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Night of the Blue Sun, continued





NPCs




Aefet


AL: CN
AC: 5
Move: 12"
Class: Fighter/Lycanthrope
Level: 5/4
Hit Points: 31
Thac0: 17
# of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: By weapon or spell
Special Defenses: Damaged only by silver/magical weapons
STR 15 / DEX 14 / CON 9 / INT 10 / WIS 11 / CHA 10
ML: 10
XP: 1000 if defeated but not killed, 450 if killed

Aefet wears a harness and breastplate along with anklets and bracers. He has both the Bracers and Nithian Shield skills (both Dexterity). He is armed with a mace-axe (1d8/1d10[L]), with which he is proficient, and carries a light shield. His armor is light and will not hinder his change from human to man-beast form, or vice-versa. Aefet also carries a thin silver dagger hidden in one of the bands of his harness. He will use this dagger against any disloyal lycanthrope in his troop.

Aefet wears a golden ring (non-magical) with the Pharaoh's glyph inscribed on it. The ring is worth 50 gp to all of those except collectors of antiquities, who may be willing to pay up to ten times that amount.



Farlin


Farlin is a Thyatian expatriate in his late sixties. He is an accomplished magician, but feels more at home attending a noble's court or rummaging through a musty library than he does crawling through a dungeon.

During his many years of moving through the upper circles of Thyatian society, Farlin has made many diverse contacts far and wide. He uses these contacts to support his one passion in life: being an information merchant. The old wizard trades vast amounts of stockpiled knowledge to other wizards. Farlin charges a pittance of a fee for his services in gold; just enough to keep him living comfortably. His real reward is the information he receives from other wizards in return. The old wizard's favorite tactic is to race to the scene of an unknown or intriguing occurrence, find the first hardy party of adventurers he can, and send them off in the direction he wants them to go explore in.

He offers what services he can to further the parties' goals, and in return, he expects them to share information with him. He is especially interested in examining any magical treasures that the party might find. Many times he will offer to identify magical items for free, just to get a chance to study the object for a while. He then returns to his tower to search through his vast list of contacts for a wizard who might be interested in the items he just studied.

For the most part, Farlin means well, but sometimes he just doesn't think ahead. Many parties have accepted Farlin's friendly services, only to have some strange wizard show up the next day and try to relieve them of their hard-won treasures.

PCs may come to deal with Farlin on a regular basis. If all concerned are happy with the arrangement, Farlin will give the party a magical means to contact him whenever they have found something interesting. He can be very helpful in identifying arcane lore and items, or putting the party in touch with someone who can do such things for them, and his prices are cheap. But the party must be ready for unexpected visits from unwelcome guests, especially after they have shown Farlin something he has never seen before.



Kentep


AL: CE
AC: 8
Move: 12"
Class: Magic-User
Level: 8
Hit Points: 20
Thac0: 17
# of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: by weapon or spell
STR 7 / DEX 11 / CON 10 / INT 16 / WIS 13 / CHA 9
ML: 12 (due to insanity)
XP: 650

Kentep's currently memorized spells are:
First Level: Magic Missile (x2), Light
Second Level: Tongue of Flame (x2), Fireball
Third Level: Summon (Fire) Elemental, Dancing Imps
Fourth Level: Fire Cage, Wall of Fire

[Note: Tongue of Flame, Dancing Imps, and Fire Cage can all be found in Scafra's Pyrography in Fahvarim's Lorebook. All other spells are standard. Due to Kentep's devotion to fire magics, he is able to cast Fireball and Summon (Fire) Elemental at one level below normal.]

Kentep is a crazed Ylari Magian Fire Worshipper. He has long sought after the secrets of the Lost Nation, several of which he recovered only to lose again to the Bead of Oblivion. Such losses don't sit well with his psyche, and Kentep has become quite mad.

Kentep's magical arsenal consists mainly of destructive fire magics. Feel free to devise anything special to include as well. Kentep will fight passionately, but not intelligently. His rage controls his actions. For instance, Kentep may summon several Fire Elementals to do his bidding before he realizes that he cannot maintain his control over so many. The Elementals would then attack anything in their path, including the crazed fire mage.



