Pygmies, Sage, Myconid, and Plants

Set Up

* The PCs are engaged by Adarian Herbifarge, a local sage, to procure a variety of plant specimens from the wilderness and deliver them to him at his residence in the Garden Quarter.

* A messenger bearing a badly scrawled note calls at the PCs' lodgings in the city. The note reads: "Help, come quickly, Adarian the sage in danger." Adarian the sage is well known in the Free City and directions to his house can be easily procured.

A Peculiar Plot

Adarian Herbifarge is a sage specializing primarily in botany. Adarian performs extensive research into plants of all kinds at his complex of greenhouses in the Garden Quarter .

Adarian has many wealthy patrons in the city for whom he designs and creates the most stupendous flower gardens and leafy bowers. Adarian also has quite a few rivals and potential enemies, as his prodigious talent for the natural cultivation of enormous and perfect specimens of every conceivable variety of flowering shrub has won him every first prize at the past sixteen Free City Flower Festivals. Consequently, one of his archrivals and perennial runners-up , Halbard Broom, developed an elaborate scheme to do away with Adarian. Halbard obtained a number of vegepygmies and engaged a powerful spellcaster of dubious repute to cast a charm plants spell on them, turning them into dangerous killers. The murderous vegepygmies were then packed into a large crate marked "Plant specimens, handle with care," and delivered to Adarian's residence. Adarian, thrilled to receive an unexpected package, immediately retired to his laboratory to inspect the contents. As soon as the crate was opened, the creatures leaped out to murder Adarian. They did not succeed ... yet.

Adarian has a number of magical items that aid him in his research and experiments, notably three potions of plant control, a scroll containing the spells locate plants ( x 2), plant growth ( x 2), and repel insects, a ring of protection from plants, and a decanter of endless water.

The ring of protection from plants is a special magical item created for Adarian by grateful mages at the Guild of Wizardry and druids from the Gnarley Forest in return for his extensive research and assistance in times past. The ring creates a personal field of protection around the wearer that makes attacks by plants, or plant-based lifeforms, impossible-ideal for pruning the rose bushes and feeding the carnivorous plants. It is this item that has saved his life.

Try as they might, the vegepygmies were unable to do any harm to Adarian. Confused, they bundled the sage into the crate, broke through the laboratory door into the garden, and are now in the process of burying him (still inside the crate) in one of the greenhouses.

Arriving at Adarian 's House

Bhulb, Adarian's devoted assistant. opens the door and admits the PCs. Bhulb is a two-foot-tall myconid.

Bhulb tries to communicate with one of the PCs using his rapport spores to create a telepathic meld between the chosen PC and himself. Bhulb is obviously considerably distressed. He was in the kitchen this morning doing the washing up after breakfast when a large crate was delivered. His master took the crate into his laboratory and instructed Bhulb that he was not to be disturbed. A few minutes later Bhulb heard terrible crashings and hangings in the laboratory followed by silence. Receiving no reply to his tentative knocks on the laboratory door, Bhulb peered inside to find the garden door smashed open and his master and the crate gone. Bhulb is an especially timid myconid and immediately locked all the doors and sent for help.

Bhulb. the Myconid: AC 10; MV 9; HD 1; hp8; THAC0 19; #AT 1; Dmg 1d4; SA spore clouds; SD poisonous skin: Int Av erage; AL LN; SZ S; XP 65

Bhulb doesn't know too much about the contents of the greenhouses, as Adarian says that the contents are far too dangerous for a little myconid.

Once the vegepygmies are defeated, the PCs hear muffled cries from the undergrowth. A search reveals one corner of a mostly buried crate. Inside the crate they find Adarian. Adarian is grateful to the PCs for rescuing him, but he is more enthusiastic about the behavior of the vegepygmies: "Absolutely fascinating. I would never have credited them with such powers of logical reasoning. Unable to kill me with direct attacks. they tried to bury me alive instead. Brilliant!"

In return for his rescue. Adarian offers the PCs 500 gp, his four least precious gems, a choice of two of the magical items in his chest, and a lucrative com mission to seek out some more vegepygmies for his future experiments.

Terrain: City of Greyhawk

Total Party Levels: 24 (Average 4th)

Total gp: 1,800

Monster XP: 6,730

Adarian's Residence

Area 1. Consulting Room: Bhulb ushers the PCs into this room when they arrive. This chamber is richly decorated with fine furniture and walls hung with paintings of all sorts of flowers and, of course, Adarian's hundreds of trophies. Every flat surface in the room is covered with potted plants.

