d6 Treasure Maps

 I love treasure maps, that odd, often-eschewed item old D&D instructs you to periodically hand out in its magic item table. They're just so neat, and they have the pleasant effect of rewarding adventure with adventure. But they're hard to improvise, so I've put together six for you to enjoy. They're a bit more generic, and I'll give some advice about how to adapt them to your situation.

I made all these maps as physical artifacts, but of course you'll just have the images. I will comment briefly on the different methods I used in case they inspire you to make your own.

Map 1: folded in half four times, then refolded over and over, tore off the edges, distressed the edges while folded, crumpled up a couple times. Dipped briefly in tea cup, which accidentally split it along the over-mishandled first two folds, resulting in four quarters. For this map I wanted a small island that could be easy to plausibly place off any given coast. It mingles landmarks, cryptic warning symbols, a specific route, and a series of three circles indicating steps towards the treasure. As I said, my splitting of the map was accidental, but it works out that the PCs could work to complete the map as an adventure, starting with the bottom left, using another to cross-reference where the island is, and getting the other two in the process of learning how to get to the goods.

Map 2: poured tea onto a plate and laid the paper on it, flipped, removed to dry, tore the edges off, folded twice, then rolled up like a scroll, distressed and carried in my pocket for a while. The route suggested is pretty clear, but there's more obvious ambiguity about what might happen if you take an alternate route. The right-to-left puzzle in the notation is simple but should hopefully be satisfying.

Map 3:  pressed into the bottom of a wet sink, flipped and pressed on other side, allowed to dry, tore off edges, folded four times, notched hole in a corner (center of the page), distressed variously, tore fragment out. This one, centered on a river joining, uses the acquisition of necessary items (two keys) to ensure the journey has incident, and ends with the counting of paces, which I wanted to try out. This was also my first try at putting notes on the back. It's fun!

Map 4:  crumpled up into a ball, tore off edges, crumpled into a ball started with a different corner each time. Makes a lot of use of monster icons to attract and repel PCs.

Map 5: tore bottom section, utterly soaked in water, accidentally tore, left to dry, folded, rolled up into a scroll, distressed edges. Wanted to do a pirate map, ended up doing a whale city. Not the most original, but I think players would be excited by it.

Map 6: pressed into the bottom of a wet sink and flipped, left to dry, tore off edges, folded in half, then folded in thirds, then folded "road map style". This was my attempt at a smaller-scale map, with no real journeying, just getting to grips with one area.

In terms of how I designed each map, I figured that it should be pretty easy for the PCs to locate the area being charted based on landmarks or phrases. I wanted each map to have at least three steps so that it felt like a proper process, and used a combination of standard geographical marks and doodles to indicate landmarks and hazards. For inspiration, consider hazard symbols and dungeon signs and children's' drawings of monsters.

Treasure maps are an interesting departure from dungeons. While they both have risk and reward, treasure maps provide an intended solution. Counterbalance that by giving real hazards and problems on that intended route, and considering what interesting things might happen if players want to skip a step. Draw the occasional landmark outside this route to tempt them to explore. Traps should be treated as already foreshadowed if they're marked on the map (scary!), and the treasure should be a little extra juicy to "sell" the endeavor, and commensurate both to the danger of following the map and the situation in which the map was found. I'll suggest some for each map, but you should modulate the coinage and such to fit your needs.

Map 1 

At low tide, there is a point which is easily forded, from which someone following the map can come to a stream with a notable rock on the far side, crossing, and skirting between a woods and steep hills before wrapping around and climbing up a particular hill at a set of switchbacks. Once there, they can find a cave that leads to a chamber with three warrior statues, two of which wear swords but the middle one having only an empty scabbard. Filling the scabbard triggers the opening of a secret door, leading to a chamber with an ancient wheel mechanism and a collar with a chain running into the wall. If the wheel is turned, the chain retracts and, if someone or something is in the collar to prevent it from retracting into the wall, a hidden hatch in the ceiling opens and the treasure slowly descends to the floor.

Potential obstacles are many. The skulls and shipwreck are meant to indicate treacherous shoals that surround much of the island, and approaching from the wrong side can be costly. To the east of the hills reside three cyclopes (or other dangerous eye-themed resident) who are habitual cannibals. The woods themselves probably have some Gygaxian wildlife and therefore danger, but may have overgrown detritus that serves as a clue about the treasure's original owners. The secret doors in the cave can be found and forced open, but they are trapped-- the first with a vial of the deadly violet Dolorfetor gas (save vs death) that breaks if the door is opened without the scabbard's fulfillment, while the second drops a wight that would have been retracted if the door was opened in the proper way.

The broken tower may just be an old lighthouse, the entrance to a dungeon, or contain an omen about the cyclopes or forest inhabitants. It's hard to make out, but there's a drawing of a hut on the islet between the tower and the main island-- perhaps the residence of a sand witch or marooned sailor seeking the treasure. The northern coast has no apparent features, so it would be a good place to put and additions intended by the DM.

Suggested treasure: 5,000 silver pieces of eight, 3,200 gold dubloons, a masterfully crafted saber with turqoise inlays (worth 400 gold), rare manuscripts of mythology, ritual observances, and history that have survived a cultural purge (worth 1000 gold), a scroll of water breathing, and a helmet and leather shirt coated in basilisk scales.

Map 2

"City of the Birds" might be a famous nickname for any settlement convenient to the DM. The lines running past it might be a river or a road. Going five miles west will lead to a canyon running between two high cliffs. It is guarded by a vicious dragon-sized bugge with pale striations and many-segmented body (stats as umber hulk). Eventually coming to a larger river canyon, stepping stones hidden by the water allow an easy crossing, from which the party can climb ancient steps carved into the cliff towards ancient brick burial mounds. If the entrance stone of the leftmost stone is rolled away, the party can navigate through a series of tunnels (using the arrows indicated to select which of branching tunnels to take, reading right to left like with the text) to the treasure cache.

If the party wants to veer left to avoid the bugge, they will find an alternate canyon to travel through, where they will encounter a war party of nomadic archers who include these cliffs as being among their wide range. Happy to attack travelers, if instead befriended they can share scents they manufacture to repel the bugge. The bridge downriver is dilapidated and disused, and cover the lair of the bugge's offspring, which may ambush the unwary (stats as umber hulk, no confusion attack, -1 HD, -2 reaction, each turn attacking someone on the bridge has a 2-in-6 chance of collapsing it). The fort at the falls is home to a jackalwere and her squad of girlboss poachers and gold-hunters, sworn enemies of the archer nomads. Finally, if a wrong turn is taken in the tunnels under the brick mound, there's an equal chance of encountering a random dungeon monster, an ancient pit trap, or getting lost.

