TEXT: Under Frozen StarS
  Under Frozen StarS
  by Jason nelson
  by Jason nelson
  
  ii
  Credits
  Author: Jason Nelson
  Artist: Tim Kings-Lynne
  CArtogrAphy: Tim Wickham
  Development: Matt Kimmel
  Design AnD lAyout: Rick Kunz
  legenDAry gAmes teAm members:  Alex Augunas, Clinton J. Boomer, Robert 
  Brookes, Benjamin Bruck, Paris Crenshaw, Matthew Goodall, Jim Groves, 
  Amanda Hamon Kunz, Thurston Hillman, Tim Hitchcock, Victoria Jaczko, 
  Jonathan H. Keith, Jeff Lee, Jen Page, Jenny Jarzabski, Michael Kortes, Nicolas 
  Logue, Will McCardell, Jason Nelson, Richard Pett, Tom Phillips, Alistair Rigg, 
  Amber Scott, Mark Seifter, Tork Shaw, Mike Shel, Neil Spicer, Todd Stewart, 
  Russ Taylor, Greg A. Vaughan, Mike Welham, Linda Zayas-Palmer, and Clark 
  Peterson
  publisher: Jason Nelson
  exeCutive pArtner: Neil Spicer
  Art DireCtor: Rick Kunz
  business DireCtor: Rachel Ventura
  Special ThankS
  Erik Mona, Lisa Stevens, James Jacobs, and the Paizo staff, and to all the 
  authors of the amazing Jade Regent Adventure Path. 
  Under Frozen Stars (5E) © 2016, Legendary 
  Games; Author Jason Nelson, adapted by 
  Matt Kimmel.
  ISBN-13:978-1534836716 
  ISBN-10:1534836713
  First printing June 2016.
  Printed in USA. 
  Legendary Games
  3734 SW 99th St.
  Seattle, WA 98126-4026
  makeyourgamelegendary.com
  
  1
  table of Contents
  What You Will find inside under frozen stars (5e)
  On an epic journey across the frozen wastes, your characters seek their destiny and that of the 
  future empress. Yet at the top of the world, having overcome the ravening storms and dark forces 
  arrayed against them, you discover a marvel of legend, a ruined city both ancient and alien. Surely 
  you cannot simply pass it by without exploring it and seeing what mysteries have lain untouched 
  for time out of mind. Then again, if the caravan tales are true, perhaps others have come not so long 
  ago, leaving behind a mysterious treasure that may be of great aid in claiming your imperial destiny 
  in the eastern realms.
  Under Frozen Stars is a 5th Edition adventure for 8th-level characters, which can be dropped into any 
  campaign where the heroes are exploring the frozen reaches beyond the end of civilization, whether 
  high atop an inaccessible mountain range or at the farthest polar reaches at the top of the world, 
  especially if your campaign bridges traditional western fantasy with the mysteries of the far east. It 
  is a classic lost city where magic and technologies ancient and alien lie buried in the ice, forgotten 
  by the world beyond but still filled with mechanical marvels and deadly dangers your players will 
  never forget. 
  The Legendary Games tradition is to combine rich story and background, innovative 
  layout, beautiful aesthetics, and excellence in design that is second to none. This 
  product is the latest in that tradition, and we hope you enjoy using it as much as we 
  enjoyed making it. Game on! 
  About LegendAry gAmes
  Legendary Games is an all star team of authors and designers, founded by Clark Peterson of Necromancer Games, Inc. Legendary 
  Games uses a cooperative, team-based approach to bring you, the Paizo fan, the best expansion material for your game. We are 
  gamers and storytellers first, and we believe that passion shows in our products. So check us out, and Make Your Game Legendary! 
  Visit us on our website at www.makeyourgamelegendary.com, on our Facebook page, or follow us on Twitter @LegendaryGamesJ.
  • 2 •
  Chapter One: Under FrOzen StarS
  • 19 •
  Chapter two: appendiCes
  - Jason Nelson
  
  2
  under Frozen stArs
  Under Frozen Stars is an adventure set in a frozen and 
  desolate arctic wilderness, where mid-level PCs (7th-9th 
  level) encounter the ice-shrouded ruins of an ancient and 
  alien civilization. The adventure does not provide enough 
  experience in and of itself for the PCs to increase in level, 
  but it provides a number of interesting challenges and 
  rewards, especially if the heroes are leading an exploratory 
  expedition to the far polar regions, or escorting a caravan 
  journey across the arctic trade routes from a land of 
  Western-style fantasy into the realms of the mysterious 
  and fantastic Orient. The PCs may also be tracking down 
  rumors of a legendary location at the literal end of the 
  world, as well as a rare and powerful magical item with its 
  roots in the far eastern lands towards which they journey. 
  This item can increase their notoriety in future adventures 
  once they reach those lands as well as being quite useful in 
  their battles against the oni from the Far East. 
  Adventure BAckground
  The White Peacock Crown was the pride of the princes of 
  Waj Khor, signifying their independence from the larger 
  kingdoms around them. The kings claimed the crown gave 
  them power to see and hear the truth, which allowed them 
  to thwart the deceptions of rakshasas to the south and oni 
  to the north who sought to inveigle their way into the favor 
  of Waj Khor’s ruling elite and thereby subvert the kingdom 
  from within as they had done with countless other regimes. 
  The rulers of Waj Khor were clever, however, and copies of 
  the crown were made so that infiltrators never knew which 
  crown was genuine and whom they could deceive until their 
  schemes were revealed and their plots undone. 
  So it was for generations, until Waj Khor was undone by 
  one of its own, a clever thief named Miriya who cared nothing 
  for politics or the plots and machinations of the ruling class, 
  and who knew nothing of their role in protecting the land 
  from infiltration and subversion. She wanted only riches, and 
  perhaps fame (or infamy) as the most daring thief in all the land, 
  and through guile and dauntless luck she and a small gang of 
  ninjas succeeded in the heist. Little did they realize they had 
  stolen the true White Peacock Crown, but it was not long before 
  oni and rakshasa alike began to enjoy great success in their 
  subtle schemes. While Miriya and her band reveled, the rival 
  outsiders rose up in power and contested with one another for 
  control of Waj Khor. Brother was turned against brother, each 
  enslaved by the rival powers, and the small kingdom tore itself 
  apart in civil war. Within months, a kingdom that had stood 
  for centuries was no more, its carcass soon to be swallowed up 
  and forgotten by the kingdoms nearby. 
  Spent after their pyrrhic victory, the oni began seeking the 
  mystic crown that had thwarted them, and began hunting 
  down the ninjas of Miriya’s clan as they did so. The clan 
  master declared the crown accursed and summoned Miriya 
  to carry it to the farthest reaches of the world, banishing 
  her on pain of death. Accompanied by a faithful few friends, 
  Miriya from place to place, seeking hiding and shelter in 
  great cities and tiny villages, in brothels and for some months 
  in a monastery where Miriya thought she could find peace 
  or at least focus for her desperate frustration. Each time, 
  though, shapechanging pursuers found her out. In the end, 
  she journeyed far to the north, beyond the vast spirit-forests 
  and the wild borderlands beyond, and even beyond the Wall 
  of the Sky that marked the edge of the lands she knew even 
  in stories. Beyond was only the endless expanse of the north. 
  The oni had pursued them, nearly catching them once, and 
  she and her surviving friends infiltrated a caravan heading 
  into the lands beyond, covering their trail with a false sea 
  voyage she hoped would divert her pursuers. Halfway across 
  the endless arctic expanse, however, the oni caught her 
  once again, slaughtering most of the caravan before they 
  were driven off. Miriya and the surviving caravaners left 
  the known pathways and lost themselves in the northern 
  mountains where none could find them, wandering for 
  weeks until they discovered a long-forgotten legend – a 
  strange city of towers, midnight blue and gleaming silver 
  and shattered glass, at once ruined and yet enduring from 
  time out of mind. Approaching the outskirts and breaking 
  into a low building at the foot of an impossible tower half 
  a mile high, Miriya and her companions found strange 
  crystals and metallic carvings and artifacts they broke loose 
  to sell. Miriya, though, now half-mad, said she knew she had 
  truly reached the farthest reaches of the world as she had 
  promised, and here she would stay with the White Peacock 
  experienCe Counts
  We feel these short adventures work best 
  using the milestone method of rewarding 
  experience and gaining levels. Instead of 
  tracking each individual number, concentrate 
  more on the story and just level up each 
  character at the conclusion of each adventure. 
  You are certainly welcome to reward 
  experience points as you go, whatever you and 
  your players will have more fun with.
  
