Hero Wars
  Scenario
Glorantha
Issaries, Inc.
Market Place
Tribes
Library
News
Utilities

Rainbow Mounds

By Greg Stafford, converted to Hero Wars by Jeff Kyer.

Note! The conversion of this scenario to Hero Wars is a fan work. The hard-working volunteer has made all interpretations of game stats.

The Situation

A band of thieving trollkin has hidden out somewhere nearly, and instead of snatching the usual chicken or straggling cow, they attempted to carry off a farmer's child last week. Though the farmer wounded one and drove the rest off, he and his neighbors are understandably distressed by this threat.

Nearby and shortly after the first incident, another farmer's house was set afire after midnight. While escaping with his family, the farmer saw trollkin disappear into the shadows as he fled the flames.

Just yesterday another isolated farm was robbed while the family, except poor Granny, was out. The feeble old woman was killed, and the house stripped of its finest possessions.

The wise Sheriff Dronlan has deduced that Whiteye, a dark troll of ill repute, has returned to the Apple Lane environs. He is the source of this trouble.

Armed with this information, the Sheriff has raised a reward from the farmers of the area, and is trying to raise a posse to clean out this nest of outlaws once and forever. The heroes form the entire posse, and so are deputized by Sheriff Dronlan. The Sheriff will not go to the mounds. He is busy organizing Apple Lane's militia into defensive patrols in case the posse is unsuccessful and Whiteye's gang strikes again.

The posse will receive 50 wealth in goods for the head of Whiteye, the dark troll leader. Each trollkin head is worth 2 wealth. Specific rewards are posted for the return of valuable or cherished items. Any items unclaimed by the locals for the noted reward go to the posse. Wealth is immediately negotiable for items from the price guide be it cows or chainmail. Excess wealth is frittered away, though 1/10 of any unspent wealth of it can be cemented as a permanent increase in the hero's wealth rating by the expenditure of a hero point as usual.

The Sheriff believes that the gang hides out at a place called the Rainbow Mounds, several low hills beneath which can be found a system of caves with walls colored in all the hues of the rainbow. The Rainbow Mounds are easily located because of the two unusual granite formations found there (rumored brought to the hills by superhuman feasts in prehistory). The first granite formation is a rune-inscribed plinth; the other is an enormous structure called the Giant's Table. Under the Giant's Table lies the entrance to the caves inside the Rainbow Mounds - and Whiteye's lair.

Getting Ready

Should a hero be unable to repay Squinch at the end of the adventure, Squinch may offer to allow him to work it off (using an episode of the narrator's devising). At the least, he will continue charging 10% interest per season on the outstanding balance.

Lipiccus the Horse Master will provide each hero with the temporary use of a donkey from his stable, to ride to the mounds. He also instructs young Baltho to tend the donkeys and await the posse at the cave mouth. Baltho will not fight and knows no useful abilities, other than bearing a slight affinity for donkeys. The posse is free to arrive at the cave at any time of the day or night.

Gamemaster Notes Some game functions are more easily resolved by the narrator rather than the players. For instance, when determining whether or not the posse as a group succeeds in using their perception abilities, you should make the needed die rolls. A player rolls the dice for perception abilities when the results affect his specific hero. You roll the dice when the results affect the party as a whole. Before the posse begins its search for Whiteye, have each player note his hero's perception abilities (Scan, Search, Listen, See in Dark or other appropriate ability values) on a blank piece of paper. You roll the dice and now which hero(s) see, hear, smell, or whatever, and relay this information to the proper player(s) during your patter. In any event, get into the habit of regularly rolling dice even if nothing is occurring that requires a roll. Then, when you need to determine whether something occurs or not, the players aren't alerted simply because you reach for your dice. Seeing in the darkness should be difficult for the heroes, and you must convey the appropriate mood to the players. It is pitch black in the Rainbow Mounds, which means that heroes fighting without a light source have a -20 penalty applied to all sight based abilities. Those heroes in poor light will suffer a -10 penalty. Heroes carrying candles, torches or lanterns (or near those carrying them) are not so penalized but suffer a -3 penalty to Close Combat and cannot use shields, bows, or two-handed weapons. Heroes with non-light senses can substitute these for abilities penalized by darkness. However, these senses are in turn penalized by -3 unless they are fighting abilities, or they are the hero's primary senses, like trollish Darksense. Example: Dorath has Spear 1w and Keen Hearing 18. His Spear ability would normally be lowered to an 11, but he can use it at 15 because of his hearing (18 - 3 = 15). If the ability were defined as Darksense or Fight in Darkness, he could fight at 18. Heroes may use torches, candles, and lanterns to light their way, and to increase their combat effectiveness in the Rainbow Mounds. CANDLES: A candle illuminates a 1-meter radius sufficiently to read by and use vision-based abilities normally. Such abilities (including combat) are reduced by 2 for every meter away from the candle (this penalty is cumulative with any other terrain features). A slight breeze will extinguish a candle as will violent movement such as combat. TORCHES: A torch held at shoulder height sufficiently illuminates a 10-meter area to read by and use vision-based abilities normally. Lying on the ground, it illuminates 3 meters this well. A torch is visible for hundreds of meters, and modifies vision in the same manner as candles when the abilities are used outside the illuminated area. LANTERNS: When the shutters are open, the lamp can illuminate an area 3 meters square and 10 meters distant with sufficient light to read by and use vision-based abilities. Such a beam is visible at great distance. Used outside the beam, visual abilities are reduced by 4 for every meter outside the edge of the light.