The people of the City of the Birds are unaware of the treasure, but must have some knowledge of the canyons and the nomads. It is possible that another party of treasure-hunters can be found here, about to start their own expedition. If the party veers right to avoid the bugge, they'll have to scale the cliffs, but if they do they might find an adobe fortress under siege from a dungeon below, howling whirlwinds that threaten to push them off the cliffs, or simply rough and jagged terrain. There is a second set of steps upriver that may be safe or not, and they are closer to another set of brick mounds, which may be simple tombs, conceal strange monsters, or be home to minor treasures of their own, or, of course, dungeon entrances.

Suggested treasure: gold jewelry worth 4,000 coins, an enchanted lacquered ceramic-bladed +1 axe, a quartz crystal amulet, and the cursed Gatestaff.

Map 3

There is no apparent reason to start in the hill where the first arrow originates, but if the party does so, they will find an old shack that conceals an old adventuring party's hideout dug into the hill, now long-abandoned. A search will reveal a fragment of paper, the missing section of the map!

While the party could try to skip to the very end with this, they will find it convenient to retrieve two keys. The first is kept by the guardian at the pawprint marker, either a werebear or perhaps a bear spirit. She agreed to keep it safe for the originators of the treasure map, and will probably assume anyone who has the map or knows the password is entitled to it, though she will ask after one of the old adventurers whom she grew attached to. From there, it's easy enough to head across the bridge to a town where, hidden under the roofing above the mayor's well, the other key can be found. From there, the party can head to the river across from the mill, where they will find a bell. If rung, the miller, an old river mage, will ferry them across but warn of the presence of ghosts and deadly monsters-- hydras and cockatrices and score-scores-- that infest the woods. Following the map should bring the party close enough to spot a tree with a very prominent branch, in fact another tree that has been grafted in to it to make a landmark. Following the map fragment, they then simply walk 800 paces away from the river, turn right and walk 800 more paces (for added challenge, seed that the person who made this map was a dwarf, meaning the distances should be less), then dig to find the corpse of an old wizard clutching a chest ensured with two enchanted locks. They easily accept the keys and give up their contents.

If the bear spirit is asked for a blessing, she will turn the querier into a bear. The built-out town downriver is suspicious of adventurers and criminals, and is home to a power-tripping sheriff who needs to distract people from his mishandling of a recent altercation between loggers. Camped at the point where the tributary feeds into the river is a devil of the crossroads, always looking to make a deal, especially when it relates to souls, lumber, fire, or dice. The river mage harbors an old envy for the treasure-hiders, and if told too much will do a full Scooby-Doo, using his spells of invisibility and ignition to drive the party away if he can get his hands on their map. If one enchanted lock is picked, the other stubbornly relocks itself. If someone attempts to force the chest open, it triggers a Rune of Cataclysm, sucking the chest and everything nearby (save resists) into a spooky otherworld.

There is a hut near the wooded home of the bear, home to a hermit who knows of (and disapproves of) the original adventurers and who knows (and holds a torch for) the bear, even keeping a mundane bear for her that once used to be a cleric of the Blind Army. The dam upriver doesn't have much going on, but is the meeting point for old hunters who can share rumors. The town with the well is home to some who remember the old adventurers fondly, and may know about adventure sites they never fully plundered or the final score they never came back from. The hills are probably full of orcs and owl women.

Suggested treasure: all the weird magic shit a wizard collects that his friends aren't sure are cursed or not. Six freaky coins (worth 23 gold), a vial of Naparmian Flame, a Ridan Steel dagger, a jar of Ziphos Nectar, an ivory scarab necklace, a viper skull cap, a Rod of Cancellation, a secret society symbol ring (2-in-6 chance of favorable notice by magic-users) and a tablet that serves as a scroll of Invisible Servant.

Map 4

This one is so damn wrinkled. For adaptation purposes, "south cliff temple" could be purely descriptive, it could be a name, whatever. In its cemetery, one of the headstones, belonging to someone with the name, surname, or epithet of "Red", is inscribed with an arrow showing the right bearing to take towards the river. Upon reaching the river, the party, passes up to the spring and through a tunnel to the other side, where they take a circuitous route to a prominent tree in an empty plain. From there, they go about halfway towards a prominent boulder and dig to find the treasure.

The bearing to reach the river is very specific; too far to the left and the party will encounter the river guardian, an eel-dragon (stats as amphibious giant squid), while too far to the right the party will encounter a conference of angry bugbears. While no apparent obstacle stands between the tunnel and the gnarled tree landmark, the flora of the plains conceals a giant dust beetle (stats as roc), liable to carry someone off and imprison them in a remote valley that serves as its nest. Off to the right of the map live a squad of centaurs, violent and murderous for drink but otherwise chill.

The south cliff temple probably doesn't know much about this treasure, but can provide hospitality and healing. Off to the left of the map in an acacia grove live several dozen elves, reasonable and skilled. They would be mad if you kill the river guardian. The notable stone that helps to triangulate the digging spot has a faint face in it, an ogre that was turned into stone. If freed, she will be a friend to her rescuer, and join them on adventures if allowed, blackmailing local artisans and hiring goblinoids on their behalf.

Suggested treasure: 9,500 silver coins, 6,200 gold coins, a Gift Card Maze containing a scroll of Flesh to Stone, a set of +1 rawhide leather armor, and Noah's Brush.

Map 5

Every morning, the rare Violet-Templed Gull visits Star Island. By following them back in the evening, one can find the enchanted Uncharted Isle which cannot be found save by those who have been to it before. On that island, a new constellation burns bright in the sky. By following the marked star in the sky for three days straight, (2-in-6 chance per day of a storm that threatens to throw off course, if the crew fails it goes inland toward the whirlpool or must backtrack to the isle after some minor damage) another unnamed island will be reached. Every three days, a pale whale with indigo patches around its eyes surfaces off the coast of this isle carrying a city on its back, its original inhabitants long ago slain by culture heroes and pirates. Braving the flotsam-drenched streets and a giant crab brings the party to the tallest tower, and descending that leads to a maze. By following the correct route given on the map, they will find the treasure.

