoughts,  Irene  refuses  to  explain,  and  just 
  mumbles: “They must have sensed he was drunk... but he 
  was drunk before and they never showed up... they must 
  have sensed treachery, too! The Hounds sense treachery!”
  At  this  point  the  adventurers  will  likely  start  asking 
  questions, to which Irene gives very obscure answers. If 
  asked who Leonidas's father is, she tells that it is Wilhelm, 
  and adds that he has resolved to adopt his bastard son, and 
  wants to announce it on the next day. If asked what the 
  Hounds are, her only answer is “The Hounds of Adranos 
  escort good people who drink too much on their way 
  home, and slay murderers and traitors”. If asked about 
  where  they  could  have  taken  her  son,  she  screams: 
  “Home! They took him home!” and rushes to her hut. 
  Unfortunately, the latter is vacant.
  Staring desperately at her empty hut, Irene weeps and 
  wonders “Where did they take you, Leonidas?”. Someone 
  sooner or later will suggest that there must be some other 
  place  that  the  Hounds  consider  “home”,  and  Irene 
  mumbles “Perhaps they sensed his ancestry and took him 
  to their home...” If someone asks for explanations, Irene 
  admits that she and her son are the last descendants of the 
  High  Priests  of  Adranos,  so  her  bloodline  is  directly 
  connected to the Hounds' master. Finally,  when asked 
  where  the  Hounds'  home  might  be,  she  replies:  “The 
  Necropolis, they must have taken him to the Necropolis. 
  Below the Necropolis...”
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  Gottfried
  Norman Noble, age 23
  Characteristics
  STR 
  11
  CON 
  14
  SIZ 
  15
  INT
  11
  POW 
  9
  DEX 
  13
  CHA 
  9
  Hit Locations
  D20 
  Hit Location
  AP/HP
  1–3 
  Right Leg 
  3/6
  4–6 
  Left Leg 
  3/6
  7–9 
  Abdomen 
  5/7
  10–12 
  Chest 
  5/8
  13–15 
  Right Arm 
  3/6
  16–18 
  Left Arm 
  3/6
  19–20 
  Head 
  5/6
  Weapons
  Type
  Skill Damage
   AP/HP
  Sword 
  60% 1D8+1D2
    4/10
  Combat Actions: 3
  Strike Rank: +12
  Move: 4m
  Skills: Persistence 45%, Riding 60%. 
  Armour: Light Chain Mail and helm (5 AP on 
  vitals, 3 AP on limbs). 
  
  Now all this should be enough to persuade the faint of 
  heart to take their two sheep reward and head back to their 
  beds.  Irene can offer to teach them magic as a reward for 
  visiting the necropolis, but she clearly states that they 
  need to find “tokens from the gods” in order to use her 
  magic. In the end, we all know that adventurers do not 
  belong to the ranks of the faint of heart, so we may 
  assume that in a matter of minutes the party will escort 
  Irene to the ancient necropolis of Adranon. 
  The Dungeon beneath 
  the Necropolis
  What remains of the Necropolis is a bunch of mounds and 
  some broken pillars. Untold riches lie beneath, but the 
  adventurers do not have the time to dig them up. Instead, 
  they  will  notice  a  big  stone  slab  in  the  middle  of  a 
  clearing, with something that resembles a cave mouth in 
  the vicinity.  A stench of sulphur and other disgusting 
  aromas come from the cave entrance.
  Irene leads them to the slab, around which lie a lot of 
  bones  which  used  to  belong  to  sheep  or  chickens. 
  Something resembling a human skull is half buried in the 
  dust upon the slab, but if someone gets too close to it, 
  Irene  shouts:  “Do  not  touch  the  stone,  it  is  sacred!” 
  Pointing at the bones scattered around, she says “Here I 
  offer sacrifices to Adranos, Lord of the Mountain of Fire 
  and once Lord of this town. The Hounds feed on the 
  sacrifices, as they are one with Adranos. Now Jesus rules 
  this land, so I had to allow my son's baptism. When I am 
  no more, no one will remain to worship Adranos, and the 
  Hounds will stay in the depths of the Mountain of Fire 
  forever.”  This  could  elicit  some  bad  response  from 
  priestly player characters, especially since the skull on the 
  stone is in fact a human skull. But this is another story.