  3
  Crown, hidden forever where the oni would never find it. 
  She took the crown down a long tunnel, impossibly straight 
  and lit by lines of blue light, and Xam and Odashu, the last 
  two surviving caravanners, sealed shut the door behind her.
  Xam and Odashu were eventually able to make their 
  way across the pole, leaving the strange blue city and their 
  erstwhile companions far behind, arriving after a grueling 
  trek in the ramshackle trade villages just below the high ice, 
  which seemed like palaces of pleasure and ease after their 
  ordeal. They kept their mysterious trade goods close but 
  were free with parts of their tales, which were little believed 
  but much enjoyed by the locals. After venturing farther 
  south, they had plans to return in force to loot these ancient 
  ruins, but they were disappointed to find little market for 
  the oddments they had brought south. The strange relics 
  of crystal and wire and tiny blinking lights seemed to have 
  no purpose but decoration. Arriving in the trade-city of the 
  Viking lords, they found more cosmopolitan merchants, 
  however, who saw a profit in these strange things, but pressed 
  them for details of their tale. Sadly, after traveling through 
  the bleak polar midnight they were unable to accurately 
  track their journey, and hope of a triumphant return at the 
  head of their own caravan was lost. In despair and a drunken 
  rage, Xam and Odashu fell into argument and Xam killed his 
  partner, and was himself tried and executed for her murder.
  Meanwhile, the hunting party of oni that had followed 
  Miriya lost her trail and subsequently spent decades combing 
  the arctic for signs of her or the crown. Honor-bound to 
  recover the crown and unwilling to endure the disgrace 
  of returning without it, they scoured the trade-towns and 
  villages to no avail, eventually traveling to the subarctic lands 
  of the west and seeking her in vain. However, they finally 
  uncovered rumors about Xam and Odashu and followed 
  the trail back across the pole to the blue city of the ancients. 
  Evading the servants of the winter-witch, they made their 
  way into the city, only to be detected by the clockwork spies 
  Miriya had set against their return, for she too had endured 
  these long years. Mere weeks after entering the blue city, she 
  stumbled upon a barely sentient machine that sought to 
  steal her mind and make her a thoughtless machine, but so 
  strong was her urge to live that a spark of life yet remained 
  within her. Half-woman and half-machine, she renewed her 
  vigil and set about turning the strange living machines of 
  the blue city to serve her purposes. When the oni found her 
  at last, they were taken off guard by her yet-potent skills, but 
  even more so at the horrifying machine that had given her 
  life and now dealt death to the oni, only for them to rise again 
  as cybernetic slaves. One oni only remained, trying to puzzle 
  out where Miriya had hidden the crown and how he might 
  recover it alone; while willing to die in service to his oaths, he 
  would far rather return in glory. 
  A Journey to the eAst
  While Tthis adventure can occur in any remote icy 
  region, it is ideal for a campaign taking heroes on an be part 
  of an epic journey from the Western lands of traditional 
  fantasy to the Far East, crossing the arctic rather than the 
  wide, uncharted oceans. To draw your heroes from West 
  to the OrientEast, you can introduce a simple plot device: 
  the Destined Empress, either a PC or a friendly NPC or 
  a PCs who discovers she is a long-lost descendant of an 
  imperial line in the Far EastOrient. Enemies of her family 
  have found her in the Western lands and will never stop 
  hunting her to prevent her from returning and claiming 
  her birthright.  
  You can incorporate begin this journey in Road to 
  Destiny and continue it in The Baleful Coven into this epic 
  journey, and can provide , but this epic journey may require 
  assistance along the way from experienced travelers who 
  know the way. These can be Whether existing NPCs or new 
  allies made along the journey, of any class or race, they and 
  can help connect the PCs to the story and the challenges 
  that await them. 
  The Caravan Master is host and guide for travelers across 
  the arctic. He knows the stories in the adventure background 
  but does not believe them until a frequent traveler across the 
  arctic who can provide transportation through the hostile 
  frozen north. He is familiar with the stories told by Xam 
  and Odashu, as described in the adventure background, 
  though he believed little of the story until the PCs’ arctic 
  expedition discovers the strange blue city at the top of the 
  world. Once tThere, the small details the Caravan Master 
  remembers from the tale, from the impossibly tall towers, 
  to the shape and color of the metal and glass,  and the 
  strange circling blue lights… it all fits. TThis really is the 
  place!. With the notes he kept and the city in view, he is 
  certain he can find the tunnel where Xam and Odashu left 
  Miriya behind. Few have laid eyes on this legendary place 
  and lived to tell the tale, much less brought back something 
  worth selling. There is undoubtedly great wealth here to be 
  found, whatever the madwoman’s fate. Surely a quick visit 
  could do no harm.
  The Protector is a friend of the Destined Empress, an 
  experienced scout and devoted bodyguard. She has heard 
  of this lost city, and as an explorer she believes it would be a 
  great thing to map at least a portion of it, for the knowledge 
  of future generations, though her first priority is the security 
  of the Destined Empress. 
  The Mystic Seer discovered the Destined Empress’ hidden 
  lineage and foresaw the attacks of her blood enemies. Her 
  divinations and lore suggest the legendary crown she stole 
  was not cursed but actually bears some great virtue against 
  those hunting the Destined Empress, which is why they 
  tried to destroy the crown and all who knew of it, lest it 
  become a powerful weapon to help her reclaim her throne.
  
