TEXT: SHL6-01 
   
   
   
   
   
  Blood and Rain 
   
  A One-Round D&D LIVING GREYHAWK
  ®  
  Shield Lands Regional Adventure 
  Version 1.0  
  by Jeffery A. Dobberpuhl, Esq. 
   
   
  Reviewed by Chris Tulach 
   
   
  For five long years, the Shield Lands bought every inch of land reclaimed from Iuz in blood. The price was worth it. The 
  men and women of the Shield Lands are now free from the plague and have hope. But now, new evils surface requiring 
  new heroes… Beginning a story arc spanning three years, this adventure begins the tale of betrayal amidst the pain of 
  blood and rain’s bittersweet tears. For Adventuring Parties levels 2-10 
   
  Based on the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
  ® rules created by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and the new DUNGEONS & DRAGONS 
  game designed by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, and Peter Adkison. 
   
  This game product contains no Open Game Content. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without permission of 
  Wizards of the Coast. To learn more about the Open Gaming License and the d20 SYSTEM license, please visit www.wizards.com/d20 
   
  This is an official RPGA
  ® play document. To find out more about the RPGA and to learn more on how you can sanction and run 
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game events of all sizes, visit our website at www.rpga.com. 
   
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, GREYHAWK, Living Greyhawk, D&D Rewards, RPGA, Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s 
  Guide, and Monster Manual are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc, in the US and other countries. This material is protected 
  under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained 
  herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This product is a work of fiction. Any 
  similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental. © 2006 Wizards of the Coast, Inc and the adventure 
  author or authors. 
  Visit the Living Greyhawk website at www.rpga.com 
  For questions specific to this document and your region, please e−mail your triad point of contact (POC) at 
  poc@shieldlands.net; for LIVING GREYHAWK campaign questions email rpgahq@wizards.com. 
   
  
  RPGA SANCTIONED PLAY 
  Most likely you ordered this adventure as part of an 
  RPGA even from the RPGA website, or you received it 
  from your senior gamemaster. To play this adventure as 
  part of the LIVING GREYHAWK™ campaign—a worldwide, 
  ongoing D&D campaign set in the GREYHAWK setting—
  you must sanction it as part of an RPGA event. This event 
  could be as elaborate as a big convention, or as simple as a 
  group of friends meeting at the DM’s house.  
   
  To sanction an RPGA event, you must be at least a 
  HERALD-LEVEL gamemaster. The person who sanctions 
  the event is called the senior gamemaster, and is in 
  charge of making sure the event is sanctioned before 
  play, runs smoothly on the date sanctioned, and then 
  reported back to the RPGA in a timely manner. The 
  person who runs the game is called the table Dungeon 
  Master (or usually just DM). Sometimes (and almost all 
  the time in the cases of home events) the senior 
  gamemaster is also the table DM. You don’t have to be a 
  HERALD-LEVEL GM to run this adventure if you are not 
  the senior GM.  
   
  By sanctioning and reporting this adventure you 
  accomplish a couple of things. First it is an official game, 
  and you can use the AR to advance your LIVING 
  GREYHAWK character. Second player and DMs gain 
  rewards for sanctioned RPGA play if they are members of 
  the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS REWARDS program. Playing 
  this adventure is worth one (1) point.  
   
  This adventure retires from RPGA-sanctioned play 
  on December 31, 2007.  
   
  To learn more about the LIVING GREYHAWK 
  character creation and development, RPGA event 
  sanctioning, and DUNGEONS & DRAGONS REWARDS, visit 
  the RPGA website at www.rpga.com.  
  PLAYERS READ NO FARTHER 
  If you are planning on playing this adventure, stop 
  reading now. The rest of the information in this 
  adventure is for the DM only. If you read farther than 
  this section, you’ll know too much about its challenges, 
  which kills the fun. Also, if you’re playing this adventure 
  as part of an RPGA-sanctioned event, reading beyond this 
  point makes you ineligible to do so.  
  PREPARING FOR PLAY 
  To get the most out of this adventure, you need copies of 
  the following D&D books: Player’s Handbook, Dungeon 
  Master’s Guide, and the Monster Manual.  
   
  Throughout this adventure, text in bold italics 
  provides player information for you to paraphrase or read 
  aloud when appropriate. Sidebars contain important 
  information for you, including special instruction on 
  running the adventure. Information on nonplayer 
  characters (NPCs) and monsters appear in abbreviated 
  form in the adventure text. Full information on NPCs 
  and monsters are given in Appendix 1.  
   
  Along with this adventure you’ll find a RPGA Table 
  Tracking sheet. If you’re playing this adventure as part of 
  an RPGA-sanctioned event, complete and turn in this 
  sheet to your senior GM directly after play. You’ll also 
  find a LIVING GREYHAWK Adventure Record (AR).  
  LIVING GREYHAWK LEVELS 
  OF PLAY 
  Because players bring their own characters to LIVING 
  GREYHAWK games, this adventure’s challenges are 
  proportionate to the modified average character level of 
  the PCs participating in the adventure. To determine this 
  modified Average Party Level (APL) follow the steps 
  below: 
  1. 
  Determine the character level for each of the PCs 
  participating in the adventure. 
  2. 
  If PCs bring animals that have been trained for 
  combat (most likely dogs trained for war), other than 
  those brought by 
  virtue of a class 
  ability 
  (such 
  as 
  animal companions, 
  familiars 
  paladin’s 
  mounts) 
  or 
  the 
  warhorse 
  of 
  a 
  character with the 
  Mounted 
  Combat 
  feat, use the sidebar 
  chart to determine 
  the number of levels 
  you add to the sum 
  of step one. Add 
  each 
  character’s 
  animals separately. 
  Animals with different CRs are determined separately 
  using the chart; then, take the highest CR animal (or 
  animals), and add 2 (drop fractions). This result is the 
  CR 
  1 
  2 
  3 
  4 
  1/4 and 1/6 
  0 
  0 
  0 
  1 
  1/3 and 1/2  
  0 
  0 
  1 
  1 
  1 
  1 
  1 
  2 
  3 
  2 
  2 
  3 
  4 
  5 
  3 
  3 
  5 
  6 
  7 
  4 
  4 
  6 
  7 
  8 
  5 
  5 
  7 
  8 
  9 
  6 
  6 
  8 
  9 
  10 
  7 
  7 
  9 
  10 
  11 
  Blood and Rain 
   
  Page 2 
  
  effective character level for a mixed-CR group of animals. 
  A single PC may only bring four or fewer animals of this 
  type.  
  3. 
  Sum the results of step 1 and 2, and divide by the 
  number of characters playing in the adventure. Round up 
  to the nearest whole number. 
  4. 
  If you are running a table of six PCs, add one to that 
  average. 
  Throughout this adventure, APLs categorize the level of 
  challenge the PCs face. APLS are given in even-
  numbered increments. If the APL of your group falls on 
  an odd number, ask them before the adventure begins 
  whether they would like to play a harder or easier 
  adventure. Based on their choice, use either the higher or 
  the lower adjacent APL. 
   
  APL also affects the amount of experience and gold a 
  PC can gain at the end of the adventure. If a player 
  character is three character levels or more either higher 
  or lower than the APL at which this adventure is being 
  played, that character receives only one-half of the 
  experience points and gold for the adventure. This 
  simulates the fact that either the PC was not challenged 
  as much as normal or relied on help by higher-level 
  characters to reach the objectives. 
   
  Furthermore, a PC who is four or more levels higher 
  than the highest APL supported by the adventure may 
  not play the adventure. 
   
  LIVING GREYHAWK adventures are designed for APL 
  2 and higher. Four or five 1
  st-level characters may find the 
  challenge of an APL 2 adventure difficult. Suggest the 
  following to these groups to help increase their chances 
  of success:  
  1. 
  Enlist a sixth player. 
  2. 
  Advise characters to buy riding dogs to help 
  protect them, and fight for them. 
  TIME UNITS AND UPKEEP 
  This is a standard one-round regional adventure, set in 
  the Shield Lands.  Characters native to the Shield Lands 
  pay one Time Unit per round; all others pay two Time 
  Units per round. 
   
  Adventurer’s Standard Upkeep costs 12gp per Time 
  Unit.  Rich Upkeep costs 50gp per Time Unit.  Luxury 
  Upkeep costs 100gp per Time Unit. Characters that fail to 
  pay at least Standard Upkeep will retain temporary ability 
  damage until the next adventure, must buy new spell 
  component pouches and healer’s kits, and may suffer 
  other in-game penalties (or possibly gain in-game 
  benefits) as may be detailed in this scenario. 
   
  A character that does not pay for at least Standard 
  Upkeep may also avoid the above-described penalties by 
  living off the wild.  If the character possesses four or 
  more ranks in the Survival skill and succeeds at a Survival 
  check (DC 20), the character will heal temporary ability 
  damage as if he or she paid for Standard Upkeep, may 
  refill spell component pouches and healer’s kits, and may 
  restock up to 20 arrows or bolts if the character has at 
  least four ranks in Craft (bowmaking).  The player is 
  allowed to Take 10 on this roll. 
   
  More information about Lifestyle and Upkeep can 
  be found in the “Lifestyle and Upkeep” section of 
  Chapter 3 of the LIVING GREYHAWK Campaign 
  Sourcebook. 
  Adventure Background 
  The Shield Lands is ruled by the Council of Lords. One of 
  those council members is Lord Natan Enerick. 
  Technically, he is not a lord at all, but a placeholder for 
  the true lord to be, Simen Sharn of Bright Sentry. Simen 
  has just turned 14, and is old enough to be given an 
  advisory position on the council. When he turns 16, he is 
  legally entitled, with council support, to replace his uncle 
  Enerick. Regardless of council support, he will 
  automatically take rightful place upon his 18
  th birthday. 
   
  In the meantime, other matters have come to light. 
  A few years ago it was learned that some merchants in the 
  Shield Lands have been willing to deal with Iuz. The 
  exact identity of those merchants is unknown. However, 
  someone was outfitting goblin mercenaries with 
  excellent equipment and more importantly, excellent 
  information. Again, the source of this information is 
  unknown. 
   
  Finally, Gensal was reduced to rubble by the armies 
  of Iuz nearly two years ago. Since then, the Shield Lands 
  has been hard at work re-establishing border forts and 
  rebuilding the walls of Gensal. However, not all the 
  bodies of the defeated army were ever found. Of those 
  missing is the Knight Baronette Lemanda… 
  Source Acknowledgment 
  Some of the source material for this adventure (well, 
  actually, for the new three year story arc) builds on prior 
  Shield Lands adventures, including:  “Lord Torkeep’s 
  Request”, “The Portal”, “The Invisible  Hand”, “A Chink in 
  the Armor”, “In the Service of the Lady” and most  of the 
  year five story line were all looked at for 
  Dungeon Masters and Players are also encouraged to read 
  the “Gord of Greyhawk” series by Gary Gygax as well as 
  Blood and Rain 
   
  Page 3 
  
  the Fahfrd and the Grey Mouser series by Fritz Lieber. 
  While neither of these is definitive a source material, 
  they both are an entertaining look at the style of 
  adventures this author is feebly trying to evoke.  
  Adventure Summary 
  Introduction. Give or read Player’s Handout 1 to the 
  party. This gives them a sufficient background on the 
  current state of the Shield Lands. The party is in Critwall. 
  The streets are packed with new visitors. The party, 
  perhaps bored, perhaps looking for work, goes to Critwall 
  Castle Mustering Grounds and looks over the duty 
  rosters. There is an opening for reconnaissance. The party 
  can meet with a Sergeant who goes over the current 
  situation: Gensal fell about a year and a half ago. In that 
  time, the lands around Gensal have been slowly 
  refortified. The army that WAS there was destroyed. 
  Since then, the bodies have been identified, rites given 
  and buried. There are supposedly large enemy armies 
  mobilizing outside of the Gensal area. Currently, a 
  mission to the outskirts of Gensal for recon is required. 
  Before the party leaves, they are addressed by an agent for 
  Lord Torkeep. The party is told to be on the look out for 
  captured Shield Landers. Apparently, not all of the 
  soldiers are accounted for, including Knight Baronette 
  Lemanda, former commander of the Gensal Keep.  
   