  A  flask  of  wine  is  lying  on  the  ground  near  the 
  underground entrance. Some of its content has poured out 
  and is being absorbed by the soil, but the container is still 
  half full. Everybody can tell that it is the same flask that 
  Leonidas was carrying when he left the tavern.
  At this point Irene looks at the cave entrance and says: “I 
  cannot go any further. This place is forbidden to me.” If 
  asked whether the party should enter the cave, she replies: 
  “You all worship Jesus or Allah, so Lord Adranos cannot 
  take his revenge upon you if you defile his rest place. He 
  will not be pleased by my sacrifices any longer if I allow 
  you to do this, but I want my son back. This means the 
  village has to resort to Jesus for protection, from now on.” 
  Then she adds: “And there could be guardians below...” 
  The party can now enter the cave. Branches taken from 
  the outside can provide rudimentary torches, and Irene 
  obviously knows how to set them ablaze. The stench in 
  the  cave  is  unspeakable,  but  the  party  encounters  no 
  obstacle at first. After a few meters, they enter a square 
  room with a huge stone sarcophagus shaped as a Greek 
  hoplite. At the far end of the room is a big stone door.
  As soon as the party moves beyond the stone structure, a 
  translucent figure rises from the sepulchre, dressed as an 
  Achaean  hero,  and  whispering  “Dyonissssiussss, 
  Dyonissssiussss”  in  a  high-pitched,  eerie  voice.  In  a 
  matter of seconds the adventurers are in melee with the 
  spectral warrior, who wields his eldritch spear like he was 
  Achilles  himself.  No  matter  how  accurately  the 
  adventurers strike, any blows from non-magical weapons 
  will  just  be  blocked  by  his  spectral  shield,  while  the 
  immaterial spear causes all-too-physical wounds to the 
  adventurer bodies, piercing through shields and armour as 
  if they did not exist.
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  Spectral Hoplite
  Guardian of the Underworld
  Characteristics
  STR 
  -
  CON 
  -
  DEX 
  -
  SIZ 
  -
  INT
  15
  POW 
  14
  CHA 
  9
  Weapons
  Type
  Skill
  Damage
    
  Ghostly Spear
  50% 
  1D8
  Hit Points: 14
  Combat Actions: 2
  Strike Rank: +24
  Move: 14m
  Skills: Dodge 30%, Persistence 60%.
  Armour: none, but non-magic weapons are 
  ineffective and seem to be blocked by large 
  shield.
  Traits: Dark Sight, Night Sight, Recurring.
  Notes: Attack cannot be parried, only dodged, 
  and ignores all armour.
  
  If  the  adventurers  understand  the  real  nature  of  the 
  guardian but do not have any combat magic with which to 
  harm him, they still have one hope. Irene is still a few 
  seconds from them, and they should have guessed she 
  knows Fireblade earlier that night. She is not eager to cast 
  this spell, as she is low on magic points and wants to save 
  some in order to heal Leonidas when they find him, but 
  she can enchant two weapons in order to make them deal 
  1D10 magical fire damage.
  Once the spectral guardian is dispatched, the party can go 
  on into the bowels of the earth. After the room the path is 
  clearly no longer man made, and the stench of sulphur 
  becomes stronger. The passageway becomes narrow, and 
  the adventurers must succeed in an Easy (+40%) Athletics 
  skill test or suffer one level of fatigue due to the difficulty 
  of walking down and the presence of a massive amount of 
  carbon dioxide. The torches burn out after a few minutes, 
  but there are strange rocks in the walls that resemble 
  burning  coals  and  shed  some  light.  The  temperature 
  becomes  almost  unbearable.  At  one  point  the  leading 
  character must make a Perception test or step on a lava 
  puddle, taking 1d4 heat damage to a random leg, ignoring 
  armour.
