The Ul-Mor will lead the characters to a vast cavern network one 12
hour period's travel inside the burning lands. This cavern is the safest
way to cross those perilous lands, though it holds many dangers for
the unwary. The first four periods in the cavern will pass uneventfully,
but a massive cave-in will separate the characters from the Ul-Mor at
the beginning of the fifth period. They must then find their way
through the Forbidden Caverns to the outside world. If the characters
survive, they will once again meet the Ul-Mor and finally journey to
the Place of True Warriors to fight the ferocious quickdeath.
CREATURES OF THE CAVERNS
TIME IN THE CAVERNS
After the cave-in, the characters will enter a new and dangerous
phase of their adventure. Because they are lost in the perilous
Forbidden Caverns, the time period reference must be changed from
12 hours to one hour. If your characters question this, you may
explain that the time period has changed because they are travelling
in dark, unknown caverns.
MOVEMENT IN THE CAVERNS
Since the characters will find themselves moving through dark,
unknown caverns, their movement rate will be considerably reduced.
The movement rate must also be adjusted because the time period
has been reduced to one hour. Therefore, the following movement
rates will apply while the characters are in the Forbidden Caverns:
MOVEMENT RATES IN SQUARES
COMBAT IN THE FORBIDDEN CAVERNS
When encounters and combats occur, the action should be resolved
in normal six-second game turns. The distances characters can move
in six-second turns are summarized on the following chart:
MOVEMENT PER SIX-SECOND TURN IN CAVERNS
Players will quickly find anyone running in the caverns has an
excellent chance of falling. Any character running in the caverns
must make a Dexterity check. The character must make a Dexterity
check once every five turns spent running. If a character falls, he
may move only 1/2 the normal distance that turn.
SIGHTING
Visibility in the caverns is limited. Even with flashlights or torches,
party members can see only 30 meters. When in large rooms, this
means they may not be able to see the cavern walls.
EXPERIENCE
The Forbidden Caverns encounter section will require more playing
time than most other encounter sections in this module. You should
award experience three times during the this encounter section
(usually at the end of an evening of play). Generally speaking, you
will find the best places to award experience points are at the end
of encounter area 7, the end of encounter area 13, and after the
party exits the caverns.
You travel through the caverns for 24 hours, walking well
behind the main body of Ul-Mor. The tunnels are between 5 and
10 meters wide, while the ceiling rises as high as 12 meters.
Occasionally, the tunnels spread into underground rooms as
much as 1 kilometer in diameter, with ceilings as high as 20
meters.
You constantly pass large stands of a mushroom-type fungus
growing from the cavern floors. The stalk of this fungus is
almost as thick as a small tree trunk. There is nothing else
unusual in these caverns.
As you move along, you pass many smaller passages leading
away from the main path, but the Ul-Mor carefully avoid these
passages and warn you to do the same.Race Number of Squares
Human
Dralasite
Vrusk
Yazirian
Mixed Party
3
2
4
3
2
RACE WALKING
RUNNING
Human
Dralasite
Vrusk
Yazirian
2 meters
1 meter
3 meters
2 meters
6 meters
4 meters
7 meters
6 meters
After several days travel, you have reached the Burning Lands.
Deposits of phosphorous, magnesium, and various salts cover
the entire area, and numerous geysers, gas fissures, and lava
flows erupt through the crusty ground. Athru says you will
spend only a short time on the surface of the Burning Lands;
after a period of travel you will reach a large network of caves.
The Ul-Mor know a safe path through the caverns and out into
the desert on the other side of the Burning Lands. You will
follow this underground path to the Place of True Warriors.
Athru warns you not to stray from the safe path, for there is an
endless expanse of winding caverns teeming with unknown
dangers.
3.) POISON GAS FISSURE: A crack opens in the cavern wall and poison
gas seeps out. The gas fills a 3 meter long section of cavern each
turn. The gas is rated S5/T1, and appears to be hot steam when the
characters first see it.
4.) LAVA FLOW: A large section of cavern wall collapses, releasing a
250 centimeter deep lava flow 10 meters behind the characters. It
will advance toward the characters at a rate of 5 meters each turn.