Though unmarked on the map, there is a massive whirlpool that threatens the lives of all boats-- once you can see it, you're already too close. Absent a cool strategem, it's a save vs death or the boat is wrecked, and anyone who can survive getting sucked under, swimming away and up, and grabbing onto some wreckage will float miserably back to Star Island in 1d6 days (1-in-6 chance per day of attracting 1d3 sharks) The inhabitants of the Uncharted Isle are wary of outsiders, and if not confident in them may dispatch dìonachean to arrest and interrogate them in the palace. The whale will only stay floating for the three hours it needs to refill its lungs, and at that time will start to dive, fully getting under in just 10 minutes. If the wrong door is reached, the party will find a pile of twenty angry lacedons or the whale's blowhole chamber (save or get sucked in).

There is a fort on Star Island, and it is fed by some nearby town, but holds much interest in you if you're neither pirate nor privateer. The commander of the fort suspects the existence of the Uncharted Isle, and would pay for a guide to take them there. The unnamed island, in addition to having a cool volcano, could have some interesting ruins or signs of the civilization that settled on the whale's back.

Suggested treasure in a chest wrapped by a ligan-buoy to establish a continued claim according to maritime law: 4,800 gold coins, gems and precious stones (worth 1,700 gold), the Twisting Spit, an immaculate +1 fishbone spear that boils with intensity when underwater (as +1 flaming spear), and a Gust Jar.

Map 6

This map is of a smaller scale, covering a small but prosperous village which has just recently been left in ruin. It is actively been prowled by a T. Rex, or other dangerous but slow-witted monster. In the basement of the house marked "push your friends", there is a man cave with a banner reading "Trust to the gods, to your friends, and to perfectly aged wine." Behind the words "your friends" is a button that opens a secret door to a meandering tunnel under the thorp, heading directly to the treasure. However, the tunnel is trapped, and certain precautions must be taken. In another house's basement stands a custom shelf rack laden with wines from all over. Six of them, the driest, sit labeled in shelves that when all pulled out trigger a mechanism that disables a dart trap in the tunnel. (Those lacking wine knowledge can brut force it by pulling out all the shelves.) Another house has a wine window (like a milk door but for wine and in reverse), and if at least five pounds of weight are left in it, a falling ceiling trap in the tunnel is disarmed. In the church is a statue of a woman holding out her hand, which actually has a copper-coin-sized indent in it. If a copper coin is placed in the indent, it completes a circuit which disarms a lightning trap in the tunnel. Finally, the smithy's bellows, when worked, send hot air through pipes which banish the spores of the deadly Old Man Walking mushroom, preventing someone at the end of the tunnel from breathing them in. The party can then walk through the entire tunnel and find the treasure cache in a well-decorated hideaway.

Aside from the deadly traps and the T. Rex, there is a another danger, in the back entrance, a shack in the back end of a vineyard. A trio of wyverns have made their nest there, 1d3 sleeping at any given time.

Survivors from the town, now turned refugee, might be able to share rumors about the well-to-do but adroit wine-tasting club that hid this cache. Gods Grove (either God's or Gods', depending on the setting) and Still Lake are intended to help triangulate which town this is, but they might be notable locations in their own right.

Suggested treasure: fine vintages (worth 3,000 gold), bottle of Champagne of Levitation (4 servings), bottle of Merlot of Healing (2 servings), a Mindat war helm, a Deck of Many Things, and a Horn of the Barbarians.

d20 Armors

 (That's the equivalent of d12.45 Armours, for metric readers)

When I wrote my d30 Rings post, I put together a little random generator at the bottom that randomly selects from a list of almost every spell and item I've written for the blog, distributed according to a certain old-school table that prescribes a certain  proportion of swords, non-sword weapons, scrolls, and so on. In doing so, I noticed that I almost never wrote any amulets, cursed swords, or magical armors, and that stuck in the back of my head until I wrote a d20 amulets post, a cursed items and double-edged swords post, and now a d20 armors post. 

More often than I expected, when I want to place a magic armor, the type (leather/chain/plate/exc.) I find I already have a strong opinion of what it should be in the context where it is being generated. Therefore, unless implied by the armor's description, you can apply these effects to whatever baseline AC type you want, and give a magic +1 AC bonus about 2-in-6 of the time. If you want to determine it randomly, roll a d4 and on a 1 it's leather, on a 2 or 3 it's chain, and on a 4 it's plate.

d20 Armors

1. The visor, vents, and weakpoints are shrouded with whale bristles, kept vital by the craft of merfolk bartsmiths. This affords better visibility from within, and utterly keeps out swarming creatures which might otherwise find a narrow entry under the armor.

2. Copper-trimmed armor forged against a spirit of Venus. If laid out in the sunrise or sunset, it gains up to 3 Charge. The wearer can spend a charge to add 1d6 damage to an unarmed attack or gain an unbreakable clenching grip for a few seconds. They can spend all remaining charges to emit a thunderbolt in a 200' line, dealing [charges]d6 damage to all, save for half. Expending a charge feels like releasing a muscle you've never noticed before, and shooting thunder is like euphoric emesis.

3. Hydraulic legs. Cranking a dial roots you to the spot so nothing short of a giant's tyrannous strength can move you. Cranking it another way causes the legs to deliver a powerful califerous hop up to 20 feet.

4. Spidersilk. Weighs only as much as your undershirt, and cannot be stuck by webbing or glue.

5. Brimmed fox helm and immaculate gown. When out of sight, you can appear at another place within 30 feet that is also unobserved by others, leaving behind an object the DM deems most appropriate as "a gift". Some has-been scholars will recognize this as the costume of a culture hero whose reverence and observances were suppressed.

6. Stone Judge. Moss-covered granite suit of armor as +1 Plate, the uniform of a beloved now-extinct sect. The people of the Ochre Vale will trust you on sight. Habitual wearers gain old memories-- in the Ochre Vale, get +2-in-6 to Find Secret Doors rolls, and when you are told rumors in that land, you instead hear old lore which is approximately as helpful.

7. Orca-Faced Plate. Airtight when worn with matching leathers. The wearer can hold their breath for up to 20 minutes.

8. Quicksilver Plate. Repels werewolves. At will, turn into a motile pool of mercury for up to 1 minute/hour spent wearing the armor. Take minimum damage from piercing attacks while fluid, but splashing you apart hurts like a weapon does.

9. Rough-skinned Leather. Eat a ration of fresh meat to turn into a shark, or back again.

10. Baroque and insectile suit with a wicked, harpoon-like stinger jutting out of the knee. The wielder can deliver a knee-strike that automatically hits, dealing d10 damage to the target, then-- wrenching like a bone breaking off-- 10-[damage dealt to target] to the wearer. The stinger regrows in about a week.

