TEXT:  
  
   
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  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! 
  A Dungeons & Dragons 5e adventure for 
  three to five characters of levels 5-8
  Credits 
   
  Design: Tim Bannock 
   
  Editing: Ken Carcas 
   
  Cover & Interior Art: Patrick E. Pullen 
   
  Graphic Design Elements: Elena Naylor 
   
  Western Heartlands Cartography Stock Art © Derek Ruiz / 
  Elven Tower Cartography 
   
  Cartography by Dyson Logos is licensed under a Creative 
  Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 
   
  Level 1 - The Water Laboratory map based on "The 
  Corrupted Water Temple" 
   
  Level 2 - Controls & the Fire Laboratory map based on 
  "ReQuasqueton" 
   
  Level 3 - Sky Lab map based on "Lino's Islands in the 
  Sky” 
   
  Special Thanks 
  Thanks to Dyson Logos and all of their Patreon supporters for 
  the amazing commercially available maps.  
   
  Special thanks to the creators and the many folks involved in 
  the MYST franchise of video games. 
   
  Change Log 
  V1 – 6/29/2017 
  V2 – 3/21/2018: Updated layout 
  Table of Contents 
  Introduction to Mayhem 
  1 
  Adventure Background 
  1 
  Adventure Summary 
  2 
  Encounters 
  2 
  Hooks 
  4 
  Chapter 1: Victims 
  6 
  A. Margrim Abbey 
  7 
  B. Olea Village 
  9 
  C. Journey to XK-247 
  10 
  D. Facility XK-247 
  11 
  Chapter 2: Level 1 – The Water Laboratory 
  12 
  Chapter 3: Level 2 – Controls & the Fire Laboratory 
  26 
  Chapter 4: Level 3 – Sky Lab 
  37 
  Chapter 5: Concluding the Adventure 
  44 
  Appendix: Monster & NPC Summaries 
  45 
  Quest Cards 
  46 
  Maps: Marked & Unmarked 
  47 
   
  
   
   
   
   
  1 
  Introduction to Mayhem
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem is a Dungeons & Dragons 
  5e adventure for three to five characters of levels 5-8 (tier 
  2). It is primarily set in a modron-designed research 
  facility that has been abandoned by its creators but 
  retains guardians that are still active. Additionally, two 
  groups have broken into the facility with their own goals 
  in mind; the githyanki and their red dragon cohort are 
  antagonistic and provide the main source of combat in 
  this adventure, while a modron traveling with a few 
  mephits may prove friendly although ultimately 
  troublesome. 
    
  Players should be interested in exploration and 
  interaction as much as they are combat for this 
  adventure to truly sing. A great deal of the research 
  facility’s charm is in pushing buttons, pulling levers, and 
  otherwise utilizing various anachronistic controls to 
  gain an advantage over other interlopers in the facility. 
  There are several NPCs that have interesting motives 
  and can prove to be helpful or harmful -- even if 
  unintentionally so -- and thus it might prove valuable to 
  understand the Social Interaction rules in the Dungeon 
  Master’s Guide. Wherever applicable, personality traits 
  have been provided with the monsters and NPCs not 
  only for roleplaying purposes, but to get the most use out 
  of those Social Interaction ability checks. 
   
  Adventure Background 
  Faerun is riddled with portals leading to other planes of 
  existence, and its inherent magical energies make it an 
  ideal location for experimentation of many kinds. It 
  became a place of interest for the clockwork race of 
  modrons from Mechanus, and thus they established a 
  facility for studying elemental energies and their effect 
  on some locals: this mountaintop facility was designated 
  XK-247. 
    
  The “locals” were a tribe of flumphs calling themselves 
  the Olea. Their unique psychic nature made studying 
  their reactions to various elemental effects quite 
  interesting, but they also would eventually cause the 
  leader of the modron facility -- the pentadrone called 
  Alpha-9 -- to realize the extent of societal damage these 
  intentionally amoral experiments caused. Although 
  Alpha-9 didn’t really learn much about the morality of 
  these acts, it did understand how the negative 
  consequences of loss deeply affected the entire tribe, and 
  so it shut down the facility abruptly, taking its modron 
  brethren back to Mechanus. 
   
  WARNING! 
   
  This adventure features a great deal of complexity 
  due to the interconnected machinery and functions 
  of many areas within the dungeon, sometimes 
  spanning multiple levels. DMs will want to read 
  through the entire adventure, and consider making 
  notes on printed copies of the maps in order to best 
  understand how different areas interact with each 
  other. Additionally, there are many NPCs, each with 
  their own history and motives. Some may work with 
  the characters, some may work against them, and in 
  many cases common ground may be found for a 
  short time, but perhaps not all the way up until the 
  conclusion of the adventure. DMs can ignore 
  anything that overly complicates the adventure if 
  they wish to make things more straightforward, but 
  are encouraged to use this as a way to add 
  interesting roleplaying scenes, as well as the 
  potential for betrayal. 
   
  In the wake of this sudden realization and the following 
  abandonment of the facility, different sorts of 
  consequences lingered. The first was that the flumphs 
  were freed but horribly scarred by their experiences. The 
  second was that the planar guardians -- the automated 
  defense mechanism within XK-247 -- were left behind 
  and bound to the place but with nothing left to protect. 
  The final problem was that the facility left behind a 
  notorious reputation installed in the few inhabitants of 
  the surrounding wilderness, and although that would 
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  2 
  scare off many, there are always those that are attracted 
  by tales of hauntings and abandoned lairs. 
    
  Just before the player characters make their way to XK-
  247 for reasons you’ll soon see, two other parties have 
  become interested in the facility. One is a rogue modron 
  who seeks to repent and rejoin its fellows in the light of 
  Primus’ good graces. It travels with a band of mephits 
  that it has decided need returning to their home in the 
  Elemental Chaos, and it has come to XK-247 to access the 
  elemental magic there to achieve this end, hoping that 
  other modrons will take notice and it will no longer 
  carry its rogue status. The second group -- and far more 
  sinister in their ambitions -- is a band of githyanki that 
  have been alerted by a traitorous mephit within the 
  rogue modron’s party (such as it is) and have found a 
  way to turn XK-247 into a means of laying waste to a 
  nearby settlement of their most hated enemies: the 
  githzerai descendants of the guardians of the facility 
  who have long ago settled into an abbey at the foot of the 
  mountain. 
   
  Adventure Summary 
  The player characters arrive at Margrim Abbey, a 
  settlement primarily made up of githzerai monks who 
  came to the region a few generations ago and have 
  carved out a small niche for themselves that is remote 
  enough so as not to be pulled into the conflicts of the 
  surrounding lands: the High Moor, the Serpent Kingdom 
  of Najara, and Elturgard. They find that there is trouble: 
  the river that once provided plenty of water for the 
  abbey is running dry, and a red dragon taking roost in 
  the mountains has prevented the githzerai from 
  mounting a successful expedition to discover the reason 
  for the river’s sudden change into a mere trickle. 
    
  Climbing the mountain, the party stumbles upon a 
  ruined village inhabited by a small tribe of flumphs, 
  their social structure dominated by the paranoid 
  psychology of people who were tortured and cut off from 
  the larger world around them. Through the flumphs, 
  they learn a little of what XK-247 might hold, and make 
  their way to the facility, expecting it to be largely 
  abandoned. Instead, they find an occupying force of 
  githyanki, their red dragon ally, and a small band of 
  troublemakers in the form of a rogue modron 
  accompanied by mephits. 
    
  Hilarity -- or at the very least, chaos -- ensues. 
   
  Encounters 
  The following tables and lists should help in preparing to 
  run this adventure. They include an index of all 
  monsters that appear in the adventure, as well as an 
  index of all the important NPC’s, their pertinent traits, 
  and a quick description to help you recall their role in 
  the adventure at a glance. All monsters and NPCs are 
  detailed in the Monsters & NPCs appendix. 
   
  Encounter Index 
  The following encounters appear in this adventure: 
   
  Margrim Abbey 
   Githzerai monks x1d6 
   Githzerai guards x8 
   Githzerai veterans x6 
   Lokas (githzerai zerth) 
   Karmone (githzerai monk) 
   Enoren (githzerai knight) 
   
  Olea Village 
   Aliannafrey (flumph) 
   Digger (flumph) 
   Scar One-Eye (flumph) 
   Flumphs x18 
   
  Level 1 - The Water Laboratory 
   D1-2B. Animated armor x2, flying swords x3 
   D1-3. Iron golem (CR reduced to 4) 
   D1-5. Githyanki warrior x1, githyanki scout x4, 
  displacer beast x1 
   D1-6. Electrical pillar trap 
   D1-7. Water weird (50% chance) 
   D1-10. Githyanki warrior x1, githyanki scout x2 
   D1-11. Roguelike (rogue quadrone) 
  
   
   
   
   
  3 
   D1-12. Githyanki warrior x1, displacer beast x1 
   D1-13. Iggylack Barnburner (magma mephit), 
  Smurdge and Slish (mud mephits) 
   D1-14. Phase spider x2 
   D1-18. Water weird x1 
   D1-19. Tama-Hanesh (couatl) 
   
  Level 2 - Controls & the Fire Laboratory 
   D2-2. Gelatinous cube x1, githyanki warriors x2, 
  githyanki scout x1 
   D2-3. Swarm of insects x3 
   D2-4. Gelatinous cube x1 
   D2-9. Laren'nir (mage), Canker (smoke mephit), 
  githyanki warrior x1, githyanki scout x2 
   D2-10. Githyanki warrior x1d4 
   D2-11. Githyanki warrior x1d4 
   D2-12. Vaasa (githyanki knight), will-o-wisp x1 
   D2-13. Shield guardian x1 
   D2-19. Magmin x1d4+1 
   D2-21. Magmin x4, fire elemental x1 
   
  Level 3 - Sky Lab 
   D3-2. Githyanki warriors x2 
   D3-3. Githyanki warriors x2, githyanki scout x1 
   D3-5. Githyanki warriors x1d4, githyanki scout 
  x1d4+1 
   D3-6. The Watcher (treant) 
   D3-8. Air elementals x2 
   D3-13. Roper x1, vine blight x1d4, needle blight 
  x2d6, twig blight x2d6 
   D3-15. Fyngalaxus (young red dragon) 
   
  GLASSTEEL 
   
  One of the materials that the modrons utilize in the 
  construction of various parts of their facility -- 
  viewports, the elevator, among others -- is a 
  substance called glassteel. It is a magical substance 
  that appears see-through like glass (and can be 
  colored like glass to make it opaque), but an inch-
  thick pane of the material is as hard as foot-thick 
  steel. Keep this in mind in case characters or 
  monsters seek to damage a glassteel structure. 
  NPC Index 
  The following named NPC’s appear in this adventure. 
  This listed is sorted in sub headers by location (i.e. 
  Facility XK-247) and then in alphabetical order. The 
  typical listing follows this format: 
   
  NPC FORMAT 
   
  NPC Name (ALIGNMENT gender race/class/stat 
  block [source goes in brackets if not from the 
  Monster Manual]; personality traits; stat block 
  modification notes). Brief descriptive text about the 
  NPC’s role in the adventure. 
    
  Margrim Abbey 
   Enoren (LN female githzerai knight; dutiful, 
  trusting, demanding). Chief protector of 
  Margrim Abbey. 
   Karmone (LN female githzerai monk; strong-
  willed, courageous, rash). A fiery, willful monk 
  at the monastery. 
   Lokas (LN male githzerai zerth; peaceful, proud, 
  short-sighted). The pacifistic religious leader of 
  the githzerai monks. 
   
  The Flumphs 
   Aliannafrey (LG flumph; zealous, paranoid, 
  incorrigible). The spiritual leader of the flumph 
  tribe called The Olea; paranoid of the outside 
  world. 
   Digger (CG flumph; resourceful, impatient, 
  rowdy). A rebellious flumph who hopes to 
  destroy XK-247 and bring freedom and healing 
  to his fellows. 
   Scar One-Eye (N flumph; forgetful, droll, 
  insecure). A flumph that can no longer die of old 
  age, but who is horribly scarred by the tests 
  performed on him at XK-247. 
   
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  4 
  The Githyanki 
   Fyngalaxus (CE male young red dragon; 
  petulant, angry). This childish, rage-filled dragon 
  is utterly obsessed with Vaasa, whom he calls 
  “my Queen.” 
   Laren’nir (LE male githyanki mage; verbose, 
  creepy; increase CR to 7 [2900 XP]). A potent 
  spellcaster among the githyanki, and former 
  master of the smoke mephit named Canker. 
   Vaasa (LE female githyanki knight; 
  megalomaniac, fast-thinker). Leader of the 
  githyanki occupation force. 
   
  Facility XK-247 
   Alpha-9 (LN pentadrone; wise, passive). Alpha-9 
  is the modron originally in charge of XK-247. 
   Tama-Hanesh (LG couatl; cunning, strategist, 
  bored). This couatl was bound to XK-247 by the 
  modrons as their primary guardian, and chafes 
  at being left to protect an abandoned 
  installation. 
   
  Modrons & Mephits 
   Canker (NE smoke mephit; vengeful, sneaky). A 
  smoke mephit formerly the familiar of Laren’nir, 
  who is now obsessed with pleasing the githyanki 
  mage. 
   Iggylack Barnburner (NE magma mephit; 
  unpredictable, nervous). This mephit cares 
  nothing for returning to the Elemental Chaos, 
  but instead looks for every opportunity to cause 
  trouble. 
   Roguelike (N rogue quadrone; naive, curious, 
  honorable; as a rogue quadrone, Roguelike 
  removes the Axiomatic Mind trait). Roguelike 
  seeks repentance in the eyes of Primus, but often 
  lacks forethought, and no longer has a place 
  within the strict hierarchy of modron society. 
   Smurdge and Slish (NE mud mephits; crass, 
  cowardly). Creepy “brother and sister” mephits 
  who long to return to the Elemental planes. 
   
  Hooks 
  Many things might bring the party to the region of 
  Margrim Abbey. We have included Quest Cards at the 
  end for printing or copying, cutting them out, writing 
  them on index cards, or however you’d like, and using 
  them as handouts for the players to keep track of in-
  character information. Additionally, you can use these 
  hooks as rumors -- regardless of faction allegiance or 
  background -- and present them well ahead of running 
  this adventure as rumors and stories the characters hear 
  in local watering holes or among fellow adventurers. 
    
  The Githzerai Monastery. Although insular, the 
  githzerai of Margrim Abbey occasionally send envoys to 
  trade at Boareskyr Bridge or elsewhere in the northern 
  reaches of Elturgard. As they primarily concentrate on 
  their own enlightenment and practice pacifism, the 
  serpents of Najara rarely have dealings with them. That 
  said, none can escape the raids of goblinoids and orcs 
  that come down from the moor, and thus it might be that 
  the players come to Margrim Abbey seeking work as 
  sellswords, or on the heels of some goblinoid criminal. 
  Otherwise, it could be that the player characters simply 
  seek to learn from the monks, to understand what 
  secrets the fundamental teachings of Zerth might 
  provide. 
    
  The Haunted Pass. A few mountains sprout up along the 
  southern edge of the High Moor, and one is very tall and 
  known for the clean, cool waters that melt off it most of 
  the year. But it is equally as well known for rumors 
  among men and goblins for the strange fortress located 
  there, protected by clockwork guardians and elemental 
  monstrosities. What mad architect created this place? 
  What worlds can be reached by the elemental vortices 
  sure to be found here? What treasures remain under the 
  protection of the bizarre guardians? 
    
  Veterans of the War Against the Serpents. Elturgard 
  casts a leery eye at the so-called Serpent Kingdom of 
  Najara, knowing full well that the Forest of Wyrms hides 
  slave operations and vile cults dedicated to dark powers. 
  Sorties range out from Boareskyr Bridge and other 
  
   
   
   
   
  5 
  nearby towns to test the border strength of this region, 
  and it may be that the player characters are soldiers or 
  freeswords that have been beaten back by yuan-ti, nagas, 
  lizardfolk, or even young, raging dragons that haunt the 
  wood. Finding solace and food at Margrim Abbey is one 
  of the few places one can go and not expect immediate 
  reprisal, though the monks want nothing to do with 
  harboring criminals or enemies of either foreign power.
   
   
   
   
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  6 
  Chapter 1: Victims 
  This adventure takes place on the southern edge of the 
  High Moor, where a few mountains rest above the 
  foothills and forest of the so-called Kingdom of Najara, a 
  place primarily controlled by yuan-ti, nagas, and other 
  serpent creatures. Just south of this region is the realm of 
  Elturgard, though there are few roads or paths that 
  would bring folk from that area in as visitors, save for 
  patrols from Boareskyr Bridge that cautiously probe the 
  Forest of Wyrms. 
    
  The map depicts the following locations, described 
  throughout this chapter: 
  A. Margrim Abbey. The githzerai monastery. 
  B. 
  Olea Village. An ancient, ruined village where the 
  flumphs that were experimented on at XK-247 now 
  reside in hiding. 
  C. Wilderness Route. The path of a river that 
  descends from the mountain pass at XK-247, and 
  runs by both the Olea Village and Margrim Abbey. 
  D. Facility XK-247. The abandoned modron facility. 
   