  4
  the Adventure begins
  The adventure begins as the heroes approach a strange spire deep 
  in the high ice. The adventure background assumes the heroes 
  are crossing the arctic wastes at the pole, but the adventure could 
  also be set amidst the glacier fields of an inaccessible mountain 
  range or a desolate island locked in an icy sea.
  1. doorwAy to Midnight
  A low bunker of blue-black stone protrudes from the ice. Dimly 
  visible beneath a thick layer of frost is a faint tracery of silvery wire 
  inlaid in a repeating star-like pattern encircling a hexagonal portal 
  in the bunker’s face. To the right of the portal is a hexagonal panel 
  of milky-white crystal, spiderwebbed with cracks and smashed 
  through in several places. 
  This entire portal is covered in a layer of ice (AC 13, hp 20) 
  which must be removed before the portal can be opened 
  or the crystal panel accessed. If the ice takes more than 20 
  points of damage, any damage over this amount is applied 
  as damage to the access panel. Once the ice is removed, 
  the panel must be repaired using mending or creation, or 1 
  hour of work and a DC 20 Dexterity check can also repair 
  1d4 points of damage. The crystal panel begins with 10 hit 
  points (subtracting any damage suffered from breaking 
  through the ice) and must be repaired up to 20 hit points 
  to function. Once repaired, several vertical slots can be 
  accessed, one of which is sized for the pendant the Caravan 
  Master owns, which allows the portal to be opened with a 
  DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check to figure out the right 
  sequence. The portal itself can also be broken or battered 
  down (hp 100, DC 25 Strength check to burst). 
  2. entry rAMp
  Beyond the portal is a ramp heading down. A bit down the 
  hexagonal corridor, tiny pinpoints of blue light flicker into view, 
  emanating from the floor at regular intervals.
  As PCs enter, tiny blue lights in the floor are triggered by 
  their approach, spaced 10 feet apart, each shedding dim 
  light as a candle. The ramp extends 200 feet, descending 
  to 50 feet below ground, disgorging onto a 20-foot square 
  platform lit by similar lights.
  3. AntechAMBer
  The floors and walls in this chamber are covered in cracked tiles, 
  smeared with some dark residue. To the left and right are the ruined 
  remnants of what may have once been small chambers, though whether 
  they were once closets, cells, or even sleeping chambers is impossible to 
  tell. All that remains are the broken bases of interior walls and what 
  may have been horizontal shelves or bunks. Directly ahead, a metallic 
  jamb or frame holds fragments of a shattered glassine wall 10 feet 
  wide. Beyond, steps drop down to a sunken catwalk. 
  A search of the chamber reveals mostly useless rubble; 
  however a DC 25 Wisdom (Perception) check uncovers a 
  broken pendant similar to the one the Caravan Master 
  possesses. If repaired with jeweler’s tools, mending or similar 
  means, it can be used in similar fashion. The Caravan Master 
  can tell the PCs that this is as far as Xam and Odashu went 
  when Miriya left them with the white peacock crown. At that 
  time, the glass wall at A was intact and had a sliding door 
  in the center of it. They closed the door and smashed the 
  key here, then went back up the ramp and destroyed the 
  mechanism that opened the outer door. 
  4. pAssAge into dArkness (1,100 Xp)
  A metallic grated catwalk that extends 10 feet along each side of 
  a smooth-walled hexagonal tunnel leading off into the darkness. 
  Unlike the ramp and platform above, the long tunnel is 
  not lit. The tunnel is 10 feet wide along its flat bottom and 
  ceiling, 10 feet high, and the tunnel walls angle outwards 
  3 feet on either side, forming a hexagon in cross-section. 
  The tunnel is stone, cracked in many places, and slick with 
  moisture, with patches of slimy residue congealing in many 
  places. At irregular intervals, the cracks open into wider 
  crevices, no more than a foot wide, leading into narrow, 
  twisting cysts; the residue is always thicker in such places. 
  
  5
  
  6
  Hazard: This tarry black residue is dangerous to living 
  flesh, dealing 21 (6d6) poison damage per round, and 
  continually doing damage until removed with fire, cold, 
  sunlight, or disease curing magic. A DC 15 Intelligence 
  (Nature) check reveals the nature of this hazard. If not 
  identified, a climbing or walking PC enters the slime 
  automatically, while a flying or jumping PC can avoid a 
  falling glob of slime with a successful DC 15 Dexterity saving 
  throw. A creature being dissolved by the black slime begins 
  glowing blue from the inside as its flesh is consumed.
  Note: If using this adventure in conjunction with 
  the Far East Adventure Path as your PCs cross the pole, 
  contact or proximity to this residue could instead cause 
  one of the disease effects described in the accompanying 
  gazetteer article.
  Scaling the Adventure: If PCs are higher level, double the 
  amount of damage dealt by the slime. If PCs are lower level, 
  halve the damage instead.
  5. the BuBBle tuBe (9,000 Xp)
  Ahead in the distance in this seemingly endless tunnel, you see 
  a flickering blue light, guttering out and then after a brief span 
  wanly returning before again going dark. Approaching closer, you 
  see the battered hulk of a hexagonal metallic tube, with cracked 
  bubble-like windows along both sides and at each end. Several 
  bluish lights seem to be moving inside the hulk.
  The slightly crumpled tube is the remains of a transport 
  vehicle that once moved to and from the city on a cushion 
  of force. It has long since fallen to ruin, but the eldritch 
  mechanism that generated its force cushion still sputters and 
  throws off irregular waves of force. Strange degenerate beings 
  that consume this force energy huddle around it from time 
  to time, draining the field’s energy each time it manifests. 
  These force morlocks hate all creatures other than their own 
  kind. While they flee from the clockwork monitors in the city 
  above, they attack any other creatures on sight. 
  As you approach the wreckage, you see a half-dozen hunched, 
  misshapen humanoids clutching long shards of metal. They 
  are clad only in rags and sagging drapes of skin, and their flesh 
  glows with a pale blue light, their eyes a baleful red.
  FORCE MORLOCKS (6)
  Medium aberration, chaotic evil
  Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 120 (16d8 + 48)
  Speed 30 ft.
  STR      DEX      CON      INT      WIS      CHA
       13 (+1)    16 (+3)    16 (+3)   10 (+0)   14 (+2)   10 (+0)
  Damage Resistances force
  Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 12
  Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
  Breathless. A force morlock does not breathe and is immune 
  to inhaled effects.
  Force Aura. A force morlock is surrounded by a dull blue 
  aura as bright as a candle that flares brighter when struck, 
  dealing 3 (1d6) force damage to attackers who hit them with 
  melee attacks.
  Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sun light, the morlock 
  has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom 
  (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
  ACTIONS
  Multiattack. The morlock makes three attacks, only one of 
  which can be a bite.
  Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 
  10 (2d6 + 3) piercing damage. 
  Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) piercing damage.
  Developments: The force morlocks will attack by 
  swarming in pairs. If one of a pair is slain, the survivor 
  will move to flank with others or to join with another lone 
  survivor. If only one is left alive, it will flee toward the 
  nearest crevice, 100 feet beyond the wreck.
  Treasure: With one hour of work, the PCs can attempt a 
  DC 15 Intelligence (History) check to salvage valuable artifacts 
  from the wrecked vehicle. Each batch of artifacts is worth 
  1d10 x 100 gp worth of materials, weighing 1d10 x 10 lbs.
  Scaling the Adventure: If PCs are higher level, you can 
  increase the number of force morlocks.
  
  7
  6. point of entry 
  After a long traverse of the hex-tunnel, passing occasional dripping 
  crevices and black sludge-pools teeming with tiny white worms, 
  but seeing naught else save for nearly transparent spiders and 
  black-shelled arthropods with red-glowing eyes, you see a catwalk 
  rise above you, and beyond it a ramp leading up. A metal jamb 
  holds the remnant of a shattered glass wall, much like the one you 
  passed at the tunnel’s other end. 
  This room is identical to area 3 but is in somewhat 
  better repair, with the small cell-chambers on either 
  side mostly intact. There are traces of the black residue 
  here, but less than in the outer antechamber. The ramp 
  here leads up, stretching 200 feet and rising 50 feet back 
  to the surface and leading into a large atrium 30 feet 
  wide and 40 feet long. 
  7. Alien AtriuM (2,910 Xp)
  This large chamber is crafted of stone, tile, and metal, with large 
  windows now mostly broken. Strangely curved mosaics and 
  carvings, looking almost half-melted, decorate the walls while 
  vaguely disturbing statuary in an inhuman style stands at the foot 
  of each pillar between the great windows. There are no obvious 
  doors visible, though the empty steel window-frames offer ample 
  egress into the unearthly cityscape beyond. 
  The atrium is watched by a pair of clockwork spies (marked 
  A) which observe intruders while clinging to the walls 15 
  feet above the floor (DC 26 Wisdom (Perception) check to 
  notice). They watch all creatures that come and go, but are 
  programmed to record when they encounter an aberration 
  or an outsider. After recording and following a creature of 
  those types, they will return to Miriya to deliver their jewel 
  for a report. Other creatures moving through the atrium 
  will be watched, and those leaving the atrium to go into the 
  city will be followed by one clockwork spy while the other 
  stays on station.
  CLOCKWORK SPY 
   CR0
  XP 10
  hp 5 (use homunculus stats from the 5E SRD
  Clockwork spies explode, dealing 3 (1d6) fire the round after 
  they die. This can be prevented with a DC 15 Dexterity check.
  These clockwork spies have been engraved with a Tiun* 
  pictogram in the dialect of Waj Khor for “white peacock” (DC 
  20 Intelligence (History) check to identify it). If a clockwork 
  spy explodes, its pictogram cannot be found. 
  Most of the statuary is simply decorative, if alien in 
  its appearance. However, the statue at B is a clockwork 
  monitor, a construct currently in standby mode. It 
  activates if any offensive actions are taken within the 
  atrium, including destruction of the building or objects 
  within it. PCs prodding or striking the clockwork monitor 
  also cause it to activate and attack. It begins by disarming 
  the creature that provoked it and then any other creatures 
  nearby, responding with lethal force if attacked. The 
  clockwork monitor bears an identical pictogram to the 
  clockwork spies.
  CLOCKWORK MONITOR  
   
