GiantCaves

Background
Natural caves riddle Mount Tessel -- and, indeed, the entire chain of mountains. Many pitfalls await the seasoned adventurer, in a natural cave: long drops, zero light, sharp rock formations, narrow crawl spaces, and even nasty creatures that call the darkness their home.

Darkmantle: small magical beast; ECL1; HD 1d10+1; 6hp; Init +4; Spd 20ft, fly 30ft (poor); AC 17/11/17 (+1 size, +6 natural); BA/G +1/+0; Attack +5 melee (slam, 1d4+4, crit20x2); S/R 5ft/5ft; SA Darkness, improved grab, constrict 1d4+4; SQ Blindsight 90ft; SV Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +0; Str 16, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 10. Skills and Feats: Hide +10, Listen +5*, Spot +5*, Improved Initiative. Darkness (Su): 1x/day, darkness as 5th-level caster. Improved Grab (Ex): Can hit a Large or smaller creature with slam, and attempt grapple as free action without provoking attack of opportunity; if it wins grapple check, attaches to opponent's head and constricts. Constrict (Ex): Deals 1d4+4 damage with each successful grapple. Blindsight (Ex): Sees by sonar; silence spell blinds it. Skills: Darkmantle has +4 racial bonus to Listen and Spot; lost if blindsight is negated; variable coloration gives it a +4 racial bonus to Hide.

During the original War of the Undead, Rakore was probed by several Nabrolian strike forces from the recently conquered Kur Maeth. As such, a number of Nabrolian hill giants were stranded in Rakore when their triremes were sunk or disabled. Most of the hill giants were tracked down by the dwarves -- who long ago eliminated them from the lands around Rakore. Several hill giants escaped to the Tikranor Plateau; several have made Mount Tessel their home.

The entrance to the caves, from the salt mines, is a narrow 4'x4' archway that was reinforced by the original miners. Beyond the entrance, all is silence for a considerable distance. The party should have no trouble navigating the narrow passageways, until they begin to hear the roar of running water. The water confuses sounds, and begins to invoke penalties to Listen checks (-8 penalties).

The narrow passageways wind up along the beach of a small underground lake. The roar of water is an underground river pouring into the lake, echoing off of the cave's glisteningly wet formations that are heavy with mineral deposits in strange shapes. The lake itself is perhaps a hundred feet across, but in limited lighting, it's far edge might seem considerably farther away. The strange shapes along the ceilings and floors and walls throw weird shadows in any kind of light, or frighten the hands and the feet if there is no light.

Inside the lake float the feces of the giants that live farther up the cave system; Spot check (DC 14). The water smells relatively fresh, but the presence of the large logs of feces may clue the party in to an otyugh if someone makes a successful Knowledge (nature) check (DC 19). One fecal log even has a kobold skull still inside of it.

The otyugh would be happy to have fresh meat, and will attack any lone members of the party, attempting to drag them into the water. If successful, the battle should take place under water, away from the attention of the rest of the party. (This is an excellent opportunity for the DM to send everyone else away, and do combat with just one member of the party.)

Otyugh: large aberration; CR 4; HD 6d8+9; 36hp; Init +0; Spd 20ft; AC 17/9/17 (-1 size, +8 natural); BA/G +4/+8; Attacks +4 melee (2 tentacles, 1d6, crit20x2) and -2 melee (bite, 1d4, crit20x3); S/R 10ft/10ft (15ft w/ tentacle); SA Constrict 1d6, disease, improved grab; SQ darkvision 60ft, scent; SV Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +6; Str 11, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 5, Wis 12, Cha 6. Skills and Feats: Hide -1*, Listen +6, Spot +6, Alertness, Toughness, Weapon Focus (tenacle). Constrict (ex): Deals automatic tentacle damage with a successful grapple check. Disease (Ex): Filth fever f/ bite, Fort DC 14, incubation period 1d3 days, damage 1d3 Dex and 1d3 Con, with Con-based save. Improved Grab (Ex); After hit with tentacle attack, can attempt to start grapple as free action w/out attack of opportunity; if it wins grapple, establishes hold and can constrict. Skills: Otyugh has +8 racial bonus on Hide checks in its lair, due to coloration.