Myrrith


The wizard Myrrith is an imposing figure, shrouded in mystery. Were she not hunched over with apparent age, she would stand seven feet tall. Her arms and legs are quite thin, while her hands and feet seem to be slightly overproportioned. Every inch of her body is covered with finely embroidered gold clothing. The hooded cloak she wears conceals her face entirely. Myrrith uses magical means to mask her identity as well as physical ones. Two golden orbs suspended in sheer darkness meet the gazes of those who try to peer beneath the folds of the hood.



Pharaoh Mummy Sematiffir


Pharaoh Sematiffir is an ancient Eborian priest-king. Ages ago, he underwent the ceremonies that removed his life essence from his physical body and placed it in magical containers. As long as those containers remain intact, the Pharaoh will exist, and will be able to inhabit any properly prepared receptacle (like the body of a mummy).

He prefers to have his servants fight his enemies for him, but will fight maniacally to defend himself. He is able to memorize the following number of spells: 4 of first level, 4 of second level, 4 of third level, 3 of fourth level, 2 of fifth level, and 1 of sixth level. He has currently been granted:
First Level: Darkness (x2), Cause Fear (x2)
Second Level: Resist Fire, Silence 15'r., Hold Person (x2)
Third Level: Continual Darkness, Striking (x2), Curse
Fourth Level: Animate Dead, Cause Serious Wounds, Dispel Magic
Fifth Level: Pharaoh's Vessel, Commune
Sixth Level: Set's Will
[See below for Pharaoh's Vessel and Set's Will]

Sematiffir also possesses a Rod of Cancellation which he will use against the PCs when they confront him.

The Pharaoh rules over a small and pitiful kingdom in the Night of the Blue Sun. He has been itching to expand his influence, and when he noticed that a lost pyramid ship was sending back signals of incredible magical power, Sematiffir saw his chance. He sent his essence through the Eborian gateway (the ankh) and inhabited the body of the only receptacle he could find on the other side. Unfortunately for him, the mummy he inhabited was so badly damaged in the crash that it could only hold a small portion of his powers.



Tahehn


AL: CE
AC: 3
Move: 12"
Class: Fighter/Lycanthrope
Level: 4/6
Hit Points: 28
Thac0: 17
# of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: By weapon or spell.
Special Defenses: Only damaged by silver/magical weapons.
STR 17 / DEX 10 / CON 14 / INT 7 / WIS 8 / CHA 5
ML: 10 (12 inside the palace)
XP: 1200

Tahehn wears plate mail and a battle helm. He is proficient in the use of the khopesh (1d8/1d10 [L]), a form of sabre. The armor is specifically designed for him in both his forms.

Tahehn has a salve that will protect him against silver weapons. There are 5 applications left. One application is needed to cover one extremity. Tahehn will cover both of his arms before attempting to betray Aefet. A successful dexterity check indicates he was able to deflect and attack with a part of his body covered by the salve. This will negate any damage from that attack. Tahehn can block 3 silver attacks per application of the salve before it wears off.

Tahehn wears a ring identical to that of Aefet. He also carries 50 gp and 1d4 gems worth up to 200 gp each.



Unhuar


AL: N
AC: 6
Move: 12"
Class: Fighter/Lycanthrope
Level: 2/1
Hit Points: 12
Thac0: 17
# of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: By weapon or spell
Special Defenses: Only damaged by silver/magical weapons
STR 14 / DEX 13 / CON 12 / INT 9 / WIS 14 / CHA 15
ML: 8
XP: 35

Unhuar wears textile armor and carries a short spear called a dja (1d4/1d6 [L]), with which he is proficient. An inexperienced warrior, Unhuar has not yet proven himself, and so has little treasure. A handful of mixed coins jingle in a pouch strapped to his belt.




Monsters




Pharaoh Mummy


AC: 0
Hit Dice: 8
Move: 80' (30')
Attacks: 1 touch or spell
Damage: 1d10 + mummy rot or by spell
No. Appearing: 1
Save As: C8
ML: 12 (10)
Treasure Type: Special
Intelligence: 18
AL: Chaotic
XP Value: 3,500

The Pharaoh Mummy has all the abilities of a normal mummy. It is immune to sleep, charm, or hold spells. Unlike the mummy, the Pharaoh Mummy is especially sensitive to fire-based attacks, and takes twice normal damage from them. Their touch also causes the mummy rot disease with no saving throw allowed.