   
           CR7
  XP 2,900
  hp 142 (use shield guardian stats from the 5E SRD)
  Treasure: A destroyed clockwork monitor can be salvaged 
  for parts as described in The Bubble Tube. 
  Scaling the Adventure: If PCs are lower level, the 
  clockwork monitor could be malfunctioning (treat 
  as having the poisoned condition). If PCs are higher 
  level, a second clockwork monitor is present, with both 
  constructs activating whenever either of them or the spies 
  are disturbed.
  the eMpty streets
  Perhaps because the wind is buffered by the strange monoliths 
  stretching in all directions, the polar chill is less intense here than 
  beyond the bunker where you entered these ruins, though frost 
  rimes every surface. The atrium opens onto a plaza, with narrow 
  avenues extending in all directions between massive angular 
  towers of metal, stone, and glass, much weathered and scarred by 
  time and the elements. Here and there, large, twisted green plants 
  twine up the sides of ancient buildings, and occasionally a whisper 
  of movement is seen through the haze of bluish radiance shrouding 
  the sky above. 
  This section of the ancient ruins is approximately a mile 
  across and is encompassed by a faint bluish energy field 
  that functions like an enormous transparent tiny hut that 
  sheds dim light throughout the ruins below. However, its 
  power is sapped by failing mechanisms and by the constant 
  gnawing of force morlocks below ground draining its force 
  energy. While functioning, winds are reduced to calm and 
  temperatures are increased by 70 degrees compared to 
  prevailing outside temperatures. However, every hour there 
  is a 10% chance that the field ruptures and collapses for 
  1d4 hours, exposing those in the ruins to extreme cold and 
  severe wind conditions. Characters who don’t have heat 
  sources, cold weather gear, or magic to protect them are 
  subject to the effects of extreme cold, as described in the 
  “Weather” section in chapter 5, “Adventure Environments,” 
  of the DMG.
  
  8
  
  9
  Note: If using this adventure in conjunction with the Far 
  East Adventure Path, the powerful storms generated by the 
  winter-witch in her tower increase this chance of rupture to 
  50% per hour until she is defeated.
  There is no immediate indication as to where Miriya 
  might have gone, unless PCs follow one of the clockwork 
  spies back to its point of origin. PCs will most likely need 
  to conduct a reconnaissance of the area to find traces of 
  the passage of a female human’s passage. Finding the 
  first trace requires a DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) or DC 15 
  Wisdom (Survival) check, and the DC is reduced by 5 for 
  subsequent checks. Each PC can make one check against 
  one of these skills (player’s choice) each hour. Once the PCs 
  have accumulated a total of 12 successful checks, they are 
  able to triangulate the probable direction of the traces and 
  discern a usable trail leading back to Miriya’s home. Each 
  hour, however, the PCs also have a chance of an encounter:
  tABle 3—1: rAndoM encounters (the eMpty streets)
  % roll encounter
  senses
   *1
  dc
  01-50
  No encounter
  -
  -
  -
  51-60
  1 clockwork spy 2
  darkvision 60’
   10
  12 
  61-70
  1 clockwork 
  monitor
  darkvision 60’
  10
  9
  71-80
  1d4 force morlocks
  darkvision 120’, 
  keen scent
  12
  12
  81-85
  2 chuul
  darkvision 60’
  14
  10
  86-90
  1 corrupt treant
  -
  13
  9
  91-00
  1 cloaker 3
  darkvision 60’
  11
  12
  1 Perception Check 
  2 Clockwork spies, guardian monitors, and treants have a 
  75% chance to be hiding motionless, being detected only as 
  a dormant clockwork, or a normal tree, respectively.
   3 A cloaker will be encountered only if PCs have been flying 
  during this hour, attracted by creatures in the air; otherwise 
  reroll, which may result in no encounter.
  CORRUPT TREANT 
   
                  CR9 
  XP 5,000
  hp 138 (SRD)
  Chaotic evil
  CLOAKER 
  CR8
  XP 3,900 
   
  hp 78 (SRD)
  CHUUL 
   
  CR4
  XP 1,100 
   
   
  hp 93 (SRD)
  Encounters typically occur in the street, but can just as 
  easily occur if PCs are exploring the shells of mostly empty 
  ruined buildings. No map is provided, as this portion of 
  the adventure assumes wide-ranging exploration by PCs 
  looking for clues. If combat occurs, the GM can create a 
  simple encounter area in the street or inside a building. 
  The main avenues of the city are usually 30-40 feet across, 
  with raised concourses or plazas on either side 10 feet wide. 
  Streets and concourses alike are often strewn with light or 
  dense rubble or ice sheets.
  If PCs explore the interior of buildings rather than the 
  streets, checks to track Miriya gain disadvantage. However, 
  PCs can also choose instead to make DC 15 Intelligence 
  (History) or Wisdom (Perception) checks to salvage salable 
  trade goods and artifacts, as described at area 5. If rolling an 
  encounter while exploring the interior of a building, replace 
  a result of 91-00 (cloaker) with the following hazards:
  tABle 3—2: rAndoM hAzArds (the eMpty streets)
  % roll
  hAzArd
  cr
  perception 
  dc
  disABle 
  dc
  91-95
  building 
  collapse
  8
  20
  n/a
  96-00
  shocking floor 
  trap
  9
  15
  15
  The signs of an impending building collapse can be 
  noticed with a DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check. Those in 
  the building take 36 (8d8) bludgeoning damage, though those 
  who notice the signs may make a DC 15 Dexterity saving 
  throw to instead take half that much. Those who beat the 
  Perception DC by 5 escape completely, taking no damage.
  A shocking floor trap is the result of malfunctioning and 
  neglected wiring, rather than deliberate malice. Noticing it takes 
  a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check, and disarming it is a DC 15 
  Dexterity check on which thieves’ tools apply. Anyone stepping 
  on the electrified floor takes 18 (4d8) lightning damage. 
  the fAlse guArdiAn (2,900 Xp)
  If PCs engage in combat with any wandering monster, 
  there is a 10% cumulative chance per round of combat 
  (20% if an area effect attack is used) that the fray attracts the 
  attention of Liao Ku, the last survivor of the oni hunting 
  party. Liao Ku flies invisibly, changing his shape to that of 
  an elderly female Tiun* and watches the PCs while keeping 
  