  
   
   
   
   
  7 
  A. Margrim Abbey 
  Margrim Abbey sits in the foothills of a mountain 
  located on the southern edge of the High Moor, just 
  north of the Forest of Wyrms. South of the temple and 
  small hamlet surrounding it is a river that runs down 
  from the Forked Mountain. This tributary eventually 
  joins the Serpent’s Tail to the southwest, where the Tail 
  in turn joins the Winding Way. This tributary that once 
  was the lifeblood of Margrim Abbey, however, has 
  recently begun to dry up, and now is just a trickling 
  stream (see below). 
   
  Layout 
  The monastery itself is built onto the top of a tall hill, a 
  ziggurat of sandstone colors and steep stairs that climb 
  up 7 landings to a central, covered shrine dedicated to 
  the teachings of Zerthimon. The shrine is small, barely a 
  ten feet by ten feet open-sided room. It is here that the 
  master of the monastery, Lokas, meditates and treats 
  visitors and monks throughout the typical day. The 
  interior of the ziggurat is simply a series of narrow 
  passageways with alcoves for resting and meditation, 
  and a few pieces of githzerai lore and history that are of 
  little value to the outside world. 
    
  A lower section of the hill, effectively a ring around the 
  monastery, acts as a point where a few wood and stone 
  buildings stand as quarters for the advanced monks, a 
  communal eating space, and a very small barracks for 
  the small militia here. Karmone, a willful, fiery monk 
  still trying to find her inner peace can be found 
  quartered here along with 1d6 other githzerai monks at 
  any given time. Enoren commands her troops (though is 
  rarely present, preferring to walk among her folk), which 
  consist of 8 guards and 6 veterans (all with the typical 
  githzerai traits). A stout, eight-foot-tall palisade wall 
  surrounds this area and thus protects the monastery as 
  well. Two sides of the wall feature ten-foot-wide 
  openings and do not have gates of any kind. 
    
  At the base of the hill are a few farmsteads, and radiating 
  out on hills to the south and west are a few more such 
  buildings. These are single family dwellings and are 
  occupied by sheep herders, tanners, and simple farmers. 
  All told, there are about 150 folks -- mostly githzerai, but 
  with the occasional human or half-elf hermit or 
  woodsmen -- living among the farmsteads or serving in 
  various support roles to the monks or militia. 
   
  The Abbey’s Troubles 
  Lokas is the pacifistic religious leader of the githzerai 
  monks is old but hardly wizened or incapable of 
  defending himself. He is still in perfect health, and of 
  clear and sharp mind, an immensely charismatic 
  spiritual leader and friend of his community. He is 
  troubled by the drying up of the river tributary that ran 
  past the southern part of the town, but sending out the 
  militia proved dangerous, as a red dragon was spotted in 
  the mountain pass, and raiders have been particularly 
  deadly of late. Seeking answers, he is willing to offer a 
  small reward to adventurers or Elturgard warriors that 
  are willing to venture up the pass and figure out the 
  source of these problems. 
    
  Here’s what lore Lokas can provide: 
   Margrim Abbey has no enemies: Elturgard 
  trades with them at Boareskyr Bridge, Najara 
  doesn’t care about them, and the goblinoids that 
  raid on occasion don’t like anybody, so it’s not 
  like there’s a big grudge there. 
   The river started drying up only a couple weeks 
  ago, but the rate it did so has been mystifying. 
  It’s like the flow of water was just cut off 
  suddenly from the mountain pass. 
   The mountain pass leads to a bizarre fortress, 
  long believed haunted, and a huge, metal wall 
  that closes off the pass to further ground-based 
  movement. The githzerai don’t explore that area 
  much because elementals randomly show up in 
  a rampage. 
   Lokas is descended from folk whom he believes 
  were charged with protecting the mountain pass 
  fortress at one time, but its erstwhile masters 
  abandoned it and left it just dangerous enough 
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  8 
  that there’s little reason to attempt to explore it 
  any further. 
   The red dragon was spotted in the region a few 
  weeks before the river drying up; doesn’t seem 
  related, as the dragon has mostly been keeping 
  its distance from the well-armed abbey. 
   
  Recruiting the Locals 
  Karmone and Enoren are both willing and capable of 
  aiding or joining the party...if they are dealt with 
  properly. Refer to the Social Interaction rules (Dungeon 
  Master’s Guide p. 244); both characters are indifferent to 
  the player characters at the start of any interaction. If 
  the player characters wish to gain additional 
  information or even ask the NPCs to accompany them, 
  they must first determine the personality of the NPC, 
  succeeding on a DC 12 Wisdom (Insight) check for 
  Enoren and a DC 16 Wisdom (Insight) check for 
  Karmone to determine some characteristic about the 
  NPC. Any attempts to intimidate these NPCs will not be 
  taken lightly, and in Enoren’s case, may get the local 
  militia called in! 
    
  Once successful determining their personality, a 
  successful DC 10 Charisma (Persuasion or Deception) 
  check will convince the NPC to provide them with some 
  lore, as outlined below. A successful DC 20 Charisma 
  (Persuasion or Deception) check and the NPC is willing 
  to join the party on their journey (if the DM wishes) or 
  provide some other sort of material aid in the form of a 
  small amount of free adventuring gear (give the players 
  up to 5 items on the standard equipment lists in the 
  Player’s Handbook). 
   
  Githzerai Lore 
  Enoren accompanied a few of the militia up the 
  mountain pass as soon as the red dragon was spotted in 
  the region, and again when the river started to dry up. 
  She’s shared her findings with Karmone, but doesn’t 
  agree with Karmone’s conclusions or choice of rash 
  actions. 
   
  The following lore can be provided by Enoren or 
  Karmone: 
   The dragon has certainly found a lair in the 
  mountains, though it’s unclear where it may be 
  located. The dragon appears to be hunting other 
  monsters for food, though a few missing sheep, 
  oxen, and rothe suggest the dragon’s also been 
  closer to the abbey than the githzerai had hoped. 
   The fortress in the mountain pass is built into 
  the mountain itself but has been sealed off for as 
  long as they’ve known of the place. There’s a 
  small, floating island that hovers above the 
  fortress, its purpose and power source still a 
  mystery. 
   A few legends persist that the githzerai of the 
  monastery are descended from monks that 
  defended the fortress itself, but no one’s 
  bothered to confirm this through deeper 
  investigation. 
   In recent months, an incredibly bizarre being 
  has been spotted in Boareskyr Bridge and at the 
  abbey, asking questions about the mountain 
  pass. This creature shares some traits that 
  appear to align with legends about the mountain 
  pass fortress: it has gear-like joints and strange 
  mechanical limbs. 
   A nearby village -- long since ruined, now little 
  more than few cellars and foundations rotting 
  amidst a copse of trees on a hill -- is inhabited by 
  peaceful creatures known as flumphs. They have 
  lived in this area far longer than the githzerai. 
   
  
   
   
   
   
  9 
  B. Olea Village 
  A few short miles away from Margrim Abbey, following 
  the river that comes down from the mountain pass, are 
  the ruins of an ancient village. Stone edifices all, the 
  buildings now lay mostly bare to their foundation. Moss 
  and creepers cover the rubble and the few bits of stone 
  jutting out of the earth. They provide areas of coverage 
  against the elements if one were to drop down a few feet 
  into the otherwise exposed basements that are all that 
  remains of the settlement. 
    
  Though this was likely not originally a flumph 
  settlement, the people here abandoned it long ago, and 
  the flumphs lived out a great many generations here. 
  They call themselves the Olea, and this place Olea 
  Village, though the origin of this name is lost to them. In 
  fact, much of their past is lost to them, for they became 
  the primary subjects of the elemental experiments at XK-
  247. Dozens of flumphs were abducted and subjected to 
  all sorts of terrible things, though the modrons originally 
  did this in a far less malicious manner...at first. 
  Regardless, the flumphs were physically scarred from 
  these experiments, their psychic pain so great it 
  destroyed their community on every level, and created 
  emotional trauma that persists to this very day. Those 
  effects were what convinced the modron leader, Alpha-9, 
  to abandon XK-247 in a hurry, but the wounds have 
  never healed. 
   
  The Olea 
  There are eighteen flumphs in addition to three 
  important tribal members who are described below: 
    
  Aliannafrey. Aliannafrey has seized whatever amounts 
  to “leadership” within flumph society simply by dint of 
  being louder and more dramatic than her peers. She is 
  haunted by her own beliefs that the outside world is a 
  horrible place destined to beat down, humiliate, and 
  ultimately destroy the Olea. She sees the haunted 
  mountain pass as the shadow of “the Enemy” that slowly 
  taints and corrupts the world to lay low her people. 
   
  Digger. This hot-headed flumph has ventured beyond 
  the confines of the Olea Village and has watched -- from 
  afar -- goings on at Margrim Abbey, Boareskyr Bridge, 
  and even in the mountain pass. He’s seen elementals tear 
  apart goblinoid bands near the haunted fortress, but he’s 
  also seen peaceful dealings between the githzerai and 
  human traders from Elturgard, and so he realizes that 
  the world is not all darkness and death, despite 
  Aliannafrey’s “vision” of the region. He seeks the 
  destruction of the mountain fortress, believing that will 
  free Scar One-Eye from his madness and either cure 
  Aliannafrey as well or simply make her ramblings 
  obsolete and outmoded so the flumphs can move on to 
  happier beliefs. 
    
  THE ALL-SEEING EYE OF THE COUATL 
   
  Tama-Hanesh regularly uses the scrying spell on Scar 
  One-eye or Olea Village itself, having become so 
  familiar with both that there’s almost no chance of 
  failure. In fact, Scar is a willing participant, thanks to 
  the largely peaceful conversations and soothing 
  locations 
  that 
  Tama-Hanesh 
  creates 
  when 
  communicating with Scar via the dream spell. 
    
  When the party arrives at the Olea Village, Tama-
  Hanesh sees them as if he’s there via the scrying 
  spell, and can thus use that spell again on them 
  (assuming they fail a Wisdom saving throw, as per 
  the spell), or can visit them via the dream spell. Armed 
  with this ability, the couatl will certainly make use of 
  these things to determine their motives and intent. 
    
  DMs should use this as a means for the couatl to 
  become familiar with them, and to mess with them 
  via the dream spell whenever they take a long rest. 
  While Hama-Tanesh is a lawful good creature, his 
  primary objective is to protect XK-247 from 
  interlopers of any kind, and that will include the party. 
  Of course, considering the other interlopers already 
  there, he may be up for an alliance of sorts. 
  Ultimately, whether he is played as an ally, enemy, or 
  something less defined is up to the DM, but these 
  potent abilities will give him plenty of foresight and 
  offer additional unique roleplaying opportunities via 
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  10 
  the dream spell. Remember that the messenger (likely 
  Hama-Tanesh himself) can manipulate how the 
  dreamscape appears, and certainly won’t reveal his 
  nature or abilities, but rather explores the party’s 
  motives, knowledge, and abilities. 
    
  Scar One-Eye. A one-eyed flumph that can no longer die 
  of old age, Scar was among the Olea that had been 
  experimented on by the modrons in the mountain 
  fortress. Although his memories are scattered and 
  confusing, he knows he’s lost his brothers, sisters, and 
  another family, and he believes there are still horrific 
  spirits and sadistic demons walking the halls of that 
  forsaken place. Unbeknownst to Scar or any of the 
  flumphs, the ties that connect him to XK-247 have an 
  interesting side-effect: the couatl guardian of the facility, 
  Tama-Hanesh, can easily scry on Scar and his people, or 
  even cast dream upon the flumph. Through this, the 
  couatl keeps tabs on the flumphs and the wider world. 
   
  Olea Lore 
  The flumphs provide a lot of opportunity for an 
  enterprising DM to color how the party approaches XK-
  247, though they don’t really have a lot of solid 
  information; they are mainly an opportunity for some 
  fun roleplaying. That said, the party can get all the above 
  information, plus the following if they successfully 
  interact with the NPCs (see Social Interaction in the 
  Dungeon Master’s Guide): 
   The Olea used to be a much larger tribe, but 
  bizarre monsters -- alternatively described as 
  elementals or animated objects -- from the 
  haunted fortress in the mountain abducted and 
  tortured many of their people to death. 
   Though his mind is broken, Scar One-Eye has 
  been alive for perhaps several hundred years, 
  and cannot die of natural causes. 
   Scar speaks in his sleep, and appears to hold 
  conversations with “The Flying Serpent.” These 
  dreams are his only peace, for his waking hours 
  are mostly filled with pain and haunting, and 
  piecemeal memories of his time imprisoned 
  within the fortress. 
   Digger has seen the flying island above the 
  fortress; it is connected to the fortress via some 
  tube-like apparatus. Additionally, a huge steel 
  wall cuts across the pass, closing it to foot travel. 
  Beyond the wall is a massive, semi-frozen lake. 
   Many of the mephits accompanying some 
  bizarre metal construct passed through the area 
  just days ago. 
   The red dragon has been in this area for months, 
  though it used to range much farther in search 
  of food and (presumably) treasure. In recent 
  weeks, it has stayed very close to the mountain, 
  and possibly lairs in or near the fortress. 
   
  C. Journey to XK-247 
  The journey up the mountain pass will take 2-3 days. 
  Twice per day -- once during daylight hours and once at 
  nighttime -- roll 1d12 to generate a random encounter, 
  adding a +2 modifier to all encounter die rolls at night. 
   
  Once an encounter has occurred, consider crossing it off 
  and having that result come up as “no encounter” on 
  future dice rolls. Alternatively, if the party makes many 
  short forays to and from Margrim Abbey, you can build 
  some new encounters, keeping in mind that monsters 
  likely to roam the hills and forests of Najara or the 
  broken wasteland of the High Moor are appropriate for 
  this area. 
   
  
   
   
   
   
  11 
  D. Facility XK-247 
  Read or paraphrase the following description of the 
  facility as the party approaches: 
   
  The pass eventually widens into a short, flat plain that 
  ends at a solid steel wall spanning the pass, blocking 
  further advancement. The wall has three huge, 
  circular gates in it that are sealed, and a stairway 
  leading up one side to a crenelated walkway along 
  the top of the wall. On the opposite mountain wall 
  from the stairwell are two entryways into what 
  appears to be a metal-walled fortress built directly 
  into the mountainside. The lower entryway, on the 
  same level as the pass, appears to have had its steel 
  door ripped off and tossed aside by some very large 
  creature; scratches in the bent door reveal as much. 
  The upper entryway appears to lead to a second floor 
  on the same level as the walkway along the steel wall, 
  but that door remains intact and closed. 
     
  The facility is described in further detail in the following 
  chapters. 
   
  Random Encounter Table 
  1d12 
  Encounter 
  1-4 
  No encounter. 
  5 
  2 earth elementals have found their way out of 
  the ruined bowels of XK-247 and are on a 
  rampage! 
  6 
  A band of goblinoids -- 3 bugbear brothers and 
  3d4 goblins -- and their ogre slave attempt to 
  hold up the party for their riches. 
  7 
  1d12+2 ankhegs have become active in the area, 
  and without the water of the river, they are 
  fairly ornery. 
  8 
  1d6+2 giant toads are looking for the river that 
  dried up because they need water, and they are 
  ravenous! 
  9 
  A pack of 10 harpies make their lair in 
  mountainside caves, and have been carting off 
  goblins; the PCs catch them attacking a party of 
  1d6 goblins that got lost in the mountain paths. 
  10 
  1d4 giant poisonous snakes attack! 
  11 
  A hobgoblin warlord, his manticore mount, 
  and 1d4+4 goblins are out patrolling, looking to 
  hunt down some harpies that have been 
  badgering their forces for some time. 
  12 
  An oni in an innocent form attempts to lure the 
  party into an ambush sprung by its allies, a 
  will-o-wisp, and 3 orcs. 
  13 
  Yuan-ti slavers prowl the region: 2 yuan-ti 
  malisons and 4 yuan-ti purebloods. 
  14 
  Damakos (LE bone naga, formerly a guardian 
  naga) surveys a region it hopes to make its 
  domain one day, along with its slaves: a 
  berserker and 2d4 tribal warriors. 
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  12 
  Chapter 2: Level 1 - The Water Laboratory 
   
  This level -- ground level with the pass leading up to the 
  dam -- is built into the mountain and runs along the wall 
  where the dam is located, meaning that rooms within 
  this level look out upon the inside of the dam, as well as 
  featuring the entrance that faces the pass. The modrons 
  used this level to manipulate the flow of water into a 
  channel that leads down the mountain pass into the 
  Serpent’s Tail. Additionally, they performed some 
  bizarre experiments: adding potions and poisons to the 
  water, or transporting monsters from within the dam 
  and plopping them into the channel. This was all long 
  before the githzerai made a home of Margrim Abbey.  
  