  The party goes to Gensal. Once there, they check in 
  with the new Captain of Gensal: Kruptan. He is a 
  Enerik/Lardon loyalist and is generally opposed to 
  Torkeep and Lady Katarina. He feels HE should have had 
  the job here, not Lemanda. He appears very business like, 
  but not like-able… Maybe THAT is why Gensal fell. The 
  party is given a route to follow and scout as well as a map.  
  The party begins to make the rounds shown on the map. 
  They must avoid some patrols and face others. They 
  eventually find signs of a population center NOT shown 
  on the map. There are about two dozen humans being 
  forced to work some fields. The area is not HEAVILY 
  guarded. Maybe the party can get in?  
   
  Getting in, the party must make a cunning plan to 
  rescue the humans. One of the humans is the old 
  company priest of Heironeous. He has been praying for 
  rescue or vengeance each day and sees the party as that 
  chance. If they can ONLY get the slaves some weapons, 
  they will rise up against their masters. Better to die with 
  honor than die a slave…  
   
  The party frees the slaves. The enemy mini-village is 
  attacked! The priest calls in a favor and an Archon/Solar 
  thing to fight lots of the Iuzians. Many of the slaves are 
  killed and the party has an all out battle against evil.  
   
  The party wins and the Solar appears to them. It 
  senses a great destiny to them and gives them the gift of 
  Prophecy. They are told to be wary of The Enemy and 
  then goes away.  
   
  The party is finds a secret diary the priest kept. It 
  tells of betrayal at the castle by underling, one known as 
  Kruptan, an Enerick/Lardon loyalist. It also tells of 
  Lemanda being taken alive, but for unknown purposes, 
  and to where…?  
   
  The party can confront Kruptan, but their proof 
  makes no sense. Kruptan was in Critwall during the 
  attack on Gensal.  
   
  The party has its first vision: A heavy rain-soaked 
  street, at night, in Critwall. The view point shifts to two 
  figures: One they KNOW is Lord Enerick, the other they 
  KNOW is Simen Sharn. Simen is running from Enerick 
  who is yelling he will have his way! He finally catches up 
  to Simen and stabs him. Simen lurches back, pulling the 
  sword from Enerick's grasp. Enerick grabs Simen around 
  the neck and begins to choke him. The scene goes black. 
  The End.  
  Preparation for Play 
  This is the start of a new story arc for the Shield Lands. 
  Players are encouraged to understand that high level 
  characters will probably not see the entire three year 
  adventure through to its ultimate conclusion. 
  Prologue 
  The time: recently, but before today. 
  The location: Bright Sentry in the bedchambers of 
  Simen Sharn, future Lord of Bright Sentry and 
  member of the Council of Lords. 
  The scene: Nighttime. Young Master Sharn lies 
  sleeping in his bed. Only the small dim glow from a 
  light spell placed on a Heironean holy symbol lights 
  the room.  
   
  The door to the room opens, ever so silently. A 
  figure enters the room and moves quietly, but 
  confidently to the bedside. Simen tosses and rolls in 
  his sleep, throwing back bed covers, leaving himself 
  vulnerable to the night. The figure bends over the 
  bed and pulls the covers up to Simen’s chin, tucking 
  him in. 
   
  His personal nurse and assistant, Vayle stands 
  back up. To no-one, or perhaps to herself, she 
  whispers… ‘Oh, Simen. You are so perfect. You lay 
  Blood and Rain 
   
  Page 4 
  
  there sleeping like an angel. Almost… almost a man, 
  yet still a child. Well, we will see what we can do 
  about that.” Slowly, as if time had nearly frozen, the 
  nurse tucks a loose strand of black hair behind her 
  ear, and then leans over the bed, placing a feather-
  light kiss on the brow of the sleeping Simen. He 
  smiles in his sleep and rolls over on his side. 
   
  With that, Nurse Vayle makes her round of the 
  room, shutting the window against the night air, and 
  making sure all was perfect in the room. She moved 
  so silently, it was if her feet never touched the 
  ground… As she leaves the room, the spel  making 
  the holy symbol glow final y fades out, and the room 
  goes black. 
  l
  l
  l
   
   
  Introduction 
  A light drizzle of rain falls over Critwall. “The Lady 
  Weeps” is the newest phrase for such weather. Ever 
  since the Knight Commander of the Shield Lands, 
  Lady Katarina, returned from the land of the dead and 
  saved the Shield Lands with her tactics, she has taken 
  on a near deific form in the eyes of many.   
   
  Regardless of the rain coming from Katarina or 
  merely the cloud mass moving north from the Nyr 
  Dyv, it feels good. The rain seems to wash away the 
  dirt and grime of war, fatigue, and disease, all of 
  which has plagued the Shield Lands for five long 
  years. 
   
  Now you, an adventurer in the Shield Lands, 
  walk the streets of Critwall. The streets are packed 
  with new visitors, some looking for fami y, some for 
  work, others just looking. Whether on purpose by 
  chance, by intent or merely bored, you find yourself 
  at Castle Critwall’s mustering grounds. Milling about 
  are a few other adventurers. There seems to be a new 
  posting on the duty boards. 
   
  This is an opportunity for the party to introduce 
  themselves to each other and review the duty boards. If 
  they do not want to, a random soldier will walk by and 
  say something to the effect “Huh, another posting for 
  work. I wish I had the time to adventure…” 
   
  Reading the posting reveals there is an opening for a 
  reconnaissance mission. The party is to ask the duty 
  sergeant about the mission. Today, the duty Sergeant is a 
  gruff woman: Agrala. She will sternly tell the party the 
  current situation: 
  • 
   Gensal fell about a year and a half ago. In that time, 
  the lands around Gensal have been slowly 
  refortified.  
  • 
  The army that WAS there was destroyed. Since then, 
  the Shield Landers have been able to provide funeral 
  services for the lost: bodies have been identified, 
  rites given and buried.  
  • 
  Now is a dangerous time. Border forts are being 
  constructed and manned, and Gensal is being 
  rebuilt. However, there are supposedly large enemy 
  armies mobilizing outside of the Gensal area.  
  • 
  Currently, a mission to the outskirts of Gensal for 
  recon is required. The goal of the party is to make 
  sweeps of the uncontrolled areas and advise the 
  forces of Gensal what they find.   
  • 
  First, they are to journey to Gensal (about 4 days, 3 
  days by horse). There they are to report to the forces 
  under the command of Captain Kruptan, the new 
  commander at Gensal.  
  • 
  If they request it, they will be given use of light 
  warhorses in order to get to Gensal quicker.  
   
  At this point the party is free to leave. 
   
  If they ask around, it is common knowledge that 
  Kruptan was a recent appointee to Gensal (less than 6 
  months). What is NOT common knowledge (Knowledge 
  Local Iuz Metaregional DC 25, or Bardic Knowledge DC 
  20) is that Kruptan used to be a commander in Lord 
  Natan Enerick’s personal guard. Knowledge Local Iuz 
  Metaregional or Bardic Knowledge checks (DC 25 or DC 
  20 respectively) are required to learn that prior to being 
  hired into Enerick’s guard two years ago, he ran the 
  Bright 
  Sentry 
  Armory, 
  a 
  weapons 
  and 
  armor 
  manufacturing company owned by the Sharn Family. It 
  is also common knowledge that much of the weapons 
  and armor sold and used in the Shield Lands (maybe 15%) 
  comes directly from the Bright Sentry Armory.  
   
  The party can leave at any time they feel the need to, 
  within reason. Before they leave, read or paraphrase the 
  following:  
  As you are preparing for your journey to Gensal, a 
  messenger approaches you. He is dressed in traveling 
  garb and a patch on his sleeve identifies him as 
  formerly belonging to Lord Torkeep’s private army. 
  “Ah” he says, “you are the ones who signed up with 
  Sergeant Agrala, eh? I’m Loyan, a messenger from 
  Lord Torkeep.” 
   
  Loyan is a bit on the wiry side, and seems to be 
  preoccupied with other matters. He explains he’s in 
  Torkeep’s employ as a troubleshooter and currently has 
  been asked to deliver a message. He explains that Lord 
  Torkeep would appreciate it if the party could be on the 
  look out for captured Shield Landers when exploring the 
  Blood and Rain 
   
  Page 5 
  
  Gensal area. Apparently, not all of the soldiers are 
  accounted for, including Knight Baronette Lemanda, 
  former commander of the Gensal Keep.  It is possible that 
  some have been taken prisoner or worse and the fate of 
  the missing is desired to be known so appropriate actions 
  can take place. 
  Encounter 1 – The Road 
  The party can go to Gensal. If they do not take the main 
  road, they will possibly miss out on the next bit of 
  information. This does not affect the outcome of the 
  adventure, but may make their jobs more difficult.  
   
  The road to and from Gensal is a busy one. Soldiers 
  patrol the road at semi-regular intervals (about 20 
  infantry are spotted once every six hours – in fact if 
  parties want to they can choose to camp with one. 
  Members of the Standing Army of the Shield Lands will 
  be given a hearty “Hello!” and best wishes from fellow 
  soldiers). Additionally, there are full carts of supplies and 
  families headed to Gensal, and empty carts returning. 
  Obviously, the repopulation of Gensal is taking place 
  once again. Overall, the travel weather is nice and cool, 
  but a bit damp, with occasional showers. On the second 
  day, read or paraphrase the following: 
   
  Coming down the road towards you is small 
  caravan of empty wagons. They are clearly returning 
  from Gensal. The three wagons are accompanied by a 
  Hal
  ng on a pony. As they near, you can see the carts 
  are all operated by Halflings, and carry spears in 
  them. 
  fli
  l
   
   
   
  The Halflings are the Shallowrose family. The one 
  on horseback is Larna. She is the middle daughter of 8 
  siblings (three other siblings – Kelvi, Thistlebone, and 
  Cricket, are all driving the other carts). They do not look 
  particularly pleased. 
   
  If stopped, they will explain they went to Gensal 
  with three wagons of spears. The spears were a special 
  order, placed over a year ago by Baronet Lemanda (before 
  the fall of Gensal, obviously), and, with the war and all, 
  they were just now being delivered. The wood is special, 
  being from far away (the Welkwood) and the iron tips are 
  special as well, being carefully mined from the 
  mountains near Abbor-Alz. Under careful eye and with 
  steady hand, the spears were then crafted. Normally, 750 
  spears of such caliber would take two years to make, yet 
  they did it in just over a year. 
   
  However, when they got to Gensal, the new captain, 
  Kruptan claimed the products were not usable by the 
  new troops and that the monies allocated by the council 
  had already been spent, on what she has no idea… She 
  will go and see if they are wanted at Torkeep or South 
  Keep, instead. 
   
