THE P€NVbtBRAL PENTAGON

Table of Contents
Introductjon 3
Chapter One: The History of the Penumbral Pentagon 4
19
Chapter Two: The Members of the PenumbralPentagon
Chapter Three: The Penumbral Fortress 33
Chapter Four: The Magic of the Shadows 62
Chapter Five: Adventures in Shadow 73
Appendix: Creatures of the Shadow 89
 1N T RO D V CT 10N

The Penumbral Pentagon had its earliest origins to building the Penumbral Fortress, the ultimate
in the great war against the Slarecians, when the citadel of shadow in the Scarred Lands.
I
titans and the gods actually stood together for a time. This volume is the first to deal with the most
The mysterious Slarecians had powers that rivaled mysterious of the many secret organizations in the
even the gods, and may even have been Scam’s Scarred Lands. Here, you will find full information on
earliest inhabitants. Along with their minions, the Dar’Tan and his new followers,the motley collection
Slarecians perpetrated the ultimate outrage upon the of villains who make up the rebom Penumbral Pen-
gods -kidnapping the goddess Drendari and tearing tagon. Here, too, you will leam the secrets of the
from her the secrets of shadow magic. labyrinthine depths of the Penumbral Fortress and its
Though the kidnapping of Drendari was one of fell inhabitants. Also, this volume reveals new secrets
many Slarecian triumphs, the ancient ones over- of shadow magic and details on the creatures who
played their hand when they passed the secrets of serve Dar’Tan. Finally, this book also provides game
shadow to their servants, the Penumbral Lords. Be- masters with introductory adventures that will allow
trayed, the Slarecians were defeated and driven from player characters to begin their investigation of the
Scam, while their treacherous penumbral students Penumbral Pentagon.
lived on to trouble gods and titans alike. The Penumbral Pentagon represents a potent
The most infamous incident in the history of the group -one that reveres neither gods nor titans, but
Penumbral Lords came when the most powerful of instead follows the path of shadow. Dar’Tan himself
their number, the five lords called the Penumbral remains a figure of terror in Mithril and elsewhere,
Pentagon, tried to take over the city of Mithril. Most and to this day few know whether or not he still lives.
of the Pentagon perished in the effort, but their With this book, you can add the Penumbral Penta-
leader, the dark elf Dar’Tan, escaped into the Kelder gon to any ongoing campaign and allow your players
Mountains. There, he and his surviving followers set to confront the evil that lurks in the deepest shadows.
Anthony Pryor, Developer
Sword and SorceryStudio
 The world began in darkness. There was a first light , a first star, a first dawn. The world
will end in darkness, too. The last light will go out, and the sun will set for the final tlme.
Most followersofdarknesspay attention to the first darkness, yeammgnostalgicallyfor the
conditions they imagine must have prevailed.They regard the well-lit present with resentment,
and they envy the light its ability to actively banish the darkness. Darkness, after all, must
depend passively on other forces to extinguish light. Further, most of those who worship
darkness live in complex self-deception,for there are no authentic voices from the times before
light to tell what it was really like then. They’ve poured their own hopes and fears into the
historical void.
The Slarecians who created the Penumbral Pentagon had something different in
mind. They too yearned for the end of the light, but they set their hopes on the unknown
future rather than the unknown past. And they understood that passive waiting, no matter
how broodingly intense, would not suffice. They decided to turn their opponents’ own
weapons against them, laying out a master plan by which every force associated with light
would unwittingly reveal the secrets necessary for destroying itself. The world is vast and 0 --

light has many allies, but each triumph gives the devotees of the final darkness reason to
 CHAPTER ONE: H I S T O R V O F T H E PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

The Ri rth nf t h w worshippersdid -needed to fall before they became a

genuine threat to Slarecian plans.
The history of the Penumbral Pentagon cannot By the time the darkness worshippers made their
be completely established. Many important facts lie move, the Slarecian race was already in serious trouble.
buried in the minds of a chosen few, and they do not Poor planning and worse luck brought them into con-
share what they know. Nor are they entirely honest flict with both the titans and the gods, and- worse yet
with themselves. It takes a certain bravado to dream -on terms that led the twogroupsofpuissantimmortals
of plunging every light into darkness, a willingness to to format leasttemporary workingalliancesagainst their
dream on the epic scale and to regard all obstacles as common Slarecianfoes. Inspite of thishopelesslyunfor-
surmountable.This determination isn’t entirely com- tunate turn of events, the darkness worshippers hoped
patible with honest self-appraisal,and the masters of against all hope that they might create new weapons
shadow often lie to themselves as well as to others, to during the course of the conflict that could shift the
suppress old pains and humiliations. This is the balance of power. More likely, they thought, they could
account of everything a contemporary seeker of the lay the foundationsforagreat army offollowersand then
truth could find out, and somewhat more. wait for more favorable conditions.
The FirstVjctim: Drendarj Slarecian emissaries traveled secretly among the
Shadow is the darkness closest to light: it is the “Mystery Races” - humans, dwarves, elves and
darknessthat light creates- in anticipationof itsown halflings - in search of potential recruits. They
final destruction, so say the followers of darkness. The identified sorcerers with the aptitude for great magic
Slarecians dedicated to the last darkness therefore and masters of other paths who could guard and assist
decided to begin with shadow, and with its goddess. the sorcerers. The Slarecians promised them the
Drendari is one of the daughters of Enkili, the god of means by which they could strike back at the gods
chaos, and the Slarecians’disciples sometimes specu- themselves, in revenge for various offenses both real
late that this also influenced the choice of first victim. and imagined. With their first cabals in place, it was
Certainly the Slarecians regarded the gods as more then time for the shadow worshippers to act.
serious opponents than the titans. The Slarecianshad Imprisoning a god is not an easy task. Indeed, it
no love and little use for the titans, but felt that these is not possible at all for most mortals, since gods exist
elder beings could be manipulated and discardedas the on an extra-planar scale that no mortal sense can
Slarecians wished, while the gods - new, growing follow nor mortal mind comprehend. The fact that
beings looking into the future just as the darkness the Slarecians succeeded in tracking down Drendari
THE PENVUBRAL PENTAGON

-~
and capturing her testifiesto their highly unusual
nature. Particularly astute followers among the
mystery races sometimes wondered about the
nature of their strange Slarecian patrons, but
such curious seekers learned quickly enough
that pressing any such inquiry impacts nega-
tively on one’s prospects for long-term health
and well-being.
The Slarecians did, somehow, capture
Drendari. All they ever told their disciples is
that they lured her with the chance to learn
something important and then made sure she
couldn’t leave. Some claim that the Slarecians
lured Drendari into their clutches by promising
to tell her secrets of power, perhaps about her
true ancestry or some important prophecy. 0th-
ers theorize that Drendari actually approached
the Slarecians voluntarily, possibly as an em-
issary of the gods, hoping to head off conflict
or gather information. Drendari herself
1
does not answer questions about the e
perience.
For whatever reason (or reasons)
Drendari fell into Slarecian hands, and
she stayed there for untold years of
torment. As the Mistress of Shadow,
she is intimately connected to all the
forms of darkness that light creates,
and the Slarecians scoured her very
soul for the secret sourcesof Shadow’s
power. They ripped apart her iden-
tity and isolated her power from the
sense of self that defined them as a
part of herself. A hint of her nature
has always lurked in every shadow,
but what the Slarecians extracted
then was quite unlike any shadow
seen in the world since Drendari’s
birth. They then worked with these
bizarre new shadows without intend-
ing to develop an altogether new form
of magic.
The First Students: The Eyes jn
the Night I
Though t h e dispassionate
Slareciansshowedno interest inevoca-
tive or impressive nomenclature, theig
students among the other sentient race
dubbed themselves “the Eyes in th,
Night” in hope of intimidating those
around them. Even as these students
gathered in response to the Slarecians’
original summons, they spread tales
in the homes they left behind of this
new mysteriousenemy in the night D

c
 CHAPTER ONE: H I S T O R V O F T H E P E N U M B R A L P E N T A C O N

Relics & Rituals) is only part of the many mysteries

that the Eyes uncovered during Drendari’s long im-
What Might Survive prisonment; other pieces of knowledge have since
The Penumbral Pentagon does not care been scattered and survive only in barely comprehen-
to leave stray information lying around, let sible pieces, if at all. Even at the time of its beginning,
alone actual survivors who might tell tales. the great work did not always go smoothly. Some-
Most of them have been rounded up and times whole curricula of spells or skills had to be
murdered years ago, but it’s a big world full of discarded because of barely noticeable early flaws that
many places to hide. DMs who would like to unexpectedly grew to wreak havoc later on. Other
incorporate some secrets of their own or methods fell into disuse simply because experience
present published material in another con- eventually showed simpler or more reliable ways to
text may do so without worrying that they perform tasks.
might damage the spirit of the setting. Nearly This project was, after all, not a matter of theoreti-
all defectors get caught, but “nearly all” isn’t cal speculation or historical excavation of old buried
the same as “all.” Feel free to do whatever truths, but of response to daily insights wrenched
seems right for the story. directly from the screams of a captive goddess. Not all
The oldest strongholds founded by refu- of the founders survived the stressesof study in such an
gees from the Eyes in the Night, if any still environment, and popular rumor says that a handful of
survive, date back to long before the final war the mighty and deranged individuals who wander
between gods and titans. They might be any- Ghelspad‘s wastelands could tell important tales of the
where, including areas now hostile to human Eyes’ early days, if only they could hold their memories
life. These ancient ruins might even be bur- steady long enough to speak them aloud.
ied in the midst ofwell-settledareas, protected As their understanding of the power available to
from prying eyes by cunning and magic or them grew, the Eyes in the Night struck their first
simply by tons of rock and rubble. In either blows in accordance with Slarecian plans. The night
case, the security of such strongholds be- became dangerous where bands of Eyes roamed, and
comes increasingly weaker as time takes its daytime also gathered fresh perils: beneath every
toll on the reserves of magical energy or as overhanging eave, against every high wall, even un-
more and more ordinary citizens happen by der low-hanging clouds, the shadows could and did
with a chance to notice what lies buried open up to unleash terrible assaults on the Slarecians’
there. enemies. Anyone who loved the gods very much or
The remains of such strongholds, and who played an important part in their schemes was
even the younger lairs established by later particularly at risk, but nobody could count on being
defectors, might now contain anything from safe. Nor did counter-attacks do much good, since the
a single book or artifact up to fully furnished Eyes practiced unknown arts of concealment and left
magical laboratories and treasure chambers. little evidence behind.
Whatever fits best into a given campaign can I
fit into the setting without doing violence to eSbadow sMovements
the concepts presented here. The Slarecians’requirements led them to recruit
ambitious individuals, ready to perform abominable
acts in the hopesof great power. They underestimated
- an enemy they claimed no god, titan or mortal the difficulty of controlling such people, however. By
army could withstand. the time the Slarecians realized that their servants
The first students eagerly received the knowl- would not remain servile indefinitely, it was already
edge their Slarecian masters offered. Some watched too late to bring them into line. A rebellion began,
Drendari’s torments with sadistic delight, while oth- they Eyes in the Night versus Slarecian teachers.
ers preferred an icy detachment and accepted their Drendan’s Escape
lessons in a state of composed denial, conveniently Outright rebellion was not immediate, however.
ignoringthe unpleasant reality of each lesson’s source. Resentment smoldered in the hearts of the Eyes for a
Both sorts of student learned to work together to long time before they began to believe that conflict
safely channel the goddess’ power through merely with the Slareciansmight have any chance of success.
mortal bodies and minds. The gods’ dramatic and successful rescue of Drendari
Many years passed in this fashion as the Eyes in changed their minds and solidified their resolve by
the Night codified their growing body of lore into showing clearly the limits of Slarecian power.
systematic paths of instruction. The knowledge ex- Drendari’s father and Tanil the Huntress joined
pressed in the penumbral lord prestige class (see forces to rescue Drendari. Tanil’s role in the rescue
THE PENVUBRAL PENTAGON

raises more questions than any have yet been willing before the Eyes in the Night actually began to have
or able to answer. She had little to do with the any effect on the lasting history of Scam. After the
conflict and held no great affectionfor the Mistressof Eyes had finally made their decision, however, the
Shadows. Did the Slarecian prison desecrate some tides of battles slowly began to turn. From time to
natural spot precious to her or draw strength from the time a scout for the gods would find something
sufferingof animals?Did the endless cycle of torture interesting, like a mysteriously unraisable corpse car-
and experiment somehow poison the surrounding rying vital and secret information about some
plant life? Such violence to the natural world would Slarecian plan of attack. Elsewhere, another scout
rouse her anger. Or did she act to avenge wrongs done might encounter a Slarecian slave or two, tortured to
to her worshippers?One account even says that the the brink of death, their minds half shattered and
Slarecians tempted her with power if she would their memories nearly gone, save for a few clear
betray the other gods, and that her later anger was mental pictures about their captors’ secret location.
partly from self-loathing for a moment of weakness The gods mistakenly assumed that these oversights
and temptation. With a nature as warm and carefree were due to panic and a clouding of the Slarecian
as Tanil’s was before the War, this seems an unlikely leaders’ judgment.
explanation. Perhaps a more believable (if less titil- Indeed, the Slarecians were panicking, but not
lating) account coincides with the rumor that Tanil for the reasons the gods supposed. They found it easy
and Enkili enjoy high stakes gambling games with enough to guess that their former servants, the rebel-
one another. Perhaps Tanil helped to rescue Drendari lious Eyes in &Night, had orchestrated this campaign
simply as a way of paying off a gambling debt to the of tactical erosion. Finding the Eyes proved much
god/dess of Chaos. harder, and the Slarecians never did pin down the
Together, Enkili and Tanil cut through, smashed, most cunning planners among their former students.
or evaded all the Slarecians’ defenses. At least half of Further, each time the Slarecians ventured forth
the Slarecian schemers and more than half of their against the Eyes, more information found its way into
followers died in the struggle. The survivorsscattered the gods’ hands, so that the Slarecians would find
while the gods obliterated all evidence that Drendari’s themselves ambushed or routed before they made any
prison had ever existed. Drendari herself healed with headway against their betrayers. When similar mis-
the miraculousquickness one might expect of a young fortunes began to fall o n Slarecianswho’d never been
goddess, but she has never ceased to seek vengeance on involved in shadow worship, the surviving shadow
those who harmed her. Today, Dredari and her follow- worshippers were ostracized from Slarecian society
ers, the Shadow-walkers, are among the Penumbral and sometimes even forced to fight their own kind
Pentagon’smost implacable foes (See The Divine and along with their other myriad enemies.
the Defeated for more about Drendari). The last desperate survivorsamong the Slarecian
The Great Betrayal shadow worshippers called urgently for their follow-
ers to return and help in this moment of ultimate
Up until Drendari’s release, the Eyes in the
crisis. All would be forgiven, they promised, if the
Night had seen their masters as infallible, or close to
Eyes in the Night would only retum now to aid them
it. The collapse of the great project altered the Eyes’
in their time of greatest need. The Eyes took great
perceptions. Not only from rebellion but also from
pleasure in standing by and doing absolutelynothing.
the cowardly fear of further vengeance at Enkili’s or
Drendari’s hands, the surviving members of the Eyes In the end the Eyes’ manipulationsdid not single-
in the Night decided henceforth to be their own handedly break Slarecianwill to continue the war, but
masters, and to reject all further Slarecian guidance. they did contribute significantly. When the Slarecians
abandoned the known world in defeat, the Eyes felt
The Eyes knew that a direct fight against the
justifiably proud of their own role in the victory.
Slarecians would almost certainly end in failure.
They also knew that they had no real chance of The Birth of the Pentagon
-
recruiting enough allies to change this obvious out- The most successful architects of the campaign
come. After months of fruitless debate and of anti-Slarecian sabotage were a mixed lot of magi-
brainstorming, the Eyes finally realized the one thing cians, representingmost of the major races of the day.
they could and must do. They would trick the gods They were among the most active innovators inpost-
into serving the Eyes’ agenda. Slarecian shadow magic, as well-known among the
It is important to keep in mind that the shadow Eyes in the Night for their particularly successful uses
worshippers were only one faction among many in of mathematical imagery to reinforce the effective-
Slarecian society. The struggle of gods and titans ness of certain spells. This was not true science in the
against the Slarecians began, raged and continued in way that later scholars have come to think of it, but
full force, entirely independent and ignorant of the it was an approach to magic that emphasized the
Eyes’ scattering and scheming, and it was a long time abstract structures underlying all physical forms. It
 CHAPTER ONE: HISTORV O F THE PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

was from this fascination with mathematical imagery nization to be known, it was easier for them to choose
and geometric shapes that the first Penumbral Penta- and install new Penumbral leaders and rid themselves
gon took its name.The five members of the Penumbral of the aging and ineffectual without ever arousing the
Pentagon in its earliest incarnation were the leaders suspicions of the people they secretly governed.
of the shadow worshipper movement as the war Working through their cover identities as ordi-
between gods and titans heated from scattered skir- nary members of the Eyes in the Night, the Pentagon
mishes to sustainedconflict. Even before the Slarecian went on to frame more or less randomly chosen
retreat was complete, the armies of the gods and individuals in or near strongholdsof their enemies as
titans were beginning to squabble over the fate of being the real members of the Penumbral Pentagon.
liberated slaves and goods. As tensions between the The discovery of traitors among one’s neighbors
titans and their divine children escalated (over en- always fuels fresh paranoia and suspicion, most par-
tirely unrelated matters), the shadow worshippers ticularly when revelations of treachery attach to
and their secretive cabak of leaders rejoiced in their those who seemed solidly reliable or even notably
great good fortune. Exploiting the complex currents upright and influential. The more distrust and confu-
ofdistrust and ignorance swirling between the divine sion their enemies suffered, the easier it was to keep
and titan factions of Scam, the Penumbral Pentagon shadow worshipper activity secret and safe. Within
were able to gather up huge troves of Slarecian the Eyes in the Night, this seemed nothing more than
wealth, and these early spoils continue to fund their a clever ruse to create paranoia and chaos throughout
operations even now. the land - they knew perfectly well that the real
The first members of the Pentagon also estab- Pentagon operated from somewhere within their
lished a tradition of three-fold deception about their own ranks, even if they had no idea where to look for
identities. At the first layer of deception, they made it. To the few outsiders who knew of the Pentagon,
absolutely certain that leadership of the Eyes in the however, this third layer of deception made the
Night was never linked to the group called Penum- Pentagon only that much harder to catch.
bral Pentagon. As far as anyone in the Eyes’ Outside the Eyes in the Night, the Pentagon also
organization knew, if the Penumbral Pentagon ex- had numerous genuine devotees in the cities of Scam,
isted at all, it was a totally separate, secretive and wherever shadows were deepest. These included
probably traitorous faction of the shadow worship- ambitious nobles, crime guilds, and even refugees,
pers and was in no way related to their trusted leaders. beggars and transients who swarmed through crowded
Indeed, on occasion, the Pentagon would frame a city streets. The members of the Pentagon were
troublesome subordinate with evidence suggesting charismatic, patient and generous as well as being
that he belonged to the Pentagon, and such an swift and terrible with the punishment of all betrayal,
accusation invariably led to the ruin or even the a combination that served to engender near fanatic
assassination of the victim. In fact, whenever the loyalty in their spies and infiltrators.These individu-
Pentagon decided that one of its five members needed als, as unaware of the true identities of the Penumbral
to be replaced, the method of eliminating an un- Pentagon as any other shadow worshipper (since the
wanted Penumbral leader was similar - provide leaders habitually pretended to be their own ambas-
evidence to the rest of the shadow worshippers that sadors instead of themselves), helped the Pentagon
she was involved with the Pentagon, and then stand to establish networks of confusion and paranoia in
back and wait. This method was efficient and dis- every major settlement, similar to the networks they
creet, and no one ever suspected that the Penumbral used to retain tight control of the Eyes in the Night.
Pentagon were actually the real leaders of the Eyes in Often hidden in the camps of the Pentagon’s
the Night all along. enemies, these outside minions helped to create as
At the second layer of deception, though they much confusion and imbalance as they could in a
were unquestionably the leaders of the shadow wor- world reeling constantly from the upheavals of a war
shippers, the Penumbral Pentagon felt exposed by previously beyond mortal imagination for sheer hor-
their leadership roles. To protect themselves, they ror and destruction. The Shadow-Lords and their
chose followers who were weak-willed and easy to minions studied the history of the areas they infil-
control by magic and acted and led through them. trated, looking for accounts of great champions lost
These easily replaceable puppet leaders (sometimes in the massive carnage of the Divine War. When
almost literally puppets) not only protected the Penta- such an admired and lost champion was discovered,
gon from the intrigues, ambitions and occasional the Pentagon arranged clues suggesting that the cho-
assassination attempts of their followers, they also sen champion had betrayed his or her original cause
allowed the Pentagon the freedom to mingle among and gone over to the enemy. When people must
their followers as equals, keeping abreast of the latest distrust even the memories of their greatest heroes,
rumors and rooting out traitors early on. And, of paranoia and chaos become widespread indeed.
course, by not allowing their true control of the orga-
THE PENWMBRAL PENTAGON

With labyrinthine webs of deception such as remain as mobile as possible, so that the capture or
these, it is completely understandable that no matter destruction of a physical site wouldn’t mean the ruin
where they went and how much havoc they wreaked, of all their activities. One by one, however, the
the Penumbral Pentagon and the Eyes in the Night advocates of this nomadic approach were converted
continued to slip past the notice of divine and titan or conquered by the Pentagon. Because they lacked
armies alike throughout the course of the Divine any means of sustained defense in the face of persis.
War. Indeed, this was the main aim of the confusion tent attack, when the enemy (in this case servants of
the Pentagon so painstakingly engendered. It is not the Penumbral Pentagon) came at them from several
surprising that the Eyes in the Night had to lie low directions at once, the would-be nomadic factions of
during the war- their inescapable connection to the the Eyes in the Night found themselves suddenly
Slarecians they had betrayed made them universally convinced ofthe Pentagon’swisdom-either that or
hated by every single faction they might encounter. irretrievably deceased.
What is surprising is how actively destructive the Other survivorswatched as the war between the
Eyes were able to be throughout this period of hiding. gods and titans threatened to destroy the world alto-
The secret leadership of the Pentagon protected gether and decided that the Slarecians’first sin had
them far more effectively than they ever knew. Of been haste. They withdrew together into distant
course, protecting the Eyes in the Night was not the planes of darkness or shadow, there to wait patiently
only reason the Penumbral Pentagon had for creating for conflicts of their home plane to play themselves
chaos wherever it went. out. If they returned to find the world destroyed, so
Many culturespast and present have commemo- much the better, and at worst, they would return to
rated the deaths of their kings with ritual mass find their enemies weakened by the war. The Penta-
murder -prodigious slaughteringof servants,priests, gon dealt with this second sort of rival mostly by
and other attendants - to accompany the soul of sealing off their connections between the planes,
the king into the afterlife. The first Penumbral leaving the planar travelers to drift indefinitely, un-
Pentagon did not wish to wait for their own deaths able to ever return.
to enjoy such revels, but instead inaugurated their Within a few years, the Penumbral Pentagon
shared reign with the deaths of as many people as had silenced or converted most of its rival factions
they could, including even many of the faithful and eventually emerged supreme among the shadow
servants who had made the Pentagon’s rise to power worshippers. This coup officially put an end to the old
possible. Nearly every follower who possessed true Slarecian-founded(if not named) organizationof the
information about the first Penumbral Pentagon Eyes in the Night, and for the first time practitioners
went to an early grave; only those who remained of shadow magic began to call themselves Penumbral
most irreplaceably useful escaped the purge (though Lords, in honor of their Pentagon of leaders. Finally
the information they carried was usually erased from the shadow worshippers were aware of who led them
their memories by magic). The Pentagon’s members in truth - or so they thought. The Pentagon, of
sometimes speak with near-fanatic reverence of course, continued to hide their true identities behind
those departed souls who have “paved the way into puppet leaders until the first fall changed everything.
darkness” and wait beyond death for the shadow The first fall was still yet to come, however, and
movement’s final triumph. As with many evil or the Pentagon’s overwhelming string of victories over
violent cultures, the worshippers of shadow see its rivals gradually convinced most shadow worship-
death as an honorable reward. In fact, the most pers that the Penumbral Pentagon deserved its
honorable way to die within this organization is to supremacy. Even those who disliked bowing to the
be openly murdered by a superior. new Penumbral leaders were forced to agree that, in
The Lessons of Defeat practical terms, the Pentagon was o n top and would
All survivors of the Slarecian defeat agreed that likely remain so. Whether they liked it or not, they
the experiences and defeat of their former masters acknowledged the necessity of submission.
held a very important lesson for them. They did not, As far as the outside world was concerned, the
unfortunately, agree on what that lesson actually was, civil conflict between shadow worshippers was just
and the Penumbral Pentagon was only too eager to part of the continuing misery of the post#DivineWar
exploit their differences. world. When whole kingdoms crumbled and new
For most of the survivors, the lesson was a simple lands rose to change the flow of water and air, few
one: too much obvious power attracts the wrong sort observers cared about what obscure cadres of magi-
of attention, and no stronghold can resist a sufficient cians and fanatics might be fighting over, so long as
number of determined enemies. While only the ex- they didn’t interfere with others. And for that one
tremely foolhardy would deny the need for secure brief period during the Pentagon’s bizarre history of
bases of operation, most shadow worshippers tried to deceptionsandschemes,only their immediateshadow
.-

CHAPTER O N E : HISTORV O F T H E P E N W M B R A L P E N T A G O N

worshipper rivals required their attention. This state ticularly brutal raids. The Pentagon also began work
of affairs did not last long. on a fortress buried deep within one of the more
remote comers of the valley now known as the Scar,
The First Campajgn: Elz wrapping it in unnaturally deep shadow, anticipating
Now that they ruled securely over the whole the time when the Fortress of Shadows would be the
community of shadow worshippers and guided its true center of all power in Elz.
future development in accordance with their own
Then, as the first battles of the Divine War
preferences, the Pentagon went looking for a new
raged, disaster struck.
locus of power. The Divine War still raged, though it
The hot climate of Elz had never been comfort-
was beginning to seem obvious that the gods would
able for the shadow worshippers, with its bright
prevail in time. The Pentagon would have preferred,
sunlight and broad, flat, nearly shadowless plains.
of course, for the war to continue, but experiments in
aiding the titans and titanspawn demonstrated that With the proud confidence of destined rulers, the
shadow worshippers used their magic to create a more
no available quantity of shadow-related magic was
going tip the balance and allow the conflict to go on congenial environment for themselves, at least within
a n y longer. It could sometimes prolong a particular the confines of their own palaces. Dar’Tan, the most
battle or siege, but this usually only served to make powerful of the dark elves serving the Pentagon, was
the divine victors angry, causing them to simply slightly more careless than his peers and rivals in
liberally spreading pleasant shadows through the
slaughter more of the titans’ armies outright, espe-
cially at any battle where Belsameth or Vangal was home he and his closest associates had built for
present. Though this could be useful to remove spe- themselves. The wrong people noticed.
cific foes and prepare cover stories for Fentagon The plains of Elz were at that time home to many
members’ fake identities (a practice in which they very old and well-established orc communities, some
still gleefully engaged), for lasting success and secu- of whom became ancestors of the half-orc culture
rity the shadow worshippers quickly realized that that still survives in the Sweltering Plains. These orcs
they would need to look elsewhere. had always disliked the human presence in their lands
The Pentagon debated the question for years, and were understandably displeased by the increasing
and finally agreed that the Empire of Elz was ripe for violence and uncertainty created by the fall of the
their conquest. The banishment of the djinn laborers empire and the unrest among the Seven Cities of Elz.
whose efforts had sustained the empire for so long, Even orcs desire a safe home in which to raise their
along with the brutal punishments of the gods for children, after all. Many of these orcish settlements
Elz’s refusal to aid the divine armies (see Scarred and nomadic bands were worshippers of Gaurak, but
the Gluttonous One was an uncaring master, and for
Lands Campaign Setting: Ghelspad) had plunged
the realm into chaos. The resulting tangle, withevery the most part their prayers went unanswered. The
significanthousehold strugglingfor stabilityand domi- disintegration of Elz, as well as the orcish inability to
nance against every other, seemed perfect for the carve out any lasting power for themselves in the
Pentagon’s needs. They gave secret aid to the en- post-imperial chaos was the last straw for many tribes;
they abandoned worship of Gaurak in favor of other
emies of anyone who seemed likely to claim power
and bring some semblance of order to what little titans, or even the heretical worship of gods.
remained of the empire. Switching sides whenever One of these tribes lived near Dar’Tan’s palace,
necessary to ensure that chaos and confusion contin- and worshippedThulkas the Iron God, while keeping
ued to reign, and the Penumbral Pentagon were able careful watch on the new construction (the better to
to enjoy the benefits of covert sponsorship no matter raid it later). They were astute enough to make out
who was gaining power at any particular moment. even very subtle magic, and with some effort were able
to trace it to its source. DarTan didn’trealize he’d been
For six years it all went fairly well. The shadow
movement gained the secret worship of many desper- spied on until it was too late for him, and even then,
with his characteristic bravado, he decided that the
ate nobles who felt that their old religious beliefs had
observers couldn’t have learned anything significant.
failed them. In states of despair only natural after
He was wrong. The very fact of his presence and power
witnessing such devastation of one’s homeland, they
in their lands sufficed for the orcish spies. They re-
found the dismal goals and outlook of the shadow
worshippers to be bitterly comforting. The support of turned to inform their elders that - far worse than
ordinary humans -dark elf shadow wizards now held
these nobles, combined with Penumbralmagic,helped
to keep the wreckage of the empire that much more power on the plains. The elders gathered together and
prayed to Thulkas for deliverance.
turbulent. The Pentagon’s minions had no difficulty
in capturing experimental subjects and sacrifices for And so it was that the Iron God answered
the research of terrible new spells, passing off the their prayers.
disappearances as the consequence of disease or par- For one week, the night lost its power to cool the
plains. The day’s heat stayed as if it were radiating up
THE PENWMBRAL PENTAGON