   
   
   
   
  13 
  General Features 
  Walls, Ceilings, and Doors. Ceilings are 15 feet high 
  unless otherwise noted. The walls are made of solid 
  metal (two feet thick) and doors are also metal (only six 
  inches thick). Outer doors are hinged and feature an 
  internal locking mechanism that is incredibly tough to 
  break: opening such locks requires a DC 18 Dexterity 
  (Thieves Tools) check, while forcing them requires a 
  successful DC 22 Strength check. Interior doors have 
  much simpler locks, requiring a successful DC 14 
  Dexterity (Thieves Tools) check, but are still quite 
  strong when locked, requiring a successful DC 18 
  Strength check to break. 
    
  Light. Natural light filters into Area 1-2 from outside. 
  Natural light also might penetrate the rooms that 
  observe the underwater sections of the dam (Areas 1-14, 
  1-15, 1-16, 1-18, 1-19 and the hallway between Area 1-14 
  through Area 1-16), but this light is diffused by the water. 
  In any case, this would be dim light during the day, but 
  all areas remain dark at night. Unless otherwise 
  mentioned, other rooms are unlit. 
    
  Control Stations. There are several control stations 
  throughout XK-247, noted in the individual room 
  descriptions where they appear. These feature buttons, 
  dials, levers, switches, and -- in some noted cases -- 
  monitoring stations. Most of the controls shouldn’t need 
  to be described too specifically, but where necessary, 
  they are detailed for the DM so the players can use a 
  little puzzle-solving to figure them out. The monitoring 
  stations work in the manner of putting one’s eyes up to a 
  pair of binoculars, and what one sees (as noted in the 
  descriptive text) is done so via a series of tubes that have 
  magnifying lenses and mirrors so that some other 
  section of the facility can be viewed. This manner of 
  viewing remote locations doesn’t provide fine detail and 
  may be slightly distorted, so DMs can feel free to be 
  somewhat vague about their descriptions. Furthermore, 
  keep in mind the destination’s light sources and any 
  creatures that may inhabit the room, as this will impact 
  what the player characters see. Additionally, keep in 
  mind this sort of remote viewing can benefit spells that 
  require a location to have been seen to travel to them or 
  view them more closely by magical means. 
   
  Encounter Areas 
  D1-1: Lower Entrance 
  The mountain pass leads up to a ground-level doorway 
  built into the mountainside, and a 15-foot-wide, 20-foot 
  deep channel is cut from one wall, though it is currently 
  holding only a trickle of water. A steel portcullis 
  prevents anything larger than a small fish from entering 
  via the channel (though at one point it could be 
  controlled to raise and lower). There was once a huge, 
  steel door, but that has been ripped off (by the red 
  dragon, Fyngalaxus) and tossed aside. It has words 
  written in modron on it, which act as command words to 
  shut down the automated guardians in Area 1-2 (the 
  words translate to “Deactivate Defenses”). 
   
  D1-2: The Pool 
  This room was used to control the flow of water into the 
  channel, as well as to add things to the water: elementals, 
  monsters from the lakeside of the dam, poisons, and 
  potions. This river originally flowed into the Olea village 
  and then on past Margrim Abbey, but has now run dry 
  (refer to Area 1-3). 
    
  The githyanki came through here and understand the 
  controls, but haven’t quite sorted out what to do with 
  them yet. Canker had already heard Roguelike use the 
  modron command word on the automated defenses 
  (Area 1-2B), so it passed that onto Laren’nir; thus, the 
  defenses remain at the ready. 
   
  2A. The Pool & the Channel 
  On entry, read or paraphrase the following: 
    
  A pool in the center of this steel-walled chamber is 40 
  feet deep, but filled with water only up to the first 20 
  feet; the channel running from it to the outside (see 
  Area 1-1) is 15 feet wide and 20 feet deep, though a 
  lip over the top of the channel makes it appear to be 
  slightly more than 5 feet wide. An 8-foot-wide steel 
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  14 
  walkway extends across the pool. A large, glass tube 
  runs along the ceiling and then curves down into the 
  pool. On two sides of the room are steps leading up 5 
  feet or so to galleries. 
     
  Read or paraphrase the following on investigating the 
  pool and the tube more closely: 
    
  This tube, as well as two different points along the 
  walls near the bottom of the pool, feature steel plates 
  that can open and close in a spiral pattern. These 
  steel gates are currently closed. 
     
  The pool was used as an “additive” station: monsters 
  captured from within the dam could be transported via 
  the tubes (see Area 1-8) and dumped into the pool, to then 
  swim or slither down the channel and into the river it 
  leads to, or potions, poisons, and other substances could 
  be added directly to the pool via a separate apparatus. 
  The tube carrying aquatic monsters accounts for the 
  large, glass tube (actually glassteel), and one of the portals 
  within the pool was where liquids were added, both 
  operations controlled by the station at Area 1-2C. The 
  additional gate along the pool’s bottom is the channel by 
  which the water from the Decanter of Endless Water in 
  Area 1-3 feeds the pool, channel, and ultimately, the 
  river. Because the decanter is no longer producing water, 
  the pool has drained below the channel running from it, 
  and thus the river is no longer being fed any water; this 
  lack of water is what bothers the folk of Margrim Abbey. 
   
  2B. Defense Station 
  Upon entry, read or paraphrase the following: 
    
  Steps leading up to a raised gallery -- about 5 feet 
  taller than the pool room it overlooks -- lead to a 
  rectangular alcove where three suits of armor lean 
  menacingly on swords blade-down to the floor. The 
  ornamentation on the armor and weaponry is very 
  strange, featuring an excess of curling, spiky points, 
  and harsh angles, creating a distended look, not 
  unlike the slightly gaunt and angular build of the 
  githzerai of Margrim Abbey when compared to a 
  human or elf. 
     
  These automated defenses do not activate against a party 
  in the presence of someone who speaks the command 
  word aloud (noted in modron on the door that was 
  ripped off its hinges in Area 1-1) anywhere in Area 1-2; if 
  they do activate, the command word immediately causes 
  them to deactivate. Otherwise, they will activate under 
  any of the following conditions: 
   A non-modron steps foot on the bridge over the 
  pool. 
   A non-modron touches the glassteel tube. 
   A non-modron sets foot on either the stairs up to 
  Area 2B or Area 2C. 
   A non-modron touches the control station in 
  Area 2C. 
    
  There is a secret door in one wall, but it is one-sided; it 
  can only be opened and closed from the other side (see 
  Area 1-20). 
    
  Encounter! 
   3 suits of animated armor 
   3 flying swords 
    
  Tactics. The suits of armor creak to life, casting the 
  swords into the air where they take on a life of their 
  own, and then pulling weapons from sheaths as they 
  rush in for the attack. Their purpose is to destroy any 
  non-modron interlopers; they will follow the commands 
  of any modron immediately. 
   
  2C. Pool Control Station 
  The control panel here features levers, dials, switches, 
  and monitoring apparatus. It has many functions: 
   Operate the tubes (Area 1-8) to drop a monster 
  (from Area 1-6) into the pool. 
   Operate the “additive” chamber to deposit 
  potions or other substances into the water of the 
  pool. 
   Control the flow of water through the tube to 
  refill or drain the water from the pool. 
   Close off the flow of water from the Decanter of 
  Endless Water (Area 1-3). 
  
   
   
   
   
  15 
   Remotely monitor connected areas to determine 
  what things could be added to the pool: this 
  includes Areas 1-3, 1-4, 1-6, and 1-7. Currently, all 
  monitors have been blocked by the githyanki at 
  their individual terminal point (see the noted 
  areas). 
    
  In an alcove behind the control panel are the remains of 
  clay golem that had a different set of triggers for 
  activating from the animated objects in Area 1-2B. It 
  fought the githyanki, but they prevailed. 
   
  D1-3: The Decanter 
  Read or paraphrase the following: 
    
  The ceiling in this room is much higher at 40 feet up. 
  Twenty feet from the entrance, a set of stairs leads 
  up about 8 feet to a raised portion of the room, which 
  extends back quite a way and ends at a rounded 
  alcove with a pool, slightly smaller than the one in the 
  entry room. On the back wall is an apparatus shaped 
  like a large, armored giant holding a flask upside-
  down over the pool, though it is currently stoppered. 
     
  The flask is the Decanter of Endless Water and the 
  apparatus is an iron golem that has been built into the 
  wall. Although it could act, it requires the modrons to 
  perform a series of technical tasks and magical rituals to 
  release the seal on the wall enclosure. For this adventure, 
  this stuff is well beyond the capabilities of non-modrons 
  to duplicate without tons of research and workarounds, 
  and therefore falls outside of the realms of this 
  adventure to complete. The golem normally has a magic 
  mouth-type effect permanently tied to it, though this has 
  presently been suppressed by Laren’nir. Normally, this 
  effect creates an endless loop of saying the command 
  words tied to the decanter to get effects desired by the 
  modrons. For a long time, the modrons set the magic 
  mouth to use the geyser command, which, over time, led 
  to the formation of the river that ran past Margrim 
  Abbey. With the magic mouth now suppressed, and the 
  pool in Area 1-2 receiving no more water, the river has 
  begun to run dry. 
    
  Un-stoppering the flask and speaking the command 
  word for the decanter isn’t as easy as it seems: anyone 
  moving within striking distance of the iron golem will 
  get attacked, either by its breath weapon (a 15-foot cone) 
  or its sword (10-foot reach) which is housed in the wall 
  but easily pulled free by the golem. Only the command 
  word from the door in Area 1-1 or the presence of a 
  modron will stop the golem. Remember that the golem’s 
  CR has been reduced to 4 (1,100 XP). 
    
  There’s a small monitoring apparatus built into the wall 
  overlooking the pool via the monitoring station in Area 
  1-2C, but it has been blocked by the githyanki using mud. 
  Finding it requires a successful DC 18 Wisdom 
  (Perception) check. 
   
  D1-4: Additive Storage 
  This room is lined with shelves. Dangling from the 
  ceiling is a strange, clockwork apparatus with multiple 
  grasping claws, but it no longer works thanks to the 
  swords of the githyanki. A small grate located centrally 
  in the floor allow liquids to be poured into a chamber 
  that then -- via the controls in Area 1-2C -- could be added 
  to the pool water and thus contaminate the river. 
    
  The shelves were never cleared by the modrons when 
  they left, but since have been pilfered by the githyanki 
  and perhaps a few other interlopers over time. Some of 
  the admixtures once found here have simply lost their 
  potency over time. Searching the shelves is not entirely 
  for naught, as a successful DC 18 Intelligence 
  (Investigation) check uncovers the following items in a 
  usable form: Philter of Love, Potion of Diminution, and a 
  Potion of Water Breathing. 
    
  There’s a small monitoring apparatus built into the 
  corner wall overlooking the room via the monitoring 
  station in Area 1-2C, but it has been blocked by the 
  githyanki using bits of a shattered clay pot in this room 
  affixed by mud. Finding it requires a successful DC 16 
  Wisdom (Perception) check. 
   
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  16 
  D1-5: Guard Station 
  This small room’s original purpose is unknown; likely 
  storage. No furniture remains, though there’s a panel in 
  the floor that is damaged, likely from a control station 
  that has since been removed (forcibly, as the damaged 
  floor panel suggests). It is now used by Vaasa’s forces as 
  their rear guard, watching for anyone that starts poking 
  about the decanter room or tries to sneak up on the 
  githyanki as they gain a better understanding of this 
  facility by way of Level 2’s operations and control rooms. 
    
  Encounter! 
   1 githyanki warrior 
   4 githyanki scouts 
   1 displacer beast 
    
  Tactics. The displacer beast roams the length of the 
  hallway, between the door at Area 1-2C to Area 1-6. Roll 
  1d4 when the party enters the hallway and consult the 
  following: 
   1 - it is in a location nearer to Area 2C 
   2-3 - it is nearer to Area 1-3 
   4 - it is closer to Area 1-6 
   
  Three scouts are positioned in the hallway, while the 
  remaining scout and the warrior are inside the guard 
  station. They use misty step and split their movement in 
  order to keep moving and flank enemies when possible. 
    
  If they fear being overwhelmed, one scout will be sent to 
  Area 1-10 to alert the other githyanki will the other 
  forces remain to hold the corridor. If it’s a clear slaughter 
  from the outset, the forces will tactically withdraw to 
  Area 1-10, hoping to use the various features of the 
  intervening rooms to slow their attackers. 
   
  D1-6: Shock Pool 
  This pool is the “staging area” where creatures are moved 
  from Area 1-7 and then onto other areas via the water 
  tubes (see Area 1-8). The room features eight pillars, six of 
  which can become electrified, their purpose being to 
  shock creatures in the pool to stun them or force them 
  into submission. 
    
  There’s a small monitoring apparatus built into the wall 
  overlooking the pool via the monitoring station in Area 
  1-2C, but it has been blocked by the githyanki using mud 
  and sticks, making it rather obvious. A passive Wisdom 
  (Perception) of 15 or a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check 
  notices the apparatus, and any active search of the room 
  will reveal its location and function as well. 
    
  The pool has since overflowed because of damage in area 
  Area 1-7, and the electrical system has malfunctioned, 
  creating a potential trap. 
    
  Trap! 
   Electrical pillar trap (see below) 
    
  The six pillars in the center of the room channel 
  electricity through them, and it arcs like lightning 
  between each of them, creating a dangerous current that 
  can shock anyone passing through them or any who 
  touches the water. Any living being of small size or 
  larger passing within 5 feet of any of the pillars triggers 
  electricity to flow through it and any adjacent pillars. 
  They are setup in two distinct rows as shown on the 
  map; the electricity never arcs across to the other 
  column except in the case of the columns whose bases 
  are touching the water from the damaged pool, and they 
  also never arc toward the two pillars touching the wall of 
  the room. The githyanki have learned this and use it to 
  their advantage. 
    
  The arcing electrical charge lasts for 2 combat rounds, so 
  anything passing through the spaces between the 
  adjacent pillars is subject to the shock. The electricity 
  deals 22 (4d10) lightning damage, but a successful DC 15 
  Dexterity saving throw halves this damage. 
   
  D1-7: Overflowing Pool 
  When creatures are extracted from the dam (see Area 1-
  15), they are initially deposited into this pool (which is 
  about 30 feet deep). It has since overflowed, eroding a 
  protective lip that served to contain the monsters, and 
  partially burst the tube leading to the nearest water tube 
  
   
   
   
   
  17 
  (Area 1-8). This damage creates the uneven depth of 
  water in the room but doesn’t affect the functionality of 
  the connected apparatus, though it does mean that some 
  creatures that could conceivably get deposited here will 
  find a larger area to roam and cause trouble. 
    
  There’s a small monitoring apparatus built into the wall 
  overlooking the pool via the monitoring station in Area 
  1-2C, but it has been destroyed: the githyanki smashed 
  the lens and bent the tube. Repairing it would require a 
  few hours and a replacement lens. 
    
  Encounter! 
   There’s a 50% chance the water weird from Area 
  1-18 is here. 
    
  Tactics. The water weird rarely does more than watch 
  any interlopers in this room, since it has learned that the 
  githyanki are not to be trifled with. If githyanki come 
  through and are obviously under attack from a superior 
  foe or are heavily wounded, the water weird will attack 
  the githyanki. 
   
  D1-8: Water Tubes 
  The water tubes are a very important apparatus 
  designed to perform many functions within XK-247, 
  including moving heated water from the furnaces (in the 
  fire lab on Level 2) and extracting aquatic creatures from 
  the dam to then move them to the various pools (or the 
  connecting river) on this level (see Areas 1-15 for the 
  monster extraction, and Areas 1-2, 1-3, 1-6, 1-7, and 1-18 
  for various connected pools). 
    
  The tubes themselves are large in many cases -- about 15-
  20 feet in diameter -- and made of glassteel. They have 
  steel doors that open in a spiral pattern, sectioning off 
  parts of the tubes to manage the flow of water (and 
  creatures). 
    
  There are three tubes pictured on the map, though there 
  are several others connected throughout the facility, the 
  main one being connected to the monster-capturing 
  system inside the dam wall (see Area 1-15). Several very 
  small, heavily shielded and segmented tubes lead to the 
  furnaces connected to the fire laboratory. A few others 
  lead to dead ends (holding pens for captured monsters) 
  or are sealed off by rubble, suggesting damage to the 
  facility. In fact, some of these at one time lead to a now 
  destroyed earth-element laboratory. 
    
  Traversing the tubes is entirely possible if one can 
  breathe water (all currently have water in them, after 
  all), but the tight fit and the possibility of certain systems 
  being activated to move creatures or super-heated water 
  around (such as the control panel in Area 1-15) could 
  make for a short, dangerous trip. DMs are encouraged to 
  come up with their own ideas if this avenue of moving 
  about the facility is explored, but feel free to add a few 
  medium or large aquatic monsters roaming about in the 
  ancient water tubes as random encounters. Additionally, 
  use the steel doors to “lock off” certain areas of the 
  facility. Finally, if the furnaces become active and there’s 
  heated water in the tubes (again, see later areas like Area 
  1-15 for more about this possibility), it’s okay to refer to 
  the Dungeon Master’s Guide’s rules on environmental 
  effects such as Extreme Heat or the high end of trap 
  damage to determine how super-heated water might 
  damage a character. 
   