  If the party asks, she will be delighted to sell some of 
  the spears to the party! The spears are all masterwork, 
  with various sizes, shapes and styles available. Also, she 
  has a special store of enchanted spears: essentially, any 
  legal, non-special metal, spear type from the PHB is 
  available as a +2 spear or as a +1 Orcbane Spear.  
  Encounter 2 – Gensal 
  Gensal is a land in need, and in the process of, rebuilding. 
  Essentially, the road to Gensal leads through lush 
  farmlands, now in the process of being planted with 
  grains. A number of crude shanties are set up as families 
  are slowly returning to this area. Gensal itself is 
  surrounded by a newly constructed wooden barricade, 
  twenty feet high, and enclosing (except for the back side 
  near the ruins of Gensal) approximately 750 to 1000 feet 
  across, crudely circular area of land. The gates are 
  manned by two pairs of soldiers, armed with axes. They 
  do not hassle anyone going in or out but still, seem to 
  know their business. Read or paraphrase the following: 
   
  What was once the heart of the Shield Lands is 
  now the border. Only a mile away to the east lay the 
  lands of the old one, Iuz.  
   
  It can be seen in the faces of the locals. The 
  farmers, the soldiers, the merchants: everyone here 
  knows Iuz could strike again at any time. But the ook 
  one sees in the locals is not fear, but determination. 
  These are a people who will work hard and fight 
  against evil.  
  A number of crude buildings (shanties, really) are 
  being set up. These are encircled in a newly 
  constructed wooden barricade: twenty feet high and 
  enclosing approximately 750 to 1000 feet of the old 
  city. 
  At the gates are two pairs of soldiers, armed with 
  axes. They are sharp eyed and watch the approach of 
  all who want to enter Gensal. 
   
  Inside the wall, further activity is taking place. 
  Houses and shops are being constructed in a fury of 
  activity, on either side of a very wide road leading to the 
  gate. At the other end of the gate are the ruins of Gensal, 
  the castle. It was completely obliterated during the 
  invasion. Currently, one can see the rubble has been 
  cleared and usable brick and stone separated into new 
  piles. Apparently Gensal will rise again. 
   
  In the south west corner of town (just in to the left 
  of the gates) is a dome of earth with pillars cut into the 
  Blood and Rain 
   
  Page 6 
  
  side. This is the shrine to Fortubo, an earth god. “Mother” 
  Garla Gravelstone (“Mother” is her rank in the church) is 
  the sole cleric of the church. She has been here about a 
  year and a half, months, having been drawn by word of 
  the shrine being erected here. Previously, she lived in 
  Tent Town near Critwall and worked as a potter. She 
  follows Fortubo because he seems very down to earth 
  (literally) and does not seem to be involved in the 
  weighty politics like the other local churches do. Further, 
  she is drawn to the aspect of this local branch of the 
  church which seems to venerate the wisdom of one’s 
  ancestors (some members go so far as to carry a bone or 
  skull of a loved ancestor with them). 
   
  About half way between the gate and the ruins on 
  the east hand side is a 40’ by 50’ building, the Jousting 
  Mug. Formerly just a tavern, a small inn has been added 
  on. The inside of the bar is basically a 30’ wide by 35’ deep 
  room. The owner is currently Gandor Meadbow. He is a 
  bull of a man, and is never without his falcion strapped 
  into a scabbard on his back. Obviously of mixed decent, 
  his balding brown hair hangs in greasy strands around 
  his head. His dark brown eyes are hard and almost cruel, 
  and his hands are calloused slabs.  His clothes are thick 
  cotton work clothes, stained and patched. Despite his 
  appearances, he is generally friendly enough. Stuffed in 
  his belt is a mouth-harp. However, if anyone looks like 
  they are casting a spell (and he actually notices), he will 
  point at a sign hanging above the fire places that reads 
  “No Wizzies. This means you!” (His definition of a wizard 
  is pretty wide). 
   
  Finally, there are two barracks and a stone building 
  erected within 20 feet of the ruins of Gensal. It is clear 
  that with some work, the stone building could eventually 
  be a gate house. Inside are a dozen soldiers, going over 
  maps, etc. Located in this room during daylight hours is 
  Captain Kruptan. At night he sleeps in a private room in 
  the barracks. 
   
  Kruptan is a boar of a man, literally, with bristly hair 
  and beady eyes. His skin has a slight tint to it that 
  suggests maybe just a touch of orc blood in his distant 
  family past. He has a smile so ugly it could crack granite 
  and arms so powerful they probably could as well. 
   
  He is a Lord Natan Enerik/Lord Count Janek Lardon 
  loyalist and is generally opposed to Torkeep and Lady 
  Katarina. On his desk is a copy of “Rites for the Soldier”, a 
  Heironean prayer book (inside the front cover it’s 
  inscribed “with thanks, Shelton Halfhand”, a former 
  cleric of the Shield Lands). Any conversations with him 
  are very business like, but not like-able… If told about 
  the request by Torkeep to look for missing Shield 
  Landers or the missing Baronet Lemanda, he will make it 
  clear HE should have had Lemanda’s job here, not 
  Lemanda. Maybe her inability to lead is what caused 
  Gensal to fall. In any event, he will not accept any back 
  talk or sass from the party. He will simply dismiss them 
  to the care of Sargeant Clezel, an overly friendly gnome 
  who is always on Kruptan’s bad side. Clezel will give the 
  party a route to follow and scout as well as a map of the 
  area. He will note the cardinal rule: Do not engage the 
  enemy if at all possible, and make sure nothing follows 
  you back to Gensal. The password at the border is 
  currently “Brick by Brick”, a reference to the rebuilding 
  of Gensal. The password will change in five days and after 
  that time, the party could be shot as spies if they are not 
  back behind the border by that time. Still, the route is 
  only four days of scouting so that should not be a 
  problem.  
   
  There are number of local rumors the party can 
  encounter. All of these rumors require no skill checks, 
  although the party does need to take the time to ask 
  around: 
  • 
  The palisades around Gensal were built using wood 
  cleared from Bright Sentry. 
  • 
  Wizards were used to quickly set the walls in place. 
  The locals are a bit nervous that magic, and not good 
  old fashioned hard work, is what is giving the first 
  line of defense. 
  • 
  Every family here was supposed to receive a single 
  spear per person of legal fighting age (14 years), but 
  the spears have not yet shown up. 
  • 
  There is no point in trying to salvage standard gear 
  from the Iuzians. There was so much of it recovered 
  in the last few years that it has little value, and most 
  folks just believe it to be cursed with ill fortune, 
  anyways! 
   
   
  All of these rumors take a Gather Information check 
  DC 20 or a Bardic Information check DC 20 to acquire. 
  • 
  The soldiers just received new weapons from Bright 
  Sentry. They sure look shiny and sharp… 
  • 
  There is a story of Heironeous himself appearing and 
  saving a small child who was lost! This was just a few 
  months ago. The child was out in the fields and 
  wandered beyond the border forts. He showed up 
  two weeks later and said a winged warrior helped 
  him find his way home. He was sent to Critwall for 
  examination by the priests. After all, he could have 
  just been delirious. 
  Blood and Rain 
   
  Page 7 
  
  Encounter 3 – Making the 
  Rounds 
  The party begins to make the rounds shown on the map. 
  The route given is a circular one, going from the south, 
  angling to the east, then looping to the north, and finally 
  coming back into Gensal from the north east. They are to 
  check in with a border fort (about an hour outside of 
  Gensal on the way out) and then hit four way points. The 
  way points are: 1) “Crutzes Folly”, a river crossing 
  identified by is sudden narrowing (only about 2 feet 
  deep), 2) Skull Ridge, a series of small hills each with the 
  disturbing outline of skulls buried in the ground, 3) The 
  Small Rift, a gulley that appears unnaturally cut into the 
  very earth itself, and 4), the Ruins of Quelzon, a tower 
  destroyed about 20 years ago.  
   
  Each way point is about a day away from each other 
  with the first and last about a half day or so from Gensal. 
  This will take the party four days. The way points are not 
  described in excruciating detail and the referee is free to 
  supply any details as appropriate (tracking reveals the 
  tracking information, etc.). 
   
  It does the party no good to go faster as a thorough 
  job is expected and tracks, etc. are to be looked for. 
  Essentially, there is a large army of Iuz out there and the 
  Shield Lands wants to find it! 
   
  Some general notes: 
  • 
  The border forts are all 30’ across, and 20’ high, 
  constructed of wood. Each holds 20 soldiers, armed 
  with heavy crossbows. These will eventually be 
  further garrisoned, reworked in stone, and bolstered 
  with additional troops and supplies. Each is typically 
  assigned a cleric, level 3, and a wizard, level 3. 
  Currently, there are six such forts built. The soldiers 
  patrol the areas between themselves in squads of five 
  (so ten soldiers are at the fort at any given time). 
  Anyone not knowing the current password is fair 
  game to be shot and killed… 
  • 
  The lands of Iuz are strange. Anywhere beyond the 
  border forts, the skies go grey (negating any penalty 
  for fighting in daylight that many creatures have), 
  the land appears choked for life, and there are black 
  as sin ravens (with red eyes) everywhere. Sleeping at 
  night requires a Concentration check (DC 12), with 
  retries available once per hour, due to the strange 
  noises and lights constantly audible and visible 
  during the hours of darkness. 
  • 
  Successfully searching for Tracks (DC 22) will reveal 
  lots of troop movement, but on an individual scale 
  (like 5 to 20 in a squad). The troop type varies 
  between gnoll, bugbear, human, goblin and orc. 
  • 
  The party should wonder if it is safer to travel at day 
  or by night. Let them. There is no difference in this 
  adventure. 
  Encounter 4 – Between Way 
  Point 1 and 2 
  Travel will reveal the ever present ravens. They always 
  seem to be watching the party. This is unnerving, but has 
  no other effect at this time. As the party approaches Way 
  Point 1, read or paraphrase the following: 
   
  l ”
  i
  t
  li
   
  The weather has been painfully overcast, as if the 
  sky desperately wanted to rain but found itself 
  unable. As you approach the way point known as 
  “Crutzes Fol y , the number of twisted and broken 
  trees and brushes as dramatically increased. The 
  occasional red-eyed raven eyes you suspiciously as 
  you near the shallow river crossing.  
   
  Crutzes Folly is a sudden narrowing in the river. The 
  river’s water has an oily stench to it but is clean to drink. 
  It is only about 2 feet deep and 8 feet across at the point 
  of the crossing, but is otherwise about 10 feet deep and 20 
  feet across. No tracking is required to spot the number of 
  heavy wolf prints in the mud on either side of the river, 
  heading deeper into Iuzian lands. Some of the prints are 
  larger than a man’s foot, and many are quite deep in the 
  mud.  
   
  Halfway between Way Point 1 and 2, the party will 
  encounter a loud noise. It starts as a quiet rumbling, but 
  then grows increasingly louder. There are a number of 
  hills, and the party can certainly (and should) sneak to 
  the top of one, or around another, or the like, to 
  investigate. Read or paraphrase the following: 
   
  The no se you heard now sounds like rolling 
  thunder. Boom! Boom! Boom! Over and over again, 
  quicker and quicker and with more regularity. But 
  hidden in i  is yet another noise, ke a vast amount of 
  paper being torn, or a tree being slowly split in two…
   
  Looking around the hill, you see three earth 
  elementals of tremendous size. Each has a black belt 
  around their waste. Attached to the belts are massive 
  chains. Together, they are dragging a stone keep 
  (tipped on its side)! At first, you believe they are 
  heading straight towards you, but then you see they 
  merely angled around the side of a hill and are now 
  headed back into the lands of Iuz.  
   