  The Hound of Adranos
  After  half  an  hour's  descent,  the  adventurers  find  an 
  almost impassable area. The corridor widens, and the floor 
  turns into semi-solidified lava. Walking upon it could be 
  dangerous,  but  luckily  this  looks  like  the  end  of  the 
  adventurers' journey. Leonidas is lying  on the ground, 
  covered in bruises and small cuts, but with no marks of 
  worse injuries. A huge, pitch-black canine figure, bigger 
  and scarier than any hound the adventurers have ever 
  seen, is trying to drag him across the lava, holding him 
  tight but gently by his right shoulder. The Hound has an 
  arrow protruding from one of its hind legs and a large, 
  gaping wound on its belly is leaking big drops of blood, 
  which evaporate into a reddish, sulphurous vapour as soon 
  as they hit the lava surface. The hound is actually walking 
  upon the lava pool, undisturbed by the burning substance, 
  and after a few moments the adventurers notice that also 
  Leonidas's skin seems to suffer little or less damage from 
  the contact with the red-hot lava.  Maybe his mother was 
  correct when she stated that the Hounds had recognized 
  his ancestry as their own.
  As soon as the beast senses the adventurers, it leaves hold 
  of poor Leonidas and stares at the intruders, producing a 
  menacing growl that sounds more like it is coming from 
  the bowels of the volcano rather than the interiors of a 
  beast. Its eyes produce sparkles, and an unnatural reddish 
  glow is visible deep inside its mouth. Everything in its 
  appearance says “Hades”.
  At this point the adventurers can try and kill the beast. It is 
  clearly wounded and wearied, but the passageway allows 
  only two of them at a time to engage the infernal canine. 
  However,  any  successful  Lore  (Animal)  or  Lore 
  (appropriate mythology) test can tell the characters that 
  the hound will not attack as soon as their intentions are 
  clearly peaceful, no matter how loudly it growls. The 
  beast will  not, however, allow  them to take Leonidas 
  away until one of them has tried to cure the young man's 
  wounds or its own. If no one of the characters has healing 
  magic or First Aid, yanking out the impaled arrow is 
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  Hound of Adranos
  Canine being from the Netherworld
  Characteristics
  STR 
  11
  CON 
  9
  SIZ 
  14
  INT
  5
  POW 
  10
  DEX 
  15
  CHA 
  3
  Hit Locations
  D20 
  Hit Location
    AP/HP
  1–2 
  Right Hind Leg 
  3/7
  3–4 
  Left Hind Leg 
  3/7
  5–7 
  Hind Quarters 
  3/3
  8–10 
  Fore Quarters
    3/10
  11–13 
  Right Fore Leg 
  3/7
  14–16 
  Left Fore Leg 
  3/2
  17–20 
  Head 
  3/8
  Weapons
  Type
  Skill
  Damage
    
  Bite
  50% 
  1D8+1d4
    
  Combat Actions: 3
  Strike Rank: +10
  Movement: 6m
  Skills: Dodge 35%, Resilience 60%. 
  Armour: Hide and fur (3 AP)
  Traits: Fire Immunity, Dark Sight, Night Sight.
  Notes: Bite does 1D3 extra fire damage if target 
  fails a Resilience test. Wounds described in the 
  text are included in location Hit Points.
  
  enough to befriend the hellish creature. It will certainly 
  complain about the pain and scare the hell out of the brave 
  surgeon, but in the end it will be grateful for it. As soon as 
  they  have  performed  some  healing,  the  hound  stops 
  growling and barks happily, showing teeth  as long as 
  daggers in the process, and licks the hand of the nearest 
  character  who  provided  his  help.  Unfortunately,  his 
  burning tongue causes 1 point of damage to the character 
  if he fails a Resilience test.
  There  is  another  way  to  persuade  the  hound  that  the 
  adventurers are friends. If they have marked Irene's words 
  and also taken the wine flask with them, one of them can 
  now drink its entire contents. The character must succeed 
  in a Resilience test or suffer 1d6 impairment to all his 
  skills, but in any cases he becomes visibly drunk, and the 
  hound is immediately aware of it. As soon as the character 
  cleans his mouth after the last drop of wine, the beast is at 
  his side, and begins to push him gently towards the exit. 