Under the Table

General Cave Notes

The caves are unlit. The heroes must carry some form of illumination. Sounds carry well in the caves so heroes will hear noises as someone approaches, but conversely will betray their own presence as well. If they listen closely, they can hear continual soft, sloshing-slurpy sounds and quiet drips of water.

As the posse moves deeper into the complex, the colors of the rock change. These color shifts are noted in the descriptive text.

Cave sections and tunnels are both named and numbered. Use the names when describing the sections to the players.

Both the map and the descriptive text indicate floor sections that contain significant drops or lips. These become important in combat if positional bonuses are used.

Map of the caves, 210 kB

1. Entrance Cavern

1d4 of the rock lizards which nest in the branch tunnels hungrily emerge and stare as the heroes pass by. Roll 1d6 for each lizard to determine from which side tunnel it emerges from (side tunnels are numbered 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and so on). More than one lizard may emerge from a tunnel. The lizards will not attack unless first attacked or one of the following conditions are met:

• anyone enters a branch tunnel,
• anyone hugs the main tunnel wall and passes close by a branch tunnel,
• anyone who is recently wounded passes anywhere within the main tunnel.

If one lizard attacks, all lizards attack each moving to the nearest hero. If heroes venture into the Mounds more than once, they may remark on the unusually high number of rock lizards here (rock lizard numbers are not reduced through combat losses and replenish between visits). The reason lies in the Rock Lizard Nest (21).

Side Tunnel Treasure
Small amounts of treasure exist in these tunnels - the indigestible portions of the lizard's prey. These are coins, bits of metal and perhaps the odd bit of jewelry. To get to it, the heroes must crawl on hands-and-knees down each tunnel, attempting a Search or Notice check (difficulty 12) every three meters of tunnel length. If they do not find the treasure before the end of the tunnel, then they find it at the end.

Tunnel 1.1 - 1 wealth
Tunnel 1.2 -- nothing
Tunnel 1.3 - 1 wealth
Tunnel 1.4 - broken sword with jeweled hilt worth 2 additional wealth
Tunnel 1.5 - nothing
Tunnel 1.6 - 2 wealth at the point marked *

1.6 Long Branch Tunnel

2. The Mushroom Chamber

The three fungus types are:

BROWN HAIR MOSS: anyone sniffing it closely sneezes uncontrollably for 1d6 action rounds, but is otherwise unharmed.
TOADTABLES: edible, tasty mushrooms.
EURMAL'S CRUMBS: tiny magic mushrooms that either poison the eater or give him great magic. If a hero eats a piece, an ability rating will be affected. The ability affected should be chosen randomly; we provide several options below, but the narrator is free to use their own method to do this. The Crumbs will only affect a given person once in their lifetime.

Overcoming Eurmal's Crumbs (12 + 1d20): Ability selected; Resist Magic or Trickster affinities might help the 'victim.' Or they may not -- Eurmal is like that.

Effect
The player will lose points in the ability if he suffers a defeat, or gain points if he wins a victory, as indicated on the following table:

Marginal	+/- 1
Minor	+/- 2
Major	+/- 4
Complete	+/- 8

Some possible methods of choosing the ability affected:

• The player on the left of the hero closes his eyes and points randomly to a spot on the hero's character sheet. The ability that is closest to where his finger points is selected.
• The player on the left of the hero names a random ability (which may not be on the character sheet), and the player attempts a simple Ability Test. If the hero doesn't have that ability ith, then the most similar ability is affected, as determined by the narrator.
• The ten highest and ten lowest abilities listed on the hero's character sheet are written on a piece of paper, in any order. They are numbered 1-20, and a single die roll determines the ability affected.
• The hero names one ability they would like increased. The narrator names an ability that they would like reduced. Flip a coin, roll a die, or have the two abilities contest against each other. If the hero wins, he gains as above. If the narrator wins, the hero loses as above.

Some possible methods of determining level of victory/defeat:

• Player rolls a simple Ability Test against the ability chosen. The number of points gained or lost are determined by the level of victory obtained.
• The ability rating of the mushrooms is matched against the ability rating of the ability affected, with effects as above.
• A coin can be flipped by the player, narrator, or another player, with 1 or more points gained or lost depending on the result.

Mix and match these hints to get a method that suits you, or make up your own. The Trickster is completely unpredictable.

Identify Fungi: Fungus Lore, Plant Lore (-3), Farming (-5), Area Lore (-15). Success gives the information above.

3. The White Hallway

4. The Water Cavern

The roof and walls of the water cavern may be visible to the heroes if they have lanterns with directional shutters and reflectors. The far walls are dark orange in color, and halfway up their center a waterfall gushes out of a hole in the rock.

Facing the waterfall, the heroes also notice what appears to be a branching cavern at the waterline, halfway along the wall to their right, but even lanterns no more than suggest its existence. A gray band of rock runs from this dim cavern mouth, across the cavern vault to the tip of the ledge leading to the Twisting Tunnel (4a), thereby separating the orange limestone from the off-white rock.

The water is three to five meters deep, shallower near the Newtling Cave (19) and about 1.5 meters deep under the bridge.

The Bridge - this structure, generously called a bridge, is made of crudely cut logs laid unfastened across each other. It has neither handholds nor railings, and there are no apparent projections on which to tie a rope from one side of the bridge to the other (though a suitable projection can be found two meters down the Twisting Tunnel). The bridge looks as if it could support several people at once.

Crossing the bridge (14): Balance, Sure-footed, Climbing (-2). Failure indicates that the hero has slipped off the bridge and fallen headlong into the water. In addition to the danger of drowning, two gorp live in the water. Rescue is possible.