Any character caught in the lava flow takes 5d10 damage every turn
until he escapes.
If the characters choose to jump out of the path of the lava flow, they
have a 75% chance of finding a safe place (such as a low-hanging
stalactite or a narrow rock shelf). If the characters try to find cover and
fail to make the 75% roll, assume they tried for cover, but
discovered a turn later this cover was not sufficient. They will return
to the cavern floor one turn after trying to find a safe place.
They may try again for a safe place or run, at their option.
Even if the characters find a safe place, they must then make a
Dexterity check. If they fail the check, they will return to the cavern
floor the next turn.
If the characters succeed in jumping out of the flow's path, they must
then wait three days for the lava to cool before walking on it. Unless
they have found a sufficiently comfortable place to wait (use your
own judgement), there is a 75% chance
they will fall into it several hours later, taking 1d10 damage from the
cooling lava every turn until they escape.
If the characters run from the flow, it will follow them until they come
to a branch in the corridor, and will then flow down the corridor
sloping downward (choose one at random). If the characters are
foolish enough to run into the corridor sloping down or there are no
corridor branches, the flow will stop after chasing them for 1
kilometer.
5.) RASTIE TRAP: Roll a secret Intuition check for the two characters
leading the party. If either character makes the check, he will see the
rastie trap and neither character will fall into it. If neither character
makes the check, both characters in the front will fall into a hidden 4
meter pit with sharpened stakes at the bottom. Each character takes
2d10 damage. (The pirate who lives in encounter area 18 set this
trap to catch rasties.)
6.) FLITTERS: (MV Medium; IM 7; RS 70; STA 10; DM 2; SA Disease)
The party meets 10 flitters panicked by a gas explosion in another
part of the cavern. All flitters will attack one character immediately,
then fly away after two rounds of combat.
7.) SKELETON: The party finds the remains of a Human skeleton. They
will find a laser pistol with an empty clip near the skeleton.
8.) SLEEP GAS: The characters hear a faint hissing from a crack in the
cavern wall. This crack is releasing a gas into a 10 meter section of
the corridor that causes characters to fall asleep for 10d10
minutes. Players may avoid the effects of the
9.) MAINTENANCE EQUIPMENT: The characters find a push broom, a
bucket, and a mop.
10.) DEAD LOPER: The characters find a dead loper. The loper has
obviously been dead only a few days.
Start.) CAVE-IN!
The characters may run (checking for falls) to any of the three
corridors not blocked by the cave-in. They cannot take any Ul-Mor or
lopers with them, since all of the Ul-Mor are on the other side of the
cave-in, and any lopers near them have been killed.
If the party attempts to dig out either passageway, let them dig for
a few turns and then tell them they realize it would take many days
to complete the task. The party can retrieve their own equipment
from the rubble, as well as enough food and water to last three days.
1.) RASTIE LAIR (MV Medium; IM 7; RS 65; STA 75; ATT 75; DM 2d10; SA
See below)
Read the following description to the characters as they approach
area 1. If they do not turn toward area 1, but proceed straight
through area 1 A, this encounter will not occur.
The sounds are coming from the lair of 100 rasties.
If the party continues into area 1 after hearing these sounds the
rasties nearest the party will squeal an alert to the rest of the pack.
The entire pack will then attack. If the party retreats toward 1 A
after hearing these sounds, only 20 rasties will attack.
SA: Lock jaws and rend automatically for 1 d10 per turn.
2.) FLITTER LAIR (MV Medium; IM 7; RS 70; STA 10; ATT 40; DM 2; SA
Disease)
There are 95 flitters asleep in this room. The sounds are being made
by five restless flitters as they move about the cavern ceiling.
These five flitters will ignore the party unless the characters light a
fire, shine a light on any of the flitters, make a loud noise, or touch
any of the flitters.
If the party does any of these things, the five waking flitters will fly
about the cavern squealing and screaming to wake the rest of the
flitters. All flitters will then attack the party. No character will be
attacked by more than five flitters in any single turn. Players bitten
by flitters must make a Stamina check or contract the deadly
disease flitters carry (see Alien Creatures Update File).