from the earth itself, and then the temperature rose simple grasses. But the evidence accumulated: the
with the sun each following day. By the end of the titans’ power now manifested only in the form of
week, the whole area was almost intolerably hot for lingering curses, and their followers were scattered or
all sentient races aside from the hearty orcs. As the hiding. The races devoted to the gods were still weak
heat intensified, the non-orc inhabitants fled as best and recuperating from massive loss and destruction,
they could, though the heat was so severe that many but their numbers were great and their songs victori-
simply collapsed where they stood, there to become ous, and their divine masters seemed to be occupying
prey for the orcs’ finest butchers. The orcs of the themselves with rebuilding rather than with battle.
region pledged their allegiance to Thulkas, and as the In the face of the mountingchanges, DarTanfirst
Titanswar raged across the continent, they were sought to return to his home among the darkelves. The
among the Iron God’s most loyal followers. .!%adow Divine War had taken its brutal toll on his homeland,
worshippers Perished along with all the others, and however, and no trace of his people remained for him
indeed their long association with COO^ darkness to rejoin. It was to be many decades before he found
made the withering intensity of Thulkas’ heat only even the slightest hint that any of his people and
that much harder to bear. In the end, six of the seven culture yet survived (see Bur& Torn: City Under
Elzan cities perished in the catastrophe, leaving only Siege for more information about the dark elves), and
Shelzar intact. by then he no longer had any wish to return.
(This is how both the Penumbral Pentagon and The shadow worshippers retreated instead to the
the few full-blooded orc tribes who still inhabit the steep canyons ofthe Kelder Mountains, where there
Sweltering Plains explain the transformation of Elz was space enough for them to resume their work
into the blistering wasteland it remains today. They without interruption. Situated as deeply in the moun.
share a contemptuous dismissal for other accounts. tains as they were, even ongoing changes, like Vesh’s
Others have told many tales, and Ghelspad’s histori- Great Blessing campaign or the re-settling of
ans argue endlessly Over which is the most accurate, Amalthea, barely touched the shadow movement.
but only the and the shadow worshippers were Still, mindful that what seemed secure might at any
actually there.) moment cease to be, Dar’Tan sent out scouts in
Orc war bands swarmedinto the plains’nooks and search of promising havens elsewhere throughout
crannies to dig out survivors, and in time they found Ghelspad while reinforcing his hold on the main
the nearly completed Penumbral Fortress and laid body of his followers.
siege to it. Although some individuals inside managed
to escape, the fortress itself fell to orc siege engines and
The Return of the Pentagon
persistent soldiers. All five members of the original Most of the Penumbral Lords had perished along
Pentagon perished in defense of their stronghold, as with the Pentagon. Now, the most powerfbl remaining
did most of their subjects - the network of shadow -Penumbral Lord, Dar’Tan declared that the Penta-
worshippers went from hundreds of active members gon would reform under his leadership.He drew to him
and thousands of minions to a mere few dozen total the other four most experienced surviving Penumbral
members within just a few weeks. Lords Sutane Terk, a forsaken dwarfwho had fled from
the mountain fortress of Krakadom, Olthus, an
Dar’Tan turned the disaster he’d created to his
Albadian sorcerer who had been driven from his home
advantage. As far as the other shadow worshippers
when he dared to challenge the Helliann witches, and
knew, he was no more and n o less than one of very few
two others, including one of DarTan’s few fellow dark
strong enough (and lucky enough) to have survived
elves. Together, they set their sights on the most
the initial orcish assaults and emerge ready for re-
important settlement in the region - the thriving
venge. He certainly did nothing to dispel the illusion
metropolis of Mithril, City of the Golem.
that he was a hero of the cause. Under his leadership,
the remnants of the shadow movement banded to- Dar’Tan’s tactics were different this time. Be-
gether to begin their trek toward safety and whatever neath Mithril lay a complex of caverns, unknown to
might come next. the city’s founders. These caves, which Dar’Tan be-
lieved were originallycreated by the Slarecians,formed
eSIudowin tbe Remalung the new Pentagon’s.lair, and once settled there, they
began to spread their tentacles throughout the city.
The surviving shadow worshippers found the Dar’Tan’s minions located the most dishonest and
lands they fled through all changed by the Titanswar. vulnerable inhabitants of Mithril and systematically
It actually took Dar’Tan and his advisors a while to corrupted them, converting them to shadow worship,
realize that the war was now over, since some of the by magic if necessary. These new followersthen aided
first regions they passed through were the Hornsaw the Pentagon in their dire schemes.
Forest, still rotting under a venomous blight, and the Eventually,Dar’Tan intended to take allofMithri1
Haggard Hills, wiped clean of all life less hardy than as his o m , transforming the city of Corean into a city
CHAPTER O N E : HISTORY O F THE P E N U M B R A L P E N T A G O N
THE PENWMBRAL P E N T A G O N

of one of the smaller uncharted canyons that branch (and envy) of other devotees for his ruthless pursuit
off the Canyon of Souls, giving Dar’Tan and his of advanced insights into shadow power. The fact
followers secret access to Ontenazu’s dangerous can- that he survived the battle beneath Mithril and
yon from below. Originally, Dar’Tan wanted more remained loyal to Dar’Tan was proof enough of his
openings between the ends of the fortress, but each worth to justify his inclusion in the Pentagon.
gateway drains enough power out of the fortress’ One of the few surviving penumbral lords who
stores of ritual energy that it was decided to be still wished to serve Dar’Tan was a human named
impractical. Mehmet Sharir, a former student of magic in Shelzar.
A brave or foolish traveler wandering the depths Once he heard, through magical means, of the con-
of the Kelders would see nothing out of the ordinary struction of the new shadow fortress, Mehmet made
from a distance. Many slopes of the Kelder Moun- his way to the Kelders and agreed to serve Dar’Tan
tains drop off precipitously, their natural steepness under the new name of Lord Mortus.
exaggerated by blows struck during the Titanswar. In Dar’Tan took several years to decide on the final
their depths, no direct light ever comes unless some- members of the third Pentagon, exhaustively testing
one chooses to carry it there. In the midst of such candidates for their understanding, power, and the
eternal shadow, a particularly stable and geometri- right combination of ruthless ambition and cohesive-
cally regular patch ofslightly deeper darkness scarcely ness with the other leaders. Dozens of would-be
attracts any attention. members fell by the wayside as Dar’Tan found them
See Chapter 3 for details of the Penumbral to be too spineless to accomplish much, too misan-
Fortress in the present day. thropic to lead others (much less work effectively
with the rest of the Pentagon as equals) or often both.
The Third Pentagon
A high gorgon, known as Night Arm, joined the
By the time work began on the new Penumbral
refugees in the Homsaw Forest. He showed them how
Fortress, Dar’Tan ruled the shadowworshippers with-
to navigate the treacherous paths through regions of
out any significant challenge. As his followers settled
particularly intensely concentrated venom in ex-
in, he realized that he would have to rebuild the
change for instruction about the shadow cause. He
movement’s broad leadership hierarchy or risk mak-
fell in love with the vision of the final night, and
ing himself the target of more jealousy and traitorous
rather to everyone else’s surprise showed a genuine
ambition than even he could handle and perhaps
aptitude for the basic religiousrites. Once work began
even falling to some better-organized cabal. Unfortu-
on the new Penumbral Fortress, he discovered an
nately, the previous two defeats had depleted the
equally unsuspected talent for engineering, and he
ranks of qualified Penumbral Lords, and many of
now spends most of his time overseeing the mainte-
those who survived were in hiding -actively avoid-
nance and expansion of the Fortress. A few times a
ing Dar’Tan’s rash influence.
year he travels to gatherings of his own kind and
With this in mind, Dar’Tan made a momentous
preaches the shadow cause, with occasional but unre-
decision. The new Pentagon would be open to non- markable success.
penumbral lords, though the new members would be
Some shadow worshippers questioned Dar’Tan’s
expected to step aside should qualified penumbral
final choice, but time has proven it wise. In spite of
wizards appear to take their place. Naturally, Dar’Tan
their cruelly barbaric reputations, Dar’Tan eventu-
has hundreds of students in training for the positions
ally settled on the leader of a tiny faction of shadow
even now. As soon as a few of them are strong enough
worshippers from the lion-centaurs of Lede known as
to challenge the current leaders (and Dar’Tan trusts
proud. Not many of the leonine race care to join the
them enough to allow them to try) the non-penum-
cause, but Blackfang went from mercenary to ally to
bra1 Pentagon members will step back to take more
convinced acolyte in the late years of the Divine
advisory roles as Dar’Tan’s personal aids and body-
War. The rest of his tribe drove him out for his
guards. For now, however, centuries-old tradition
strangeness, preferring to keep their distance cultur-
and shadow worship’s continuing fascination with
geometry both dictate that there be five leaders, so
ally from their shadow worshipper employers. Shadow
magic keeps him alive well past the normal span of his
five leaders there are, Penumbral Lords or no.
kind and helps him to take his revenge against the
First, of course, was fellow survivor Sutane Terk. people who ostracized him - he and his fellow
Sutane has tremendous aptitude for sorcery, and this disciples of shadow have played a crucial role in the
combined with his nihilistic impulses made him the
Proud‘s ongoing descent into corruption and barbar-
object of suspicions by his peers as the Divine War
ism. Blackfangdreams of the time when he can defeat
ground to its conclusion. He’d joined the shadow
all challengers and assume supreme leadership of the
worshippers in Elz shortly before their empire-build-
Bleak Savannah‘s tribes, then guide them back to
ing there collapsed so drastically. Despite being so
civilization under his own shadow-tainted rule.
new to the movement, he quickly earned the respect
 CHAPTER ONE: HISTORV O F THE PENWMBRAL PENTAGON

Recently,Dar’Tan’schoice of Lord Mortus proved and all have declared that they will willingly step
unfortunate. In 150AV, after nearly three decades of aside should a better-qualifiedmember appear, though
faithful service, Lord Mortus quarreled with Dar’Tan whether their great pride will allow for such dignified
(reputedly over a romantic rejection, but this is withdrawal when they are actually faced with unmer-
unsubstantiated). Ina foolisheffortto impressDar’Tan ited demotion is yet to be seen. Nevertheless, as its
with his power and loyalty, he acted on his own, numbers stabilize the Penumbral Pentagon has set
kidnapping two Mithril paladins in an attempt to about making new plans.
draw out Barconius and destroy him. Instead, Mortus All of the Pentagon’s current schemes share a
himself perished, and Barconius,DarTan’s most hated fundamental philosophy. Sooner or later, everyone
enemy, learned that the Pentagon and its leader had who does not join the shadow movement must be
survived the original battle. considered an enemy. The conspiracy has no allies and
Disgusted with Mortus’ stupidity, Dar’Tan re- no prospects of gaining any; one is either a full-fledged
placed him with another non-penumbral lord. The member or a potential liability. There will be no gray
unhallowed priest Chiruli was once a worshipper of areas in the end. The elder priests of the shadow
Madriel. He actually took part in the war of gods and movement often recount to younger, rasher acolytes
titans against the Slarecians, and became fascinated stories of the time when all -gods and titans side by
with his enemies’shadow doctrinesalong the way. By side -joined to fight the devotees of darkness. These
the time the last Slarecians had abandoned the vis- events must be kept fresh in the minds of all members
ible world, he’d become a secret follower of the of the shadow movement. Knowing that they can have
shadow worshipper cause.Eventuallyhis fellowpriests no friends, the Pentagon works to keep all their poten-
discovered his duplicity and drove him out. He tial rivals both weakened and distracted.
promptly made his way along paths revealed indreams From the viewpoint of the end of the universe as
to offer his services to the first Penumbral Pentagon. we know it, it scarcely matters who ends up ruling
WhenMortus was killed, Dar‘TanrecognizedChiruli’s Vesh and whether the passes through the Kelders
value and asked him to join the inner circle of the belong to worshippers of gods or titans. The Pentagon
Penumbral Pentagon. Even though his native land of has no deep attachment to any faction in the struggles
Vesh had changed greatly in the decades since his going around them. It has a great interest only in
exile, he remained a valuable source of information those struggles reducing anyone’s ability to resist the
and advice as the shadow worshippers turned their darkness. So agents of the conspiracy infiltrate the
gaze on eastern prey. courts and confidences of as many would-be rulers as
See Chapter 2 for more about the individuals possible. The ideal situation, as far as the Pentagon is
who comprise the Penumbral Pentagon. concerned, is one in which every major world power
is unwittingly taking orders from the Pentagon and
can, when necessary, be strengthened or weakened as
the Pentagon’s concerns may warrant.
The third Penumbral Pentagon consolidated its
authority over most of the remaining shadow wor- Ontenazu
shippers in the century and a half since the Divine World dominationbegins at home. Above all else,
War. Small bands of the Pentagon’s minions have the Pentagon seeks to insure that nobody can repeat the
sought out scattered individuals and secret groups disaster of Elz, and therefore works constantly to bring
ever since the Slarecian retreat and have found more the population of Ontenazu under its control.
such straysover the decades than anyone expected - The Canyon of Souls offers a nearly perfect envi-
in the course of twenty years, the population of the ronment for the Pentagon -perpetual shadows, and
Penumbral Fortress has more than doubled, thanks to physical danger and rumors of worse perils both make
this steady return of wandering sheep to the fold. The excellent guards against intrusion - and Dar’Tan
influx has now slowed to a trickle, however. Other once considered building the whole of the second
penumbral lords yet exist, but they are keeping their Fortress there, before deciding to spread the risks of
distance given the Pentagon’s history of disaster, and accessible entrances across more territory. Unfortu-
in spite of repeated overtures of friendship, Dar’Tan nately for the Pentagon, there are limitsto how blatantly
has thus far been unable to tempt them back into his the shadow worshippers can act in the area, since the
service. Because of this, Dar’Tan and Sutane are the Canyon of Soulswas created by and remains important
only true penumbral lord members of the Pentagon. to Enkili, father of Drendari. Enkili remains as capri-
Should another penumbral lord approach Dar’Tan, cious as ever, but there are some fairly constant themes
he will test the candidate for ability and loyalty, and to this god’s often confusing picture of the world. He
if he feels it is appropriate, replace one of the non- hates, and promises that he will always hate, those who
penumbral Pentagon members with the new lord. captured and tortured his daughter.
The three non-penumbral leaders understand this,
THE PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

of the area. A third, who disdains the gods for

personal reasons, regards his mentor as a secret
priest of the titans (whose reputations the gods
have grossly maligned, of course). Wherever pos-
sible, shadow worshippers study their potential
recruits before their first meeting, so that the victim
can hear whatever story will sound most plausible
to that person at that time.
Every few years the Pentagon arranges a scan-
dal by sending scouts to pose as spies from Calastia
or another suitably suspicious source. These scouts
plant incriminating evidence with several people
in important - though not necessarily obviously
influential -positions. Then they “accidentally”
reveal themselves, escaping into the shadows while
leaving their victims to face the wrath of
Ontenazu’s government and people. T h e ensuing
diplomatic fiasco inevitably draws attention away
from the Canyon of Souls itself, since “everyone
knows” that the Canyon is much too dangerous to
Shortly after the Titanswar ended, Enkili spent make a good haven. As the scandal dies down, the
several years devoting himself to hunting shadow Penumbral Fortress can undergo necessary expan-
worshippers. He somehow missed the rumors swirl- sion, fortification or maintenance and return to
ing around the Sweltering Plains and succeeded in quiescence before the mobs of confused diplomats
capturing only small enclaves long isolated from and ambassadors disperse.
their brethren. T o the best of his knowledge (at A t this time there are one or two uninten-
least, so far as the Pentagon knows), the shadow tional servants of the Pentagon in every major
worshippers were all destroyed, and the Pentagon force within Ontenazu society. Each city’s board
is eager not to give him any reason to believe of elders has at least one such ally, and West
otherwise. To this end, the Penumbral Pentagon Ontenazu’s board houses nearly half a dozen. The
never allows more than a handful of its followers leading temples of Enkili and Denev hold priests
into the Canyon and vicinity at a time, and ar- sympathetic to whatever cause they each indi-
ranges for fallow periods in which there is no vidually think the Pentagon serves, and these help
shadow worshipper activity at all. to shelter other followers and redirect resources
The Pentagon chooses instead to work prima- and magic to suit the Pentagon’s aims. T h e largest
rily through unwitting agents. There are always groups of guards and guides for hire likewise hold
people, even in nearly greedless Ontenazu, who well-placed individuals who steer trouble away
need help at a crucial moment and won’t ask too from the Fortress without ever knowing what a
many questions about the favors asked of them in deadly cause they truly serve.
return. Most of the Pentagon’s loyal recruiters deal This type of influence has limits, however.
in one-time assistance: a curse or other spell cast or The Pentagon could not even consider that the
removed, a piece of magical equipment provided in veil be dropped and overt worship of shadow
exchange for information that someone else would become the norm, because the population of
prefer to keep quiet, or the evidence (real or faked) Ontenazu is simply not particularly susceptible to
necessary to discredit a rival that the Pentagon the machinations of a group like the Penumbral
can’t subvert directly. Perhaps one in fifty of those Pentagon. Greed, dishonesty, paranoia and be-
who deal with these amoral but helpful strangers trayal are almost alien concepts to the moderate
returns for more, and a very rare few of them majority of Ontenazu’s people, and without these
become regular clients. These precious susceptible important tools of corruption, the entire shadow
souls gradually become wholly dependent on shadow movement is largely held in check. The Pentagon
worshippers for their position in the world. can and does create disorder, and this suffices for
The vast majority of these unsuspectingly cor- now, as its frustrated (or accidental) agents con-
rupted individuals,however, never know what cause tinue to burrow ever deeper into the institutions
they truly serve. One believes he serves a secret cult that shape life in the Canyon.
within the general population of Enkili worship-
pers, and that he belongs to an elite circle. Another
innocently thinks she’s assisting the vigil watches
 CHAPTER ONE: H I S T O R V O F THE P E N V M B R A L P E N T A G O N

The Bridged City lights glinting on the golem’s head and shoulders
The Pentagon likewise seeks t o undermine as it was miles ahead of them, and they want that
the society of the community closest t o the For- power very badly.
tress’ northern end, and has achieved more success The golem’s creator would not approve, of
here thanks t o a more passionate population and course. Corean is not the sort ofgod to aid an effort
the absence of concerns like Enkili’s involve- t o rob the world of all light, and even if he were,
ment with the Canyon of Souls. T h e unhallowed a group so prominently led by titanspawn and
priest Chiruli understands the worship of Madriel degenerates would not be his chosen ministers for
at least as well as most of her true adherents, and the task. The Pentagon has therefore decided to
he knows how to exploit their hopes and fears. try each of the possible routes they see to taking
T h e same stratagems at work in Ontenazu, as well control of the golem away from Corean. One plan
as far more overt tactics, have placed agents of is to subvert enough of the priesthood to enable
the Pentagon inside the Bridged City’s court and the Pentagon to use divine magic in ways the god
guard as well as its temples, businesses, and places did not endorse. Another is to extend existing
of entertainment. alchemical magic to allow command of the golem
by the Pentagon directly. A third is to strengthen
Mjthrjl the worship of titans and dark powers so as to
Once, the Penumbral Pentagon was the great- weaken local respect for the golem, making it that
est threat that Mithril faced. Defeated by Barconius much easier to study its nature and discover weak-
and his paladins, Dar’Tan escaped t o plot his nesses. The solution that finally works may involve
vengeance. one or more of these approaches, or something
Dar’Tan still believes that Mithril would make else altogether, and the Pentagon knows that it
an excellent base for a renewed empire of shadows. could be many mortal lifetimes before its efforts
Its relative isolation makes it easy to keep secrets are crowned with success.
and hold inquiring foes at bay, while its large The first trio of shadow worshippers to live
population would be very useful if they were con- permanently in Mithril settled there in 82 AV. They
verted to the ways of darkness. Most importantly, were human, passing themselves off as specialist
the mighty Mithril Golem might yet be converted stonemasons working on the Cordrada Corridor. By
t o use by the Penumbral Pentagon. In fact, it is the the time the corridor was finished, they were well
very nature of the golem that fascinates Dar’Tan woven into the fabric of Mithril life, and they in turn
and the other shadow worshippers so much. provided cover and contacts for more infiltrators. By
Just as the individuals who feel the stron- 100 AV, there were half a dozen full households of
gest persistent and professional interest in escape the Pentagon’s subjects spread through the city, and
are jailers, so those with the most intense fasci- at least two-dozen more individual agents as well.
nation with light are those who dream of Only the Pentagon knows the full tally for sure; every
darkness. T h e Mithril Golem transforms the worshipper sent into the field knows that the masters
light around it in unprecedented ways. T h e hide some truths, so that no individual can give it all
morning sunlight glinting o n the Blood Sea away if captured.
takes on a whole rainbow of red, orange, and The household of Potail Teewyn, a human
violet hues o n the golem’s face. Moonlight and necromancer who remains the commander of
midday sun flow off the golem’s head t o fill t h e shadow worshipper activities in the area, set to
streets of the city w i t h rippling reflections, even work on a small-scale application of the Penumbral
in corners that never receive direct daylight on Fortress rituals in chambers beneath Mithril around
their own. T h e golem constantly transmutes 100 AV. It took most of a decade to produce even
any light falling onto it, and the Penumbral modest success, and efforts to directly connect it to
Pentagon wants this power for itself. the main body of the fortress in the Kelder Moun-
Think of the light magic they might perform tains failed. Dar’Tan made several trips himself to
with the golem, a single source of light, and a aid in the proceedings, but to no avail. The concen-
world plunged into darkness. Anything could be trateddivine power in and around Mithril interfered
called out of the darkness or thrust into shadow with shadow worshipper rituals in ways that took
by simple movements of the one light. Even years comprehend fully. Dar’Tan, Potail, and their
before that moment of triumph, the golem could ritual followers finally created a lasting, if small,
be useful in the creation and banishment of passage from Mithril to the Bridged City area -
shadows simply by virtue of its sheer size and just in time for Barconius and his allies to discover
strength. The members of the Pentagon who the conspirators’ warrens.
were part of the trek out of Elz remember seeing As has been written elsewhere (see Mithril and
The Wise and the Wicked), the paladins of Corean
THE PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

shattered the shadow worshipper’s accumulated network of followers. When he heard from his spies
defenses and half#completed weaponry, albeit at within the temple that the paladins thought of the
great cost to the champions of light. Barconius vampire Dar’Gartal as a leader of the conspiracy, he
himself actually confronted Dar’Tan directly, cut- informed Dar’Tan and promptly set about strength-
ting off the dark elf s left arm and forcing him to ening Dar’Gartal’s personal influence. The vampire
flee. There were only two pieces of good news for now half-believes the propaganda himself, confus-
the shadow worshippers in this brutal defeat. First, ing his own local authority with the vast scope of
Dar’Tan did escape, along with two fellow penum- the real Pentagon’s influence.
bral lords (though only one survived his wounds). After these failures, however, Dar’Tan de-
Second, Potail fell before Barconius’ blade along cided that there would be no further efforts to
with many other servants of the Pentagon. The connect the Kelders and Mithril. Instead, magi-
death of a prominent local leader wouldn’t nor- cians in the field are trying to emulate the
mally be cause for celebration, but necromancy small-scale, less difficult tunnels of their Fortress,
changes such an outlook. The resurrected Potail aiming t o create an erratic, irregular hive of con-
spent most of two years healing his wounds and nections across Vesh. Existing outposts dedicated
rebuilding his resources before returning to a new to the cause now each sprout multiple shadow
life in Mithril. The fortunate part of this is that by gateways to other small enclaves, some of which
the time he returned to the city, the leaders’ panic have only ever been used during gateway con,
over underground shadow worship had faded into struction. These unused gateways may eventually
little more than an apathetic desire to do some- prove useful to the Pentagon as decoys, and they
thing about it, maybe, later. plan - in perfect alignment with their usual
Potail faced a greatly reduced force and de- modus operandi -to get the god-following forces
cided to make an asset of this. Every risky or in the region as busy as possible with dead ends,
unprofitable venture that was still underway, he while they themselves strike directly for control of
closed down and then set about recruiting a new the coveted golem.
THE PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

Dar’Tan, Master of the

:
CR
Maledarkelf,WizlOPen10: 20; SZ Medium-sized human-
oid (5’2”, 128Ibs.); HD 20d4+40; hp 82; lnit +3 (Dex+3); Spd
30 ft.; AC 30/31-35 (with Dex, +8bracers, +!iring, +5amu/et/
with bonuses from +5 dancing rapier of defending); Atk +15/
+10melee(ld6+5, +5dancingrapierofdefending); ALL€; SA
shade arm, spells; SQ improved darkvision, dark elven traits,
shadow home, shadow strength, shadowcast lV, shadowcat
Form, shadowraven Form, shadowstep; SV Fort +8, ReF +’?,
Will +16 (+18 vs. spells and spell-like abilities); Str 10, Dex 17,
Con 14, Int 22. W a 14, Cha 12
Skills: Alchemy +15, Concentration +16,
Craft, Decipher Script +19, Hide +15, Knowl-
edge (arcana) +20, Knowledge (geography) +12
Knowledge (history) + 12, Knowledge (the planes
+12, Move Silently +15, Scry +20, Spellcraft +2
Feats: CombatCasting,CraftStaff,Craft Won-
drous Item, Forge Ring, Hide Spell, Quicken Spell,
Silent Spell, Scribe Scroll, Spell Focus (Illusion),
Still Spell, Weapon Proficiency (Composite
Longbow), Weapon Proficiency (Rapier)
Shade Arm (Ex): A greater shade, sum-
moned and bound into service by Dar’Tan,
functions as his left arm (see sidebar). M
of the time, t h e arm acts as a normal ar
under Dar’Tan’s mental control. Howeve
in combat and under other rare circu
stances, t h e penumbral lord allows t
shade spirit to act or attack o n its own.
Dar’Tan is quite proficient at casting spells
requiring somatic components using only his
natural, right arm, leaving his shade arm free
t o act o n its own accord. Dar’Tan can deliver
touch attack spells through the shade arm.
ImprovedDurkvision (Ex) :Dar’Tan has darkvision
to 60 ft. He can see even in magical darkness, and he
cannot be blinded by natural or magical light.
Shadow Strength (Su): When casting spells fr
the shadow subschool of illusion that call for t
illusion to possess a certain percentage of actual
effectiveness, such as shadow conjuration and shadow
evocation, Dar’Tan’s creations are 75% as strong as
the real thing to those who disbelieve them.
Shadowcat Form (Sp) : Dar’Tan can transform
himself into a shadowcat, a housecat formed en-
tirely ofshadows. The “cat” appears as ashadow flat
upon the ground. In darkness or within any shad-
owy area, Dar’Tan adds +10 to any Hide checks
while in shadowcat form. Additionally, the
shadowcat is two-dimension, so the penumbral
lord can slip under doors or fit through any open-
ing at ground level. The shadowcat cannot reach
openings above ground level such as open win-
dows, and cannot go up steps or otherwise move
upward. Dar’Tan can move downward while in
-- -~ ~

MEMBERS O F T H E PENWMBRAL PENTAGON

toward an open window. This power may be used

---- twice per day and lasts for ld6 + the caster’s Penum-
Greater Shade bral Lord level in minutes. It requires a full action to
CR 8; S2 Small Outsider; HD 8d8; hp 36; h i t +3; Spd 0 make t h e transformation either t o or from
ft; AC 30/31-35 (same as Dar’Tan); SA Strength damage shadowraven form. This ability is treated as a spell-
(2d4 per melee touch): SQ Darkvision (60 Ft.), malleable like power. Transformation from shadowraven form
Form, SR 31 (same as Dar’Tan); Atk +I8(controlled by when the duration has expired is a free action.
Oar’Tan)/+12 (self-controlled attacks) melee; Dam ld6
andStrengthdamage;ALCE;SVFort+6,Ref +’?, W111+6; Shadowstep (Sp) :Dar’Tan has the spell-like abil-
Str 17, Dex 17, Con 10, lnt 8, Wis 10, Cha 11 ity to step into the shadows and become one with
Skills: Knowledge (the planes) +4, Listen them. This requires a full-round action. Once it’s
+8, Spot + 2 completed, he seems to fade away. He actually re-
Feats: Cleave, Power Attack mains in the same location but cannot cast spells,
move or speak-though he can use telepathy if it was
Malkubk F o m (Ex): The shade arm may
active before the shadowstep. Likewise, he cannot be
extend or shrink its length, having a reach in
magically or physically attacked, nor can he be de-
combat of up to 15 feet. It can grow larger or
tected by almost any means, as he has essentially left
smaller and fit through cracks and crevices as
the physical plane to enter the Plane of Shadow. If
though it were a thick liquid. Whatever its form
the area where Dar’Tan stands falls out of the shad-
or shape, it retains its solidity and strength. The
ows, like sunrise over a darkened courtyard, the
arm may form itself into a shield and provide
shadowstep ends automatically and he is stunned for
one-half cover and concealment for Dar’Tan,
ld10-6 rounds (minimum 1 round). While in the
but the arm can take no other actions while
shadows, he is only faintly aware of his surroundings:
shielding. While providing concealment, any
he knows how many creatures are nearby but cannot
blow that would have hit Dar’Tan and instead
hear them. While in the shadows, DarTan requires
misses due to the shade’s 20% concealment
no sleep, food, or water. He cannot prepare spells, but
“miss chance” (see PHB, Chapter 8, “Conceal-
the time he spends in shadow counts toward the rest
ment”) hits the shade instead.
requirements for such preparations.
Shadow Home: Dar’Tan can make a home in the
shadows. He enters the shadowsas with his shadowstep
this form and takes no damage no matter how far he ability and exists within the gloomy depths in that
falls. This power may be used twice a day and lasts for same fashion, but now he also has the ability to move
Id6 + the character’s class level in minutes. It re- as long as he remains in shadowed areas. Addition-
quires one full action to make the transformation to ally, his senses are not diminished-he may see and
or from shadowcat form during that time; it takes a hear, though not touch, taste, or smell. Finally, he
free action to return to normal form when the trans- can rest and prepare spells as usual within the shad-
formation expires. This ability is treated as a spell-like ows.
power. However, transformation fromshadowcatform Possessions: Robes, bracers of amur +8, ring of
when the duration has expired is a free action. protection +5, amulet of natural armor +5, +5 dancing,
Shadowcast IV (Su): If Dar’Tan casts a spell defending rapier, clod and boots of elvenkind, a variety
withinashadowedarea, he may choose not to lose the of items he either constructs or obtains to give-
prepared spell when it is cast, but instead cast a nearly sparingly-to useful servants for specific tasks, most
real version of the same spell with shadow magic. Any often stealth, disguise, etc.
spell up to 6th level (including non-Penumbral Lord Spells: Dar’Tan has had centuries to compile
spells) may be cast this way. Instead of losing the arcane lore and thus has access to all penumbral lord
prepared spell, he instead loses hit points equal to spells (Relics & Rituals p. 17), all illusion school
twice the level of the spell, minimum 1 hit point. wizard spells of 5th level or lower, and the majority of
Additionally, any saves allowed by a spell that has other wizard spells of 5th level or lower. As such,
been shadowcast are made at +2. Spells cast in this listing his spell book here would duplicate the Relics
way are not illusion (shadow) effects and cannot be & Rituals sorcerer/wizard spell list (pp. 40-44).
disbelieved -rather, they are being powered by the Wizard Spells Prepured (4/6/6/4/4/3):
Plane of Shadow. 0- Daze, @re, ray offrost, read magc i
Shadoeoraven Form (Sp) : Dar’Tan can become a 1st- Alarm, mage a m , magic missile, sleep, summon
shadowraven, a form similar to shadowcat. He can r,
monster w shike
now reach heights above the ground level, including 2nd- Darkness, fog cloud, g h d touch, invisibility, Mel’s
“flying” up steps or through an open window. His ucid awow, web
raven-shaped shadow will always be on a nearby
3rd- Dispel magic, haste, lightning bolt, vampiric touch
surface, such as the side of a building as he ascends
THE PENWMBRAL PENTAGON