  D1-9: Storage 
  This room stands empty except for some rotting wooden 
  shelves and pallets, and some rusted iron shelves and 
  fixtures attached to the walls. 
    
  The githyanki thought about using this room for a few 
  different purposes, but their occasional run-ins with the 
  water weird in Area 1-7 led them to simply move on. 
   
  D1-10: Warden 
  This huge gallery was once used for experimentation of 
  some kind, but other than some rusted metal tables and 
  chairs, plus a few broken clockwork apparatus, there’s 
  nothing to tell what these experiments entailed. The 
  githyanki have thus turned it into their primary guard 
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  18 
  room, establishing the connecting rooms as a makeshift 
  prison (see Areas 1-11 and 1-13). 
    
  Encounter! 
   1 githyanki warrior 
   2 githyanki scouts 
    
  Tactics. The githyanki here guard the prisoners; the 
  warrior has a key to the locks for Areas 1-11 and Area 1-
  13. Assume there are several points of cover in the room 
  from the broken tables and furniture. Any fighting here 
  that isn’t kept silent is likely to alert the guards in Area 1-
  12 as well as being heard by Roguelike, who is 
  imprisoned in Area 1-11. 
   
  D1-11: Jail #1 
  The door to this room has a jury-rigged cross bar and 
  padlock-style mechanism fashioned into the wall 
  (soldering care of magic where necessary) such that the 
  door can be locked and barred from Area 1-10. The room 
  is barren and thus has been turned into a prison cell for 
  the rogue modron, Roguelike. 
    
  Interaction! Roguelike is held as a prisoner here. It is 
  happy to be freed and will work with the party so long as 
  they convince it that they will help it free the mephits 
  and return them to the Elemental Chaos, a plan which 
  Roguelike assures them it can achieve (though it doesn’t 
  know how). 
    
  Roguelike can provide the party with invaluable 
  assistance, as several automated defenses in XK-247 are 
  programed to allowing the passage of modrons, and thus 
  it can lead them through parts of the facility safely. It 
  can also make sense of most of the control stations and 
  other apparatus in the facility, though doing so may 
  require a little time, interaction, and perhaps trial and 
  error. 
    
  The modron has the following lore it can impart: 
   Roguelike came to Faerun during the Great 
  Modron March and was lost in the Underdark 
  for some time before breaking from its superiors 
  and finding a path to the surface world. 
   The modron became an adventurer for a long 
  time and performed many honorable deeds 
  along the southern stretches of the Sword Coast. 
   Feeling homesick, Roguelike heard about XK-247 
  via local rumors and legends and guessed that it 
  might be a modron facility, or at the very least, a 
  place with portals to the Outer Planes. 
   Devising a plan to reach home -- and gain 
  repentance from the modron hierarchy -- 
  Roguelike happened by several mephits and 
  believed returning them to their plane (the 
  Elemental Chaos) would be the lawful act 
  necessary for removing Roguelike’s status as an 
  outcast. 
   Roguelike and the mephits wandered the region 
  for about a month before feeling sure enough 
  that XK-247 was the right place to go. (At this 
  point, the river began getting lower, but the 
  modron didn’t think anything of it.) 
   About a week ago, Roguelike’s party arrived at 
  XK-247 and found the door on Level 1 ripped off 
  its hinges. Entering the facility, they were 
  captured by the githyanki, and the modron was 
  held separately from the mephits. 
   Roguelike believes the mephits are nearby -- it’s 
  heard the conversation in the guard room 
  suggesting as much -- but it doesn’t know where. 
   The facility is obviously not running under any 
  power now, but Roguelike believes there’s both a 
  power source to turn on various machines 
  throughout the facility, as well as portals leading 
  to the Elemental Chaos and perhaps the Outer 
  Planes. 
   
  D1-12: Guard Post 
  This hallway is guarded by a single githyanki soldier and 
  the second of the mated pair of displacer beasts allied 
  with Vaasa’s forces. They keep an eye on the mephits 
  being held in Area 1-13, and the soldier has a key to the 
  doors for both Area 1-11 and Area 1-13. 
    
  
   
   
   
   
  19 
  Encounter! 
   1 githyanki warrior 
   1 displacer beast  
   
  Tactics. If these guards hear combat in Area 1-10, they 
  rush to provide aid. They are not very concerned about 
  the mephits as the creatures aren’t all that hostile. 
   
  D1-13: Jail #2 
  The door to this room has a jury-rigged cross bar and 
  padlock-style mechanism fashioned into the wall 
  (soldering care of magic where necessary) such that the 
  door can be locked and barred from Area 1-12. 
    
  Three of the mephits are imprisoned here, though they 
  are treated relatively well: the githyanki genuinely seek 
  to figure out the best way to use them or help them on 
  their way so they don’t have to worry about them. 
    
  Interaction! Iggylack Barnburner, Smurdge, and Slish 
  are held here; Canker is supposedly held elsewhere, but 
  in truth is with Laren’nir. 
    
  The mephits have their own motives for joining 
  Roguelike, and these may not remain fully compatible 
  with the goals and actions of the party. Iggylack simply 
  likes the idea of being able to cause some havoc, and a 
  modron facility is as good a place as any to sow some 
  chaos. Smurdge and Slish want to return to the 
  Elemental Chaos, but they aren’t particularly convinced 
  that the modron or the party is any more likely to help 
  them achieve this than the githyanki. If the party makes 
  a genuine plea to help the mephits, the DM may refer to 
  the Social Interaction rules in the Dungeon Master’s 
  Guide to determine if the party can convince the mephits 
  to help them; they are indifferent at the start of any 
  interaction. 
    
  Even if the party fails to convince the mephits to join 
  them, the creatures may follow the party from afar or 
  cause other mischief at later points in the adventure. 
  Unless given a reason to be hostile to the party, most of 
  this will amount to things like destroying control 
  stations, opening and closing doors, or attacking the 
  wounded or stragglers (party members, allied NPCs, or 
  githyanki -- doesn’t matter to them!). 
   
  D1-14: Observation Deck #1 
  This room features a long window across from the door 
  that looks out into the dam. As this level of the facility is 
  located beneath the waterline, all that can be seen is 
  murky water and the occasional passing creature. Due to 
  the experiments of the modrons, much of the dam water 
  comes from the Plane of Water, and thus can support 
  aquatic life that wouldn’t normally be found in a 
  mountain lake: sharks, giant versions of various fresh- 
  and salt-water fish, and other monsters and elementals 
  inhabit the place, though few lair anywhere near the 
  facility anymore (the lake is immense). 
    
  During the daytime, enough light filters in that the party 
  can see several yards into the water. At nighttime, it’s 
  dark enough that the party may not even realize they are 
  looking out into the water until something swims past 
  the viewport. 
    
  The room appears to be a dead-end, but a secret door can 
  be found leading from the hallway to Area 1-15 and 
  beyond if the party has a passive Wisdom (Perception) 
  of 15 or succeeds a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check, or 
  if the search the room for a minute or more. A touchpad 
  appears in the wall and simply needs to have a hand (any 
  humanoid hand) pressed against it for the secret door to 
  slide open. This mechanism is the same on both sides of 
  the door. 
    
  Encounter! 
   2 phase spiders 
    
  Tactics. Two phase spiders under Laren’nir’s control 
  have been tasked with guarding this room against 
  interlopers. Fighting in Area 1-12 alerts the creatures, but 
  they only attack non-githyanki forces that enter this 
  room or anyone that attack them directly. They won’t 
  pursue more than a few feet outside of this room unless 
  victory is especially likely. 
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  20 
   
  D1-15: Dam Extraction Apparatus 
  The hallway leading to and from Area 1-15 contains 
  several viewports, just like in Area 1-14. The room here 
  has one full wall that is a viewport rather than a small 
  window, and at the opposite end features a control panel 
  with several levers, switches, gauges and informational 
  readouts, and viewing apparatus. 
    
  Viewing Apparatus. There’s a single lens that a 
  character can put their eye up to (same as looking into a 
  microscope) and view several points within the dam, 
  along the dam wall, switching between viewpoints with 
  a switch. There are three viewpoints: one from above the 
  center dam release gate, one above the monster 
  extraction mechanism, and one several yards out into 
  the water to view a bit more deeply into the dam. These 
  viewpoints are underwater, and unless a light is 
  activated under the water in the dam, the water is murky 
  (dim light in daytime and dark at nighttime). The 
  purpose of these viewpoints is to see what sorts of 
  creatures lurk in the dam so that they can then be 
  subjected to extraction. 
    
  Switches. The switches activate lights along the dam 
  wall, which are simply worthless crystals enchanted 
  with continual light magic housed in retractable casings. 
  Using the viewing apparatus allows a much larger field 
  of vision within the dam, as well as attracting many 
  creatures to the area over time, making monster 
  extraction less of a waiting game. Note that these 
  switches work without any special power source as the 
  housings for the lights rely on simple pneumatic 
  technology. 
    
  Gauges and Readouts. Several gauges and readouts 
  measure the temperature of the water flowing through 
  the water tubes (Area 1-8); specific sections of the tubes 
  can be monitored as well as the whole system overall. 
  The purpose of this is to be able to move the appropriate 
  temperature of the water around to use some of the 
  extraction mechanisms and to move monsters 
  throughout the tube network without boiling them alive 
  (or maybe to boil them alive, as the case may be). 
    
  Levers. The levers control two systems: the flow of water 
  through the water tubes by simply opening and closing 
  gates within that network, and operating the monster 
  extraction system that can capture monsters within the 
  dam and deposit them into the water tubes and pool 
  network on this level of the facility. 
   
  Who and the What Now? 
  Okay, so that’s a lot to take in, so let’s summarize and 
  expound upon what’s going on here: 
    
  The controls in this room are primarily a means of: 
   Capturing aquatic monsters in the dam and 
  pulling them into the water tubes/pools, 
   Moving those monsters around, and 
   Moving around water of different temperatures. 
    
  That last part comes from the fact that up on Level 2 of 
  the facility is a series of furnaces that heats water, and 
  that heated water can be moved throughout the network 
  of tubes in the facility to power various mechanisms and 
  systems. A combination of pneumatic pressure created 
  by water flow and steam powers some of the bizarre 
  machinery the modrons used to experiment on the 
  flumphs, githzerai, and surrounding areas near XK-247. 
    
  Currently, the internal water tube system is open, so 
  there’s water in the tubes and the pools, but no new 
  water is coming in from the dam. Similarly, no monsters 
  are being extracted from the dam, and thus there aren’t 
  any monsters in the various pools (though as previously 
  mentioned, the DM can use monsters “lost” in the tube 
  network as random encounters). Finally, there is no 
  heated water because the furnaces are not currently on, 
  and thus the creature extraction system doesn’t work: it 
  relies on the steam part for its power source. 
   
  Fire It Up! 
  Currently, the party can turn on lights, view parts of the 
  dam, maybe see some monsters in the water, and 
  
   
   
   
   
  21 
  open/close some of the gates within the water tube 
  network. The monster extraction system in the dam 
  doesn’t work, but the lights will attract some monsters 
  quickly that will snoop around the lights, viewports, and 
  dam wall before getting bored and leaving. 
    
  If or when the furnaces are fired up (see Level 2), the 
  extraction system now comes online. Using the levers 
  and gauges, heated water can be moved into the 
  extraction system, and then the mechanism for trapping 
  monsters and sucking them into the water tube network 
  can be activated. Once monsters are in the tubes, they 
  can be moved around to various pools on Level 1 via 
  opening and closing gates and pushing more water 
  through (though if they have range of motion to get out 
  of a pool it’s entirely possible that they can’t be moved 
  past a certain point or against their will once they leave a 
  pool). The heated water can be moved into any (or all) of 
  the tubes as well, which could mean any creatures in 
  those tubes (or in the network) could get a nasty surprise 
  (something on the order of 4d10 fire damage every 
  round). 
   
  Monster Extraction 
  In a typical day, only 1d4+1 monsters can be attracted to 
  and caught by the extraction system. Roll randomly any 
  time a monster might happen by, which could be every 
  several hours (swimming by the viewports) or every 
  couple of hours that the lights are activated: 
   
  Random Monster Table 
  1d6 
  Monster in the dam… 
  1 
  Giant sea horse 
  2 
  Giant octopus 
  3 
  Swarm of quippers 
  4 
  Hunter shark 
  5 
  Plesiosaurus 
  6 
  Water elemental 
   
  If you have access to Volo’s Guide to Monsters, consider 
  rolling a d8, where 7 = 1d4 sea spawn and 8 = a morkoth 
  with designs of taking over the facility and using it as its 
  new lair. 
    
  If players attempt to “farm animals” using this feature, 
  monsters will likely learn to avoid the area for some 
  time. Additionally, the DM can treat results such as the 
  plesiosaurus and water elemental (and the two monsters 
  from Volo’s Guide) as unique results, and thus subsequent 
  dice rolls that come up with those numbers (5-6 or 5-8 if 
  you have Volo’s Guide) count as “no monsters come by.” 
   
  D1-16: Observation Deck #2 
  This room is much the same as the other observation 
  deck (Area 1-14). However, because it extends out slightly 
  into the dam area (based on the shape of the lake and the 
  position of the facility running along the mountain wall), 
  it’s possible to better see the dam wall itself, noting the 
  three large dam release gates (see the description of Area 
  D in the previous chapter), as well as a large cage 
  mechanism that is the monster extraction system. It’s 
  also possible to see several of the light housings that 
  operate with the viewing apparatus in Area 1-15. 
    
  The stairs leading downward seem to come to dead-end 
  at a panel that looks much like the secret door in Area 1-
  14 but does not have the same touchpad mechanism. In 
  its place on the right-hand side of the door is a series of 
  three levers, all currently in the down position. The 
  levers need to be pushed into the up position in order, 
  but some time is needed for each one to work through 
  the processes attached to it, so pushing them up all at 
  once or out of sequence simply causes them to reset 
  immediately. The order is simply right to left. The time 
  between each pushed lever is 10 seconds. 
    
  (On the opposite side of the door -- in Area 1-17 -- is a 
  simple touchpad like the one found in Area 1-14. Why 
  this door operates differently on one side as opposed to 
  the other is an enigma only modrons might be able to 
  understand.) 
    
  The following things happen when each lever is pulled in 
  the correct sequence and given the appropriate time, and 
  serve as clues that time is needed, and -- for astute 
  players -- what is happening that causes the door to 
  open. 
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  22 
  Read or paraphrase the boxed text: 
    
  Lever 1 
  There is a distinct whirring sound that appears to 
  emanate from beneath the floor, and moves along a 
  path away from the door, into whatever chamber lies 
  beyond it. There is an abrupt clang of metal in the 
  distance, and the whirring stops. 
     
  This is the sound of a mechanism that locks the elevator 
  doors shut. They can be unlocked by the mechanisms in 
  Area 1-17 and in the elevator itself, but this is just a 
  precautionary safety measure to keep creatures that 
  don’t fully understand the mechanisms of the facility 
  tied up for a few moments and allow modrons to enter 
  Area 1-17 with time to prepare for combat. 
    
  Lever 2 
  The sound of steel sliding against steel rings out, 
  followed by a rush of water through tubes deep in the 
  walls of this place. The water seems to burble and 
  slosh along the frame of the door panel before you, 
  and slowly begins to settle down into silence. 
     
  Water is released into a series of small tubes around the 
  door panel, providing it with the pneumatic power to be 
  able to open and close. 
    
  Lever 3 
  This lever opens the door. 
     
  The door can be opened and shut via this third lever as 
  well as the touchpad on the opposite side for one minute 
  before the three levers reset. At that time, the touchpad 
  on the Area 1-17 side works fine, but on this side, requires 
  all three levers to be pushed up in sequence as previously 
  described. 
   
  D1-17: The Elevator 
  In the center of this room is an octagonal platform sunk 
  about 5 feet into the floor, and surrounded by a glassteel 
  tube, with a double-sliding door on one face and a 
  touchpad control panel immediately next to the door. 
  The ceiling inside of the tube is open, revealing a tunnel 
  leading up some forty feet before it ends at completely 
  smooth rock (this is the bottom of the elevator, described 
  below). 
    
  The touchpad can be used to open the doors, gaining 
  access to the sunken platform without any difficulty. On 
  the opposite side of the panel, inside the elevator, is a 
  similar touchpad, but it instead has a simple roller dial 
  featuring three places. Each place can be rolled to show 
  either a 0 or a 1, and these correspond to the Levels 
  within XK-247: 
   001 = Level 1 
   010 = Level 2 
   011 = Level 3 
   100 = Level 4 
    
  It is currently set to 010, and moving the dials in any 
  fashion currently has no effect: the elevator requires that 
  the furnaces be turned on (see Level 2). Once that occurs, 
  the elevator works just fine: it’s about 40 feet on a side 
  (take a little due to the octagonal shape) and can lift an 
  enormous amount of weight. 
    