  The party is not expected to fight these creatures. 
  They are an Elder Earth Elemental and two Greater Earth 
  Blood and Rain 
   
  Page 8 
  
  Elementals. The elementals are not typical in that they 
  are quite evil and each was augmented in its initial 
  summoning, giving them each a +2 Strength and 
  Constitution. The estimated APL of this encounter is 13. 
  If the party follows them, they will see that within a half 
  mile, the elementals merge with the earth, bringing the 
  keep with them, never to be seen again… in this 
  adventure! 
  APL 10 (EL 13) 
  Elder Earth Elemental (1): hp 252. See Monster 
  Manual page 97 (+2 Str, +2 Con). 
  Greater Earth Elementals (2): hp 126 each. See 
  Monster Manual page 97 (+2 Str, +2 Con). 
  Encounter 5 – Between Way 
  Point 2 and 3 
  As the party approaches Way Point 2, read or paraphrase 
  the following: 
  A thin rain has fallen for the last few hours, making 
  travel through these blasted lands a miserable 
  business. Your travel has been accompanied by the 
  occasional rumble of thunder. With a sudden KRAK, 
  a bolt of l ghtning streaks across the sky revealing a 
  sligh  valley below you. In the valley are five small 
  (20 ft across) hills. You realize they are oddly shaped, 
  almost skull-like in appearance. And then, as you 
  make this discovery, the rain abrup ly quits… 
  i
  t
  t
   
  Searching the hill area will reveal a few wooden 
  posts in front of each hill. On the posts are skulls of 
  various creatures. They are human skulls and look quite 
  aged (cracked, weather worn, etc.). There are no recent 
  obvious signs of anyone visiting this area. Seven of the 
  skulls have the red-eyed ravens sitting on them. One 
  gnaws on a mouse. They fly off as the party approaches. 
   
  The party has traveled only a few hours past way 
  point 2, when they will notice the ravens have been 
  growing in numbers. They are now in a low area between 
  hills. Where before, five or ten might be present, now 
  there are nearly fifty! Then more can be seen flying in… 
  Read or paraphrase the following: 
   
  With a nearly deafening “CAW! CAW!” the 
  ravens take flight, swirling in a horrible mass of 
  feather, claws, beaks and eyes… shiny red eyes… 
  They swoop towards your party, apparently to pick 
  the very meat from your bones! 
  Creatures 
  APL 2 (EL 2) 
   Fiendish Raven Swarm (1): hp 13 each. See 
  Appendix One. 
  APL 4 (EL 4) 
   Fiendish Raven Swarm (2): hp 17, 19. See 
  Appendix One. 
  APL 6 (EL 6) 
   Fiendish Raven Swarm (4): hp 13, 15, 17, 19. See 
  Appendix One. 
  APL 8 (EL 8) 
   Advanced (6 HD) Fiendish Raven Swarm (3): hp 
  27, 36, 42. See Appendix One. 
  APL 10 (EL 10) 
   Advanced (9 HD) Fiendish Raven Swarm (3): hp 
  27, 27, 36, 36, 42, 42. See Appendix One. 
  Tactics: The swarms are typical in that they will fly so 
  they can attack as many characters per turn, attempting 
  to literally pick the bones clean. Describe their attacks as 
  maddening, a cloud of activity, and horrifying in their 
  caws and shrieks. 
  Encounter 6 – The Shadow 
  Between Way Point 2 and 3 
   
  The party is almost to way point 3. There are still some 
  ravens in the area. Read or paraphrase the following:  
  As your party travels through the blasted territory of 
  Iuz, you can see a flock of ravens in the distance. 
  They fly towards you, but then veer off to the south. 
  Perhaps with a sigh of relief, you continue your 
  journey. But now, the trip seems harder, your legs 
  more tired. Even your traveling gear seems to weigh 
  more. It is a weakness of your body or your very soul 
  that brings to you such exhaustion? 
   
  Unless the party has protection against negative 
  energy, each party member loses a temporary 1d6 
  Strength. This is because the land they are traveling 
  through has been magically weakened, and now leaks 
  negative planar energy. This rift will heal itself within six 
  hours and no longer yield that effect. The Strength loss in 
  VERY temporary. After the party travels out of that 
  region (another 20 minutes of walking/riding time), 
  regardless of how slow, the Strength will return at the 
  rate of one point every five minutes. Of course, lesser 
  restoration, etc., will also restore the strength. 
  Blood and Rain 
   
  Page 9 
  
  Encounter 7 – Between Way 
  Point 3 and 4 
  As the party approaches Way Point 3, read or paraphrase 
  the following: 
  There is no doubt that many strange sights and events 
  await those traveling the lands occupied by Iuz. Now 
  the weather seems to be torn as to its true nature. 
  During the last hour, the temperature dropped, rose 
  and dropped again to the point where your breath is 
  visible in ghostly clouds. Cresting ano her low hill, 
  you see cut into the ground a jagged shape. This must 
  be The Small Rift. Starting at a narrow end, the rift 
  travels fifty paces and then jogs suddenly to the left. 
  After a hundred more paces, it jogs back to the right 
  and eventual y narrows down to nothingness. No 
  ranger or druid is necessary to tel  you how unnatural
  this looks. The edges are crisp, like a sharp knife 
  cutting a stencil out of paper.  
  t
   
  l
  l
   
   
  Looking into the rift reveals it drops 20 ft to the 
  bottom. The sharpness of the cut goes all the way to the 
  floor and the stone floor itself is smooth as glass. 
  Tracking in this area may reveal some partly obscured 
  sign of a number of wolves and orcs (Search DC 22). The 
  number of wolves is between 2 to 8 and range in size 
  from medium to large. The number of orcs also varies 
  from 4 to 8. A subsequent Search check (DC 22) would 
  estimate the creatures were here in the last 24 hours, 
  moving in the direction of Way Point 4.  
   
  About four hours after leaving the rift, the party will 
  be on a reasonably flat plateau with little cover. At that 
  time, the weather will be overcast, but not raining (and a 
  bit on the cool side). Read or paraphrase the following: 
  Your party has now spent some time in the lands of 
  Iuz. Appearing on the horizon are three forms, two 
  humanoid and one canine. They do not appear to 
  have noticed you… 
   
  The forms are orcs and wolves (or wolf-like 
  creatures). The number appearing depends on the party’s 
  level (see below). The orcs are currently 240 feet away 
  and unfortunately for them, both on the top of hill and 
  with their backs to the party. Unless the party fails to be 
  sneaky, they will get the drop on the orcs and wolves. 
  Once in battle, the orcs and wolves will only fight one 
  round, and then try to escape. If they do escape, they will 
  alert the orcs at Encounter 7 which then becomes 
  MUCH tougher…  See the Tactics section for more 
  information. 
  Creatures 
  APL (ALL) (EL 2) 
   Orcs (2): hp 6 each. See Monster Manual page 203. 
   Wolves (1): hp 14 each. See Monster Manual page 
  283. 
  Tactics: At all APLS, the party should get the drop on the 
  monsters. This may even allow the party to kill all of the 
  monsters on the surprise round! As a reminder to the 
  Dungeon Master, that is ok. Not every encounter needs 
  to be an over the top battle.  
   
  This encounter is designed to let the party try more 
  stealthy tactics (as well as easily wipe out the orcs). If the 
  party doesn’t kill the monsters, they will retaliate for one 
  round (or attack for one round) and then move off 
  towards the orc settlement to warn them. Since the 
  settlement is five miles away, the party should have an 
  opportunity to stop them before they do so. If they do 
  not stop them, then all monsters in encounter 7 receive a 
  +4 circumstance modifier to Listen, Spot, Search, and 
  Sense Motive checks, as well as a +4 circumstance 
  modifier to initiative rolls. 
  Treasure: 
   
  APL (ALL): Map to the Orc Settlement. 
  Note that the orc gear is not listed as treasure. Orc gear 
  has little to no value in the Shield Lands (No one will 
  currently buy it because there has been so much war 
  against orcs and the like. Thus, the gear is not only 
  plentiful, but the locals hate the orcs and don’t want such 
  “foul items”).  The party can use the gear for the 
  adventure if they want, but as it is clearly Iuzian in 
  nature, eventually, someone will want it destroyed, 
  melted down, discarded, etc. as it is believed to be cursed.  
   
  One of the orcs carries a map tucked into their belt. 
  It is a dirty, grimy, ratty affair with dubious stains and 
  burnt edges. However, it reveals quite clearly the 
  surrounding area. Three of the five border forts are 
  identified as well as an orc settlement approximately five 
  miles to the northwest. There is no writing on the face of 
  the map, but amazingly, the reverse side of the map is 
  blank letterhead bearing the embossed seal of Baronet 
  Lemanda! 
  Development: The party has a tough decision at this 
  point: They can either investigate the map, even though 
  doing so may be considered in opposition to their orders. 
  Or, they can go back to Gensal for more information but 
  will the orc encampment still be there when they get 
  back? 
  Troubleshooting: Either scenario is fine. If the party 
  goes back to Gensal, they will be debriefed. After a short 
  Blood and Rain 
   
  Page 10 
  
  conference, the party will be called back in and told to go 
  and investigate the village, looking for survivors. 
  Encounter 8 – orc settlement 
  Warning: Part one. The following section (Encounters 7, 
  8, and 9) describes an armed orc settlement. At all levels, 
  these encounters, if run poorly, could easily kill parties. 
  This is not the intent. Also, parties that have no solid plan 
  for investigating will also encounter difficulties. Loud 
  yelling, bravado and the like are probably not appropriate 
  for going into an orc encampment and should be dealt 
  with appropriately. That said, let the party come up with 
  plans and, for the most part, let those plans PARTIALLY 
  succeed! This means that the encounters shown below 
  are the ONLY part of the orc encampment the party 
  should actually encounter. Does the party want to be 
  dramatic and create a distraction on one edge of camp? 
  Great! Does the party want to play it more for laughs and 
  dress up in shrubbery costumes to try to get closer to the 
  camp? Great! As long as there is a solid plan, make the 
  party feel as if they are heroes and have come up with an 
  amazing way to “Break” the adventure. Let it be our little 
  secret and they will feel like heroes… 
   
  Warning: Part two. The monsters shown in these 
  encounters are more than the party can handle at once. 
  APL 2 is an EL 6 encounter, for example. This is because 
  these are the forces that will come to bear on the party 
  once the camp is roused. These encounters are marked on 
  the map (and in the encounter table). Once the camp is 
  roused, these should come at the party one at a time as 
  they try to escape, and not all at once.  
   
  Finally, if the party can sneak in without rousing 
  ANY enemies, and if the party can still rescue the 
  prisoners, that’s ok too (although probably impossible 
  given the nature of the cleric…)! Such parties should be 
  rewarded the full experience points for avoiding the 
  combats. 
   
  The overview of the settlement is as follows: on the 
  southwest side of the settlement is a large field. The field 
  has an early crop of blood wheat coming in (a variant of 
  normal wheat raised by the Iuzians. It is fed the blood of 
  slaves as well as normal rain, giving it a horrible taste, but 
  making it very life sustaining). Beyond the field are the 
  slave quarters, a crude stone affair with a set of wood slats 
  thrown over the top. There are also a number of barracks 
  on the far side of the settlement. It is difficult to estimate 
  how many orcs this holds, but is probably around 400. 
  Between the slaves and the barracks is the settlement. 
  Holding perhaps an additional 500 troops, workers, and 
  hanger’s on, this settlement looks armed to the teeth. 
  Anyone spotted has weapons and armor ready and at 
  hand. Signs of giants, ogres, and perhaps worse, are 
  around (Large huts, piles of stones, etc.). In the center of 
  everything is a massive stone ziggurat. The ziggurat is 
  five levels high with its top over fifty feet above the 
  ground. Sitting on top of the ziggurat is a stone statue of a 
  marlith. Strapped to her snakelike body are six 
  longswords, and in each of her six hands is an ivory 
  laughing skull. Each skull faces a different direction, 
  literally looking at nearly every corner of the town.  
   