3.) CORRIDORS OF CONFUSION
The "dust" in the air is a concentration of spores from the giant fungi.
Any character breathing without special precautions (gas mask,
handkerchief over mouth and nose, etc.)will inhale many thousand
spores. These spores cause hallucinations one hour after the
characters enter the area. The referee should make up an appropriate
hallucination, such as being attacked by a giant Ul-Mor, seeing a wall
of water rushing down the corridor, finding a spaceship to take the
party home, etc.
When they start to hallucinate, each character should make a Logic
check. If this check is successful, that character will realize he is
having a hallucination. If the check is unsuccessful, the character will
not realize he is having a hallucination. That character must then act
as though the hallucination were completely real. You should
temporarily take control of any character who is not acting as though
the hallucination is real.
After two hours, the hallucinations will cease, but any character who
breathed the spores will still be disoriented and confused for six
hours. They will not be able to concentrate or remember where they
came from, and their RS scores will be temporarily reduced by 5
points. After this six-hour period is finished, the characters will be
immune to any further effects of the spores.
4.) DROPPER CAVERN (MV Very slow; IM 2; RS 18; STA 20; ATT 80; DM
2d10; SA See below; SD See below)
Each character stands a 30% chance of walking directly beneath a
dropper. Once a character is attacked, 19 more droppers will arrive in
1d10 turns.
SA: Attract 2d10 droppers in 1d10 turns. SD: Immune to projectile
weapons, tangier and doze grenades; ranged weapons attack at -10.
5.) BURROWER SNAKE LAIR (MV Slow; IM 8; RS 80; STA 15; DM 1d5; SA
Poison S5/T10)
Upon closer inspection, the characters will see a deposit of
phosphorescent minerals at the base of a 3 meter chimney extending
upward farther than the characters can see. This chimney dead-ends
in a burrower snake lair about 35 meters up.
If any character climbs the chimney, the burrower snakes will attack
immediately to protect the 23 eggs in their nest. If the characters do
not climb the chimney, nothing will happen.
6.) VOLTURNIAN CAVE BEAR (MV Medium; IM 5; RS 45; STA 200; ATT
60; DM 4d10; SA See below)
If the characters do not immediately back out of the room, the bear
will attack until killed. If they back out of the room and wait for three
hours, the bear will-fall asleep. The party can then sneak by without
harm. The bear will instantly awaken
After spending 50 hours travelling through the caverns with the
Ul-Mor, you are awakened by loud crashes and loper screams. As
you get up, you feel the cavern floor vibrating and see whole
sections of the ceiling crashing down. You do not see any sign of
the Ul-Mor, who had camped a considerable distance ahead of you.
Three of the five exits from the room are now blocked.
You hear chittering in the gloom ahead, such as a small
mammal might make.
The passageway gradually widens into a room. Your lights are
not powerful enough to see across the room. A few high
pitched squeaks echo toward you from the room. You can also
hear a faint fluttering.
You see several more of the mushroom-like fungi you see
throughout the caverns in this area. These fungi, however, appear
a little larger than most. The air in this area is difficult to breath
because of the amount of dust in it.
You have reached another large underground room. The ceiling here
is only 3 meters high. You cannot see the other side of the room.
There is a faint glow near the ceiling of this huge room. The
glow appears to be about 250 meters away.
You are entering a large cavern room lit by dim phosphorescent
minerals when you see a 7 meter tall creature 60 meters from
you. It looks like a hairless, white bear. It has shown no sign of
noticing your party.
SA: Hug for 2d10 per turn on roll of 10 or less.
7.) SHOVELMOUTH STAMPEDE (MV Medium; IM 3; RS 25; STA 60; ATT 45;
DM 1 d10; SA Stampede)
Twenty shovelmouths are stampeding from encounter area 8 into area
7 A. If the party stays in the room, each character has a 30% chance of
being hit by a shovelmouth and falling to the ground. Any character
who has fallen will be hit by at least one shovelmouth and has a 50%
chance of being hit by two. Every time a character is hit by a
shovelmouth, he takes 2d10 damage.
If the characters attempt to avoid the stampede, use your discretion
to determine if they do so successfully. Players climbing the cavern
walls, for example, will be safe from the stampede.