  The githyanki discovered the elevator but couldn’t figure 
  out how to operate it (they don’t yet understand the 
  furnaces), so they subsequently left it alone, using 
  Roguelike’s knowledge to open the door to Level 2 from 
  the outside (see Area 2-1). 
   
  D1-18: Flooded Room 
  This room held one of the several pools that monsters 
  could be moved into from the water tubes (Area 1-8) and 
  then be added to the channel and river that descends the 
  mountain and runs past places like Margrim Abbey. This 
  one, like the pools in Area 1-6 and Area 1-7, has burst the 
  retaining wall that once confined it to the back third of 
  the room, and eroded the rock structure around it to 
  make it less even. At its deepest, it is about 50 feet deep. 
    
  
   
   
   
   
  23 
  Encounter! 
   1 water weird 
    
  Tactics. The water weird that can be encountered in 
  Area 1-7 is most often found here (if it was not 
  encountered in Area 1-7, then it will certainly be 
  encountered here). Additionally, if it is ever wounded or 
  otherwise defeated but not destroyed, it will retreat to 
  this room. 
    
  The water weird is loyal to Tama-Hanesh, the couatl that 
  was bound to this facility by the modrons and tasked 
  with controlling, coordinating, and looking after all the 
  automated defenses. It maintains a close relationship 
  with the couatl, and of course can be the subject of his 
  scrying, which helps with identifying threats. Doubly 
  more so, when one considers that the water weird can 
  traverse the entire system of water tubes, reaching any 
  of the pools throughout the facility. (It avoids Area 1-6 
  due to the electrical current trap present in that room.) 
    
  If the water weird can identify the party as folk that 
  might help Tama-Hanesh, it will no longer be hostile and 
  will attempt to help the party get in touch with the 
  couatl. However, it will not risk itself unless Tama-
  Hanesh commands it to do so directly. If the couatl is 
  destroyed, the water weird will go berserk and attempt 
  to kill the guilty party (or any interlopers, if it cannot 
  determine who slew the couatl). 
   
  D1-19: Observation Deck #3 
  This room features a long window across from the door 
  that looks out into the dam. As this level of the facility is 
  located beneath the waterline, all that can be seen is 
  murky water and the occasional passing creature. It is 
  similar in most ways to Area 1-14. 
    
  There is a 50% chance that Tama-Hanesh is here unless 
  he was previously encountered elsewhere. 
    
  Encounter! 
   Tama-Hanesh 
    
  Tactics. This couatl was bound to XK-247 by the 
  modrons as their primary guardian and chafes at being 
  left to protect an abandoned installation. He makes use 
  of his magical abilities -- especially scrying, dream, and 
  various detection spells -- to keep tabs on any interlopers 
  and the surrounding region, including the flumphs of 
  the Olea village. Through these abilities, Tama-Hanesh 
  foresaw the coming of the githyanki, but could do little 
  to stop it because of their overwhelming numbers. He 
  also knew Roguelike and the mephits would arrive and 
  was able to determine that Canker had some connection 
  to the githyanki. Tama-Hanesh attempted to interfere 
  with the modron’s capture, but failed and was wounded, 
  forcing him to retreat and placing Roguelike in its 
  current plight (imprisoned in Area 1-11). 
    
  In the intervening time, Tama-Hanesh has not been idle. 
  Using his ability to change shape and his spells, he has 
  infiltrated the githyanki at times, allowing some 
  freedom of movement among their men (but never 
  getting too close to Laren’nir or Vaasa), and has 
  orchestrated several events meant to simply confuse and 
  slow the githyanki in their investigation of the facility: 
  turning switches, dials, and levers, closing and opening 
  doors or wedging them, stealing things left unattended 
  during shift-changes, and harassing the phase spiders 
  (Area 1-14). 
    
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  24 
  Ultimately, Tama-Hanesh would die to protect the 
  secrets of XK-247, but he is also infinitely patient (he’s 
  overseen the abandoned facility for a few hundred years 
  or more, so how could he not be!) and has enough 
  contact with the outside world via his magic that he’s 
  hoping for someone or something to come by and help 
  him. If he identifies the players are such, he’ll gladly do 
  whatever he can to help them, but even the best of 
  intentions may not convince him, as allies could easily 
  turn on him and try to understand the secrets of the 
  facility, as well. 
   
  Lore of the Couatl 
  If Tama-Hanesh becomes an ally or is interrogated 
  effectively, he can give up the following lore: 
   XK-247 is an ancient facility created by the 
  modrons to perform tests on elemental portals 
  that were active here. They also performed tests 
  on flumphs (the Olea) for a time and had 
  githzerai servitors and visitors at various points 
  deep in the past. 
   There were once four levels to XK-247: 
  o 
  Level 1 is the Water Lab which studies 
  parts of the dam, 
  o 
  Level 2 is the operations center and Fire 
  Lab, 
  o 
  Level 3 is the Sky Lab which floats above 
  the facility using a combination of 
  magic and technology, and 
  o 
  Level 4 is the Earth Lab which sat deep 
  within the mountain but was destroyed 
  a hundred or so years ago by 
  earthquakes in the region. 
   After the experiments progressed to a point, the 
  modron leader -- Alpha-9 -- recalled all his 
  charges and left the facility abruptly, leaving 
  Tama-Hanesh in charge of the remaining 
  automated defenses and with the continuing 
  goal to keep the facility a secret from the outside 
  world. (This is not entirely true: his goal is to 
  keep the specifics of the elemental portals and 
  the experiments a secret, and he will do so no 
  matter what is employed to compel him 
  otherwise, short of a wish.) 
   The githyanki arrived several weeks ago, shortly 
  after the red dragon -- Fyngalaxus -- took over 
  the Sky Lab (the hunk of rock floating above the 
  facility) as its lair. Tama-Hanesh has been 
  harassing them ever since they arrived, but they 
  are too numerous and too powerful for him to 
  make a go of anything too drastic. 
   The modron Roguelike arrived with his mephit 
  charges about a week ago, and was almost 
  immediately captured by the githyanki, who had 
  explored most of Level 1 by that point. One of the 
  mephits -- Canker -- appears to have had an 
  existing relationship with a githyanki 
  spellcaster. 
   The githyanki leader -- a warlord named Vaasa -- 
  has since abandoned further exploration of 
  Level 1 and has moved on to Level 2, able to 
  bypass the door security with Roguelike’s intel. 
   Tama-Hanesh knows (and gladly gives up) the 
  password to the door leading into Level 2 from 
  the dam wall. He also explains in broad strokes 
  that the dam holds lots of creatures that aren’t 
  necessarily native to the mountain lakes, and 
  that the facility requires power from some 
  source for many of its features and mechanisms 
  to work, though many are beyond him. (That’s 
  partially true, as he gets what most of the things 
  do and how, but doesn’t really understand why 
  the modrons wanted to use such things in the 
  first place, nor why the modrons make things so 
  obtuse and over-complicated.) 
   One of the most useful features in the facility is 
  the elevator at Area 1-17, but it requires some 
  power source to become operational. It would 
  allow rapid movement from Level 1 to both Level 
  2 and Level 3, especially if one cannot fly up to 
  the Sky Lab (Tama-Hanesh obviously doesn’t 
  have that problem himself). 
   
   
   
  
   
   
   
   
  25 
  USING TAMA-HANESH 
   
  DMs are encouraged to use Tama-Hanesh as an 
  equalizing force if the party is having a hard go of this 
  adventure; he sees them as potential allies, gives 
  them just enough information to determine the 
  whereabouts and hierarchy of the githyanki, and 
  maybe a few clues about different mechanisms 
  within the facility so they can gain the upper hand 
  against the githyanki. If the party is selfish, and/or 
  they are having a relatively easy time of the 
  adventure, Tama-Hanesh can harass them and use 
  the facility to weaken or even attack them. If the party 
  is full of kill-happy murder-hoboes, Tama-Hanesh is a 
  powerful villain in that he can haunt their dreams, 
  scry on them, and set the traps and mechanisms in 
  the facility to divide and weaken the party. Change 
  shape and detection spells will allow him to distract 
  or misdirect the group, causing the characters to 
  walk right into the githyanki, with the hope that both 
  sides destroy each other and Tama-Hanesh thus 
  fulfills his goals. 
     
  D1-20: Abandoned Armory 
  This room is lined with rusted shelving and racks that 
  once held weaponry; it was the armory for the modrons 
  in case they needed to defend against invading 
  goblinoids, orcs, or giants from the High Moor or 
  mountains. It now stands empty. 
    
  There is a (secret) door at the end of the hall, but it is one-
  sided and fully visible on this side; it can only be opened 
  and closed from this side and leads into Area 1-2b. It has 
  a simple touchpad panel next to the sliding door. 
    
   
   
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  26 
  Chapter 3: Level 2 - Controls & the Fire Laboratory 
   
  Known to the modrons as the Control & Monitoring 
  Hub, most of this level consists of control rooms, records 
  storage, and experimentation galleries where the 
  modrons performed sometimes grisly experiments on 
  flumphs, occasionally aided by githzerai allies, other 
  times perhaps on their (former) githzerai allies. A second 
  area -- sealed off using heavily shielded corridors and 
  blast doors -- consists of the small Fire Laboratory, which 
  mostly just fed furnaces that in turn would power much 
  of the machinery throughout the complex. 
  General Features 
  Extreme Heat. Areas 2-17, 2-18, 2-19, 2-20, and 2-21 all 
  feature excessively hot temperatures due to the 
  proximity of lava flow that can be harnessed for the 
  furnaces to power several machines and systems within 
  XK-247. The effects of Extreme Heat (Dungeon Master’s 
  Guide) pervade these areas. Characters protected from 
  heat via magic (or their biology) or resistant to fire 
  damage can ignore this. 
  
   
   
   
   
  27 
   Walls, Ceilings, and Doors. Ceilings are 15 feet high 
  unless otherwise noted. The walls are made of solid 
  metal (two feet thick) and doors are also metal (only six 
  inches thick). Outer doors are hinged and feature an 
  internal locking mechanism that is incredibly tough to 
  break: opening such locks requires a DC 18 Dexterity 
  (Thieves Tools) check, while forcing them requires a 
  successful DC 22 Strength check. Interior doors have 
  much simpler locks, requiring a successful DC 14 
  Dexterity (Thieves Tools) check, but are still quite 
  strong when locked, requiring a successful DC 18 
  Strength check to break. 
    
  Light. The observation deck overlooks the dam; in 
  daytime, bright light filters in, but at nighttime, it is dark 
  (unless the moon is particularly bright or some other 
  effect creates dim light outside). The magma pool causes 
  all areas of the Fire Laboratory to remain dimly light. 
  Unless otherwise stated, all other areas are unlit. 
    
  Control Stations. Control and monitoring stations exist 
  exactly as described in Level 1 - The Water Laboratory. 
  Additionally, there are some areas that have additional 
  safety measures due to the proximity of the Fire 
  Laboratory (see the sidebar explaining Security 
  Measures). 
   
  SECURITY MEASURES 
   
  Level 2 was originally known as the Control & 
  Monitoring Hub and was where some flumphs were 
  studied directly, as well as where control stations in 
  other parts of the facility could be overridden to deal 
  with security concerns, such as escaped prisoners, 
  flooding, fire or lava spills, and out-of-control 
  elementals. In specific rooms, security stations are 
  mentioned, and some of their specific controls -- 
  things like alarms, locking mechanisms, and fire 
  extinguishers -- are called out in the relevant 
  descriptive text. 
    
  Encounter Areas 
  D2-1: Security Door 
  A set of steel doors stand here, built into the mountain 
  wall and reachable by walking the pathway along the 
  top of the dam wall. A panel next to the door has a 
  variety of symbols and buttons, and requires a specific 
  sequence to be entered for the doors to slide open, or to 
  unlock and open/close based on proximity sensors 
  (motion-activated doors), or to open/close a second blast-
  shield door that slides down to cover the double-doors. 
    
  There are several ways to determine the proper sequence 
  to activate these features: 
   A modron or someone that speaks the modron 
  language can read the symbols and instinctively 
  understand which sequence does what. 
   Tama-Hanesh knows all the proper commands. 
   The githyanki interrogated Roguelike for the 
  proper sequence for all the controls. All the 
  githyanki have dedicated this information to 
  memory. 
   Using magic or special abilities that can 
  determine the function of a magic device -- such 
  as the identify spell -- will reveal the functions. 
    
  There are no “bad” effects or lockouts if trial and error 
  are used, but if the doors open and close multiple times 
  in a short span or the blast shield is activated, the 
  githyanki on Level 2 will be alerted to the presence of 
  intruders. (Maybe not on the first instance, since they’ve 
  experienced some weird goings on in this facility, but 
  certainly if it happens multiple times, or is accompanied 
  by loud noises such as combat or spellcasting.) 
   
  D2-2: Antiseptic Hallway 
  This hallway runs up to Area 2-3 and features branches 
  leading past Area 2-4 and Area 2-5 all the way to Area 2-7 
  and around Area 2-8, and on the other side all the way to 
  the doors of Area 2-15 and Area 2-16. This path, 
  unbroken by doors, is extremely clean: no dust, dirt, or 
  any debris lies along this path. 
    
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  28 
  There is an alcove (the second one from the entrance 
  into this Level) that features two secret doors. Both are 
  one-way from their respective areas (one from Area 2-12, 
  one from the hallway before Area 2-15 and Area 2-16), 
  and cannot be detected from this side without a 
  successful DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation) check. The 
  one from the hallway to Area 2-15 and Area 2-16 is not 
  immediately visible on the other side, either, requiring a 
  passive Wisdom (Perception) of 15 or DC 15 Wisdom 
  (Perception) check to notice (see Area 2-12 for more 
  information on that secret door). 
   
   Encounter! 
   1 gelatinous cube 
   2 githyanki warriors 
   1 githyanki scout 
    
  Tactics. Three githyanki use the alcoves as hiding spots 
  from which they monitor the front door (Area 2-1). They 
  will attempt to harry intruders and call out an alarm, 
  alerting githyanki in Area 2-12 and getting them to 
  activate the one-sided secret door to that room so they 
  can escape. They do this with the intent of keeping those 
  doors a secret, however, and thus if they cannot make it 
  to the door immediately and are likely to be 
  overwhelmed, they will flee, attempting to lead attackers 
  right into ... 
    
  … the gelatinous cube that makes a circuit of this entire 
  hallway path! It stops and turns around only at doors, 
  which it treats as dead ends. At one time, there were two 
  cubes making the rounds in alternating shifts, their 
  purpose to clean up after the modrons. Since the 
  githyanki encountered them (much to their initial 
  chagrin, no doubt!), they figured out the patterns of the 
  cubes’ movement and that they were housed in a closet-
  like room (Area 2-4). They’ve since trapped one of the 
  cubes in that room to set it up as a nice surprise for 
  interlopers. 
    
  Meanwhile, the lone gelatinous cube moves at its normal 
  rate all day, every day, from hallway to hallway in a set 
  pattern. DMs are encouraged to “time” this pattern such 
  that the party stumbles into the cube immediately upon 
  turning a corner, perhaps while pursuing githyanki. 
   
  D2-3: Insect Larder 
  The two gelatinous cubes that used to patrol the 
  hallways needed subsistence of some kind, and this 
  room provides that. Stairs lead down to this room, which 
  features three steel pillars encased in glassteel, with 
  electrical currents running through them, strictly on the 
  inside of the glassteel that encases them. The metal rods 
  periodically -- twice per day, on a set schedule -- descend 
  into the floor and then come back up, returning to their 
  floor-to-ceiling position. When this happens, insects 
  swarm up and out of lips surrounding the glassteel tubes, 
  spilling into the room just when one of the gelatinous 
  cubes patrolling the hallways (Area 2-2) would come by 
  and gobble them all up. The electrical currents have 
  something to do with attracting (or agitating) the insects 
  and causing this phenomenon. Whatever powers the 
  rods have, they don’t rely on other power sources in the 
  facility, and thus operate uninterrupted, even after the 
  modrons abandoned XK-247. 
    
  Now that the cubes operate on a modified schedule since 
  the githyanki trapped one of them, the insect swarms 
  may emerge at times when a cube is not nearby. Of 
  course, the party might kill one or both cubes, which also 
  causes insect swarms to emerge and have free reign of 
  the place. Thus, there is an encounter here: 
    
  Encounter! 
   3 swarms of insects (pincer roaches) 
    
  Tactics. The insects that spill up out of the lip are 
  agitated and will attack whatever living matter they can 
  get to. If a gelatinous cube comes by, the cube will 
  wander the area until every bug is devoured or escapes 
  back down the lips. Such an occurrence can obviously be 
  used to the benefit of anyone that knows of this pattern, 
  and the githyanki certainly know it by now. 
   
  
   
   
   
   
  29 
  D2-4: Cleaning Supply Closet 
  This room is blank, completely bereft of furniture, 
  shelving, and other accouterments. The door uses a 
  simple touchpad interface. 
    