  Climbing back while being “gently” accompanied by such 
  a behemoth is not the easiest of tasks, however, and the 
  character must make two Athletics tests at -40% or suffer 
  1d4 damage to a random location which is scratched by a 
  sharp rock. This, however, leaves his companions with the 
  time to lift Leonidas from the ground and put him on their 
  shoulders. As soon as the hound realizes that they are in 
  fact helping him, it lets them go on and carry him outside.
  There is an interesting piece of treasure in the lava. On a 
  small rock in the centre of the puddle there is a warmer, 
  less glimmering rock that has a bright stone encased into 
  it. This stone shines more brightly than the surrounding 
  lava and emanates a faint reddish glow. Carved in it is the 
  Greek letter N. It takes a Perception test to notice it, with a 
  +40% bonus if a character is actively searching in the 
  lava.  Anyone  using  a  magic  sight  spell  immediately 
  notices the stone and has his INT x3% (or an appropriate 
  magic Lore, whichever is higher) chance of identifying its 
  nature.
  The stone is a Fire Rune, and the N stands for the Greek 
  word for Fire, Nyros. It takes a brute force Athletics test 
  to take it out of the rock with a dagger or another pointed 
  tool, with 1D3 points of heat damage to a random leg for 
  each failed attempt, ignoring armour. Anyone who has 
  actually performed any form of healing on the Hound has 
  a 40% bonus to his Persistence test to integrate this Rune.
  The way up is even harder than the way down. The heat is 
  still  unbearable,  and  the  characters  must  make  an 
  Athletics skill test to avoid one level of fatigue. Anyone 
  who  is  wounded,  harassed  by  the  Hound,  carrying 
  Leonidas,  or fumbles the roll also suffers 1D4 falling 
  damage on a failure. Anyone who rolls a critical success 
  can provide support to everyone else's roll.
  Final confrontation
  Sooner or later, the adventurers are back to the surface. 
  The sun is now rising, and Irene is still waiting for them. 
  As soon as she sees her son, she screams his name and 
  rushes to his side, chanting a healing spell. Leonidas has 
  two points of damage in all locations for being dragged by 
  the Hound, and has been brought to 0 Hit Points in the 
  head by a big crushing blow, but is otherwise unharmed. 
  When the adventurers are out of the dungeon and can 
  breathe fresh air once again, they can attempt a Resilience 
  test in order to recover from one level of Fatigue.
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  Saracen bandits
  Ordinary thugs
  Characteristics
  STR 
  13
  CON 
  9
  SIZ 
  14
  INT
  9
  POW 
  9
  DEX 
  11
  CHA 
  8
  Hit Locations
  D20 
  Hit Location
  AP/HP
  1–3 
  Right Leg 
  -/5
  4–6 
  Left Leg 
  -/5
  7–9 
  Abdomen 
  2/6
  10–12 
  Chest 
  2/7
  13–15 
  Right Arm 
  -/4
  16–18 
  Left Arm 
  -/4
  19–20 
  Head 
  -/5
  Weapons
  Type
  Skill
  Damage
    AP/HP
  Scimitar
  50% 
  1D6+1+1D2
    4/10
  Bow
  50% 
  1D8+1D2
  Combat Actions: 2
  Strike Rank: +10
  Move: 4m
  Skills:  Persistence 20%, Resilience 40%.
  Armour: Leather cuirass (2 AP on torso).
  
  At the moment the adventurers are beginning to feel safe, 
  one figure steps out of the shadow of a nearby mound. It 
  is Gottfried, in full armour, and he immediately shouts: 
  “Ah, he is still alive! Do yourselves a favour, hand him 
  over to me with his mother, and I shall spare your lives.” 
  If the characters draw their weapons or ask him how he is 
  going to kill them alone, Gottfried makes a gesture and 
  the two surviving thugs appear, half covered by bushes, 
  their bows drawn and ready to shoot.
