One Last Riddle SJ Conversion pt 8

The Lairs:  The following are some details of the 3 primary locations
of the kobolds in Miel.  Other areas may also come into play and should
be designed by the DM as needed.  The planar church of Nirvana in Miel
currently occupies an unimposing single level building with some
administrative offices beside the entrance, a central worship area,
storage areas (including a basement as with most of the buildings in
town due to the presence of so many excellent dwarven stoneworkers),
and quarters for the clergy in the back (there are actually rooms for 5
clergy though only 4 are currently occupied).  Chaos spells cast within
the church operate as though cast at ^Ö2 levels (if this reduces the
spell level below minimum caster level for that level of spell,
including any enhancements from feats, the spell fails).  Natal^Òs house
is the grandest in town, though this miser has allowed it to become
somewhat rundown overtime.  An imposing three-story structure with two
basements, Natal has 3 servants that theoretically live in a connected
one-story addition.  In fact, Natal^Òs maid is also his mistress and she
has almost completely moved into his bedroom.  The butler and cook are
an aging couple that served Natal^Òs father.  Natal has no heirs but is
still young (in his early 30s).  All the dwarves and gnomes on the
asteroid lived in town and together made up a significant portion of
the urban population.
The Ship:  The Blackspear is a standard wasp ship with a medium
catapult mounted on it.  The ship is currently landed in the landing
field near the docks (or, more accurately, at the top of the cliffs
beside where the docks are).  It is lived in by a crew of 15 kobolds
and their assigned captain, a 3rd level kobold warrior (formerly one of
the Ripperspear sergeants).  Already these kobolds are talking about
separating from the Ripperspear clan and forming their own clan called
the Poisonspears (this will undoubtedly occur if the kobolds gain a
second ship and find out the Thunderspear clan has been destroyed).
The ship^Òs captain has only recently made 3rd level and has learned
some of how to run the ship.  As the best kobold sailor and a leader he
was the natural choice to be the ship^Òs captain.  The lizard man marine
and the lizard man sailor the kobolds hired spend much of their time
here, showing the kobolds how to operate the ship.  The kobold crew are
becoming capable sailors, even better than the humans^Ò new guardsman
recruits.  The ship is propelled by a furnace helm and has a crate with
a number items in it beside it.  The crate contains a potion of love, 2
potions of spider climb, a +1 longbow (missing its bowstring), and a
pair of boots of dancing.  The furnace has 3 days of power left from
the item it^Òs now consuming.  Also living on the ship are 2 dire
weasels (a male and a female) that the kobolds keep here as guards.
They are especially useful during the day since the kobolds are
generally resting then (though at least two are supposed to be awake).
The dire weasels attack anyone who^Òs not a kobold or a lizard man that
comes aboard the ship (as they^Òve been instructed to do through Oppol^Òs
use of his familiar) and are well versed in scampering around the ship,
including between decks.  The rope ladder that allows access to the
ship is kept rolled up on deck except when admitting visitors (usually
only other kobolds and the lizard men) or letting someone off.  10
catapult stones lie on deck and the kobold crew has become proficient
in the use of the catapult.  20 additional catapult stones are stored
in the hold.  The kobolds that keep an eye on the docks perform their
duty from atop the ship (and are part of the ship^Òs crew).