  10
  his distance. If they approach Miriya’s building, Liao Ku 
  becomes visible and approaches them, attempting to 
  impersonate Miriya (passive Deception 18) and speaking in 
  heavily Tiun-accented Common. 
  A ragged crone approaches you from the shadows, dressed in 
  furs and robes. A weathered bow is in her hands, an arrow 
  nocked but not drawn. Though frail with age, a hard light 
  is in her eyes. With a suspicious glare, she addresses you in 
  heavily accented Common: “Who are you, strangers? What do 
  you want? Cannot an old woman who has caused more misery 
  than anyone should be left alone to die in peace… if I even can 
  die here. That thrice-damned light has stretched my years too 
  long already, I think. Either way, there is nothing here for you. 
  Go, and be glad you did.” 
  If PCs ask if she is Miriya, “she” feigns at first surprise 
  and then anger. Play up “Miriya” as bitter and a bit 
  snarky, bitter, and fatalistic, but with a touch of desperate 
  longing if PCs show kindness and sympathy, as though 
  this were “her” one last, best hope at redemption or at 
  least vengeance.
  That name no longer has any meaning for me! If you came here 
  following tales of treasure, there is none, only desolation and 
  loneliness. Maybe you heard I had something of great worth. You 
  heard wrong. I had nothing. I am nothing. You should go while 
  you still can. If you stay too long, the light will take hold of you. 
  Have you seen those poor wretches that live below? That will be 
  your fate is it surely will be mine. Maybe it will be sweeter to 
  forget anyway.
  If asked how she can fly or turn invisible (in case they 
  spotted her earlier), she says the invisibility is a trick of the 
  ninja order she learned in her youth, but that flight seems 
  to be a side effect of the blue light that developed after she 
  had been here over a year. 
  If the PCs press her about her identity or about the 
  white peacock crown, “she” makes a show of resistance 
  (have PCs make a Charisma (Persuasion) or Charisma 
  (Intimidation) check, but the result is meaningless), 
  hoping to draw out more information. “She” is very 
  interested if they reveal the nature of the Destined 
  Empress or the Five Storms oni. 
  It seems that we have enemies in common. Yes, Miriya, that was 
  my name, and yes I stole the crown. Thought it would make me 
  famous, and so it did, or infamous at least. Fate is not without 
  a sense of humor, it seems, though I’ve never found it funny. I 
  was cast out and I ran, here and there, trying to hide it, let the 
  world be rid of its curse, if cursed it truly was. I don’t know. All I 
  knew was fear, and I kept running all the way to the ends of the 
  earth. Those merchants, Xam and Odashu, they helped me get here, 
  but once I got here I was out of ideas.  
   
   
       I sought for years for the perfect hiding place, knowing that 
  someday the oni would catch me. I couldn’t let them find it. I 
  kept following the strange little metal spiders and finally found 
  a great machine that seemed to build them and repair them and 
  their kin. I sneaked inside the machine—I was trained in stealth, 
  after all—and hid the crown inside, but something went wrong. 
  The machine turned on, it sprayed something strange on me, 
  dizzying, and as I stumbled away it stabbed at me with some 
  kind of long arm. I got away, but not long after I started seeing 
  a strange new creature in the ruins. It looked like me, or me as 
  I was in my youth, but half flesh and half metal. Somehow it 
  had drawn my thoughts out, and made weapons like I once used 
  long ago. It was as if my body and mind had been turned inside 
  out and poured in a mold. What came out was that THING. It 
  watches me sometimes, I know it does, and it has stopped me 
  from getting back into the machine to retrieve the crown, but it 
  does not kill me. I don’t know why. I’ve seen it kill many others, 
  but that mercy is forever denied me. 
  “Miriya” offers to show the PCs where the great machine 
  is, and even offers to draw out her metallic doppelganger 
  so that they can destroy it, and then venture into the great 
  machine itself. Perhaps their combined power can succeed 
  where she alone could not, destroying the machine and 
  recovering the crown and using it to overthrow the oni 
  that plague the eastern lands the Destined Empress seeks 
  to claim. 
  Development: Of course, Liao Ku simply wishes to 
  manipulate them into destroying enemies too powerful for 
  him to manage on his own. If they succeed, he asks to see 
  the crown once more, snatching it and assuming gaseous 
  form and fleeing with his prize. He also attempts to charm 
  the Destined Empress and kidnap her as well, if he believes 
  he can escape with her without endangering himself or 
  his primary mission to recover the crown. If the party is 
  heavily wounded after succeeding in their task of defeating 
  or driving off the true Miriya, he may simply blast them 
  with cone of cold as they emerge from combat and then try to 
  slay them and take the crown and the Destined Empress by 
  force. If the PCs see through Liao Ku’s deception and do not 
  seem inclined to do as he asks, he will attack if they appear 
  weak or flee if they appear strong, attempting to lure them 
  into strong foes (perhaps a corrupted treant) and waiting 
  for his regeneration to heal any damage before hunting the 
  PCs. Such an encounter is CR 10. 
  
  11
  LIAO KU 
  CR7
  XP 2,900
  Oni (SRD)
  hp 110
  In disguise as Miriya, Liao Ku will avoid melee but may 
  shoot arrows: 
  Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, range 80/320 ft., 
  one target. Hit: (1d8+7) piercing damage. Liao Ku may use 
  his multiattack to make two shortbow attacks.
  Treasure: In addition to his combat gear, Liao Ku wears a 
  ring of animal influence. He also carries six small jade carvings 
  (100 gp each) and 179 gp (Tiun coinage). 
  Scaling the Adventure: If PCs are lower level, Liao Ku 
  could have started feeling the effects of the ruin’s strange 
  energies, and you could apply 2 levels of the exhaustion 
  condition to him. Alternatively, you could bring the treant 
  into the battle but have it turn on him. Of course, the treant 
  is still no friend to the PCs, and if it survives it will turn 
  on them if it survives combat with the oni, 
  trying to snatch a victim and fly off with 
  its meal. 
  If PCs are higher level, you could give 
  him maximum hit points, or have the 
  treant present to aid him from the 
  outset of any battle.
  the true guArdiAn (5,900 Xp)
  The faint traces you have converge on this building with a 
  wide, low steps leading up to shattered glass doors flanked by 
  massive angled stone pillars. A similar doorway provides egress 
  farther down the building’s façade, but the nearer doorway, in 
  the shadow of a collapsed sky-bridge overhead, reveals a curious 
  lump of vaguely human metallic sculpture atop the remnants of a 
  pedestal. Across a rubble and ice-choked boulevard 
  the fallen bridge once spanned lies a companion 
  building, blockier in shape and with what could 
  be a long-empty fountain. 
  Two clockwork monitors remain here 
  on standby at all times, one at A and 
  a second inside the building, near 
  Miriya’s chambers at B. Miriya 
  herself is typically in the building 
  across the plaza at C (Wisdom (Perception) DC 
  25). Miriya observes intruders, suspecting that 
  any creatures entering the city are likely to be 
  either oni or creatures under their control. 
  If PCs attack the clockwork monitor(s), or 
  if they approach this building in the company of Liao Ku 
  posing as an elderly Miriya, she takes this as confirmation 
  of her suspicions and leaps into combat, beginning with 
  a ki charge sneak attack and using vanishing trick after 
  attacking to gain a sneak attack in the next round. 
  Buildings: The concourses are raised a foot above the 
  avenue between, and the interior of each building is 10 feet 
  above street level. The interior rooms have 10-foot ceilings, 
  and the roofs above are mostly flat, though angled around 
  the edges to be 25 feet above street level. Building It is a DC 
  15 Strength (Athletics) check to climb an exterior wall, or DC 
  20 for an interior wall. Most windows are cracked and easily 
  destroyed if not entirely broken already (50% chance of 
  either). A Medium or smaller creature can smash through 
  a window as a bonus action taken during their movement 
  with a DC 10 Strength check. 
  The buildings here are mostly deserted, save for Miriya 
  and her clockwork allies. A search of the rooms turns up 
  scattered shards of stone, metal, and glass, tatters of cloth, 
  and occasional tangled bits of wire. A 1-minute search of 
  each room has a 10% chance to uncover potentially valuable 
  artifacts; 
  
