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The Fourth Facet
A story has been thought to its conclusion
when it has taken its worst possible turn.
- Friedrich Durrenmatt, he Fourth Facet originates from a storybook read to Chardath as a child. This place is a reflection of that story and the impression it had on him. Thus, those who enter experience the nightmare world of a frightened child. This facet features the twisting labyrinths of the dragon's cave in which the story took place. Here, travelers must confront something not found anywhere else in the Demiplane of Dread: a dragon. The beast is not a real dragon, however, for Chardath has never seen such a creature. Instead, it is an imagined terror created from all the stories he has heard over the years. Because of this unusual nature, the dragon is far more terrible than any real dragon would be. And that is terrible indeed. Bards, gypsies, and the like find themselves especially targeted by this place. They are storytellers, and this is a region formed from stories. While their skills may ultimately win the day, the ordeal is dangerous and may claim the life of one or more such characters. When the heroes first enter this facet, they find themselves in the midst of a narrow tunnel that cuts through what appears to be normal stone. The following narrative can be read aloud to describe this place to the players:
You find yourself standing in the middle of a long tunnel that seems to have been hewn from rock. The shaft around you is more or less circular, with a diameter of some twenty or twenty-flue feet. The walls, floor, and ceiling are jagged and rough. Patches of glowing lichen giving off a pale red light prouide the only illumination. The blistering hot air feels so thick that it seems to flow past you like boiling water. The dense, biting odor ofsulfur scratches your nose and eyes. Each breath seems to set fire to your lungs and threatens to gag you.
The characters might put forth any number of theories to explain where they are, most probably speculating that they are inside the vents of an active volcano. That is not, however, the case—they have simply arrived in the type of place young Chardath believed a fire-breathing dragon would live. Mood and Atmosphere This part of the adventure can be run very much like a traditional underground dungeon. The Dungeon Master should play up the heat and heavy air in descriptions. Even casual exertion, like walking through the labyrinth, should be described as tiring and taxing. Hard physical activity requires the characters to rest periodically in accordance with the following table:
Thus, a character with a Constitution score of 12 can fight a monster for three rounds, but then must spend one round catching his breath before continuing. Magical resistance to heat and fire can double a character's resistance to fatigue, but cannot eliminate it. Upon first entering this facet, the characters find themselves exploring the labyrinth of tunnels that surrounds the dragon's lair. Later, they come face to face with the dragon himself. The Labyrinth No map is provided for this maze of tunnels and passages. The reason: No matter which way the characters opt to go, they eventually come upon the lair of the dragon. The physical description of the tunnel at the start of this section applies more or less to the whole complex. All of the shafts are nothing more than hard stone smothered in choking air and illuminated by patches of glowing lichen. Twists and Turns: The heroes almost certainly will look upon this place as a region that must be carefully mapped lest they get turned around and become hopelessly lost. In fact, if the characters have a compass or other navigational aid, they may be quite confident in the accuracy of their map. However, traditional means of navigation do not function in this facet of Aggarath. If the heroes take a compass reading, then take another one after a few minutes have passed, they are likely to get two wholly different results. In addition, the labyrinth is not constant. This state is best explained with an example. Assume that group of heroes leave a T-intersection and walk down a length of tunnel. After a turn of travel, they come upon a dead end. Turning around and retracing their tracks, they might very well find that the T-intersection has now become a four-way intersection or even another dead end. As the heroes travel through the labyrinth, the Dungeon Master should roll on the following table after each turn of travel. The result will tell them what they have come upon.
