Ratvik’s Retreat

Area 2-6 – Ratvik’s Retreat

Note that the entrance to this chamber is both locked and sealed with molten gold that has spilled out over the floor. PCs will immediately note that the door is hot to the touch. The lock can be easily picked (DC 10), but the door must be beaten down with a DC 17 Strength check or destroyed (25 hp). PCs can also enter by risking the climb over the charnel pits (area 2-4) to the unprotected platform.

Once the PCs gain entry, read or paraphrase the following:

This is where Ratvik the Mad is making his final stand, fending off Moira’s fury. Decade by decade, Ratvik is slowly losing the fight. If he is distracted by anything more than conversation, Moira’s spirit forces its way into the chamber, igniting an inferno (see below).

In a soft, rasping voice that sounds like crackling embers, Ratvik explains his plight: neither he nor any of the hundreds of other trapped souls can pass on into the afterlife so long as Moira guards the gates to the Realms of the Dead. Ratvik makes no claims to innocence but pleads that after so long for so many trapped souls the punishment no longer suits the crime.

Ratvik’s moment of lucidity is fleeting. If the PCs hesitate before leaving, twin coals flare brightly in the skeleton’s eye sockets and Ratvik decrees that since he cannot die the PCs must join him in un-death. With a wave of his skeletal hand,

Ratvik commands the PCs to kill one another.

Should the PCs refuse his order, Ratvik the Mad directs the weapons scattered about the chamber to do his work for him. The blackened weapons fly from the floor, attacking at his will and defending him against attacks. Unfortunately, while distracted by the PCs, Ratvik cannot hold back Moira.

Moira’s Revenge: With Ratvik distracted by the PCs, the raw fury of Moira’s anger fills the chamber. Crackling bolts of electricity shoot through the chamber, limning the PC and Ratvik in ghostly blue flames. The temperature soars, searing the skin and lungs, threatening to incinerate PCs and Ratvik alike.

Round One: PCs girded in metal armor take 1d4 points of heat damage.

Round Two: As above, and PCs wielding weapons with metal hafts or pommels take 1d4 points of heat damage.

Round Three: As above, and clothing is set aflame; characters take 1d4 points of fire damage.

Round Four Onward: As above, and all creatures within the chamber must succeed on DC 15 Fortitude saves or take 1d12 points of heat damage. The pools of coins begin to soften.

The effects are cumulative. The raging heat ends with the destruction of Ratvik’s physical form or when the PCs flee the chamber—the remnants of the ruined door fly back into place, reinforced by flying coins and weapons, barring return.

Treasure: Though there is a regent’s ransom in precious metals littering the chamber, relatively few of the coins remain untouched by the all-pervasive heat. An inspection of the piles reveals the coins in the heart of the piles are fused into a solid slab of precious metal. PCs can skim off the untouched coins, collecting 2d10 sp, 3d10 cp, and 4d10 gp. Finally, the PCs are able to find 2d100 pp; all the platinum coins are untouched thanks to the metal’s higher melting point, but many of the coins sank, becoming embedded in the molten mass of lesser coins.

If the PCs can conceive a plan capable of recovering the pools of solidified metals, the total mass is worth some 5,000 gp. (Unfortunately, after the PCs pass through area 2-8 to the Realms of the Dead, the ruins surrounding the charnel pita collapse, burying the chamber in tons of rubble and rendering the treasure unrecoverable.)

Ratvik the Mad: Init +3; Atk flying weapons +3 ranged (1d8); AC 15; HD 8d8; hp 52; MV fly 40’; Act 5d20; SP un-dead traits, cannot be turned while in the charnel pits; SV Fort +0, Ref +1, Will +6; AL C.

The iron gate is locked but can be picked (DC 10) or torn from its bolts with a DC 20 Strength check. The key resides with Mnom-Mothot in area 2-5. The area description should be adjusted accordingly if the PCs succeed in entering by the platforms extending over area 2-4. The gates barring these platforms all share the same stats as the first.

Characters daring to get close enough to inspect the phantoms see that all are urchins, fishwives, gong farmers, beggars—the souls of Punjar’s lowest caste that were cremated here but are now unable to pass through to the afterlife.

The phantoms ignore the PCs, continuing their endless march. Characters reaching out to touch the translucent phantoms feel a hint of cold and passing melancholy, but otherwise suffer no effects.

The cremation ovens seethe with crackling embers but don’t present any threat to the PCs … yet. This changes once the PCs disturb Moira’s resting place (area 2-8). When this comes to pass, the phantoms sink to their knees, wailing in terror, and the furnaces gout fiery embers at Moira’s command. As an attack action, she can cause up to two of the four furnaces to erupt in a single round. Choose the furnaces at random, assigning a 25% chance to each. Any PC caught within 10 feet of the furnace must make a DC 13 Reflex save or take 1d12 points of fire damage and be hurled 10 feet to the south. PCs with the misfortune of being driven through an open gate onto the platforms above the charnel pits must attempt a DC 5 Luck check or fall to their dooms.