8.) EXPLOSIVE GAS FISSURE
As the characters try to cross the room, there is 45% chance some of
the explosive gas escaping through the many fissures in the room will
ignite near the party. (Roll for each group of
characters separately if they split up.)Any character caught in one of
these explosions suffers 2d10 damage.
If any character strikes a match, fires a laser, or introduces any type
of open flame into the room, there is a 90% chance all
explosive gas in the room will ignite, causing 10d10 damage to those
within the room. (Make Dexterity checks to see if the characters fIung
themselves to the ground in time to avoid part of the damage. If
this check is successful, they take only 1/2 damage.)
9.) SALT DEPOSITS
The white substance is common salt. The bare patches of cavern floor
are actually flat rocks that have fallen onto the salt bed from the
ceiling. These rocks are large enough for two people to stand upon,
and it is readily apparent that the characters could cross the room by
jumping from rock to rock.
If the party tries to cross the room, roll percentile dice as each
character nears the middle. There is a 25% chance that each rock a
character stands upon will sink into the salt bed. If one rock sinks,
there is a 15% chance that any adjacent rock also sinks. Players will
sink at a rate of 1/2 meter every turn. Players who sink completely
before being rescued will suffocate in 20 turns.
10.) WATER!
There is a spring of fresh water hidden behind a thin wall in this room.
If they enter the room quietly, the characters will hear the sound of
bubbling water. They can then locate the spring by going to the place
where it seems the loudest and digging, blasting, or hacking through
the soft wall.
They will then find plenty of fresh water for drinking, washing, and
restocking canteens.
11.) THE LAKE OF FIRE
Large pillars of crystal rise out of the lake to the height of
your ledge, which is nearly 30 meters above the fiery surface.
Near the middle of the lake, two or more of these crystals are
fused at the top, forming narrow bridges. Many stalactites hang
to within 3 meters of the crystal tops. Some of these
stalactites are huge and well anchored; others appear thinner
and shakily attached. As you watch, one of the thin stalactites
falls from the ceiling into the lake below. While you study the
scene, you notice that jets of flaming gasses and molten rock
stream out of the lake, splashing against the crystal pillars and
even the ceiling of the cavern.
There doesn't appear to be any safe way across the lake, for
your ledge runs only part way around the lake. On the other
side, you can see a similar ledge, with a passage leading away
from the lake. The distance between the two ledges appears to
be about 200 meters.
Lay the map of the Lake of Fire on a flat surface where all may see it.
Place the characters' counters directly on the map so that you may
see the characters' locations as they attempt to cross the Lake of
Fire.
The characters will probably try to use one or more of the following
methods to move from pillar to pillar:
Players who jump must make successful Strength checks (at +25) or
fall several inches short of the next pillar. Players who fail
these checks should make a Reaction Speed check to see if they
grabbed the edge of the pillar as they fell. Any character who fails
both of these checks falls into the Lake of Fire and dies instantly.
Players attempting to swing from pillar to pillar must make
Dexterity checks to see if they land on the pillar safely. Any
character who fails the check misses the pillar; the character must
hang from the rope until rescued by another character. (If the rope
was not long enough to reach the pillar, the character should make a
Reaction Speed check to see if he managed to grab the edge of a pillar
as he fell. Any character who fails both checks falls into the Lake of
Fire.)
Players will never have any trouble roping a stalactite, since they can
keep trying until they are successful. In addition, at least one
stalactite will always be within roping distance. There is a 5% chance,
however, that a stalactite may break loose from the ceiling before
the character completes the swing. If this occurs, the character
should make a Reaction Speed check to see if he had completed
enough of the swing to fly through the air to the pillar and grab its
edge before falling
The corridor gradually widens into another large room.
This room is dimly illuminated by phosphorescent mineral
deposits. It is more than half a kilometer long and 250 meters
wide. You hear the sound of many running feet, and a number of
grunts hisses, and squeals.
As you round a bend in the corridor, you hear an explosion and
see a sudden burst of light 300 meters ahead. Ten seconds
later, another explosion follows. As you watch, several more
explosions occur at random intervals. The bursts of light
illuminate a circular room 500 meters or more in diameter.