  Encounter! 
   1 gelatinous cube 
    
  Tactics. The second of the pair of gelatinous cubes are 
  found here and has been waiting for some time on the 
  inside of the door for its chance to get out and feed on 
  insects (Area 2-3) or whatever else is in the facility. Thus, 
  unless extra precautions are taken (scrying or detection 
  magic), the gelatinous cube almost certainly benefits 
  from surprise on anyone that opens the door without 
  first knowing it’s there. Obviously, the githyanki trapped 
  it there, so they know it’s there and will use it to their 
  advantage. 
   
  D2-5: Security Room #1 
  This room was the central hub of all security features, a 
  space featuring control stations that could monitor other 
  areas of the facility, activate controls from afar, and 
  override various machines and systems. Tama-Hanesh 
  realized the strategic value of this place and attempted to 
  sabotage some of the control panels or de-power them so 
  that they couldn’t be used against him or the other 
  automated defenses very easily, but at the same time, he 
  didn’t want to utterly negate its potential usefulness to 
  him. 
    
  All the control panels in this room and their 
  functionality requires that the furnaces are activated 
  (see Area 2-21); this is how Tama-Hanesh could keep this 
  room from being taken over by the githyanki. Roguelike 
  and other modrons, as well as anyone that could read the 
  modron language (even via spells), would instinctively 
  know that the purpose of these controls is to monitor 
  and activate things throughout the facility, but specifics 
  would be impossible to determine until the controls are 
  powered up when the furnaces are activated. 
   
  Monitors 
  The control panels allow a user to monitor the following 
  areas on Level 1: 
   Area 1-2: The Pool 
   Area 1-3: The Decanter 
   Area 1-17: The Elevator 
    
  The control panels allow a user to monitor the following 
  areas on Level 2: 
   Area 2-7: Elevator and Viewports 
   Area 2-9: Experiment Gallery 
   Area 2-11: Operation Gallery 
   Area 2-12: Directive 
   Area 2-16: Fire Door 
   Area 2-21: The Furnaces 
    
  The control panels allow a user to monitor the following 
  areas on Level 3: 
   Area 3-1: Elevator 
   Area 3-7: Command Facility (monitors damaged, 
  providing a poor view) 
   Area 3-10: Wind Turbines 
   Area 3-11: Turbine Controls (monitors damaged, 
  providing a poor view) 
   
  Lockdown 
  The control panels allow the following doors to be 
  opened, closed, locked, or unlocked. When a door is 
  locked, a password (in the modron language) is created 
  and needs to be used to unlock it, either at this control 
  station or at the door itself (using the touchpad next to 
  it). Once unlocked via either method, the password is no 
  longer needed and the lock (and a new password) must 
  be reset via this control panel. 
    
  The control panels allow a user to operate all the secret 
  doors marked on the map on Level 1. 
    
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  30 
  On Level 2, the following doors can be operated as noted: 
   All doors to and from Areas 2-9 through 2-12 
  except the secret door in Area 2-12. 
   The door in Area 2-13 (not the secret one!). 
   The door to Area 2-15. 
   The blast door at Area 2-16. 
   The secret door in Area 2-20. 
    
  None of the doors on Level 3 can be operated from here 
  (whether by design or due to damage is unclear). 
   
  Control Overrides 
  The following control stations can be remotely accessed 
  and their functions performed from here: 
   Area 1-2C: Pool Control Station 
   Area 1-15: Dam Extraction Apparatus 
   The Elevator controls (noted in Areas 1-17, 2-7 
  and 3-1) 
   
  Fire Extinguishers 
  The Fire Lab can be found on this level, which means it’s 
  awfully close to some sensitive areas of XK-247. As such, 
  the modrons prepared a few tricks to ensure that any 
  raging elementals or extraplanar misfits can be handled 
  quickly and effectively. 
    
  These extinguishers can be triggered and last until 
  turned off or until an hour has passed, whichever comes 
  first. While they are on, they create an area this is 
  heavily obscured (usually the entire room, or at least a 
  20-foot sphere), and this lasts for an additional minute 
  after the extinguishers stop. The areas with working 
  extinguishers that can be triggered are: 
   Area 2-13 
   Area 2-14 
   Area 2-15 
   Area 2-16 
   All the hallways connected to Area 2-2 and the 
  above-mentioned areas 
   
  D2-6: Ruined Hub 
  Three smashed control stations line one wall, and a 
  square table with several busted stools stands across 
  from them. The table has a slightly raised lip, with a 
  metallic-looking sand lining the top face almost to the 
  lip. What function any of these things served has been 
  lost to time and damage. 
   
  D2-7: Elevator and Viewports 
  This room houses the elevator -- currently fixed in this 
  room until the furnaces are turned on to power it -- and 
  has two viewports in alcoves overlooking the dam. 
   
  Viewports 
  The two alcoves with viewports look out over the top of 
  the dam. Read or paraphrase the following: 
    
  You see the top of the dam from the viewport, a wide 
  expanse of water that has nearly reached the top of the 
  dam wall immediately outside of this bizarre facility. The 
  rest of the water is bounded by rocky mountain walls, 
  but the true size of this lake is impossible to gauge, as it 
  disappears into the misty distance. The lake created by 
  this dam must be immense! 
    
  Indeed, the modron-created lake is immense since it’s fed 
  by portals to the Elemental Plane of Water as well as 
  more mundane wintry run-off from the mountain peaks 
  above. The huge cleft it all rests in was naturally 
  occurring but the vast expanse and the elemental portals 
  create a unique, supernatural environment that can 
  support any aquatic creature, regardless of their fresh- or 
  salt-water nature. 
    
  If the dam is left as-is, it will begin to overflow within a 
  few short years, potentially creating a tremendous 
  waterfall over time. Only the Olea village and Margrim 
  Abbey would likely be threatened by this, and even then, 
  only after dozens, perhaps hundreds of years. 
   
  
   
   
   
   
  31 
  Elevator 
  If the furnaces are activated (Area 2-21), the elevator can 
  operate again. A panel in the floor opens in the center of 
  the elevator and a control station rises out of it; this 
  station has a simple panel that operates exactly like the 
  touchpad inside the elevator on Level 1 (Area 1-17). 
   
  D2-8: Records Room 
  Modrons are lawful creatures, but the first glance at this 
  room, one question that assertion: bookshelves, filing 
  cabinets, chests of books, reading tables, and books and 
  papers themselves are strewn about in haphazard 
  fashion. 
    
  The modrons used this room to store the plans to the 
  facility, their findings, several experiments that never 
  got off the ground, planar models to help make sense of 
  the elemental portals they opened, and plenty more 
  besides. The githyanki have since ransacked the place to 
  better understand the facility and its machines, but they 
  can’t read modron, so they’ve had to bring some papers 
  to Roguelike for translation. This ended when they 
  started to suspect the modron would be able to use this 
  information against them, and so this room has been 
  abandoned until they can figure out a more systematic 
  way to go about sifting through the place (likely with a 
  lot of castings of comprehend languages). 
   
  Investigation & Research 
  With the right resources -- a modron, magic to 
  understand the modron language, an eye for 
  architectural plans and flumph biology -- a party can 
  glean a lot about the facility by spending time sifting 
  through everything here. The problem is that it would 
  take a lot of time rummaging through what’s here, and 
  that’s not realistically possible with the githyanki 
  regularly trying to come up with new and better ways to 
  use the facility to their ends; eventually Vaasa and her 
  crew will return to this room and figure out how to use 
  some of the information on their own. 
    
  That shouldn’t be grounds to dissuade the players, 
  however. Assuming they have access to NPCs, magic, or 
  communication to higher powers that can answer 
  questions about the stuff in this room, the party should 
  be able to glean something useful if they spend some 
  time here. Consider providing some of the following 
  information to the party, either in part or in whole, if 
  they can employ useful spells (which act as automatic 
  success) or succeed at relevant skill checks, such as a DC 
  18 Intelligence (Investigation / Arcana / History) check. 
  Spells like comprehend languages, legend lore, and 
  commune are especially appropriate for helping sift 
  through the information. As a more interesting option, 
  consider having the party make group checks using 
  different abilities (and having spells act as automatic 
  successes) and giving them a single bullet point of 
  information for every successful check or spell 
  employed: 
   
  XK-247 Lore 
   Explanation of elevator controls. 
   Explanation of Security Room #1 controls (Area 
  2-5). These may be incomplete or have a few 
  inconsistencies from the actual controls, 
  showing that plans may have changed from the 
  draft to realization stages. 
   A keyed map of any one level of the facility. This 
  may be incomplete or have a few inconsistencies 
  from the final version. 
   A thorough treatise on flumphs (simply hand 
  players the Monster Manual entry on these 
  creatures). 
   A roster of githzerai that worked in the facility, 
  primarily in the roles of defense (stationed 
  outside the facility or strictly on Level 1) or to 
  cast spells related to the elementals and planar 
  travel. The githzerai did not stick around with 
  the facility for very long, having left for 
  undisclosed reasons quite a while before the 
  modrons abandoned the facility. 
   The writings of one modron, Alpha-9, suggest 
  that there were moral and ethical 
  “complications” with studying the flumphs and 
  their reactions to certain “elemental 
  procedures.” 
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  32 
   Treatises on elementals of all types; the lab was 
  specifically geared to the four primary elements 
  of air, earth, fire, and water. 
   Dwarves seeking ancestral halls in the High 
  Moor region once arrived at the facility and 
  were dealt with in a diplomatic manner. They 
  marveled at the construction of the dam but 
  were never invited into the facility itself. 
   
  D2-9: Experiment Gallery 
  This room features several glass cases that display some 
  of the macabre results of experimentation that the 
  modrons performed during their time running the 
  facility. These include: 
   Two central tables with glass tops displaying 
  flumphs that have been dissected, their innards 
  splayed out. 
   Three glass tubes against one wall featuring the 
  remains of two flumphs -- one nearly melted by 
  lava (now encased in cooled rock) and one 
  smashed (by strong winds from an air elemental) 
  -- and one githyanki that was fused with rock. 
   A corner, semi-circular case featuring the 
  disembodied, mummified limbs of interlopers 
  that were used for experimentation: an orc hand, 
  a goblin skull, an ogre foot, and similar parts. 
   A long display on one wall of artifacts of the 
  Olea village: semi-precious stones, primitive 
  digging tools with loop handles (for easier use by 
  flumph tentacles), and other less obvious stone 
  or gemstone devices. 
    
  Laren’nir -- a githyanki mage who once was the master 
  of the mephit Canker -- and several githyanki in this 
  room are working to figure out what they can about the 
  flumphs (they aren’t familiar with the creatures and 
  never encountered the Olea), and are also puzzling out 
  some of the mysteries of the facility. Most immediately, 
  they are trying to figure out the source of attacks on 
  their men, not knowing that the origin is Tama-Hanesh, 
  who they don’t even realize is in the facility. 
    
   
  Encounter! 
   Laren’nir 
   Canker 
   1 githyank warrior 
   2 githyanki scouts 
    
  Tactics. Laren’nir is on edge from Tama-Hanesh’s 
  attacks, so he and his men are immediately aggressive. 
  Laren’nir has mage armor on most of the day, and uses 
  misty step as often as possible to keep moving. Canker 
  will flee as soon as he takes a single hit, while Laren’nir 
  flees (using spells like greater invisibility or plane shift) 
  only if reduced to half his hit points. If this occurs, he has 
  one of any surviving githyanki retreat to help fortify 
  another room and raise the alarm 
    
  Treasure. Most of the stuff in the cases are worthless or 
  serve as a curiosity more than anything of value, but a 
  few of the flumph-made items hold more than passing 
  value because they are made of precious gemstones, a 
  common theme for psionic creatures. This includes a 
  single roll for coin value on the Challenge 0-4 Treasure 
  Hoard table in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, only 
  translated into gemstones. 
   
  D2-10: Storage Room 
  This room used to store equipment used in conducting 
  experiments on the subjects in the facility, but all the 
  tools were removed when the modrons left, leaving bare 
  shelves, tables, and cabinets. The githyanki have 
  converted these into makeshift cots and pallets to sleep 
  on, using animal hides to make them slightly more 
  comfortable. The room now serves as a general barracks 
  for the githyanki. 
   
  Encounter! 
   1d4 githyanki warriors 
    
  Tactics. If an alarm is raised in Area 2-9, any githyanki in 
  this room grab their gear (which takes 1 round), listen for 
  1 round to get a bead on what’s going on, and then open 
  the door and wade into the fray; they will be unarmored 
  (AC 12). If they don’t suspect an attack, they are resting 
  
   
   
   
   
  33 
  and thus don’t have armor on and require a round to 
  gather up their weapons if attacked. If combat occurs in 
  Area 2-9 and these githyanki aren’t dealt with, they will 
  likely wander out within the hour, see any carnage, don 
  their armor (taking 5 minutes) and come looking for the 
  source of any attacks. 
   
  D2-11: Operation Gallery 
  This chamber used to be where more invasive 
  experiments were performed on creatures in the facility 
  and thus has several steel tables and benches that are 
  bolted into the floor and walls. The githyanki have 
  turned this into barracks of a sort, and have hauled in 
  wolf pelts, blankets, and straw to make the surfaces a bit 
  more comfortable. 
   
  Encounter! 
   1d4 githyanki warriors 
    
  Tactics. These githyanki follow the same tactics as in 
  Area 2-10 and thus are unarmored (AC 12) unless they 
  have 5 minutes to don their gear. 
   
  D2-12: Directive 
  This chamber once served as a monitoring and control 
  station for experimentation, but it’s importance also 
  made it one of the few areas that the modrons 
  dismantled before abandoning the facility. All that 
  remains are two comfortable, throne-like seats with 
  smashed instrument panels on their hand rests, and 
  several canvas-like tapestries on runners built into the 
  ceiling, allowing them to be moved about the room (they 
  once served as services upon which to project images, 
  like a movie screen). 
    
  A one-sided secret door leads to the hallway (Area 2-2), 
  and the githyanki use it to their advantage. It is a simple 
  sliding panel, but it’s thick enough that they cannot hear 
  what’s happening in Area 2-2, so they won’t be alerted of 
  anything going on there unless it’s especially loud 
  (explosive spells, or spells that cause earthquakes or 
  similarly sized disturbances). It simply requires a touch 
  panel to activate, but it cannot be activated from Area 2-
  2, so it’s a one-way trip. 
    
  Vaasa lairs in this room and uses it to hold meetings and 
  contemplate on the best ways to proceed with wresting 
  complete control of XK-247 for her band. The will-o’-wisp 
  accompanying her is the spirit of someone Vaasa killed 
  long ago on her climb to power, but the creature doesn’t 
  haunt her so much as drink from the well of misery and 
  death that Vaasa doles out against her enemies (and her 
  insolent underlings). 
    
  Encounter! 
   Vaasa 
   1 will-o’-wisp 
    
  Tactics. Vaasa will immediately call for help if 
  confronted in this room; this means she summons the 
  shield guardian found in Area 2-13 in addition to any 
  nearby githyanki, with the shield guardian taking 5 
  rounds to get to this room. If she is aware of an assault, 
  she will peek through the doors to Area 2-9 and Area 2-11 
  to establish the seriousness of any threats, and if she sees 
  weakness she flanks her foes and attacks them from 
  behind. In any case, she will use the one-way door to 
  Area 2-2 as a means of fleeing (or, if it makes sense, the 
  doors to Area 2-9 or Area 2-11) if she is ever brought to 
  half of her hit points or less (45 hit points). If it is still 
  alive, the will-o’-wisp accompanies Vaasa wherever she 
  goes. 
    
  Unless obstructed, her primary goal when fleeing is to 
  find Laren’nir for backup and then make her way 
  outside to contact Fyngalaxus. When joined with the 
  dragon, she remains in the Sky Lab to get the most use 
  out of her telekinesis in order to shove people to their 
  death. 
   
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  34 
  D2-13: Security Room #2 
  This room features several control panels built into a 
  long table-like surface, and nearby is a round table with 
  several (uncomfortable) steel stools bolted into the floor 
  around it as well as a large statue of a heavily armored 
  knight with clockwork joints. 
    
  The controls have the following functions (see Area 2-5 
  for additional explanation of these functions): 
   Monitor the door at Area 2-16, the control panel 
  in Area 2-18, and the hallway running from Area 
  2-16 up to the one-way secret door (see below). 
   Lock or unlock the door at Area 2-16. 
   Activate fire extinguishers in both the hallways 
  leading away from the doors at Area 2-16, 
  leading to Area 2-15 and Area 2-2. 
    
  The statue is a shield guardian, and it’s here so long as 
  Vaasa hasn’t previously summoned it to protect her, in 
  which case it is located wherever she is. It is one of the 
  most powerful guardians the modrons had on their 
  roster, designed to help them take on (and beat) any 
  elementals that went berserk in the facility. Tama-
  Hanesh is aware of it and, in fact, tried to get a hold of its 
  control amulet, but was foiled by Vaasa and Laren’nir. 
  He chose discretion over valor during the conflict, and 
  thus remains mostly a mystery to the githyanki, but also 
  deeply regrets having failed to wrest control of the shield 
  guardian. 
    