  Read or paraphrase the following to the party: 
   
  Ever since the encounter with the orcs, a thin 
  rain began to fall. In many respects, a healthy rain 
  would be less annoying. As it is, the misty drizzle 
  seems to seep into every crev ce of your clothing, 
  drenching your soul as well as your gear. However, 
  there is one beneficial side effect: the ground seems 
  to be rejecting the rain, transforming it into an 
  equally thin mist. This should give you some cover in
  your journey.  
  i
   
  t
  f
   
   
   
  Cresting yet ano her hill, you see before you a 
  swarm o  activity. Through even the thin mists and 
  anemic rain, you can see a village of orcs. Scouts on 
  worgs circle the edge of the camp, and sounds of 
  marching and movement can be heard from within.  
   
  A dark shape, evil even to look at, rises dagger-
  like from the center of the settlement. Undoubtedly, 
  it is a blessing the mists prevent you from clearly 
  seeing its see its true form. Movement from within 
  the settlement suggests the additional presence of 
  giants. 
   
  Still, as much as the mists prevent you from 
  being seen, they also prevent you from seeing clearly 
  all there is in the settlement. As water pools once 
  again on your brow, running down in a small river to 
  your 
  chin, 
  you 
  see… 
  something! 
  Something 
  familiar…
  On the close edge of the camp is a field of wheat, 
  waist high. Leaving the field at the far end are a dozen 
  slaves, chained together, carrying crude work 
  instruments. They are filing into a crude stone 
  building. But what truly drew your eyes to the 
  straggling humans was the occasional tabard they 
  wore. No matter how dirty or how torn, you cannot 
  miss the clear work uniform of a Soldier of the 
  Standing Army of the Shield Lands!  
   
  As mentioned above, to get in, the party should 
  come up with a cunning plan. The perimeter is guarded 
  by orcs on worgs. Each group is 3 orcs and 3 worgs (See 
  the Monster Manual for details of each) and is not 
  intended to be encountered. There is a five to ten minute 
  Blood and Rain 
   
  Page 11 
  
  gap between each patrol. The clearest route is to 
  crawl/run/sneak over to the wheat field and then use it 
  as cover to reach the slaves. 
   
  The building itself is a crude stone affair, 10 ft. wide 
  and 20 ft. long with no windows. Treat it as “hewn stone” 
  (DMG page 60). The single door is “strong wooden” 
  (DMG page 61). Facing the building, about 15 feet away, 
  are two other buildings. Each of these is a guard house. 
  The sounds of crude laughter comes out of each. Inside 
  each one is five orcs (See the Monster Manual). Again, 
  none of these orcs are intended to be actually 
  encountered.  
   
  The door to the slave’s quarters is locked with a 
  heavy iron lock (DC 24 to pick). The roof is actually a 
  series of wooden planks tossed over the top. Any major 
  noise may alert the orcs in the guard house. 
   
  Inside the slave’s quarters are 11 slaves. These slaves, 
  and their brief story, is as follows: 
  • 
  Aluros : She is a former soldier from Gensal. She got 
  captured in the battle and is eager to seek revenge. 
  She does not know the fate of her husband (Marzer 
  the tentmaker) or child (Narlina) living in Critwall. 
  Aluros: Female human Ftr2. 
  • 
  Brandiff: He was just a simple farmer, brought in to 
  repopulate Gensal. He saw his entire family 
  slaughtered. 
  Brandiff: Male human Comm1. 
  • 
  Cativa: She used to work part time at the general 
  store as well as part time in the kitchen at the keep. 
  Her family was killed during the original invasion. 
  Cativa: Female half-orc Comm1. 
  • 
  Dettor: A sturdy soldier of the Standing Army. His 
  wife, Orlani, is a scribe for the Arcanists Society. 
  Dettor: Male human Ftr3. 
  • 
  Ezcatte: A twitchy, nervous wreck, this half-elf is 
  beyond the help of even magic for healing. She is a 
  mass of scars. Still, a fire burns within her, a fire for 
  revenge. 
  Ezcatte: Female half-elf Brd1. 
  • 
  Fahareed: This Blakunish male came to the Shield 
  Lands as a mercenary and joined the army after 
  meeting the hard working people of the Shield 
  Lands. He is very dedicated to giving Iuz a black eye. 
  Fahareed: Male human Rng 2. 
  • 
  Gimbor: He was a carpenter in Gensal. He and 
  Hescapa, his wife, were captured together. 
  Gimbor: Male human Comm1. 
  • 
  Hescapa: 
  She 
  was 
  a 
  freelance 
  adventurer 
  (Pathfinder) acting as a scout in the Gensal region. 
  She was captured with her husband, Gimbor. 
  Hescapa: Female human Ftr2/Rng1. 
  • 
  Joznan: Joznan was a cleric assigned to the Standing 
  Army at Gensal. Since his capture he has spent every 
  moment he could praying to Heironeous for 
  salvation. He will clearly see the party as exactly that. 
  When he was captured, he managed to escape with a 
  few sheets of paper he hid in his shirt. See below. 
  Joznan: Male human Clr3. 
  • 
  Klifton and Lexasam: Klifton and Lexasam are 
  another husband and wife pair captured in the battle. 
  Klifton and Lexasam were both outriders. Their 
  horses were shot out beneath them and they were 
  captured. 
  Klifton: Male human Pal2. 
  Lexasam: Female half-elf Rog1. 
   
  As mentioned above, Joznan, is the company priest 
  of Heironeous assigned to Gensal. He has been praying 
  for rescue or vengeance each day and sees the party as 
  that chance. All of the prisoners are very weak and will 
  have a very difficult time of making it very far. Even if 
  healed, they will point out the following: The orcs will 
  typically send by someone at least once an hour to check 
  on them, if only to make their life miserable. Once they 
  are discovered missing, the orcs will quickly mobilize 
  pursuit.  
   
  Instead, they are asking to be given a chance to 
  strike back against their orc masters. They have taken 
  careful notes down on the papers snuck in by the cleric. 
  The papers include notes on various troop movements 
  over the last year (that they have noticed). They used bits 
  of charcoal to write the notes. The notes themselves are 
  supplemented by the abbreviated diary kept by the cleric, 
  Joznan. 
   
  The diary tells of the last day of Gensal. Basically, the 
  orcs appeared flying a banner of Iuz. The battle, at first, 
  seemed dicey, but definitely not something that was 
  necessarily going to go the way of the orcs. Lemanda had 
  arranged for a couple of mages and a priest of Heironeous 
  to erect magical defenses against the incoming spells. 
  However, a soldier, one who always voiced loud loyalties 
  to both Enerick and Lardon, named Kruptan, attacked 
  one of the mages from within the castle! With the 
  disruption, the defenses were overwhelmed and the 
  castle fell. Approximately 70 Shield Landers, including 
  Lemanda, were captured alive… Of them, about 30 were 
  taken to this village (not Lemanda). These 11 are all that 
  survived from the original 30 or so. 
  Blood and Rain 
   
  Page 12 
  
   
  The slaves are currently manacled to the wall (See 
  PHB page 126). The manacles each have an excellent lock 
  attached (Open Locks DC 26). Once freed, the slaves will 
  be excited to fight the orcs. If the slaves can be freed, the 
  will be willing to rise up against their masters. Better to 
  die with honor than die a slave… Any weapons the party 
  can spare will be put to good use. The new priority is to 
  get the notes and diary to Gensal! The slaves attacking 
  should draw off the orcs from any assault on the party. 
  Also, one of the papers the cleric snuck out was a scroll 
  he copied 20 years ago from the chapel near Torkeep. 
  Manacled as he was, he was unable to make the hand 
  gestures the scroll called for, but now he believes he can 
  use its holy power to make the slave’s attack slightly more 
  substantive than foolhardy… It is supposed to summon 
  allies, but what kind is unclear. If read by a party 
  member, it will appear to be very technical and very high 
  level, a version of a gate spell. The cleric will insist on 
  being the one to cast it, in case something would go 
  wrong. 
   
  Setting up the final encounters: It is impossible to 
  guess how the party will actually react to the slaves, or 
  how they will let them escape (or if they even will).  
  1) 
  The party manages to be extremely stealthy and 
  get in to the slaves. The slaves will not be easily 
  convinced they should not sell their lives dearly 
  (they are hostile to the idea). As such they will 
  demand the opportunity to sell their lives for 
  the Shield Lands. They will then try to leave by 
  the door and will ultimately make a loud din 
  doing so.  
  2) 
  The party manages to convince the slaves to go 
  quietly or otherwise is very stealthy avoiding 
  detection. In that case, later that day the orc 
  village will mobilize, along with the Marlith. 
  They will give chase, and thanks to the various 
  magical abilities of the Marlith, unlisted 
  shamans, etc. in the village, they will catch the 
  party in the open plains. In this case, the slaves 
  will again try to sell their lives and the scroll 
  will get read. 
  3) 
  The party leaves by the front door, or goes out 
  over the roof. There is a decent chance the orcs 
  will spot them. As a whole, the village will get a 
  +11 to Spot (They will have +1 to begin with for 
  orcs, see MM page 203. To represent the 
  massive amount of orcs in the area, thereceive 
  an additional +10 for the spot attempt to 
  represent five “assists” on the Spot check). 
  Similarly, the village will receive a total of +11 to 
  a Listen check to  hear the party moving out of 
  the door, out over the roof, etc. Note these rolls 
  are not necessary as the party moves IN to the 
  slave quarters.  
  4) 
  The party manages to somehow teleport 
  out/shapeshift into something that flies all the 
  way back to Gensal, etc., they then receive the 
  experience for avoiding the last fight, but do not 
  receive the benefits normally given by the 
  planetar. 
   
  The descriptions below presume the party is 
  discovered in the vicinity of the village. Feel free to 
  modify the description to match the final events. 
   
  As the party leaves the slaves, or tries to take them 
  with them, something goes wrong. The village is alerted 
  to the party and the alarm goes out! 
   
  The party should work at getting out of town. As 
  they do so, they will have the following two encounters, 
  one at a time. In the meantime, the cleric will cast his 
  gate spell, bringing in a planetar! The planetar will begin 
  assisting the slaves in attacking the orcs and other 
  inhabitants. Giants, spell casters, and fighter types can be 
  seen (if looked for) coming into the fray. Eventually, if 
  the party watches, the marlith statue comes to life and 
  the two outsiders battle in a cloud of light and dark. 
   