  12
  a DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) or Intelligence (History) 
  check recovers salvaged goods as at area 5. 
  Terrain: The concourses and avenue between the 
  buildings are icy and treated as difficult terrain. With her 
  light steps ability, Miriya ignores this penalty. She will use 
  her jumping ability to leap into and out of combat, using 
  Stealth when able to move into cover and otherwise using 
  her vanishing trick to become invisible. 
  If Liao Ku is with PCs, “she” will turn invisible when combat 
  begins, stating that she is much too old for such fighting, and 
  that she fears the clockwork monitors might try to seize her 
  and take her back to the machine. Liao Ku will support them 
  with arrows shot from cover if a PC seems in great danger. 
  MIRIYA, LIFESPARK CONSTRUCT
  Medium construct, unaligned
  Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 136 (16d8 + 64)
  Speed 30 ft.
  STR      DEX      CON      INT      WIS      CHA
       22 (+6)   19 (+4)    19 (+4)     8 (-1)    18 (+4)    6 (+2)
  Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, poison; slashing, 
  piercing, and bludgeoning from nonmagical weapons that 
  aren’t adamantine
  Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, 
  paralyzed, petrified
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
  Challenge 10 (5,900 XP) 
  Jagged Machinery. A creature that touches Miriya or hits her 
  with a melee attack while within 5 feet of her takes 4 (1d8) 
  slashing damage.
  Light Steps. Miriya ignores difficult terrain, and jumps twice 
  as far.
  ACTIONS
  Multiattack. Miriya makes three shuriken attacks, each of 
  which she can replace with a kusarigama attack. 
  Shuriken. Ranged Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, range 30 ft., one 
  target. Hit:  13 (2d8+4) piercing damage. 
  Kusarigama. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 15 (2d8+6) slashing damage.
  Development: Miriya attacks in cold silence, as her ninja 
  master taught her. However, if she sees the false “Miriya” 
  with PCs she will curse at them in Tiun. “Fools! Slaves to evil! 
  You will never have it, NEVER! Die with your foul masters!” 
  She does not understand Common but was programmed to 
  understand Aklo when she was reborn in the alien machine. 
  If PCs stop attacking and attempt to converse with her in a 
  language she understands, including through the use of an 
  intelligent weapon fluent in her language, they can attempt a 
  DC 20 Charisma (Persuasion) check as an action to convince 
  her to stop attacking. If they mention the Destined Empress, 
  fighting against oni in general, or specific mention of the 
  oni agents they have already defeated in the Viking lands 
  and other kingdoms of the west, grant a +2 bonus to this 
  check for each item that is mentioned. 
  If calmed, Miriya remains suspicious but commands the 
  clockwork monitors to cease attacking and parleys with the 
  PCs while remaining hidden and/or invisible, allowing a 
  DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check to make her friendly, 
  at which point she volunteers her true history. If PCs 
  mention how this differs from Liao Ku’s tale as “Miriya,” 
  the true Miriya states that the other is an imposter, an 
  oni in disguise and the last survivor of the same hunting 
  party that harrowed her path so many years ago, only just 
  recently having found her here. Most of their number were 
  destroyed by the machine that made her, but the last must 
  be destroyed as well lest he carry word to his masters about 
  the crown and now the Destined Empress alike. 
  If Liao Ku is present, he protests that this is a trick to 
  get the PCs to let their guard down suggests renewing the 
  attack. If PCs seem inclined to believe the genuine Miriya, he 
  attacks if they are weakened from the battle, but otherwise 
  tries to flee (seeking aid from nearby creatures if possible). 
  If Liao Ku is destroyed, Miriya thanks the PCs and becomes 
  friendly, willing to show them to the great machine. She 
  warns them of its power and that the other oni have been 
  turned into deathless guardians. Her machine programming 
  does not allow her to strike directly against the machine or 
  its creations, but she will aid the PCs in their battle as she 
  can. She is inspired by the Destined Empress and wishes 
  to gift her with the white peacock crown, that it may help her 
  shatter the oni yoke upon the lands of their birth. 
  Additional Development: If PCs fight and destroy Miriya, they 
  may explore the interior of these building, with Liao Ku as their 
  guide. However, within 1d100 minutes, a clockwork servant will 
  arrive at the scene of the battle and begin repairing Miriya’s 
  body, taking approximately 1 minute to restore her to full health 
  (though PCs may have removed her gear after defeating her). 
  She will try to follow the PCs and wreak her vengeance upon 
  them, and especially upon Liao Ku if he is still with them. 
  MiriyA’s QuArters (450 Xp)
  Within the building, sheltered by internal walls amidst the detritus 
  of ages and the breezes in the outer corridors, you find a sparsely 
  furnished chamber. A long metal table holds several scraps of cloth 
  stretched across makeshift frames, showing faded patterns and 
  
  13
  embroidery in the Tiun style. Dozens of bottles of all shapes and 
  sizes are arranged neatly, as are a collection of metallic and glass 
  bowls holding strange powders and residues, alongside strange 
  metal devices of uncertain function. A flat slab of stone, marred 
  with many scratches, seems almost like a bed, with a gossamer veil 
  surrounding it. Next to the slap is a metallic box. A metallic man 
  bustles about the room cleaning and polishing the floor to a shine. 
  This chamber at area B has been Miriya’s home of sorts. 
  Though she does not sleep as she once did, she still seeks to 
  experience the tropes of living and to recreate them as well 
  as she can in this alien place. 
  Treasure: Miriya carries most of what she possesses 
  that is of material value, having given Xam and Odashu 
  her remaining coins and valuables in thanks for their aid 
  in getting her here. However, the collection of bottles and 
  metallic devices is an alchemist’s lab and a set of smith’s 
  tools. The metallic box is unlocked and contains 47 
  gemstones worth 50 gp each, which are used as recording 
  devices by the clockwork spies. It also contains a celadon-
  glazed teapot of masterful quality, decorated with cranes 
  and plum blossoms (500 gp) and a silver prayer wheel and 
  several scrolls bound up with red silken thread containing 
  chants and prayers in the Tiun language. She also wears a 
  ring of protection, and a cloak of elvenkind.
  Development: The metallic man is an awakened clockwork 
  servant which Miriya has named “Lin,” after her favorite 
  cousin. It addresses PCs in Tiun and asks if they require 
  assistance, stating that Mistress Miriya is unavailable and that 
  they apologize but ran out of tea 65 years, 10 months, and 2 days 
  ago. If PCs attempt to take any of Miriya’s things, Lin attacks.
  Lin does not recognize Liao Ku as Miriya, which “she” 
  dismisses as him being a machine and programmed to 
  call her “metallic duplicate” the real Miriya. Some of these 
  items she claims were stolen from her by the duplicate, and 
  others things that she liked and that the duplicate must be 
  collecting to try to imitate her. 
  LIN, AWAKENED CLOCKWORK SERVANT 
  (USE ANIMATED ARMOR STATS) 
      CR2
  XP 450
  hp 33
  Lin and other awakened clockwork servants have Int 10, and 
  do not have Antimagic Susceptibility or False Appearance. 
  Instead, they have the Repair action. They may use their 
  Repair action to heal any adjacent mechanical being, 
  cyborgs included, for 6 (1d10) hit points. They monitor and 
  operate the clockwork spies that patrol the ruins, installing 
  and removing recording gemstones from their observers.
  the mAnuFActory 
  In contrast to the towering facades and monoliths around it, this 
  building is comparatively low-slung, set into a natural rise with a 
  metallic portal offering access to the upper level and a second set of 
  metal doors at the foot of the slope allowing access to the lower level. 
  1.  upper entrAnce 
  A metallic portal comprised of horizontal plates of metal 10 feet 
  wide offers ingress to this blocky structure. A slotted crystalline 
  panel lies inside a glazed cabinet set into the wall beside the door. 
  If Miriya accompanies the PCs, she can open the door 
  automatically. Without her, they must break the door or 
  pick the lock (thieves’ tools and a successful DC 20 Dexterity 
  check to pick, Strength DC 20 to break, hp 150). Using the 
  Caravan Master’s access pendant (or the one found in area 
  3 of the tunnels) provides advantage on Disable Device 
  checks. If the lock is picked or opened, the doorway slides 
  into the floor, horizontal section by section, and remains 
  retracted until the door reactivates. If the conveyor belt is 
  activated, an alarm klaxon sounds and the entrance closes 
  1 round later.
  2.  upper loAding dock (10 Xp)
  As you enter this building, pale blue lights wink into view in the floor, 
  walls, and ceiling. Halfway into the room you see a raised 5-foot-
  wide catwalk of metallic plates and mesh braced several feet off the 
  floor, supported on a series of drums and wheels and with the catwalk 
  seemingly wrapped underneath them as well. The catwalk passes 
  through a low opening in the far wall only a few feet high, covered by 
  a screen of metallic mesh. A rhythmic hum can be heard beyond the 
  opening. Several crystalline panels are set into the far wall, which is 
  solid metal up to shoulder height and opaque crystal above.
  This chamber was designed for loading things onto the 
  conveyor (area 5). Each 5-foot section along the west wall 
  (other than the one through which the conveyor passes) 
  has a separate crystal panel. The northernmost and 
  southernmost panels activate the adjacent secret doors onto 
  the catwalk (Wisdom (Perception) DC 20, DC 15 Dexterity to 
  disarm), while the panel adjacent to the conveyor turns it on 
  and off (DC 20 Dexterity check to disable). When turned on, 
  the upper surface of the conveyor moves westward at a rate 
  of 20 feet per round. 
  The metallic mesh covering the upper portion of the 
  conveyor is held rigid by a magnetic charge when the 
  conveyor is not moving. It can be forced through (DC 
  20 Strength (Athletics) check) or squeezed under (DC 20 
  