Pharaoh Mummies are intelligent undead. They are former Eborian high-priests who have undergone special rituals designed to remove their life forces from their bodies. That life force is then stored in specially prepared containers. The priest then has the ability to inhabit and control any specially prepared (non-undead) mummy of which it knows the location. If at any time the life force containers are destroyed, the Pharaoh Mummy ceases to exist.

Pharaoh Mummies will fight to the death (of their mummy body), especially if their life force containers are in danger. They often have many spare mummy bodies near their containers in order to help safeguard them. Unlike most undead, the Pharaoh Mummies enjoy ruling over living subjects. They often do this through a remote mummy host body. Their life force containers are only rarely located near the subjects that they rule.

As long as their life force containers are intact, a Pharaoh Mummy can switch bodies by casting the Pharaoh's Vessel spell. Only one such body can be inhabited at a time, however, and only non-undead mummies can be controlled. Two Pharaoh Mummies may fight over the body of an inhabitable mummy.

Pharaoh Mummies wield clerical magic and must pray to their Immortal to receive their spells. If the mummy body is destroyed and the Pharaoh Mummy is left without any spells in reserve, it must wait until it regains its spells before inhabiting another mummy. This could leave the Pharaoh Mummy very vulnerable.

Pharaoh Mummies can cast any clerical spells they possessed in life, as well as the spells Pharaoh's Vessel and Set's Will (see below).




New Spells




Pharoah's Vessel


Level: 5
Range: Unlimited range, as long as the caster can perceive the target body, and has a means to access it (either physical contact, or through a portal or gate)
Duration: Permanent, until body is destroyed or released by the caster
Effect: The caster's life essence gains control over a specially prepared (mummified) body.


This spell is given to Eborian priests of Set, who have undergone the transformation into Pharaoh Mummies. The transformation process places their life essences into containers similar to the object used in a Magic Jar spell. By casting this spell, the priests can move their life essence into a mummified body and take control of it.



Set's Will


Level: 6
Range: Unlimited range, as long as the caster can perceive the target body, and has a means to access it (either physical contact, or through a portal or gate)
Duration: Permanent
Effect: The victim is slowly mummified


This spell is granted to Eborian priests of Set who have undergone the transformation into Pharaoh Mummies, but may be learned by others who have an equally evil bend to their nature. When the spell is cast, both the attacker and the victim make skill check rolls based on their wisdom scores. The winner is the one who makes his check by the most points. If the victim wins, then nothing adverse happens besides the fact that he feels a malevolent force pressing down upon him. If the caster wins however, then the victim is slowly turned into a mummy. Each time a successful attack is made, the victim takes 1d6 points of damage. This damage can not be healed by normal means. In addition, the following events occur on each successive successful attack:

  1. The victim's skin dries out and begins to flake off.
  2. The victim's skin turns leathery. Movement is reduced by half, as are the number of attacks and defenses the victim can make. If the victim is a spell caster, then he loses the ability to cast all level 6 and 7 spells due to his inability to move his hands and fingers properly.
  3. The victim's joints stiffen. Movement is reduced to 1/4 normal, as are the number of attacks and defenses the victim can make. All spells above level 4 are uncastable.
  4. Eyes drop into their sockets, and the victim looses his sight. All spells above level 1 are uncastable.
  5. The victim can no longer cast spells. Upon each successive attack hereafter the victim looses the abilities of one more sense (hearing, smell, taste, touch, and any demi-human abilities).

If the victim loses all of his hit points due to the attacks of this spell, he dies and becomes a 2HD mummy, capable of being inhabited by the Eborian priest. Each of the adverse effects of the spell can be healed by a cleric of equal or greater level than the priest who cast the spell. That cleric must make a wisdom check (as above) against the Eborian priest's wisdom check in order for the healing attempt to succeed. Only one attack can be made against a single individual per day. Likewise, several healing spells must be made in order to fully cure a victim of the effects of this spell. One healing attempt may be made per day, with a successful attempt reversing the effect of the latest attack.




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Copyright 1999, John Calvin. All rights reserved. Used by permission.