11. Evil. Red and black, with random spikes jutting out of it. Deal d8 damage on a grapple. Once donned, she cannot be doffed before killing a person on the spikes. In addition to whatever normal penalties one might have for wearing armor indefinitely, after 24 straight hours in this thing, get -4 wisdom until you can remove it.

12. Put the full set on and turn into Ata, a warrior from the time before history. Her stats are as an ogre, but her personality is problematic for modern dungeoneering and you may have to make frequent saves vs culture-shock-induced-violence. Turn back when even a glove or helm is removed.

13. A cerulean gown. Elegant, pretty, and oddly protective.

14. Basilisk scale. Turns creatures with a good sense of smell, or any creature that comes out of a mirror.

15. Hook helm. Shoots a grapple javelin straight up, and mechanisms on the body pull you to whatever you embed it in. If you want to bow forward to shoot it as a projectile, make a ranged attack at -2 to-hit for 1d8 damage. Range 50'.

16. Sweating jumpsuit, eyeless helm. As long as you wear it, you animate and see through the eyes of a bronze construct. For each hour spent piloting the construct, save vs wands or suffer distracting hallucinations.

17. Onion-Vein. Armor is semitransparent and flexible. If you are dismembered, the missing member regrows in 10 minutes, but with a 2-in-6 chance of misalignment.

18. Sloshing Armor. Stores up to 8 pints of blood. Expend 1 pint/round to regain 1 HP. When less than full, the armor goes cold, and the next person it touches other than its wearer instantly loses 1 HP per missing pint and the armor is topped up.

19. Horned Helm of Glory. Adorned with the (1d6+1)-point antlers of an elk that was hanged for murder, I guess. Burn a point like a candle, and it will glow for 1 hour, during which time the helm will absorb any sounds you make and no one else can see the point-fire, but at the end of the hour the helm will flash and shriek, releasing all the stored up sound and light.

20. Clockwork Armor. +2 Strength. Shoulder-mounted miniature crossbow that can attack for free (1d4 damage) but takes a full round to reload. When hit by a critical attack, save vs paralysis or perform a random act on your next turn as per Confusing Gaze.

2d20 Alternate Selves

 Roll this when a PC is exposed to exotic Dimension Rays, thrown into the space between worlds, or reads aloud from a wizard's spellbook without first studying classical pronunciation.

Like with my d20 effects of exposure to vats of goo, I imagine this table may have perennial utility. We might imagine for instance:

• A room in a dungeon with a dimensional mirror that summons an alternate version of anyone reflected in it, charmed to protect a great treasure.
• A spell, Ally Across Time, that summons a random self for ten minutes.
• An item, the Diadem Alternate, that allows communication between alternate worlds and can expend extra charges to bridge the gap.

In general, you want some sanity checks on these duplicates. They should usually only be around for a limited time, or at least want to return to where they came from. When they leave this world, their cool magic items should too, or things may get out of hand.

Most of these entries have multiple alternatives because it would suck if your character was a cowboy and you rolled the "cowboy" entry. That's not very alternate. Therefore, pick from the alternates randomly, unless one is already the case, in which instance you go with another. Use your most hackish instincts. If Bob the fighter rolls the "Roman" entry, you better believe that self is named Robius and has a +1 Gladius of Disruption to compliment Bob's Mace of Disruption. Do not work hard to make alternate selves easy to get along with-- most adventurers are paranoid of dopplegangers showing up and asking for help, but if basically decent will give the benefit of the doubt for as long as it takes to repulse these gnolls that just showed up.

2d20 Alternate Selves

2. Crystaline/slime 3. Undead/dying 4. Gunhaver/Bronze Age 5. Mutant/animal person 6. Genius/Evil Genius 7. Romantic/nerd 8. Steampunk/goth 9. Teen/Elder 10. Punk/sellout corpo 11. Stereotypical 1E PC/stereotypical 4E PC 12. Swashbuckler/ninja 13. Roman/Greek 14. Stark Trek alien appearance: weird facial feature and non-human skin tone 15. Debutante thief/Gentleman investigator 16. Composite character with another PC 17. Viking/samurai 18. Different homeland 19. Sex and/or gender difference 20. Alternate alignment: Arthurian/merry men/Nazi/Mad Max 21. Roll twice and combine 22. Plain evil, mustache 23. Sad backstory, different fashion and haircut 24. Very similar, different color clothes 25. Like your own nemesis/total wimp 26. Conan/dandy 27. Raised by alternate dimension's equivalent of a notable, surprising NPC 28. Islamic Golden Age/Khanate 29. Vigilante/ruler 30. Never suffered most important loss/is a vengeful ghost 31. Way more successful/way less successful 32. Vampire/angel 33. Robot/caveman 34. Cowgirl/astronaut 35. Different class altogether 36. Soviet/painfully American 37. Spelljamming voyager/Darksun survivor 38. Werewolf/has a cursed weapon 39. Mobster/lobster 40. Bug person/ dino person

Bridge War! (Adventure Location)

Inspired by the history of Milwaukee, this is a small adventure location with competing factions and easy connections to other underground lairs. It is also a dungeon with a river in it, to satisfy Loch's prompt for Glaugust 2025 and win my full participation badge.

The Situation

The dungeon, such as it is, is the intersection of two nameless underground rivers shortly before they feed into the Terrible Lakes. It is divided into three wards— the goblin town of Nilbog, the deep dwarf company of Hoheim, and the serpentfolk complex of Slither's Point. Each, wanting to control trade along the dungeon rivers and achieve prominence over the others, has spread rumors against the others, set their tunnels at odd angles, and eventually made bridges spanning those odd angles to direct the flow of foot traffic. After sabotage of two bridges, the wards are tense, and war is ready to leap up and set the forces against each other.

The contents of the dungeon proper should be pretty easy to adapt to your game world, but if you want to run this as a one-shot, it might help to define a bit of a situation on the surface. Something like…

The country here is pleasant, with many rivers running through marshes, woods, and open land to a massive freshwater lake. The main inhabitants are the Pkékejewen Tribe, several hundred people in distributed settlements of matt-covered dome homes or wooden longhouses, occupied with hunting Gygaxian monsters, botany, and supporting a lodge of pyromancer-researchers. If they ever establish trade with Hoheim, the steady supply of worked goods would dramatically increase their military potential.