For example, the characters begin in a length of tunnel and can opt to go left or right (or north or south, east or west, or whatever directions they decide to use). After one turn of travel through the rough stone tunnel, the Dungeon Master rolls ldl2 and gets a 12. The tunnel has come to a dead end. The heroes turn around and retrace their steps. After another turn of travel (which would, in the real world, bring them right back to where they started) the Dungeon Master rolls again. This time he gets a 7, indicating a four- way intersection. So much for their maps. Marking the Path: The heroes might try to mark their progress through the labyrinth in any number of ways. They could make chalk marks on the wall, unravel string behind them, leave a trail of beads on the ground, and so on. But virtually any technique that they employ fails utterly. A trail of beans leads right back to where it began, except that the tunnel does not look the same when the heroes get back to their starting point. No one, however, ever sees the labyrinth change. The only way in which a section of the labyrinth can remain intact is for the party to leave a living person behind. This choice does hold hazards, however. If a group of heroes leaves someone behind and travels more than one turn away, the space between them can change. If this happens, the party could be split up and may have a very difficult time getting back together (though the shepherd rings can help). Encounters: In the storybook upon which this facet is based, the tunnels surrounding the dragon's cave were filled with deadly monsters. The very mountain itself was alive and creatures like stone golems stepped out of the walls to attack the hero. As the characters explore the labyrinth, they too face some of these perils. Every third turn of travel in the labyrinth elicits a monster attack. Like the creatures in the arena (the Third Facet), these monster reflections are mere automatons. They exist only to attack the heroes and do battle with them. Attempts at negotiation, bribery, intimidation, or the like fail utterly. The Dungeon Master should roll on the following table to determine the type of monster encountered by the party:
All of the creatures on the above list are detailed in Appendix Two of this book. These monsters appear without warning, no matter how large they are or how impossible that might seem. The heroes can never surprise them, although the creatures may well surprise the party. Should the heroes defeat a monster and then return to the place where they fought it, the body is gone. The same holds true for the remains of heroes left behind. When the labyrinth changes shape, these poor folk are destroyed forever. After the heroes have finished their first battle with the creatures of the labyrinth, Maleffluent contacts them. His message is as follows:
"My friends, your efforts to free us are humbly appreciated. Your exploits form. the stuff of legend and surely will be recorded in the greatest tomes of history. Together, we shall triumph over he who rules this place."
Escaping the Labyrinth After the characters fight a few battles, the Dungeon Master should move the party through a length of tunnel that comes to a dead end. The following narrative can be read aloud:
You come to a point where the tunnel ends suddenly in wide cul-de-sac. The walls are black with soot and oddly smooth, as if they were made of freshly cooled magma or had recently been half-melted. Looking around, you notice two things. First, the tunnel behind you has vanished. A solid rock wall stands where only seconds ago you walked. Perhaps more importantly, however, is the fact that the ceiling of this chamber has a round hole some five feet across set in its center. Beyond this jagged opening is a ruddy glow that looks as if it were created by a smoldering forge or a large bonfire.
At this point, the labyrinth is closed off. The heroes may not return to the twisting tunnels. They have no choice but to continue upward, facing whatever lies beyond the natural skylight, or to eventually die of starvation in their little chamber of stone. Climbing through the skylight should not present too much difficulty. The ceiling rises about twenty feet at this point. Heroes might employ any number of techniques to anchor a rope or otherwise create an escape. The walls, made of normal stone, can be scaled easily by a talented thief. When the first character manages to stick his head through the ceiling hole and see the chamber beyond, the Dungeon Master should read the following text aloud:
You emerge in the base of a vast crater easily large enough to hold a small village. The walls rise hundreds of feet into the air before throwing themselves wide to the alien sky above. Beyond the rim of this great caldera opens a ruby red sky, across which lazy black clouds drift slowly. The floor of this enormous canyon is covered with an unimaginable horde of treasure. Chests of gems and jewels lie haphazardly scattered upon a sea of gold, silver, and platinum coins. Gleaming swords, shining axes, and a veritable arsenal of other weapons are scattered randomly about. Shields, helms, and suits of armor round out a cache of a value seemingly beyond reckoning. And coiled atop all this treasure is exactly what one would expect to see: a great dragon. From snout to tail, the beast measures no less than one thousand feet. His crimson scales look thick enough to turn cannon fire and the razor edges of his cruelly hooked claws gleam in the glow of the endless treasure. The eyes of the great beast are closed and his breathing is slow and regular. Each time he exhales, a roaring gale of scalding air rushes past you, providing some hint of the deadly fires that must burn within this monster. Although the dragon appears to be sleeping, you cannot escape the feeling that he knows you have entered his domain.