The bridge automatically collapses if there is a combination of more than 2 people on the bridge at any one time or when the sixth hero crosses the bridge.

Falling and Drowning
Since the water under the bridge is only 1.5 meters deep, only heroes with a "Small" ability will be unable to stand up and breathe, should they be able to get their feet under them on such a slippery surface. When a character falls in, use the following procedure:

Staying Afloat / Standing Up (12): Swim, Athletics (-3). For each rank of armor worn or weapon in hand, suffer a -2 penalty to the skill. Dropping weapons or shields does not take an unrelated action but removing armor does. Success indicates that either the hero is swimming comfortably or has found a spot sufficiently shallow to keep his head out of the water.

The Gorp
Two Gorp live in the water. These shapeless blobs of putrid ooze drip acid and corrosive enzymes. If one or more of the heroes fall in, the gorp attack the two largest (or determine randomly), and are satisfied with one hero apiece. The gorp are hungry and alert - they arrive 2d3 actions after someone falls in. A gorp attacks by moving next to its victim as an action. If the victim is unable to dodge or jump aside, the gorp envelops them and starts to dissolve its prey. Armor is reduced 1 Rank each round by this. Surviving victims can attempt to evade the gorp on subsequent rounds.

Dodging the Gorp (20, 14 out of the water): Jump, Dodge, Leap, Swim.

The Newtling Underwater Rescue Do not tell the posse of the existence of the newtlings, or of their intentions. Let them be a surprise and only introduce them as the situation warrants (and to save certain characters). The newtlings live in the Newtling Cave (19), that waterline cavern branching away from the Water Cavern (4). They may rescue people falling into the water. Newtlings always stay underwater when humans or trolls are in this cavern section, swimming to evade torchlight. They are not hostile, merely shy. Should a hero fall into the water, 1d6 newtlings will arrive unseen to his side in 1d6 action rounds. They will only intervene to save heroes who are seriously injured or drowning. Two newtlings tow such characters to their cave, casting newtling spells to comfort them and halt further drowning effects. Let the grieving player(s) thing that their current characters are dead (even continuing the drowning procedure so that the player runs out of AP - the newtlings will actually intervene before The End arrives). Take these players aside, out of hearing of the others and hint to them that all may not be lost. As time permits, conduct the newtling encounter described in the boxed section titled "The Newtlings."

Whiteye's Tactics Whiteye did not earn his reputation as a bandit by being foolish. He remains in the Red Cavern (14) unless he hears fighting or is out raiding. He is so hardened by his bandit existence that he sleeps in his armor. If fighting breaks out in the caves, the sound carries and Whiteye hears it. Consult the Whiteye Arrives table below to determine how fast he responds. The trollkin will not venture from their posts (or beds) unless Whiteye orders them to, or unless intruders drive them back from their location. Slud always remains in the Red Cavern (14) unless Whiteye orders her to do something else. The trollkin always retreat toward Slud. Whiteye prefers to let the trollkin do the dying, but he is not afraid to step into the fray unless he is severely wounded, or if three or fewer trollkin remain. When he does fight he will improvise feats such as Hate Light or Blind Foe using his Darkness Affinity, if possible. Should the situation allow it, he can use his Ambush ability to set up surprise attacks on the posse. He will attempt to use a Death Affinity Terrifying Aura feat on the most competent or aggressive foe. Before arriving he will augment his Mace and Shield ability with improvised Crushing Blow, Dark Might and Stygian Armor Feats. If he has time, he will also augment Slud with his magic, or a group of trollkin using his Command Trollkin or his Hate Life affinity to inspire them to greater fervor. When he is attacked, Whiteye will order some of the trollkin to join him and fight as followers, negating (and possibly causing) multiple-foe penalties. Whiteye will not endanger himself to defend the Red Cavern (14). Since, by Whiteye's command, the trollkin cannot pass beyond the Red Cavern (toward Whiteye's Lair, 18), Slud will stay here with all the remaining trollkin and fight to the death, protecting her offspring and her cowardly owner's retreat. Whiteye's Feats Whiteye improvises the following feats with the standard -5 modifier. Final target numbers are noted in brackets below. He should be able to make several attempts to use his magic before battle is joined. Combat (18) Break Weapon: Whiteye will try to target a dangerous opponent's weapon. Success damages (marginal) or destroys (complete) the weapon. Crushing Blow: Whiteye will use this as an augment, turning his weapons into smashing engines of destruction. Darkness (12) Hate Light: Whiteye causes shadows to gather around a light source and extinguish it. Any degree of success will cause a torch or lantern to go out. Larger fires such as bonfires or burning oil may re-ignite and require greater degrees of success to douse permanently. As an augment, shadows gather and flicker around Whiteye, making him harder to see. Stygian Armor: Whiteye calls forth a thick darkness that settles about the target like a shroud, making their armor tougher and harder to breach. This acts as an augment to defensive abilities. Terrifying Aura: Whiteye's very presence terrorizes his foes. If he is successful, the victim is either dazed (minor) or flees in terror (complete). As an augment, Whiteye becomes a figure of terror and all foes are slowly sapped of their confidence. Hatred (14) Rage of Hatred: This is berserker magic. Whiteye will only use this if cornered and all seems lost. Normally, he is too canny to use such dangerous feats. Whiteye Arrives If there is fighting in... Whiteye arrives... Main Cavern (9) in 1d6 action rounds with the trollkin from the Main Cavern and the Room of Three Spikes (12). Trollkin Quarters (10) in 1d8 action rounds, with the trollkin from the Room of Three Spikes (12); the trollkin from the Main Cavern arrive one round later. Room of Three Spikes (12) in 1d3 action rounds. All trollkin stay put unless Whiteye personally gets them.