  There is a secret door connecting this room to the 
  hallway before Area 2-15. It is invisible to detection 
  unless the party succeeds a DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) 
  check. Once found, a touchpad activator is immediately 
  discovered as well. 
    
  Encounter! 
   1 shield guardian 
    
  Tactics. If the shield guardian is here and Vaasa hasn’t 
  provided it with some other command, its goal is to 
  attack any non-githyanki that begins messing with the 
  control panel or with the shield guardian itself. 
  D2-14: Meeting Room 
  This room features a long metal table with bench seats, 
  as well as a large cabinet built into one wall. The cabinet 
  can be opened to reveal a huge canvas tapestry, which 
  was used to display images, but now stands aged and 
  torn. 
   
  D2-15: Fire Lab Controls 
  This room features a control station with several 
  functions, a cabinet with a torn display screen (same as 
  the one in Area 2-14), and a wall of force at the entrance 
  to the room, barring entry to all (the wall has been made 
  a permanent fixture by ancient modron magic). 
    
  If the wall of force is ever destroyed, the controls can 
  monitor all rooms on Level 2, lock down the fire door 
  (Area 2-16), and control fire extinguishers throughout all 
  rooms on Level 2 (see Area 2-5 for more on these types of 
  controls). 
   
  D2-16: Fire Door 
  This sliding steel door is especially robust, requiring a 
  successful DC 25 Strength check to break, and is 
  magically enchanted to be immune to fire damage. It is 
  opened and closed by a touchpad panel embedded in the 
  wall next to it. 
    
  Normally, this door is unlocked, but several control 
  panels in other rooms (always noted as such) can lock 
  down the door, requiring a password to unlock it. A DC 
  20 Dexterity (Thieves Tools) check is required to pick 
  the locking mechanism, being extremely difficult as it is 
  housed inside the wall that the door slides into. A failure 
  by 5 or more (or a natural 1) on a check to pick the lock 
  jams the mechanism with a broken lockpick or similar. 
   
  D2-17: Sauna 
  Note! Starting in this chamber and continuing 
  throughout Areas 2-18, 2-19, 2-20, and 2-21, characters 
  who are not adapted to, resistant, or immune to 
  extremely hot environments face the effects of Extreme 
  Heat (Dungeon Master’s Guide p. 110). 
  
   
   
   
   
  35 
    
  Though the walls of this area and those beyond appear to 
  be naturally formed cave walls, the floor has been 
  cleared of debris and the ceiling of stalactites, such that 
  everything is even and easily navigable. A few parts of 
  the floor are pockmarked or show the signs of shifting 
  earth over the years, but not enough to cause any issues. 
  Most notably, however, is that this area is supremely hot. 
  The air waves with heat distortions, and steam hangs 
  like clouds near the ceiling. 
   
  D2-18: Ice Box 
  This room features a 6-foot drop off on the left-hand side 
  as one enters; a short flight of stairs carved into the cave 
  floor descends at the back of the room. A cave beyond 
  suggests that this whole area is angled deeper into the 
  earth. 
    
  On the higher level, against one wall, is a control panel 
  with levers and dials, most of which seem to measure the 
  area’s heat and other attributes, though many of these 
  are broken. A lever controls the opening and closing the 
  secret door in Area D2-20, though the sounds of rushing 
  steam and fire from nearby rooms make it impossible to 
  tell from here what effect (if any) the lever has. 
  Interestingly, the wall behind this control panel radiates 
  cool air, and that is part of the reason for steam 
  throughout this region. 
    
  In fact, the control panel can be moved with great effort, 
  revealing a portal that leads to an Elemental  Plane of Ice 
  and Cold. A successful DC 20 group Strength check can 
  move the panel, or any amount of movement using 
  magical means (telekinesis or magically-enhanced 
  Strength scores). This might serve as a way home for 
  some of the mephits, or could spell the cold, frozen doom 
  of the player characters if they decide to step through. 
  This portal’s presence here is strange, and while it’s 
  possible it was used to keep the control panel from 
  melting, there may have been some other, far more 
  important reason for its existence in this location. Of 
  course, that purpose is lost now. 
   
  D2-19: Lava Pool 
  A pool of lava is found in one corner of the room, taking 
  up quite a bit of space and making it a particularly 
  dangerous area to be in. A character forcibly moved to 
  the edge of the pool (within 5ft) must succeed on a DC 15 
  Dexterity saving throw or take 10d10 fire damage per 
  round, or half as much on a success as the character is 
  not fully immersed. 
    
  Encounter! 
   1d4+1 magmin 
    
  Tactics. If the party has been having a relatively easy 
  time of the adventure up to this point, the DM may give 
  the magmin a ranged weapon attack that operates 
  exactly as their standard touch attack, but with a range 
  of 30 feet. This emulates them throwing balls of lava 
  from the pool at their foes. 
    
  The magmin aren’t immediately hostile, but unless 
  there’s an elemental creature with them (such as a 
  mephit) or another guardian of XK-247 (such as Tama-
  Hanesh), they delight in setting things (and people) on 
  fire, so it’s not like that’s going to ingratiate them with 
  the adventurers. Beyond the stipulations just mentioned, 
  promises of freedom outside of XK-247 might make 
  them less likely to attack (using the usual social 
  interaction rules). 
   
  D2-20: Secret Door 
  The control panel in Area D2-18 controls whether the 
  secret door located here is open or closed, but its opening 
  is still concealed either way: a successful DC 18 Wisdom 
  (Perception) check or a DC 12 Intelligence 
  (Investigation) check will locate the concealed panel in 
  the wall that has a rock-like facade. It easily slides open, 
  assuming the control unlocked it. Beyond is a narrow 
  corridor and staircase carved into the rock that descends 
  over 200 feet below this level. 
   
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  36 
  D2-21: The Furnaces 
  Read or paraphrase the following: 
   
  The corridor from the adjoining area opens into a 
  massive chamber of immense heat, hundreds of 
  yards across and over 60 feet high. It is mostly 
  natural cavern, and therefore difficult terrain, with 
  stalagmites and stalactites everywhere. 
    
  A landing that’s about 15 feet wide rings this room, 
  and a glassteel corridor has been erected along this 
  landing to protect those on it from direct exposure to 
  the lava that dominates the interior of the room; there 
  are several doors with control panels that allow 
  access to the central area, but they are all currently 
  closed, which is probably a good thing. There are 
  three small islands of rock that jut out of the lava 
  roughly near the center of the cavern, and upon each 
  is built a massive cylinder of metal roughly 20 feet in 
  diameter with huge steel appendages that reach up 
  to and pierce the ceiling. Upon the cylinders are 
  dozens of readouts, levers, wheels, and cranks, many 
  shielded from the elements by glassteel covers of the 
  apertures in which they are set; several of these are 
  broken, cracked, or otherwise damaged. 
   
  The cylinders are the furnaces, and if they are powered, XK-
  247 goes (mostly) back online, meaning that lots of the other 
  machines in the facility will work or have different, 
  additional functions, as noted in their individual 
  descriptions. Turning on the furnaces is quite simple: a 
  single control panel is located within the glassteel shielded 
  corridor as soon as the party enters this area. One simply 
  needs to pull the lever (opening a panel in the ceiling of the 
  chamber, from which a ruby is suspended by a metal arm), 
  crank the wheel (this aligns three lenses located in the 
  ceiling, causing sun or moonlight to filter into three beams 
  that strike the ruby), and pull another lever (this focuses the 
  lenses into a powerful burst of light that activates the ruby). 
  Thus activated, magical enchantments on the ruby cause a 
  door to a protected chamber beneath the central most 
  island to open, though that remains unseen because it’s 
  about 50 feet below the surface of the lava. 
    
  Once that occurs, a portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire 
  opens and spits out a fire elemental that is then loosed into 
  the chamber, and its mere presence is enough to activate 
  the furnaces. Their metal appendages ascending through 
  the ceiling begin to pump rhythmically, pushing heated 
  water into various internal mechanisms and creating 
  kinetic energy that powers other machines in the facility. If 
  the fire elemental is destroyed or leaves, another must be 
  summoned in the same manner, or else the furnaces slowly 
  power down over the course of an hour or so. 
    
  Once the fire elemental is summoned, the portal closes, the 
  controls and lenses reset themselves, the ruby and arm 
  retract into the housing in the ceiling, and the door to the 
  protected chamber closes within an hour. 
    
  Encounter! 
   4 magmin 
   1 fire elemental 
    
  Tactics. As in Area D2-19, the magmin here can hurl lava as 
  a ranged attack but are not immediately hostile. If they are 
  goaded or attacked from behind the glassteel walls, they 
  have no problem opening the doors and entering; they’ve 
  had an awfully long time to figure out how the doors work. 
    
  The fire elemental only appears if the above steps are 
  completed on the control panel, which fires up the furnace. 
  The fire elemental will “play” with the magmin -- which 
  they appreciate after these many longs years of boredom -- 
  but otherwise is not hostile. It doesn’t know how to work 
  the doors. The portal that brings the fire elemental over 
  could be discovered by the magmin, though the opening for 
  it is only activated for a short time to let the fire elemental 
  through. Of course, once all the controls are reset, the party 
  could reactivate the portal and summon another fire 
  elemental, or give the magmin more chances to discover the 
  portal leading to the Elemental Plane of Fire. These actions 
  have consequences that a cunning DM can utilize to wreak 
  havoc on the facility or its current inhabitants and 
  interlopers. 
    
   
   
  
   
   
   
   
  37 
  Chapter 4: Level 3 - Sky Lab 
   
   
   
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  38 
  The floating islands of rock that make up the Sky Lab 
  were literally ripped directly from the earth from the 
  valley below, and include a small fort that was raised on 
  its mound of rock and soil. Steel-plated bridges were 
  erected to traverse them, and three massive turbines 
  were constructed to power bizarre machinery long since 
  destroyed in an earthquake that ruined the now missing 
  Earth Lab. 
   
  General Features 
  Walls, Ceilings, and Doors. Ceilings are 15 feet high 
  unless otherwise noted. The walls are made of solid 
  metal (two feet thick) and doors are also metal (only six 
  inches thick). Outer doors are hinged and feature an 
  internal locking mechanism that is incredibly tough to 
  break: opening such locks requires a DC 18 Dexterity 
  (Thieves Tools) check, while forcing them requires a 
  successful DC 22 Strength check. Interior doors have 
  much simpler locks, requiring a successful DC 14 
  Dexterity (Thieves Tools) check, but are still quite 
  strong when locked, requiring a successful DC 18 
  Strength check to break. 
    
  Light. All the facilities here feature windows (glassteel in 
  all cases), and most of the terrain is in open air, so 
  whatever moon or sun light is available. 
    
  Control Stations. Control and monitoring stations exist 
  exactly as described in Level 1 - The Water Laboratory. 
   
  Encounter Areas 
  D3-1: Elevator 
  If the furnaces are activated (Area 2-21), the elevator can 
  operate again. A panel in the floor opens in the center of 
  the elevator and a control station rises out of it; this 
  station has a simple panel that operates exactly like the 
  touchpad inside the elevator on Level 1 (Area 1-17). 
    
  D3-2: Vestibule 
  This 20-foot by 20-foot room features a one-way glassteel 
  viewport looking upon the elevator, windows looking 
  out on to the hill (Area D3-3), and doors on either side: 
  one that leads into the elevator and one that leads out 
  onto the hill. These doors can be locked from within this 
  room, requiring a passcode to bypass them from outside 
  of the room (see Area 2-5 for more on passcodes). 
    
  Encounter! 
   2 githyanki warriors 
    
  Tactics. The two githyanki stationed here keep a 
  lackadaisical watch over the elevator and the hill; things 
  are boring up here. There’s a 50% chance they are taken 
  completely by surprise from the elevator (they don’t 
  notice it’s working now, if it were activated). There’s a 
  98% chance they are taken by surprise if the party finds 
  other means of heading into this area, such as magical 
  flight. The only time they are on full alert is if 
  Fyngalaxus has somehow been alerted to trespassers, at 
  which point he screams at these fools to do their job. 
   
  D3-3: The Hill 
  The elevator and vestibule sit atop a hill that’s 20 feet up 
  from the edges of this floating landmass (see the map for 
  general elevation breaks). The grass growing here is 
  rather unruly and filled with weeds, but hasn’t grown 
  much past the shins of an adult human due to the lack of 
  shade and somewhat “different” environment of this 
  flying hunk of earth. 
    
  Encounter! 
   2 githyanki warriors 
   1 githyanki scout 
    
  Tactics. Three githyanki patrol this landmass and will 
  flee across the skybridge if they suffer 50% or greater 
  losses. 
   
  D3-4: Skybridges 
  Two steel skybridges connect the three landmasses that 
  float here, anchored by steel cables (other steel cables 
  connect the islands as well, as shown on the map; 
  tightrope walking is very, very dangerous, FYI!). They are 
  
   
   
   
   
  39 
  roughly 10 feet wide, made of steel panels, and feature a 
  low railing (only about 2 feet tall), which makes violent 
  winds, drastic movements, and combat incredibly 
  precarious. 
    
  Moving across the bridges. Because of the windy 
  conditions (especially if the turbines are active), using 
  the Dash action or benefiting from any increase in speed 
  while moving on the bridges triggers an immediate DC 
  14 Dexterity saving throw; failure resulting in a slip, and 
  the creature nearly falling overboard which ends their 
  movement. Failure by 5 or more, however, results in the 
  creature falling overboard (ending their movement) and 
  is hanging on the rail. On their next turn, they must 
  climb back up, reducing their movement to half. Taking 
  any damage or being affected by any sort of forced 
  movement before then triggers another DC 14 Dexterity 
  saving throw; failure results in the creature falling 100 
  feet to the ground below, landing prone and sustaining 
  30 (10d6) bludgeoning damage. 
    
  Forced movement of any kind to or over the edge of the 
  bridge triggers the same series of events: DC 14 Dexterity 
  saving throw to stop their movement; failure by 5 or 
  more results in the individual falling but hanging on the 
  ledge and ending their movement. On their next turn, 
  they must climb back up, reducing their movement to 
  half. Any future damage (or forced movement) triggers a 
  second DC 14 Dexterity saving throw; failure results in 
  the creature falling 100 feet to the ground below, landing 
  prone and sustaining 30 (10d6) bludgeoning damage. 
    
  Moving across the steel cables. Invariably, somebody 
  will think traversing the steel cables is a good idea. 
  Under the best of circumstances, this is dangerous, and 
  in combat or if the turbines are active, this is suicide. A 
  successful DC 14 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check allows a 
  character to move at half their speed along the cable; 
  moving any faster results in this check being made at 
  disadvantage. Failure results with the creature falling 
  overboard (ending their movement) and is hanging from 
  the cable. On their next turn, they must climb back up, 
  reducing their movement to half. Taking any damage or 
  being affected by any sort of forced movement before 
  then triggers another DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, 
  failure results in the creature falling 100 feet to the 
  ground below, landing prone and sustaining 30 (10d6) 
  bludgeoning damage. In combat situations or when the 
  turbines are active, these rolls, and any attack rolls or 
  ability checks whilst on the cables are made at 
  disadvantage. 
   
  D3-5: The Yard 
  The second landmass features an expanse of grassy 
  earth, two hills (elevations noted on the map), and some 
  greenery. Two footpaths wind around the outer edge of 
  the island and appear to have been made of cobblestones 
  at one point, but now they are cracked, with weeds and 
  grass has overgrown most of the stones. 
    
  Encounter! 
   1d4 githyanki warriors 
   1d4+1 githyanki scout 
    
  Tactics. These githyanki patrol this landmass and will 
  hold the line here at all costs. If they are heavily 
  outmatched, one of the scouts will fall back to alert 
  Fyngalaxus (if present) that there are interlopers, but the 
  dragon generally doesn’t like to be bothered by anyone 
  other than Vaasa. 
   
  D3-6: The Garden 
  The garden was once lush and made of both normal 
  vegetation of many varieties, and intelligent plants that 
  had been awakened through magic (or perhaps the 
  esoteric machinery of the modrons). Now, the garden is 
  overgrown with weeds and vines, and several of the 
  shrubs and trees are half-eaten or burnt by Fyngalaxus 
  when he (rarely) wants a little greenery in his diet. 
    
  Interaction! The treant known as The Watcher stands 
  here in abject fear of Fyngalaxus, but bound by some 
  ancient geas that he hardly remembers to continue to 
  watch over the plants, even if they were to all perish. His 
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  40 
  true nature is not known to any of the inhabitants’ other 
  than Tama-Hanesh. 
    