Area 2. Storage Room: Stacked around the room is an assortment of ceramic pots and general gardening tools.

Area 3. Laboratory: Smashed equipment is evidence of a recent struggle in this room. The lock and the framework of the door leading to the garden have been smashed open and the door left ajar.

Area 4. Kitchen : This room contains standard kitchen equipment and the re mains of the washing-up from breakfast, which Bhulb has yet to finish.

Area 5. Library: The walls of this room are lined with bookshelves groaning under the weight of numerous botanical tomes. Behind one of the bookshelves there is a secret compartment in which Adarian stores his monetary wealth: 950 gp, 320 sp, eight gems (two topaz worth 750 gp each, a piece of coral and a beryl worth 100 gp each, and two zircons. a bloodstone, and a carnelian worth 50 gp each), and a lapis lazuli-studded silver necklace and a flower-shaped gold brooch inlaid with jasper (worth 1.500 gp and 1,000 gp respectively).

Area 6. Adarian's Room: A locked chest (Adarian has the key) at the foot of the bed contains Adarian's magical items (except the ring of protection from plants, which Adarian wears at all times).

Area 7. Bhulb's Room: A spartan, barely furnished room. the most striking feature of which is the large tin tub of rotting compost that Bhulb "sleeps" in.

Area 8. Greenhouse: Canvas blinds have been drawn over the roof of this room to keep it relatively dark. The greenhouse is filled with giant fems and other plants that prefer the shade, including two tri-flower fronds that attack when the PCs are halfway down the path.

Tri-flower fronds (2): AC 9; MV 0; HD 2 +8; hp 18 each; THAC0 17; #AT special; Dmg special; SA see below; lnt Non; AL N; SZ M; XP 175

Each plant is a green stalk topped by trumpet-shaped flowers of orange, yellow, and red. The orange flower shoots 2d4 tendrils; those struck must save vs. poison or fall into a coma for 1d4 hours. The yellow flower sprays a comatose victim with a sticky enzyme that inflicts 2d4 points of damage per round. The red flower extends tendrils that attach to a comatose victim and extract body fluids, doing 1d6 points of damage per round.

Area 9. Greenhouse : The atmosphere in this greenhouse is hot and steamy and it contains a variety of sub tropical plants. Lurking among the vegetation in the center of the room is a giant sundew that attacks passing PCs.

Giant Sundew: AC 7; MV l; HD 8; hp 48; THAC0 13; # AT up to 6 per target round; Dmg 1d3 + special; SA enzyme acid, clogging sap: SD half damage from missiles and fire-based attacks; Int Semi; AL N; SZ M; XP 2,000

Area 10. Greenhouse: Exceedingly hot and humid, this greenhouse contains tropical plants, including a mantrap.

Mantrap: AC 6; MV 0; HD 5; hp 25; THAC0 n/a; SA scent: Int Non-; AL N: SZ L; XP 420.

The plant's scent has a 60 foot radius; those failing to save vs. poison are attracted to the plant and will climb into one of its four traps. Those trapped take a number of points of damage each round equal to their Armor Class (minimum 1 hp). The plant will not release trapped victims until it is killed.

Area 11. Fungi House: The walls in side this dank, windowless chamber are lined with all manner of fungi and thick moss. The fungi are essentially harmless (although there are many poisonous varieties here).

Area 12. Greenhouse : The vegepygmies took refuge in this greenhouse and are in the process of burying Adarian. Their activities are not visible from the garden, and they stop their digging if they hear sounds of fighting from any of the other greenhouses, camouflaging themselves among the undergrowth ready to surprise would-be rescuers.

The vegepygmies wait until the PCs are all in the greenhouse before attacking, trying to encircle them first if possible. These charmed vegepygmies are not subtle in their offensive tactics and will fight until they are all destroyed.

Vegepygmies (4): AC 6: MV 9; HD 3 + 12; hp 28 each; THAC0 15; # AT 1: Dmg 3d4; SA see below; SD immune to electrical attacks and enchantment/ charm spells, except those affecting plants; immune to mind-affecting spells; fire, blunt weapons, and piercing weapons cause half damage; Int Low; AL N; SZ M: XP 975 each

Anyone hit by a vegepygmy must save vs. poison or become infected with its spore sickness. An infected victim is instantly paralyzed and will die in 5d4 turns unless a cure diesase spell is used. Upon death, the victim begins to be covered by russet mold, and in 1d4 +20 hours the victim becomes a vegepygmy. This process can be temporarily halted by a hold plant spell or reversed up to one hour after the victim's death by cure disease, but thereafter only a wish will restore the victim to health and his original form.