The Land: I'Cath is a domain of shadowy woods where the sky is forever gray with threatening clouds. Tsien lives in the Palace of Bones, a huge castle built from the bones of her daughters' suitors. She even made carpets from their hair, clothing from their flesh, and painted the walls with their blood, which delighted her three evil daughters: Scream, Hate, and Spite.
Surrounding the Palace of Bones are four shrines, each housing one of Tsien's unholy bells, to which are bound the spirits of her daughters. They are called the Bell of Doom, the Bell of Discord, the Bell of Treachery, and the Bell of Lament. If Tsien and her evil daughters are to be killed, the bells must be destroyed first, but only a disintegrate spell, limited wish, or wish will destroy them. If all four bells are destroyed, Tsien becomes mortal. The first three bells begin to peal if anyone but Tsien approaches within ninety feet, but a silence spell will prevent this. All of the bells save as 16 HD monsters.
The peal of the Bell of Doom summons one troll each round. If this bell is destroyed. Scream may be slain. The peal of the Bell of Discord rings with a clashing cacophony of mismatched tones. Anyone within ninety feet becomes filled with hatred and must make a successful saving throw vs. spell with a -2 penalty or go berserk and attack the nearest living creature. If this bell is destroyed. Hate may be slain. The Bell of Treachery clangs with a cold, hard knell. It is guarded by four Ravenloft elementals (see the Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium Appendices I & II) that magically appear when the bell begins to ring. Each peal restores ten hit points to any injured elementals, while inflicting three points of damage to all enemies with ninety feet. If this bell is destroyed, Spite may be slain.
The Bell of Lament contains the spirit of Tsien's good daughter, Nightingale. This bell peals if any creature not of good alignment (aside from Tsien Chiang) comes within ninety feet. Its peal inflicts 3d6 points of damage per round, doubled against undead and lower-plane creatures. The bell does not damage those of good alignment, however.
The mortal body of Nightingale, which has become that of a nymph, is locked at the summit of a high tower made of a weblike substance. (Tsien claims to have made the tower from the broken promises of men, "the one substance that the world has in limitless abundance".) Nightingale's song forever emanates from the tower, casting an enchantment of delight and sorrow on all who hear it. She can also project herself, through force of will, to become a living song. In this shimmering ethereal form, she often wanders I'Cath, unwittingly luring men into her mother's torturous clutches. The stairs to the Tower of Broken Promises are endless. Thus, the only way to climb this tower is to meet Nightingale wandering in her song form, persuade her to change into a giant bird, and then ride her to the top of the tower.
Beyond the shrines, four groves of trees guard the entrance to I'Cath. A specially enchanted fruit tree grows in each grove, guarded by four evil treants. The Tree of the Ravenous causes any who partake of its fruit to either make successful saving throws vs. poison or become so obsessed that they will fight to the death anyone who tries to stop them from eating it. Cinder the tree, dozens of warriors fight eternally, since any who die in this battle are automatically resurrected. The Tree of Unending Lamentation causes those who come within ninety feet of it to either make successful saving throws vs. paralyzation or be overcome with grief. These people sit here weeping pitifully forever, sustaining themselves only by eating the leaves of the tree. The Tree of Venom is an extremely poisonous orange tree. Those who eat its fruit must make successful saving throws vs. poison with a -6 penalty or die immediately; even those who succeed lose 1 d6 hit points permanently. The Tree of Mice causes those who eat its fruit to be filled with evil thoughts. Victims must make successful saving throws vs. spell or become chaotic evil for four days. An additional saving throw must then be made for each evil act the characters commit. If one of these saving throws fails, the alignment change becomes permanent.
Cultural Level: Classical.
The Folk: No one lives in I'Cath except for Tsien Chiang, her four daughters, and anyone unfortunate enough to be trapped in the groves.
The Law: The master of this land is Tsien Chiang, a foul sorceress, whose name is almost synonymous with evil in the realms of Kara-Tur, on the world of Toril.
Native Player Characters: There are no native player characters from I'Cath.
Encounters: The four groves are dangerous to any who enter this domain. The evil treants are sure to attack any who damage the groves or interfere in any way. All characters who enter I'Cath must pay homage to Tsien, bringing her great gifts, or she will try to kill them. Often, she will attempt to kill the men anyway.
Further Reading: I'Cath is detailed in the game accessory Islands of Terror.
Tsien Chiang
20th-Level Human Necromancer, Neutral Evil
| Armor Class | 7 | Str | 11 | ||||
| Movement | 12 | Dex | 17 | ||||
| Level/ Hit Dice | 20 | Con | 15 | ||||
| Hit Points | 45 | Int | 20 | ||||
| THAC0 | 14 | Wis | 18 | ||||
| No. of Attacks | 1 | Cha | 15 | ||||
| Damage/ Attack | 1d4 (dagger) | ||||||
| Special Attacks | Spells (6/6/6/6/6/5/4/4/3) | ||||||
| Special Defences | Spells | ||||||
| Magic Resistance | Nil | ||||||
Tsien Chiang is an evil and powerful sorceress determined to either bend all men to her will or destroy them.
Background: The evil of the powerful sorceress Tsien Chiang was matched only by that of three of her daughters. The fourth was so good of heart and pure of spirit that her mother and sisters could not bear her existence. They attempted to beat her to death, and then imprisoned her in the Tower of Broken Promises. It was this act that made the dark powers draw I'Cath into the Mists.
Current Sketch: Tsien Chiang has long harbored a pathological hatred for men and will not tolerate any man to exist in I'Cath unless he swears subservience to her and can provide her with a valuable gift. Even if a man does this, he may not live long, for the three evil daughters will use their great beauty (using change self) to seduce him and eventually destroy him in honor of their mother. These daughters have become hags, and they cannot be killed unless the bells are destroyed.
Closing the Borders: Though Tsien does not like anyone entering her domain, she seems to have no way to close her borders.
Combat: Because Tsien hates visitors, she will probably try to kill any she finds. Unless all four bells are destroyed, she reforms in three rounds after she is killed, with full hit points and all spells rememorized. Tsien's spell books contain all the spells from each of the wizard schools except illusion and enchantment/charm.
Tsien can also transform into an evil treant with the following statistics:
Tsien Chiang (evil treant): AC -3; MV 12; HD 12; hp 96; THACO 6; #AT 2; Dmg 4d6 (+8 Strength bonus)/4d6 (+8 Strength bonus); SA constricting vines (can attack four opponents at once; each vine requires an attack roll; tangled victims can do nothing but try to escape; each vine has 16 hp), sap spray (causes 10d10 acid damage against single target, save vs. poison with -2 penalty for half damage); SD need +2 magical weapon or better to hit; AL NE.