4th- Ccmjk.siun, Evar’s black tenmles, fear, ice s t o n n Combat

5th- Cloudkill, cone of cold, Morden‘s faithful hound Dar’Tan relies on traps and illusions to keep his
Penumbral Lord Spells Prepared (5/7/6/5/3/3/3/2/1/1): enemies busy. He can fight, formidably, in direct
0- Arcane mark, dancing li&ts, detect magic, distort combat when he must, but he doesn’t like it and
shadow, prestidigiitation prefers not to court the risks. Losing one arm was
1st- Gloom (x2), obscure shadow, penumbral trap (x2), more than enough to reinforce his caution in this
reshape shadow, shade’s sight regard. He’ll sacrifice almost any quantity of under-
2nd-Animate shadow, banish shadow, Dar’Tan’sshadow lings for the sake of his own personal safety.
bolt (x2), minor shadow conjuration, shadow images
3rd- Controllight,minorshadow e m t i o n , shadowformof Penumbral Trap
Lyrad, shadow sFlike (x2) Creates an area of phantasmalfoes.
4th- Imbue shadoou, shadow cunjuratictn, s b shield Illusion (Shadow)
5th- curtainof~~,shadoweuocation,shadoweueapon Level: Pen 1, Sor/Wiz 1, Trickery 1
6th- Shades, shadow smash, transmute flesh to shadow Components: S
7th- shadow storm, shadopueo$k Casting Time: 1 action
8th- Blackftame Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
9th- Eclipse Area: 10 ft. cubellevel
Duration: Permanent until discharged and then
Background 1 round/level
Dar’Tan is the oldest surviving member of the Saving Throw: Will negates
shadow-worshipping movement and has been its Spell Resistance: Yes
unquestioned leader for nearly two centuries. See
The Wise and the Wicked for his background as it
Descriptjon
appeared to those who fought him 20 years ago and as T h i s spell creates a region of unease and an aura
they might discover it in current times. None has any of danger, making shadows move and allowing a
idea of the true depths of his dedication or the trickle of energy from the Plane of Shadow to leak
breadth ofhis activities. His whole existence is bound into an area. It was used extensivelyagainst Barconius
up in the cause of darkness’ final victory, with Mithril and his paladins in the catacombs beneath Mithril,
as a particular obsession because of his defeat there, bogging down their advance and buying crucial time
along with his efforts to secure control of the Kelders’ for the Pentagon’s servants.
myriad inhabitants. Spell Effect
This spell can only be cast into an area heavily
Roleplayjng Notes cloaked in shadows. Once it’s cast, the caster may
Dar’Tan approaches his work with supreme con- give triggering instructions like those of mgic mouth.
fidence. It would take massive physical trauma to However, the spell only discharges if the trigger
make him doubt his ability to triumph, and because actually enters the affected area.
he knows how any challenge will come out, he’s often Everyone in the affected area when the spell is
courteous to would-be enemies and even sincerely triggered must make a Will save. Success negates the
curious about their lives and personalities. He genu- effect. Those who fail see movement in the shadows
inely wants to understand the world and the motives out of the corners of their eyes, as if an ambush is
of people who refuse to submit to him, so that he can about to be sprungor something is hiding and waiting
plan more effectively in the future. He seldom hur- for a chance to strike. No amount of effort lets them
ries, knowing that time is on his side and fearing the pinpoint the source of this movement, and the shad-
harm that comes from haste. As the most dedicated ows themselves are magical in nature, so neither low
practitioner of the dark arts, he spends most of his light nor darkvision will assist in piercing the illusion.
time in literal darkness, and emerges into the light
There are no actual ill effects, but those affected
only when he must.
cannot feel comfortable moving through the area
before the threat of danger is resolved. Those wishing
to make the effort to curb their afflictions must make
another Will save. Success indicates that they’ve
overcome their fears.
 MEMBERS O F THE P€NVMBRAL PENTAGON

SutaneTerk, 0-
Sorcerer SpeUs Known (9/6/6/5/3/2):
Arcane mark, daze, detect magic, detect poison,
u&an ofShrrdows mage hand, mend, openlclose, read magic, resis-
tance
Mde forsaken dwarf, Sorll/PonB: CR 19; S2 Medium-sized
humanoid(4’5”, 130 Ibs.); HD 1Qd4+40;hp 77; lnit +3 (Dex+3); 1st- Detect secret doors, enlarge, grease, magic missile,
Spd 20 ft.; AC 21 (+3 Dex, +8bracerr ofarmor); Atk +9/+4 reduce, Tensor’s floating disk
(ld8+4/ld8+4, +4shortspear of wounding);AL LE; SQ dwarvish tnd-Arcane lock, kuitate, locate object, obscure object,
traits, improveddarkvision, shadow strength, shadowcat form,
scare, spectral hand
shadowcast 111, shadowravenform, shadowstep, shadow gate-
way; SV Fort +7,Ref +8, Will +15; Str 12, Dex 16,Con 14, Int 16, 3rd- Hold person, keen edge, nondetection, shrink item,
Wis 14, Cha 18 vampiric touch
Skills: Alchemy +lo, Concentration +6, Craft 4th- Dimension door, minor creation, phantasmal killer
(engineering) +lo, Decipher Script +5, Disable De- 5th- Cloudkill, transmute rock to mud
vice +4, Hide + 10,Intimidate +4, Knowledge (arcana) Penumbral Lord Spells Prepared (5/6/4/4/2/2/2/1):
+ 11,Knowledge (geography) +4, Knowledge (Plane
0- Arcane mark, detect magic (x2), prestidigitation,
of Shadow) +6, Move Silently +4,Profession (miner)
read magic
+7, Scry +9, Spellcraft +11, Wilderness Lore +4
1st- Obscure shadow (x2), penumbral trup (x2), re-
Feats: Combat Casting, Empower Spell, Maxi-
shape shadow (x2)
mize Spell, Silent Spell, Simple Weapon Proficiency,
2nd-Dar’Tan’s shadow bolt, minor shadow conjuration,
Skill Focus (Spellcraft), Spell Penetration, StillSpell
shadow images (x2)
Improved Darkvision (Ex): See Dar’Tan.
3rd- Controllight (x2),shadow evocation, shadow touch
Shadow Strength (Su): See Dar’Tan.
4th- Imbue shadow, shadow conjuration
Shadowcat Form (Sp) : See Dar’Tan.
5 th- Curtain of darkness, shadow weapon
Shadowcast III (Su) :As for Dar’Tan, except that
Sutane can only maintain prepared penumbral lord
6th- Shades, transmute fish to shadow
spells up to 6th level. 7th- Shadow walk
Shadowraven Form (Sp) : See Dar’Tan.
Background
Shadowstep (Sp) : See Dar’Tan.
Sutane Terk grew up as the consummate social
Shadow Gateway (Su):This is an alternative 8th
outsider. Among the sturdy and paranoid forsaken
level ability Sutane developed on his own and will be
dwarves, Sutane was first a pariah for his fascination
teaching to student penumbral lords who work with
with occult masters from other cultures; the dwarves
him on the Fortress, as soon as they begin to reach 8th
seldom trust any outsiders - much less wizards and
level. A penumbral lord with this ability may create
other scholars, whom they see as corrupting influ-
one permanent gateway between the material world
ences on their children. In addition to his scholarly
and a pocket realm within the plane of shadow per
“failings” Sutane was also pathologically manipula-
level. Each of the gateways created by a particular
tive, especially by the stoic standardsof his homeland.
penumbral lord opens onto the same pocket realm;
Under the circumstances, Sutane had to learn
penumbral lords wishing to share gateway access to a
from an early age to be very good at something, or he
particular space within the plane of shadow must
would most likely have died young, possibly even
each succeed in a Knowledge (Plane of Shadow) skill
publicly executed for his suspiciously foreign ideas
check (DC15) or a Knowledge (arcana) skill check
and studies. Options were extremely limited for
(DC25). The gateway must be created within a
Sutane, however. He couldn’t fight well as a child
physical doorway, arch or portal no more than three
and lacked the wisdom to temper his manipulative
yards on a side, and lasts until the penumbral lord
schemes. Somehow he avoided the typical emotional
chooses to close it. The penumbral lord cannot create
trap that ambitious, amoral outcasts tend to indulge
more gateways than he can have active at the same
in- that of regarding the people who reject them as
time, unless he first chooses to close some of his older
somehow not really being real. Instead Sutane be-
gateways, adjusting the total to one per level. These
came obsessed with the reality of other souls, and felt
gateways may be used by anyone whose material form
driven to find the ways to break each one down, force
has been altered by the magic in the antechambers of
it to his will, and destroy it if possible.
the Fortress’s main gates. Sutane and Dar’Tan have
also made pacts with creatures from the plane of His one great chance to win influence in the halls
shadow to create other gateways for them. of Krakadom came during a relatively minor battle
against a small army of gorgons who coveted the
Possessions: +8 bracers of armor, ring ofair elemen-
stronghold’s riches. His magical abilities made him
tal command, ring of regeneration, +4 shortspear of
valuable, and he served alongside the elite Black Quar-
wounding
rels, part of a force guarding one of the southern
THE PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

approaches.While on patrol, Sutane and another guard ever he could and fighting for hire for titanspawn when
spotted an unexpectedly large force approaching under he needed to, for more than 20 years. Then he began to
magical concealment and armed with unfamiliar magi- dream of an army that moved through the night, led by
cal weaponry. Sutane immediately reported back -if a figure wrapped in shadow who could reward him
he could convince his commander of the threat, and if properly. After months of searching, he made contact
his commander notified his superiors in time, then the with the scouts of Dar‘Tan’s tattered refugee army and
enemy would be thwarted and Sutane would be a hero. won their respect with his brutal assistance in repelling
Sutane’sambitioushopes failed, however. He suc- an orcish raid.
ceeded only in annoyinghis commander,who refused to At first he servedthe shadow worshippercauseonly
pass the warning along. The scout force all perished in in relatively menial roles, but he flourished neverthe-
early skirmishesagainst the attackers, except for Sutane less, and his obsessions were lessof a hindrance here than
himself. When he returned with garbled warnings and they’d been in the mountain. Eventually,he rose to join
no companions, senior commanders seemed almost the Pentagon itself,and fought
relievedto finallyhave an excuseto accuse Sutane
of incompetenceand treason. Fortunatelyfor
, ’ by DarTan’sside in the Battle
of Mithril. Escaping, Sutane
Sutane,the enemy assaultedKrakadommon * found himself the senior sur-
after, allowinghim to escape from his now viving penumbral lord after
more hated than ever homeland.
There could be no return to the
mountain for Sutane. He wandered
- DarTan, and with the death
of Lord Mortus, k,now the
only other penumbral in the
through centralGhelspad,hidinghis 4 reconstituted Pentagon. He’d
originsfrom the localpeople when- found his home at last, and
will fight to defend it at all costs.

4 Rolepluyhg Notes
Sutane lives for mastery.
If he ever feels he can
mount a successful chal-
lenge to Dar’Tan and the
other members of the Penta-
gon, he will. In the meantime,
he’s content to work with them against
all other obstacles.
He does not regard his loyalty to the cause
as incompatible with wheeling and dealing for
personal advantage. As long as he can be con-
vinced that a deal doesn’t put the Fortress or his
cause at risk, Sutane is willing to do just about
anything, particularly if it leads to some rival
being humiliated. He would also go to very great
lengths for a chance to do more harm to the
forsaken dwarves.

:ombat
Sutane shares Dar’Tan’s dislike for close com-
bat, enhanced in the dwarf’s case by memory of
childhood humiliations among his own kind.
When fighting opponents who know him, he
favors the use of overwhelming force in order to
settle things as quickly as possible. Against

i opponents who haven’t seen the full range of

his ability, he prefers to start with lesser power,
in hopes that he’ll be underestimated and gain
some time to plan the most effective final strike.
Sutane’s last familiar recently died in a mine
cave-in. He plans to choose a new one soon.
-

MEMBERS O F THE PENWMBRAL PENTAGON

5 th- Greater command, insect plague, shy living (x2),

Chjrulj, Unhallowed: unhullow
ForsakenPnest 6th- Antilife shell, chain lightning, create undead, sum-
mon monster vi
Male farsaken priest, unhallowed. Clr15: CR 17; S2 Medium-
sized humanoid (6‘1”, 220 Ibs.);HD 15d8+15;hp 84; lnit +2(Dex 7th- Blasphemy, destruction (x2)
+2); Spd 30 Ft.; AC 18 (+2Dex, +6bracers o f armor);Atk +ll/ 8th- Create greater u d a d , mass heal
+6/+1 (ld8+1/ld8+1/ld8+1, +1 heavy mace); AL LE; SQ invul-
nerable, unholy arts, sweet-sounding lies, pleasing illusion,
undead; SV Fort +10(+15), Ref +7 (+12), Will +11(+16); Str 11,
Background
Dex 14, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 14 Chiruli is a relic of the time before the gods’
Skills: Alchemy +4, Concentration +9,Craft +6, triumph. He grew up during the era of the so-called
Diplomacy +11, Gather Information +5, Heal +9, 100 Republics that preceded the founding of Vesh
Intimidate +7, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Knowledge and served Madriel as a particularly talented priest
(religion) +lo, Listen +4, Move Silently +4, Profes- and healer. In those days, the war againstthe Slarecians
sion (priest) +9, Scry + 11, Spellcraft + 11 still raged, and his other responsibilities included
Feats: Alertness, Dodge, Scribe Scroll, Silent ministering to wounded troops alongsidehundreds of
Spell, Still Spell, Weapon Focus (heavy mace) other good clerics. That was when he first learned of
the shadow worshippers, by eavesdropping on the
Invulnerable (Ex) :Chiruli can only be slain after
interrogations of a few prisoners. Their supremely
being confronted with his crimes on ground conse-
confident resolve impressed him, even as they died
crated to Madriel. Otherwise, if he’s reduced to 0 hp,
terribly. Later, the equally bold tactics of their breth-
he vanishes from the mortal plane only to reappear at
ren still at large impressed him again. He began to
full strength the following night.
wonder if they possessed some fundamental insight
Unholy Arts (Sp) :Chiruli can cast spellsfrom the
that others should have as well and began a long,
domain of Evil as a 15th level cleric.
quiet search through the mysteries of divine magic.
Sweet-Sounding Lies (Su): Chiruli may whisper
A pair of human servants of the shadow worship-
any suggestion, no matter how vile, into a listener’s
ping Slarecians burst into his home one evening,
ear, and his target must make a Will save (DC24) to
fleeing a Veshian patrol. They intended to kill him
avoid following it.
Pleasing Illusion (Su):The priest can conceal his d
and hi e, but he had the presence of mind to repeat
the few phrases of shadow worship litany he’d learned,
undead features and take on any suitable appearance. and they stopped in surprise and confusion. They let
He has an effective Charisma of 20 for purposes of him live long enough to hear him out, debated his
reaction rolls and the like. Victims may see through sincerity, and finally decided to accept him as one
these illusions only if they know to look for them and chosen to join the cause. From then on, Chiruli went
they succeed in a Will save (DC19). about his priestly duties by day and slipped away to be
Undeud:The priest is immune to mind-influenc- instructed by the shadow-folk each night.
ing effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, and Soon his loyalty to and understanding of the
disease, and to critical hits, subdual damage, ability shadow cause were both complete, and his masters
damage, energy drain and death from massive dam- required him to prove his worth. Through careful
age. deceit, he convinced one ofhis superiors in Madriel’s
Possessions: +6 bracers of armor, +5 cloak of resis- temple to call an emergency meeting of all clerics and
tance, hund of glory, robe of eyes healers who could possibly attend. Chiruli’s clerical
Deity: Madriel/Air and Death (formerly Life, powers no longer functioned and had not for some
inverted at unhallowing) time, as his alignment hadshifted toofarfiomMadriel’s
DivineSpellsPrepared (6/6+1/6+1/6+1/4+1/4+1/ for him to remain her priest. Chiruli was undaunted,
3 +1/2+1/1+1): however. He simply locked the assembled priests of
O- Cure minor wounds, detect magic, detect poison, Madriel in the temple and triggered the magical
read magic, resistance (x2) device given him by the shadow worshippers. The
1st- Bane, came fear (x2), doom (x2), entropic shield, temple was filled with poisoned shadows, and every
obscuring mist priest in the room died, leaving Madriel’s army sorely
lacking in healers the very night before an important
2nd-Death knell, desecrate, inflict moderate wounds x2,
undetectable alignment (x2), wind wall battle.
3rd- Bestow curse, cure serious wounds,deeper darkness A crime so heinous -against healers no less -
committed by one who was still, in name at least, a
(x2), gaseous form, helping hand, obscure object
priest of Madriel, was enough to twist Chiruli, body
4th- Death ward, dimensionalanchor, discern lies, send- and soul, into another sort of being altogether. At the
ing (x2), very moment the first trapped priest exhaled his last
THE PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

breath, Chiruli was transformed into an undead For- doctrine of the gods’ shadows. Slowly,patiently- he
saken Priest. As one of the unhallowed he slowly and has eternity if he’s careful, after all - he even now
secretly made his way out of Vesh, hiding from those continues to build a new network of devotees who
who hunted him for his crimes and totally cut off from will, when the time is right, overthrow the pathetic
his shadow worshipper masters. Eventually he was light-side worship of all gods. When asked to replace
able to turn toward the great concentration of dark- the slain Lord Mortus, he eagerly joined the Penum-
ness that he sensed somewhere far to the southwest. bral Pentagon, and has since served enthusiastically.
He arrived in Elz just as the shadow worshippers were
beginning their campaign of subversion, and used his Roleplayjng Notes
store of shadow-knowledgeto identify himself as one Chiruli is essentially a very pleasant, sincere,
who deserved consideration. Throughout the years of sociable man who simply happens to be utterly evil,
the Elz experiments, he advised the other shadow insane and dedicated to the end of the world. He
worshippers on the arts of blending in with ordinary thinks that the extinction of all light is both inevi-
folk, and in particular about the nuances of feigned table and desirable, but he bears no ill will toward all
service to the gods, whose victory seemed increas- the living things that depend on the light. Nothing
ingly obvious to him. He developed a grand doctrine would suit him better than to have everyone join him
of the gods’ shadows, the dark side that he believed in worshipping the darkness before the calamity falls,
even the good gods hid from the world and from so that everyone would be able to prosper together in
themselves. Slowly, he convinced himself the eternal night.
that in inverting Madriel’s rites and duties After two centuries of undead existence,most of
he was actually serving her deeper shadow his emotions have become quite blunted, and he
nature. His so-calledCult of Madriel‘s very seldom feels any great anger. Refusal to join
Shadow began to grow, though many him, or even active resistance to his cause,
considered it the product of 1 +trrict-J *
pire something more like resigned disap-
mind, or (as some have clair lointment t h a n rage. H e is the
means by which Madriel‘s si schoolmaster and all the world is his class;
Belsameth can gain influei he loves to teach and regards ignorance
over the or hostility in the hearts of others as just
shadow another opportunity to do what he does
worship- best.
pers.

I
For him Combat

I
the exile from Elz was When circumstances require
only a minor nuisance, Chiruli to fight, he prefers to do so as
and indeed he was eager f directly as possible. Combat is aghastly
to test out his new in- 1 waste ofeveryone’stime andresources,

I
sights. To this end, he and he tries to end it as quickly as
joinedother acolytes inar- possible. He prefers not to kill anyone
guing for a move toward when he can, so he focuses on identi-
Vesh, or at least to the fying the leaders of the opposition and
nearby Kelder Mountains, taking them out with a speed and bru-
and eagerly did his part as a tality likely to demoralize followers -
guide and negotiator for the hopefully to the point of surrender.
ragged mob of homeless He’s long since become accustomed to
shadow worshippers. his undead condition and has abso-
Once the new Penuml lutely no fear of death by any ordinary
Fortress was well under means. Indeed, he deliberately uses his
Chiruli began making occas ability to regenerate as an instrument of
trips into Vesh. Those who n demoralization as well, attacking stub-
have recognized him in hi: born enemies day after day until they
home were all dead, most oft lose the will to resist.
casualties of some violenc See Creature Collection Re-
other during the Divine Wai
he was able to move about quite
freely and quickly found some
weak-minded individuals will-
ing to listen to his bizarre
 MEMBERS O F THE PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

NjghtArm, 3rd- Dar’Tan’s shadow bolt, lightning bolt,

nondetection, shadow strike.
4th- Dimension door, mind over matter, shadow
chains, shadow conjuration.
Female high gorgtm. Sorl5 CR 17; SZ Medium-sized humanoid
(6‘2”,240Ibs.);HD15d4+45; hp117;Init+3(Dex+3); Spd30ft., 5th- Greater shadow conjuration, permanency,
swim 30 ft.; AC 25 (Dex +3, +7 natural, +5 ring ofprotection); shadow evocation, telekinesis.
Atk scimitar +13/+8 melee, or 8 bites + 12 melee (ld6+3 scimi- 6th- Chain lightning, flesh to stone, shadow smash.
tar, ld4+2 bite); AL LE; SA poison, snakes, spells; SQ damage
reduction 10/+1, immunities, SR 15; SV Fort +11, Ref +7, Will 7th- Plane shift, shadow walk.
+lo;Str 17, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 17, Wis 14, Cha 14 (20)
Skills: Alchemy +7, Bluff +5 (+ll), Concentration +7, Craft Background
(engineering) +18, Decipher Script +5,Disguise + 8 (+14), Hide Gorgons find the humanoid races baffling,
+4, Intimidate+? (+E), Knowledge(arcana) +6,Listen+3, Scry just as they seem mysterious t o humanoids.
+2, Search +7, Spellcraft +3, Spot +5
Gorgons are not stupid, but away from human-
Feats: Ambidexterity, Alertness, Extend
oid civilization they have nothing of what
Spell, Quicken Spell, Weapon Focus (Scimi-
humanity would call “culture” of their own.
tar)
They acquire social systems only by learning
Poisoned Blade: Night Arm coats his scimi- them from other races, and it is never fully clear
tar with a n acidic poison made from his how much t h e gorgons understand and how
secretions. Anyone wounded by it must make a much they simply mimic. This is one of many
Fortitude save (DC 20) or suffer ld4+3 addi- reasons why Dar’Tan’s choice of Night Arm
tional points of damage. was controversial.
Poison ( E x ) : T h e snakes growing from Night Night Arm followed t h e shadow worship-
Arm’s belly are venomous. Anyone bitten by pers as they entered Hornsaw Forest a n d
them must make a Fortitude save (DC 21) or eavesdropped o n their conversations long
take l d 8 points of temporary Constitution dam- enough t o establish that they saw t h e world in
age. After one minute, t h e victim must make terms unlike any he’d ever dealt with. Seeing
another Fortitude save of t h e same difficulty or t h e opportunity t o win prestige among his own
suffer another l d 8 points of temporary Consti- kind, he approached openly one evening, offer-
tution damage. Raise t h e DC by 1 for each ing extracts of his poisons and scrolls seized
snake after the first which bites the victim from travelers who’d fallen prey t o his people in
during Night Arm’s attack. T h e damage re- exchange for the chance t o learn about the
mains the same n o matter how many snake shadow worshippers and their cause.
heads successfully bite. T h e more that Night Arm learned, the
Snakes ( E x ) : Night Arm can strike with up more fascinated he became, and his trips t o
t o eight snakes at once. T h e snakes can be meet with t h e other gorgons became less and
severed if an opponent specifically targets them less frequent. H e went from a merely useful
with an edged weapon; each has AC 20 and associate t o a staunch ally and devotee as the
required 15 h p t o sever. A total of 16 snakes are march through her homeland continued. Given
attached to Night Arm’s spine inside his abdo- t h e chance t o perform some of t h e basic rituals,
men. h e surprised everyone - including himself -
lnmunities ( E x ) : Night Arm is immune to with the precision and flair he brought t o the
poisons and sleep-based attacks, and takes only task. Dar’Tan and t h e other leaders agreed to
half damage from cold-based attacks. permit him t o continue with them as they jour-
Possessions: +6 cloak of charisma, +5 ring of neyed onward.
protection He was hard at work, surveying the Kelders
Sorcerer Spells Known: (6/8/7/7/7/7/6/4): for perfect spot on which t o build various sec-
(Night Arm is assumed t o be wearing his tions of the new Penumbral Fortress when the
cloak of charisma when encountered.) Mithrilites drove t h e shadow worshippers from
0- Arcane mark, daze, detect magic, distort their city. W h e n Dar’Tan escaped back to the
shadow, enumerate, mage hand, mending, read Kelders, he approached him, offering a position
magic, resistance . within t h e Pentagon itself. He agreed without
1st- Penumbral trap, reshape shadow, serpent’s hesitation and delightedly took on more of a
stare, shade’s sight, unseen servant. leadership role in the design and construction
of t h e Shadow Fortress. As he talked with the
2nd-Gloom, knock, Mel’s acid arrow, minor
craftsmen who had been planning the Fortress
shadow conjuration, shadow images.
up until his promotion, h e surprised them all
THE PENUMBRAL PENTAGON
.... ..

again with a deep and intuitive grasp of engi- lutely dire, preferring to tolerate no risk a t all.
neering. he studied everything about t h e arts of T h e other leaders of t h e movement know to
building while they traveled through t h e Kelder make sure t h a t only t h e most devout and ace
Mountains and helped t o organize the first major complished underlings are assigned to work with
labor parties for the construction. him, as any who fall short risk immediate de-
Over time, Night Arm has become one of struction. When Night Arm is satisfied that
the chief overseers of the Fortress, personally those around him Pose n o threat, he’s very
plotting Out its physical expansion and mainte- generous in sharing what he’s learned in his
nance while other masters of magic attend to its decades of life and is equally eager t o hear of
shadow aspects. Every so often h e travels t o others’ thoughts and experiences. When he’s
gatherings of high gorgons elsewhere in A o n familiar topics, he converses with ease.
t h e mountains, trading scraps of penum- A Only when matters unfamiliar t o him arise
bra1 lore for necessary exotic materials does the essential emptiness of his soul
or techniques and preaching the gospel manifest - until h e understands a sub-
of shadow t o all those willing t o listen ject, he has no emotional response t o it
(with limited success). He thinks of
t h e Fortress and its inhabitants as
his real home and family now, Combat
however, and consequently I W h e n fight-
ing o p p o n e n t s
strikes other gorgons as so
strange as t o be almost hu- who don’t know
man. his gorgon na-
Night Arm is an espe- ture, Night Arm
cially powerful and favors human tac-
experienced gorgon, and so tics -direct battle
has higher statistics and with scimitar and
greater powers t h a n most 1 spells. He brings his ser-
others of his race. pents to bear when those
means fail, or when oppo-
Roll llaying nents already know what he
is. He fights with little nu-
Not 1
ance, and without any great
Night A r m is enthusiasm, c o n c e n t r a t i n g
possessed by an in- only o n removing immediate
1
satiable curiosity. threats and then escaping to
Everything concerned with 7 call o n allies.
either shadow or building fas-
cinates him. He regards any
threat to his interests as abso-
k
 MEMBERS O F THE PENVMBRAL PENTAGON

Blackfang, as a partial action.

