9568 Moonlight Madness.pdf - Free

truth because Tom and Harry‘s statements directly con-
tradict each other, and only one person is lying.” Huttuci-
lege will frown and knit her eyebrows when she gives
this explanation but will stand by it. Clever players may
realize at this point that they have been given an unsolv-
able riddle.
If they happen to guess the “right” answer, Huttucilege
will demand that they explain how they arrived at the an-
swer. Since there is no logical way to reach the answer, the
DM should have no problem picking it apart and declaring
the answer unacceptable. If the players realize that the
riddle is unsolvable, Huttucilege hems and haws, then cov-
ers herself by saying that she was just testing them. In any
event, Huttucilege will want to “forget the riddles” as she
shreds the parchment with her claws, and move on to the
next order of business. The next order of business is a trip
to the bandit fort. Huttucilege wants the party to go there,
get a djinni bottle that is rumored to be there, and bring it
back. She hopes to regain her original sex with the wish
that she hopes the djinn can give her.
”All right, well, forget riddles. You guys are too
dumb/sharp for that nonsense. Let’s talk about the
Hermitage.” The sphinx pauses, waiting for you to
agree. ”Tell you what, you do a job for me and I’ll tell
you how to get there. A tit for a tat, so to speak.”
If the party agrees, Huttucilege tells them how to get to
the castle and describes the djinni bottle well enough for a
locate object spell to work. If the PCs ask, she tells them that
the ”castle” is owned by a local noble named Baron Brant
(she won’t add that he’s a bandit who makes his living by
extorting passers-by and selling the loot along with an oc-
casional spell or cure from his resident spellcasters). If the
party should ask for something with which to buy the
djinni bottle, Huttucilege refuses to supply any cash (she
spent all her liquid assets on the girdle). She is also un-
willing to accompany the PCs (saying ”Oh no, once was
enough”). However, she may allow the PCs to borrow a
few items from her hoard to aid them in retrieving the
bottle, on the condition that they promise to return them
when the trip is completed. Each character may borrow
one item, choosing from the following: hat of disguise, slip-
pers of spider climbing, wand of earth and stone (15 charges),
eversmoking bottle, Quaal’s feather token-tree, horn of fog,
dust of tracelessness, wand offlame extinguishing (14 charges),
ring of clumsiness (appears to be a ring ofjumping). Clever
PCs will go for the bottle, hoping to make a substitution
for the djinni bottle at an opportune moment.
If the characters ever realize that Huttucilege is not the
gynosphinx they were sent to find, and tell her so, she
snaps, ”Never mind who I am! I can still tell you where
the Hermitage is. Is the deal on?” If they refuse the deal,
Huttucilege slinks back into her cave in a huff. Proceed to
the encounter with Helen.
28
T-‘ut”uci~ege, former andrssa,I;nx: AaC -1; MV 15, fly 24
(D); HD 12; 54 hp; THACO 9; #AT 2; Dmg 2d4+2/2d4+2
(paw/paw); SA scream, spells; SD spells; SW diminishment
of androsphinx abilities; SZ L (8 feet tall at
shoulder); Int exceptional (15); AL CG; XP normally
7,000, currently 5,000. Spells (as 6th-level cleric): command
x3; aid, hold person, wyvern watch (already cast);
dispel magic, prayer.
Barney the criosphinx: AC 0; MV 12, fly 24 (D); HD 10; 45
hp; THACO 10; #AT 3; Dmg 2d4/2d4/3d6 (claw/
claw/headbutt); SW nerd; SZ L (7% feet tall at shoul-
der); Int average (8); AL N; XI‘ 5,000.
If the PCs pass by Huttucilege, they stumble upon Helen
the gynosphinx‘s lair instead. Helen was hot on the trail of
an androsphinx that she knew was in the area, but then his
trail suddenly disappeared. She is now casting about for
some other clue to his whereabouts. Currently, she is resting
on a cliff, studying her map.
base of the mountain range. Rounding a corner, you
see another gynosphinx ahead, resting on a rock out-
cropping and muttering to herself as she stares at
something between her paws. Her tail switches back
and forth angrily.
The characters are able to make out her words if they
move closer. She ignores them unless they address or at-
tack her.
the
ago. He couldn’t have gotten
more than this far,” she says decisively, dropping a
huge paw onto the sheet of parchment in front of her.
”At least, not without strong magic. Now he would
have to have gotten water, which means he would try
to move through here. . . . Nah, too many adventurers
through the forest . . . unless he went up into the
mountains. ”
If addressed, she looks up in a preoccupied manner
and says, “Yes?” If the PCs ask her what she is doing, she
answers hotly, ”Looking for an androsphinx, you dope.”
Then she adds, suavely and insinuatingly, ”Have you
seen one?” If the party asks about the Hermitage, she will
be equally irritated. ”Yeah, what about it? It’s a worthless
place full of silly celibates.” Then she adds coolly, ”I can
tell you how to find it if you can tell me what I want to
know.” If simply hailed, she will be very irritated: ”You
had better have a good excuse for interrupting me or