  14
  Dexterity (Acrobatics) check). When the conveyor is activated, 
  the magnetic charge is released and the mesh becomes as 
  supple as fabric; however, the narrow aperture still requires 
  a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to fit through, and a 
  Medium creature must be prone to fit. A small creature can 
  fit through prone with a DC 5 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, or 
  crouching. A failed Strength or Dexterity check to get through 
  the opening deals 1d6 points of damage to a creature. 
  Creature: A spider-like clockwork spy (see area 7, but 
  these clockwork spies are not inscribed with Miriya’s rune) 
  lurks motionless just underneath the conveyor, adjacent to 
  the west wall (passive Perception 10, Perception DC 12). It 
  observes creatures entering the room. If Miriya is present 
  or if PCs approach the conveyor belt, the clockwork spy 
  touches the activation sequence for the conveyor belt and 
  then hops onto it, riding into the building’s interior. 
  3.  lower entrAnce
  This entrance is identical to area 1.
  4.  lower loAding dock (10 Xp)
  This area is identical to area 2 but was designed to take 
  things off the finished end of the conveyor (area 5). The 
  clockwork spy here will likewise activate the conveyor if PCs 
  investigate too closely or if Miriya is with them. 
  5.  conveyor
  This moving metallic walkway drops at an angle down to the floor 
  30 feet below, where it circles around a massive machine sitting 
  astride a golden-glowing pit. Completing its circuit, the walkway 
  circles back around underneath its slanting upper course, passing 
  out through a narrow aperture in the lower south. 
  Staying upright on the conveyor requires a successful DC 12 
  Dexterity (Acrobatics) when it is moving. Failure resulting 
  in falling prone.
  6.  cAtwAlk And upper works (3,150 Xp)
  A catwalk of metallic grates with pole-like railings mostly encircles 
  a huge sunken workroom. A strange light wells up from strange 
  moving machinery below, while untold numbers of cables, 
  conduits, hoists, hooks, and pulleys hang from a vast network of 
  girders above. A large open metal stairwell spirals down to the floor 
  below, and just across it a hulking half-metallic humanoid stands 
  armed with bow and blade. At each corner of the room stands a 
  bank of strange devices tended by a vaguely human mechanical 
  creature. Other mechanical creatures are moving below.
  The ceiling of is chamber is 10 feet above the level of the 
  catwalk, 40 feet above the floor. Because of all of the hanging 
  machinery, flying creatures treat the entire chamber as 
  difficult terrain and Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks have 
  disadvantage. However, creatures may use Strength 
  (Athletics) to cross the chamber hanging from equipment; 
  this requires a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check using two 
  hands (DC 15 using one hand).
  Creatures: At area 6A is an oni cyborg, once one 
  of Liao Ku’s compatriots turned into a slave of the 
  machine. In addition, at each corner of the room (6B) 
  is a clockwork servant, though unlike Miriya’s servant 
  Lin these are not awakened.  
  ONI CYBORG
  Large construct, unaligned
  Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 150 (20d10+40)
  Speed 30 ft.
  STR      DEX      CON      INT      WIS      CHA
       20 (+5)   18 (+4)    14 (+2)    1 (-5)      1 (-5)      1 (-5)
  Damage Immunities poison
  Condition 
  Immunities 
  blinded, 
  charmed, 
  deafened, 
  exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
  Senses passive Perception 5
  Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
  ACTIONS
  Glaive: Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 15 (2d10 + 4) slashing damage
  Shortbow: Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 13 (2d8+ 4) piercing damage
  CLOCKWORK SERVANT (3) 
                  CR2 
  XP 450 each
  hp 33
  The clockwork servants fight only if directly engaged. 
  Otherwise, they manipulate the room’s machinery to 
  attack the PCs remotely. These attacks can target anyone 
  in the chamber but gain advantage to attack rolls if a target 
  is adjacent to the conveyor belt or the cyborg processor 
  at area 7. The trap device they attack with each round is 
  generated randomly:    
  Activating a trap takes a clockwork servant’s entire 
  turn. Destroying the clockwork servant’s instrument 
  panel (Break DC 25, AC 17, hp 40) prevents it from 
  making trap attacks.
  
  15
  
  16
  7.  MAnufActory floor (8,100 Xp)
  This cavernous chamber is strewn with cables and machinery, including 
  a long moving walkway descending from an aperture in the upper 
  east wall and circling around a vast machine of alien manufacture 
  in the center of the room before looping back under the upper conveyor 
  and out through the south wall. The great machinedominating the 
  chamber seems almost to squat over a golden-glowing circular pit, 
  with small arms reaching out toward the encircling conveyor while a 
  single metallic tendril writhes sinuously like a clawed hand and glaring 
  eye in one. Two half-mechanical brutes dressed in armor of Eastern 
  manufacture stand nearby on guard, while smaller mechanical beings 
  scuttle over tumbled heaps of arcane circuitry. 
  The cyborg processor is the mindless alien architect of 
  Miriya’s present condition and the unwitting guarding of 
  the white peacock crown. She sought merely to hide the device 
  in this strongly held building but fell prey to the processor’s 
  imperative to convert organic life into mechanical life. Her 
  continued existence and sentience in violation of its orders is a 
  puzzle, and if Miriya falls into its clutches again it will attempt 
  to reprogram her with additional nanite infusions. It will 
  reprogram any creature that falls into its clutches, however, 
  and those that resist its programming will be deposited into 
  the arc foundry beneath it for destruction. 
  Creatures: The cyborg processor dominates the center of 
  the room. While it can move very closely, it prefers to remain 
  stationary. The oni prefer to engage in melee combat but 
  will use bows if PCs remain out of reach. The clockwork 
  d4 roll
  trAp
  Atk
  tArget
  effect
  1
  swinging arm
  +4
  10-foot line
  1d8+1 damage (1-2, bludgeoning, 3-4, piercing, 5-6
  2
  grabber
  +5
  one creature
  moved 10 ft. towards cyborg processor
  3
  falling block
  +6
  5-foot square
  21 (6d6) bludgeoning damage (DC 12 Dexterity saving 
  throw for half)
  4
  sprayer
  +5
  one creature
  condition for 1 round (01-20, blinded; 21-50, deafened; 
  51-80, grappled; 81-00, poisoned)
  
