Creature Compendium Test Drive: Palace of the Naga Raja

Robert Talbot Kelly

A fierce beast sinks any vessel which sails past the riverside fort. Monsters devour travelers who approach on land. Even the air is contested by shrieking fiends, who fly to frontier settlements on evil wings and carry off defenseless victims. Pestilence spreads across the Plain, ruining crops and sickening farmers.

THE APPROACH

The fortress sits on a plain adjacent to the riverbank. The edge of the river is dotted with trees and vegetation, but for a hundred feet around the squat stone structure the earth is given over  to sand dunes. A paved causeway extends south from the fort to the river, elevated three feet above the sand.

The sand is full of SAND ELEMENTALS and GIANT TRAPPER LIZARDS which ambush uninvited guests crossing the dunes to the fort.

Fifty feet west of the fort is a stone tower, fifty feet high. At the top of the tower is a simple stone structure with a domed ceiling and holes in the sides. A DEATH BAT of the Boatbreaker species and a flock of 5 STRIGA roost in the tower. The whole thing is covered in guano and anyone who ascends to the top risks fungal infection as though they were attacked by the bat.

When a vessel passes by on the river, the Death Bat swoops down from the tower and dives underwater. It swims like a manta ray and surfaces under the boat, overturning it.

When uninvited guests approach via the causeway, the Striga descend on them, harrying them mercilessly and trying to either kill them or knock them off so the sand dwellers deal with them.

All these beasts and more are under the command of the Naga Raja.

THE FORTRESS

The surface fortress is carved from an enormous limestone formation, finished with a layer of brilliant white exterior cladding. Room S1 has a domed ceiling 30' high. Rooms S2 through 7 are interior spaces with flat ceilings 15' high. S8 is a covered porch. S9 is an open courtyard.

 

By day the NAGA RAJA is either in S1 dozing (45% chance) S9 basking (45%) or out hunting (10%). By night he's either dozing in S1 (50%) or with Snjezana (50%).

 

By day Snjezana the DRAGI is with the Naga Raja 50% of the time, and out of the palace exploring the Plain the other 50%. By night she's in her room at S7 (50%) or enjoying a drink and a meal at S8 (50%). Her squire Vjosa always accompanies her when she leaves the fort. While Snjezana is home she's in the same room 50% of the time, otherwise she's in S3 or S4 (25% each) working on something.

If Snjezana is gone the GRIFFON is too. If she's home he's either in S4 resting (50%) or in S10 hunting snakes, drinking from the fountain and shitting in the rose bushes.

 

The surface fortress is lousy with snakes. At any time there are

• D2 Giant Pythons
  
• D6 Giant Rattlesnakes
  
• D4 Giant Spitting Cobras
  
• 4D6 Spitting Cobras 

slithering around, lurking or basking. Drop dice on the map to see where they all are.

If the snakes, fliers or Sand Elementals raise the alarm, the Naga and Dragi are alerted to the danger if they are in the fort.

 

S1: Circular chamber full of pillowy soft sand, with a large stone egg in the center festooned with treasure. 45% chance the Naga Raja is here by day, 50% at night. If the snake is here 50% chance each Snjezana and Vjosa are here.

The statue is a Stasis Egg, gift of the Lord of Sleep in his aspect as Big Snake. Anyone who enters the egg falls asleep for a span of time chosen by the user (the command word is required to change the setting, currently at 16 hours). While asleep they do not age and are invisible to scrying and telepathy. Curses and disease fall dormant but return when they exit. The gems and gold encrusting the egg are worth 10,500.

 

S2: Small interior space between secret doors from the Naga's shrine to the guesthouse kitchen. 6,000 SP, an Hourglass of Sand Elemental Summoning and a Potion of Control Dragon stashed here for emergencies. Trapped with poison needles bearing Naga Raja venom.

S3: Guest kitchen. Ceiling hatch for roof access and lighting. 25% chance Vjosa is here cooking if Snjezana is in the fort. 4,000 SP in luxury food and drink (chocolate, coffee, tea, spirits, candy, cured meats) and a magic Wall of Fire cooker.

S4: Guest dining room. Long table, large chairs for Dragi, big rock for Naga to curl around, all pushed to one side to make space for the Griffon steed Vukodlak. If Snjezana is in the fort he's here 50% of the time and Vjosa 25%, grooming him or maintaining equipment.

S5: Guest bedroom claimed by Vjosa, used for handicrafts rather than sleep (cosleeping is standard practice for Dragi squires). 25% chance she's here if Snjezana is in the fort. 3,260 SP in petty cash and grave goods given to Vjosa as her share of tomb robbing treasure.

S6: Guest storage and maintenance access. Barred door with staircase leading down to U2. 2,000 SP in oils and powders.

