R11: Barge Inn

This is another of the thriving taverns on the Strip, a favorite of dwarven visi tors to Greyhawk. Generally about 50% of the clientele consists of these stocky demihumans, the rest being humans of the city, bargefolk, mercenaries, and sail ors.

The largest inn in the quarter. the Barge Inn occupies a commanding curve on the Strip as well. Thus it is one of the busiest and rowdiest taverns in the city.

The owner and manager, Brack Snagtooth, is a dwarf originally from Greysmere, banned from that stronghold a century ago for some forgotten slight.

He has made a new home for himself. becoming the most highly regarded dwarf in the Free City. He is unofficial arbiter of disputes between dwarves here.

Brack and his "waiters" are also the enforcers of what little order there is at the inn. They move quickly to throw troublemakers out the front door with profane admonishments never to return. Of course, the brouhaha will be forgotten by the following day.

Brack Snagtooth (Dwarf): AC 5 (ring of protection +4 MV 6; F12; hp 72; THAC0 9; #AT 3/2; Dmg 1d8+3 (battle axe +3)

Six Waiters (dwarves): AC 6; MV 6; F8; hp 48; THAC0 13; #AT 3/2; Dmg 1d8+1 (Str 17)

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R11: Barge Inn. One of the largest inns in the city is the Barge Inn, a four-story structure with two cone-shaped towers and a huge ale brewery in the cellar. This was once the headquarters of a trading company that went bankrupt during the reign of Zagig Yragerne. Murals and carvings of ships and barges are in every room. The Barge Inn gets enormous spillover business from the Pit (F8), and it is one of the rowdiest and noisiest places around. Because the owner is a dwarf, most of the clientele is dwarven, but many adventurers, Rhennee, sailors, freight-haulers, and thieves stay here, too. Anyone who causes trouble is thrown out but allowed back in the following day.

The innkeeper is Brack Snagtooth [NG dm F12; hp 72; Str 17; ring of protection +4, battle axe +3], who is further detailed in the notes for area W4. Brack is almost always seen at the Barge Inn, talking with customers and settling disputes between dwarves. Brack came to Greyhawk from Greysmere after committing some breach of etiquette he does not discuss. It is known he is divorced, which is unheard of for a dwarf; asking him about it is to invite a fight. Still, he is highly regarded in the city by other dwarves. He is less fond of elves and humans than other demihumans. Brack also owns Snagtooth Shipbuilding (W4) on the Selintan outside the city’s west walls, though he rarely goes there.

DM's Notes: About 25 feet directly below the Barge Inn’s cellar floor is a huge, old cistern (about 50 X 100 feet) into which several waterpipes and sewers drain. One storm sewer goes north to the Selintan’s banks, where it drains into the river.

About 500 Cy, a group of Incabulos cultists managed to construct a secret headquarters for themselves that could be reached through a secret trapdoor in the Barge Inn’s cellar. The trapdoor opens onto a tunnel that leads straight down to a hole in the cistern’s ceiling. Anyone falling in hits 15 feet of filthy water. A careful climber must descend into the tunnel hand-over-hand on (sometimes slippery) iron rungs to the cistern, then cross the ceiling by hand (using other iron rungs) to reach a storm drain in one wall. The person moves from there by foot to a secret door in the tunnel wall, leading to another narrow tunnel that reacues the secret headquarters. This is a low room measuring about 40 X 5O feet, on roughly the same level as the cistern. A second tunnel exits the other side of the room, leading to another storm drain that heads back to the cistern again.

The cistern has some interesting wildlife: a nest of nine tentamorts (see below). This nest developed in the last few years from young brought by accident into the city and washed into the sewers by rain. The nest has successfully evaded detection by union sewermen, though one man (a thief) was recently caught and eaten by the group. If the tentamorts notice heat or sounds approaching, they retreat into small side tunnels and pipes or under the dirty water, where the sewermen have no interest in going.

The old room where the evil cult once met had only a few items in it when the group died of accidental food poisoning. Their six skeletons remain here among the debris of their candles, knives, blankets, and other items. However, the room has one live occupant: Pyremiel Alaxane [CE hm C13 — Juz; hp 57; Int 15, Wis 18, Cha 3; ring of protection +1/ & +4 for evil wearers, ring of proof against detection and Jocation (as the amulet) formerly the ambassador of Iuz to the City of Greyhawk until 585 cy, when he vanished at the start of the Great Northern Crusade in Furyondy. Pyremiel used his magical items when he went into hiding, and he has been hunted by the City Watch without result for years. He has spent that time hiding under the city itself, learning all he can about it and sending his information by use of spells to his master to the far north. Pyremiel is not very active and spends much of his time in a deathlike sleep using his spells, waiting for an opportunity to use his powers to destroy the City of Greyhawk. He eats rats and other vermin to sustain himself, and he has avoided discovery by sewermen. The tentamorts leave him alone as he has charmed them so often, though they will not come to his rescue if he is attacked.

Currently, Pyremiel awakens only to seek out and slay followers and priests of Rao and St. Cuthbert in Greyhawk (see “DM’s Notes” for R12). He has been very effective so far because he targets individuals at their most unguarded moments, usually while they are asleep, 4 and also because he goes after lower-level characters who can barely defend themselves against N : him. He uses only magic to find and slay his prey.

Tentamorts (9): AC 3/1 (tentacles/body MV 1; HD 2/4 (per tentacle/body hp 2d8/4d8 (avg. 9/18 THACO 17; #AT 2; Dmg 1d6/1d6 (tentacles SA see below; SZ kL (10’-12’ tentacles) S (2’ diameter body ML 8; AL N; XP 650. See MC5 Monstrous COMPENDIUM® GREYHAWK® Appendix, “Tentamort.”

A tentamort has a round, gray-green, shell-covered body with six to eight suction-cup legs and two long tentacles. It can slowly climb any surface, using its tentacles to attack prey. Tentacles are destroyed when their hit points reach zero, though this is not fatal to the beast. One tentacle is a constrictor that can seize prey on a roll 2 points above the number needed to hit (or on an unmodified roll of 20). A seized creature cannot move his arms, cast spells, or use weapons; one attempt can be made to break free when fis: captured (roll Strength or less on 1d20, but reduce Strength by 2 for the check). Thereafter, the tentacle inflicts 1d6 damage on the victim unt the victim or tentamort dies or the tentacle is severed.

The other tentacle has a bone needle measuring 6 inches long on the tip; if this tentacle seizes prey (as outlined above), the needle automatically injects a digestive fluid into the victim (no roll needed for this attack). If the tentacle is severed during the first round after this occurs, a cure disease spell cast within one hour will save the victim’s life. Otherwise, the victim dies within 3 rounds unless a heal spell is cast. (Regenerate and cure wounds (any) spells cast in succession will also work.)

Each tentacle can attack a separate victim. The tentamort can submerge itself underwater for 4d4 rounds. They normally flee fire, cold, and anything that severs a tentacle. They are blind but can detect vibration, temperature, and sound. Their poison glands sell for 10d4 gp each.