Three days to the south is the great city-state of Chipotamia, whose symbol is the bull, the overbroad pauldron, and the secret sign of every thief's brotherhood. Its fugitives and outlaws use Pkékejewen backlands to conceal their hideouts and smuggling routes, which the emir increasingly blames on the tribe. If he ever learns of the dungeon wards, he will try to bankroll Slither's Point to push out the goblins who make a haven for crime.

Five days north along the river is Agaamishkode, recently called the Ashen Lands after half the thousand-mile-wide forest was burned. Ruled by dryads and peopled by ensorceled lumberjacks, rangers, and elves. Valuing fecundity in their servants, the verdigarchs would aid the growth of Nilbog if they could.

Two days to the west are the wood pillars marking the beginning of the other lands of the Kenupik Alliance, of which Pkékejewen is a junior member. Five other tribes guarantee their independence against the north and south, and when their bands walk together they paint scales on their shields and fangs on their arrows. 

2d6 Underground River Encounters

2 The wizard Lesekeme, always looking to buy human bodies at a bargain. Paddles his own solitary gondola. 9 HD.

3 2d6 Kuo-Toa Pilgrims. They argue with the serpentfolk and try to sell you medallions of the "Sea Mother", a humanoid figure with lobster claws they worship. See D2: Shrine of the Kuo-Toa.

4 4d4 Kobolds of Korm Basin on a scavenged barge. They trade scavenged goods and rumors about the tomb of the Sandlanders, and may hire out mercenaries to help them defeat "the Svarts of the Green Star". See White Dwarf #9's The Lichway.

5 3d4 Deep Dwarves here to interface with Hoheim. Ride in a water-crawler, a device halfway between a buggy, a bugge, and a submarine.

6 6d6 Goblin Merchants on pontoons, refreshing the wares of the stalls at the wharf and buoying Nilbog spirits with patriotic slogans.

7 3d6 Human Smugglers on silent rafts. D4 specialty: counterfeit goods, stolen goods, slaves, cursed and evil objects.

8 2d6 Troglodyte Corsairs on a ramshackle lifeboat. Fleeing their gang in the Incandescent Grottoes after the death of their beloved Boss Trog.

9 2d6 Serpentfolk Pilgrims on a snake-prowed ship. They argue with Kuo-Toa, pray in the temple, and worship the Great Egg.

10 1d2 Big Crayfish (stats as giant crab)

11 3d4 Fungusjack Dwarves on over-engineered stone rafts. Sell goods carved from giant mushrooms. Hate the deep dwarves out of classic Gygaxian animus. See Dungeon of the Undermoon.

12 The dragon Appetite (stats as green dragon), a mud-grey, smug swindler who loves to boast about his marks and meals as he passes through.

 Area Key

The dungeon  lingers under a wooded stretch of the much more mundane Firefly River. It can be accessed from the surface by the underside of a bridge (area 11), a brick factory (area 14), or a hole in a gulley (area 18).

The rivers here flow briskly southeast, 10-15 feet deep and have a vaulted ceiling that comes to a peak 15 feet above the surface. Bridges leave 10 feet of clearance. 

1. Western Bridge. Barricaded by the serpentfolk in solidarity with Hoheim. Takes one man-hour to disassemble, but 1-in-6 chance per turn of 8 goblins showing up to gank you and a separate 1-in-6 chance per turn of 4 serpentfolk showing up to throw firebombs at you.

2. Eastern Bridge. Open and clear. 

3. Fallen Bridge. Destroyed by Hoheim sabotage, but there is enough wreckage to potentially scrabble across (2-in-6 chance of dumping you into the current-swift water, save vs death if you're wearing heavy armor). The Nilbog bank opens directly to the home of Kill-Burn, the hobgoblin mayor, while the Hoheim bank has a cannon pointed directly at it.

If the wreckage is carefully searched, the remains of a deep dwarf can be found, still clutching a +1 star-nosed warhammer and a stick of waterlogged dynamite.

4. Nuisance Bridge. Despised by Nilbog, defended by Hoheim. The struts and supports have been weakened by a barge crash paid for by Nilbog, making it sway when any weight is put upon it. 1-in-6 chance of crashing apart when crossed (1d6 damage, save vs death if you're wearing heavy armor).

5. Docks. Uneven wharf for ships to dock, with a ramp allowing easy ascent from the river. A dozen goblin porters and three merchants selling standard dungeon equipment and several oddities. Any Underground River Encounters will stop here to trade.

6. North bridge. Tense standoff. A goblin brute squad of 8, led by Kill-Burn's brother hobgoblin Swill, guards it against a team of 6 deep dwarves waiting for them to leave so they can steal supports of the bridge to repair Nuisance Bridge (area 4).

7. Warren. Rough-hewn hallway with many small goblin burrows branching off. 2-in-6 chance per turn of encountering 1d4! goblins. The community is broken up into "pads" of 1d6 that include roommates, partners, and siblings. Children are raised in common and avoid outsiders.

By night, the warren comes alive with communal activity— washing clothes, preparing food, chasing children around, exc. The deep dwarf trader Agnar Oversen hangs out here, as he doesn't want to be seen as a turncoat by the dwarves of Hoheim. Here, he can be induced to offer gossip he has heard on the other side.

 But sike! He is a spy sent by Hoheim to mislead and confuse. He is eager to report that the dwarves plan to sabotage a goblin dam several miles up the western river in order to spread out their forces.

8. Kill-Burn's Chamber. Home of the mayor of Nilbog, the hobgoblin Kill-Burn— tall, pumpkin-orange, with a gallant tailed coat of chain and barbed flail, he is martial-stern and gold-grasping, ever thinking of how he can achieve prominence over Hoheim and Slither's Point. After the river-facing wall was blown apart by a dungeon catapult, he dragged in the goblin's shrine to Saint Rosetti so none of the denizens will dare attack here. The room is furnished in helter-skelter fashion, with a pile of cushions, a hanging portrait of a Chipotamian merchant, and old shipping records. 

The portrait has a small artist's signature: Aflatun, Summer 1451. Behind the portrait is hidden a small alcove concealing a safe with a combination lock. If 1-4-5-1 is entered, it reveals its contents: 2,500 gold coins, a Belt of Levitation, a little vial of powder, and an apatropaic pearl on a string cord. 

9. Fortune Teller. Their door advertised with a weeping eye, this is the home of Ever-Woe, a goblin sage and seer. The room is decorated with rocks and semiprecious mineraloids, and they wear stone necklaces and earrings that dangle near the floor, with one eye that seems like a smokey quartz. Boasting perfect knowledge of all things on or below the earth, they will answer questions for a fee.