4a. Twisting Tunnel

It empties into the Room of Three Spikes (12), which the trollkin use as their headquarters. As it turns, the tunnel also rises, imperceptibly to anyone but a dwarf.

5. The Yellow Corridor

The corridor forks at the end furthest from the cavern entrance. Standing facing the fork, the left tunnel drops down to the Flat Room (7), while the right tunnel quickly rises to the Main Cavern (9).

6. The Narrowing Tunnel

7. The Flat Room

As the heroes proceed toward the opposite wall, they must stoop by map-point A, crawl on their hands-and-knees by map-points B and D, and wriggle on their bellies by map-point C. Torchlight or lantern-light reveals reflections (from metal items and jewels described below) at these lettered points, except that D is only visible from points B or C.

The squeaking issues form large rats clustered in a huge pack. The pack, however, only leaves the Flat Room if they smell fresh blood in the Narrowing Tunnel (6).

The Reflections
A - a trollkin skeleton. Any person reaching here is attacked by 1d6 packs of rats. Since the hero is stooping, his attacks suffer a -3 skill penalty versus the rat packs. Rummaging among the trollkin bones yields 6 clacks, 5 lunars, a normal throwing dagger and a twisted scrap of aluminum (Lo-metal).

Identify Lo-metal (14): Identify Goods, Identify Magical Goods, Water Pantheon Mythology, Other Mythology Lore (-12). This is a magical metal worth roughly 2 wealth to Squinch, 1 wealth to Piku, and nothing to Gringle.

B - a human skeleton. Heroes are attacked by 1d10 packs of rats. They must crawl on their hands and knees, reducing all effective attack abilities by -6. The skeleton wears a chainmail hauberk (which fits an average-sized human male), a leather helm with soft leather padding, a good broadsword, a broken spear, and assorted old coins worth 3 wealth.

C - a human skeleton. Anyone approaching here from deep in the Flat Room or from the Zig-Zag Tunnel (8) must crawl on his belly to move forward, and is attacked by 3d6 rat packs per turn. All combat abilities are reduced by -10 and only small weapons such as daggers and short swords can be used to fight the rats. The skeleton points towards the tunnel and its bony fingers are only one meter from the entrance. Several rat skeletons are also visible. A bronze cuirass and a ringmail helm encase it. There is also a broadsword, and a silver-edged dagger worth 12 wealth.

D - a newtling skeleton. The bony hands clutch an arm broken from a statue. The broken stone arm is made of rich blue marble veined with green. A flint knife lies nearby. If the party takes the arm of the statue, there is a 2 in 20 chance each ten minutes that they will be approached by a newtling in any empty cave section that they afterwards enter (see the Newtlings section).

Rat Packs
When describing the rat attacks on the heroes, multiply the number of attacking packs by 7 to provide them with a rough idea of the actual number of rats attacking them. This ensures the proper morale effect. There is no need to tell them that it is only the number of packs attacking, not the number of rats that is significant. This estimate of the real number of rats is far more impressive.

Rat Significant Abilities: Fur 0, Bite Attack 10^1 (7 AP per Pack), Climb 12, Scurry 16, Small 18, Cause Disease 6.

Also, if a hero is defeated or wounded by the rats, that person has a chance of contracting Brain Fever (the Rat's Cause Disease against Tough, Healthy, Resist Disease or 14, whichever is higher).

8. The Zig Zag Tunnel

The five corners resulting from the tunnel's zigzagging are razor sharp. Careless heroes can be severely cut by these sharp angles. There are five edges that must be passed. If a hero turns, any edges already passed must be navigated again.

Pass Sharp Angle (14): Nimble, Dexterous, Small. Any level of defeat results in a loss of 1d6 AP (the sharp rock edges have a weapon rank of 3 and the hero cannot use his shield for armor) but the hero is able to pass that angle. A hero cannot recover AP between tests except by healing. Every cumulative 7 AP inflicted by the sharp edges results in the hero taking one Hurt. Complete defeat results in the hero receiving an immediate Hurt and then having to try to pass that angle again.

9. The Main Cavern

The Main Cavern may be entered upslope from the Yellow Corridor (5), upslope from the Trollkin Quarters (10), or downslope from the Room of Three Spikes (12).

A trollkin squad is posted here as standard procedure. These guards attack anyone going up the rise from the Yellow Corridor in the hall they protect. They are rarely surprised, and attempt to ambush intruders. They won't leave this post unless driven away in defeat, or unless ordered to leave by Whiteye. If forced to retreat they run towards Whiteye's cave, ignoring their own quarters. There are 2d3 trollkin here.

Disposition of the Trollkin - Whiteye commands 12 trollkin; between 2 and 6 each in the Main Cavern and the Room of Three Spikes. All others are asleep in the Trollkin Quarters. If all twelve are on duty, then none are asleep. If and when fighting breaks out, refer to the section labeled Whiteye's Tactics.

10. Trollkin Quarters

This small cave quarters the trollkin, who have hidden their meager treasure in the refuse pile. Any Search abilities used here suffer a -3 penalty. A dirty leather sack holds 45 clacks, 28 lunars, 6 wheels, and a gem worth 13 lunars.

11. False Trollkin Quarters

The disguised entrance from the Zig-Zag Tunnel (8) is so narrow that only one person at a time can enter or exit. The mouth of the passage is so narrow that it is difficult to pass, especially for larger heroes.

Pass the passage mouth (14): Small, Athletic, Climbing, Dexterous, Strong (-3). Resistance is increased by 1 for every 5 points of Large, Burly, or similar abilities the hero possesses.