Possessions: Rhino hide, +4 short sword of mighty
OW-
v cleaving, +3 short spear of thundering
MabproudBbn16:CR18; SZLarge-sized humanoid(7’2”, 420
Ibs.); HD 16d12+16; hp 165; Init +6 (Dex +2, +4 Improved
Initiative); Spd 60 ft.; AC 19 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +6 natural, +2 Even now, after decades of training and both
rhino hide); Atk +15/+101+5 (Claws ld6+2; handaxe ld6+2, +4 magical and mundane assistance, Blackfangis scarcely
short swordofmightycleavingld6+6; +3short spear o f thun-
dering ld6+5; javelin ld6; sling ld4; net special); AL CE; SA
the intelligent of shadow worshippers. mat
spells; SQ barbarianabilities, keen senses; SV Fort +lo, Ref +7, drives him instead is an ovenvhelming pride and
Will +7; Str 16, Dex 14, Con 13, lnt 12, Wis 10, Cha 14 yearning for mastery - if his race weren’t already
skills: AnimalEmpathy + 5 , ~ l ~ f f + 5 , c +io,li~b called the Proud based on their similarities to a pride
craft (traps) +6, ~ i+6, Handle~ ~ ~ li7, ~ of~~great
l lions,
+ ~the name would
~ still fit ~ of
~ him because
Hide +6, Intimidate +8, Intuit Direction +4,Jump his
+lo, Listen +9, Swim +9,Wilderness Lore +8 As a young adult he wandered far from his tribe’s
B : Strike (an additional attack each
F ~ ~ Claw homeland in hopes of finding fresh challenges and
round with his forelegs at no penalty), Cleave, Im- Secrets that he could use to gain advantage back
proved Critical, Improved Initiative, Run, Track home. When agents of the Eyes in the Night offered
Spells: Once a day, Blackfang may cast any spell him aid, he willingly accepted. So quickly did he
available to a 7th level druid that deals with charm- in fact, that “comPtion” had nothing ‘0 do
ing or speaking to animals; the spell works as if with it: he was ready to give himself to a suitable
Blackfang were a 7th level druid himself. cause, and the triumph of darkness was just the sort of
thing he was hoping to find.
Keen Senses ( E x ) : Blackfang sees four times as
well as a human being and has darkvision with a Most of the other Proud had no interest in his
range of 60 feet. He can scent crea- new faith. They are an uncomplicated race, con-
tures within 30 feet and can cerned with what matters today and tonight, and
discern their direction have no use for the fate of the universe or indeed
anything after they die. The relatively few who did
pay attention mostly hated what they heard,
feeling that no outside master could possibly be
worth a proud warrior’s loyalty. The Proud
have fallen a long way from their former con-
dition, but even then they were never given to
grand visions and far-reaching ambitions.
When Blackfang’s preaching gave sufficient
offense to sufficientnumbers of his people, they
drove him from the plains and threatened to
kill him if he ever returned. They continued to
provide specific
THE PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

services for the shadow worshippers in exchange for Roleplayjng Notes

useful goods, but only as a matter of practical trade.
Blackfang lives for the joy of seeing others lose
He decided on a plan of revenge against those control of themselves and become his victims, to
who’d forced him to flee. Working in disguise and mold as he chooses. In his own mind he sees himself
through a very few loyal intermediaries, he used his as being completely separate from all those around
social talents to break down the society in which he’d him -the only person he can ever trust or care for.
been raised. His followers preached and demon- Everyone else is a potential victim, differentiated
strated the advantages of barbaric abandonment of from one another only by how hard it is to break them
all restraint. He built up acult ofwarrior cannibalism, to his will. He is also a very alert scavenger, willing to
using illusions and simple legerdemain to show how pay almost any price for knowledge or goods if they
eating one’s enemies could grant superior insights. seem likely to advance his grand schemes. Thus his
Over the course of decades, he fed the rot already response to challenges depends entirely on whether
present in Proud society and greatly accelerated its he sees an opportunity for gain. If so, he’ll bargain, all
collapse. Along the way, of course, he sampled many the while hoping to start the process of breaking
of the anti-civilized pleasures he sought to inculcate down yet another soul; if not, he’ll simply attempt to
in others, but always with a careful awareness ofwhat destroy all opposition and loot whatever worthwhile
he was doing. possessions may be left over afterwards. He is thus not
Blackfangdidn’t work with the other groups who very complex, but so viciously savage as to be almost
served the Pentagon at first, preferring to remain in completely unpredictable to those who don’t already
the lands around his native plains. When the penum- understand him.
bral conspirators were driven from Mithril, he at last
gathered his small band of followers together and Combat
offered their services to Dar’Tan, fighting alongside Blackfang doesn’t fight very much himself these
the dark elf as he struggled to recover in the wake of days, and when he does he tries to make the most of
defeat. Blackfang’s thoroughness and ferocity im- it. He loves to demonstrate the distinctive martial
pressed Dar’Tan; the dark elf envisioned applying the abilities of his race and shows off by switching rapidly
same principles of degradation to human and elven between his many weapons, both natural and forged.
societies. This experience in helping to break down a Stylish maneuvers and glorious triumphs against ap-
culture was what motivated Dar’Tan to elevate parently insurmountable odds make him very happy.
Blackfang to the highest level of shadow worshipper
society.
 MEMBERS OF THE PENWMBRAL PENTAGON

Ibs.); HD Qd4+18; hp 42;lnit +2(Dex +2);Spd 30 ft.; AC 10(+2

Dex); Atk +4(ld6+1quarterstaff, ld6+1shortbow); AL LE; SA
spells; SVFort +5,Ref +5, Will +8;
Str 12,Dex 15,Con 14,lnt 16,
W s 14, Cha 12
Skills: Alchemy +5, Bluff +5, Concentration +4,
Craft (bookmaking) +3, Gather Information +5,
Innuendo +8, Knowledge (arcana) +8, Knowledge
(religion) +8, Scry +5, Sense Motive +8, Spellcraft
+5
Feats: Alertness, Quicken Spell, Scribe Scroll,
Silent Spell, Still Spell
Possessions: Masterwork staff and bow, ring of
mind shielding, scroll of magic circle against good (x3),
scroll of summon monster iv (x2)
Wizard Spells Prepared (4/5/5/4/2/1):
0- Daze, detect magic, mending, read magic
1st- Alarm, comprehend languages, erase, magic mis-
sile, shocking grasp
2nd-Darkvision, detect thoughts, obscure object x 2 , spec-
tral hand
3rd- Nondetec tion, suggestion, vampiric touch
4th- Contagon, emotion
5 th- False vision
city and coordinate the efforts of all who worship the
Background darkness there.
Potail grew up in the shadow of the golem that Every 20 years or so, he builds up a new false
gives Mithril its name and from an early age was identity and then moves into it, arranging for the
fascinated by the pristine purity of its form. He felt death or moving-away of the old one. Only long and
disgusted by the unpleasant complications of life, its careful investigation could track the truth beneath
perennial messiness and stench and inevitable decay. his succession of disguises.
He used to daydream of escaping it all by turning
himself into a mechanical man and even undertook RoleplayjngNotes
alchemical research on the subject early in his adult Potail preserves his calm by keeping himself
life (he was especially fascinated by the tales of the emotionally distant from the world around him. As
legendary dark elves and their living constructs). He long as this emotional distance holds firm, he can
traded information about Mithril to a traveling agent deal with others in an impersonal and businesslike
of the shadow worshippers and gradually discovered manner and do the planning necessary to advance
the existence of an alternative: devotion to darkness the darkness’ cause in Mithril. From time to time,
and the hope of escape from physical existence. some person or event manages to touch his sympathy,
Given what he considered to be a plausible hope, but his reaction to such emotion is certainly not what
Potail managed to overcome most of his self-imposed one might expect. After recovering from a brief and
isolation. He does not like people any more than he utterly temporary breakdown, he realizes that he’s
ever did, but he has discovered that they can be very been “forced” to feel an emotion common to those
interesting when considered with detachment. He who live in flesh. Overcome with revulsion, he spares
has learned how to manipulate them, to find their no effort to destroy whatever or whoever triggered
weak points, and to play upon them like musical the experience. He then goes into retreat for the days
instruments. Life seemed less horrifying to him when or weeks necessary to regain his composure.
it appeared as a vast sprawl of loose articles that he
could arrange into patterns as he saw fit. After several Combat
false starts, he built a comfortable business for himself Lacking any significant combat ability or incli-
in the harbor district, supplying bookmaking and nation of his own, Potail relies on underlings to fight
basic magical services to merchants and sailors. From for him. When a fight is unavoidable, he concen-
this vantage point he can see the unfolding life of the trates on trying to escape it as quickly as possible.
 areShaTwo-Hangs
F 6 - W CR6;SZMedii-~izedh((5’4,12Oh);
HD6db12;hp38;lnit+3(k+3); spdMFt;AC15(+3h+Zbk
m); Atk +4(ldbl dwrtsword, 2d&1 lightcroffbow); AL I-€;SV
Fort +4,Ref+& Will +2; Str 12, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 15, WIS14, Cha 12
Skias: Appraise +4,Balance +lo,BlufF+6,Climb +6,
Craft (rope) +6, Decipher Script +4,Diplomacy +4,
Disable Device +4,Disguise +3,Escape Artist +5, Forgery
+4,Gather Idormation +6, Hide +5, Innuendo +6,In-
timidate +3, Intuit Direction +4,Jump +3, Listen +4,
Move Silently +6,OpenLock+6,Pe1fo1m+3, PickPocket
+S,Profession(guide)+lO,ReadLips+4,search+4,Sense
Motive +6, Spot +4,Swim +3, Tumble +5, Use Magic
Device +3,Use Rope +10
Feats:Ambidexterity,Dodge,PointBlankShot,Track
Possessions:m a s t d s w o r d a n d c r o s s b o w , + 2 b
amurr,potionofcureligfuwunds(x3),potionofcure&m
cvounds (x2),ringOfx4ay vision
Badground
Haresha operates a m d l guide service in the
CanyonofSouls. Mostofherseriouscompetitorshavebeen
wind-walker guides for genmtions. While she’snew to the
work-shecame fromafamily ofhers-shediscovered The permanent population withjn the Canyon of
an aptitude for managing the canyons when she ran away souls is smallenough that Hareshaknows nearly everyone
from home. Haresha apprenticed to one of the leading of importance personally and sharesaquaintances with all
guides and worked her way up h g h the ranks until her the rest. She keeps a carefulmental tally of those in need of
masterretiredandleftthebusinesstoher.She’sbeenguiding alittleextraassistanceandarrangesforoneofheruninitiated
people andcaravansthroughthehedangerousCanyonof~u~ and unsuspecting employeesto make the contact. She does
formorethan3Oyearsnow,andcontinuesintinecondition. not deal directly with potential recruitsto the shadow cause
Her nickname ‘Two-Hangs” refers to her two most until they’ve proven themselves interested in more than a
serious accidents, in which high winds swept her 08 a one-time deal. When necessary, she also helps to arrange
prepared walkway and tangled her up in one or more safety “accidents”for those who show signs of getting too close to
lines, so that she was partially asphyxiated before cutting the truth,particularly those a b u t to make life uncomfort-
herself free. She still bears the scars on her neck, and uses able for choice targets of recruitment.
themaspart ofher pitch to customers,pointingout that she’s
seen how bad it can get and survived, so she cankeep them Roleplaying Notes
safe even in the gravest extremes. She does quite well with Personal ambition drives k h a . She likes being the
this approach,too, with many naive customerspreferring to one that others depend on, the one who takes care of the
deal with someone who hassuch obvious experience rather things they need and can’t do for themselves. Serving the
than with other guides who seem almost implausibly clean
and pristine. world interesb her much less than how much admiration
She encountered the shadowworshippers in the after- and respect she can get for herself. If other powers ever
math of an accident that she does not tell customers about. answed her petitions the way the Penumbral Pentagon
While mapping out a possible new pathway in the canyon’s does, she mlght well turn to serve them instead. The
middle stretches, she was caught in a landslide and carried Pentagon is content to work with her because ofher sincere
down intothe dark depths. Badly wounded, she managedto pursuitofselfinterest.Theycanofferhermorethanenough
work herself freeand hunted for a way out, but failed to tind to win her allegiance, and she has the connections and
one.Shefeltherstrengt.hhiliandcal1edoutacursetothe knowledgethey need. Shared greed keeps it all worthwhile.
gods who had abandoned her after all the patronage she’d
giventotheirshrines.Thegcdsdidn’tanswer.Somethingin Combat
the shadowsdid. Anunseenvoice promid to show her the Direct confrontation means that Haresha has
wayout inexd.langeforherservice,andsheagreedwillingly already failed, as far as she’s concerned. She knows
-she is abve all a pragmatist,and regardspractical help as she’s not very good at fighting and calls on her body-
the only meanmghl criterion for respect. The darkness guards for most combat duties. If she has to make an
aided her, and so she honors her commitment to it. assault herself, she’ll aim to do it by ambush.
 MEMB€RS OF T H € PENWMERAL PENTAGON

Finl(enka
~ l e ~ , ~ 7 : C R 6 ; S Z M e d i u m - s i z humanoid(5’4”,155
ed -
Ibs.);HD7d6+7; hp37;lnit+7 (Dex+3,+4lmprovedInitiative);
Spd 30 ft.; AC 16 (Dex +3, ring o f protection +3); Atk +5;
(ld4+2, &‘dagger); AL LE; SV Fort +3, Ref +5,Will +Q;Str 12,
Dex 17, Con 13, Int 15, WIS13, Cha 18
Skills: Balance +10,Bluff +12,Climb+lO,Gather
Information +lo, Knowledge (religion) +lo, Innu-
endo +16, Profession (scribe) +lo,Search + 10,Spot .
+ 10, Use Rope + 10
Feats: Ambidexterity, Improved Initiative, Skill
Focus (Innuendo), Weapon Focus (dagger)
1
Possessions: +2 dagger, ring of protection +3

Background
- b
Ejo is one of the best surveyors in the Bridged
City, capable of analyzing the strengths and weak-
nesses of the unique structures that keep the city
together. His father had the same talent and raised
him to the trade, rejoicing in his son’s expertise. Ejo’s
father also took great pleasure in his son’sfondness for
the shadow cause: where Menlon Kerika joined the
Penumbral service only gradually and with reserva- his masters and their agenda. He now believes thai:
tions, Ejo has never suffered a moment of serious the bridges in the City of Bridges are actually alivt:
doubt that he’s doing precisely the right thing. He and veaming to be liberated from the traffic thai:
serves in the Academy of Magic and Engineering and wears them down; he can no longer comfortably
does his work so scrupulously that he’s thought not stand on any of them while surveying, and prefers to
only to be utterly reliable but even somewhat tedious. do his work while in harnesses suspended beneath
Only his masters and a handful of chosen recruits their arches and columns. He explains to curious
know otherwise. bystanders that this gives him an unusual perspective
Some of the Penumbral Fortress’ denizens argue and thereby allows him to catch more problems
that the City of Bridges poses a threat to them, one before they become critical.
best dealt with by smashing the city into fragments so
that the Kelders’ monstrous inhabitants can then Combat
polish off its people at their leisure. Ejo argues to the Ejo likes to fight, although he knows he’s not
contrary that taking the city intact would give the very good at it. Against targets too powerful for his
Pentagon a new base of operations and avoid prema- dagger, he generally uses treachery - bridges do
turely alarming future targets of infiltration. Sofar his collapse, after all, and the City of Bridges is widely
arguments have carried the day with Dar’Tan, whose known to have a few precarious spots here and there,
word is final. so a fresh accident is disappointing but not surprising.
When he must fight, he tries to use his superior
Roleplclyjng Notes maneuvering ability, knowing that very few outsiders
Ejo is slowly going insane, and hasn’t yet fully fight well while dangling over abysses or wrapped up
realized it. He regards the changes in his outlook as in elaborate trusses.
simply consequences of his growing understanding of
 CHAPTER TH RE€: T H € PENVMBRAL FORTRESS

architects seldom choose t o leave t h e environ- the shadows move mindlessly, seeking out en-
m e n t a l o n e . Some parts of t h e Fortress, ergy t o prey upon, or drifting with n o more
particularly those not in use a t the moment, act conscious direction than clouds. Others are
as something like “shadow wells,” which get infected by intelligences from the Plane of
stripped of any residual magical energy and Shadow. Some of these are no more sophisti-
their native darkness for t h e purpose of experi- cated than animals, but some are as capable as
ments in shadow control. Here the air feels t h i n people, and still others are simply not readily
and dry, either unusually warm or bitterly chill, comprehensible t o people of the Material Plane.
and sounds echo for a long time. Around the Masters of shadow magic also travel in shadow
magical laboratories, on t h e other hand, t h e air form for their own reasons, including the pure
is thick and dank as if a storm blew through and pleasure of the experience, and they often com-
then the winds died, and sounds are all muffled. mandeer the shadows they pass to assist in their
This disruption of t h e senses confuses and movements and labors.
frightens those who have not had time to be- To kindle any light in the Fortress is al-
come accustomed t o them. Newcomers t o t h e ways t o i n v i t e a n y n u m b e r of s t r a n g e
Fortress must make a Will check (DC 20) upon manifestations of shadow, and any light source
entering or suffer a -1penalty to all rolls for 2d6 left unattended in the Fortress soon gets smoth-
hours. Even those who succeed o n t h e Will roll ered by living shadows. Candles and small
suffer a - 1 t o all Listen and Spot skill checks for Lamps go out within a few minutes, torches
the same 2d6 hour period. After this, characters and big lamps i n an hour or two, bonfires and
are better able to adapt themselves t o their big hearth fires within half a day. T h e many
strange surroundings, though this does not de- semi-conscious shadows of the Fortress are
crease the Fortress’ sinister aura. slow to approach members of sentient races,
There is no pure light anywhere in the For- however. As long as a light remains carried or
tress. The shadows cast by each lamp, fire, and tended, it can burn naturally.
magical glow promptly come to life under the The inside of the Fortress also smells strange.
command of the shadow worshippers. Many of Both for their experiments and for personal
uleasures. the elders prow darkness- lovine herbs,
THE PENVMBRAL PENTAGON

scents. The work conducted in the Fortress gives for their own affairs. Commanders who win
off its own reeks, from the hot smoke of alchemi- Terk’s favor work more often with him directly
cal fires to the foul scent of living beings subjected and get access t o better gear, while those who
to torture and vivisection. displease him are ignored. Only very rarely does
Residents of the Fortress suffer a -3 penalty to Terk ever overtly remove a commander; he
scent-related checks until they become accus- prefers t o leave them to face assassination at
tomed to their new home. This takes a full year, or the hands of ambitious underlings, and h e re-
six months if they succeed in a Will check (DC wards well-executed coups.
20) at any point. T h e other members of the Pentagon respect
t h e guard patrols because it is convenient to do
From Stone to Shadow so and saves t h e others from t h e problems of
coming up with their own systems for general
T h e Penumbral movement is poorly and
security. By cooperating with Terk, they can
inconsistently organized, a situation which pro-
focus their own efforts on their own specific
vides many i n t e r e s t i n g o p p o r t u n i t i e s for
areas of interest. If Terk were t o die or fall into
adventurers. T h e five members of t h e Penum-
disgrace, the others would give authority for
bra1 P e n t a g o n hold power personally, as
the patrols t o some talented lieutenant.
individuals. Having begun i n rebellion against
their masters, they share a vision of what the Maintenance and Constructjon
world should become and how they c a n help T h e work of building and repairing the
speed t h e arrival of its final condition. They do Fortress goes o n everywhere, but with less long-
not share a vision of organization charts O r term organization than is required by the patrols.
SoundboOkkeePing Or t h e Proper depth of h e r - Terk and Night Arm have separate networks of
archY, however. Since matters that bore the students and colleagues. They don’t quite corn-
Pentagon are n o t addressed, at least not by Pete directly, and each has specialties t h a t the
those in power, the Penumbral movement works other calls o n when necessary, but they do
with a hodgepodge of arrangements, each made constantly challenge each other to show their
for Some specific but often forgotten Purpose respective worthiness a t t h e great work.
and left in place, intermixed with the ideas of T h e primary cabals of shadow engineers are
subordinates who haven’t Yet been overruled. described below in their appropriate locations.
The Guard Patrols A t one time each section had its own resident
T h e closest the Fortress comes t o genuine engineers, and Some of their Supply chambers
organization is t h e system of guard patrols, es- still remain, but the experiment Proved waste-
tablished by Sutane Terk while building t h e ful. Apprentice engineers must spend time in
first chambers. Each patrol consists of five indi- the of Patrol duty, divided between
viduals, four low-level soldiers and a leader trips throughout the Fortress to examine it them-
several levels higher, all generally fighters. Terk selves and being “On in Terk’s Or Night
would like t o put people with the potential t o Arm’s WorkshoPs. Messengers bring news of
become penumbral lords o n patrol to build potential problems, and the apprentices go to
knowledge and experience, but such individu- investigate and decide whether more experi-
als are rare. Would-be masters o f t h e penumbral meed artisans are required. Apprentices who
arts among guards who lack real potential may k t serious problems go unfixed get punished
study the basics (acquiring a single level in a n as do those who make too much fuss
arcane magic-using class), but that’s as far as Over minor Or nonexistent Problems. Almost
they’re likely t o go. all engineers have a few disciplinary scars t o
remind them of the importance of sound judg-
Each section of t h e Fortress has a local
ment.
commander, who tries t o keep track of the
individuals in that area who have potential for In theory, as authorized representatives of
advancement. The section commander also One Of the members Of the Penta-
works Out deals with other important figures in gon, making inspection trips can
the area, so that patrol duty can be a punish- go a h o s t anywhere and examine almost every-
merit for those who have failed in their thing in t h e fortress. I n practice, apprentices
responsibilities, as well as a testing ground for must Proceed carefully, and it takes heavy bribes
potential leaders. Terk works with t h e corn- and careful diplomacy when some prominent
manders t o keep their guards supplied with Shadow worshipper’s special project must be
reliable equipment and otherwise leaves them a disturbed. Many magicians and priests regard
great deal of freedom, as well as accountability the intrusion Out Of the Of
 CHAPTER THREE: T H E P E N U M B R A L FORTRESS

Shadow as a price well worth paying t o protect ambushed and apparently lost, or come i n dur-
their privacy. ing magically created storms that shut down
Spies any canyon traffic lacking t h e right protective
charms.
All members of the Pentagon and all of their
followers spy on the other inhabitants of the Approaching the Gate
Fortress. Some spymasters keep their discoveries T h e most heavily traveled route t o the Can-
to themselves. Others like to buy, sell and trade yon Gate leads down from t h e Moaning Cliff.
what they learn. In addition, knowing that oth- There are several deceitfully plausible false roads
ers are spying on them, local leaders spend time leading off t h e correct path in that region.
testing the loyalty of their own followers, purg- Guides mark each one with a bright red metal
ing probable t r a i t o r s a n d t r y i n g t o or stone pillar planted securely in t h e ground,
counter-convert the disloyal o n their staffs. T h e but they don’t last. High winds knock some
Pentagon prefers not only to allow this practice, over, and landslides and cliff collapses send
but also t o actually encourage the endless cas- some plunging into the canyon depths. T h e
cade of betrayal and counter-betrayal, o n the servants of the Penumbral Pentagon also some-
assumption that anyone who can be overcome in times remove these markers t o set up “accidents”
this manner deserves to be. of their own design. T h e false routes all end
within three hundred feet of vertical descent
ith: The Canvm Gate over no more t h a n half a mile of trail. T h e
routes favored for ambush all end shortly after
T h e oldest part of t h e Penumbral Fortress,
rises t h a t h i d e their ends, beyond which
t h e Canyon Gate, nestles more t h a n a thousand
ambushers lie in wait.
feet below the major route through t h e Canyon
of Souls. Haresha Two-Hangs and her allies The route to the Gate goes through similar
deliver relatively small quantities of building convolutions and then passes into a natural cave
material and other supplies while guiding cara- subtly enlarged. The cave passage descends steeply,
vans through t h e canyon - short detours let with several switchbacks, and opens out beneath a
them unload cargo in out-of-the-way corners. massive overhang. From here on down the rest of the
Larger quantities of supplies come via caravans route is in constant shadow; sunlight sometimes
 ~~ ~~

THE PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

reflects to nearby outcroppings and shines through

crevices, but no light falls anywhere within twenty
OutsjdePatrols feet of the route. Its upper reaches are not obviously
A patrol is CR 12 if the leader leads all zealots, 10 reworked, but once the trail enters the cave, the stairs
ifzealotsandothersaremixed,and8ifitisallothers.The and platforms are all obvious. Anyone who gets that
followingtypical individuals may speaka languagefrom far presumably knows that intelligent activity takes
a native land in addition to thcse listed. place there.
PatrofLeader~Ftr&CR 6; SZ Medium-sizehumanoid; HD Small streams cascade down into the Canyon
6D10+6; hp 45; lnit +6; Speed 2 0 ft; AC 15 (+2 Dex, +10 of Souls every so often throughout its length.
arrnw,+3shield);Atkmelee+11/+6(bastardswordldl0+6 Small bridges lead over these where necessary
damage), ranged+8/+3 (composite longbow ld8+3 dam- along the routes known to the world at large. The
age); AL LE; SV Fort+lO Ref +6,Will +7; Str 16, Dex 14,
Con 14, lnt 13, Wis 12, Cha 12. path to the Canyon Gate ends at a nearly round
Skius: Climb +8 (+0in armor),Craft (armor)+3, flat space where two waterfalls plunge into deep
Heal +5, Jump +8 (+0 in armor), Swim +6 (-2 in pools, one at the eastern end, one at the western
armor). end. The noise of these falls - enhanced by
careful placement of stones and carved channels
Feats: Cleave, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bas-
tard sword), Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot,
- provides a little extra cover for traffic in and
out of the gate. From the western end of the
Power Attack, Weapon Focus (bastard sword),
gateway plateau, the pool drains into another
Weapon Specialization(bastard sword).
cascade and flows off down the steeply sloping
Lmguuga: M e a n , shadowspeak. canyon to the west. (Several miles further west it
Possessions: +2 f;cu plate, +1 large metal shield, +2 sinks into a network of impassible caves and
bastardseoord,+I composite longbow,20normalarrows, becomes part of the West Ontenazu groundwater
potionofcuremoderatewounds,potionof endurance, +I supply. 1
claJcofresisitme,ringofdarkcision.
ZhCuard,Ftr4:CR 4; SZ Medium-sizehumanoid; HD The Outside Patrols
4d10+8; hp 30; lnit +6; Speed 2 0 ft; AC 19 (+2 Dex, +7 The inhabitants of the Penumbral Fortress
armor); Atk melee +9 (bastard sword ld10+3 damage), don’t like daylight, even when it comes indi-
ranged +6 (composite longbow ld8+3 damage); AL LE; rectly. Artificial light like that from torches and
SV Fort +8,Ref +4, Will +3; Str 16,Dex 14, Con 14, lnt 12,
Wis 12, Cha 12. spells may trouble eyes adjusted to darkness, but it
Skius:Climb+6(+1inannor),Craft(armor) +3, isn’t spiritually upsetting. It’s a tool, which its
Heal +5, Jump +6 (+1 in armor), Swim +6 (+1 in users can put away just like they can stow their
armor). hammers or swords when a job is done. Sunlight,
on the other hand, doesn’t submit to the will of
Feats:ExoticWeapnProficiency(bastardsword),
even the Penumbral Pentagon. They have spells
Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Weapon Focus
to hide themselves away from sunlight, and some
(bastard sword), Weapon Specialization (bastard
of the penumbral conspirators can even control
sword).
the weather so as to draw in clouds, but the
Lmgwges: Mean,shadowspeak. shadow worshippers cannot escape the reality
Possessions: +2 chainmail, +I bastard sword +I that the sun is still there, shining away, whether
composite h g b w , 20 normal arrows, potion of cure they can see it or not.
moderate wounds, potion of endurance, +I cloak of Due t o the unpleasant nature of the duty,
resistance, ring ofdarkvision.
therefore, two sorts of shadow worshipper most
Udmppy ciuerd,Ftr2 CR 2; SZ Medium-size humanoid;
HD 2d10+2; hp 13; lnit +5; Speed 20 ft; AC 17 (+1 Dex, +6 commonly get assigned to patrol outside the For-
arrnor);Atktypedamage;ALCE;SVFort +6,ReF +2, Will tress:
+2; Str 13, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8. Ambitious Zealots. These particularly dedicated
Skius: Climb +5 (+0inarmor), Craft (armor) +2, worshippers of darkness seek to prove their merit
Heal +5, Jump +5 (+0 in armor), Swim +5 (+0 in by doing necessary but unpleasant jobs with all
armor). the enthusiasm and attention to detail that they
Fears:ExoticW~~n~ofici~~(bastardsword), possibly muster.
can
Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (bastard sword). Unhappy Failures and Troublemakers. The hier-
hguuga: Mean,shadowspeak archy punishes minor violations of the Fortress’
Possessions: +1 chainmail, masterwork bastard code of conduct with one or more shifts of outside
sword, composite longbow, 20 normal arrows, po- patrol. A small failure marring an otherwise good
tionof cure moderatewounds,potion of endurance, ring record may earn the violator a single shift, while
 CHAPTER THREE: THE PENWMBRAL FORTRESS

persistent habits of failure and insub-

ordination can lead to outside duty for
months o n end.
The Fortress assigns teams of five
individuals t o patrol together (see
sidebar for statistics). There is always
at least one zealot in thegroup, but this
person isn’t necessarily the leader. One
to four of the other members of the
patrol will also be zealots. Disgruntled
individuals are seldom willing to actu-
ally betray the Fortress (any effort to
persuade, intimidate, or otherwise
manipulate them into doing so is DC
2 5 ) , but they can be bribed or cajoled
into overlooking PCs on occasion (DC
15 for the relevant tests).
The Canyon Gate
The Gate itself is a 30-foot square
space framed in black basalt. The rites
that create the penumbral gates no
longer require black stone, but the Pen-
umbral Pentagon orders that the old
gates be maintained as they are, partly
for tradition and partly in the belief
that it’s wise not to take chances with
such things. The gateway doors are
elaborately carved with scenes of Pen-
umbral triumph, while the pillars and
lintel are solid blocks squared and pol-
ished to nearly mirror-like smoothness
without any decoration.
The natural cliff face all around
has been chipped away and basalt
blocks six feet long have been set in
end to end for 30 feet on each side and
also for 30 feet straight up above the
gateway lintel. Slits allow guards to
look out and attack anyone on the
plateau, though they’ve never had tar-
gets aside from the undead “native” to
the Canyon. These slits are hidden in
two panels of the second level of blocks,
which have concealed hinges that al-
low them to fall flat open.
Behind the gate, the Penumbral
Fortress’ s o u t h e r n m o s t s e c t i o n
stretches up t h e slope, a solid mass
of blackness over 60 feet high. Two
passages leading t o the rest of t h e
Fortress run from t h e cliff face down
into crevices before shifting into t h e
frontiers of t h e Plane of Shadow.
THE PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

d8 Fast T u n n e l Disturbance
1 l d 3 s r ~ a ~ d e v o w (Creature
sn Collection 11, p. 7). It takes them one full round of concentrationto pass through
the tunnel wall into or out of the astral plane.
2 2d6HitDmoFshadowcreaeaturer(see template in Appendix). Any typeof shadow creature may be present in the
Penumbral Fortress in almost any context. Some are guards, servants, or pets of the Fortress, and others may be
escaped prisoners or recent trespassers from the Plane of Shadow. Their reaction to charactersdependsentirely
on what sort of shadow beings are encountered and what these beings’ roles are within the Fortress.
3 1 despair (Creature Collection 11, p. 58) carrying a message to or from Chiruli (see Chapter Two). The Fortress’
inhabitantsstay out of the way of Chiruli’s messengers, since he takes grave offense at any interference with his
business.
4 1 active ioun bshdder (Creaturs Collection 11, p. 97). accompanied by the necessary eight ioun stones. These
constructs seek out the fortress in order to bring to light any Slarecian knowledge or artifacts that they come
across. Such a beholder has no interest in any people it encountersunless they happen to have Slarecian artifacts
in their possession. Anyone carrying such an artifact the beholder regards as an enemy to remove.
5 ld4 night-touched controllers (Creature Collection 11, p. 119). Somehow or other these frightening beings have
stumbled onto the PenumbralFortress. It puzzles them deeply, and they combine their customary bloodthirstiness
with a profound curiosity about the whole shadow cause. Unfortunately, once they enter the fast tunnel, they can’t
get out without assistance.
6 1 shadow lord(CreatureCollection11, p. 144). Thesecreatures sometimes manifest spontaneously out of the walls
of the fast tunnel and simply lurk there, seeking to stalk and destroy as many living beings as they can. Night Arm
and Sutane Terk would very much like the opportunity to study these things so as to develop defenses and
preventive measures, and the patrols have standing orders to attempt capture. This has yet to work.
7 1 skulwwm (Crestwe Collection11, p. 161). Several colonies of these creatures live in the depths of the Kelder
Mountains, and occasionally one manages to drop into a fast tunnel. In keeping with the general skullworm drive
to corrupt and betray a host’s affection for the gods, the Kelder skullworms seek to spread to new, more populated
territory. Their victims therefore try to become involved in activities outside the Fortress.
8 1 Slarecian shadowspawn (Creature Collection 11, p. 164). Any shadowspawn encountered has probably only
recently entered the Fortress and therefore seeks a haven more urgently than prey at the moment. It can often
recognizethose who don’t share the Penumbral creed and may attempt to bargainwith them, at least to theextent
of trying to get them to leave it alone.

