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1 the ministry of winds A short adventure for four 6th-level player characters

1 the ministry of winds A short adventure for four 6th-level player characters CREDITS Design: Monte Cook Editing: Sue Weinlein Cook Cartography: Dennis Kauth Web Production: Julia Martin Web Development: Mark A. Jindra Graphic Design: Sean Glenn, Cynthia Fliege Based on the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and on the new edi- tion of the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game designed by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, and Peter Adkison. D&D, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, and DUNGEON MASTER are registered trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. The d20 logo is a trademark owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All Wizards charac- ters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental. ©2001 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All rights reserved. Made in the U.S.A. INTRODUCTION Deep in the heart of the city lies that strange edifice. Everyone knows about it or, that is to say, everyone knows it is there. No one ever really seems to have much more information about the granite structure, except that it has no windows or doors, and it is sur- rounded by swirling wind. Most people call it the Obelisk of the Winds. Tales are told of its secrets, but none of them seems to hold the truth. This urban miniadventure can take place in just about any city in your campaign—just set it in the part of town that works best for your current needs. If you have Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, the city can be Hommlet; you might also suggest a tie between the Ministry of the Winds described here and the Air Temple in Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil (Area 73 in Chapter 5: The Crater Ridge Mines). PREPARATION You, the Dungeon Master (DM), need a copy of the Player’s Handbook, the DUNGEON MASTER’s Guide, and the Monster Manual to use this adventure. If you plan to tie this scenario in with the Air Temple as mentioned above, you’ll need the new Return to the Temple of Ele- mental Evil adventure. Text that appears in shaded boxes is player informa- tion, which you may read aloud or paraphrase when appropriate. Unshaded boxes contain important infor- mation for you, including special instructions. Monster and NPC statistics are provided with each encounter in abbreviated form or, where appropriate, the proper page in the Monster Manual is referenced. This adventure uses one of the “Ruins 1” maps by Dennis Kauth from the Official D&D Website’s Map-a- Week feature (Aug. 31, 2000). It’s reprinted on page 3. BACKGROUND The Ministry of Winds was once a powerful group of four spellcasters that built the Obelisk of the Winds. They lived in the area more than 200 years ago, eventu- ally sealing themselves off in the obelisk and its dun- geon level (see map of that level on page 3) to save themselves from an impending apocalypse. Years later, when some explorers named Narev and Justina entered the dungeon level through the sewers, the spirits of the original Ministry members—now cer- tain that the disaster they once feared had passed— exerted their influence upon the two, effectively pos- 2 sessing them. (See the sidebar on page 5.)Trapped for decades, the original Ministry members have lost their grasp on reality. In the delusions of their twisted minds, they now seek to harness the power of the winds to take over the city above. To this end, Narev and Justina tricked a minotaur named Traan and a barghest named Erin-kahnor into coming to the obelisk, whereupon the newcomers found themselves effectively possessed as well. With the Ministry once again complete, the four plot and scheme in their madness. CHARACTER HOOKS Use one of the following hooks to get the player char- acters (PCs) interested in investigating the obelisk: • The local wizard’s guild is perplexed by the place and its obvious magic. They know it’s hollow, and would like to know what’s inside. They hire the PCs to go in and report back about what they find, offering to create for each PC a magic item worth up to 2,000 gp market value in payment. • Narev’s sister Nareis (LN female human, Sor4) is looking for her missing brother, who once told her he had been inside the strange Obelisk of the Winds. She will pay any group of adventures 5,000 gp to bring her brother back to her. She can tell them that Narev is a sorcerer like her and that he has always been interested in history. • Deddin Knoc (N male half-elf, Clr5 [Obad-Hai]) knows about the Ministry of Winds. Not long ago its members stole a sacred relic of his church called the Scepter of Clouds, and he wants it back. He offers a 5,000 gp reward for the scepter. He can inform the PCs that the members of the Ministry live under the obelisk and are interested in ancient things and the elements, specifically air. He can tell the party that the Ministry is made up of a human, an elf, a minotaur, and a goblin Notice that none of these hooks involves “stopping the evil Ministry before it meets its goal.” That’s because the Ministry’s goal is absurd and its members are all insane. Even though the Ministry thinks it can conquer all the surrounding lands, and even though its members are dan- gerous, this is not a “stop-the-apocalypse” adventure. Gather Information or Bardic Knowledge Check If the PCs take the time to ask around, or if a bard is present, they can attempt to discern more information. • DC 10: A door occasionally appears at the base of obelisk, when the winds die down. No one’s ever been brave enough to open the door. • DC 20: The supernatural winds around the obelisk die down when real winds blow through town with some strength. • DC 25: Long ago, a group called itself the Ministry of Winds. The four spellcasters who made up the group built the obelisk. • DC 30: It’s likely that, if there’s an underground level to the obelisk, it joins up with the sewer sys- tem somewhere in the city. OBELISK FEATURES The walls of the Obelisk of the Winds are smooth, 8- foot-thick stone (hardness 8; 720 hp; Break DC 80). The DC to climb them is 20. OUTSIDE THE OBELISK When the PCs arrive at the obelisk, read the following text. If a real wind blows (on any given day, there’s a 1 in 12 chance per hour), the winds around the obelisk die down and a door appears at the base. It is made of the same stone as the obelisk (Stone Door: 4 inches thick; hardness 8; 60 hp; Break DC 28) and is sealed with an arcane lock. The gust of wind that brought the door into existence lasts only 1d4 minutes. A gust of wind spell directed at the obelisk also calls the door into existence. In this case, the door remains for 1d4 rounds. LEVEL 1: ENTRANCE Read or paraphrase the following text aloud: The obelisk rises to a height of about 120 feet and measures some 40 feet on a side, growing slightly thinner toward the top. The stone is a mottled gray and brown granite, with no fea- tures. As you had heard, there is a strong breeze here, almost as if the winds circle and eddy around this strange edifice. This dark chamber is a little larger than 20 feet across. The stone walls are covered in intricate carvings. The floor is smooth, and the ceiling looms high above in the darkness. 3 There is no map for this simple chamber. If someone examines the carvings on the walls, the character may attempt a Knowledge (arcana) or a Knowledge (history) check with a DC of 25. A success at either reveals that the carv- ings are part of an ancient pictogram system that melded magical knowledge and philosophy to record his- torical events. A Decipher Script check (DC 30) can translate these pictograms, although they are really just boastful, poetic praises for the power of the four winds (one pictogram for each cardinal direction). Those involved in the study may also make Search checks (DC 20). Success means that the character found a place where the carvings are deep enough to allow one to climb up the wall (to Level 2). The Climb check DC is only 10. Further, anyone searching the floor can discover a poorly concealed secret hatch (DC 15 to find) that lifts and slides aside to expose a spiral stone stair leading down. uploads/Geographie/ the-ministry-of-winds-a-short-adventure-for-four-6th-level-player-characters.pdf