A successful search of this area uncovers up a brass box no larger than a fist. It is tarnished, with a clasp formed in the shape of a serpent. If the box is opened, a poison pin cleverly concealed in the latch inflicts a Hurt to the hand of the person opening it. Gloves cannot be worn when picking the lock. Anyone so injured will howl with pain for the next 1d4 rounds. For each round the hero so screams, there is an increasing 15% chance of the cries attracting nearby trollkin.

The empty brass box with its tricky lock is worth 5 wealth in trade to Gringle.

12. The Room of Three Spikes

Only the central sack holds treasure while the other two hold small, poisonous snakes. The snakes will not move until the sacks are opened, so there is a 75% chance that the hero opening the bag will be bitten.

Resist the snake's poison (13): Resist poison, tough (-1), Knowledge of snakes (-3). Failure results in the hero being Wounded.

Unless fighting has already occurred, 2d3 trollkin are in this room when the heroes enter. Unless forwarned, there is only a 30% chance that they are armed and waiting for Whiteye's orders.

The central leather bag holds an assortment of coinage, mostly silver but a score of gold coins gleam as well. They are worth a total of 27 wealth, a semi-precious stone worth 2 more wealth, a very good gemstone would bring 5 wealth in trade. In a case is a scroll written in Darktongue which explains the techniques for increasing one's strength. The scroll allows the hero to learn "Strong" or another similar ability without the Unrelated to Episode penalty or to increase an already existing ability by +1, but not both. Any merchant will trade 4 wealth for it; merchants dealing in troll-heavy areas will trade up to 10 wealth. To use the scroll, the reader must be able to Read Darktongue.

13. Dining Room

A successful search of the room reveals three corked clay jars hidden in a crevice at the north end of the cave. One jar holds wine, one holds black ink, and the other holds treasure.

Search Room (14): Search, Examine, Notice, Scan (-3)

The treasure consists of 16 wealth in troll coinage (bolgs) but there is over 95 wealth in clacks, lunars, and wheels. Some nice jewelry is worth an additional 7 wealth. There is also a scroll written in Darktongue that is allows a Darktongue speaker to learn the local language.

14. The Red Cavern

Whiteye and Slud (his wife or pet, depending on your inclination) live here. Slud is a cave troll. She rarely ventures out of this cavern section, and rarely further than the Water Cavern (4) or the Main Cavern (9).

Slud is the mother of the trollkin. Though Whiteye will not trouble himself to defend this room, Slud will. If she is still alive when the dark troll leader flees, Slud and any remaining trollkin fight it out with the heroes here. The trollkin will not surrender while Slud lives.

The chest contains some of Whiteye's personal possessions, mostly clothing, secured by a lock. The lock can be broken open or picked in an extended contest. It holds decayed and moth-eaten clothing, and a sack of coins worth an additional 3 wealth.

Breaking the Lock (18): Strength, Blunt Weapon, Edged Weapon (-5).

Picking the Lock (14): Lock-picking, Dexterous (-6), requires lock-picking tools (-5 penalty without them).

There is also the left side of a statue's head, wrapped in a cloak at the bottom of the chest. It looks like the head of a bubble-eyed goldfish, with gills and scales. The stone is blue marble with green streaks. The eye socket is empty.

The act of handling this statue alerts its true owners. If the heroes keep it, there is a 10% chance they will be approached by three newtlings whenever the group passes through any empty room except the Red Cavern (14), the Locker (14a), and Whiteye's Lair (18). Newtlings do not go into these caverns.

14a. The Locker

Rummagers here must have strong stomachs, but with persistence find some scraps of metal and cheap jewelry worth a mere 1 wealth to a trader.

15. The Chapel

The first time that a human or anything held by a human touches the obsidian statue, that person triggers and must resist a special magic (target number 4w) that will leave them Crippled if they fail. Nothing like this occurs if anyone touches it again.

Inside the lead box is a troll medicine bundle, the source of the attack. This bundle is composed of feathers, bones, knots and so on. It is worthless now.

There is also a pair of scrolls written in Darktongue. One causes the reader to immediately fall asleep for 2 weeks. He cannot be awakened. The other holds a technique that will give the hero reading it +2 Directed HP for Close Combat if they possess either Mace Fighting or Mace and Shield Fighting. This can only be used once per hero and requires time to practice the new techniques.

16. Passageway

If pressed, Whiteye tries to flee down this corridor.

17. The Stream Crossing

Whiteye (and bandit generations before him) usually keep the chain on the side adjacent to the Passageway, draped over a spike driven into the stone. When pursued or seeking privacy, Whiteye uses the chain to swing across the fissure, wrapping it about a spike on the other side. He thus withholds its use to others who follow.

Heroes can try to leap the stream, those who fail fall into it. Once in the stream, they are washed down to the Water Cavern (4) exiting through the waterfall there.

Leaping Stream (14): Jumping, Leaping, Athletics (-3). Difficulty becomes 5w if the hero does not take a short run first.

18. Whiteye's Lair

This is solely Whiteye's domain. Here he keeps his personal treasure in a black wooden box in a hollow under his sleeping mat. In defending his lair, Whiteye can hurl 6 javelins and innumerable rocks. To avoid opposing missile fire, he hides around the bend from the opening. From there he waits to step forward to grapple with heroes jumping across the stream. There is room for only two heroes to attempt to leap during any action round.

The moment someone leaps, Whiteye darts out to give a good shove as they land, so that they totter into the water. He gets one free attack as the defender struggles to regain balance from their leap, using his Wrestle ability. Whiteye will augment his Wrestle ability with Strong before the heroes arrive. If one or more heroes gain the ledge, Whiteye backs off and reaches for his melee weapons.