Disturbances in the is a 25% chance that a patrol is already on the

scene, fighting with the outsiders.
Penumbral Fortress
There is a 10%chance that any area into which
intruders may enter will be on alert because of recent d6 MainPasageDii
troubles.The GM candetermine this in advance or roll it 1 ‘T&ekew)lere in theFohss; there d l be no
as the Pcsleave a fast tunnel. There is also a 5% chance patrok in this area for the next twelve hous.
that a fast tunnel they enter has recently had s o m e t h i 2 ldespaionanenandforchiruli.
eventful hapen to it; roll this when the PCs enter a 3 2d6 Hit Oice dshgbwcreabras (seetemplate in
tunnel. Appendoc). Any type of shadow creatwe may be
present inthePenumbralFortressindmostmycok
FastTunnelDjsturbances text. See above table, Fast ‘Tunnel Dsturbences, for
Roll ld8 and consult the following table. Any of more information.
the following creatures not native to the Fortress were 4 ld4rnght-tauddconbdenseekmgawayuutofthe
Fortress. They dcdt yet know that ther only optms
drawn by the intense magical energy confined within arethe maingates -if they passthrouc$ eitherGate,
it, and hope to learn more about it and to prey on those they‘ll s l i back into the Plane of Shadow rather than
responsible for it. They begin as hostile to anything and emerginguctothephyucdworkl.ChaadenwithKn
anyone else they encounter.Sentientbeings respond to edge (arcana) may speculate to this effect (OC 20).
social interaction as usual, though it’s unlikely that PC 5 ld4howhgabaninat#nr ( c h c- n, p.
75).WithintheFortresstheirMinkabilitydoesnZw
intruders in the Fortress could offer them anything buttheirspeed increases to70 ft. Ifthereare3 ~ 4 0 f
they’d find more interesting than the characters’ own them,thereisalwaysapabdpresent,engagingthemin
blood and energy. Combat
Main Passage Disturbances 6 ld3+l~~slerecianmXmr(CreatwCd#tiar
U,p.l66).7heyhavejust~agroupof~
Roll ld6 and consult the following table. If
the result indicates an outside presence, there
 CHAPTER THREE: THE P € N W M B R A L FORTRESS

DisturbancesElsewhere reasonable opportunity t o escape conflict, they

Roll ld6 and consult the following table. If the result will, leaving t h e fighting t o others.
indicates an outside presence, there is a 10% chance that Prjson er Detail
apaml is alreadyon the scene,fightingwith the intruders. Two 5th level fighters lead prisoners t o
waiting areas for forced labor and/or experi-
mentation. Roll l d 4 t o determine the nature of
d6 D* t h e prisoners.
1 TroubleelsewhsrcintheForbess;therewillbeno
patrols in this area for the next twelve hours.
2 1despar on an errand for Chiruli.
3 A nest of uarecian wums, including ld4+3 6HD
d4 Prisoners
adultsand ld20+10 1HD hatchlings.They are feed- 1 4d6 1st level commoners.
ingontherecentlydead remainsof haplessFortress 2 3d4 experts of level 1-3.
residents caught off-guard.
3 ld6 experts of level 2-5, and/orld4-1 aris-
4 Apatrdcomposedoffwunhappy~andone
zealot. The unhappy guards have decided that the tocrats or warriors of level 1-6.
zealotmustdie,andhavehim(0rher)pinnedforthe 4 ld2 aristocrats or members of any PC class
killing blow when the PCs come into range. Either of level 5-8.
side may try to get the PCs’ support; if the PCs are
disguised as residents of the Fortress, both sides
definitely do.
5 ld2 x 5 rlarRmmnr, which have taken complete
control of one or two patrols. T h e prisoners have nothing but the clothes
6 A shadomparm lair, inhabited for some time and o n their backs, and most have been heavily
stocked with 3d6 imprisoned victims. Most such beaten often enough to leave many scars. They
lairs are disguised as chambers in need of mainte- can be of any PC race native t o Ghelspad,
nance or renovationand temporarily closed off. though most will be human and very few will be
half-orcs or halflings. Warriors, o n occasion,
may also be of sentient non-PC races, such as
orcs or proud. Any character of a higher level
Travelers jn the Fortress than the guards will be more heavily bound or
I n addition t o intruders, the Fortress’ resi- chained t h a n other prisoners. T h e guards carry
dents move around o n their own errands. A t the standard equipment for patrols in the For-
least one of each of t h e following types of tress, though they’re n o t deeply worried about
traveling groups passes through the vicinity in trouble. Any attack that wounds t h e guards will
any six-hour stretch. motivate at least a few of the prisoners t o attack
them as well; if t h e guards are defeated, the
Patrol On Duty prisoners bargain for their own release and in-
At least two members of the patrol are formation about t h e quickest way out.
zealous devotees, with the rest either moder-
ately committed or suffering from some failure Others
or apathy. See Outside Patrols above for statis- Individuals and small groups constantly
tics. move through t h e Fortress. Most of these are 1st
t o 2nd level commoners and experts who wor-
Patrol Off Duty ship t h e darkness and provide general labor for
They are n o t a t alert, and if coming off a their masters. Keep in mind t h a t t h e Fortress is
patrol are significantly fatigued. See Outside a place where people actually live and work.
Patrols above for statistics. Don’t use this as a n excuse to throw easy kills a t
Engineering Survey Crew characters, but make the challenges plausible.
Four experts led by a master surveyor (see T h e Fortress’ residents know t h a t strange things
sidebar for statistics). These teams, analogous sometimes break into their home, and almost
to the military patrol, study t h e condition of all prefer to flee t h e scene and let t h e guards
the Fortress itself, noting both physical and deal with it. Intruders who are n o t obviously
magical weaknesses. Two or more crews arrive hostile, o n the other hand, can pass relatively
from elsewhere in the Fortress within six hours easily as residents, since the Fortress has more
of an incident created by magical intruders, if than enough inhabitants (and turnover in popu.
any Fortress residents survive to sound t h e lation) that there are many mutual strangers
alarm. T h e survey crews have t h e means for moving through the corridors.
self-defense but prefer n o t t o fight. Given any
T H € PENVLtBRAL PENTACON

t The Southern Fortress

T h e gateway area is a total of ninety feet
EngjneenngSurvey Crew wide, sixty feet high and ninety feet deep. Any-
The crew as a whole is CR 11. one capable of sensing through the surrounding
shadow Surveyor.WizBffen1:CR 9; SZ Medium-size hu- rock c a n easily discern the basalt slabs that
manoid; HD 9d4+9; hp 31; h i t +2; Speed 30 ft; AC 13 (+2 frame t h e space.
Dex, +1 bracers); Atk melee +4 (quarterstaff ld6), ranged
+ 6 (crossbow ld8); SA special attacks; SQ darkvision (60 1.The Gateway
ft),summonfamiliar;ALLE;SVFort+3,Ref +4,Wi11+9; Str The basalt doors of the gateway are each 15 feet
10, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 17, Wis 12, Cha 10.
wide. They’re set on recessed hinges and can open
Skills: Alchemy +8, Concentration +6, either in or out. Thirty feet inside the mountain is a
Craft (masonry) +8, Decipher Script +4,Hide second set of doors, also solid basalt and also hinged
+ 10,Knowledge (arcana) +8,Knowledge (Plane to open in or out. The walls and ceiling of the
of Shadow) +8, Knowledge (underground) +8, courtyard are pierced with arrow slits to allow defend-
Profession (engineer) +6, Scry +8, Spellcraft ers easy response to an attack. (If both sets of doors
+9. open inward, of course, the courtyard becomesframed
Feats: Brew Potion, Craft Wand, Scribe in solid basalt and the lower arrow slits are covered
Scroll, Silent Spell. over, leaving only the ceiling slots uncovered.)
Shadow Strength (Su) : Shadow creations of
the surveyor have 10% the strength of the real
2. The Grand Courtyard
thing to those who disbelieve, unless the spe- Through the gateway is one of the largest open
cific spell description calls for a higher spaces anywhere in the Fortress, a chamber 30 feet
percentage. deep, 90 feet wide, and 60 feet high. Doors open onto
Wizard Spells Prepared: the flanking guard chambers and steps carved from
the mountain run up to the overhead guard area. This
&Detect magic, ghost sounds, mending,
courtyard is where caravans load and unload their
prestidigitation, read magic x2.
goods, where captive prisoners and monsters await
1st-Burning hands, enlarge, jump,
appraisaland where Penumbral troops gather to march
message, ventriloquism out en m s e on the rare occasions when massive
2nd-Detect thoughts, knock, obscure action is required. Chiseled graffiti attests to the
object, shatter chamber’s history, and careful observers may make a
3rd-FirebaU, shrinkitem,slow, water breathing Knowledge (history) or Knowledge (arcana) check
4th-Charm monster, shadow conjuration (DC15) to recognize names running back to within
Possessions: +1 bracers of armor, dagger, a few decades of the Divine War.
potion of alter self, potion of cure serious wounds The whole back wall of the courtyard is pitch black,
(x4), scroll of charm monster (x2), scroll of con- coveredwith animatedshadows.These stir so slowlythat
fusion, scroll ofdispel magic, scroll offireball (x2), one must watch them for minutes to confirm that there
scrollofjly, scroll of hold person ,scroll of summon has indeed been movement. A single-story opening in
monster I (x2),scroll of lightning bolt (x2) , wand the middle of the strange back wall leads to stairs that
of burning hands, wand of ray of enfeeblement, ascend steeply out of sight. At each end of the front wall,
wand of magic missile. oppositethe door for that side’sguard chamber,an ebony
The master surveyor only keeps one wand doorway opens onto a shadow-filled passage that slopes
and scroll handy at any given time; the others down into the Southern Expanse of the Fortress. These
carry the extra items. doors normally stand open, except when specific alarm
Suweyor, Exp4: CR 3; SZ Medium-size humanoid; HD warrants closing them. They can be barred and locked
4d6+4; hp 16; h i t +I; Speed 30 ft; AC 11 (+1 Dex); Atk from either side.
melee+3(quarterstaff ld6); SA special attacks; SQ special
The courtyard remains lit by torches m a t of the
qualities; ALLE; SVFort +2, Ref +2, Will +6; Str 11, Dex 13,
Con 12, lnt 16, Wis 14, Cha 10. time, for the convenience of those passing through who
Skills: Climb +7, Craft (masonry) +lo, Disable Device +8, depend on sight.
lump +7, Knowledge (arcana) +lo,Knowledge (Plane of 3. TheFlankingGuard Chambers
Shadow) +lo, Listen+11, Profession(engineer) +12, Search
+lo, Use Magic Device +7, Wilderness Lore +5. Each of these chambers looks out onto the plateau
Feats: Alertness, Night Senses, Skill Focus (Profession). and in on the gateway courtyard,with six tallslitsin each
Possessions:potion ofcure moderate wounds(x2), ringo f wall. Wood shutters lined with iron stand next to each
feather faling, sovereignglue. slit, and can be closed with one round’s effort. Weapon
mcks line the other walls, with 10 sets of equipment for
guards. Normally there are five guards on duty in each of
these chambers; in times of general alarm, the Pentagon
 CHAPTER THREE: THE P E N U M B R A L FORTR€SS

The east end of the second level is given over to a

midden,ortrashheap.Itcontainseverythlngfromanimal
Canyon Gate Senior Command and human bones to possibly valuable debris scavenged
Male human, Ftr8: CR 8 ; SZ Medium-size human- from the canyon’sstreams. No objectsthat the guardscan
oid; HD 8d10+16, hp 76; lnit t6; Speed 30 ft; AC possibly use remain the heaps, but anyone looking for
22 (Dex +2, plate +lo), Atk melee +12/+7 (bastard exotic animalparts or rare minerals may fmd the midden
sword ldlO), ranged +11/t6 (composite longbow to be good pickings.
ld8+2), AL LE; SV Fort +8,Ref t 5 , Will +4; Str 16,
Dex 14, Con 14, I n t 12, Wis 12, Cha 12. 6. Guard Quarters
Skills: Climb +8, Craft Penumbral protocol demands that three patrols
(armorsmithing) +6,Craft (blacksmithing) of guards remain on duty around the gateway, with
+6, Handle Animal +4, Intimidate +4, two more patrols roaming the vicinity outside for a
Jump +8, Ride +5, Sense Motive + 3 , Spot total of 25 guards in each of three shifts. With a
+ 7 , Swim +7. reserve for injuries and other complications, a total of
Feats: Alertness, Blind-Fight, Cleave, 100 guards occupy the fourth and fifth levels.
Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Exotic Weapon Gateway duty is, as noted above, not prestigious
Proficiency (bastard sword), Improved Ini- or generally very interesting. At least half of the
tiative, Power Attack, Weapon Focus guards off-duty at any given moment are likely to be
(bastard sword). asleep, and the others are seldom at a high stage of
Possessions: +2 full plate, + J large metal alert, Each floor includes bunk space for 50 guards
shield, + 2 bustard sword, + J composite (with individual rooms for the 10patrol commanders
longbow, 20 normal arrows, potion of cure and shared space for the 40 soldiers), kitchen space,
moderate wounds, potion of endurance, + I general-purpose storage separate from the warehouse
cloak of resistance, ring of darkvision. areas, and a training area.
The guards do not spend mote time in armor and
carrying weapons than they need to. If an alarm
sounds in the gateway, each must take the usual time
orders anadditionalfive in each.The guards onduty each to equip for battle. If the gateway area were seriously
use one set of this gear, and return it at the end of their breached, the guards would not necessarily be ex-
shift. pected to repel the invaders. Rather, their job is to
delay the invaders long enough for word of the
4. Theoverhead GuardArea trouble to reach the interior stretches of the Fortress
This is one large chamber running the width of the so that a more formidable response can begin. The
gateway block. Its middle third has half a dozen slits guards know they’re expendable and are seldom
opening onto the gateway courtyard, and at each end of thrilled by the fact; they can on occasion be bar-
the front side a hinged slab can unfold to provide a gained with (DC15) for plausible offers of ransom
pladorm for guards to attack intruders from above. A and escape.
weapons rack on the east wall has the same supplies as By tradition, the senior patrol commander (see
each of the flanking guard chambers, and usually five sidebar for statistics) acts as chaplain and advisor to
guards occupy this space. the patrols. His room, a small chamber off to the side
See outside Putrols above for patrol statistics. on the fifth level, contains a shelf of philosophical
and theological books about Penumbral doctrine,
TheSouthernmostWing and also his personal notes about the behavior of the
The stairsleadingout of the Gatewaycourtyardrise guards currently assigned to the Canyon Gate. So
as steeply as if they were carvedout of the mountain’s face, long as they can be assured that no one will catch
which indeed they were before Penumbral magic pulled them at it, troublemakers and malcontents among
them into shadow realms. The s t a i n go up with a small the guards will gladly bargain for control of that
landing halfway up to the next level and leadingdirectly information, though they cannot be trusted to up-
from one level to the next without turns or switchbacks. hold their end of such bargains.
5.Warehousing
The second and third levels consist almost entirely
of a set of big, mostly empty chambers which store food More than 500 miles separate the Canyon
and supplies for the guards along with anythlng that Gate and the Bridge Gate, even if a traveler can fly
caravans may be moving into or out of the Fortress. directly. The Penumbral Fortress does not have
Generallyonly the stairway and immediatevicinity is lit, hundreds of miles of corridors, however. The
thoughlampscanlighteachchamberasfullyasnecessary. shadow-bridging magic that sustains the Fortress
allows for “fast tunnels”, which translate each
THE PENWMBRAL PENTAGON

pace into yards or even miles of physical distance. more often when there have recently been distur-
The bulk of the Fortress therefore consists of bances in that part of the Fortress, less frequently
clusters of chambers linked by fast tunnels. Noth- when problems elsewhere call for reinforcements.
ing in the traveler’s experience clearly distinguishes
a fast tunnel from any other; the Fortress’ engi- The Rusty Chambers
neers mark them with special sigils on the doors at Only the Canyon Gate is older than this part of
each end. the Fortress, which lies along the north flank of ridges
Though entirely contrary to all material world just barely north of the Canyon of Souls. Both of the
geometry, north is always downhill in the Fortress, passages running north from the Canyon Gate pass
except where specifically noted otherwise. T h e through the Rusty Chambers, and three more fast
slopes range from very gentle to so steep that tunnels start in the Chambers.
passages require ladders rather than stairs. This The name reflects the literal truth of the
uniformity of slope helps those familiar with the chambers’ appearances. A rich vein of iron runs
Fortress to find their way in the dark, and confuses through the mountain, and many of the stone
those who know the northern Bridge Gate to be at blocks carved for the chambers have a distinctly
a much higher altitude than the southern Canyon rusty hue. When the chambers shifted into shadow,
Gate. The various portals and tunnels through the the rust came with them. The shadows that swirl
Plane of Shadow allow for a downhill slope and a through the corridors and rooms here include
rise in altitude during the same stretch of hallway, turbulent rusty veins, some circling in constant
and Dar’Tan finds the reversal amusing. eddies, others flowing along at twice human run-
As with the Gates, five-person patrols circu- ning speed. T h e Rusty Chambers’ inhabitants
late through the major corridors, checking the fast generally furnish their spaces with tables, chairs,
tunnels, any spaces where prisoners are held, and wall hangings and other goods that carry o n the
areas that have been opened to the outside world rust theme, in color or material.
or to the Plane of Shadow in the past. A patrol
passes each assigned point about every six hours-
 CHAPTER THREE: THE PENVMBRAL FORTR€SS

7. The Gateway Chambers clerics of Belsameth are n o t affected by the

The two shadowy passages leading out of the penalties t o divine magic outlined below. This
Canyon Gate arrive here. Massive granite doors can “oversight” may be further evidence that t h e
closeoffthe passagesfrom within the GatewayCham- divine power behind t h e cult of Madriel’s
bers, and their hinges can be destroyedfrom the north Shadow is actually Belsameth, having a private
side, sealing off each space with a one-ton slab. The joke o n both her sister and o n the surviving
doors leading into the rest of the Rusty Chambers are practitioners of the shadow magic raped from
also granite, one ton each, and can also be unhinged Drendari. If this is true, one cannot help but
for defense. wonder about Belsameth’s eventual plans for
The rest of these chambers glisten with rust revenge against those who once grievously
streaks over granite with a very high proportion of harmed the demigoddess t h a t only she and
quartz. The faintest light casts ruddy sparkling reflec- Drendari know is her daughter.
tions. Ruts worn in the floor by countless pedestrians As might be expected, the spiritual atmo-
and small wagons shine especially brightly. sphere in t h e vicinity of the blasphemous hall is
One patrol occupies each main chamber at all quite thoroughly poisoned. All divine magic
times. They generally give more attention to traf- tests and checks are made at +3 DC, or +5 DC
fic from the north, as their duties include if the practitioner can see a desecrated shrine t o
preventing unauthorized departures. This is a his god while casting. Any efforts a t healing or
trickier challenge than it seems, given the tangle direct communication with t h e god take an
of conflicting authority and the general absence of additional +2 penalty, as t h e work here espe-
clear-cut chains of command. Plausible bluffs are cially hurts such powers.
quite possible, particularly for characters who can At any moment, ld3 groups of priests and
demonstrate a general knowledge of Penumbral acolytes are engaged in the work of blasphem-
doctrine and powers. ing. There are ld6 priests of 1-3rd level and two
presiding priests of level 4-10 (ld6+3). Any
8. ‘TheHall of ‘Temples priest at 10th level is also a 1st level penumbral
A decade ago, an incursion of skullworms lord. Eachpriest has ld3 acolytes, divided evenly
destroyed most of the people who used to live between 1st level adepts and 1st level common-
here, before guards discovered the infestation and ers. The acolytes hold necessary tools and goods
removed it. Kebera, a priestess devoted to Chiruli’s and otherwise assist in ways that don’t involve
invented cult of Madriel’s Shadow, led the purifi- working magic themselves.
cation effort that followed and claimed the space Where Chiruli maintains a benevolent curi-
for herself. Since nobody else wanted the area at osity about the world, Kebera feels a n active and
that time, she got it, and has held o n to it ever passionate hatred for the light. I n Kebera’s mind,
since. any intruder from outside the community of
Kebera’s work is the systematic study and Penumbral worship must perish, and quickly.
cataloging of the myriad forms of blasphemy. She T h e only thing that could win any reprieve from
has joined most of the Rusty Chambers into one her wrath is some way t o expand the range of her
huge open space with many alcoves, balconies and invulnerabilities t o damage. She would love to
landings. Prisoners who worship gods not yet rep- become unhallowed like her mentor, but only
resented in the hall are tricked or forced into the those chosen by the gods for greatness can ever
assembly of suitable shrines, and Kebera’s under- betray them so utterly. Kebera, for all her skill
lings circulate throughout the Fortress in search of and talent, is apparently not one such chosen
more creeds to include. The Hall is now filled with soul.
altars, idols, icons, and sacred spaces, each marked T h e priests and acolytes feel a similar fer-
with chalk, blood or gold leaf as appropriate, and vor, if somewhat less intensely. Kebera recruits
a great many other sorts of shrines. All but the for this project only from those who share her
newest show signs of very carefully planned viola- general outlook, feeling no obligation to incor-
tions, such as simple physical assault with big porate other points of view. Fairness is not a
mallets, use of improper incenses and other mate- very big priority for Penumbral elders.
rial components, or the cultivation of mental TheHall’sceili kat aconstant elevationthrough-
states and behaviors that offend the god com- out, though the floor slopes downward to the north,
memorated in a particular altar. creatingasmallsinglestoryhighat thesouthend. With
I t is interesting to note that, in spite of her the walls of smallerrooms knockedout and intervening
popularity in certain areas of Ghelspad, there is obstacles removed, the Hall now descends in a series of
no desecrated alter of Belsameth present i n this terracesand stairways.The GM may decide which gods
chamber. As such, t h e G M may decide that
THE PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

and demigodshave shrines in the Hall, with an empha-

sison what PCs may find shockingor disturbing, mixed
with shrines to most major gods as well as to minor gods Kebera, Priestess of the Temples
who are now altogether unknown.
F~~CR12;SMednrn-~ize~;HDl2&24;
The only things of value here are the shrines and hp 82; lnit +O; Speed 30 Ft; AC 19(plate +?); Atk mdee +10/+5
their contents. Many religious communities would be (mingStald&l), ranged+?/+4(liiaussbow ld8);SA@
well pleased to have their holy symbols rescued from atk&&&~ial~+itiiALE, SVFcit+lO,Ref+4, WiR+ll;Str
particularly callous blasphemy, and characters who 13,Dex 10,Con 14,Int 14,WE 16,Cha 12.
take such goods away with them may have the means Skius: Concentration +6, Craft (sculpture) +6,
for interesting bargaining later. Diplomacy +7, Gather Information +6, Heal +7,
Intimidate +6,Knowledge (religion)+ 11,Knowledge
9.Kebera’sQuarters (Plane of Shadow) +5, Scry +6, Spellcraft +6. F a :
Kebera makes her home in what would be one Alertnes,BrewPotion,Com~tCasting,ScribeScroll,
comer of the Hall if she allowed her followersto knock Silent Spell, Still Spell.
its walldown,but she prefershaving someprivate space.

-
Possessions: +I cbakofresistmce,light c r m b w ,
The furniture is all well made but unadorned and lObOlts, +1 momkngstm, +2plofWi&m, +I *,
without luxurious trimmings, since she finds that too ~otionofheroism,poti4mofjly,po~of*cltmb, +1
much comfort can distract her from her goal. Most of ringof~~,snollofet)wealjaunt,scrollofr~dead,
the walls are covered with bookshelves,holding many scroll of resurrection, scroll of wind d, evand of hold
manuscripts on Penumbral doctrine and notes on her
own experience. GMs who want to reveal parts of the C W SpeUs prefxrred (6,6+1,5+1,5+1,3+1,
Penumbral background may use PCs’ reading in these 3+1,2+1; Domains: Death, Evil):
books and scrolls as an opportunity to do so. O--guidance(x2), mding(x2), virtve(x2).
10.ThePnests’Corridor 1st- bane, MBS, cause fear (x3), command, deathwatch
protmtion from good.
These rooms provide priests with space to sleep
2nd--Calmmotion, deathknell(x2),inflictmockatewounds,
and study, as well as common areas for eating and shatter, zone of truth.
socializing. They share in the duties of attending to 3rd-animate dead, w e seFious wounds, deeper darkness,
their basic needs, exchanging their expertise in heal- magic circle against good,remove curse, remove disease.
ing, cursing and the like for food and supplies as 4th- dimensionalanchor,deathward, divination,spellimmu-
necessary. Half of the priests not currently active in the nity.
Hall at any moment are instead in their rooms, and the %-healing circle,plane Shih, slay living, unhallow.
other half are in the common areas. Since the priests’ 6th-create d e a d , harm, heal.
work is almost entirely ritual, they are not loaded with
 CHAPTER THREE: THE P E N V M B R A L FORTRESS

many valuable objects - but a prisoner might well

trade instruction as a form of ransom, or yield to torture.
d6 Chamber
ll.TheAcolytes’ Corridor 1 NightArm’s personalspaca. Roll ld20. On a 1, he
As area 10,but for the non-priestly participants in is currently out somewhere in the Kelders, and
this work. there is an active gateway waiting for him. On a 2-
4, heis present andasleep. Otherwise he is present
12.The Gorgon Chambers 2
and awake, studying or just daydreaming.
Empty. There is a 50%chancethat the chamber is
As a gorgon, Night Arm thinks in fundamentally newly made, with just one opening at the moment
non-human ways, far more alien than any of the gods- (the one that the characters used to come in) and
serving races and most of the titanspawn. His home more appearing every id10 minutes For the next
within the Fortressreflectsthis, making no concessions hour. Otherwise the chamber has been in exist-
ence for several hours or days, and there is a 10%
to typically human needs. No light shines anywhere in chance each hour that it will start t o close. En-
the Gorgon Chambers, or can, since shadows immedi- trances seal up at the rate of one every Id10
ately swarm any light source that leaves the adjacent minutes and then the chamber itself dissolves,
fast tunnels. Only small pieces of the Gorgon Cham- leaving anyone inside drifting in the Plane of
bers ever had physical existence - just enough to Shadow.
provide a solid frameworkfor individual-sizedgateways 3 A visiting gorgon. Night Arm has brought one of
his fellow high gorgons (Creature Collection1) t o
that allow Night Arm to mingle with other shadow experience the Penumbral cause’s power. If PCs
worshippers. are lucky, the gorgon is unimpressed so far and
Night Arm’s chambers make little to no sense in reacts neutrally t o any intruders, unless they give
terms of standard human categories. The gorgon engi- him specific grounds for offense.
neer chooses to arrange his holes within the Plane of 4 A patrol of guards. The guards are on leave t o
study Night Arm’s shadow manipulationin action,
Shadowwithout regard forphysical impossibility.Scales in hopes of gaining knowledge or simply of im-
shift, parallel corridors may converge or vary in length proving their status in Night Arm’s eyes. They
or fold into each other. Keep in mind that most features have the typical statistics for a patrol, except that
of the rooms change within a day or two, since Night each individual has 2 skill ranks in Knowledge
Arm does not regard permanence as a very high prior- (Plane of Shadow) and 1 rank in Knowledge
(arcana) per character level. They are zealous
ity. More important to him is the breaking down of about the Penumbralcause.
boring old concepts for the raw material to use in 5 Slaves for experiments. See table above for sta-
exciting new ideas. tistics for theseunfortunate souls. Only 10%retain
The followingfeaturesmay appearanywherewithin their sanity. The rest have shattered under the
these chambers at the GMs discretion. Or roll ld6 and cumulativeweight ofstrangeness,terror anddeg-
radation, and are largely withdrawn into
consult the following chart when the PCs leave a themselves. They lack the will t o do anything so
chamber and go on to the next. ambitious as trying t o escape and are likely to
regard the PCs as dangerous hallucinations.
The CentralChambers 6 Heunted.A well occupiesthe center o f this cham-
This area is the public, visible heart of the ber, and a well spirit (Creature Collection 1 )
resides in it. This unfortunate creature has been
Penumbral conspiracy -visible to those allowed to trapped here since Night Arm experimented with
participate, at least. Only the antechambers for using wells and other tunnels as gateways into
each tunnel are ever lit, except in the very rare communitiesthe Pentagonplannedt o attack. The
occasions when the Pentagon wishes to host some experiments provedunsatisfactory, but he keeps
potential recruit important enough to warrant the one o f the strange beings he encountered around
for further study.
gift of light. Darkness prevails everywhere else.
Shadows swarm on any light in the area within ld2
rounds, unless the Pentagon commands them to
hold back. open air beyond the mountain’s face, before it
For those with the power t o see (or other- was transformed into shadow.
wise sense) in darkness, t h e Central Chambers T h e walls all bear elaborate textures, with
offer imposing vistas. By the time work began recessed carvings depicting t h e history of the
on these chambers, the Pentagon had plenty of Penumbral cause and prophecies of future tri-
followers and forced labor available. Terk took umphs. T h e ceilings of both hallways and rooms
his time planning this masterwork around a arch into acute peaks, with alternating blocks
series of natural caves in one of the Kelder of rough and smooth stone projecting down in
Mountains’ many limestone outcroppings. Years sharp ridges from t h e center line. T h e doors are
of labor went into expanding and polishing t h e made of t h e same stone as the surrounding
stone, and o n building extensions out into t h e walls.
THE PENVMBRAL PENTAGON