S7: Guest bedroom claimed by Snjezana. 50% chance she's asleep here by night, if so 50% chance each the Naga and Vjosa are with her. Bed holds big fake egg warmed with tiny Druidic Heat Metal orb inside, Dragi equivalent of dakimakura. Shelving holds 10,015 SP in grave goods taken from local tombs and capsized boats, plus potion of treasure finding and six +1 Crossbow Bolts.

 

S8: Covered columnated porch. Low tables and couches. By night 50% chance Snjezana is here eating and drinking, if so 50% chance each of Vjosa and the Naga. Silver tableware worth 4,000 SP.

S9: Garden. Walls 15' high. Three fountains shaped like the Snake Pantheon (Father Skin God of Magic, Big Snake God of the Hunt, BlueGreen the Sun God) feed pool of water, which flows out through pipes under the tile floor to the plants ringing the courtyard. By day 45% chance the Naga is here, if so 50% chance Snjezana is with him, if so 50% chance each Vjosa and the Griffon are here too.

The rose bushes ringing the yard are festooned with 9,998 SP in dangling gems and jewelry, but careful observers notice bones near the roots. The bushes are are GUARDIAN BRAMBLES that snare anything which comes over the wall. Waste filters down through the soil to the basement at U6.

S10: Counterweighted stone doors with images of enormous snakes ruling over apes. Not locked but trapped with an alarm spell. Deliveries are left here by traders at behest of Snjezana.

UNDERGROUND

The underground is 10 feet beneath the castle above. Rooms here are unlilt. Any open flame glows ominous blue. Each turn everyone in the presence of such a flame must Save vs Poison or fall unconscious from sulfur dioxide poisoning.

 

U1: Dungeon cells with heavy limestone doors, barred from outside. Used by Naga for captives that are useful for some reason. Currently empty.

U2: Stone stairs up to S6. The faint smell of mulch and sulfur is immediately apparent, along with the sound of running water. Two Wands of Light on wall shelf.

U3: The sulfur pit. Decaying vegetable matter from the garden up above serves as a breeding ground for 28 EMERALD STINKBUGS. A YMIR eats dangerous hydrogen sulfide emanating from the pile to stop it from poisoning the upstairs neighbors or causing a gas explosion. 5,468 SP in assorted coinage has found its way into the pile from above.

Freshly hatched Stinkbugs are compelled by the Naga Raja to crawl out through fissures in the rock. The fissures lead to tiny holes on the surface a mile away from the fort. From there the bugs fly to nearby colonies and pollute their crops. 

U4: Storeroom. Cloth, furniture, 3,077 SP in Junk taken from victims that doesn't interest the Naga, plus the Strigil of Strigafication used to make the Striga.

U5: Basement lobby. Leftover copper tubing, ceramics. 2,002 SP forgotten in a water jug. The two doors to the east function as an airlock to minimize escaping gas from U3.

U6: Waterworks. Pipe brings water in from the south and up to three fountains on the floor above. Filthy water and decaying organic matter dribble down from S9 through ceiling grates. Four trained FILTH EATERS keep the trash moving down the channels to U3. 4,250 SP lost amid the muck, touching it inflicts the Filth Eater disease.

U7: Water intake pipe from river. Large enough for a normal size creature to squeeze through, but they'd have to hold their breath long enough to swim about 125 feet.

 

NPCS AND IMPORTANT MONSTERS

NAGA RAJA

Chengthung the Naga Raja emerged from his Egg of Deepest Slumber to find everyone who caused him trouble in a past age was dead, and the current inhabitants of the Plain were much easier to deal with. For the time being.  He is patient but has poor emotional self regulation, once he commits to a course of action he hates to admit he's wrong.

He has the following Cleric spells in his arsenal

1. Detect Evil, Detect Magic (C)
2. Resist Fire, Speak with Animals

And Magic User Spells

1. Protection from Evil (MU), Read Magic, Shield
2. Levitate, Locate Object, Phantasmal Force
3. Clairvoyance, Protection from Normal Missiles, Invisibility 10’ Radius
4. Wall of Fire, Hallucinatory Terrain
5. Hold Monster

Chengthung can speak with animals, but even without the spell the desert creatures acknowledge his authority. The birds and bats in the tower obey him, as do the lizards and snakes and beetles. They're his eyes and ears, warning of intruders in the palace. They all know the stakes, the Commonwealth's colonists will hunt them to extinction. He came up with the stink bug plan to stop the Grain Cult from  making the desert bloom. The hazardous terrain is what keeps huge numbers of humanoids from moving in and slaughtering the existing inhabitants.

He wears 15,250 SP in jewelry, spread across various bangles, piercings and studs encrusting his smooth scales.

DRAGI

There are two Lawful Evil Draconian humanoids staying at the riverside fort.

Snjezana the Dragi came to the Plain to sample local delicacies. Medfounda and fig brandy and crocatta kebab. Chengthung is her ideal man. Rough and unpretentious, but wealthy enough to buy her luxuries. She doesn't share his dim view of industrial civilization, and he reluctantly allows couriers to deliver her orders from Potion Addict.