  Meanwhile, the party has their own problems... 
  Encounter 9 – The First 
  Defense 
  Note: Encounters 8 and 9 are two encounters back to 
  back. These encounters are broken up (rather than 
  thrown at the party in a single clump) to allow the party a 
  moment’s breath between the two attacks. Still, 
  encounters 8 and 9 are intended to be played as if they 
  are one, big, rolling encounter. Feel free to read or 
  paraphrase the following: 
   
  t
  Chaos is about to feed upon i self. As you left the 
  slaves to their fate, you could hear the cleric reading 
  off of his ancient scroll. As the last word fades a wave 
  of force slams into the area behind you. Even the 
  ground under your feet ripples! You can see orcs, 
  ogres and hill giants knocked to the ground as a 
  nimbus of white light appears in the air. There, 
  hanging from nothing, is the picture of an impossibly 
  beautiful winged creature. Is it a man? Is it a woman? 
  Who is to say! The picture moves and slowly becomes 
  real. With a single swing of its blade, it decapitates 
  the nearest giant. Then its wings beat and a horrible, 
  yet wonderful, THRUMMING fills the air. 
  Blood and Rain 
   
  Page 13 
  
   
   There is the loud sound of cracking stone from 
  the center of the orc encampment. Bursting from 
  chambers in the ziggurat, are beasts flying in your 
  direction! Death takes to the air… 
  APL 2 (EL 4)  
   Stirges (4): hp 5 each; See Monster Manual page 
  236.  
     Ogre Mage (1): hp 27; See Appendix 2 
  APL 4 (EL 6) 
   Stirges (8): hp 7 each; See Monster Manual page 46. 
     Ogre Mage (1): hp 39; See Appendix 2 
  APL 6 (EL 8) 
   Stirges (11): hp 8 each; See Monster Manual page 
  46. 
     Ogre Mage (1): hp 48; See Appendix 2 
  APL 8 (EL 10) 
   Fiendish Raven Swarms (3 dice) (3): hp 13 each; 
  See Appendix 1. 
   Stirges (12): hp 9 each; See Monster Manual page 
  46. 
     Ogre Mage (1): hp 53; See Appendix 2 
  APL 10 (EL 12) 
   Fiendish Raven Swarms (6 dice) (5): hp 13 each; 
  See Appendix 1. 
   Stirges (12): hp 10 each; See Monster Manual page 
  46. 
   Ogre Mage (1): hp 74; See Appendix 2  
  Tactics:  The ogre mage is the trainer for flying beasts in 
  this encampment. He is also a local controller for the 
  fiendish ravens encountered earlier. This ogre mage is a 
  cruel, megalomaniac of a beast and loves to use its 
  abilities as best it can to crush a foe, then move on to the 
  next. As such, the monsters will burst out of the ziggurat, 
  which is 60 feet from the barracks. They are ready for 
  blood and will go directly to the party. At APLs 2-8, the 
  monsters will tend to focus more on unarmored foes. The 
  ogre mage will use its abilities to try to attack by surprise 
  (going invisible if possible). It is not afraid of using its 
  cone of cold effect on the party, even it means catching 
  some of its allies in the blast. 
   
  At all levels, the stirges are a force to be reckoned 
  with. Their ability to drain constitution on a touch attack 
  is something the party will have to deal with quickly or 
  be severely weakened for the next encounter. 
   
  Finally, at the highest levels the fiendish raven 
  swarms return. They will do their best to hamper party 
  members not engaged by the stirges. 
  Development: After the monsters are dead, they can try 
  to flee the camp. If they simply run, they will have a 
  better position to fight encounter 9. If they take time to 
  heal, encounter 9 begins at a closer distance (see below).  
  Encounter 10 – The Last 
  Defense 
  Read or paraphrase the following: 
   
  The question of escaping the orc settlement still 
  hangs in the air. Sounds of violence – screams, arcane 
  shouts, and that still all pervasive THRUMMING 
  draw your attention back to the encampment. All of 
  the energies have cleared the mists, although the 
  drizzle is still in the air. The form in the middle of the 
  encampment, that horrible dagger thrusting itself 
  through the bosom of the earth, is a ziggurat nearly 
  50 ft high. At its top sits a stone statue of a marl th – 
  its upper half a seductively beautiful woman, its lower 
  half an obviously deadly snake. Her six arms hold 
  skulls. As you watch, the stone gains color and then, 
  and then there is a RATTLING in the air. Her tail 
  twitches and her arms draw deadly swords. With an 
  evil glint she begins to slide towards the planetar…
  i
   
   
   
  But you are note yet free. Between you and 
  freedom is a squadron of orcs. They must have come 
  back from a patrol at a time not exactly favorable to 
  your party. They grin wickedly as they notice you… 
  APL 2 (EL 4)  
   Orcs (4): hp 5 each; See Monster Manual page 203.  
   Worg (1): hp 30 each; See Monster Manual page 
  256. 
  APL 4 (EL 6) 
   Orcs (6): hp 5 each; See Monster Manual page 203. 
   Worgs (3): hp 30 each; See Monster Manual page 
  256. 
  APL 6 (EL 8) 
   Ogres (4): hp 29 each; See Monster Manual page 
  199. 
   Worgs (3): hp 30 each; See Monster Manual page 
  256. 
  APL 8 (EL 10) 
  Blood and Rain 
   
  Page 14 
  
   Hill Giants (2): hp 102 each; See Monster Manual 
  page 123. 
   Dire Wolf (4): hp 45 each; See Monster Manual 
  page 65. 
  APL 10 (EL 12) 
   Hill Giants (4): hp 102 each; See Monster Manual 
  page 123.  
   Winter Wolves (4): hp 51 each; See Monster 
  Manual page 256. 
  Tactics: The monsters are coming in from a patrol when 
  the fight breaks out in the camp. It is just the party’s bad 
  luck to be in their way. The monsters crest a hill 55 feet 
  away, or 110 feet away if the party did not take time to 
  heal in town (this is to avoid really pounding on a 
  damaged party). While the battle rages, there should be 
  signs that battle is starting to come the way of the party. 
  For example, describe a group of orcs approaching from 
  the encampment when the planetar hits them with a 
  flamestrike, killing them instantly. 
  Development: After the monsters are dead, the party can 
  make it to the top of the hill over looking the camp. They 
  can look back to see the planetar and the marilith 
  engaged in a horrible hand to hand battle. Her snake like 
  body is wrapped around the planetar, crushing him. He is 
  swinging at a blinding speed, deflecting her six swords. 
  The party can see the surviving prisoners rush forward 
  around a building then disappear from sight. Suddenly, a 
  thick black cloud (it is a fog cloud) obscures the scene of 
  battle. 
   
  The party is now free to escape. If they are dawdling, 
  then have encounters 8 and 9 start to spawn together 
  from the settlement and head their way (it won’t catch 
  up). Repeat as necessary until the party runs off…  
  Encounter 11 – Answers and 
  Questions 
  Be aware the party may have made it back to Gensal 
  without triggering the final encounter. In such a case, 
  they will NOT encounter the planetar. 
   
  Presuming they did fight the final encounters, the 
  party has journeyed off towards Gensal, or possibly the 
  last waypoint (describe the last Way Point as “a mass of 
  broken stones, scattered for a half mile in all directions”) 
   
  As the party travels, it will be intercepted by the 
  planetar. It teleports in and asks to speak with the party. 
  It has no name and is not interested in small talk. It will 
  tell them it fought as long as the cleric Joznan was alive. 
  When Joznan died, the magic binding it to the area died 
  with him and it was forced a few minutes later to return 
  to it own plane. However, it did manage to kill the 
  marlith before it left. After returning, it asked and 
  received permission from the higher powers to return 
  and grant the party “thanks” for freeing the cleric from its 
  bonds. It stares intently at the party for a minute and 
  then tells them it senses something about them, a 
  destiny, perhaps.  With their permission, it will attempt 
  to awaken this within them… Any who agree will be 
  brushed by its feathers of its right wing. Those who 
  disagree will suddenly feel cold, as if in a dark shadow. 
  Those touched receive “Prophecy!” on the AR. 
   
  After thanking them again, it leaves. As it fades away, 
  it tells the party to be wary of The Enemy. 
   
  The party may continue on their way to Gensal. 
   
  Once there, they may decide to confront Kruptan, or 
  refuse to turn over their notes to him. He cares not. They 
  can turn the notes over to who they will, but he will write 
  them up for their refusing to acknowledge his authority. 
  If they refuse to turn over the notes, they receive “The 
  Hand of Kruptan” on the AR. If they have the former 
  slaves with them, Kruptan will hear of it and insist on an 
  audience (as well as the notes the former slaves have been 
  talking about). 
   
  However, digging around will reveal that Kruptan 
  has an alibi. He was not assigned to this area until AFTER 
  the raid on Gensal. He claims to have been in Critwall 
  with Lord Natan Enerick’s forces during the initial 
  fighting. If the party wants to go to Critwall and 
  investigate further, they can. There they can find soldiers 
  who remember Kruptan being in Critwall when he was 
  promoted to Gensal, but none who actually remember 
  him during the fighting itself. If they turn the notes over 
  to Torkeep, or the original duty sergeant, they will be told 
  the matter of Kruptan will be investigated. 
  Conclusion 
  Read or paraphrase the following: 
  The affairs that came out of scouting the Gensal 
  region were not immediately revealed to the public. 
  However, as time went by, it was clear SOMETHING 
  occurred. A heavy contingent of Knights of Holy 
  Shielding, bolstered by members of the Arcanists 
  Society and the Church of Holy Shielding went to 
  Gensal. Not all of them returned, and those that did 
  refused to speak of what they found.  
   
  Word arrived that South Keep was giving an 
  excellent spear to each person of legal age that would 
  Blood and Rain 
   
  Page 15 
  
  move there to settle the fields near the Nyr Dyv. A 
  number o  families in Tent Town (the homeless 
  encampment outside of Critwal  took them up on 
  the offer. Additional word of an additional contingent 
  of soldiers, decked in new armor and bearing axes 
  from the Bright Sentry Armory headed off to bolster 
  Gensal. 
  f
  l)
   
   
   
  i
  l
   
  i
   
  Then, one day, a visitor appeared to you. It was 
  Loyan, Torkeep’s man. He told you the work you did 
  was impressive and some in the Shield Lands had 
  noticed. Some funds had been set aside, substantial 
  funds, by the way, by forces friendly to the party. It 
  was hoped these funds will assist the party in their 
  future efforts against evil. Further, in a recent battle, a 
  number of items of some small power were recovered. 
  You are offered an opportunity to purchase them 
  before they are offered for others. Clearly, your work 
  impressed someone!  
  What does the future bring 
  for the Shield Lands? Rain to wash away the blood of 
  the innocent? Or blood to stain the ground after a 
  fresh rain? Only time will tell…
  Epilogue: 
  It has been one month exactly since your first 
  encounter with the planetar. Something DID awaken 
  within you. You can tell. Something wonderful? Or 
  dreadful? You now get headaches, some numbingly 
  so. And then, one night you had your first dream of 
  prophecy…  It is a heavy rain-soaked street, at night, 
  in Critwall. You are floating above the streets. 
  Suddenly, your point of v ew shifts to reveal two 
  figures: One, for some reason, you KNOW is Lord 
  Enerick, the other you simply KNOW is Simen 
  Sharn. Simen is running from Enerick. Enerick yel s 
  he will see Simen dead! He finally catches up to 
  Simen and stabs h m. Simen lurches back, pulling the 
  sword from Enerick's grasp. Enerick grabs Simen 
  around the neck and begins to choke him. Wings of 
  blood appear beneath the boys form as his life is 
  choked from him. You can feel the blade in your 
  stomach and feel Enerick’s hands at your throat. The 
  scene goes black.  
  This concludes Blood and Rain. 
  Experience Point Summary 
  To award experience for this adventure, add up the values 
  for the objectives accomplished. Then assign the 
  experience award.  Award the total value (objectives plus 
  roleplaying) to each character. 
  Encounter 5 
  Defeat monsters 
  APL 2  
  60 XP 
  APL 4  
  120 XP 
  APL 6  
  180 XP 
  APL 8  
  240 XP 
  APL 10 
  300 XP 
  Encounter 6 
  Defeat monsters 
  ALL APLS  
  60 XP 
  Encounter 9  
  Defeat monsters 
  APL 2  
  120 XP 
  APL 4  
  180 XP 
  APL 6  
  240 XP 
  APL 8  
  300 XP 
  APL 10  
   
   
           360 XP 
  Encounter 10  
  Defeat monsters 
  APL 2  
  120 XP 
  APL 4  
  180 XP 
  APL 6  
  240 XP 
  APL 8  
  300 XP 
  APL 10  
   
   
           360 XP 
  Story Award 
  Objective met – The notes are retrieved: 
  APL 2  
  90 XP 
  APL 4  
  135 XP 
  APL 6  
  180 XP 
  APL 8  
  225 XP 
  APL 10 
  270 XP 
   
  Total Possible Experience: 
  APL 2  
  450 XP 
  APL 4  
  675 XP 
  Blood and Rain 
   
  Page 16 
  
  APL 6  
  900 XP 
  APL 8  
  1125 XP 
  APL 10 
  1350 XP 
  Treasure Summary 
  During an adventure, characters encounter treasure, 
  usually finding it in the possession of their foes.  Every 
  encounter that features treasure has a “treasure” section 
  within the encounter description, giving information 
  about the loot, coins, and magic items that make up the 
  encounter’s treasure. 
   