The players are likely to react in several ways to the appearance of this dragon. Those who are familiar with the RAVENLOFT setting may balk at the sight, for nowhere else in the Demiplane of Dread has anyone seen such a creature. Those familiar with more traditional AD&D settings certainly might be taken aback by the size of the creature-even the great dragons of Krynn do not reach half the size of this monster. They may well assume that the dragon is some sort of an illusion. This can be a fatal mistake. The heroes might attempt a variety of actions at this point. Attacking the Dragon: If the heroes are brave (or foolish) enough to initiate a battle with the dragon, they get one free volley of attacks. After that, the adventure continues under "The Dragon Attacks," below. Talking to the Dragon: Verbal negotiation simply does not work. The dragon wakes up and has no interest in anything but annihilating the intruders. The adventure continues under "The Dragon Attacks," below. Stealing Treasure: Thieves, gypsies, and their ilk are likely to be smitten with greed when they see all the treasure lying around. Just about anything listed on the treasure tables in the Dungeon Master Guide is hidden away somewhere in this trove. Any attempt to steal something from the dragon's horde requires both a move silently and a pick pockets check. These rolls are modified depending upon the type of item the thief is trying to obtain:
* Includes magical jewels and jewelry. These modifiers reflect the difficulty of obtaining an item without making a sound or otherwise awakening the dragon. Both the nature of the item itself and the likelihood that its removal might upset nearby items are taken into account. Thus, stealing a handful of gems is fairly easy, while getting hold of a suit of armor carries significant risk. Whether or not the thief rolls successfully, he is assumed to have gotten his hands on the item. As soon as the checks are rolled, the Dungeon Master should roll on the appropriate tables in Appendices 1 and 2 in the Dungeon Master Guide to determine the specific article the thief has obtained. In the case of coins, the thief can pocket 6d6 coins for each pair of checks made. If the thief succeeds at his checks, the party can continue exploring the lair. Should the rogue fail, however, the adventure immediately proceeds to "The Dragon Attacks," below. Sneaking Away: The heroes may well want to avoid encountering the dragon altogether. This is a perfectly sensible action, and one that will fail utterly. The strategy is not, however, without its benefits. If a hero or group of heroes tries to slip away unnoticed, they experience a potentially life- saving encounter. After letting the characters get their hopes up about the success of their escape attempt, the Dungeon Master should pick out the clumsiest individual in the party (usually the one with the lowest Dexterity score) and read the following:
You have managed to put a good deal of distance between yourself and the dragon. This is not an easy task, however, for you must take every footstep with the greatest care to auoid brushing over a pile of treasure and giving yourselves away. Just when it seems that your plan may be working, the ground beneath [character name] shifts and buckles. He vanishes from sight, plunging into an unseen hole in the floor of the chamber. In his wake, a loud crash of metal fills the chamber. Coins cascade into the hole behind him and suits of armor topple onto the hard stone.
At this point, the character who fell through the hole experiences the events presented in "Exploring the Lair," below. The other characters must deal with the events described in "The Dragon Attacks." Exploring the Lair: Characters who choose to explore the lair discover a very valuable secret. After a round or so of exploring, the Dungeon Master should randomly select one of the party members and read his player the following text:
After a few minutes, your gaze falls upon something. Nearly hidden behind a large chest of coins lies a circular opening in the floor. Unlike the entrance that brought you into this place, it is perfectly round and very smooth. Beyond, it you. can see only darkness, however, so you cannot determine whether you. are better off on this side of that mysterious portal or not.
Beyond the black circle opens a spherical chamber some ten feet in diameter. It is unlighted, so the heroes must find some way to illuminate it. As soon as they do, however, the Dungeon Master should read the following text:
You stand in a most unusual place. The walls are polished smooth, making a perfect sphere saue for the hole through which you entered. In the center of the room, suspended in mid- air, floats a large tome. Its cooers are thrown wide and the exposed pages are nearly filled with an intense, narrow scribble. As you watch, a quill pen busily races to add new words to those already written. With a jerk, the pen completes the last word on the page and pulls away. An unseen hand turns to the next page and the pen plunges at once back into its work.
Assuming that the heroes try to read the text in the book, they discover that it narrates their adventures in the Fourth Facet. Everything that they have done since they came into this place is recorded in minute detail. Even dialogue and, in many places, individual thoughts are faithfully recorded. Curiously, every character reads the text as his own native language. After the heroes have had a few seconds to marvel at the book, the pen writes the following words on the page:
"At long last, the smell of the heroes drifted through the thick air to the great wyrm's nostrils. He sniffed tentatively, drawing in a great gust of air with the force of a hurricane, and his burning eyes sprang open. A gaze of unmitigated evil and insatiable hunger began to search the lair." "The great dragon, Tyrauinorr, was awake."
As each of these words appears on the page, the event described takes place in the cave. At this point, the adventure continues as described in "The Dragon Attacks," below. Many occurrences can trigger an attack by the dragon. Some of these are described above, but considering the uncanny knack that player characters have for getting themselves in trouble, doubtless every group of adventurers will find its own unique method of waking the dragon. The first round of the dragon's wrath is described in the following narrative:
With a roar that threatens to bring down the walls of the cane, the great dragon leaps into the air, beating his powerful wings and fixing his searing eyes upon you. A mouth lined with dozens of spear-like teeth gapes wide, spilling a wash of crimson and amber light into the crater. "Intruders!" cries the immense beast in a voice that echoes like thunder. "Thieves! Your pitiful lives are at an end!" With that, it unleashes a plume of fire that knifes through the air as if spewed from a volcano. Where it touches gold and silver coins, they instantly melt and run like water. Where it brushes the exposed stone, pools of bubbling magma spring immediately into being. Who can say what effect such an inferno might haue on human flesh?