The bandit chieftain will contentedly wait within his lair for as long as necessary. If he is killed, the heroes find many valuable items of treasure, which they can return to town.

19. Newtling Cave

The walls of this cavern are formed of a golden stone, which could be noticed if light were permitted here. The newtlings, however, do not allow fire into their quarters. This place can be entered from a wide shelf bordering on the water of the Water Cavern (4), or from the Passage of the Great Fight (19a), or the Hidden Passage (19b).

The Newtlings The newtlings are a race native to Dragon Pass. They look like bipedal newts. Newtlings normally are very shy in the presence of humans, for often they have been hunted for their tails. Newtling tails are hacked off and tied or sewn shut, then treated in a number of ways to provide a very nutritious and flavorful food. Netwlings tails are worth 2 wealth each from Squinch, in Apple Lane, who resells them to distant folk who fancy newtling tails as a delicacy. Among the humans of Apple Lane (and the Colymar and Malani tribes) it is considered uncivilized to eat other sentients. Newtlings eat fish, crustaceans, and insects. They speak their own language and know the rudiments of Trade Talk. The tribe has lived in this cavern in secrecy for many years. They have learned to dislike trolls and trollkin but are looking for a human to fulfill several prophecies. The newtlings classify other beings in one of several ways and treat them accordingly: HOSTILES are any beings entering the newtlings hidden home cave by any means, except in the case of humans being rescued by the newtlings. This includes any foe entering their flooded underwater caves as well. The newtlings will attack and fight to the death to defend their home. UNFRIENDLIES are all beings encountered in the Rainbow Mounds, and all strangers when the newtlings are outside their home cavern. The newtlings fight if it seems likely that they will win. Otherwise they will flee. NEUTRALS are humans in a temporary state, having just been rescued from the water. The newtlings question the person to decide if they should be hostile or friendly. If the rescued person yells back to his friend, it makes the newtlings very hostile. FRIENDLIES are those humans who have assured the newtlings that they mean no harm, and how have sworn on the statue. People carrying a part of the statue are considered friendly unless they refuse to cooperate and thereby prove themselves hostile. WORSHIPFULS are those revered by the newtlings as fulfilment of their long-awaited prophecy. Such a person can command the newtlings as he wishes, around the caves. The newtlings volunteer information to him and will die for him. To be considered for this status, the candidate must complete The Deal with the newtlings. The Deal This offer from the newtlings if based on their long-standing feud with the rock lizards of Rainbow Mound. Their great ancestor engaged in a prehistoric battle with the rock lizard ancestor in these very caves. The Great Newt was turned to stone and broken, but he managed to kill the Old One and knock all the intelligence from the lizard race forever. The Old One survives as a trinity of ghosts in the Grey Cave (20), which guards his wife of old (less a prisoner than the Great Newt, bound into his glowing idol). The newtlings were cut off from their favored nest-pond as well as from a secret underwater exit downstream through the Grey Cave. The spirit of the Great Newt promises that a human liberator will come, rescued from the water in the Water Cavern. This savior will slay the spirits of the Grey Cave, then go to the Rock Lizard Nest and destroy the guardian there. The newtlings will then enter and destroy all the eggs and the prophecy will be fulfilled. If any friendly person agrees to undertake this task, human allies may accompany him if they also swear friendship to the newts. The worshipful who completes this task is declared King of the Newts, and they obey his commands while within the Rainbow Mounds. The newtlings will not leave the caves, and no caring leader should ask them too. Additionally, the newts will show their savior "The greatest treasure in Rainbow Mounds" (the Treasure Room, 22). The known nothing of this item or items for they have never seen it. They are certain that it waits as promised by their ancestor for their human Liberator. Swearing an Oath on the Newtling Idol Neutrals are asked to swear an oath of friendship by placing their hands upon the broken idol in the Newtling Cave. This blue marble statue has green streaks, and glows with a dull, blue light. It is cold and clammy to the touch. If a person breaks an oath sworn on the statue, his hand become thumbless frog flippers. The flesh of the altered parts is mottled green, clammy and exudes a shiny black, stinking secretion. If the missing parts of the statue are ever replaced, then the results of oath breaking are even worse. If the arm is replaced, both hands and feet of any oathbreakers become frog-like as above. If the missing portion of the head is replaced, the oathbreaker becomes entirely a frog, ceasing to be human except in mind and size! If the missing eye is replaced, the statue comes to life of its own accord. But the eye was lost outside the cave in a place now forgotten. Bringing the Great Newt back to life would be a heroic quest of great difficulty. See the companion episode, Snakepipe Hollow, or create a very challenging hiding place for the eye yourself.

19a. Passage of the Great Fight

If anyone approaches the branch tunnel opening off the main tunnel, and any newtlings are present, they say simply, "Don't go there." The branch tunnel is a newtling guard post, and two newtlings hide there. They are armed and prepared to attack anyone approaching from the Grey Cave (20). Heroes coming from this direction are considered hostile.

19b. The Hidden Passage

Only after the idol has been moved can anyone notice this tunnel. Humanoids with a Size ability of 14 or less can walk upright. It leads to the Treasure room (22). The newtlings do not know of this tunnel and have never gone down it.

20. Grey Cave

The three ghosts of the old one occupy this cave. They attack as normal ghosts, and strike at any non-lizard entity entering. These ghosts are bound to the location and cannot leave this cave.

Narrator: If the posse is large, add a few rock lizards to this room as well. If a single hero enters, all three ghosts may attack him or her.

