The Drow War Book Two. The Dying Of - RoseRed

Location: The Plateau of Skulls
Up ahead the desert is broken by a bulge of sheer rock
rising up like the top of a loaf. The rock is whitish in
colour, like bone. This can only be the plateau you were
told about. Just above the plateau, hanging immobile
in the air, is a strange dark shape like a disc or shield.
You guess that it is perhaps half a mile in diameter.
The outer edges of the plateau are steep and rocky,
calling for Climb checks (DC 5). Such Climb checks
are easy to make, but since the character is climbing, he
cannot apply his Dexterity bonus to Armour Class.
The rocky slopes soon show why the plateau was given
its name. White bones lie among the rocks, bleached by
the sun, in such profusion that it is impossible to avoid
climbing over them. Smooth stones that look like good
footholds turn out to be half-buried skulls. The pale
colour of the rock and the ash-like dust and sand in the
crevices blend the bones into the background.
Event: Scuttling Doom
This encounter takes place while the Player Characters
are at the base of the rock slope or have just begun to
climb:
Ahead of you on the rocky slope, you see a huge black
shape like a tree branch rise above the skyline. It is the
limb of some gigantic insect or crustacean, as it ends
in a pincer. The body heaves itself into view and you
see that it is a scorpion larger than an elephant, the tail
arching up high overhead. It is not alone. A second
and a third lurch ponderously over the rise.
The slopes are infested with these beasts. The Player
Characters have time to avoid them before they charge
but they are bound to encounter more on the way up
the slope. If they end up in serious trouble, the Games
Master should have Heru Machos the Androsphinx
arrive early and use his healing spells to help.
Colossal Giant Scorpions (6): CR 12; Colossal vermin;
HD 40d8+120; hp 300; Init –1; Spd 50 ft.; AC 26, touch
1, flat-footed 26; Base Atk +30; Grp +58; Atk +34 melee
(2d8+12, claw); Full Atk +34 melee (2d8+12, 2 claws)
and +29 melee (2d8+6 plus poison, sting); Space/Reach
40 ft./30 ft.; SA constrict 2d8+12, improved grab,
poison; SQ darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft., vermin
traits; AL N; SV Fort +25, Ref +12, Will +13; Str 35,
Dex 8, Con 16, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2.
Skills & Feats: Climb +16, Hide –12, Spot +4.
Constrict (Ex): A monstrous scorpion deals automatic
claw damage on a successful grapple check.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a monstrous
scorpion must hit with a claw attack. It can then attempt
to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an
attack of opportunity.
Poison (Ex): A monstrous scorpion has a poisonous
sting. This deals primary and secondary damage of
1d10 Constitution, with a Fortitude saving throw DC
of 33.
Skills: A monstrous scorpion has a +4 racial bonus on
Climb, Hide and Spot checks.
Plot Event: Protector of the Dead
Near the top of the cliff, the Player Characters meet a
frightening creature:
From far off you hear the sound of mighty wings
beating, growing rapidly louder and louder. A creature
is approaching from above and ahead of you. It comes
into view over the top of the plateau: a creature with the
body of a lion, huge wings like those of an eagle and a
pitiless glaring expression.
If the Player Characters do not conceal themselves or
otherwise try to avoid the beast, the Games Master
should continue:
The lion-bodied entity makes a clumsy landing above
you, sending scree rattling down the slope. It folds its
wings, bares its teeth and glares, before speaking in a
voice like stone millwheels grinding together: ‘Little
people, do you think to plunder the bones of those
who died without even a decent grave to their names?
Turn back, or feel the wrath of one who does not warn
twice.’
This is the androsphinx Heru Machos, who (as he has
announced) has made it his business to guard the Plateau
of Skulls against grave robbers. He assumes that the
Player Characters are here for this reason. Although
he knows about the destroyed oases and the arrival of
Astercote, he has not yet sighted the Tyrant of Brass,
nor has he spoken to the villagers. Even if he wants to,
they all run away when they see him coming, afraid that
he will eat them.
Heru Machos, Male Androsphinx: CR 9; Large
magical beast; HD 12d10+48; hp 114; Init +0; Spd 50
ft., fly 80 ft. (poor); AC 22, touch 9, flat-footed 22; Base
Atk +12; Grp +23; Atk +18 melee (2d4+7, claw); Full
Ibon Presno Gonzalez (order #73006) 8
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