After reading this text, the Dungeon Master should instruct every character to roll a fear check to determine the effect of the dragon's fear aura. All fear checks made in response to the dragon Tyravinorr suffer a -8 penalty. Fighting the Dragon: Tyravinorr's abilities approximate those of a red dragon (great wyrm) with double hit points and double damage. (To keep play simple, Tyravinorr cannot cast spells.) His statistics have been summarized in Appendix Two of this book; however, Dungeon Masters are encouraged to also read the information about dragons presented in the Monstrous Manual volume. The battle with Tyravinorr should combine the best elements of high fantasy with the terror of facing an unstoppable foe. Anyone fighting this beast should realize quickly that there is almost no chance of defeating him. The characters are free to grab and make use of the various swords, wands, and so forth lying about the cave. Each round that a hero does nothing else, he can roll once on the magical item table of his choice in the Dungeon Master Guide, thereby picking up a weapon, potion, scroll, or other object. With luck, he might find an item that can help fend off the dragon's attacks. Defeating the Dragon: There are two ways in which the heroes might manage to slay this incredible dragon. One is far more practical than the other. The adventurers could just possibly defeat the dragon in combat. This seems very unlikely, but strange things do happen in role-playing games. They are heroes, after all. A more likely way of surviving this encounter involves the magical quill that is recording the actions of the characters in the great book (see "Searching the Lair," above). If one of the heroes thinks to seize the pen and write in the book, he can actually shape what happens in the battle. A few restrictions, however, can make this solution more difficult than it seems. First, the character who uses the pen must write a believable ending to the story. Scribbling down the words "and then the dragon fell over dead" just does not work. As soon as an improper ending is written, the words fade away and the pen yanks itself free to begin scribbling again. If, on the other hand, one of the heroes is about to fire an arrow at the wyrm, the author could write "the well-aimed shot pierced the monster's eye and buried itself in his brain, killing him instantly." The Dungeon Master determines exactly what wording works, but it is important that the words in the book be combined with actions taken by other members of the party. The Dungeon Master can also assign a chance, based on character class, that the ending written by the hero is acceptable. Not every hero, after all, has equal ability to tell a good story. The character should roll a Wisdom ability check; all characters other than bards, gypsies, or other natural storytellers make the roll at a -4 penalty. Especially inept storytellers might suffer an even greater penalty, as determined by the Dungeon Master and the nature of the ending being written. As soon as the heroes defeat the dragon, he crashes to the ground with tremendous impact. The force throws the characters into the air and threatens to shatter the mountain. Finding the Book: If the heroes did not discover the hidden grotto and magical book before fighting the dragon, one of them should do so during the battle. At some point, one of the heroes (chosen at random or by the Dungeon Master) stumbles upon the hole just as described in "Searching the Lair," above. The magical stone for this facet is hidden among the dragon's treasure. Finding it before slaying the wyrm is almost impossible without magical help. A character searching for the ruby without some supernatural aid has a 1 in 20 chance of finding it for every hour spent searching. If the dragon has not yet been defeated, the search awakens him. When the treasure and everything else vanishes (see "Exiting the Facet," below), the ruby remains behind. Anyone who states that his character is looking for the gem need only pass a Wisdom ability check to locate it. The Fourth Facet ruby is a tetrahedron about the size of a four-sided die. Defeating the dragon does not automatically enable the characters to leave this facet. No exits from the dragon's lair exist, and efforts to climb the sides of the crater fail (the characters just never seem to reach the top). However, as soon as someone writes the words "The End" or their equivalent in the book, the way out becomes obvious. As those words are written, the dragon, its lair, and the whole of the treasure trove fades out of existence. (Note that this works only after the dragon is defeated.) Any items or valuables the heroes might have picked up here - except the enchanted ruby - are also gone. If a character took one of the dragon's bags or other containers and put items of his own in it, those items disappear as well. In place of the lair, the heroes find themselves standing in a pentagonal room with a perimeter of some two hundred fifty feet. At the center of each wall stands a glowing portal that leads into a conduit beyond. The following table indicates the facets to which these portals lead:
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