Sunlit Room – Temple of Elemental Evil Area of the Week 05/23/03

This page is a part (Dungeons of Elemental Evil #310) of a playthrough that spanned the year of 2003. All the information was taken from TSR’s original AD&D adventure, the Temple of Elemental Evil.

For the players: As soon as you turn the bend in the passage, you see what appears to be a sunlit area to the northwest. The corridor is only dimly illuminated at the bend, due to a shimmering haze, but the light grows brighter towards the area ahead.

Just before entering the place, you see small dim shapes moving about. Though the haze distorts them, they appear to be giant rats and foxes. The area is a 20′ x 30′ room, the ceiling (if there is one) is impossible to see, due to the bright light. Blue sky and a hot sun seem to be overhead, but the sky appears close — only 20 feet up, or thereabouts.

In each of four alcoves in the northern portion of the chamber (two in the north wall, one to either side, and all about ten feet above the floor) sits a harpy, gazing with evident pleasure at the scene below. Centered below is a raised slab of rock, upon which are chained a man and a woman. Swarming around this table-like slab are a score of jackals and twice as many giant rats. All are attempting to clamber up to devour the victims, but the rock is quite smooth and evidently slippery, for only rarely does one of the beasts manage to leap up and attack. The chains have sufficient slack to enable the prisoners to defend themselves slightly; thus, when bitten, the victim can move away or lash out. Each prisoner has a few bites evident, but more often than not they strike the attacking beast off the rock.

To tantalize the captives, several items lay atop the slab just out of their reach: a large ring with a key in it, a dagger, a longsword, and a rod of some sort. As you observe this tableaux, the prisoners notice your presence and cry out for aid! The rats, foxes, and jackals take no notice, but the harpies look up, notice you, and open their mouths.

For the DM: Most of this area radiates magic. The harpies are actually gargoyles; the prisoners are actually jackalweres. The rats and foxes are illusory, but the jackals and items are real. The deceptions are from a permanent illusion, other elements of which are the captives’ wounds and chains.

A few jackals were waiting at the bend in the passage, and ran back when intruders were sighted to warn their masters, the jackalweres, of the approaching food…

The initial attack by the gargoyles is prefaced by their squawking, slightly similar but in no way as effective as that of real harpies. As these monsters squawk and fly in to attack, the normal jackals also turn to devour intruders. While these attacks occur, the jackalweres (still playing prisoner) add their sleep gazes to disable intruders. If this is noticed or if the gargoyles start losing the fight, the jackalweres “break” their illusory chains, grab their very real weapons, and move in for the attack while exclaiming their intent to aid the party. The male uses the longsword; the female, the mace (which appeared to be a rod) and the dagger (gaining two attacks per round). If grappled, they drop their weapons and shift form to jackal-headed guise, resorting to bite attacks.

Gargoyles (4): AC 5, MV 9″/15″, HD 4 + 4,
hp 27, 25, 24, 20, #AT 4, D 1-3/1-3/1-6/1-4,
SD hit only by + 1 or better weapon;
XP 300, 290, 285, 265

Jackalweres (2): AC 4, MV 12″, HD 4, hp 27, 22,
#AT 1, D 2-8, SA gaze = sleep (save vs. spells), weapon use,
SD hit only by iron or +1 or better weapon; XP 908, 888

Jackals (20): AC 7, MV 12″, HD 1/2,
hp 4, 3, 2, 1 (5 of each), #AT 1, D 1-2;
XP 9 (x5), 8 (x5), 7 (x5), 6 (x5)

In a concealed space under the rock slab are the monsters’ treasures, garnered from victims since Zuggtmoy no longer takes such from them. The loot includes 104 cp, 171 sp, 223 ep, 410 gp, 67 pp, 9 gems (roll for random value), two pieces of jewelry (random value), a potion of plant control, and a scroll of four magic-user spells (spider climb, levitate, infravision, extension I).