The lake itself is nearly 40 feet deep, and has a watery vortex at the bottom that shuttles the underground river on to its next conduit. For every 10 feet of depth in the lake, characters take a cumulative -2 penalty on their Swim checks. The distance from the vortex to the nearest air pocket along the underground river is close to 22 miles, and the river eventually lets out into the headwaters of the Boulderdash river, which feeds into the Slav a few miles south of Kashin.

Evindar Ahmeneth was a slate ranger that patrolled the Tikranor Plateau, defending the small towns and villages against the ravages of orcs and the evils of stagnant magics. Evindar led a long and glorious career as a ranger, and was considered a friend of Rakore. Unfortunately, he met his match in the hill giants that had taken up residence in Mount Tessel. Evindar escaped further into the caves, but in his weakened state, he was killed by a darkmantle while he was walking along the ceilings of the caves, using his boots of spider climbing. His body remains stuck to the ceiling, barely held together by his armor and equipment. One touch from the party will bring the upside-down body crashing to the ground, save for the boots and the bones within them.

Evindar Ahmeneth's possessions: mighty composite longbow +2 (+3 Str bonus) (8,700gp), studded leather armor +1 (shadow) (4,175gp), boots of spider climbing (2,050gp), amulet of natural armor +2 (32,000gp) [cursed item -- gives a -2 AC bonus], Heward's handy haversack (2,000gp), purse with 115sp, empty quiver, hilt of a broken longsword still in the scabbard, golden ring of a snake wrapped twice around the finger (10.2gp).

All along the caves leading back up to the surface, from that point forward, the party can find scratch marks on the wall from Evindar's broken sword (Search check, DC 12) to keep from getting lost. Otherwise, the party should circle in on itself at least twice, if they do not have some way of marking turns or passages. The passages go up, down, and around very subtly, and it is quite easy to become lost.

Two hill giants have made the entrance of the caves their home. One of them took the brunt of Evindar's attacks, and lost an eye to the ranger, as well as having half a broken arrow under the skin of his forehead. Brutish and rather ugly, both giants were trained to be steeds for Nabrolian priests, and were also trained somewhat in the arts of war.

Over the decade and a half since the hill giants escaped into Rakore, they have carved out for themselves a small kingdom. No villages or towns lie too near to their side -- the northwest side -- of Mount Tessel. As such, they have survived on wolves, goats, sheep, deer, and whatever they could catch, including the occasional traveler or caravan. The natural cave entrance was enlarged by the giants, and giant-sized, crude weapons lie about the massive fire pit in the center of the cave. Otherwise, they sleep on piles of rotting and untreated furs. The cave itself is forty feet by sixty feet, with the entrance being about twenty feet wide; the whole of the cave is about 30 feet tall at its fire-blackened peak.

One corner of the cave contains a pile of bones, from camels to dwarves. The cave's entrance smells horribly, and a small pool of water in the back serves as both a cistern and a toilet -- complete with floating fecal matter. The smell is nearly unbearable.

Both giants will likely be in. Because Evindar hurt them so badly, and then faded into the back of their cave -- where they cannot reach because of their size -- they set a crude trap to catch the 'tasty morsel' that escaped. The trap has fallen into disrepair, but it is still functional -- and even more hidden because of the passage of time.

Net Trap: pressure-sensitive trap that yanks a hidden net up, and thwacks it against the wall; Reflex save to avoid the trap entirely (DC 23); Search check to find (DC 21); Disable check (DC 22); Escape check to get out (DC 19); damage is 3d6 points, and then it suspends victims 10' from the ceiling, and 20' from the floor, spinning dizzily; trap holds up to 4 Medium-sized creatures.