The Central Chambers are furnished in a against each other or play long sessions of simple
manner that its admirers call “eclectic” and strategy games. Some of these chambers hold
critics think of as “haphazard.” T h e public ar- very finely crafted game boards and playing
eas of t h e Chambers serve as trophy rooms, with card sets. There is a 25% chance per guard t h a t
chairs, tables, desks and shelves reflecting all any or all of t h e awake but off-duty guards are
the styles of all t h e many lands where Penum- away serving as couriers or performing other
bral leaders have achieved any kind of minor duties for their superiors.
triumph. Some pieces come from the actual T h e guard statistics are the same as above.
homes of defeated enemies, while others simply All helmets provide darkvision capability, for
remind knowing observers with their design. the benefit of t h e rare soldiers trusted highly
Niches in the walls of the larger chambers hold enough for this duty and not otherwise capable
busts of heroes of t h e conspiracy so far, starting of seeing in the dark.
with the (alleged) features of the first cabal to
rebel against the Slarecians.
14. Guest Chambers
Each of these rooms provides a pair of beds
13. Guard Chambers for guests and two simpler, less luxurious pallets
Each of these areas includes barracks for for servants, along with one dresser that can be
three five-person patrols, a storage room for locked and one t h a t cannot. Twenty-five per-
their equipment, and a simple kitchen and pan- cent of these chambers are occupied. T h e GM
try. At any given moment, one patrol is out may choose just about any of the Scarred Lands’
making its way through the Central Chambers, kingdoms as a place of origin for guests, or
one is asleep, and t h e members of t h e third are determine t h e origin and social class of visitors
at liberty. Since they’re expected t o be avail- randomly. Roll ldlO twice and consult t h e fol-
able in case trouble develops, many stay in their lowing chart, first for nationality and t h e n for
particular set of guard chambers and train social standing:
 CHAPTER THREE: THE P E N U M B R A L FORTRESS

three feet across. If characters examine it, they find it

to be carved with runes and symbols for darkness in
d10 Land Class nearly every language of the continent. Anyone
1 Ontenam Commoner (ambitious but not “swimming” up (exactly as if in water) to touch the
particularly talented, being ball also learns that it can cast all of the spells
groomed as useful cannon available to penumbral lords, each once a day as if it
fodder) were a 10th level penumbral lord. The Pentagon uses
2 Vesh Wealthy commoner it to support their work as necessary.
3 Bridged City Soldier In times of crisis the Pentagon gathers here to
4 Mithril High-ranking soldier debate their response, and then to takeaction- with
5 Bleak Savannah Rural landlord, forester, or the assistance of the night-marked ball or without as
other prominent rural figure seems appropriate.
6 Albadia Merchant or banker 17.The Hall of Conquest
7 New Venir Judge The detailed planning for Penumbral assaults
8 Calastia Priest goes on here. On the long table running through the
9 Durrover Wizard or sorcerer center of the room, maps show each of the currently
10 GM’s choice Noble targeted areas (see Chapter One) with notes about
(including lands allies and important enemies. The documents here
outside Ghelspad) include the most recent instructions and reports, and
characters able to bypass the magical traps guarding
these records can find within them everything neces-
sary to instigate a thorough purge of Penumbral
T h e racial distribution for each land fol- underlings in one or more targeted areas.
lows t h e percentages i n Scarred L a n d s Someone is always on duty here, as the work of
Campaign Setting: Ghelspad. The guests have campaigning requires constant attention. Two hu-
l d 3 + 3 levels in t h e class appropriate to their mans (each wiz8/pen2) direct operations, assisted by
situations, and any servants are 2nd level ld6 fighters of level ld4+5 and ld3 clerics of level of
commoners. T h e servants care most about ld4+5. Subordinates include 2d6 flunkies of level
self-preservation, while the guests themselves ld3+2, divided evenly among rangers and rogues.
support t h e Penumbral cause in degrees rang- There is a 25% chance that specialist advisorsare also
ing from i n t e n s e curiosity t o complete present: a group consisting of ld4 individuals of level
devotion.
ld4+3, all of the same class. These may be experts,
15.The Great Hall bards, necromancers or anything else the Pentagon
The largest gatherings and most important currently finds useful.
rituals of the Fortress community take place here. 18.TheHallofTorment
Unlike most ofthe area, this hall’swalls and ceiling The Penumbral Pentagon is not particularly
lack all Ornamentation. The hall is a gathering sadistic, nor are most of its followers. They are in-
place, the cradle for the shared thoughts of the clined toward callous indifference, rather than actual
community, rather than an object of interest in enjoyment of others’ misery. The Pentagon does
itself. believe in the value of clear examples, however, and
Most of the time the hall stands empty. Large makes very public demonstration of its displeasure in
gatherings take place during eclipses and at the significant failures. Here those who have let down
first new moon of each year, as well as at the outset the cause suffer very prolonged agony.
and conclusion of campaigns against new targets. The ld8 jailers are all fighters of level ld3+3,
16.The Hall of Leadershjp unarmored but outfitted with fine weaponry and
The stairs in one comer of the Great Hall lead skilled in the use of whips and other implements of
down to this room directly underneath. It is the torture. The Pentagon oversees the selection of tor-
only room in the area without a vaulted ceiling, turers directly: sadists don’t do as good a job, being
and it forms a perfectly smooth cube 30 feet on distracted by their own pleasures and too likely to
each side. The darkness here gathers so thickly that disregard orders in the heat of the moment. These
moving into the Hall of Leadership resembles jailers share a sociopathic lack of interest in others’
wading as much as walking (and the penalties for feelings, and simply inflict as much pain as they can
moving and fighting in water apply, though the air without prematurely executing any of their subjects.
remains breathable). In the center of the room, a At this time there are only two prisoners, a male
slender pillar 15 feet high supports a stone ball human and a male orc. Inscriptions posted on a pillar
THE PENWMBRAL PENTAGON

beside each one explain their failures. The human

was a Veshian escort for merchant caravans who
talked in his sleep and revealed plans for the assassi- PenumbralLord jn Trajnjng
nation ofseveral well-placed officials. He managed to M$e or fan$s hunan, SorWFtCk CR 10; S2 Medii-size
escape to the Canyon Gate, and was taken prisoner humanoid; HD7d4+3d10;hp53; Init+6;Speed30Ft;AC18(Dex
there. The orc was arare Sweltering Plains convert to +2,amor+6);melee+5/+0(ld8, +Ishortspea),),ranged+8/+3
the Penumbral cause who should have kept very quiet (ld&l, +laossbow);ALE; SVFa-t+5,Ref+4, Will +7;Str8,
Dex 14, Con 10, lnt 12, Wis 12, Cha 15.
about his change of heart, but who attempted to make
new converts. One of them repented and told all to Skius: Alchemy +5,Climb +2, Concentration
the druids of Thulkas; the orc on display here barely +3,Craft(calligraphy) +3,H a n d l e h i d +5,Hide
managed to escape. Both have been repeatedly flayed +5, Jump +2, Knowledge (arcane) +5, Knowledge
alive and healed up, and are thoroughly mindless as (Plane ofshadow) +1,Scry +5, S p e l l d +5.
well as unconscious. Feats: Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Dodge,
The jailers sleep in the alcoves along one wall, Improved Initiative,Mobility, Toughness.
and their personal goods are simple and largely useless Possessions: +1 chainmail,+1 cloakofresistance,
to PCS. +1 msshn.u,potionofcuremcderated,+l ring
ofproteaion, scrollofholdpersan,+I shortspem, evrmd
19.The ResidentialChambers OfMel'sacid m.
These rows of similar rooms house most of the SorcererSpelkKm:
Fortress' population. 75% of them are in use at any o--arUmemark, daze,&stsounds, mogehand,
given time; the others stand unfurnished and swept mendmg, readmagic, resistance.
clean. The larger chambers are home to more impor-
lst--almm, burning hrmds, idenhjc, jump, re-
tant members of the movement, as described in their
duce.
stats, the smaller ones to underlings. Residents have
a free hand in furnishings but are discouraged from
2
n
- ' + , see mvisibdip,spenr$ hand.
keeping objects of great value in their quarters -the 3rcc-dirpelmagic,majrimage.
Pentagon does not have a thoroughly reliable means
of separating out potential thieves from their other
followers, and they prefer not to create too many as improvised weaponry as necessary. There is one
temptations. cook active for every 10 diners most of the time.
The important veterans are level ld4+2 com- 22. The Hall of Challenges
moners and experts; underlings are level l d 2
The essential requirements for advancement in
commoners and experts.
the Penumbral cause are ambition and obsessive self-
20. The Hall of Slaves enhancement. The Pentagon therefore provides space
This simple room holds 10d20 slaves of mixed for duels and challenges to take place in front of an
race (30% human, 20% elf, 20% dwarf, 30% other), audience, as well as for practice between formal
each assigned a pallet to which he or she is chained occasions. The dueling gallery and surrounding seats
when off-duty. The slaves keep shifts much like the stand empty most of the time. Equipment for weap-
guards, so 50 are out performing labor and 50 are in ons practice, gymnastics, and other exercise and
exhausted sleep. The others have a few feet of space competition surrounds the gallery.
in which to maneuver and spend their time grieving, No new high-ranking penumbral lords have ap-
trying to distract themselves with meditation or other proached the Pentagon since its defeat by the paladins
pursuits, or visiting with each other. They are willing of Mithril. However, a number of shadow worship-
enough to help as they can, but all are weak in both pers are busily attempting to gain the skills necessary
body and spirit. to become penumbral lords and so - eventually -
21. The Banquet Halls and Galleys move into leadership positions. A cabal of such
penumbral-lords-to-be makes exclusive use of the
After the end of a shift, all of those coming off
Hall of Challenges at the moment. They lack the
duty in the area gather for a large community ban-
authority to outright commandeer the place for them-
quet. At any other time there are 3d6 higher-ranked
selves - at least not without explicit endorsement
individuals and 4d6 underlings present, visiting over
from the Pentagon -but they can and do intimidate
a smaller, relaxed meal.
and drive away many others. When player characters
The fires of large ovens and stoves light the enter, at least one such schemer per PC is engaged in
galleys. A few burn with a magical black fire, but it is some form of workout (see sidebar for statistics).
difficult to keep such fires lit and the cooks prefer to
The Hall has one concealed weapon that the
rely on mundane flames, despite the unpleasant glow.
ambitious student lords will use if half of their number
The cooking gear is all black iron, and some can serve
become incapacitated. The entire ceiling can flash
 CHAPTER THREE: THE PENUMBRAL FORTRESS

and each room can be sealed off for the next move.
Currently, they run as marked.
Three patrols in total suffice to satisfy Terk‘s
Sex jn the Shadows concerns about security. He knows that if anyone
The Penumbral creed imposes no particu- seriously attacks his area, he can simply cut it off,deal
lar standard of sexual morality. Residents of the with the troublemakers, and then re-connect. Or he
Fortress are free to have sex with anyone they can strand attackers in fast tunnels that now run
can persuade or coerce. In practice, however, nowhere at all and let them spend days or months
only recent additions to the Fortress’ ranks traveling through the Plane of Shadow on their way
spend much effort on it. More experienced back to the ScarredLands. Soonly one patrol stands on
devotees of shadow tend to regard sex as a guard at a n y given time, with the customary statistics.
basically physical experience that distracts them
from more important matters. The Pentagon’s 25. The Engineers’Chambers
members lead entirely chaste existences for This row of rooms provides combined sleeping
want of interest in all things erotic, and their quarters and eating spaces for Terk‘s assistants and
senior lieutenants almost all do the same. In- apprentices. Rather than one large dining space -
deed, anyone given to extremes of lustful and most particularly rather than full-time cooks -
indulgence might well come under suspicious Terk favors a larder stocked with simple provisions
scrutiny for lack of pure devotion to the cause. and basic dishes for individual use, The engineers
often end up keeping erratic hours, and this arrange-
ment allows them to eat when they’re ready to eat,
with minimal waste. The large room at the end of the
hall holds bottled water and beer along with dried
with brilliant illumination, blinding for two rounds meat and fruit, very much like traveling rations, and
all characters who fail a Reflex save (DC20). simple metal dishes and utensils hang on the walls.
Trophies on the wall commemorate famous past The chambers contain many personalized tools.
challenges, honoring Penumbral warriors who have Each of Terk‘s engineers makes an individualized set.
since fallen in battle. The GM should roll or choose They grant a +2 bonus on all relevant Craft and
two medium magic shields and two major magic Profession checks, but an Int check (DC 20) is
weapons per character, along with ld3 specific magic required to discern how to use them. Some of these
weapons. Each is mounted to the wall and requires a tools are valuable as works of art - 10% are made
Strength test (DC 15) to remove. from precious metals and worth 1000 gp each.
23.The Observatory At any given moment, there is a 75% chance
This room is a typical observatory,with an elabo- that a particular chamber is in use. Of those, 25%
rate telescope. The ceiling is a round gateway, allowing hold a sleeping engineer; the others are elsewhere in
the telescope and its platform to raise up out of this area or somewhere out in the rest of the Fortress.
shadow into the material world. Though regularly The senior engineers are level ld6+2 experts,
patrolled by the guards, most of the time the observa- the apprentices level ld2 experts. Dwarves and hu-
tory is unoccupied, and clever characters could escape mans each provide 25% of the population; the rest is
without notice into mountainous wilds about 50 spread among elves, halflings, and even orcs and
miles east of Amalthea. other titanspawn. GMs may add more exotic races to
raise the difficulty of the challenge if necessary.
SutaneTerks Chambers 26. The Workroom
The dwarvish master engineer likes to move his Terk seldom demonstrates a sense of humor, but
chambers around relative to the rest of the Fortress, his name for this space is a deliberate understate-
so that he can be close to whatever he’s studying or ment. In reality it’s a vast, high-roofed open space in
working on at the moment. The position on the map which many experiments proceed simultaneously.
reflects his current concern with the subversion of The six gateways in the east end all lead to
Vesh and his interest in developing gateways with portalson the eastern slopesof the Kelders, near roads
more flexibility and security. on the outskirts of Veshian settlements. Each gate-
24. The Adjustable Gateways way is irregularlyshaped, and the other end is mounted
Because Terk moves his chambers around, there in minimally carved recessed openings in low rocky
are no entirely fixed connections to the rest of the outcroppings. Terk seeks fully disguisable openings
Fortress. Each of these rooms leads to a fast tunnel that would allow Penumbral servants to go anywhere,
created as soon as Terk stops chamber movement, unconstrained by geometry. Unfortunately, these
new gateways lack the stability of earlier designs, and
THE PENVMBRAL PENTAGON

there’s a 1% chance that one will close right after an sentient being’s shadow into a shadow lord. The
individual passes through it. Half a dozen senior experiment proved to be partially successful. The
engineers, each accompanied by three apprentices, four pits closest to the wall each contain a corpse that
have at various times been stranded by the closure of vomits out a shadow lord (see Creature Collection
earlier experimental gateways of this sort. When this 11, p. 144) when disturbed. The others hold bodies of
happens, those stranded must make their way back to interest only to students of torture techniques.
the Canyon or Bridge Gate on foot. Half of the awake engineers are present here in
Vats in the center of the room each hold black this main room, most of them working on a project to
liquids of varying viscosity, composed of shadow shape stones with tools made out of hardened shadow.
essence fused with various ingredients as part of So far the results are unsatisfying, since the tools
Terk‘s search for new building materials. The vat become soft at random intervals. If used as impro-
closest to the gateways holds two cubic yards of an vised weapons they suffer a -2 penalty to damagerolls.
oily mixture that flows over anything that touches or A small forge burning with black flame stands ready
disturbs it. The mixture immediately engulfs any to assist in reshaping damaged tools and also to
character who opens the lid of the vat. The character provide the means for working on mundane spikes,
must make aReflex save (DC10)each round to avoid adzes and other assisting implements.
slipping and falling prone; it takes two full rounds of
concentrated action to scrape it off, with or without
27. TheArchives
assistance.The northernmost vat, on the other hand, This set of small rooms contains the complete
hardens into a block as solid as steel after three rounds plans of the Fortress. Unfortunately for casual brows-
in open air. None of the others have very interesting ers, it also contains the complete set of all rejected
properties beyond being sludgy noxious chemicals. plans and a large number of speculative concepts
never fully developed. It takes a half hour and a Spot
Pits in the floor each hold a slave tortured to
check (DC15) to separate out the plans which have
death in the interests of testing an assistant’s theory
about the origins of shadow lords. The assistant actually been put to use-Terkset up a highly arcane
filing system in which documents go into niches
speculated that certain kinds of pain and anger un-
based partly on age and partly on the basis of particu-
leashed the power necessary to transform a normal
 CHAPTER THREE: THE P E N W M B R A L FORTRESS

lar ideas about construction. Three apprentices are A hidden gateway at the back of Terk‘s residence
on call, all immersed in their own study of all docu- can be set, with one round’s effort, to connect to any
ments. spot within the fortress, and also to a secret portal
known only to Terk, near the eastern end of the
28. The Museum Canyon of Souls.
Practical studies require attention to failures as
well as successes.Terk understands that failuresoften
shed more light on the solutions to difficult problems
than do successes, since success can come simply by Where the Canyon Gate hides in the depths, the
continuing to do what has worked in the past without Bridge Gate soars high over one of the small canyons
really understanding it, while failure requires change south of the Bridged City. Before the Penumbral
and often innovation. Five senior engineers maintain Pentagon arrived in the area, this peak hosted a small
this gallery of interesting failures. Specifics include monasticgatheringofDivineWarveteranswhowanted
the following; GMs should feel free to add more if a retreat away from the bustle of Bridged City life.
they choose. Two roads lead across the bridge that gives the
The organic-only gateway. This pair of gateways can gate its name, one leading north to the Bridged City
pass only material that was once alive. Embedded in 20 miles away and one east over two successively
both gates is part of a stone golem animated by stone lower ridges to the banks of a stream that flows
to fish and sent through. The act of moving through eventually into the Blood Basin. Neither receives
the gateway somehow neutralized the spell, and the any regular travel. The inhabitants of Bridged City
golem flowed into the gates, disrupting its own sub- know that there are a great many little spiritual
stance and that of the gates. Nothing in this mess can retreats like this one all around the city itself, and that
now be used as anything but building blocks. their residents tend to be loyal but inhospitable. The
The light gateway. A small crystal ball attached to hermits emerge in times of genuine need - many
this pair of gates can release a intense flash, which have helped in rebuilding after the Blood Monsoon,
requires a Reflex save (DC12) from everyone in the for instance. But they also disappear for years or even
room to avoid ld3 rounds of complete blindness. The decades at a time. Sometimes the people in the city
gates work only during that 1-3round interval after have no contact with the inhabitants of a particular
the flash, but the lingering glow inflicts ghastly pain monastery for an entire generation.
on any shadow-basedcreature touching the gates. As The builders of the haven that holds the Bridge
such the experiment is only useful to light-loving Gate used to make decorative sculptures out of the
people who, by definition, aren’t the sort who would rock they dug, carving out troughs they filled with soil
be in a position to ever use it. from further down the slopes to support window sill
The slow tunnel. A ten-foot stretch of archway gardens. Since the resulting works were useful as well
demonstrates an early effort at fast tunnel design. In as pretty, the makers earned enough from these crafts
this case it is reversed. Anyone entering the tunnel to pay for their simple needs. When Penumbral
finds it takes as long to move through as if it were a scouts chose the haven as their own, they kept the
hundred feet deep instead of ten. builders alive long enough to learn the art them-
The time-slid tunnel. A small plaque explains the selves, and have continued it just as before for two full
history of this effort, another ten-foot long arched generations. The disguised shadow worshippers are a
chamber. Any group of people or things that go into familiar sight now, these diligent workers who wear
it at any time during the course of an hour, all emerge, hoods and robes in the colors of the night sky and
one right after another, in very rapid succession at the speak of the particular blessings of Madriel that come
end of exactly one hour from the moment the first when the sun’s light and heat rest for a while.
thing entered. Living beings each take ld6 damage, This activity provides fine cover for Penumbral
as the next thing entering is pressed in hard against dealings. Fortress-bound caravans of goods coming
them, and anything at all fragile breaks. through Bridged City can simply approach and de-
part like any other, with only the simplest of
29. Sutane Terk’s Resjdence precautions to avoid suspicion and discovery. Indi-
Here the master engineer makes his home. It is viduals can proceed more directly, garbed as one of
simply furnished, but every single object in it is of the summit hermits. Figures in shadow form can
masterwork quality, either of his own making or travel along the undersides of bridges and through
created by a talented student. One of the apprentices crevices; there’s always plenty of darkness available.
sleeps in an alcove in the hall and attends to Sutane’s The tradition ofkindness toward hermits and ascetics
meals and other personal needs. Terk is in residence among the Bridged City inhabitants has become a
25% of the time, day or night. potent weapon in Penumbral hands.
THE PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

The Hermjtage shut and mount an attack, so long as the enemy force
doesn’t outnumber the guard. A larger group of tres-
The two roads leading to the hermitage converge
passers gets locked in and left, while the guards flee
before the final bridge. While in theory this bridge
through underground routes to the Bridge Gate.
could be cut loose, in practice the gatekeepers have
done everything they can to make it difficult to do so. 31. The Guard Chambers
Sturdy timbers bolted directly into the rock support The Bridge Gate stands further than the Canyon
wooden slabs, which are tied together with complex Gate from most dangers associated with discovery,
knots and reinforced every year. It takes twice the but more monsters roam this part of the Kelder range,
normal damage to blast through or destroy the her- and in any event the Pentagon prefers not to take
mitage bridge. unnecessary chances. Two five-person guard patrols,
Originally the hermitage itself consisted of a with the same statistics as above, flank the single
single large room. The Penumbral conquerors put in opening into the courtyard. Their towers allow them
internal walls to suit their purposes and dug down to examine all approaches, including the vast open
into the mountain for additional space. None of these spaces to the south.
changes are visible from the exterior. Two guards from each patrol make a circuit of
30. The Public Courtyard the hermitage and its plateau every hour. They sel-
dom encounter anything, but the Gate commander
This paved area, covered over with heavy canvas
makes surprise inspections just often enough to keep
canopies, allows riders and wagons to load or unload
them alert.
without problem. Stables can shelter eight horses,
enough to pull the wagons of any caravan light 32.The Barracks
enough to maneuveron the sometimestortuous Kelder These rooms have been carved out of the rock by
roads. Penumbral laborers. Slit windows in the north walls
Anyone who arrives here without apass, demon- provide good views and additional defensive opportuni-
strable knowledge of the Gate’s purpose, or some very ties, with stone shutters that can seal them up tight.
good account of herself is treated as an enemy. The Smallshaftswith laddersrun up into the walls overhead
guards let the strangers in, then slam the outer gates to allow guards to spy on proceedings in the courtyard.
 CHAPTER THREE: THE P E N W M B R A L FORTRESS

It takes a total of 12 patrols to attend to the structures out of promisinglooking but not quite satis-
Bridge Gate’s needs: two patrols at the courtyard and factory stones that are carved into geometric designs.
two at the gate, in each of three daily shifts. One
additional patrol provides extra manpower in case of
35.The Gateway Chamber
This chamber has the same design and propor-
injury, illness or crisis. (Assignment to this patrol is a
reward for good service, as it amounts to on-site tions as the Canyon Gateway Chamber described
earlier in this chapter. The fast tunnel running out of
vacation time with rare exceptions.) Unlike the
its south end slopes down steeply, one of the very few
Canyon Gate, here the patrol commanders bunk
with their soldiers, and even the Gate commander cases where north is uphill within the Fortress. Nor-
mally the gateway chamber is unguarded apart from
has only a curtained alcove in one corner of the
barracks space. The guards sleep facing their equip- the hourly patrol sweeps, though when some particu-
ment racks, and dine on the other side of the racks lar crisis calls for it, the thirteenth patrol stands extra
with meals fixed from the goods stored in urns and watch duty here.
chests opposite the window slits. This is an extremely
functional and Spartan space.
Disturbances
The Pentagon deems it unsafe for Canyon Gate As always within this chaotic and largely experi-
guards to do much mingling with outsiders. The situ- mental fortress, there is a 10% chance that the area
ation at the Bridge Gate is different, however. Guards intruders enter is on alert because of recent troubles.
on leave can go into town at Bridged City once in a The GM can determine this in advance or roll it as
while, and as long as they don’t attract the wrong sort the PCs leave a fast tunnel. There is also a 5% chance
of attention or spill a n y secrets,they can carouse while that a fast tunnel they enter has recently had some-
they’re there. Thus the Bridge Gate barracks don’t thing eventful happen to it; roll this when the PCs
have to function as so complete a residence. enter. The tables for disturbances are the same here
as those for the southern portion of the Penumbral
Trash doesn’t accumulate here in middens as it
Fortress. In addition, other possible encounters, such
does at the Canyon Gate. It just goes over the edge
as guards or prisoners,can be rolled on the same tables
downconvenient cliffs. There is the slimmestofchances
as listed earlier in the chapter.
that someone scouting the surrounding wilderness
might discoverthe debris, but the odds are overwhelm- The Northern Chambers
ingly against it. It certainly hasn’t happened yet.
Here Dar’Tan (and to a lesser degree the other
Four patrols are on duty at any given moment,
members of the Pentagon) develop their plans for the
and four patrols are sleeping. The remainder are
subversion of Mithril and Vesh. Blackfang also uses
awake and amusing themselves with gamesof chance,
part of this area for his own crusade against the Bleak
conversation, and sightseeing and scrutiny of the
Savannah. Like the Central Chambers, this area
surrounding wilderness. The Guard commander pro-
provides space for public functions and also serves to
vides rewards for those who are the first to spot forest
impress potential recruits. It is intended to be not
fires, potentially threatening monsters and other
quite as impressive as the Central Chambers, so as to
unusual phenomena.
provide another layer of mystery and majesty with
The Bridge Gate commander has the same statis- which to cow the impressionable.
tics as the Canyon Gate commander, above.
The ceilings in this area range from 30 to 50 feet
33. Guest Quarters high, and Dar’Tan worked with Terk to arrange the
These plain chambers provide a space for guests lamps just right. Each one hangs from a chain so that
to bunk (in groups of four) and to store any belong- it can be raised or lowered to suit specific circum-
ings that they prefer locked up at night. Most of the stances, and hooks have been bolted into the ceilings
time they stand empty and ready for use. every 10feet. In the absence of specific reasons to do
otherwise, the Northern Chambers’ guardians posi-
34. The CraftingRoom tion the lights 30 feet apart and close to the ceiling.
This is the rest of the original building on this Their illumination falls a bit short toward the floor,
site. It has two forges and half a dozen tables with creating maximum opportunities for shadows to
tools for working in wood and stone. A raised earth swirl up to knee height and along the walls and
bed on the south side provides the home for perennial ceilings, making vortices and whirlpools in the
flowers and vines, which will later be transplanted spaces between illuminations.
into decorative boxes. Small chests hold interesting The architecture is as ornate as in the Central
stones and semi-preciousgems for use in decorations. Chambers, and far stranger. All the members of
Three of the off-duty guards work here most days, the Pentagon contributed ideas from the mytholo-
trying without a great deal of successto assemble elegant gies they’d encountered in their journeys, and
Terk and Night Arm set to work producing a place
THE P€NVMBRAL PENTAGON

that would reek of alien mystery, so as t o intimi- armed or armored, working on preparing meals
date guests. The Pentagon doesn’t actually have and packing goods for upcoming caravan escort
any need for not-quite-square corners, undulating duties.
curves, non-parallel walls, and the like; these The patrol commanders’ notes include tallies
things just help t o keep others disoriented. Nor is of all incidents where their respective patrols have
“reeking” merely a metaphor. Side chambers con- encountered trouble, in the Fortress and outside
tain the means for generating smells, such as small it. GMs who wish to add a little Penumbral back
forges installed above ceilings so that the smell of story to the campaign may include accounts of
hot iron can waft down, or compartments which troublesome encounters the PCs have had in the
can be loaded with rotting meat to make areas of past, with the PCs themselves written up as both-
deep shadow stink. If a guest were t o ask, of course, ersome antagonists to be dealt with harshly should
any loyal servant of the Pentagon would deny they ever cross the path of Penumbral agents
finding any of this unusual or undesirable, simply again. If this situation applies, the relevant patrol
t o reinforce the strangeness of the whole opera- commander fights with particular fierceness.
tion.
The Hall of Spreading Night
GMs should remember that most of the pecu-
This room is a propaganda ploy. The outer
liarities in the Northern Chambers owe nothing
walkway looks down into a recessed area five feet
t o magic. They’re tricks of engineering and main-
below. A relief map of Scarn fills this sunken area,
tenance. Let characters armed with detect spells
complete with pumps to circulate water through
worry about what they’re missing.. ..
rivers and seas and some miniature foliage to
The Grand Concourse represent dense forest, plains, and other terrains.
Fast tunnels connect this area t o all the others Stylized representations of famous landmarks in-
in the northern part of the Fortress. The guards dicate cities; borders have been marked out with
here are among the Fortress’ best, chosen both for thin gold inlay. Dominating it all are impressive
their loyalty and imposing appearance. Each shift black tiles showing the extent of Penumbral con-
has three patrols on duty: one occupies the center trol: dots and spikes for smallescale ventures up to
of the Concourse, and the others make hourly country-covering darkness where the whole gov-
sweeps of the tunnels. Unlike most of the Fortress’ erning power of a land belongs to the Pentagon.
guards, these patrols have actual uniforms, a simple It is almost all lies. The markers can be rear-
black design with silver bars for rank insignia. ranged at a moment’s notice, and they’re always
They take their duties seriously, both out of devo- set up to suggest to guests that Penumbral power
tion to the cause and out of the knowledge that grows stronger all the time right in the home
good service here may lead to promotion to other region of whoever Pentagon is currently trying to
duties. impress. Many thousands of agents would have to
The fast tunnels to the east slopes of the labor for years on end (or longer) t o make the
Kelders are wide and tall enough to accommodate claims of this map come true, and the Pentagon
wagons and carriages, and the alcoves at the east doesn’t have nearly that many available. But how
end of the Concourse provide stabling space. A t are guests supposed t o know that?
any given moment, two empty wagons, one empty The tiles and spikes are obsidian, laced to-
carriage, and the horses necessary to pull each gether with black metal wires. Each is worth 6 gp
wait near the eastern entrance. The horses are per pound to craftsmen. At nearly any given mo-
seldom comfortable in this environment and re- ment, 10 apprentices - 1st level commoners -
spond willingly to anyone who seems likely to take are in the midst of sorting, cleaning, gathering or
them out again. preparing the decorations for the next presenta-
These guards have the same statistics as the tion. Cupboards set beneath the outer walkway
patrols described above. store any materials not currently required.
The Barracks The Pit of Night’s Roots
Here each guard gets an individual alcove - Endless night, unpunctuated by any compre-
not as luxurious as a full room, but certainly a n hensible events, does not strike many people as a
improvement over the bunks found elsewhere. very interesting goal. It is too abstract for either
T h e alcoves cluster by patrol. As elsewhere, one potential recruits or potential enemies t o grasp
third of the alcoves are occupied by sleeping guards, readily. The Pentagon knows this and provides a
one third belong t o guards currently in the field, focus for those who need something a bit more
and the final third belong to guards now off duty. tangible in order to see things from the shadow
These off-duty guards are usually all present, none cause point of view.
 CHAPTER THREE: TI+€ PENUMBRAL FORTRESS