Remote viewing: Ever-Woe can consult a grid of moss agate to peer at a location the PCs specify, learning about three of the following (d4): 1. a random encounter, 2. a notable personage, 3. a landmark, or 4. an oddity. This viewing costs 400 gold coins, but if they view an especially dangerous area (i.e. the most suitable PC level is more than 1), the cost is multiplied by the "intended" PC level.

Dowsing: Ever-Woe knows of a fat untapped vein of gold to the north that they can reveal for 10,000 gold coins. Digging down to it would be a project for dozens of people, and the DM is required to make it into a cool adventure, but the amount of gold in the vein can yield 100,000 coins.

Identifying magic items: as however you normally do that.

10. Temple. Single, singularly empty chamber ever since Kill-Burn moved the shrine-figure of Saint Rosetti to his own chamber. Here lingers the shaved troll priestess God-Grime, mother to the troll guarding the bridge. Her neutrality to the squabbling of the wards is represented by her hands being sewn together in prayer (-3 to hit, 1d2 damage, bit attack unaffected). She can explain the doctrines and deeds of Saint Rosetti; how she donned antennae and chitinous armor and devoured the worked metal of men, and how she fresses still at the core of the earth, softening its heart.

11. Troll Bridge. On the surface, a wide wooden bridge across the Firefly River is infested by a shaggy-haired troll named Bother-All. He accepts a gold coin per head to cross the bridge, or if asked will give a riddle instead of a fee. "We have caps but no head, we fall without ever having climbed, and if lucky we become a new home for our kind. What are we called?" The answer is "acorns".

Under the northern end of the bridge, a tunnel leads down into the earth. The troll's bachelor pad, with a sleeping pallet, soggy tapestry of a knight fighting a dragon, and crate full of beer, 600 gold, and old newspapers he is using to learn to read. The tunnel continues down into Nilbog.

12. Hall of Statues. Row after row of nearly identical stone bureaucrats. Despite seeming flat, the hall feels oddly uneven to the foot. -2 to fighting for non-dwarves.

Those with stonecunning do not get the penalty to attack, and can actually pick out incredible variation in the statues, including a hidden panel in the side of one, containing a cache of small gems worth 2000 gold.

13. Courtyard. Here the three wards meet to attempt to resolve their dispute. A square, no-fun fountain with a statue of a frowning bureaucrat dribbles water sedately. Ten deep dwarves dutifully guard the dungeon's treasury, openly bragging about how they will use it for punitive measures once they dominate all three wards enough to vote to award themselves the funds. There is a 1-in-6 chance per turn that a goblin nabob and serpentine priestess are here to argue with the guards and deadlock votes for policy proposals. 

The treasury's iron door is shut with a mechanism that seems simple but requires a dwarf's stonecunning or an hour of futzing to unlock. Within the treasury is 4,000 gold coins, unfashionable cube diamond earrings worth 200 gold, a wand of Water to Beer (works on water in someone's stomach, 12 charges), a scroll of Hart's Red Store (summons a furnished 600 square foot wood house with a basement and, if on a river, a water mill. Lasts 10 hours), and a mayflower salve (heals for 1d4 damage, three doses)

14. Brick Mill. On the surface, a remote brick factory powered by a mill on the Firefly River. However, the foreman, a refugee from a failed uprising against the verdigarchs of the Ashen Lands, has made a pact with the deep dwarves to conceal the entrance to their ward in the basement of the factory in exchange for protection if the mill is ever attacked. The well-formed staircase down is guarded by a squad of six deep dwarves with cream-colored brick hammers. They may escort a party down into Hoheim if they think it will drive business or make their ward look good compared to Nilbog.

15. Barracks. Here deep dwarves are stowed in boxes when not in use, with 1d4+1 always on guard. A food-dwarf, Ole Risesen, cures dungeon fish in potash lye. A carefully capped hole leads down into the underdark.

If the cap is opened, a grue (stats as henway, giant) immediately climbs up to devour the inhabitants.

16. Circular Chamber: Wet, with irregular ripples in the wall and odd, whispery echoes at every sound. The deep dwarves constructed this chamber so that they could be nourished and replenished, despite their proximity to the surface. A wide chair sits at the center of the chamber. If someone meditates in this chamber, they feel undwarfen features drained from them (d4): 1. lose 1 Dex and gain 1 Con, 2. lose the ability to interpret art but detect object value at a glance, 3. lose 1 Cha but get 25% more efficient work hours, 4. gain stonecunning (a sense of architecture tricks, exc.) but beard grows 1 foot longer and if your beard is two feet or more in length, save vs becoming an NPC dwarf.

17. Snake Temple. Constant sibilant songs, fireside orgies, and doctrinal duels. Twelve serpentfolk are always active, six more in side rooms sleeping or engaging in aftercare. The sanctum of the priestess Karina they dare not disturb.

Within the sanctum, Karina feigns meditation, trying to figure out how to get out of this mess. After a series of humorous miscommunications, she accidentally started a cult she now has no way out of, and lives in constant fear of being found out and has too many evil instincts to seek compassionate forgiveness. Directing the serpentfolk of Slither's Point to act as a counterbalance between the two other wards seems to her like the only way to avoid being overrun. She has received as gifts 650 gold coins, a tobacco pipe of Slither on Water (3 charges), a bottle of whiskey horrifically poisoned (stinks of krait venom, save vs death) which she hasn't tried yet because she hates whiskey, and a scroll of Confirmation (makes someone a senator for 1 hour, with all that implies and a big sash that says "senator"). Any amount of these treasures she may trade away if she sees gain in it.

18. Snecret Tunnel. Hidden behind a false boulder, the tunnel runs up the surface to a root-covered hole in a gulley. Whenever it rains, the whole ward floods. Serpentfolk periodically head up to the surface or hunt or scare away children by breaking up their stick forts or pretending to be drunk settlers and heckling them.

19. Hatchery. On a plinth, surrounded by four fires in a chamber whose every inch is carved with devotional images is an egg-shaped rock that Karina told the other serpentfolk was an angel dinosaur egg. The plinth has been trapped with a pressure plate, and if removed, the floor will fall apart, dropping everyone in the room into a vat of goo after just a couple of seconds.