First Giant's Stats (one-eye blind): male Nabrolian hill giant (10'8", 1,100lbs, szL, blind in one eye, 120y old, former Nabrolian priest-mount); ECL 13; Gia7, War2; HD 7d12+2d8+63; hp 113; AC 24/24/8 (+3 armor, +4 shield, -1 Dex, -1 Size, +9 natural); Spd 40ft; Init -1 (Dex); BA/G +7/+2 / +21/+16; Attack +14/+9 melee (greatclub in one hand, 1d10+10, crit20x2); SA Rock Catching, Rock Throwing; SQ low-light vision; AL NE; SV Fort +15, Ref +1, Will +2; Str 31, Dex 9, Con 24, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 9. Languages Spoken: Giant, Nabrolian. Skills and Feats: Jump +4, Listen +5, Spot +5, Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack. Possessions: giant-sized great club, giant-sized studded leather armor (made from scraps of leather and armor), giant-sized tower shield (made from logs and scraps of armor and leather).

Second Giant's Stats: male Nabrolian hill giant (9'4", 800lbs, szL, 110y old, former Nabrolian priest-mount); ECL13; Gia7, War2; HD 7d12+2d8+54; hp 93; AC 23/21/11 (+2 armor, +1 shield, -1 Dex, -1 Size, +2 Dex, +9 natural); Spd 40ft; Init +6 (Dex, Improved Initiative); BA/G +7/+2 / +18/+13; Attack +8/+3 ranged (shortswords, 1d10+10, crit19-20x2, RI20ft) or +13/+8 melee (shortsword, 1d0+10,crit19-20x2); SA Rock Catching, Rock Throwing; SQ low-light vision; AL CE; SV Fort +14, Ref +4, Will +2; Str 24, Dex 14, Con 22, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 7. Languages Spoken: Giant, Nabrolian. Skills and Feats: Climb +12, Craft (leatherworking) +3, Craft (trapmaking) +7, Listen +8, Spot +10, Alertness, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Quick Draw. Possessions: about a dozen shortswords, giant-sized leather armor (made from scraps of leather armor), giant-sized buckler (made from a man-sized kite shield).

Giants' Treasure: Gems -- temair gem (125.2gp). Coin -- 2,932 silver coins, 1,496 gold coins. Potions -- potion of gloom (50gp) (fuchsia-colored, herbal odor/taste, viscous, translucent appearance), potion of endure elements (fire) (50gp) (gold-colored, bilious odor/taste, effervescent, clear appearance). Miscellany -- agate gold earring (646.9gp), black velvet mask with numerous citrines (48.5gp), golden circlet with 4 aquamarines (5,019gp), golden flagon, intricately decorated, with a long fiery yellow corundum dominating the neck (3,092.1gp), ivory inkpot (311gp), silver comb with moonstones (965.9gp), 1ft x 2ft, locked (Open Lock check DC 25), iron-bound, wooden chest*. Wondrous Items -- Artemesia's Garrote (12,500gp), saddle of the master riders (1,200gp). Armor -- large steel shield +1 (1,170gp), chain shirt +3 (9,250gp), 2 suits of chainmail, 1 breast plate, 1 suit of banded mail. Weapons -- shortsword +1 (2,310gp), dagger +1 (flying) (8,302gp), broken blade matching Evindar Ahmeneth's broken hilt, 7 daggers, 4 battleaxes, 3 greatswords, 2 shortswords, 2 longswords, 1 kama, 2 scimitars, 1 shortspear, 2 longspears, 4 maces.

*contains oiled canvas (waterproofed) scroll case with Arcane Scrolls -- Lesser Acid Orb (l1, cl1) (200gp), Magic Weapon (l1, cl1) (200gp), Ice Bolt (l2, cl3) (200gp). Divine Scrolls -- Spectral Stag (l2, cl3) (175gp), Hell's Razor (l1, cl1) (175gp), Regenerate (l7, cl13) (5,750gp).

Outside the cave, the area is denuded by the giants' activities. More piles of bones decorate the landscape, here and there, although nothing of value lies in them. It is nearly 100 feet from the entrance, before any greenery can be found, as everything has been either rooted up or trampled. The northwest side of the mountain looks onto a little hillock that blocks the view down into the Tikranor Plateau.