The Pit chamber remains brightly lit when- will lie low and wait for things to settle down.
ever guests are in the area. Instead of pure black Otherwise they join in on the Penumbral side,
stone, smooth marble provides all its surfaces. though not with great passion.
(The floor is slippery - anyone trying to fight, A small shrine at the far end of each corridor
conduct acrobatics, or engage in other Strenuous contains one of the shadow stones like those in the
activity must make a Reflex Save (DC 10) each Pit of Night’s Roots, in case penumbral lords
round to avoid falling prone.) A single band of visiting with guests feel the need for some addi-
basalt set five feet above the floor provides a six- tional impressive displays.
inch strip in the wall of utter darkness. Barely The mercenary captains have the same statis-
visible sills at its top and bottom keep Out direct tics as the gate commanders, and their mercenaries
illumination, and writhing shadows fill the space (15 in the Mithril-bound band and 12 in the band
between wall and tiny Sills. These shadows reach headed for Lave) are the Same as zealous guards.
out to grasp anything that comes within a foot of
the wall, including people. They can’t do any The Dining Halls
damage, but their touch is vaguely chilling, and The big hall receives use only o n formal occa-
the intimidation value is formidable. sions; the smaller rooms can each seat two dozen
The pit that gives this chamber its name sits diners, plenty of space for most events. The kitch-
slightly off-center in the middle of the floor, just ens here use black flame ovensfor the psychological
enough to strike most people as wrong, but with- effect on visitors, though they also have bright
out providing an obvious visual cue as t o why, The lighting for guests’ comfort. There are usually
pit’s bottom is only 20 feet below the marble floor, approximately Id3 mercenaries and ld3 patrol
but since the whole pit is lined with un-reflective guards here per pC9 relaxing after a meal and
basalt and filled with shadows, it bottomless trading boastful stories of their encounters with
to most onlookers. Small, black precious stones hapless enemies. In general, one cook is o n duty
set into the rim of the pit are charged with spells per every ten diners.
that allow any penumbral lord t o summon up TheHallofTIjumphs
largely illusory “shadow demons” by speaking a This series of oddly shaped rooms serves as a
word Of command. Shadows form into combination of genuine research library and mostly
monStrouShumanoid forms with glowing red ‘Yes bogus trophy museum. The Pentagon has little
that glower at In addition, personal use for magical artifacts of most SortSand ‘
penumbral lords within 10 feet of one of these assigns them to their minions in the field instead.
prepared stones can use subtleone-word Most of the items that remain behind, therefore,
commands to trigger a Of and have have little value as anything other than decors-
them to come from the “shadow demons.” tion, no matter how impressive they may appear.
See chapter four for de tails on these shadow stones. H~~~guests can see the of famous foes of the
The Guest Wing Pentagon and memorabilia from both real and
Guests ofthe Pentagon stay here. Like the pit of alleged allies and victims. As with the Hall of
Night’s Roots, these rooms are framed in smooth Spreading Night, the staff arrange exhibits to
polished marble and furnished with granite tables, impress particular visitors with Penumbral tri-
chairs, and beds; black wool pads provide adequate umphs in their home region and among the People
though not luxurious comfort where people sit and they fear, hate, or envy. Everything visitors see
layene pentagonseparates aristocrats and other reinforces the sense of Penumbral inevitability.
authority figures from their subordinates, with a Careful investigation can let PCs identify
Penumbral orderly assigned to each pair of guest falsified or deceptively enhanced claims associ-
chambers. The entourage of such visitors gets atten- ated with any single artifact. This requires 10
tion of its own, with one orderly for every five minutes’ scrutiny and a check (DC 15) against
retainers-and separate opportunities for recruiting Knowledge of history or of the area from which it
spies from among those not accustomed to receiving came.
such opulent treatment. In between these artifacts, teak shelves hold
The only current guests are two mercenary books running back to the Slarecian roots of the
bands, one each seeking employment in Mithril movement. The oldest books come Out, with care-
and Lave. Like many mercenaries, they seek advan- f d handling, when penumbral lords wish to play
tage wherever they can and regard the Penumbral o n guests’ respect for antiquity. The books on
cause primarily as a practical venture. In the face of display here lack much value to any but an anti-
any attack that clearly overwhelms Penumbral de- quarian, whether because they’re too damaged,
fenders in this area of the Fortress, the mercenaries indecipherably encoded, or filled only with dull
records. One of the most impressive-looking vol-
THE PENVMBRAL PENTAGON

umes, for instance, actually contains nothing more initiate may wander the glorious (from the Penum-
dramatic than an inventory of cooking supplies, bral point of view) darkened epoch.
kept by some cook’s apprentice who indulged his As with so much of this part of the Fortress, the
passion for calligraphy with highly embellished experience is faked. An alcove behind each en-
and largely illegible figures. chanted slab can hold one of the up-and-coming
Three 6th-level priests of Madriel who have penumbral lords, who subjects the initiate to com-
succumbed to Chiruli’s temptations now study here, plex illusionsfor the duration of the ritual. Ifnecessary,
in search of the purest form of ancient chants to the visible priests presiding help out. A censer hidden
Madriel for modified use in the worship of Madriel’s in the shadows overhead can release dust of illusion if
Shadow. An apprentice cleric raised in the Fortress initiates prove more than usually resistant.
assists them with their chores. Initiations are very common, and one is likely to
The Hall of Vjsjons be underway as PCs enter, unless the Fortress has
been alerted to their presence for more than half an
Some guests are told that they’ve been chosen
hour. If the first alarms came more recently than that,
for special initiation rites, which include the oppor-
the priests will usually decide to complete the decep-
tunity to step into the actual future of the Scarred
tion before seeking shelter. Initiates who discover
Lands. Penumbral priests explain how the darkness
how they’ve been tricked will at least momentarily
that will finally cover the world reaches back through
share the intruders’ hostility toward the Fortress.
contemporary shadows, creating bridges that the
chosen of the penumbral cause can walk -but only The hidden penumbral lords each have the same
twice, once at initiation and once at death when the statistics as the shadow surveyors.
soul joins the darkness forever. Then the initiates are The Denizens’Quarters
brought here. Here the ranks of Penumbral followers make
The Hall has five sides, and its ceiling is more their homes. Balconies and open terraces provide
than a hundred feet above the floor, completely lost everyone with a reminder of social status: recent
in shadow. The only entry is up a spiral staircase in recruits live on the northernmost, lowest level, with
the center of the room. Adoor-shed piece of polished the second tier for proven veterans and specialists
obsidian occupies the center of each wall. As initiates and the third for leaders and those with special status
enter, one of the obsidian pieces becomes mirror-like of some sort.
and shows avision of the initiate’s homeland as it will The residents of the third tier secure their quar-
be when the darkness triumphs. The mirror in turn ters as they see fit, and keep valuable personal artifacts
becomes intangible, and the initiate can step into the and magical items along with mundane furnishings.
future moment to explore it. For the next hour, the Security is more difficult lower down, with one par-
ticularly loyal patrol living at each end of the tier and
 CHAPTER TH RE€: THE PENWMBRAL FORTRESS

tending lock boxes for those who don’t want to trust ished, and even here Chiruli left in irregularities.
their good to the kind sentiments of their neighbors. Each facet of the altar is smooth, but they’re not
The lower tiers lack privacy, by and large. In theory regularly arranged and the top is distinctly uneven.
this builds camaraderie out of necessity; in practice it Pits in the floor around the altar hold prisoners for
encourages the obsessive hunt for secrets and for sacrifice.Most of the time these all lie empty, as Chiruli
counter-measures to protect them. ponders his needs for the next cycle of ritual activity.
In general, there are approximately 2d10 third- Captured PCs could end up here, along with guests
tier residents on hand, 5d10 second-tier residents, and who prove sufficiently unsatisfactory to their hosts.
lOdlO first-tier residents. Half of each group is usually The only obvious magic here is the set of ioun
asleep or away, the other half engagedin quiet personal stones which orbit Chiruli when he chooses to present
pursuits, eating, and the like. Informal contests take himself in his official capacity. Other magic items
place on some of the balconies, including fencing, have beenfolded into the very structure of the temple:
poetry and drama on themes of Penumbral doctrine several iron bands of Bihwe have been modified to
and history, and musical performance. All currently erupt on command from iron nodules in the attar, the
awake residents rally when alarms sound anywhere in tapestries are held up by (two each) ropes of climbing
this area, making their way to the point of disturbance and ropes of entanglement, and a wind fan is mounted
once properly equipped, at standard rates. over the door.
The third-tier residents are 5th-6th level experts, Chiruli is usually present, engaged in meditation
adepts,and aristocrats. the second-tier residentsare 3rd- about what role he ought to play in upcoming actions
5th level experts,warriors and commoners.The first-tier against Mithril, or the like. Three experienced priests
residents are 1st-2nd levels experts and commoners. generally attend him, along with six acolytes who
The Temple of Madriel’s Shadow deal with any seekers of wisdom who may come by.
These priests can cast spells from the Evil domain.
Chiruli makes his home here. Since he has few of
the requirements for rest, nourishment and the like See Chapter Two for Chiruli’s statistics.
that complicate the existence of living beings, he The experienced priests are level 5-8; the aco-
works around the clock on the projects of concern to lytes are level 1-2.
him. He has carved the temple out of the rock by hand,
assisted only by a few particularly dedicated acolytes. Blackfang’s Chambers
The Cult of Madriel’s Shadow is an empty lie, of This area lies down a branch tunnel to the west
course, but even Chiruli believes in it implicitly, of most of the Fortress, not far from the southeast
deluding himself into the faith that by serving the bank of the Chendero River. Also unlike most of the
shadow and doing the work of evil, he is actually Fortress, it consists entirely of natural caverns shifted
serving Madriel herself. Needless to say, Chiruli is a into shadow with only minimal modifications.
madman, but his madness serves the Pentagon well. Blackfang does not feel that the workTerk and Night
His followers, all imbued with the same evil energy as Arm do would enhance his purposes, and as long as he
their leader, can cast clerical magic, but only of the serves as one of the Pentagon he can largely get what
most wicked and debased kind. None can be entirely he wants.
sure where this magic comes from, but it most cer- Humanoids who come here must tread lightly.
tainly does not originate with Madriel. If Belsameth Blackfang prefers to fill his chambers with proud and
is indeed the power behind the clerics of Madriel’s unitaurs, along with occasional members of other
Shadow, she certainly is not advertising the fact (and races of non-human form. The only humans who
Chiruli and his followers would be deeply insulted by actually maintain dwellings here on a long-term basis
any such suggestion). act as spies and saboteurs in the new human settle-
The Temple lacks smooth surfaces and tight ments on the Bleak Savannah, and they know how to
comers. Chiruli prefers to leave it somewhat raw and demonstrate submissionearly and often to keep them-
rough, the shadowlike opposite of Madriel’s usual selves relatively safe. All social interactions between
clean, simple and polished temples. When cracks in humanoid races and the others are at +5 DC,and the
the temple rock threatened to shatter the southeast proud know that they can kill any humanoid who
section of the floor and wall, he opened them up into isn’t clearly identified as important without worrying
reinforced shafts through which roots from about the consequences.
aboveground now grow, the lowest tendrils dangling Except where specificallynoted, all of this part of
into the temple proper. For rites that require illumi- the Fortress has (dim) illumination from small oil
nation, he relies on luminous fungi normally kept lamps, which provide the minimal light necessary for
behind rough-hewnstone shutters in niches all around the proud to see clearly.
the temple’s perimeter. Only the altar stone, amass of The proud work in groups of three.The leader main-
quartz running through granite, has been finely pole tains his (or her) position by defeating the others in
THE PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

challenges of strength and dexterity each month. Once a TheBmacks

year, pack leaders may take part in challenges for positions %ex areasusethe same organization,for simplicity’s
of greater authority.Occasionally someone gets killed, but sakeinmanagementandinspection.Eachtriosharesaden,
Blackfang feels happy in the knowledge that all his com- with private personal space restricted to a small wardrobe-
manders have proven not just theoretical superiority. As like alcove that can be locked off. The three wings arenot
the end of the calendar year approaches, leaders look for segregated by shift. Instead,each den in turn goes to a trio
more oppormnities to prove themselves, and are particu- on the first shift,one on the second, and one on the third.
larly likely toseekbattlewithintmdersnauderssoastodemonstrate Blackfang knows very well how much risk of conflict this
their prowess. Early in the year, with the challenges over, creates and regards it as an imprtant part of training -
depression overcomes the losers and security throughout proud who cannot discipline themselves in dealing with
the area is much laxer. each other cannot serve reliably in the field.
TheConnectjngChamber Characterswho can sense the scent cues that convey
A single trio patrols this area each shift. They’re much of proud communication automatically sense the
trainedtodealwithintruderscominginthroughthe~el concentratedaroma of tense frustrationin the BBtracks.
and to test apparently legitimate travelers for legitimate The highest-ranking trio in each wing oversees its
business- legitimateas Blackfang and his proud define it, operations. They direct both the patrol trios and the
that is. They show meaningful respect only to the most clustersofnineservantsqmeredatthefarendofthewing.
senior servantsof the Pentagon,and even then like to look These servant groups prepare meals, keep equipment in
for mistakes or w e a k n m that may be worth exploiting. workmgorder,anddoanyothermenialchoresthewarriots
All lesser visitors can expect delays for “inspection”with deem unworthy of their attention. Like the warrior trios,
stories a b u t “risks of intruders” and the like. these servant groups have their own competitions for
A side chamber holds goodsconfiscated from insuffi- leaders, and in the annual challenges, the servant leaders
ciently determinedor intimidatingvisitorsfrom elsewhere may fight for the honor of becomingthe lowest-&
in the F o m : several dozen suits of unexceptionalarmor members of new guard and warrior trios.
and weapns of all kinds. One trio in each wing does not fight or patrol on a
re~krbasis.Oftenlamefrominjuriesorbirth, these
individuals work as armorers and enchanters for their
 CHAPTER THREE: THE P E N U M B R A L FORTRESS

comrades. They always have on hand the raw materials The cells currently hold a dozen fishers and farmers
necessary to create the standardarmsand m o r for at least from theChenderovillages,allld31evelcommoners.They
two full trios, as well as a generous store of healingpotions are all hungry and tired but would fightfiercely if given the
and other means of dealing with the damage that warrior chance. They also know quite a bit about BlacMmg‘s
trios suffer on the job. operations in the Bleak Savannah and would trade their
knowledge for help in escaping.
TheGreatHalls
This series of caves is where most of the life of Black€ang’sDen
Blackfangsfollowerstakesplace. Inparticular,thii iswhere The great leader of the Penumbral proud keeps his
lore masters instxuct students (both cubs and adults) in own counsel and does not belong to any trio. He does
Blackfang’s vision of infinite freedom and cormpndng sometimesfeel the urge to mate, and then choosesmore or
degeneration. When the studentsallbelongtothe Penum- less at random from among prominent female leaders, but
bral cause, lessons focus on how to undermine others’will most of the time he keeps to himself when not actually
to resist and how to set the example of decadencewithout plaruung or conducting an operation. Thus he is almat
fundamentally losing control.Whenchosen visitors come always found in his Den unless an alarm has called him
as Blackfang‘sguests, the lesxxls focus on the liberation of forth.
the self through the abandonmentof restraining thoughts He does not accumulate luxuries for their own sake.
andgenerallyendwithanorgyor grand indulgence ofsome Nonetheless, artifacts fill his den: reminders of challenges
kind. he’s overcome, including the weapons of particularly wor-
The central cave hosts formal gatherings when thy enemies and also the tools with which he seeks to
Blackfangchooses to call them. Otherwise,it’s given over destroyproudsociety,particularlyawidevarietyofdanger-
to small group and their pursuits, including duels, practice ous drugs. Apart from the antechamber in which he
with group fighting tactics, and study of Penumbral doc- receives messengers, his den is kept entirely dark, and he
trines. (The proud are very aware that they are not spends much of his time in something like a hypnotic
representedinthelifeoftheFortressatlarge,andsometrios trance, inwhichheenvisionsterribleffortheworldand
hope to produce a member with the erudition and skills ponders how to bnng them into practice.
necessary to make a place for himself out among the An adjacent den shelters the trio who tend to his
humanoids.) needs. Thii is menial work in itself, but prestigious for the
Throughout these caves, convenient ledges support proximity to Blackfang it pmvides. The aged veterans
trophiesoftheproud’saccomplishments,withanemphasii currentlyon duty take their work very seriously indeed.
on the skins of famous opponents-as intact as possible,
but still often rather mangled. The sight is usually deeply Dar‘Tm’sChambers
demoralizing to visitors of r a m represented among the TheguidinggeniusofthePenumbralcauselivesinthe
slain. Characters from the Bleak Savannah or any of the strangestpartoftheFortress.Thisentireareais,like the Hall
landsboderingthenorthemKeldershavea5%chanceper ofiRadership,filledwithadensedarknessthatbehaveslike
level of recognizingsomeone from their home community breathable water. DarTan makes no concessions in his
among the slain. home to conventional comforts, preferring to pursue ex-
Thelion’sDen periments (withhimselfas the primary subject) abouthow
to most fully achieve a darkness-dominated existence.
Here a trio of keepers tends two dozen adult lions (see
MM) for use in hunting. These lions have been carefully DarTan lives without anything like the guards and
trained to cope dth life underground, but they’re still not servantscommon elsewherein the Fortress. Whenever he
very happy about it and would readily join in if they saw needs an extra set of hands, or any other sort of assistance,
anyone successfully attacking their captors. Then they’d he simply commandsthe shadows to do it. For ongoing
flee along the most direct route to the outside world. chores he uses an actual creature of the darknes, often
designed for the purpose. Other living beings generally
7hePjts come here only on specific errands, and even the Penum-
This area is kept constantly dark. Small cells hold bral faithful usually prefer to leave as soon as they can.
prisoners taken in the field and brought back to provide
sport for the proud. Most of the Pit is split with dangerous
TheThreshold
crevices and splinteredstalactite, adding +5 to the Dc of The only room in thisareawith a conventionalfloor,
guests can sit on the chairs and benches while waiting for
movesatmorethanwallungspeed,acrobatics,andthelike.
Proud who want to try out a new hunting technique or just an audiencewith DarTan.A locked drawer opposite the
tohavesomesportwillturnlooseoneormoreprisonersand fast tunnel holds messages that don’t require W a n ’ s
hunt them through the pits. (Proud who do not produce immediate attention; he studies them at his leisure. If
impressive kills must go out into the field to retrieve intrudershave been detected in the Fortress, a guard patrol
replacement prisoners.) from the area sounding the alarm rushes to thischamber to
speak with DarTan.Otherwise only the shadows stir.
THE PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

TheMainRoom TheBedroom
This round room acts as Dar’Tan’s library, laboratory DarTan sleeps while floating freely in the center of
and dining room simulmeously. Books rest in shuttered this small room. Simple shadow servants give him very
casesdown at the bottom, near the pantry holding simple gentle nudges when he risks colliding with a wall, and he
dried foods and a few of DarTan’s favorite snacks. Hooks stores his favorite clothes and armor in alcoves.
protrude everywhere, to allow hTan to tie down valu-
able magical equipment, and sturdy chests and reinforced
TheFurGate
glass flasks drift freely. Spread through this room and the Thisroomsta~lockedandbarredwheneverDarTan
adjacentalcovesarethematerialmmponentsnecesmyfor isn’t using it. Unles he’s been summoned by an alarm,
every spell DarTan can cast, but not obviously organized. however,heusuallyis,soitoftenstandsopen.Itssolefeature
(The elfwrtsthingsbasedon theirassociationsinhis mind, is a very large spool of silk mrd. O p p i t e the door is a
linked to specificmemories and visions, so one would have modified gateway like those of the Bridge and Canyon
to know his mind rather intimately to find anythtng Gates except round. It opens not into the material world
quickly.) but out intothedepthsofthePlaneofShadow.Crysta1balls
on each side of the gateway receive telepathic impressions
Shadow creatures tend small black-fire h c e s near
via touchand use these impressionsto“steer”the other end
the edges of the space, melting down precious metals for
of the gateway to features in Shadow.
upcoming work on magical items. Like everything else,
includii hTan himself, these creatures and their fur- Lately, DarTan has been searchw through a can-
nacesfloatmundtheroomasifinsideagiantdropofwater yon-like region where the shadows runparticularly thick
unless tied down or otherwise attached to the walls. and slow, in hopes of finding clues to the Slxecians’
whereabouts. He wears an enchanted silk cord around his
waist so that he has somethingtohangonto ifhewantshelp
returning to the Fortress;He’s often known to go as far as
two milesfrom the gateway,securedonly by thisshaderope.
See chapter four for shade rope statistics.
THE PENWMBRAL PENTAGON

The Penumbral Fortress con- still gives off its customary heat, sides of the passage the borer is
tains both unique items and and novice engineers generally transforming, they can’t rest on
unique kinds of items, made in bum themselves at least a few wheels or skids while in use, but
accordance with rituals and for- times while learning how to use most borers do make some provi-
mulas unknown elsewhere. For the furnace safely without the cues sion to hinge up, fold away or
this reason, creation costs and provided by flickering fire. The disassemble the frame to move
necessary supplies are not listed, furnace also needs normal venti- the borer into or out of the work
as only highly trained devotees of lation, even if (as in much of the area.
the Penumbral Pentagon are Fortress) this means running a Powers: The borer works in
skilled in the shadow arts neces- pipe to a small gateway venting two distinct modes.
sary to produce them. This is also into the depths of the Plane of T r u n s f m d Material Tun-
not an exhaustive list of the Shadow. nels. The borer can alter 10 feet
strange and dark items con-
structed by the shadow cause.
Fast Tunnel Borer per hour of material moved out of
Description: These peculiar the material plane into the Plane
GMs should feel free both to add of Shadow. Once altered by con-
more items to the penumbral rep- machines create the passages that
link portions of the Penumbral tact with the frame, the tunnel
ertoire and to develop rules for can act as a fast tunnel at any
their production should such Fortress to each other, and a few
select passages for Penumbral use speed the Penumbral engineer in
abilities be desirable in a given chargeoftheprojectchooses. (See
campaign. outside the Fortress. The actual
magical work takes place in an Chapter 3) The borer must work
on at least 1,000 feet of material
Tools of Constructjon enchanted silver frame, usually
corridor at each end of a fast tun-
made with jointed segments to
BlackFlame Furnace accommodate tunnels of differ- nel.
Description: Penumbral en- e n t shapes. Wooden or Shadow Tunnels. Once the
gineering still requires heat and occasionally stone scaffolding borer prepares a sufficient length
fire just like regular craft work holds the frame in place -since of material tunnel, it moves out
does: there are metals to melt and each segment must be a foot wide into the raw material of the Plane
objects to forge, bricks to cook in and six inches thick, the total of Shadow itself. Now it moves at
kilns, and so on. To deal with the weight is considerable.Where pos- the equivalent of 10miles an hour
problem of light sensitivityamong sible, beasts of burden pull the toward the designated other end
some of the organization’s most borer; in other situations, labor- of the fast tunnel, measured in
adept engineers, Night Arm cre- ers pull and push it along. straight-line distance in the Ma-
ated thisstyle offurnace. It spread When inoperation, the frame terial Plane. The nature of the
rapidly throughout the Fortress segments emit black sparks and a shadows through which it passes
community, but remains the spe- soft hum; the noise continues even may vary dramatically, fromsome-
cial pride of the engineers. when the borer is at rest, and the thing like solid rock to creeping
Black j7um f u m e s can be sound carries for half a mile or liquids to empty dark void; the
any size from small units just large more. On more than one occa- borer moves through all of them
enough to hold a small pot of sion, Penumbralengineerstracked at the same pace. Where the borer
metal or a single sword blade on a borer and crew trapped in a has passed, there are now solid
up to room-fillingbehemoths that cave-in or lost in unexpectedly tunnel borders, which resist entry
can cremate whole patrols at a convoluted passages by following like any other solid walls. Ahead
time and melt tons of metal at this hum. of it is the Plane of Shadow at
once. Whatever their size, all Boring crews generally deco- large, and the borer travels with
share the same general configura- rate their machine in some armed guards capable of dealing
tion, a half-dome kiln resting on distinctive fashion. Depending on with attacks from outside.
a square flat slab and topped by a the crew, this may include favor- Light Reservoir
cylinder of bronze or copper. ite icons and totemic symbols, Description: Although it has
Powers: When the furnace embedded stones taken from ar- other applications, Penumbral
is lit, the cylinder on top hums eas they’ve mined through, and practice classifies this as a con-
faintly and emits a soft smoke other trophies that make good struction tool because the Fortress’
that makes all flames in the fur- props to refer to when it’s time to engineers use it to prepare areas
nace bum pure black. The furnace tell boastful stories. Since the for shifting into shadow. The light
frame segments must touch all
 THE MAGIC O F THE SHADOWS

reservoir is a glass or crystal cube Each gate occupies a 30-foot Shadow Compass
one yard on a side, completely square area in both the material Description: Even when hu-
transparent when empty, shading world and the “shal1owest”partof man senses can’t discern them,
into pitch black when entirely the Plane of Shadows, where it the Plane of Shadow provides ter-
full. During discharge, it glows, as draws closest to matter. The ac- rain-like features. The shadow
described below, providing fresh tual gate has no depth at all, compass probes the shadows for
fodderfor tales of mysteriousglows though Penumbral engineers pre- patterns of drift,density, tempera-
and haunts deep in the Kelder fer to mount it in a framework ture, emotional resonance, and
Mountains. that provides a clear threshold the like to establish relative di-
Powers: The light reservoir area. rections.
absorbs some or all of the light Once activated, a gate re- Each compass is somewhat
within a hundred-foot radius. mains active, and automatically different in details, being an indi-
Anyone can operate it with a passes everything that enters it. vidual work of craftsmanship, but
touch and a spoken or thought Penumbral engineers would very all share the same basic design. A
command. The reservoir has a much like to give the gates more clear glass or quartz dial six inches
capacity of 200 “light units.”Low- selectivity but haven’t managed across rests in a rim made of what-
ering the light level by one step it so far. For reasons not at all clear ever metal the maker chooses. A n
on the following chart for one to Terk or any of his assistants, obsidian arrow is bolted onto the
minute requires one unit. Lower- instructing a penumbral gate with dial and can spin freely; the dial is
ing the light by two steps for a the kinds of criteria for accep- also capable of rotating up out of
minute requires two units, as does tance common in means of the plane of the rim on any of
lowering it one level for two mine teleporting within the Material eight pairs of gimbals. A pair of
Utes. Plane just closes the gate immedi- jewels,ofwhatever type the maker
When the reservoir is full, it ately. chooses, sits in obsidian-lined
must be emptied out again, start- The gates eachappear as solid sockets.
ing within one hour of when it black squares. No senses of any Powers: Depending o n
absorbs the hundredth unit of kind penetrate through them, ex- which jewel the handler touched
light. Discharge happens at a mini- cept for those of penumbral lords, last, the arrow points either at the
mum of five light levels per whose darkvision works without point where the handler crossed
minute, and can go as high as 20 hindrance to show them what’s into the Plane of Shadow or to the
per turn. That intense a flash does on the other side. The gate’s ap- nearest open connection between
the same damage as a torch ap- parent temperature matches the shadow and the material world
plied to everything within 100 surroundings, and it has n o (which may at times, of course, be
feet. discemable texture or taste. The the same point). Some compasses
Light Levels nature of the magic that creates it include additional pointers, so
Pitch black ensures that gates respond to spells that they can indicate both the
Moonless night andothermeansofdetectingevil, handler’s point of entrance and
Night and would do so even if good the nearest connection, and per-
Indoors during daytime characters created them. haps as well divining rods
Dawn and sunset Powers: Anything passing enchanted withvarious detection
Cloudy day through the gate arrives at aspeci- spells.These are crafted separately
Sunny day fied destination in the material and attached to the compass it-
Directsunlight underperfectlyclear skies
world or the Plane of Shadow. self.
Fortunately for the well be- Once created, the gate remains
ing of shadow-dwelling users, the
light reservoir can be instructed to
where it is, even if surrounding OtherMagjcal Creations
buildings or terrain move. The
begin discharge anywhere from creator of the gate can close it
The Darkening Library
one turn to 10 minutes after the with a simple verbal command Description: The darkening
command to do so, as long as this regardless of his distance from it, library consists of one or more
falls within the one-hour window and may choose to include a pass- shelvesmade of polished anddeco-
of opportunity. word that anyone else can speak rated teak wood, usually supported
PenumbralGate to the gate to close it as well. with obsidian reinforcements at
Once a gate is closed, it’s gone, the joints. The shelves have clips
Description: The gates make
and must be made all over again. and slots to hold books, scrolls
the Penumbral Fortress possible, and loose written material. Noth-
and Sutane Terk and Night Arm
ing in the decorations hints
regard the gates as the greatest directly at the Penumbral nature
achievements of their craft so far.
THE PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

scenes simply depict

various aspects of life at night in
the Scarred Lands. pearance to distinctly
Books left long enough on gray, from that to soft black with on matters associated with dark-
these shelves change in appear- only occasional highlights, and ness.
ance (and also in content, as from there to pure black.
Books removed from the
described below). Bindings and Once the book has become library’s shelves stop changing
pages both darken, while scuffs, black, the darkening library alters until they’re put back. T h e
water damage and the like all dis- its text. Spells and rituals related changes cannot be undone ex-
appear. Thus over time the to light go first, at the rate of one cept by dispelling the magic
darkening library comes to hold per week. The magician who made inherent in the darkening library
only books of pure pristine black. a particular darkening librury re- itself.
Even as the pages darken, how- tains some vague awareness of the
ever, their text remains legible as contents of its books, however Eclipse Canopy
a peculiar sort of shimmer against great the distance between cre- Description: T h e eclipse
the material of the page. ator and creation, and may choose canopy is always made from some
Powers:The darkeninglibrary whether or not to replace these loosely woven cloth, of whatever
changes both the form and con- spells with darkness-oriented fiber and design the caster chooses.
tent of books stored on its shelves. spells of the same level. Then Penumbral tradition favors tapes.
A book left on the shelf for one theological and philosophical tries depicting great Penumbral
week moves from badly worn con- content related to light and enti- triumphs or the world after the
dition to merely thoroughly used, ties associated with the light sun sets for the last time; eclipse
or from that state to slightly disappears, over the course offour canopies woven for use outside the
marred and used, or from that weeks. Penumbral doctrine ex- Fortress generally include neutral
state to looking like new. The pounded on at matching length geometric patterns so as to avoid
changes in a book‘s condition automatically takes its place. Last advertising their magical nature.
happen whennobody is looking.. . to go is information about the To use the canopy, its owner
even if this means changing when daylightworld at large,fading over simply strings it up so that it hangs
observers blink. The darkening the course of a full year. In the above the ground, where sunlight
described above happens in end, the book contains only in- can strike it instead of the pro-
matching stages, from usual ap- formation about and comments tected space underneath.
 THE MAGIC O F THE SHADOWS

Penumbral travelers sometimes to sunlight suffer no damage or whose shadow is in contact with
make tents out of them, and Pen- impairment. the shadow magnet.
umbral agents i n long-term Shade Rope ShadowStone
residence outside the Fortress set
Description: This long spool Description: These small,
up eclipsed rooms, if they have
of light silken thread is a full two polished black stones are created
some space they can count on
miles long. Though it is slender by the Penumbral Lords through
being free of visitors who’d make
and fragile-looking, no physical an unknown process. They can
a fuss about the discovery.
force can break the shade rope. It be carried or set in rooms, allow-
Powers: Sunlight filtering
is difficult to destroy even by ing users to trigger them with
through the eclipse canopy appears
magical means, as it has a spell special command words.
eclipsed. Any penalties deriving
resistance of 30, and 100 hit Powers: Shadow stones con-
from sunlight (and from light in
points. Dar’Tan himself did not tain spells of level 1-9.When the
general) are halved underneath
make the rope, and rumor claims user iswithin 10feetofthestone,
the canopy.
that it was actually a gift from the spell that it contains can be
Mjrror, Penumbral some powerful shadow-dwelling triggered as a free action, but
Description: Penumbral mir- outsider. only one stone can be triggered
rors can be any size that their Powers: The shade rope must each round. Once triggered, the
handlers feel up to managing. be tied or anchored to a place stone is powerless, but can be
Most are between one and ten that is not in direct sunlight to be recharged with a spell if the Pen-
feet indiameteremateveritssize, effective. The user then secures umbral Lord so desires.
apenumbral mirror alwaysconsists the other end of the rope to his
waist, and then may travel any-
Weapon SpecialAbility
of a smooth obsidian surface.
where within the rope’s two-mile Shadowed: T h e shadowed
Powers: The penumbral mir-
length, including to otherplanes. special ability can be applied to
ror reflects light like any regular
If the user is in danger, or must any edged melee weapon its cre-
mirror. But surrounding the light
return to the rope’soriginquickly, atorchooses; favorites among the
cast by the mirror is a zone of
he needs only to utter a com- Penumbral Fortress’ enchanters
pitch-blackness, as wide as the
mand word and be instantly include daggers and bastard
beam of light. The Penumbral
transported to the rope’s anchor swords. The blade has a dull gray
Pentagon positions these mirrors
point. If the rope is untied for any hue, and never reflects light ex-
to allow for defensive ambushes
reason, then its magic will not cept in a very dim and smudgy
in areas they want to keep clear of
function. way. I t cannot take a polish or
intruders, with shadow minions
shine.
waiting in the darkness. Shadow Magnet Onasuccessful damage-deal-
Mirror, Umbral Description: The shadow ing strike, a shadowed weapon
Description: Like penumbral magnet is a multi-faceted gem- erupts with plumes of black va-
mirrors, umbral mirrors can be any stone, either black opal or some por. Dark flames then envelop
size the creators want, and also other gem with a black vein the target, extinguishing any
consist of polished obsidian set prominent inside. Its owner wears natural flames such as torches,
in a fixed or movable frame. it on a necklace, mounted in a candles, etc. These flames can-
Nothing distinguishes an umbral headband, or otherwise displays not be relit for ten minutes.
mirror from a penumbral one it where it’s visible to the sur- Magical flames, lights, and other
when it’s not in use. Minor modi- rounding environment. sources of illumination must re-
fications to the creative ritual Powers: The shadow magnet sist a dispelling effort from a
also allow enchanters to make does precisely what its name sug- magical force equal to the blade’s
umbral windows, which have the gests: draws shadows toward itself. caster level. The fumes disperse
same transforming effect on light All shadows within 50 feet of it rapidly enough to leave only a
shining through them. point toward it regardless of the momentary flicker, and impose
Powers: The umbral mirror prevailing lighting conditions, no vision or other penalty on the
transforms incoming light. In the and shadows originating within target.
beam it reflects, light becomes 10 feet stretch out (and up the Casterlevel: 6th; Prerequisites:
dark and vice versa. If pure sun- body of its owner, depending on Craft Magic Arms and Armor;
light or intense flame shines into where it is) to touch the black Market Price: +1 bonus.
it, for instance, a beam of almost part of the magnet. This allows
pure darkness emerges. Within the owner to cast any spells re-
its shadows, creatures vulnerable quiring touch to affect anyone
THE PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