The egg: by contrived coincidence, the egg is neither a dinosaur egg nor a simple rock. It is a geode containing Ryba Biskupia, a funny-looking fish man with a crumpled cap who will grant three wishes with the following provisos: that to kill, he must bring back someone else of his choice back to life and vice-versa, that he cannot force anyone to fall in love; and that if a wish is made to increase someone's most vital attributes directly, rather than turning them into a giant or a big brain or something, the best he can do is a +3 competence bonus that doesn't stack with later wishes. 

Resolving the Bridge War!

By allying with a faction and driving out their rivals room-by-room in standard dungeon fashion, the party can conquer the dungeon wards. This module is a little cash-poor, so it might be appropriate for the victor to make a few cash gifts on the next couple return visits as they more fully capture trade. Alternatively, the party may broker a truce between the factions, in which case they should be awarded commemorative medallions and a discount on services offered in the wards.

It is also possible that the party may cause other forces to get involved in the Bridge War!, either by negotiating alliances or simply making outside forces aware of it. If a surface faction like Pkékejewen or Chipotamia backs Nilbog, it will be enough to finally win Kill-Burn dominance. If a surface faction backs Hoheim, then Slither's Point will switch sides to keep the balance, and it will require a steep escalation from Hoheim's patrons or another faction's aid to win the Bridge War! without a party-led attack. It would take the same amount of intervention to get victory for the serpentfolk, but in the process it's likely that Karina is unmasked, loses her nerve, or otherwise breaks up the snake cultists, leaving their surface patrons to administrate the dungeon directly. In any case where a surface faction wins the Bridge War!, they would reward the party for any service rendered on behalf of the dungeon ward.

Under the Evening Moon I Keep on Killing Mosquitoes (Cloak and Sword Scenario)

An introductory adventure for any number of Cloak and Sword PCs, that should be a good start to a long campaign or a simple one-shot. The DM should be explicit that conflict between PCs is likely and remind them not to optimize the fun out of it. They may then make the classic joke that anyone who gets their PC killed in the most spectacular and stylish way gets a bonus level for their next PC.

When making characters for the scenario, the DM tells the players that their characters have been condemned to death by the crown, and that they should decide for themselves what crime they have been condemned for, whether they are guilty, and who they might blame for their arrest. However, it is their good fortune to have been entrusted to the mysterious Lord D'Reveville, who holds a grand ball for the condemned and always pardons one, sparing them and absolving them of their crime.

Treated courteously by their captors on the way to Reveville, every PC who is not an out-and-out chansel is offered a choice— if they agree to abide by the rules of courtesy in the lord's house, to not attempt an escape by violence or vandalism, and to injure no one in a dishonorable way, they will be given freedom to move within the palace, allowed to carry their arms, and participate fully in the festivities in their honor.

The Host- D'Reveville. A stalwart lord trusted by the king for decades. He is an elfin-featured fay of the satisfaction at revelation of a secret. The secret he nurses best is his resentment of the king, and he intends to use his pardon this year in the way he thinks will most likely result in the king's assassination, though he is too cautious to explicitly offer a quid pro quo.

While in his palace, he can move as fast as the wind and knows the movement of all notable figures. He will not break his word or act improperly. He is beautiful, an inhuman mystery who always seems about to unmask, even when his face is uncovered. If his palace burns, so does he.

Upon arriving at the palace, the prisoners are given quarters commensurate to their station, fine clothing and their effects, and some time to rest. The lord visits them and shares that his daughter and two other maidens will be using this ball as their official "coming out" into polite society, and reminds them of their oaths. To those who have not taken the oath, he reminds them that there are many guards and high walls, and that they will be watched carefully. The prisoners have the night to rest, plan, and size each other up.

The Grand Ball

During each event, each PC can either participate directly and squeeze a quick task in on the side (e.g. spying on someone else, conspiring, searching part of the palace), or shirk the event and perform up to two tasks. When participating, each PC or group of PCs has a 3-in-6 chance of being engaged by a random Chance Encounter. When performing another task, they have a 1-in-6 of running into a Chance Encounter, and are automatically spotted unless they have taken precautions. Many guards ring the perimeter and the main areas, so assume they notice anyone's presence at an event or along an obvious escape vector. Two guards follow any prisoners who haven't sworn an oath of good conduct at all times.

D6/d10 Chance Encounter

Roll a d6 when you just want a prisoner, a d4+6 when you want someone else, or a d10 when it could be anyone. If an encounter doesn't seem physically possible, have them emerge from a secret passage or have the Host arrive in a jumpscare.

1. The Angel- Michel. A pacifistic detenu desperate to win the Host's favor and get out of this situation, but afraid to promise too much. Certain that if he can stick around long enough, his star will rise. Condemned for refusing conscription during an invasion. Family D, Virility C. Hard preference for killers.

2. The Diplomatist- Fortimond. A charming people-pleaser. Wishes there was a way to cooperate his way out of this. Remembers an old story about a secret tunnel out of the palace. Condemned on trumped-up treason charges by his elder brother Fortilinus. Family A-, Virility W

3. The Spaniard- Jualome. Hates everyone here, and would really like an honorable reason to puncture a couple Frenchies on the way down. Actually very perceptive and witty. Condemned for serial murder after breaches of dueling etiquette. Family D+, Virility Q. Soft preference for Spaniards.

4. The Wolf- Jezebel. Energetic, but in this situation frantic. Cannot help being friendly, cannot help standing out. She seeks vindication, the acknowledgement that it is not fair that she was put in this situation, even if she is not spared. Condemned for grand fraud following a disastrous investment scheme. Family C-, Fertility M. Soft preference for men.

5. The Sorcerer- Job. Straightforward and hard-working Huguenot rustic, overwhelmed by all this splendor and popery. Wants to see you all burn. The only one of the prisoner NPCs not trusted to keep an oath of good conduct, and laden down with chains. If ever freed, knows the Grace Ignite. Condemned for heresy. Family F-, Fertility J (but chaste). Hard preference for non-nobles. Soft preference for Huguenots.

6. The Duelist- L'Haineuse. A swordswoman always masked in thick iron. Unbeknownst to anyone here but the Host, she is his bastard daughter, and wishes to kill the Debutante to impress him. Poor conversationalist. Framed herself for murder to get here. Family B, Fertility N. Hard preference for women.

7. The Debutante- Mensante. Beautiful young woman, the daughter of D'Reveville and a mother recently deceased. The beneficiary of numerous tutors, she is a polymath and insightful study. Lacking experience and companionship, she desires greatly to leave her father's unfulfilling guardianship. Ultimately, she wants to kill her father in revenge for her mother. Family B, Fertility B.

