The Great Rock Dale

This is the one area within Haranshire where some humanoid menace is known to exist. The rock dale hili> sides which descend almost sheer for 100 to ISO feet, varying fl"(lm place to place. In a handful of locations, it is possible to clamber down a rock escarpment. though thts is hazardous (Oc;l(terity checks reqUired, with a penalty of +2 for wearing metal ann(lr; a tailed check means a fall of ld6 x 10 feet), Scrub tree-. and bushes grow on the cliff faces and in the base of the daJe itseU. Orcs. goblinS, and hobgoblins have all been reported here from time to lime. There are many caves in the dale. and around a third of the dale floor is covered with shallow pools, though the area so covered and Ule depth of the water varies with the seasons. Kuiper, the ranger who lives not far to the south, is an experienced and seasoned watcher of the Dale, He knows where to descend into it safely and keeps a vigilant watch over the place. The humanoids fight and squabble among themseh'es, and the orcs and hobgoblins in particular arc deadly enemies. The last time any of them made any signi.ficant incursions into Haranshire was seven years ago, and Kuiper made sure there was a militia waiting for them, Seventeen humans were lost. but over 50 hobgoblins were killed. and they have shown no appetite for the fray since. The Rosestone l1iddcn in a jumble of rock and scrub growth down here is this 6' taU obelisk of rosy-striped limestone.. It is not visible from more than 100 feet away, It is ob\iously unlike anything else in the Dale. being smooth and unusually colored. A detect m(lgic spell reveals that the s tone is magical, and a detect goodldt"ec' evil spell or power will reveal that the stone has a strong aura of good. If a priest (rather than a wizard) casts dried mogic on the stone, he or she is allowed a WISdom check to detect intuiti\'ely that the stone can grant healing to those who properly propitiate it (this check is made at a +4 penalty if the priest cannot use spells from the sphere of Healing). To use the healing power of the stone, a character must hug the obelisk and offer a prayer to his or her deity. U the character has been a faithful follower of the Power in question. the stone then grants a cure fight TUOU/lds to the character, with a minimum effect of 5 points of curing if the character makes some sort of offering to the s tone. The magic of the stone works bul once per week for any particular pc, and for no more than eight creatures in anyone week. Chipping at the slone or othem'jse damaging it will result in the offending PC being affected as by a cause !igM wounds spelL The damage so caused cannot be magically healed; it \ .. ·ill heaJ at one-third the normal role and always leave:; an ugly SCilr. The origin of this relic is unknown. and not even Kuiper knows it is here, The ranger will be deUghted if the PCs tell him about the stOne, since he can use it, and will give them his poliol! of exlra-llea/ing as a reward for the discovery. lf the Pes tell Lafayer of theu discovery, the wandering cleric is understandably excited and condudes that the relic was created by d servant of his own faith. He mak~ pl'L->parabons to have the stone retric"'ed and taken bad. to the tern· pie in Milbome~ and the PCs can gel employment assisting the young priests and laborers Lafayer sends to do the jab. Cue for Pes to be sitting ducks as they try to protect the workmen from irate Rock Dale humanoids who regard this intrusion into their home as wholly unacceptable. Humanoid tribal shamans will be especially determined to prevent the stone's remova], since they benefit from its presence. The PCs should be well paid for this dirty work (250 gp or SO apiece). and Lafayer will cast healing spells (or them (when in the area) for only a tok('fl charge in future. Needless to sa)~ the service the Pes have performed will be warmly regarded by temples of Wayer's deity when the Pes need to expand their NPC con· lads. Good·aligned Pes re<:e.ive a 500 Xl' bonus for helping Lafayer retrieve this stone. Encounters The Great Rock Dale is one place PCs rna)' well decide to investigate when looking for kidnappers. There is no obvious reason for them to go there. but the Dale is a wild place where a bunch of kidn.1Ppe~ and bandits might well be Ulought to be hiding out. Also. this location is a good place for PCs to cam some experience with some good old hack and slash. chopping lumps out of hobgoblins, goblins, and orcs, a good reason for getting them interested in the place. If the res announce their intention of adventuring here, the OM e.lO use Map 3 from Mapsheet 1 to create a "generic cave" in which to have a nest of humanoids. Treasure shouJd be determined randomlv. The OM can throw in a red h'crring by having an item from a kidnapped person turn up in the treasure hoard of the humanoids. Ln fact, the item in question (which should be something small-a ring, brooch. lucky charm, etc.) was just dropped when the victim was being dragged off to thl! Garlst(me Mine; an opportunistic humanoid on a rare foray beyond the Dale just picked it Lip by chance. This couJd lead to the Pes hacking away at Dale humanoid,!; with ever greater (erocity, which is no bad thing if the party could do with some extra experience. At some stage, though, they may need to havl' the red herring re\'ealed for what it is. AnotheI possible hook is to have the pes fon:ed into some negotiation with the Orc> here. The orcs surround the Pes in suffident numbers to make com· bat hopeless. Howe\,cr, rather than attack, the orcs bargain from a position or strength. They escort the Pes to the entrances to the hobgoblins caves and invite them to chop the inhabitants into lumps, promi!'ing them safe pasS<lge aftef'Volards. When thl" PCs emerge. the ore leader struts around a lot but, being lawful. decides to let the PCs go-perhaps after charging them a "taU" (stripping them of a few eyecatching items). "Don't come back. We orcs is powerful and strong." he ~narls. "Yeah, not like them badsmell orcs. They not us:' his shaman leu. slip. The leader tums round and whacks the shaman ",cross the head with the flat of his axe, but sharp PCs can seize upon this indiscretion and wheedle some curious information out of the orcs. in bner. an emissary from the Bloodskutl orcs came to this tribe in the Dale. attempting to coerce them into joinmg the Bloodskulls (the intention being to use them as !iola'·es when they reached the Bloodskull caverns). The chief did nut like the look of the Bloodskull emissary and sent him packing. "We wuz. 100 strong, 'e was scared of me," the chief blusters somewhat unconvincingly. The "bad smeU" is the key here. The Rock Dale orcs describe the Bloodskull emissary as smelling of rotten fish (a standard side-effect of the potio" crf domina/ion). When the res meet some of the kidnappers from the Garlstone Mine or Broken Spire Keep, they should recognize the rotten-fish odor and realize that these men are allied with those strange orcs. The Rock Dale chieftain had not seen a Blood<; kull before and says emphaticaUy that the strangers were not indigenous to the area.. He can, however, describe the Blood .. kuU symbol-a red skull split with an axe, a crossbow bolt in each eye socket. Nott! that no routes down to the underda.rk can be found in the Great Rock Dale.