The walls and floor are becoming rough and loose as you walk
down the corridor. A white, granular substance covers
increasing portions of the cavern, until, when you enter a large
room, it completely hides the floor and walls. Here, the cavern
floor appears only in spots.
You are entering another room in this seemingly endless cavern.
The air here is much cooler than other parts of the cavern.
This passage is becoming increasingly hot as you advance. You
round a narrow bend and see a large room ahead. A fiery, red
glow illuminates this room, and you feel an intense heat coming
from it. As you move on, your passage opens onto a narrow
ledge overlooking a vast lake of molten rock. 1. Jump from one pillar to the next where the distance is not too great
(see map).
2. Rope the stalactites and swing from pillar to pillar.
3. Make bridges out of the trunks of the giant mushrooms growing
throughout the caverns.
If the characters use the trunks of the giant fungi as bridges to
cross the pillars, they should make a Dexterity check to see if they
fall off the trunk while crossing it. Any character failing the
Dexterity check should make a Reaction Speed check to see if he
grabbed the trunk before falling into the Lake of Fire. Any character
who fails both checks falls into the Lake of Fire.
No matter how the characters cross the Lake of Fire, each character
stands a large chance of being hit by a lava splash as it streams out
of the lake. As the characters cross each dashed line on the map, roll
percentile dice. On a roll of 10% or less, that character takes
1d10 damage from a small burst of molten rock.
As the characters cross the lake, the referee should emphasize
that the heat is nearly unbearable, and that the smoke and ash in the air
make breathing nearly impossible. After completing the crossing,
roll 1d5 points of damage for each character that did not take any
precautions to protect himself from the heat.
12.) THE MAGMA MONSTERS (MV Very slow; IM 3; RS 30; STA 150; DM
3d10; SA See below; SD See below)
A very old magma monster guards the babies. This adult appears to
be a large black boulder Iying against the wall 20 meters away. The
adult magma monster will remain motionless unless a character
touches one of the small lava-balls, at which time it will attack.
Despite its slow movement, the magma monster is a deadly opponent.
It spews a stream of hot lava up to 50 meters in any direction, doing
3d10 damage. This attack, however, is not subject to ranged weapon
modifiers because it is the creature's natural attack form.
The magma monster will cease attacking if the characters leave the
chamber, but wil I immediately attack if they re-enter.
SA: Attack up to 50 meters with no range modifiers. SD: Immune to
needler, projectile, and stun weapons; immune to tangier and doze
grenades; 1/2 damage from lasers and fragmentation grenades.
13.) THE UNDERGROUND SHORE
This sea, more than 1.5 kilometers wide and 6.5 kilometers
long, is nearly a kilometer deep in places; even along the shore
the depth is more than 10 meters. The
into the Lake of Fire. Any character failing this check falls into the
Lake of Fire.
You walk only 500 meters before the corridor widens into a
room. The smooth rock floor of this room is Iittered with
hundreds of small balls of hardened lava. Some of these lava-
balls are Iying quietly on the floor, but others are bouncing
around like balls on a pool table. Occasionally, a lava-ball rolls
into or out of a small hole in the wall.
The small balls of lava are baby magma monsters. They are harmless
to the characters, even if they bump into them by accident.
After wandering through more of the endless passages, you
hear the sound of gently lapping water ahead. Soon, you round a
corner in the passage and see an underground sea. 
The shoreline is simply a rocky ledge covered with giant mushroom-
like fungi. From any area along this ledge, the characters will see the
island (encounter area 14 A). They will also see the opposite shore
(encounter area 15) in the far distance.
13 A: This shoreline is exactly like the one described above.
13 B: As the characters enter this area, they will see an Ul-Mor sitting
at the water's edge. He is totally absorbed in his own thoughts, and
will take no notice of the party's approach. If spoken to, he will slowly
turn around, revealing that much of his face and two of his tentacles
are covered with a pasty white growth. He will introduce himself as
Throm the Banished (RW 45; M 45; PS 2; IM 5; RS 50; STA 40).