Anyone that is possessed by one of these ghosts is bodily transformed into a rock lizard (losing all human attributes, including sentience but keeping the same size. The lizard will be unconscious. After transformation, the ghost leaves and attacks another posse member.

The stream bisecting the Grey Cave is knee-deep to most humans, cold and slippery but not too swift to negotiate cautiously. The wet stone is very slippery making running impossible without magical means and a -3 to all agility based abilities. The banks slope easily and do not seriously impede movement. A 10% chance exists that one of the gorp from the Water Cavern (4) may slip this far downstream while searching for food. Roll for one gorp the first time that any creature (including rock lizards but not ghosts) enters the stream. If both gorp have already been destroyed, ignore this.

The Grey Cave has three entrances: from the Long Branch Tunnel (1.6), Passage of the Great Fight (19a), and the tunnel that leads to the Rock Lizard Nest (21). This last tunnel is large and allows any human through.

21. The Rock Lizard Nest

This is the Great Mother Lizard, former wife of the Old One who, ages ago, was killed and battered into separate spirits. The Great Mother knows the posse approaches and her voice is heard in their minds when the first person reaches the entry.

"Stop!"
"Do Not Enter!"
"This is a sacred place; you may not violate it. I do not wish to harm you! Flee, flee for there is great magic here. Begone for the furies will pursue you and the gods will curse you for this desecration. Heed me now! Remove yourselves while you still live!"

She issues one brief additional warning as the first person enters then she attacks with abandon.

The first three heroes to enter the room meet the attack of her tongue. After three are in this room, she lurches forward and puts her head opposite the door to bite anyone else that enters. Here movement allows two more people to scamper into the room.

Each person involved in the melee and also located three meters or closer to her is spattered with blood when the Great Mother dies. Upon her death, this spattered blood confers a supernatural toughness to their skin acting as armor (permanently increase the rank of any armor worn by 1; this benefit must be cemented with 1 HP). Additionally, all members of the posse can boast of slaying a dinosaur.

Upon the death of this monster, the idol in the Newtling Cave (19) moves of its own accord, even if not repaired, and reveals the Hidden Passage (19b). If humans enter this passage, the newtlings will follow.

22. The Treasure Room

The column is made of adamantine, and cancels the effects of all magic in the room (thus magical detection spells have no effect, body and weapon magics expire, etc.). Awed by the column, the newtlings will not touch it and whine in fear of any human that does so.

Anyone who does touch it has the knowledge of a Detect (Substance) Spell/Feat/Talent as applicable, appropriate to their life's calling impressed in their minds. This new magic is added to the appropriate Affinity and is never considered to be an Improvised Feat/Spell/Ability. For example, a Humakti Initiate may gain Detect Enemy or Detect Undead as a part of his Combat or Death Affinities, or an Animist Hunter might gain Detect Food as a new Talent or as a part of his Hunting Affinity.

If the humans display ignorance of the substance of the column, the newtlings explain that adamantine is fossilized magic, nothing less than raw Law, refined to a crystal brilliance to reveal its inner magical glow. Adamantine is the hardest and most rare material in Glorantha. Such an abundance of the material is unprecedented. Everyone is mystified by its existence, but one ancient, prune-like newt suggests that it probably has something to do with the Dragonewt plinths located atop the Mounds.

The writing upon the column makes sense to no one. And, though the column is literally worth a king's ransom, there is no way to remove this priceless object. "Besides," says the old newt, "who'd want to anger them dragonewts."

On the far side of the cave a stream rushes by. A small opening there is visible only with a successful Search test.

23. The Old Hiding Place

This old hiding place can be entered only by a hero who first jumps the stream, then makes a simple Athletics check to successfully scramble into the opening. The opening is narrow so any hero with Large, Hefty, Burly or similar abilities will only be able to hang on the edge of the hole for 1d6 rounds before falling into the stream below.

Anyone touching the metallic leaf sculpture suffers a Hurt to the body part that touched it. This damage cannot be resisted, absorbed or healed by magic. It must heal naturally.

The bronze-and-silver statue is not magical, weighs 30 kg and is worth 10 wealth to Gringle but may be worth more to an Earth Temple. It is, however, bulky and difficult to get across the stream. A clever person might drop it into the water and, with newtling aid, maneuver it into the Water Cavern (4), and then fish it out of the water.

If the stone rod is touched, the chamber begins to creak and groan; the stone walls crack collapse in 2d6 rounds. The rod cannot be lifted or moved.

1d6 rounds after the earthquake begins in here, it spreads to the Treasure Room (22), which collapses 1d6 turns after the Old Hiding Place collapses. The Hidden Passage then begins to collapse.

For better game-effect, while urging the heroes to flee for their lives, describe these areas as collapsing right at the heels of the last person to leave, up to the point in the Hidden Passage marked with an asterisk (*).

Death is automatic if caught in the collapse of the area, and the fallen rock cannot be moved by any normal means.

Unclaimed Goods

• A heirloom broach worth 7 wealth;
• A raw ruby the size of a plum pit worth 6 wealth;
• An excellent gem worth 4 wealth;
• Two polished pieces of amber worth 2 wealth apiece;
• Four amber chips worth 1 wealth each.

Individual rewards from the farmers will net 2 wealth. more, plus the heroes receive free lodging at the Tin Inn for a week.

Afterward

The liberator of the newtlings gains the relationship King of Rainbow Mound Newtlings 14 though the newtlings will not leave their caves. Other members of the posse who help with destroying the Great Lizard Mother gains Relationship to the Rainbow Mound Newtlings at an ability rating of 13.