 

Snjezana wears 2,200 SP in jewelry and a suit of plate armor, carries a Mace +2 and a Shield +3 in battle, and can sling the following spells

1. Protection from Evil (MU), Sleep
2. ESP, Knock
3. Water Breathing

Vjosa is Snjezana's squire. She helps Snjezana with her armor, takes care of her steed and cooks delicious meals. Snjezana teaches her how to fight, cast magic and manipulate lesser beings. She's violently jealous of Chengthung. Taking care of Snjezana's body is her job. She hasn't acted on this yet but could be pushed to it.

Vjosa is an HD 4 Dragi. She wears a gambeson, carries an ordinary shield and pollax (which she can wield one handed), and can cast the following spells.

1. Protection from Evil (MU), Sleep
2. ESP 

Jacob van Maerlant

GRIFFON

The Griffon Vukodlak is the Dragi's steed. He carries both Knight and Squire in adventures across the plain. He likes to fly but doesn't get along with the Striga and Snjezana forbade him from playing with the Death Bat so that he doesn't catch a fungal infection. He loves eating snakes, the serpents all hide when he's in the room unless ordered to attack an intruder by the Naga Raja.

STRIGA  

The Striga are created by scraping corpses clean using the Strigil of Strigafication, which also grants the wielder control over them. The Naga Raja won't create more than five because they have a tendency to fight each other in overcrowded conditions. Getting them to play nice with the Boatbreaker was hard enough. He sends them out to sneak into nearby settlements and kill people, spreading terror and discouraging further encroachment into the wild lands of Hogman's Plain. The Striga hate the Naga as much as they hate all other living things, and would turn on him gladly if not for the control granted by the magic item.

SAND ELEMENTALS

The Sand Elementals carved the Naga's fort out of a big limestone boulder by sandblasting the stone away. They were summoned by the Hourglass of Sand Elemental Summoning kept in the secret room at S2. Their current orders are to flay anyone besides the Naga, Dragi and the other monsters who set foot in the sand. Anyone who flips the sand timer can change these orders.

The Naga can call on all the creatures in the fort to aid him in battle, though the Striga require him to retrieve the Strigil from U4, the Sand Elementals the timer from S2 to change their orders.

 

INFILTRATION

If this dungeon looks interesting but your players aren't powerful enough to lead a small army against it, there are ways they can infiltrate without immediately having to fight every monster.

Snjezana's appetite for drugs, alcohol and tasty treats can't be fed by dungeon delving and caravan raiding alone. She orders stuff from the Potion Addict outpost on Hogman's Plain and has it delivered by boat. Chengthung instructs his beasts not to attack anyone wearing the company crest, allowing them to come right up to his door and drop off packages.

Chengthung ordered the Sand Elementals to carve the palace from a boulder according to his specifications, but he didn't set up the waterworks himself. That was the Dwarf plumber Borbaz Bentgirder, who now works for the Grain Cult setting up irrigation systems to distribute Clerically created water. His current employers aren't happy about the plague of beetles poisoning their crops, and could persuade him to inform adventurers about the hidden water intake pipe in the river by the fort.

The Naga Raja is lazy and prefers to have food dropped for him by the Striga, but he does leave the fort to catch his own food and intimidate anyone watching. He likes hippos but will eat crocodiles, humans, gnolls, crocottas... And the Dragi go tomb raiding whenever they get bored. Sneak inside when both are gone and you get the place for yourself, until they notice the shrieking birds and return home.

Chengthung gets tired of buying treats for Snjezana. He's a king and he's owed tribute. The Striga kidnap hostages and throw them in the dungeon under the fort.

• Dax Crumple, famous flautist from the Commonwealth. Was supposed to play a set at the mining camp downriver. Forced to play for the Naga and Dragi
  
• Bellatrix Sweedlepipe, Magic User and herpetologist from the Baronies. Chengthung is charmed by her snake-like demeanor and love of reptiles. Snjezana is jealous.
  
• Telson, Cave Elf from the Abyss. Sells labor saving magical devices. Confident his wife will rescue him, worried she'll punish him for getting caught.
  

Someone's got to deliver the ransom.

THE MAKING OF

Another Creature Compendium minidungeon, with a couple NPCs from the Monster Overhaul. As a one-off you could start it with the players on a boat that gets wrecked by the Death Bat.  

 

Some of the treasure tables in the Compendium are suspect. The Emerald Stinkbug gives out type M treasure in the Basic/Expert stat block, which regularly produces a hundred thousand GP or more (I converted everything to SP for this module). That's more than the Naga Raja yielded. The bugs are certainly dangerous, appearing in groups of 5D10 and producing huge clouds of damaging vapor. Are they called emerald bugs because they've got a hoard of emeralds? Until I get some explanation I'm going to assume this is a typo.