  The loot total is the number of gold pieces each 
  character gains if the foes are plundered of all their 
  earthly possessions.  Looting the bodies takes at least 10 
  minutes per every 5 enemies, and if the characters cannot 
  take the time to loot the bodies, they do not gain this 
  gold.  If you feel it is reasonable that characters can go 
  back to loot the bodies, and those bodies are there (i.e., 
  not carted off by dungeon scavengers, removed from the 
  scene by the local watch, and so on), characters may 
  return to retrieve loot.  If the characters do not loot the 
  body, the gold piece value for the loot is subtracted from 
  the encounter totals given below. 
   
  The coin total is the number of gold pieces each 
  character gains if they take the coin available.  A normal 
  adventuring party can usually gather this wealth in a 
  round or so.  If for some reason, they pass up this 
  treasure, the coin total is subtracted from the encounter 
  totals given below. 
   
  Next, the magic items are listed.  Magic item 
  treasure is the hardest to adjudicate, because they are 
  varied and because characters may want to use them 
  during the adventure.  Many times characters must cast 
  identify, analyze dweomer or similar spell to determine 
  what the item does and how to activate it.  Other times 
  they may attempt to use the item blindly.  If the magic 
  item is consumable (a potion, scroll, magic bolts, etc.) and 
  the item is used before the end of the adventure, its total 
  is subtracted from the adventure totals below. 
   
  Once you have subtracted the value for unclaimed 
  treasure from each encounter add it up and that is the 
  number of gold pieces a characters total and coin value 
  increase at the end of the adventure.  Write the total in 
  the GP Gained field of the adventure certificate.  Because 
  this is a Regional scenario, characters may spend 
  additional Time Units to practice professions or create 
  items immediately after the adventure so this total may 
  be modified by other circumstances. 
   
  Loot = Looted gear from enemy; Coin = Coin, Gems, 
  Jewelry, and other valuables; Magic = Magic Items. 
   
  Conclusion 
  APL 2: Coin: 300 gp 
  APL 4: Coin: 450 gp 
  APL 6: Coin: 600 gp 
  APL 8: Coin: 900 gp 
  APL 10: Coin: 1575 gp 
    
  Total Possible Treasure 
  APL 2: Coin: 300 gp 
  APL 4: Coin: 450 gp 
  APL 6: Coin: 600 gp 
  APL 8: Coin: 900 gp 
  APL 10: Coin: 1575 gp  
  Special 
  Prophecy!: You have had something awakened within 
  you by the planetar. Once an adventure, you may use an 
  augury at a caster level equal to your character level.  
  However, using this gift is painful, and you suffer a –2 
  penalty to all attack rolls, skill checks, and ability checks 
  for one hour following the gift’s use. You lose this gift 
  after 3 years. 
  Contact with Heironeous: You have had a peaceful 
  contact with an outsider, and also a direct representative 
  of Heironeous. This may affect your character. 
  Consideration for Promotion: If you are a member of 
  the Standing Army of the Shield Lands when you played 
  this adventure, you are treated as having 4 extra ranks in 
  Profession (soldier) for determining your rank in the 
  army. This benefit does not actually grant any ranks in 
  Profession (soldier). 
  Hand of Kruptan: Kruptan has learned you did not tell 
  him everything you found. He has spread word of what 
  he perceives as an “ankle-biting politically motivated 
  attitude”. You gain a -2 circumstance modifier on all 
  Charisma based checks when dealing with members of 
  the Standing Army of the Shield Lands. 
  Spoils of War: You have been granted a first shot at any 
  of the items listed on the AR below. All of the items have 
  a frequency of adventure except for the spears (see 
  Blood and Rain 
   
  Page 17 
  
  Shallowrose Spears). You may only purchase one of any 
  given item (i.e., only one wand of bless). 
  Shallowrose Spears: You have access to both a +2 spear 
  as well as a +1 orc bane spear of any legal form listed in 
  the Player’s Handbook (i.e., short, long, etc.) made from 
  normal materials. This access is regional. 
  Items for the Adventure 
  Record 
  Item Access 
  APL 2: 
  • 
  Wand of Bless (CL 1) (Adventure; DMG; 750 gp) 
   
  APL 4 (all of APL 2 plus the following): 
  • 
  Wand of Hold Person (Adventure; DMG; 4,500 gp) 
  • 
  Wand of Melf’s Acid Arrow (Adventure; DMG; 4,500 
  gp) 
  • 
  Arcane Scroll of Cloudkill (Adventure; DMG 1,125) 
  • 
  +1 Chain Shirt of Silent Moves (Adventure; DMG; 
  5,000 gp) 
   
  APL 6 (all of APLs 2-4 plus the following): 
  • 
  Ring of Protection +2 (Adventure; DMG; 8,000 gp) 
  • 
  Potion of Heroism (Adventure; DMG 750 gp) 
   
  APL 8 (all of APLs 2-4 plus the following): 
  • 
  Bracers of Armor +3 (Adventure; DMG 9,000 gp) 
   
  APL 10 (all of APLs 2-4 plus the following): 
  • 
  Adamantine Battleaxe (Adventure; DMG; 3,010 gp) 
  • 
  Ring of Spellstoring, Minor (Adventure; DMG; 
  18,000 gp) 
   
   
  Blood and Rain 
   
  Page 18 
  
   Appendix One – New Monsters 
  Fiendish Raven Swarm (3 Dice) 
  Tiny Magical Beast Swarm 
  Hit Dice: 3d8 (13 hps) 
  Initiative: +2 
  Speed: 5 ft., fly 40 ft. (good) 
  Armor Class: 16 (+4 size, +2 dex), touch 14, flat-footed 12 
  Base Attack/Grapple: +2/- 
  Attack: Swarm (1d6) 
  Full Attack: Swarm (1d6) 
  Space/Reach: 10 ft./0 ft. (Shapeable) 
  Special Attacks: Distraction, smite good, wounding 
  Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., half damage from slashing and piercing, low-light vision, resistance cold/fire 5, 
  spell resistance 8, swarm traits 
  Saves: Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +3 
  Abilities: Str 3, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 4, Wis 14, Cha 6 
  Skills: Listen +11, Spot +11 
  Feats: Alertness, Extended Reach, Lightning Reflexes 
  Environment: Lands of Iuz 
  Organization: Solitary, flight (2-4 swarms), or colony (11-20 swarms) 
  Challenge Rating: 2 
  Treasure: None 
  Alignment: Chaotic Evil 
  Level Adjustment: - 
  A fiendish raven swarm is a murder of hundreds of ravens suddenly joining together with an almost evil thirst for 
  blood. 
  Combat: 
  A raven swarm will surround and attack any warm-blooded prey it encounters. The swarm deals its swarm damage (1d6) 
  to any creature whose space it occupies at the end of its movement. The swarm also deals this to any creature occupying 
  a space next to it at the end of its movement due to its extended reach (See below) (basically, the swarm of ravens is a 
  flurry of activity and any adjacent to the swarm will take damage as the ravens mob about the space they are in. 
  Smite Good (SU): Once per day the fiendish raven swarm may deal 3 extra hit points to a single good foe that it can 
  attack that round. 
  Distraction (EX): Any living creature that begins its turn with a swarm in its space must succeed on a DC 11 Fortitude 
  save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based. 
  Wounding (EX): Any living creature damaged by a raven swarm continues to bleed, losing 1 hit point per round 
  thereafter. Multiple wounds do not result in cumulative bleeding loss. The bleeding can be stopped on a DC 10 Heal 
  check or the application of a cure spell or some other healing magic. 
  Extended Reach: (From Savage Species page 34) Your flexible body allows you to reach farther than normal. 
  Prerequisite: small or larger size, nonrigid body or a nonrigid attack form such as a tentacle, feeler, or psuedopod. 
  Benefit: Your body or a part of your body with which you can deliver a melee attack is boneless and flexible, allowing 
  you to threaten a larger than normal area with melee attacks. Add +5 to your normal reach. 
   
   
  Blood and Rain 
   
  Page 19 
  
  Fiendish Raven Swarm (6 Dice) 
  Tiny Animal Swarm 
  Hit Dice: 6d8 (27 hps) 
  Initiative: +2 
  Speed: 5 ft., fly 40 ft. (good) 
  Armor Class: 16 (+4 size, +2 dex), touch 14, flat-footed 12 
  Base Attack/Grapple: +2/- 
  Attack: Swarm (2d6) 
  Full Attack: Swarm (2d6) 
  Space/Reach: 10 ft./0 ft. (Shapeable) 
  Special Attacks: Distraction, smite good, wounding 
  Special Qualities: Damage resistance 5/magic, darkvision 60 ft., half damage from slashing and piercing, low-light 
  vision, resistance cold/fire 5, spell resistance 11, swarm traits 
  Saves: Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +5 
  Abilities: Str 3, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 4, Wis 14, Cha 6 
  Skills: Listen +11, Spot +11 
  Feats: Alertness, Extended Reach, Lightning Reflexes 
  Environment: Lands of Iuz 
  Organization: Solitary, flight (2-4 swarms), or colony (11-20 swarms) 
  Challenge Rating: 5 
  Treasure: None 
  Alignment: Chaotic Evil 
  Level Adjustment: - 
  A raven swarm is a murder of hundreds of ravens suddenly joining together with an almost evil thirst for blood. 
  Combat: 
  A raven swarm will surround and attack any warm-blooded prey it encounters. The swarm deals its swarm damage (2d6) 
  to any creature whose space it occupies at the end of its movement. The swarm also deals this to any creature occupying 
  a space next to it at the end of its movement due to its extended reach (basically, the swarm of ravens is a flurry of 
  activity and any adjacent to the swarm will take damage as the ravens mob about the space they are in. 
  Smite Good (SU): Once per day the fiendish raven swarm may deal 6 extra hit points to a single good foe that it can 
  attack that round. 
  Distraction (EX): Any living creature that begins its turn with a swarm in its space must succeed on a DC 11 Fortitude 
  save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based. 
  Wounding (EX): Any living creature damaged by a raven swarm continues to bleed, losing 2 hit points per round 
  thereafter. Multiple wounds do not result in cumulative bleeding loss. The bleeding can be stopped on a DC 10 Heal 
  check or the application of a cure spell or some other healing magic. 
  Extended Reach: (From Savage Species page 34) Your flexible body allows you to reach farther than normal. 
  Prerequisite: small or larger size, nonrigid body or a nonrigid attack form such as a tentacle, feeler, or psuedopod. 
  Benefit: Your body or a part of your body with which you can deliver a melee attack is boneless and flexible, allowing 
  you to threaten a larger than normal area with melee attacks. Add +5 to your normal reach. 
   