Throm will give the following account of himself:
"I was riding herd on a large flock of kwidges when a burrower
snake startled them, and they stampeded. Many of the kwidges
ran under my loper; alas, I was not quick enough to control the
noble beast. Left solely to his own direction, my loper panicked
and ran into the tribe's egg cache, destroying several of our
young. The elders immediately banished me, forever denying
me the rights of an Ul-Mor.
''Since that time I have wandered these caverns, where I have
learned the secret of joining the One without the cold sleep'
Perhaps the One has sent you to me, so that I may redeem
myself by showing you his secret."
Throm is slightly deranged, and believes the mutating fungus on the
island is the key to eternal life. He will make every effort to convince
the characters to go to the island, and will not speak of anything else.
He does not desire to leave, and could not remember the way out of
the caverns if he did. He does remember that his loper wandered off
and joined the One some time ago.
Throm will attempt to convince the party to journey to the island, but
he will not use force to do so. If questioned about how to get to the
island, he will say that he swims, but this is very dangerous because
there is something evil in the lake. If the characters attack Throm for
some reason, he will defend himself with his spear.
14.) ACROSS THE UNDERGROUND SEA
The characters may cross the underground sea by constructing a raft
of fungi trunks or swimming. The characters will need
oars or similar devices to steer the raft, or the current will draw them
toward the island at the rate of 1 square per minute.
Halfway across the lake, the party will be attacked by a jawfish (MV
Fast; IM 5; RS 50; STA 100; ATT 80; DM 3d10; SD Soft cover in water).
They will see a fin 90 meters away. One turn later, the jawfish will
attack. It will continue to attack once every third turn, circling the
raft for two turns between attacks. The jawfish will circle 60 meters
away for purposes of ranged weapons. Consider the jawfish to have
soft cover, unless it is attacking a character.
The jawfish will normally attack the raft. Roll percentile dice each
time the jawfish attacks; on a roll of 30% or less, the
jawfish lifts itself out of the water and attacks a randomly
determined character. The first time the javvfish attacks, it will destroy
the raft. Once the raft is destroyed, it will be useless, but there is
still a 70% chance the jawfish will attack it rather than the characters.
The jawfish will make four attacks after destroying the raft. It will
then lose interest and swim away.
14 A.) THE ISLE OF MUTATING FUNGUS
As the characters explore the island, they will notice the fungi
resemble some animals they have seen. Many clumps resemble
rasties, shovelmouths, and other bizarre creatures. If the characters
observe any of these strange formations carefully, they will notice
the shapes are moving very slowly. This movement is nearly
unnoticeable.
These odd-shaped clumps were once animals. The bizarre fungus
which covers the island attaches itself to other living creatures and
gradually replaces their cells with its own.
The only living thing the mutating fungus has not devoured is an
isolated stand of giant mushroom fungi. (This stand of fungi has not
been mutated because it is less than eight hours old. The lifespan of
giant fungi is only 36 hours; it grows to its full size in one 12 hour
period, fertilizes in the second 12 hour period, and dies by the end of
the third 12 hour period.)
Any character who stays on the island for eight hours or more or who
sleeps on the island for any period of time, will find a white, pasty
growth covering parts of his body. This growth is identical to the
white growth on Throm's face and tentacles. Any character remaining
on the island for more than three days turns completely into fungus.
If the characters notice the fungus on their body within three
hours, a medic must correctly diagnose the disease and treat it with
antibody plus. This will destroy the fungus already diseasing the
body, but the characters will not be immune to further attacks. Any
body part not treated within three hours of
a fungus attack must be amputated, or the entire body will turn into fungus.
Throm is convinced being turned into fungus is a form of eternal life.
No amount of pleading will persuade him to leave the island; in fact,
he will try to persuade the party members to stay on the island and
rest.
15.) THE FAR SHORE
This area is identical to area 13 A.
16.) THE PLACE OF HEALING
If any characters enter this area, read the following description to
them:
In fact, each character has healed 4d10 Points. The characters met an
Eorna in this area, who used his medical knowledge to heal the
characters. The Eorna did not wish the characters to know of the
presence of his race, so he hypnotized them and erased any memory
of the encounter. (It is very important that no hint of the Eorna be
given to the characters.)