        Dire Weasel (2):  hp 14, 9
        The Warehouse:  The warehouse next to Caramip^Òs old house that the
kobolds have taken over once belonged to her also.  Now she has a new
perspective about it as she and the other slaves are held prisoner
here.  The kobold^Òs warrens have been begun in the warehouse^Òs sunken
floor (the sunken floor kept food stored here better) and most of the
goods that were stored here have been removed by the humans.  Now only
the kobolds, Liffess, the lizard man mercenaries, and the slaves ever
see the inside of the warehouse.  The slaves have been corralled in a
crude pen they were forced to build from lumber and scrap wood.  In
some areas the pen is actually large crates set side by side.  One of
the Ripperspear kobolds has been assigned the job of overseeing the
slaves though the other kobolds of the clan aid him (basically he^Òs in
charge of the slaves and their rotating guard detail).  The kobolds
don^Òt really have sufficient forces to keep 160 adult slaves confined
but they^Òve made it work.  Either the slavemaster or the Ripperspear
sergeant is always in charge of the guard detail and has 8 kobolds
working for them.  In addition to the listed equipment 3 light
crossbows (with 12 bolts each) are passed between these guards as they
rotate shifts with each crossbow equipped kobold standing atop a
different large crate (the top of each crate is 4, 6, or 8 feet off the
floor).  Additionally the last four (two mated pairs) of the clan^Òs
dire weasels have set up a nest here and will come to the aid of any
kobolds having trouble with slaves (their coordination is even higher
than usual as Oppol is able to converse with them through his familiar
and so has set up a system).  One of the dire weasel pairs has 3 young
offspring that they will defend to the death.  While doing so (anytime
there is a fight in the warehouse) they gain a +2 to attack due to
ferocity.  The slaves are forced to mine all day in two shifts.  They
can only eat before their shift starts and after it ends (2 meals/day)
and are insufficiently fed for such heavy labor.  5 halflings (never
gnomes) are allowed to walk among the workers during each shift,
distributing water.  Those off shift have a large trough of fresh water
they can drink from (the trough extends both inside and outside the pen
so that the workers can refill their waterskins from the same trough).
The workers use picks (treat as light picks if used as weapons), pails,
and shovels (if used as a weapon treat as a battle axe in size but
doing 1d4 base damage with standard x2 critical) that were confiscated
from the gnome and halfling residents, found in warehouses, or bought
off some of the dwarves (the dwarves were paid a fair price but not
given a choice in the sale).  They dig out the rock of the asteroid,
shovel it into the buckets, and carry the resultant rubble to a far
corner of the warehouse.  Already they have opened a passage from the
warehouse into the neighboring house that the kobolds are using as a
headquarters and have completed as much else as the DM desires.
        The warehouse is carefully sealed (by nailing boards up) against light
and intrusion.  Only the one human-sized door into the warehouse that
faces the neighboring house and leads into the warehouse^Òs small office
(now used as a sort of command post for whoever is in charge of the
guard shift) is not sealed.  With the tunnel^Òs completion the door is
kept barred from within (the key to the lock is in the office but not
bothered with) and only opened when admitting Liffess on her morning
visit (and when she leaves).  The door has slots openable at human and
kobold height (formerly used by Caramip) to allow occupants to peep out
at visitors and these are used before the door is opened every time as
the kobolds are still extremely wary.  As the kobolds need no light
only a couple candles are allowed the slaves that aren^Òt working and
then only for about an hour before and an hour after shift (when they
are eating).  Liffess brings a torch enchanted with continual flame to
see by.  The workers are allowed a single guttering grease lamp, a few
candles, and an occasional torch to work by.  This is sufficient for
the gnomes with their low light vision but the halflings have suffered
badly.
        Only the small office is set at street level with the rest of the
warehouse floor sunk 5 feet down (from here the tunnel to the basement
next door slopes down just as all the other warren tunnels go deeper
into the asteroid).  A large, sturdy wooden platform with thick cable
going to pulleys in the ceiling is next to the end of the warehouse and
its large double doors opposite the office.  The platform acted as an
elevator and could be used to lift entire wagons with a full team of
oxen (but since none are around here they only ever lifted at most
large flat carts pushed by people).  The cables go from the pulleys to
winches so the elevator operates like a drawbridge and can be locked in
position.  Currently it sits on the floor, a growing pile of rubble
building up on it.  An iron ladder built into the wall goes from the
office doorway down to the floor.
        Dire Weasel (4):  hp 9, 10, 8, 12
Strong Wooden Door:  2 in. thick; hardness 5; hp 20; AC 5; break DC 25.