  The Watcher knows little of true value: he has lived 
  centuries upon this hunk of rock, and the terrors he’s 
  seen as empires fall and the Forgotten Realms are 
  ravaged by the affairs of gods and mortals alike, as well 
  as the depredations of the modrons who built this 
  facility and sent this chunk of land hurling into the skies 
  have warped the treant’s memories, which keeps it in a 
  constant state of maudlin. He begins as indifferent 
  toward the party (friendly if they are accompanied by 
  the couatl), and will ultimately trust anyone that visibly 
  opposes the githyanki and the dragon. If his attitude is 
  swayed through interaction to help the party, or if they 
  oppose the githyanki and need some backup, The 
  Watcher will gladly join them. He will provide any 
  muscle he can to those whom he trusts. Despite his 
  defeatist attitude, he flies into a berserker fury when 
  combat with the githyanki or the dragon presents itself, 
  but only if he’s got heroes to back him up (or egg him on). 
   
  D3-7: Command Facility 
  One squat building and a few busted control panels sit 
  smoking up on this hill, victims of Fyngalaxus’ 
  unfettered and completely random fits of rage. Their 
  original purpose is a mystery. 
   
  D3-8: The Vortex 
  A ring of stones marked with the angular symbols of the 
  modron language stands at the top of this hill. The 
  twenty or so stones are roughly square-shaped and 
  weigh about 100 pounds apiece, and half a dozen of them 
  have been knocked over or tossed aside, breaking the 
  ring. Reading the stones’ markings provides a sigil 
  sequence like that of a teleportation circle, but suggest 
  interplanar travel. Additionally, some of the markings 
  speak to a form of abjuration magic, not unlike that of a 
  magic circle spell. 
    
  In fact, if the displaced stones are returned, creating the 
  original ring shape, a portal to the Elemental Plane of Air 
  spits out two air elementals, who are immediately 
  pressed into service spinning about within a tight circle 
  within the area of the ring of stones (though they range 
  from about 10 feet up to 100 feet up). The portal closes 
  abruptly, and the earth between the stones is disturbed, 
  revealing a depression in the ground featuring a metal 
  enclosure with a spiral-shaped, multi-paneled disk, 
  which begins to spin rapidly when the air elementals 
  really get moving. This, in turn, causes ancient 
  machinery housed within the floating landmass to 
  churn, and the wind turbines (Area D3-10) begin to spin, 
  creating a slight rocking motion in all the flying islands, 
  as well as whipping winds. 
    
  Encounter! 
   2 air elementals 
    
  Tactics. The air elementals are bound by the magic of the 
  circle to power the turbines, which in turn provide 
  power to the facility ... except the machines that they 
  powered were lost or destroyed when the Earth 
  Elemental Laboratory was destroyed by an earthquake. 
  So now, the turbines don’t do a whole lot (see Area D3-
  10). 
    
  The air elementals are released from service as soon as 
  they are attacked. They literally fly into a rage, attacking 
  anything that attacks them, and the biggest target if 
  nothing is currently attacking them. If the air elementals 
  are no longer powering the vortex (and thus the 
  turbines), the turbines will power down over the course 
  of one hour. 
   
  D3-9: Storage Sheds 
  Three small sheds stand in various states of ruin, their 
  walls having been torn apart and burnt during one of 
  Fyngalaxus’ rages. 
   
  
   
   
   
   
  41 
  D3-10: Wind Turbines 
  Several steel planks with short railings (identical in 
  construction and as traversable as the skybridges) lead 
  down the side of the floating island to three long steel 
  cylinders -- each between 40 and 60 feet long, and about 
  15 feet in diameter -- that terminate in five swooping 
  steel blades. Bits of moss, vines, rust, and bird droppings 
  dot these fans unless they are activated by the air 
  elementals (Area D3-8), in which case the cylinders begin 
  to spin at an incredible rate of speed, the fan blades 
  slicing through the air and creating a deafening 
  thrumming and a considerable wind. 
    
  When the turbines are active, all outdoor areas of the 
  Sky Lab as well as a few hundred yards around the 
  facility are subjected to the effects of Strong Wind 
  (Dungeon Master’s Guide p. 110). 
    
  Attempting to damage, destroy, or simply stop any of the 
  turbines must be adjudicated by the Dungeon Master, 
  but keep in mind these are huge constructions of 
  magically reinforced steel. They aren’t beyond the ability 
  of mortal magic to affect -- fireballs, lightning bolts, and 
  similarly destructive spells should be able to affect the 
  turbines -- but neither should they be easy to manipulate. 
    
  All of that said, a fantastic way to bring XK-247 crashing 
  to the ground once the adventure comes to a reasonable 
  conclusion would be to have the turbines break down 
  since whatever machinery they once powered is 
  damaged or destroyed. Perhaps they grind to a sudden 
  and jolting halt, sending the floating islands crashing 
  into the facility below; damage dealt to the turbines by 
  the player characters may influence this. Don’t use any 
  of this as a license to kill the characters out of hand. 
  Instead use it as a climactic, explosive ending as the PCs 
  make a daring leap to escape the destruction before 
  limping back to Margrim Abbey with a plume of 
  billowing smoke behind their silhouettes and some cool 
  outro song the githzerai hear as the PCs stride back into 
  town and the credits roll. 
  D3-11: Turbine Controls 
  Three buildings feature large control stations with 
  readouts, levers, and pulleys with thick steel cable that 
  disappears through an opening in the floor and reaches 
  deep down into the mountainside below, to the 
  destroyed Earth Laboratory level of XK-247. The controls 
  have been mostly burnt or torn apart by Fyngalaxus, 
  while other parts long ago rusted or broke down to 
  exposure to the elements and bird droppings. 
   
  D3-12: The Berm 
  A flat plain of nearly knee-deep grass and weeds stands 
  before a small keep with crenelated towers and some 
  broken walls. 
   
  D3-13: The Thickets 
  One edge of this floating island features a lot of 
  overgrown shrubs, vines, hedges, and a few stunted 
  trees, and hides a band of deadly, utterly enraged plant 
  monsters! 
    
  Encounter! 
   1 roper 
   1d4 vine blights 
   2d6 needle blights 
   2d6 twig blights 
    
  Tactics. The DM is encouraged to roll the number of 
  creatures appearing here ahead of time, and separate 
  them into three or more waves of the creatures, placing 
  the waves throughout the area surrounding the fortress. 
  The roper, for instance, might be using its Spider Climb 
  ability to position itself directly over the entrance to the 
  fortress, with several blights appearing as natural, 
  thorny hedges among the various overgrown weeds and 
  bushes in the area. 
    
  These creatures are not loyal to the githyanki, but do not 
  attack them for fear of reprisal from Fyngalaxus. If given 
  the opportunity to pick off a githyanki or two while the 
  dragon is otherwise indisposed, they wouldn’t hesitate. 
  Otherwise, they’ll attack just about anything else 
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  42 
  approaching the fortress, unless Tama-Hanesh directly 
  commands them otherwise. 
   
  D3-14: Sky Prison 
  The hunk of rock that makes up this island already had a 
  small fort installed on it when the modrons lifted it up 
  into the sky, though whether it had been abandoned at 
  the time or its inhabitants were experimented on by the 
  modrons is unknown. Regardless, the thick stone walls 
  have been partially replaced by the steel plating of the 
  modrons design, though certain sections remain in ruins 
  from the years, revealing the original construction. 
    
  The outer wall is a 20-foot-high fortress wall, without a 
  roof. The corner towers feature spiral staircases that 
  allow someone to get to the crenelated top, from which 
  they can spy quite the view from this height. The four 
  buildings within this first section of the fortress were 
  once buildings for living, stables, and the like, but have 
  since had steel doors installed by the modrons that lock 
  from the outside, and thus can be used as a prison. 
  Captured player characters could easily end up here. 
    
  The DM can certainly place some prisoners here, though 
  they are likely to end up as food for the dragon in 
  relatively short order. Use this as an opportunity to place 
  NPCs meaningful to the campaign and the player 
  characters here, or NPCs that might be able to provide 
  additional context to the githyanki’s activities or the 
  modron facility, if the party has ignored or otherwise 
  made poor use of the potentially friendly NPCs up to this 
  point. A captured githzerai hermit, a yuan-ti from the 
  nearby Serpent Hills, or gnomes from the Trielta Hills 
  region all make reasonable prisoners. 
   
  D3-15: The Dragon’s Lair 
  The second section of the fortress features two buildings, 
  both of which have had their roofs sheared off in places 
  by Fyngalaxus, who is fast turning this area into his lair. 
  The door to the adjoining tower has been ripped off and 
  tossed away (probably beyond the dam). 
    
  Encounter! 
   Fyngalaxus 
    
  Tactics. Fyngalaxus is one mean-spirited dragon, but he’s 
  not a complete fool: remember that this fortress has no 
  roof (only the buildings within it do, and even those have 
  portions that are damaged or partially removed), and 
  thus the dragon can take to the skies and fight at any 
  moment. The adjoining tower gives Fyngalaxus a choke 
  point from which he can attack, as well as make a 
  protected retreat through the roof (though he does have 
  to squeeze through the trapdoor, which could work 
  against him). 
   
  RUNNING FYNGALAXUS 
   
  Fyngalaxus is, first and foremost, a dragon, and as 
  such, can serve as the focus of a climactic at the end 
  of this dungeon romp. But this dragon in particular 
  plays extremely well as a wild card, instead. As 
  mentioned in the appropriate sections, the githyanki 
  mage Laren’nir and the warlord Vaasa are prone to 
  fleeing and fighting another day, and that should 
  almost automatically include alerting Fyngalaxus 
  and 
  having 
  him 
  on 
  hand 
  for 
  any 
  future 
  confrontations. Fyngalaxus can easily swoop down 
  from Level 3 at any point, and while traversing XK-247 
  is uncomfortable, most of the hallways are 10 feet 
  wide (or wider), so it’s not impossible for him to be a 
  viable threat again and again as the players explore 
  the facility. 
   
  Keep the following in mind when running this 
  adventure: 
   If the githyanki are aware of an imminent 
  threat and have time to mobilize, Vaasa will 
  attempt to partner up with Fyngalaxus 
  quickly. 
   The dragon regularly hunts for food in the 
  valleys and surrounding territory, so he may 
  be absent at times. Or he may be hunting the 
  party down, and he knows the area pretty 
  well. 
   If the githyanki and Fyngalaxus cannot 
  eliminate an imminent threat to them rather 
  
   
   
   
   
  43 
  quickly – say, after 2 or 3 encounters – they 
  do not hesitate to hole up in a more protected 
  area for some time and begin setting 
  ambushes or traps. 
   Fyngalaxus can see the trail leading up to 
  XK-247 from the Sky Lab: if the party 
  continuously leaves the facility to head back 
  to the Abbey or to camp elsewhere, the 
  dragon will begin keeping a watch out for 
  their approach should they return. It takes a 
  week of no encounters for the red dragon to 
  suspect the coast is clear. 
  If Fyngalaxus finds out Vaasa’s dead or captured at any 
  point, he seeks revenge immediately. He puts up a 
  convincing attack, but if reduced to a third of his hit 
  points or less, flees to fight another day. If Vaasa escapes 
  the player characters and can contact Fyngalaxus, she’ll 
  be riding the dragon into whatever climactic battle the 
  party triggers through their actions in XK-247, but even 
  as a pair, they are unlikely to fight to the death, instead 
  fleeing and reappearing in future adventures of the DMs 
  choosing. 
   
   
   
  
  Modrons, Mephits & Mayhem! by Tim Bannock 
   
    
   
   
  44 
  Chapter 5: Concluding the Adventure
  With so many parties involved in this adventure, there 
  are a lot of loose ends to consider: 
   
  Defeating the Githyanki 
  Simply defeating the githyanki and Fyngalaxus is a huge 
  victory unto itself. This band plans to terrorize a wide 
  swath of the region and build their own power base here, 
  so capturing or killing the lot of them will be a huge 
  boon to Margrim Abbey. Consider awarding the party 
  with magical boons, staunch allies in the form of 
  hirelings and retainers, or several common and 
  uncommon consumable magic items provided by the 
  githzerai from their temple’s stores. 
   
  Replenishing the River Water 
  The Decanter of Endless Water can be turned back on and 
  used to replenish the water that flows into the river that 
  crosses Margrim Abbey. Turning it on is as easy as 
  activating the magic mouth (dispelling the githyanki 
  magic is the easiest way to do this; treat it like casting 
  dispel magic as a ritual). But some considerations may 
  need to be made to ensure that XK-247’s bizarre 
  apparatus isn’t used to start adding poison to the water … 
   
  The Dam 
  … or the party could find some way to open the 
  floodgates of the dam, or burst the wall, emptying the 
  magical, interdimensionally-sourced lake into the valley 
  below. This would cause untold damage, and release lots 
  of water-element-aligned creatures into the rivers and 
  swamps of the region. Don’t allow this cataclysm 
  without careful thought, but do understand that this 
  author thinks it’s a particularly fun way to shake up the 
  region around Boareskyr Bridge and the Serpent Hills. 
   
  The Mephits 
  There are a couple portals noted throughout the 
  adventure locations, and these are the primary means to 
  return the mephits to the Elemental Planes. But they 
  don’t all want that, so it’s not as easy as just asking them 
  to step through said portal(s). 
    
  Ultimately, while this is the driving goal of Roguelike, 
  he’s not really willing to force the mephits when it comes 
  right down to it. That being the case, he’d abandon this 
  goal and join the party if the mephits put up enough of a 
  stink about it. 
   
  The Modron 
  Roguelike’s fate is in the hands of the PCs: he’ll join them 
  if he can’t rejoin the hierarchy of Mechanus. Or just go 
  on his way and adventure around the Sword Coast some 
  more. 
    
  But if the mephits (preferably all or at least most of them) 
  are returned to the Elemental Planes and Roguelike is 
  present for it, then his dream comes true. Alpha-9 will 
  appear nearby, having plane shifted via some existing 
  connection between the facility and a combination of 
  fate and omniscient logic of Primus (the modron’s patron 
  deity). Alpha-9 will forgive Roguelike, restoring his name 
  (Cubic-3) and returning him through a portal to 
  Mechanus. The quadrone thanks the party as he leaves, 
  and the DM may bestow upon them one of the magical 
  boons from the Dungeon Master’s Guide as payment from 
  Primus himself for helping to bring one of his own back 
  into the fold. 
   
  Further Adventures 
  XK-247 is a massive facility, and with all the esoteric 
  technology, it’s likely there remain several mysteries the 
  party has yet to uncover during their adventures. The 
  DM is encouraged to allow them to explore further, and 
  perhaps unlock some means of getting to the Earth 
  Laboratory, which we might one day detail as a bonus 
  adventure location... 
  
   
   
   
   
  45 
  Appendix: Monster & NPC Summaries
  Margrim Abbey 
  Character 
  Description 
  Githzerai Guards and 
  Veterans 
  LN female or male githzerai guard or veteran with the following additional ability: 
  Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). The githzerai's innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom. It can innately cast 
  the following spells, requiring no components:  
   
  At will: mage hand (the hand is invisible)  
   
  3/day each: feather fall, jump, see invisibility, shield 
  Enoren 
  LN female githzerai knight (demanding, dutiful, trusting), with the following additional ability: 
  Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). The githzerai's innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom. It can innately cast 
  the following spells, requiring no components:  
   
  At will: mage hand (the hand is invisible)  
   
  3/day each: feather fall, jump, see invisibility, shield 
  Karmone 
  N male githzerai monk (strong-willed, courageous, rash) 
  Lokas 
  LN male githzerai zerth (peaceful, proud, short-sighted) 
   
  The Flumphs 
  Character 
  Description 
  Aliannafrey 
  LG flumph (incorrigible, paranoid, zealous) 
  Digger 
  CG flumph (resourceful, impatient, rowdy) 
  Scar One-Eye 
  N flumph (droll, forgetful, insecure) 
   
  XK-247 
  Character 
  Description 
  Alpha-9 
  LN pentadrone (passive, wise) 
  Canker 
  NE smoke mephit (sneaky, vengeful) 
  Fyngalaxus 
  CE male adult red dragon (angry, petulant) 
  Githyanki Scout 
  LE female or male githyanki scout with the following additional abilities: 
  Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). The githyanki's innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence. It can innately 
  cast the following spells, requiring no components: 
   
  At will: mage hand (the hand is invisible) 
   
  3/day each: jump, misty step, nondetection (self only) 
  Keen Hearing and Sight: The scout has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or 
  sight. 
  Iggylack Barnburner 
  NE magma mephit (nervous, unpredictable) 
  Laren’nir 
  LE male githyanki mage (creepy, verbose), with the following additional ability: 
  Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). The githyanki's innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 13, 
  +5 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components: 
   
  At will: mage hand (the hand is invisible) 
   
  3/day each: jump, misty step, nondetection (self only), tongues 
   
  1/day each: plane shift, telekinesis 
  Roguelike 
  N rogue quadrone (curious, honorable, naïve) 
  Slish & Smurdge 
  NE mud mephits (Slish is cowardly, Smurdge is crass) 
  Tama-Hanesh 
  LG couatl (bored, cunning, strategist) 
  Vaasa 
  LE female githyanki knight (fast-thinker, megalomaniac) 
   
  
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
  
   
   
   
  
   
   
   
  
   
   
   
  
   
   
   
  
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/DMsGuild/Tim Bannock - Modrons Mephits and Mayhem.pdf