  17
  servants will attack if approached but otherwise 
  will ready an action each round to heal the cyborg 
  processor with their repair clockwork ability. 
  ONI CYBORG (2) 
                                 CR4
  XP 1,100 each
  hp 150 each
  CLOCKWORK SERVANT (2) 
        CR2
  XP 450 each
  hp 33 each (SRD)
  CYBORG PROCESSOR
  Gargantuan construct, unaligned
  Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 200 16d20+32
  Speed 5 ft.
  STR     DEX     CON     INT     WIS     CHA
    24 (+7)   18 (+4)   14 (+2)    3 (-4)     3 (-4)     8(-1) 
  Damage Immunities poison
  Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, 
  exhaustion, 
  frightened, 
  paralyzed, 
  petrified, 
  poisoned
  Senses Darkvision 60 ft.
  Challenge 9 (5,000)
  ACTIONS
  Multiattack. The processor makes 2 tendril attacks.
  Tendril. Melee weapon attack. +11 to hit, reach 20 ft., 
  one target. Hit: 20 (3d8+7) bludgeoning damage.
  Create Cyborg Zombie. The processor bores tendrils into 
  any restrained creature within 5 feet, dealing 11 (2d10) 
  psychic damage. Roll 3d6: if the total equals or exceeds 
  the target’s Intelligence score, that score is reduced to 0. 
  The target dies and one hour is raised as a zombie, but 
  with the construct type rather than the undead type. 
  Nanite Spray. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 
  30 ft., one target. Hit: the target must make a DC 16 
  Wisdom saving throw or must spend the next 1d6 
  rounds moving towards the processor, taking no 
  other actions. When it reaches the processor, it is 
  restrained until the effect expires.
  Hazard: Any creature moving adjacent to the 
  cyborg processor’s initial position risks falling into 
  the arc foundry beneath it, which it uses to melt 
  down unsatisfactory devices into slag. 
  A creature adjacent to the foundry at the end of its 
  turn must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or 
  fall in, taking 7 (2d6) falling damage. Escape requires 
  a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check. At the end of the 
  creature’s next turn, the foundry heats up, dealing 
  10 (3d6) fire damage, or half if they make a DC 15 
  Constitution saving throw.
  Treasure: Once the cyborg processor has been 
  destroyed, the white peacock crown can be retrieved 
  from its hiding place inside a metal chest that 
  Miriya placed inside its inner workings long ago. 
  In addition, the cyborg processor contains 127 
  gemstones (50 gp each) used as recording devices for 
  the myriad clockwork spies that roam the district. 
  PCs combing through the wreckage of the machine 
  can also attempt to salvage potentially valuable parts 
  from its inner workings with a DC 15 Dexterity 
  check. Each successful check finds 1d10 relics worth 
  100 gp, weighing 10 lbs. each. 
  White PeAcock croWn
  wondrous iteM, rAre (reQuires AttuneMent)
  This ornate headpiece is crafted of white gold, inlaid 
  with lapis lazuli and spangled with dozens of jewels. 
  This item is bejeweled with enchanted stones that 
  hold magical powers. A newly crafted white peacock 
  crown holds 10 sapphires, 20 emeralds, 30 blue 
  topaz, and 40 pearls. On this crown, one sapphire, 
  three emeralds, four topaz, and six pearls retain their 
  power, the rest having been expended long ago.
  Sapphire: hypnotic pattern 
  Emerald: protection from evil and good (vs. evil only)
  Blue topaz: zone of truth (DC 14)
  Pearl: see invisibility
  Until its jewels are depleted, the white peacock 
  crown has the following magical properties:
  The wearer can detect shapechangers at will. This 
  functions as detect undead but reveals creatures 
  with the shapechanger subtype. 
  Any damage you do with a weapon suppresses the 
  regeneration of any oni for 1 round.
  Once all jewels have lost their magic, the crown loses 
  its powers and the gems turn to worthless powder. 
  Removing a jewel destroys it. 
  
  18
  ePiLogue
  If Miriya has been destroyed, PCs may well proceed to the cyborg processor and destroy it, retrieving the white peacock crown 
  themselves. Liao Ku will attempt to steal it and escape at his first opportunity, but he is willing to bid his time in disguise 
  for as long as he needs to for the right moment. If he has gained the party’s trust, he may simply wait with them until 
  they sleep and then overpower whomever is left on watch (using charm person, sleep, or brute force) in order to acquire the 
  crown and, if possible, the Destined Empress as well. Once Miriya’s body has been repaired, she will try tracking the PCs 
  to retrieve the crown, still believing them to be allies of the oni, or at least his pawns. She will track them even beyond the 
  bounds of the city, pursuing them until she is destroyed or retrieves the crown, or until the PCs convince her of their good 
  intentions (as noted above). If Liao Ku is traveling with them still, she insists the oni be destroyed. If the PCs have retrieved 
  the crown but have already dispatched Liao Ku, they gain advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks with Miriya. If Miriya 
  is destroyed outside the ruins, she is not repaired.
  If she survives, Miriya is delighted that the PCs have taken up a crusade to break the power of the oni in the eastern 
  kingdoms. She is still shamed by her failure, however, and wishes to remain in self-imposed exile. If the PCs attempt 
  to persuade her to come along and lend her aid on their quest, she can be swayed to join them with a DC 15 Charisma 
  (Persuasion) check. She gathers her few meager possessions and accompanies them through the tunnel and into the 
  bunker beyond. However, once outside the city her cybernetic circuitry and mechanisms begin to decay. After 24 hours, 
  she is treated as poisoned, and if under stress or in combat she has a 5% chance per round to behave as if confused (per 
  the spell) for 1d4 rounds. After 2d6 days, her body simply stops functioning and she collapses, her flesh dissolving into 
  pale, effervescent blue liquid that evaporates within moments and her mechanical parts corroding into uselessness. In her 
  last moments, she has time only to express her thanks that oblivion has come at last, and to beg the Destined Empress to 
  redeem her mistakes in life and to bring freedom to the nations of the east. 
   
  Regardless of Miriya’s fate, the PCs have ventured into the blue city at the top of the world and lived to tell the tale, 
  even having been able to retrieve some of its artifacts and map its outskirts. However, they have also learned something 
  of its dangers. The fate of the Destined Empress lies before them, but should they return to the pole someday they may 
  venture deeper into the alien ruins and uncover the untold secrets that no doubt lie within.
  
  19
  
  20
  
  21
  
  22
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  Open Game License v 1.0a  © 2000, Wizards of 
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  Under Frozen Stars © 2016, Legendary Games; 
  Author Jason Nelson, adapted by Matt Kimmel.
  System Reference Document. © 2000, Wizards 
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  Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material 
  by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
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  2016, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors 
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  Campaign 
  Setting: 
  The 
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  23
  
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  Under Frozen StarS
  Under Frozen StarS
  
  Under Frozen StarS
  Under Frozen StarS
  On an epic journey across the far frozen wastes, your characters seek their destiny and that of 
  the future empress. Yet at the top of the world, having overcome the ravening storms and dark 
  forces arrayed against them, you discover a marvel of legend, a ruined city both ancient and 
  alien. Surely you cannot simply pass it by without exploring it and seeing what mysteries have 
  lain untouched for time out of mind. Then again, if the caravan tales are true, perhaps others 
  have come not so long ago, leaving behind a mysterious treasure that may be of great aid in 
  claiming your imperial destiny in the eastern realms.
   
  Under Frozen Stars is a 5th Edition adventure for 8th-level characters, which can be dropped 
  into any campaign where the heroes are exploring the frozen reaches beyond the end of 
  civilization, whether high atop an inaccessible mountain range or at the farthest polar reaches 
  at the top of the world, especially if your campaign bridges traditional western fantasy with the 
  mysteries of the far east. It is a classic lost city where magic and technologies ancient and alien 
  lie buried in the ice, forgotten by the world beyond but still filled with mechanical marvels and 
  deadly dangers your players will never forget. Grab this 26-page monster supplement today 
  and Make Your Game Legendary! 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/Legendary Games/Far East/Under Frozen Stars.pdf