        Oppol^Òs Headquarters:  While the 1st floor is built to human
dimensions, much of the house^Òs furniture was of gnomish dimensions,
perfect for kobolds.  Since the humans confiscated everything but the
guest room bed (which was left for Oppol) the entire building is
currently nearly unfurnished.  The building is sturdily constructed
(like most of the buildings in town, it had a dwarven engineer and a
number of dwarven laborers building it) of wood and three stories tall.
 The first floor has a 10 foot clearance ceiling but the second and
third floors have 5^Ò ceilings (the dwarves weren^Òt willing to go any
lower as they wanted to be able to work comfortably).  Anyone of 5-7
ft. in height suffers a ^Ö2 to attacks as they must crouch.
Additionally they suffer a ^Ö2 penalty to AC as they can^Òt dodge as
effectively.  Anyone taller than this either must crawl and suffer a ^Ö4
AC penalty and ^Ö4 attack penalty in addition to losing all dexterity
adjustments to AC or cannot fit at all.
        Below the 1st floor is a basement including a large wine rack and food
stores (looted under Natal^Òs orders along with everything else).  It is
built to human dimensions and has a 10 high ceiling.  Most of the
kobolds have set up their lair in the basement, though Oppol and his
apprentice have set up on the third floor.  At the headquarters end of
the tunnel to the warehouse the kobolds have constructed a pit and
spear trap (the slaves don^Òt know about it as the kobolds weren^Òt about
to reveal their defenses in this manner, after all, the trap exists in
case of a slave rebellion).  The pit trap has a swinging wooden board
covered in rock dust that can be held in position with a simple metal
pin when it is to be traversed.  The pit is 15 feet deep and lined with
jagged rocks that cause an additional 2d4 damage to anyone that falls
on them.  If the pit trap is sprung a rope is pulled that launches a
trio of halfspears down the hallway (each attacks at +2 and does 1d6-1
damage, anyone who fell in the pit is not subject to this attack).  The
pit completely blocks the tunnel entrance (the kobolds fear a mass
slave revolt, hence the compound precautions).  If the trap is
activated the thump of the wooden platform and the firing of the spears
(not to mention the screams of the wounded) will alert the kobolds in
the basement to intrusion.  At night the war leader takes 3 of the
kobolds with him when he patrols the town.  Oppol^Òs apprentice and the
apprentice^Òs familiar may join them.
        The command center has been as secured as the warehouse with the only
light being a single hooded lantern that is lit when Oppol entertains
visitors.  The front door is constructed the same way the door to the
warehouse is and the same procedure for admittance is used.  The lock
on this door is also used.  Usually only Natal, Juliet, and Ujar are
guests of Oppol and the lizard man warrior he hired away from Saul is
always present when they visit.  The security of the headquarters has
been assigned to 5 Ripperspear clan warriors who take their duties very
seriously.  Along with their own presence they have trapped both the
stairs going up to the second floor and the stairs down to the basement
so that a halfspear will be fired at anyone weighing over 130 lbs that
steps on a certain step (DC 15 to locate).  The spear hits with a +4
attack roll and does 1d6-1 damage.  The rest of the building is empty
except for Oppol^Òs and his apprentice^Òs rooms upstairs.  Oppol has
trapped his door with the cold trap in the module only it releases an
ice storm instead of a cone of cold.  His apprentice has trapped his
door with a magic missile trap.
Strong Wooden Door:  2 in. thick; hardness 5; hp 20; AC 5; break DC 25.
Pit and Spear Trap:  Reflex save (DC 20) to jump back from pit; Search
(DC 20); Disable Device (DC 25).
        Stairwell Spear Traps:  Search (DC 15); Disable Device (DC 10).
        Magic Missile Trap:  magic missile for 1d4+1 damage; Search (DC 20);
Disable Device (DC 15).


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