Those unfortunates transformed by either the Great Newt spirit or the ghosts of the Old One will still remain trapped in these forms. Undoing these powerful, god-inspired transformations will require exotic, powerful magic or heroquesting. Either of these options is left to the Narrator to determine.

Creatures of the Rainbow Mounds

Rock Lizards

Weapons and Armor: Scaly Hide ^1, Claw and Bite 16^1.
Significant Abilities: Climb 2w, Hide 16, Large 10, Lazy 12, Track by Scent 12.
Tactics: A rock lizard attacks with its claws until it scores a hit. It then hangs on to its opponent and bites. The clinging lizard gives the victim a -3 penalty on combat abilities until the lizard is slain or dislodged.

Old One's Ghosts

Ghost 1: Might 4w.
Ghost 2: Might 19.
Ghost 3: Might 16.

Great Mother Lizard

Weapons and Armor: Thick Hide ^3, Bite and Claw ^3, Swallow, Tail Sweep ^5, Tongue ^2.
Significant Abilities: Close Combat 17, Large 18w.
Innate Magic Abilities: Resist Magic 8wr, Speak to Minds 8wr.
Tactics: She can attack one person per action with her tongue, one person with her bite, once with any two of her front claws and sweep her tail against any heroes to her rear. Thus, she can engage up to five heroes simultaneously depending on their locations without taking a multiple opponent penalty. This is a greater number of attacks than other rock lizards but she the Great Mother, after all, and has lived for centuries. She is generally not a good fighter, despite the damage she can do; fighting is not her primary function. The Great Mother will use her massive size in combat, possibly using her ability to Speak to Minds or her Resist Magic as augments if applicable.

Special: Anyone swallowed by the Great Mother will lose 1 AP per round automatically until slain and be at a Combat penalty of -15, she need not bid. Should they be using a short weapon such as a dagger, the penalty is -5. Her insides have an armor rating of 0. She can swallow up to 3 human-sized victims.

Gorp

Weapons and Armor: Envelop and Dissolve Victim 2w^3.
Significant Abilities: Large 2w, Ooze through Water 5w, Ooze Up Walls 15, Sense Organic Matter 5w.
Tactics: Quite mindless, a gorp simply rolls over its victim and dissolves it, along with anything it may be carrying. Occasionally indestructible items might survive the attack, and will usually be excreted and left in the path of the monster.

The Troll Bandits

Whiteye

Keywords: Troll Warrior 17, Kyger Litor Initiare 17, Zorak Zoran Initiate 19.
Weapons and Armor: Dagger ^1, Heavy Mace ^4, Javelin ^3, Heavy Ringmail Armor and Shield ^4, Sling ^3.
Significant Abilities: Acute Darksense 17, Ambush 19, Close Combat 3w (Mace and Shield, Dagger), Command Trollkin 7w, Eat Anything 14, Hungry 15, Knowledge of Local Area 19, Large 15, Move Silently 14, Ranged Combat 3w (Sling, Javelin), Resist Poison 14, Set Traps 13, Strong 16.
Affinities: Combat 3w, Darkness 17, Hatred 19 (see Whiteye's Tactics for details of improvised feats).
Tactics: See "Whiteye's Tactics" for details.

Slud

Weapons and Armor: Sharp Claws ^2, Heavy Club ^3, Leathery Hide and Ringmail Bonnet ^2.
Significant Abilities: Acute Darksense 17, Close Combat 16 (Claw and Club Fighting), Eat Anything 16, Hungry 17, Large 3w, Resist Poison 15, Set Traps 14, Strong 19, Tracking 18, Worship Kyger Litor 14.
Tactics: Slud will follow Whiteye's orders to the best of her ability. If he has time, Whiteye may use some of his magical affinities to help her. When entering combat, she will use her Large abilities in combat, augmented by her Strong plus any feats Whiteye casts on her. She will fight using her Close Combat ability. Some of Slud's offspring may join her in combat as followers.
Special Abilities: Regenerate (if Slud has less than her starting AP from loses to combat, she will regain 1 AP per round of combat unless she is mortally wounded).

Slud's Trollkin

Weapons and Armor: Club ^1, Leather Armor and Small Shield ^1, Pointy Stick ^1, Sling ^3.
Significant Abilities: Close Combat 14 (Spear Fighting, Club and Shield Fighting), Dodge 14, Eat Anything 14, Hide 14, Hungry 16, Nimble 12, Ranged Combat 12 (Sling), Resist Poison 10, Search for Food 14, Worship Kyger Litor 14.
Tactics: The trollkin will do their best to concentrate sling fire upon a single target. Possible augments include Hide and Dodge to keep the posse at bay. When forced into close combat, they will form groups and defend themselves as best they can. When Whiteye and or Slud arrive, several of them will become Followers, providing these more powerful trolls with AP and support.

Bashu (female), Nashu (female), Din (male), Flin (male), Hin (male), Zin (male), Loba (female), Gort (male), Bort (male), Tort (male), Smort (male).

Newtlings

When a newtling successfully attacks with a net, the opponent parrying weapon or limb has been entangled. This results in either the loss of the weapon or a -3 penalty to all subsequent actions until disentangled (which takes at least one unrelated action). Anyone trapped like this will have to dispose of the newtlings holding onto the other end of the net before attempting to free themselves. A person can be entangled with multiple nets and will probably fall down in this case. The nets are strong and cannot be torn open with mere human strength but one can try to tear free from the relatively weak newts.

Blue Eye, Croaker, Short-tongue, Long-Tongue, Fly Snapper, Red Tail.