   
   
   
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  Fiendish Raven Swarm (9 Dice) 
  Tiny Animal Swarm 
  Hit Dice: 9d8 (41 hps) 
  Initiative: +2 
  Speed: 5 ft., fly 40 ft. (good) 
  Armor Class: 16 (+4 size, +2 dex), touch 14, flat-footed 12 
  Base Attack/Grapple: +2/- 
  Attack: Swarm (3d6) 
  Full Attack: Swarm (3d6) 
  Space/Reach: 10 ft./0 ft. (Shapeable) 
  Special Attacks: Distraction, smite good, wounding 
  Special Qualities: Damage resistance 5/magic, darkvision 60 ft., half damage from slashing and piercing, low-light 
  vision, resistance cold/fire 10, spell resistance 14, swarm traits 
  Saves: Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +6 
  Abilities: Str 3, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 4, Wis 14, Cha 6 
  Skills: Listen +11, Spot +11 
  Feats: Alertness, Extended Reach, Lightning Reflexes 
  Environment: Lands of Iuz 
  Organization: Solitary, flight (2-4 swarms), or colony (11-20 swarms) 
  Challenge Rating: 7 
  Treasure: None 
  Alignment: Chaotic Evil 
  Level Adjustment: - 
  A raven swarm is a murder of hundreds of ravens suddenly joining together with an almost evil thirst for blood. 
  Combat: 
  A raven swarm will surround and attack any warm-blooded prey it encounters. The swarm deals its swarm damage (3d6) 
  to any creature whose space it occupies at the end of its movement. The swarm also deals this to any creature occupying 
  a space next to it at the end of its movement due to its extended reach (basically, the swarm of ravens is a flurry of 
  activity and any adjacent to the swarm will take damage as the ravens mob about the space they are in. 
  Smite Good (SU): Once per day the fiendish raven swarm may deal 9 extra hit points to a single good foe that it can 
  attack that round. 
  Distraction (EX): Any living creature that begins its turn with a swarm in its space must succeed on a DC 11 Fortitude 
  save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based. 
  Wounding (EX): Any living creature damaged by a raven swarm continues to bleed, losing 3 hit points per round 
  thereafter. Multiple wounds do not result in cumulative bleeding loss. The bleeding can be stopped on a DC 10 Heal 
  check or the application of a cure spell or some other healing magic. 
  Extended Reach: (From Savage Species page 34) Your flexible body allows you to reach farther than normal. 
  Prerequisite: small or larger size, nonrigid body or a nonrigid attack form such as a tentacle, feeler, or psuedopod. 
  Benefit: Your body or a part of your body with which you can deliver a melee attack is boneless and flexible, allowing 
  you to threaten a larger than normal area with melee attacks. Add +5 to your normal reach. 
   
   
   
   
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  APPENDIX 2 – ENCOUNTER TABLES 
  APL 2 
  Encounter Eight 
   
   
   
   
  Ogre Mage: CR 2; Medium Giant; HD 3d8+9; hp 27; 
  Init +4 (Improved Initiative); Spd 40 ft., fly 40 ft. 
  (good); AC 16, touch 10, flat-footed 16 (+0 dex, +2 
  natural armor, +4 chain shirt); Base Atk/Grp: +2/+5; 
  Atk +4  (1d10+4, greatsword) or +2 ranged (1d8, 
  longbow); Full Atk +5 melee (1d10+4, greatsword) or 
  +2 ranged (1d8, longbow); Space/Reach: 5ft./5ft.; SA: 
  Spell-like abilities; SQ Darkvision 60 ft., regeneration 
  (reattachment); AL CE; SV Fort +6, Ref +1, Will +4; Str 
  16, Dex 10, Con 17, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 16. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Concentration +8, Listen +4, 
  Spellcraft +4, Spot +4; Improved Initiative, Iron Will. 
   
  Spell-like Abilities: Caster Level 7; (DC = 13 + spell 
  level); charm person 1/day, sleep 1/day, darkness 
  1/day, invisibility 1/day 
   
  Possessions: greatsword, longbow 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
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  APL4 
  Encounter Eight 
   
   
   
   
  Ogre Mage: CR 4; Medium Giant; HD 4d8+16; hp 39; 
  Init +4 (Improved Initiative); Spd 40 ft., fly 40 ft. 
  (good); AC 18, touch 10, flat-footed 18 (+0 dex, +4 
  natural armor, +4 chain shirt); Base Atk/Grp: +3/+7; 
  Atk +7  (1d10+6, greatsword) or +3 ranged (1d8, 
  longbow); Full Atk +7 melee (1d10+6, greatsword) or 
  +3 ranged (1d8, longbow); Space/Reach: 5ft./5ft.; SA: 
  Spell-like abilities; SQ Darkvision 60 ft., regeneration 1, 
  spell resistance 14; AL CE; SV Fort +7, Ref +1, Will +5; 
  Str 18, Dex 10, Con 19, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 16. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Concentration +8, Listen +6, 
  Spellcraft +6, Spot +6; Improved Initiative, Iron Will. 
   
  Spell-like Abilities: Caster Level 8; (DC = 13 + spell 
  level); charm person 1/day, sleep 1/day, darkness 
  3/day, 
  invisibility 
  3/day, 
  gaseous 
  form 
  1/day, 
  polymorph self 1/day  
   
  Possessions: greatsword, longbow 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
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  APL 6 
  Encounter Eight 
   
   
   
   
  Ogre Mage: CR 6; Large Giant; HD 5d8+20; hp 48; Init 
  +4 (Improved Initiative); Spd 40 ft., fly 40 ft. (good); AC 
  18, touch 10, flat-footed 18 (+0 dex, -1 size, +5 natural 
  armor, +4 chain shirt); Base Atk/Grp: +3/+8; Atk +7 
  (3d6+7, greatsword) or +2 ranged (2d6, longbow); Full 
  Atk +7 melee (3d6+7, greatsword) or +2 ranged (2d6, 
  longbow); Space/Reach: 10ft./10ft.; SA: Spell-like 
  abilities; SQ Darkvision 60 ft., regeneration 1, spell 
  resistance 20; AL CE; SV Fort +7, Ref +1, Will +5; Str 
  20, Dex 10, Con 19, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 16. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Concentration +11, Listen +6, 
  Spellcraft +6, Spot +6; Improved Initiative, Iron Will. 
   
  Spell-like Abilities: Caster Level 9; (DC = 13 + spell 
  level); charm person 1/day, sleep 1/day, darkness at 
  will, invisibility at will, gaseous form 1/day, polymorph 
  self 1/day, cone of cold 1/day. 
   
  Possessions: greatsword, longbow 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
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  APL 8 
  Encounter Eight 
   
   
   
   
  Ogre Mage: CR 8; Large Giant; HD 5d8+25; hp 53; Init 
  +4 (Improved Initiative); Spd 40 ft., fly 40 ft. (good); AC 
  18, touch 10, flat-footed 18 (+0 dex, -1 size, +5 natural 
  armor, +4 chain shirt); Base Atk/Grp: +3/+8; Atk +8 
  (3d6+9, greatsword) or +2 ranged (2d6, longbow); Full 
  Atk +8 melee (3d6+9, greatsword) or +2 ranged (2d6, 
  longbow); Space/Reach: 10ft./10ft.; SA: Spell-like 
  abilities; SQ Darkvision 60 ft., regeneration 2, spell 
  resistance 18; AL CE; SV Fort +7, Ref +1, Will +5; Str 
  22, Dex 10, Con 21, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 18. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Concentration +11, Listen +6, 
  Spellcraft +6, Spot +6; Improved Initiative, Iron Will. 
   
  Spell-like Abilities: Caster Level 9; (DC = 14 + spell 
  level); charm person 1/day, sleep 1/day, darkness at 
  will, invisibility at will, gaseous form 1/day, polymorph 
  self 1/day, cone of cold 1/day. 
   
  Possessions: greatsword, longbow 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
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  APL 10 
  Encounter Eight 
   
   
   
   
  Ogre Mage: CR 10; Large Giant, Fighter 2; HD 5d8+25 
  (Ogre Mage), 2d10+10 (Fighter); hp 75; Init +4 
  (Improved Initiative); Spd 40 ft., fly 40 ft. (good); AC 
  18, touch 10, flat-footed 18 (+0 dex, -1 size, +5 natural 
  armor, +4 chain shirt); Base Atk/Grp: +5/+10; Atk +11 
  (3d6+9, greatsword) or +2 ranged (2d6, longbow); Full 
  Atk +11 melee (3d6+9, greatsword) or +2 ranged (2d6, 
  longbow); Space/Reach: 10ft./10ft.; SA: Spell-like 
  abilities; SQ Darkvision 60 ft., regeneration 2, spell 
  resistance 20; AL CE; SV Fort +10, Ref +1, Will +5; Str 
  22, Dex 10, Con 21, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 18. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Concentration +13, Handle 
  Animal +6, Listen +6, Spellcraft +6, Spot +6; Improved 
  Initiative, Iron Will, Weapon Focus Greatsword, 
  Ability Focus (Cone of Cold). 
   
  Spell-like Abilities: Caster Level 9; (DC = 14 + spell 
  level, 16 + spell level for cone of cold); charm person 
  1/day, sleep 1/day, darkness at will, invisibility at will, 
  gaseous form 1/day, polymorph self 1/day, cone of cold 
  1/day. 
   
  Possessions: greatsword, longbow 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
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  Appendix Three – Map of the Encampment 
    
  The above map is not intended to be ALL of the encampment by any means.  It is merely intended to give an idea of 
  what the part of the encampment the party is encountering is like. 
   
  The distance from the Ziggurat to the closest edge of the slave’s quarters is about 60 feet. 
   
  If the party insists on exploring the encampment, they do so at their peril. The referee is free to make up any suitable 
  buildings/details, etc. The goal is to discourage exploration, rather than force an encounter that is not suitable. If the 
  party DOES force an encounter, then ALL of the monsters listed at APL 2 through 10 of encounters 6, 8 and 9 can be 
  encountered at once.  The party should be encouraged to flee, rather than fight.  
   
   
   
   
   
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  Player Handout #1 
  The following is considered common knowledge, more or less…. 
   
  The Shield Lands were nearly destroyed by two things: the Evil of Iuz, and the elite attitude of the Shield Lands’ 
  Council of Lords. By refusing the aid of Furyondy, the Shield Landers found themselves woefully outnumbered and 
  quickly pushed off of the continent by Iuz’s armies. However, time and dedication, honor and blood bought back inch 
  by inch of precious land. Nearly two decades since the war started, and now the Shield Lands owns much it once had 
  lost. 
   
  Bright Sentry is an island ruled by Lord Natan Enerick. He is only an acting lord until his ward, young Simen Sharn, 
  can be put into power. Simen is barely 14 and is now eligible to sit on the council in a “training” status, so to speak. At 
  16, he can be sworn in if deemed worthy. 
   
  Critwall is the new capital. It has swollen with population and many of its citizens live in “tent town” outside its main 
  city walls.  It is where Castle Critwall is located, as well as the Council of Lords. The Council is ruled by Lady Katarina. 
  Two years ago, she died. But due to some heroic deeds, her soul was recovered and she lives again. She is immensely 
  popular with most of the Shield Lands.  
   
  South Keep is the shining example of the Shield Lands. The Soldiers of the Standing Army, the adventurers, the local 
  citizens: all have banded together to form a staunch bulwark against Iuz, as well as reopen an excellent trading center. 
   
  Torkeep is the realm of Lord Torkeep. He is quite the bear of a man who is fiercely loyal to Lady Katarina. 
  His attitude has angered many in the council who see him as to militaristic. But, as he would say “How can one be TOO 
  militaristic during wartime?” 
   
  Gensal. You don’t want to live here. It was recently liberated from Iuz, rebuilt, only to be destroyed and liberated again. 
  It is the source of a LOT of rebuilding activity, once again. 
   
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Living Greyhawk/Modules/Shield Lands/596/Normal Scenarios/SHL6-01 - Blood and Rain (APL 2-10)/SHL6-01 - Blood and Rain.pdf