Karameikos - Vaults of Pandius

Return to the Ice WallTHE ICE BOXThe Ice Box appears to be a small mechanicaldevice contained snugly in a small box-likeobject about 45 cm long, 10 cm high and 15cm deep. The Box is made of thin sheets oftranslucent mica, which make the devicedifficult to examine in detail, although it lookslike a mechanical construction with severalcogs, wheels, pistons and belts in evidence.The Ice Box is a Greater Artifact with 450power points. Brandan programmed the IceBox with a simple set of instructions and withthe details for the maximum dimensions ofthe intended wall. The device follows theseinstructions in order to build and maintainthe structural integrity of the Wall. In the firsthour of a day the Ice Box uses its locate objectpower to identify areas within the dimensionsof the intended Wall where there is no ice. Ifthere are gaps, in the next hour the Boxactivates its ice wall and permanence powers;in the next hour, it activates its controltemperature and permanence powers; then,in the next hour, it activates create waterwhich quickly freezes in the sub-zerotemperatures, helping to cement everythingtogether. If the Ice Box has detected no areaswithout ice, or once it has completed its iceconstruction, it then activates its defensivepowers which Brandan included to ensurethat nobody comes to tamper with the Wall.It activates its sense life power and theneither feeblemind or mass charm powersdepending upon the number of creaturesidentified which might want to harm theWall.Attacks: feeblemind (40), mass charm (75)Information and Movement: locate object(20), sense life* (20)Transformations: control temperature(35), create water (20), permanence (90)Defences: ice wall (25)Handicaps: Magic Error, Memory Penalty,Polymorph.Penalties: Alignment Change (to Lawful),Forgetfulness, Obsession, Paranoia, WeakMagic.* Sense Life is a first level spell from 3.5E,a similar spell has probably been createdfor Mystara at some stage. I gave it a slightlyhigher power point cost than similardetection spells as it is slightly morepowerful/useful than those.THE WALLBrandan has always been an inventor and atinker; he wanted to create a permanentbarrier, but he didn't want to create just asimple wall. Instead, he created somethingwhich could itself create and maintain a hugewall of ice - the Ice Box. Once Brandan hadset the Ice Box in place and noted that itseemed to be working, he turned hisattentions back to the gnomes who werenow resettling at Highforge.The resultant Wall is constructed on anarrow, half-mile, winding trail through thehigh mountains. The Wall itself rises up to aheight of 50 feet from the ground andextends across the mountain trail andthrough the impassable slopes on either sideto a maximum length of 2 miles. It has athickness of 10 feet. The base of the Wall160THRESHOLD: The Mystara Magazine Issue #1