  The attackers are some fifteen metres from the party and 
  have plenty of cover. The adventurers are likely to be hit 
  by a couple of arrows from each bandit before engaging 
  them in melee. Irene has a few magic points left and will 
  heal anyone  who goes down, but only if he is really 
  incapacitated. She will not cast Fireblade spells this time. 
  As soon as one thug is out of the fight or he himself is 
  wounded, Gottfried will disengage and flee. His horse is 
  in the vicinity, so it is likely that he can escape.
  If the party is about to be overcome by the attackers, or 
  just for fun, you can have the Hound show up. The beast 
  might have followed a drunk player character, in which 
  case it will appear on the third round of combat, directly 
  in the middle of the fight. If the dog has not followed the 
  party, instead, it will show up as soon as anyone shouts 
  the words “Treachery” or “Traitor” aloud. Have Irene do 
  this if the adventurers do not realize it on their own.
  Whatever the reason for its appearance, the Hound throws 
  itself into the fight like an avatar of Vengeance, growling 
  and howling like a pack of wolves. Its eyes glare like 
  burning  coals   and  its  breath  does  not  produce  mere 
  vapour in the cold winter morning, but real flames. Its 
  appearance will immediately cause Gottfried's retreat, and 
  wounded thugs might opt to surrender at its sight, only to 
  die a heinous death in the grip of its jaws. If the beast 
  pursues the fleeing Gottfried, he will scare the hell out of 
  his horse, and the poor fellow will not be able to ride to 
  safety. Unless he begs for mercy and swears to no longer 
  attempt at his half-brother's life, he will be torn to pieces 
  by the enraged Hound, and even in this case it takes Irene 
  a big deal of chanting long-forgotten verses to calm the 
  creature down.
  Epilogue and rewards
  If the party killed Gottfried, it will be hard for them or 
  Irene to prove that it was not Leonidas who conspired 
  against his half-brother, unless it was the Hound who 
  killed him. Leonidas and his mother will be forced to flee 
  Adernium, but they will still be grateful to the adventurers 
  for saving the young man's life. If Gottfried is captured, 
  instead, he swears he will accept Leonidas as his rightful 
  brother if his father wants to adopt him. After realizing 
  that the Hounds can sense his treachery, he will keep his 
  word by all means.
  If Gottfried managed to escape, he immediately flees to 
  the  castle.  However,  if  anyone  shouts  “Traitor”  or 
  “Treachery” at the fleeing villain, his father's mansion will 
  be mysteriously surrounded by a pack of huge, howling 
  black dogs just before he can enter it. Gottfried must now 
  flee his home, too, and will not be seen again for several 
  months. Persuading the Baron that the presence of the 
  beasts is due to his new son's ancestry and not to black 
  magic, however, is another story.
  Irene will no longer offer sacrifices to the Hounds of 
  Adranos, as the god does not welcome her offerings any 
  more.  Stories  about  black  dogs  feasting  at  night  on 
  evildoers will be told in the area in the decades to come, 
  until  the  cave  in  the  necropolis  collapses  due  to  an 
  eruption and the Hounds are never heard of any more. In 
  any case, if the adventurers have found and integrated the 
  Fire Rune, Irene will teach them all her Fire magic for 
  free. She will also instruct them in Healing for free. 
  If Leonidas is finally adopted by the Baron, there is a 
  reward of 150 silver coins for everyone in the party, and 
  the adventurers have gained a powerful ally in the area, 
  especially if Gottfried is killed or there is some chance 
  that Leonidas becomes the next Baron after his father's 
  demise. Leonidas will retain the power to call upon the 
  Hounds if he is about to be betrayed, but it is possible that 
  he does not realize it. Perhaps he needs the adventurers' 
  help to figure it out?
  www.stupormundi-rpg.com
  Did you enjoy this adventure?
  You can find more medieval adventures in “Stupor Mundi: roleplaying in the world of Frederick II 
  Hohenstaufen”, a complete game setting for the RuneQuestTM role-playing game. More info at:
  http://www.stupormundi-rpg.com/
  
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Stupor Mundi/Stupor Mundi The Hounds of Adranos.pdf