8. The Lush- Aursia, a close friend of the Debutante. Confident and self-directed, she is cripplingly dependent on the Host's Oakwood brandy, and though she is quick to offer love, she cannot be constant. Family C+, Fertility K. Hard preference for men.

9. The Wallflower- Eorda. Practical, but definitely a third-string debutante. Unrefined and likely to believe lies. Family C, Fertility U.

10. The Captain- Couldred. Long-time undramatic captain of the guard of the Reveville estate. Grim and proper, she senses that the Host no longer takes her into his confidence, not knowing that this is because he seeks to destroy the king, while she is a great patriot. Family F+, Fertility A (somehow). Soft preference for anyone with a pulse (touch-starved).

Event Itinerary

This itinerary describes the default actions of the NPCs, so change them as you will. Don't feel the need to describe every character's actions all the time, but be free with it, especially when PCs are paying attention to them.

Games: An abrupt start with the lord, prisoners, captain, and various minor guests. Charades, yes-and-no, and other parlor games. The Diplomatist and the Angel attempt to play earnestly. The Sorcerer uses the games to make politically insensitive jokes. The Spaniard, Wolf, and Duelist stand around awkwardly. If the players really want to play out a couple rounds of yes-and-no, have the lord do some foreshadowing with his answers: a portrait, a tunnel, a spy.

Presentation: The three maidens are presented in identical off-white gowns, with no indication of which is the lord's daughter. Fanfare as the band strikes up, and drinks are dispersed. The Duelist spots the Debutante and flees to the library, overcome with anger. The Wolf tries to talk the Debutante into intervening on her own behalf. The Spaniard feigns interest in the Lush in order to make a scene and have an excuse to duel someone. The Diplomatist comforts the clearly nervous Wallflower. If PCs want to get positive attention from a maiden, they will have competition. The Sorcerer stands at the edge of things and pretends everybody stinks. The Angel approaches the least-busy looking PC and asks if they'll collaborate to find a way out of here. The Captain and the Host keep an eye on things.

Open Mingling: The Debutante comforts the Lush, and the Wallflower swoons over an uninterested Duelist. The Sorcerer brokers an alliance with the Spaniard. The Diplomatist inspects the garden. The Wolf begs for clemency from the Host before despondently trying to provoke someone into insulting her so she can duel then and increase her chances. Everyone else sort of floats around and tries to enjoy themselves.

Dancing: The maidens give their first dance to whoever has made the best impression on them, but PCs can wheedle at the last moment. If you have your first dance with a maiden, you both save or hold Esprit for the other, and the maiden gets -2 to saves vs love. Each dancing PC has a 1-in-6 chance of bumping into the Spaniard due to his unfamiliar dancing style, for which he will challenge them to a duel.

Dinner: Everyone has a tense meal— niçoise salad, roast cauliflower, and eel de parsley, paired with an exquisite 1474 Cerevino white. For desert, blueberry souffle, fresh berries, and a 1608 desert red. The Duelist stares daggers at the debutante.

Meander: The guests perform a digestive constitutional. Maidens infatuated with anyone will exhort them to attempt escape. If she is not infatuated with anyone, the debutante will try to convince a PC to try to kill her father. Meanwhile, the Duelist follows her, waiting for a chance to make an attempt on her life. The Spaniard contrives an excuse to duel the Captain, and if he survives, he retrieves the key to the Sorcerer's chains and frees him to start burning the palace down.

Speeches: Everyone present is invited to give a short speech on any topic they like. The Sorcerer gives a speech on why being catholic is gay, but is cut off. The Diplomatist speaks on the value of discretion. The Angel speaks on the nature of harmony. The Debutante compares those who make their own fortune with those who rely on their ancestral name. The Host offers a cryptic parable that sounds like it summarizes the events of the night.

Imprisonment: The prisoners are returned to their cells, and the host announces who he shall spare. If the PCs have gotten to this point, they're probably in serious trouble. The end!

Palace Layout

Among countless bechambers, hallways, and other features, the palace has the following locations:

Ballroom: Site of the majority of events, where NPCs can usually be found when they're not specifically somewhere else.

Feast Hall: Site of dinner and speeches

Cellar: Where the wine is kept, as well as bricks and mortar. A recently redone section of wall covers up an alcove containing a model of the palace, covered in the Host's blood and arcane writings. Anyone magical or possessing a college education can decipher the writing to learn that this was the site of a ritual binding the Host to the palace; damage done to the building is done proportionally to him, and his perfect knowledge of where people are does not extend past its walls.

Garden: Exquisite topiary, a beautiful gazebo, and austere statues of the great investigators of history— Elijah and a priest of Baal measuring the flames of their pyres, Thomas inspecting Jesus's wounds, and Friar William of Bookman. Probing the wound in Jesus's hand presses a hidden switch, which sends a rumbling thrum through the ground…

Oubliette: Just a hedge wall out from the garden is a deep hole in the ground, with a knotted rope bolted next to it for climbing in and out. Unless distracted, the Host will sense if people are messing around in the hole and come to call them back. One brick is carved with a message "ToM PoINts tHE WAy," If the hidden button in the garden has been pushed, a small lid pops open, leading to a secret tunnel that lets out in a lime kiln a quarter mile outside the palace.

Eyrie: Various messenger pigeons. One, just arrived, bears a message from Olivia of Monfor, the queen's handmaid, accepting the Host's offer of an exchange of information and asking to set up a covert rendezvous. To agents of the king, this would be taken as evidence of treason.

D'Reveville's Chambers: Hidden in his bedframe is a journal, evidently started somewhat recently. In addition to some so-so poetry, he expresses regret about an old pact he made with a fay of the winter court, granting him power but making him obedient to everyone who knows his first name, since he believes in time he would have accumulated that power on his own.

Library: Portrait on the wall that much resembles the Host. Small inscription reading "Medouin L'Fay, first lord of Reveville. By a chair sits a book on the D'Reveville family (frequently studied by the Debutante) providing a family tree from the first fay given form through the ages, though none of the lords are listed as having more than one child, nor a mother, until Melien married Mendred to sire Mensante. If the Host is addressed as Medouin, he must obey all commands but will quickly try to kill the offender and regain control if not prevented. If addressed as Melien, he is not compelled as this is just his latest alias, but he will be aware of what they are attempting and make sure to punish them.

(Satisfying deus ex parabola's Glaugust prompt "Random Encounter Table: Dangerous Badass About To Be Executed" and Gokun's prompt "Debutante ball encounter table".)