If some characters remained outside the room, they will be affected
as though inside the room.
ceiling above the sea is 50 meters high. The entire area is
illuminated by large deposits of phosphorescent minerals.
''I was once a powerful Ul-Mor, who stole many things from our
enemies and divided these things many ways. My fellows
envied me, and, indeed, I believed they had reason to do so. I
had been chosen as the tribe's next leader, and this made
me feel as though no risk were too great for me to take. But, alas,
the One will not tolerate such foolishness.
When you reach the island, you see several stands of mushroom-
like fungi on its shores. A pasty, white growth covers the
ground on the entire surface of the island.
You have just awakened. Apparently, you fell asleep after
entering this area. You have no memory of anything after
stepping into this area. Those of you who were wounded notice
you have healed a great deal. You notice two large, indistinct
footprints leading out of the room.
A deranged maintenance robot brought into the caverns by the pirate
in area 18 is cleaning the cavern room. The robot lost its broom and
mop some time ago and has become deranged. It throws the rocks,
boulders, and gravel from one section of the floor to another and
attempts to sweep the dirt with its metallic hands.
It will continue sweeping until the rock floor is bare and smooth, then
move to another section and repeat the process.
Though the robot will not attack the characters, it is still dangerous.
There is a 20% chance a rock will hit a random party member, causing
1d10 points damage. Players more than 15 meters away from the
robot cannot be hit by the rocks.
The robot is a level 1 maintenance robot that will ignore the
characters unless they attack it or attempt to change its
programming. It will attack any character attempting to do either of
these things with its hands (1d10 damage).
It requires one turn to open the safety release catch on the robot's
instrument panel.
18.) THE MAD PIRATE (RW 30; M 30; PS 3; IM 6; RS 55; STA 55)
"Now I'm lost in the caverns, no place to run,
Read the following description to the characters as they investigate:
The pirate, Phalen the Black, will attack the characters on sight,
using setting 4 on his laser rifle. When he drains the fresh pack
attached to his rifle, he will fight with his bare hands. (The pack was
his last supply of power.)
If captured alive, Phalen will reveal only his name. Like the
maintenance robot he brought into the cavern, Phalen is now slightly
deranged, and anything else he says will be gibberish. From time to
time he will whisper that he is greatly afraid of turning into a fungus.
Careful inspection of Phalen's arm will show that the red blotch is a
tattoo of a red devil surrounded by white stars. Phalen will escape as
soon as he can.
19.) EXITING THE CAVERNS
This is the exit from the caverns. As the characters stumble out into
the daylight, they will find they are once again in the desert. A large
party of Ul-Mor are camped not more than 250 meters away, and, as
the characters come out of the cavern, Athru will ride up to them on
his loper. After greeting them, Athru will explain that after the cave-
in, the Ul-Mor continued through the safe caverns and camped here,
hoping the characters could find a way through the Forbidden Caverns.
He is very glad to see them, and, after they have rested, he will take
the characters to the Place of True Warriors.
You hear many crashes in the room ahead, as if several objects
of various sizes are being tossed about a small room.
From the gloomy passage ahead, you hear a Human voice
singing, "Oh, we hijacked the ship and we took us guns,
Li-dee-di-dee, li-dee-di-dee day-o.
Came to Volturnus and drank some rum,
Li-dee-di-dee, li-dee-di-dee day-o.
Li-dee-di-dee, li-dee-di-dee day-o.
Anything moves, I shoots it with me gun,
Li-dee-di-dee, li-dee-di-dee day-o."
You see a lone Human figure about 30 meters ahead, squatting
next to a small fire in the center of the room. He appears to be
roasting a skinned rastie, though you can't be certain since he
is turned sideways to you and his body hides part of the fire. A
red splotch on his left arm barely shows through his tattered
shirt. A laser rifle attached to a power pack lies on the cavern
floor next to him. The floor is littered with rastie bones, a
large pile of moss, and a pile of rastie furs the man uses as a
bed.
As you stumble along the passageway, you see a beam of light far
ahead. The air is warm and fresh, almost overwhelming after the
days of breathing the dank cavern air.