Casting Time: 1 action

Chajn of Shadows Range: Self
cial roll. The bonus reflects
Mingles targets’ innate re- t h e cleric’s ability t o draw out
Target: Self the most persuasive parts of
sistances. Duration: 1 hour/level
Abjuration t h e god’s dark side and present
Saving Throw: N/A
Level: Sor/Wiz 3 them in the way that t h e tar-
Spell Resistance: No
Components: S, V get finds most amenable - it
Casting Time: 1 action Descriptjon includes a very low level of
Range: Touch T h e gods of Scarn are n o t subconscious telepathic activ-
Target: One personllevel entirely nice and benevolent ity as well as magically
Duration: 1 hour/leveI beings. T h i s spell, o n e of enhanced recollection of reli-
Saving Throw: Will negates Chiruli’s first creations as one gious lore. Throughout t h e
Spell Resistance: Yes of t h e unhallowed, allows t h e spell’s duration, t h e cleric
Descrjptjon cleric using it t o identify and seems particularly impressive
emphasize the points of dark- and pious, however the target
Identity, as most people may interpret this.
ness within a god’s history and
know, is partly t h e result of
nature which will be most ef- T h e complex mental pro-
material existence. Bound-
fective in drawing others t o cesses involved in this spell
aries become uncertain when
the Penumbral cause. A n ex- work best with divine lore,
t h e light fades. T h i s spell
ample of such a dark side might thanks t o Chiruli’s own ob-
draws o n t h e opportunities
include t h e tale of Tanil’s lies sessions in that regard. The
such uncertainty presents.
to her father, her theft of his bonus is halved for efforts to
Spell Effects bow and her final betrayal of manipulate worshippers of the
T h e caster is always in- him t o his eventual doom at titans and other entities.
cluded in this spell, along with the hands of t h e gods. Even
whoever else he chooses to in- Corean’s towering righteous Darken Soul
clude. All t h e targets must anger and Madriel’s connec- Increases targets’ suscepti-
have shadows that touch or t i o n t o h e r twin sister bility to darkness-related ma-
overlap with at least one other Belsameth can be twisted by nipulation.
target, since the effects flow the magic of this spell to ap- Enchantment (Charm) [Mind-AF-
through merged shadows. If pear as p u i s s a n t and fec t ing]
meaningful dark sides within Level: Sor/Wiz 2
t h e spell succeeds, all of those
t h e gods’ natures. This magic Components: S, V
linked into a chain of shadows
functions for Chiruli and t h e Casting Time: 1 action
share their various defensive
Range: Close (25 ft + 5 Wlevel)
bonuses -everyone saves and dark anti-priests who follow
Target: One person +l/Cha bonus
resists with the highest score him, allowing them to subvert
Duration: 1 day/level
available to any of them. The t h e followers of the gods t o
Saving Throw: Will negates
effect remains at full strength the ranks of shadow worship-
Spell Resistance: Yes
for the duration of the spell if pers.
their shadows c o n t i n u e t o Descrjptjon
Spell Effects
touch. If the targets move so T h e world has few perfect
While this spell lasts, the beings, free of all flaws and
t h a t their shadows n o longer
cleric may make a Knowledge temptations to dark deeds, the
touch, the bonuses are reduced
(religion) check (DC 10) be- keeping of secrets, and other
by one for characters whose
fore a n y c h e c k i n v o l v i n g hidden shames. This spell ex-
shadows are within 10 feet of
social interaction, such as Di- p l o i t s t h a t r e a l i t y . On
at least one other target, and
plomacy or Intimidation, with occasion a Penumbral agent
by two for those farther away.
those who haven’t yet ac- teaches it to outsiders in ex-
Dark Djvjnity cepted the Penumbral creed, change for information or
as long as the cleric’s side of other services, since it c a n
Exploits the potential for
t h e interaction makes refer- serve causes besides t h e Pen-
darkness and evil in the nature
ence t o the target’s religion. umbral one without
of neutral and good deities.
T h e amount by which t h e conflicting with shadow cause
Enchantment (Charm) [Mind-Af-
fecting] caster succeeds a t the Knowl- goals.
Level: Clr 2 edge check may be included as
Components: V a bonus t o t h e subsequent so-
 THE MAGIC OF THE SHADOWS

Spell Effect ’

People affected by this spell are constantly

eminded of their own dark impulses and feel a
ague sense that they would be better off if they
ave in t o those impulses. By itself this has n o
iechanical effect, only a roleplaying one, but
argets also lose some of their normal resistance
:o efforts at manipulating them into serving
t h e d a r k n e s s . A d d t h e caster’s a r c a n e
spellcaster level as a bonus t o Bluff, Diplo-
macy, Innuendo, Intimidate, Sense Motive,
and related non-magical checks directed at
the targets when the manipulator belongs to
the same faction as t h e spellcaster.
T h e vulnerability wears off as described
above, but the effects of t h e persuasion (or
intimidation, or other manipulation) remain.
So does a general sense of t h e target’s own
concealed wickedness and yearning for free-
dom from normal social restraints.
The God’s Shadow
Plunges holy ground into darkness.
Transmutation
Level: Clr 4

1 Components: S , V
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: IO-ft radius emanation
Duration: 1 hourllevel
Spell Resistance: No
Descrjptjon
Another product of Chiruli’s quest to
spread his notions of the darkness implicit in
t h e gods, this spell is usually cast along with
a sermon or lecture on Penumbral principles.
Some of Chiruli’s students use it for pure
intimidation value, but he frowns o n that -
for t h e true believer of Chiruli’s sort, mere
fear counts for nothing unless there is some
way for it to lead t o a fuller understanding of
t h e truth. Chiruli cites this spell as proof of
his mad belief that all t h e gods have “shad-
ows” that reflect their darker natures, but
the supporters of t h e gods claim that it is
merely evil magic that originates from some
darker plane, unrelated t o any hidden na-
tures that gods may possess.
Spell Effects
The god’s shadow can only be cast within
an area blessed w i t h consecrate, and its ef-
f e c t s r e m a i n c o n f i n e d w i t h i n the
consecrated area even if the god’s shadow is
invoked off to one edge of the area. Every
solid and liquid object within the area of the
god’s shadow becomes pitch black, cut off from
all light. Even lights aimed directly a t the
THE PENWMBRAL PENTAGON

shadowed area can’t penetrate being inexplicably dim and Some Penumbral agents
the darkness, though the ef- muddled for t h e duration of like t o work this spell into
fect can be dispelled. the spell. small enchanted items, which
The god’s shadow does not they can hide in t h e private
interfere with any clerical Shadow Echoes chambers of individuals tar-
spells or rituals directly unless Relays sounds through shad- g e t e d for h a r a s s m e n t o r
they require light. T h e usual ows. removal. Persistent strange
penalties for working in dark- Conjuration (Summoning) whispering does a great deal
ness do apply if a spell calls for Level: Sor/Wiz 3 to disturb sleep and instill use-
fine manipulation, since Components: S, V ful levels of distraction and
pitch-black objects show little Casting Time: 1 action paranoia.
detail and anyone handling Range: Touch/special
them must rely on touch. Target: Touched creature (Gargan-
tuan size or smaller), or 10 ft. square
Shadow Tide
area Turn shadows into a thick
lmpljcjt Darkness Duration: 10 minutes/level liquid-like sludge.
Obscures senses without Saving Throw: No Transmutation
discernable shadows. Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless) Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Transmutation Components: S, V
Level: Sor1Wiz 2
Description Casting Time: 1 action
Components: S Penumbral sages t e a c h Range: Close (25 ft. + 5ft.12 levels)
Casting Time: 1 action that in some important senses, Target: 10 sq. ft. per level
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5ft.12 levels) every spot in darkness is the Duration: 10 minutedlevel
Target: 10 sq. f t per level same as every other, and every Saving 7hrow:Reflex halves impair-
Duration: 10 minutesAevel soul that serves the final dark- ment
Saving Throw: Will halves penalties ness is in part the same as every Spell Resistance: No
Spell Resistance: No other such soul. This spell Description
Descrjption demonstrates that unity in a This spell is one of several
very practical and direct way. defensive measures developed
This spell originated in a
Shadow worshippers generally in recent years, in response to
philosophical debate during
use it for intimidation value, t h e problem of intruders in
the Penumbral flight through
t o show enemies (real or po- the Penumbral Fortress. The
the Hornsaw Forest. T h e dark-
tential) just how formidable Fortress’ distributed and bor-
ness worshippers argued over
the darkness can be in t h e derline condition makes it
whether the absence of light
hands of someone who knows impossible t o keep all sections
was the same thing as t h e pres-
how to command it. properly guarded and secure.
ence of darkness, and one of
those arguing that it wasn’t Spell Effects W h e n normal barriers fail, the
created the first version of this While casting shadow ech- shadow tide may slow intrud-
spell to Prove a Point. Since oes, the magician specifies an ers enough for guards t o rally
then the spell has been re- emotion or State of mind - for counter-attacli.
fined for somewhat greater fear, fatigue, despair, joy, and Spell Effect
reliability and usefulness, but so on. T h e spell draws t o itself This spell grants unnatu-
the point still stands. everything said in the Penum- ral substance t o the shadows
Spell Effects bra1 Fortress that reflects t h e i n t h e target area. T h e y
chosen emotion and emits it thicken t o the density of wa-
Implicit darkness refers t o
to the target’s hearing as barely ter, impairing all movement
t h e absence of light and its
audible whispers. Speech at and physical activity. T h e
benefits without t h e overt
normal volume becomes so shadow tide doesn’t choke
presence of darkness. Within
quiet as t o be incomprehen- breathing - it passes air (and
the targeted area, t h e DC of
sible once transmitted -only sounds, scents, and the like)
all checks requiring the use of
t h e emotional tone of t h e normally, affecting only
l i g h t rises b y + l / a r c a n e
sound is conveyed. Listeners people’s a b i l i t y t o m o v e
spellcaster level o n the caster’s
may make a Listen check (DC through it.
part. The same penalty applies
t o any effort to look through
15) t o understand any one T h e caster may determine
shouted phrase or particularly both the height of t h e shadow
t h e affected area, aim spells
loud sound transmitted by t h e
and arrows through it, and so tide, up t o 5 ft./level above
spell as a slightly stronger
on. Observers see the area as ground level, and t h e degree
whisper.
 THE MAGIC OF THE SHADOWS

I p to + 1 DC/level for all

:a1 challenges along with
ment being reduced t o one-
I
ier normal. If the area is lit,
shadow tide shows as a roil-
; black mass of vaguely
icertain surface. It has no
exture as such, though any-
one investigating i t c a n
immediately tell where the
effect begins, since move-
m e n t becomes d i f f i c u l t
t h e r e . T h e shadow tide
tapers down t o zero eleva-
tion and zero impairment
in a periphery about five
feet wide, all around the
area targeted by the spell.

Shadow Stride
Lets target walk on any
visible shadow.
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 5
Components: S, V
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature (Gargantuan
or smaller) touched
Duration: 10 minutes/level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance:Yes (harm less)
Descrjpti on
This spell is one of t h e
most recent in the Penum-
bral archives, developed as
a n alternative way t o travel
through lands whose people
nay not be hospitable t o Pen-
mbral agents. It works, but the
ntagon doesn’t regard it as en-
ly reliable just yet, given the
:ntial for serious trouble that
resents.
ell Effects
Shadow stride began as a modi-
d version of air walk. Like that
:11, it allows t h e target to move
places most physical be ing
mally don’t go. T h e target can
I o n any substance and empty
long as it’s in shadow - a
r strider could, for instance,
tywhere within t h e volume of
iLL ,,,,dowed by a high wall or moun-

71
THE PENVMBRAL PENTAGON

tain ridge. In addition, as long Level: Clr/Sor/Wiz 4 decides which of these condi-
as there’s a continuous shadow Components: S, V t i o n s apply, a n d c a n n o t
from some source, the target Casting Time: 1 action change it thereafter without
can rise up t o the shadowy Range: Close (25 Ft. + 5Ft./2 levels) casting the spell all over again;
bottom surface of clouds over- Target: 1 persodlevel
artifacts enchanted with the
head. Duration: 1 day/level
spell only produce one effect
Saving Throw: Will negates
The target must “fall” up or the other.) The target gains
Spell Resistance: Yes
to the clouds, moving a t a mile no immunity from the effects
per minute; descent happens Description of the actual lighting condi-
a t the same pace. The major Whether this spell is a tions - creatures which burn
reason this spell is still con- blessing or a curse depends in sunlight continue to burn
sidered to be a work in progress very much o n one’s point of even as they see t h e night sky,
is that, if at a n y point the view. For nocturnal beings and and so on. All celestial ob-
target passes out of shadow, those who simply love the j e c t s r e t a i n t h e i r usual
the shadow stride ends imme- darkness, it’s great. For others positions, b u t a n y w h i c h
diately. T h e target falls, and it’s sheer torment. Penumbral would be visible at night with
takes normal falling damage servants in the world outside no moon are visible during the
for the height unless some the Fortress like to keep it day to this spell’s target if the
other magical effect (or natu- ready as a way of confusing caster chooses the nighttime
ral ability) can cushion the those who might interfere or option. I n other respects, the
blow. A falling magician can’t need a demonstration of the target (only) is treated as if he
renew the spell, either; it must greatness available to the Pen- is in total darkness.
be cast while the target is i n u m b r a l cause. P e n u m b r a l Unwilling targets find this
some location that it can move servants about t o go on mis- an extremely demoralizing ex-
to normally. For humanoids, sions very often choose to put perience, and after the first
that means standing o n the this into enchantments in the day begin to suffer a penalty
ground or swimming in water, form of potions (which can be equal to the caster’s Cha bo-
or any other place accessible administered surreptitiously), nus o n their Will saves for the
to normal human movement. rings or necklaces. spell’s duration in addition to
Spell Effects any penalties imposed by the
Vjsjon of Night darkness. Animals and other
Lets targets see as if it were T h e targets of vision of
non-sentient beings simply
night, regardless of conditions. night see the world as if it were
panic when the night goes on
Transmutation eclipsed or night for the dura- and on, and after the first day
tion of the spell. (The caster must be subdued.
 t that the Blood Sea poisons

ic exis
ge nec
I 1
THE PENVUBRAL PENTAGON

is the only part of the steppes firmly under the prevail, and they will not be caught in unexpected
Riders’ control, raided occasionally by ambitious peril unless they really resolutely refuse to solicit
groups of orcs but never at long-term risk of pass- any outside advice.
ing under orcish rule.
An Orcish Encounter
The Riders submit to no outside authority,
The characters come across a band of orcs,
but they do choose to cooperate with the Veshian
one 5th level barbarian leading l d 6 1st level
Vigils for their mutual advantage. They also trade
barbarians per PC, sheltered in a gully beneath
with outside merchants, exchanging well-treated
bluffs freshly scarred by recent landslides. The
hides, leather goods, herbs harvested from the
orcs are equipped for battle but relaxing at the
steppe and other local commodities for the metal-
moment and are in fact enjoying a meal. They
work and other implements they can’t readily
have five captured humans tied to stakes. Three of
make for themselves. Outsiders always face careful
the five are dead and partially butchered, and the
scrutiny, but the popular conception of the Riders
fourth is currently roasting over a crude roasting
as ravening devourers of interlopers exaggerates
pit. The fifth hangs unconscious from his post.
the situation.
Only thoroughly evil characters can avoid
The characters need some reason to be on the
feeling an urge to interrupt the orcs’ meal, and evil
Herd Plain. If they belong to the Vigils, then the
characters should see the possibilities for loot.
GM can simply assign them to investigate the state
Once half the orcs have been slain, the rest flee,
of things o n the steppe, particularly if the
leaving their prisoners behind. In addition, the
Hornswythe overflowed again recently. Characters
orcs have Id0 gp each in money and knickknacks
with established merchant or other businesses of
taken from previous victims.
their own may go in search of profit; characters
without their own economic interests may act as The still-living prisoner is Ironbay (see sidebar
agents for a merchant in any Veshian city, offering for statistics, although he’s taken 20 hp of damage
the characters a 15% commission on all goods they when he’s encountered here)*His belongings Pro-
bring back to him for sale. vide no clue as to his origins, though detect evil
shows him in possession of this quality. Searching
The weather on the Herd Plain is typical for
the area may let the characters identify tracks that
the time of year; see Scarred Lands Campaign
match the prisoners’ boots with a Search check of
Setting: Ghelspad for details. It’s never comfort-
DC 15. The tracks come further up the gully, but
able, shifting from hot and dry to storm-ridden to
whatever information they may have provided is
bitterly cold with occasional blizzards and then
now lost, covered over by the most recent land-
back again in the course of a year. The characters
slide on the day before. The tracks go a few paces
have plenty of opportunity to learn from patrons
before being surrounded and trampled over by the
and fellow travelers what conditions currently
 ADWNTVRES IN SHADOW

Haggling Ironbay the Engineer

The setup for this adventure should in- Ironbay, WizB/Penl: S2 Medium-size humanoid; HD
‘?d4+9; hp 31; lnit +2; Spd 30 ft.; AC 13 (+2 Dex, +I
clude PCs haggling with their patron if and only
bracers); Atk melee +4 (quarterstaff ld6). ranged +6
if the players find it fun. Some groups love to (crossbow ld8); SA shadow strength; SQ darkvision (60
play out and/or roll for the process of bickering Ft), summon familiar; AL LE; SV Fort +3, ReF+4, Will +?;
for mutually acceptable terms, and others hate Str IO,Dex 14, Con 13, Int 17, Wis 12, Cha 10.
it and just want to get on with things. GMs Skills:Alchemy +8,Concentration +6,Craft
know their groups’ various tastes better than (masonry) +8, Decipher Script +4, Hide +lo,
this book does. Accordingly, these guidelines Knowledge (arcana) +8, Knowledge (Plane of
are available for those who would like to use Shadow) +8,Knowledge (underground) +8,Pro-
them but should never be forced on players. fession (engineer) +6,Scry +8,Spellcraft +9.
The Veshian merchant starts by offering Feats: Brew Potion, Craft Wand, Scribe
the characters 10% of the purchase price - Scroll, Silent Spell.
that is, the price he’d pay to buy things directly Shadow Strength (Su): Shadow creations of
himself - on the goods they bring back from the engineer have 10%the strength of the real
the Kelder Steppes. He begins with an indiffer- thing to those who disbelieve, unless the specific
ent attitude. spell description calls for a higher percentage.
The normal diffkulties for changing NPC Wizard Spells Prepared:
attitudes apply as given in the DMG, in Chap- (r-detect magic, ghost sounds, mending, prestid.igitu-
ter 5, “NPC Attitudes.” As long as his attitude tion, read magic (x2).
remains indifferent, the merchant may agree to 1st--bummg~,*,w,m=w,+
pay a commission on his own resale price (Di- 2nddetect thoughts, knock, obscure object, shatter
plomacy check, DC 15) and to raise the
3rd-firebal1, shrink item, slaw, water breathing
percentage as high as 15% (Diplomacy check,
DC 10). The GM may decide to dispense with 4th-chann monster, shadow conjuration
the rolls, simply role-playingout the merchant’s Possessions: + 1 braces of armor, dagger, po-
reactions to the player’s in-character or out-of- tion of cure serious wounds (and three empty
character presentation, but must make sure that ones), scroll of dispel magic, wand of ray of en-
players fully understand what will count and feeblement.
what won’t before the interaction begins. Ironbay is a short human man, just a little
If the characters manage to raise the over five feet tall. His hands and forearms are
merchant’s attitude to friendly, he automati- heavily scarred thanks to years of working in
cally grants them a percentage on resale value laboratories and smithies, and all the skin ex-
and may go as high as 20% commission (Diplo- posed to kiln heats and the like is heavily tanned.
macv check, DC 151. He wears simple heavy leather clothing, with
sleeves and cuffs that he can lace up when
necessary to keep out dust (and loose bugs and
other things he’d prefer not get close to him). A
orcs’ heavy boots, and the rest of the evidence small leather bag with a shoulder strap holds one
merely indicates that a battle took place, and the day’s worth of dried meat and fruit and a water
orcs took prisoners -facts that should already be flask. A novice penumbral lord, he hopes some
obvious. day to rise to high rank among the Penumbral
Pentagon and displace the non-penumbral lords
When revived, Ironbay can provide no fur-
who now control the organization.
ther information. His initial confusion gives way
to shock as he realizes that he’s lost his memory. A
single phrase haunts him whenever he thinks
about how he and the other prisoners of the orcs is of a rumble that he now realizes must have been
got there: “Down from the depths.” I t makes no the beginning of the most recent landslide, trig-
more sense to him than it does to the characters. gered by the noisy orcs.
His very first recollections are of picking his way Allow the characters time to explore the situ-
down the gully, watching for the risk of landslides ation and their strange companion. He’s eager to
and leading the others. He doesn’t remember who find out what’s going on and grateful that he
they were or why he was leading them. Then the hasn’t been eaten, and he feels instinctively that
orcs came, and he was knocked out. His last memory he owes a debt to the characters that he can best
THE PENWMBRAL PENTAGON

repay with service. If he knew what distinctive anything relevant. The first day of travel, the DC
talents he possesses, he could perform some spe- of all such probing checks is increased by + 10; this
cial work for them; as it is, he has only a general penalty for unfamiliarity and haphazard action
willingness to help. decreases by one point each day, until ten days
One feature of his possessions stands out: all later, as the characters approach Bridged City’s
of his coins bear the seal of the Bridged City mint. outskirts, he makes checks without any penalty.
When questioned, Ironbay knows of Bridged City The first three days of the journey take the
in general terms, but can recall no details about it. characters and Ironbay across the steppes, in the
Upon having the coins identified - which any- shadow of the Kelders’ eastern slopes. Ironbay
one who’s been there can do automatically, and urges caution, both because of the orcs and be-
which others with a Knowledge (Ghelspad) check cause of his unknown nemesis. A Wilderness Lore
or similar knowledge roll (DC 10)may attempt - or Hide check of DC 15 lets the party successfully
he suggests going there in search of more answers. evade bands of orcs in the area; if the check fails,
If any of the orcs still live, they can be inter- a band like the one that captured Ironbay and his
rogated. The survivors know only that their scouts companions ambushes the characters. Arrange
came back with the word that the gully, which the ambush to take advantage of features in the
they’d found empty earlier in the day, now had environment that the characters favor: unexpect-
five humans in it. The humans appeared to lack edly deep caverns if the characters travel on or
serious defenses, so the orcs’ commander saw an near the Kelder foothills’ bluffs, behind rocky
opportunity for a bit of fun and a free meal. None ridges or in unusually dense groves of trees if the
of the prisoners had anything interesting to say characters keep to cover further out on the steppes,
before they died, only howls in languages unfamil- and so on. Every route offers some exploitable
iar to the orcs. The bodies, if searched, prove to weaknesses, and while the orcs will not be produc-
have Bridged City coins as well and nothing else ing genius sages anytime soon, they do know the
indicative of their origins. lay of the land and something about fighting
strangers who may individually be much more
Epjsode 2: Out of the Kelder Steppes powerful than the orcs themselves.
The fastest and most reliable route to Bridged
City from the steppes involves going north to the The Shadows of Memory
Hornswythe River, and there joining the trade O n any day in which Ironbay can spend at least
road that follows the river all the way into the one continuous hour in darkness or semi-darkness,
thick of the Kelders. It’s not entirely safe, but the even simple shade, during the day or be awake
alternatives are all both slower and riskier. A enough to think during the night, another piece of
Knowledge (Ghelspad) check (or similar knowl- memory returns to him. Choose from among these or
edge roll) against lore of the region (DC 10) assign similar fragments, none of which yet tells the
confirms these impressions. whole story:
Ironbay feels adeep dread of something watch- Ironbay is a surveyor in a large construction project.
ing for him in the daylight. He has no idea at all Ironbay and his companions ended up stranded in
what the peril might be, but knows for sure that the gully because of a construction accident. (The
daytime simply isn’t safe for him. Something that characters know that there was no trace of con-
moves only during the day wants him and his dead struction anywhere in the gully, and if Ironbay
companions and will follow him anywhere that chooses to speak of this memory, he can offer no
human power is likely to get him. O n the other reconciliation between that fact and the confi-
hand, knowledgeable characters know that the dence he feels in his recollection.)
orc bands favor the night, in part because the Geometry holds the key to whatever it was Ironbay
Riders seldom ride after sunset, and must balance was doing. If he could remember what the crucial
Ironbay’s fear of something unknown against the shape is, he would understand himself in relation to
known risks. it.
Throughout the early stages of their journey, Allies wait somewhere out of sight from the daytime
Ironbay continues to radiate an aura of evil with. watchers, but they don’t know where he is right
out showing any idea ofwhat in him could possibly now.
be evil. During calm moments, he’ll try to emulate Ironbay’s work involves both doing things with rock
any feats that PCs can perform, so as to gradually and doing things to rock.
discover the range of his own expertise. He goes Colleagues of Ironbay and his companions have
through an intensive search for all forms knowl- been stranded before, either in that gully or some-
edge, examining everything around him and where nearby. They made it home, so he can hope
making checks “blind” to see if he can recall to do so as well.
 ADVENTURES IN SHADOW

The project Ironbay was working on has roots back

before the Titanswar.
While Ironbay and his companions are human, they Six Manes
took orders from a dwarf, who reminded them Male h u m BbnQ:CR 9; SZ Medium-size humanoid; HD
constantly of his status as an outcast. 9d12+18;hp 101; lnit +7 (+3 Dex, +4lmproved initiative);
The project Ironbay was working on draws on Spd 40 ft.; AC 19 (+3 Dex, +6 armor); Atk +11/+6melee
important knowledge ofsomething that hasn’t hap- (ld8+6, +2battleaxe); AL CN; SV Fort +8, Ref +6, Will
+4; Str 18, Dex 16, Con 14, lnt 11, Wis 12, Cha 7.
pened yet, but will, and which cannot be avoided.
Skills: Bluff +2, Climb +13, Disguise +0,
Help could be very close in some sense, but Ironbay
Escape artist +3, Hide +3, Knowledge (nature)
can’t reach it without some special connection, the
+5, Listen +1,Move silently +3,Profession +4,
nature of which he can’t recall.
Spot +1,Tumble +8,Use Rope +5, Wilderness
As these memories return and as he rediscov- Lore +12;
ers the scope of his own abilities, Ironbay becomes
Feats: Dodge, ImprovedCritical (battleaxe),
increasingly secretive. The first few days, he shares
Improved Initiative, Leadership, Power Attack.
his returning memories freely and cooperates fully
Possessions: +2 battleaxe, +3studdedleather
with the characters. Gradually he comes to feel
armor.
that the pieces will eventually come together in a
pattern that his rescuers won’t like - they might
even try to stop him from doing whatever it is he
was doing before his accidents, and he can’t allow
that. He works more intensively to find out just if the characters want t o stop t o heal a spot of
what he knows and can do, even while his memo- ground or a being blighted by the Blood Monsoon,
ries remain mostly obscured. A Sense Motive argues for the killing of captured orcs, and so on.
check (DC 15) reveals this growing distrust, if any In no case does he persist in a claim against good
of the characters think t o perform it. if it’s clear that all the characters support it, but he
Note that Ironbay still has n o idea what the does look for signs of discord between the charac-
truth may. .prove to be, though he’s willing to ters and exploits them as he can.
speculate widely. His concerns spring from emo- Rjders on the Steppes
tions, not rational ideas. His underlying evil
On the third day of the characters’ journey, as
alignment emerges in small ways at first, particu-
they look down into the currently murky and
larly in the pressing Of arguments dressed as
reeking valleyof the Hornswythe River, a group of
pragmatism against doing kind or charitable deeds
half a dozen Riders (all 7th level barbarians)
if the occasion arises. He finds evidence of pursuit
arrives from the south. They found the remains of
THE PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

the orcs who took Ironbay and his companions I

prisoner and have been following the the charac-
ters’ trail. Six Manes, the Rider leader (see sidebar S h i m Worms: CR 6; SZ Tiny Outsider(Incorporeal); HD
for statistics), suspects Ironbay of being one of the 6d8+6, hp 33; Init +2 (Dex); Spd 20 Ft., fly 40 ft. when
mysterious visitors the Riders encounter from time incorporeal;AC 14 (+2size, +2 Dex)/lb (+2 size, +2Dex, +2
deflection) when incorporeal;Atk +4 melee (1 pt bite, ld6-
t o time: evil humanoids who refuse to speak of
4spines), +10ranged(feeding ray); SA feeding, silence; SQ
their purposes and clearly regard the Riders as incorporeal,telepathy, voice; AL N; SVFort +6, Ref +7, Will
their inferiors. Six Manes suspects that someone +’?; Str 2, Dex 15,Con 13, Int 9, Wis 18,Cha 14.
has resumed work on the sort of flying machine Ski&: Bluff +6,Disguise +4,Knowledge (the
that made Skykeep Ruins possible. He thinks that planes, religion) +4,Hide +2, Listen +6,Spot +6.
sometimes one or more of the flyers falls out of a Feats: Alertness, Flyby Attack.
craft cruising low near the ground. Feeding (Su): The worm’s touch drains ar-
Ironbay tries to conceal himself behind any cane and divine forces, inflicting the equivalent
available cover. If the Riders see him (use the of enervution on outsiders,constructs, elementals,
standard difficulties for Spot checks), they move fey, undead, and other fundamentally supernatu-
to take him prisoner, offering the characters token ral beings. While they’re being fed, victims are
compensation for their troubles. Ironbay insists also subject to a continual dispel magic of 6 s
that this is part of the daytime peril he warned the level. The worms may project the effect in a ray
characters about and seeks their protection. The to affect a single target up to 18 feet away or in a
ensuing confrontation can play itself out as a sphere with a radius of 6 feet to affect multiple
purely verbal set of challenges, or with combat, targets.
depending o n the characters’ decisions. Silence (Su):This effect combines antimagic
What If Ironbay Dies? field and silence, extending in a ten-foot radius
It’s entirely possible for one of the Riders to from the worm and lasting 6 minutes. The worm
attempt to slay Ironbay at this point, either with can expand or contract this effect within the
an arrow at range or close up in melee. Once maximum radius at any time. Silence takes a full
Ironbay appears to die, the Riders consider their round to activate and has the effect of spells cast
concerns addressed and they ride off, if the char- by a 6th level sorcerer.
acters will let them. Incorporeal: Slarecian worms may switch be-
Ironbay’s survival is vital to the adventure, tween corporal and incorporeal forms, taking
however, so even if he is reduced to less than 0 h p one full round for the change. While incorpo-
the GM should not allow him to reach actual real, the worms are vulnerable only to other
death, and if necessary should be prepared to see incorporeal creatures, + 1 or better magic weap-
that he is healed at least to consciousness. ons, andspells,spell-likeabilitiesandsupematural
abilities. They are immune to all non-magical
Moving On attacks and have a 50% chance of ignoring
One way or another, the PCs and Ironbay can damage from any corporeal magic source except
resume their journey, whether because of persuad- for force effects. The worms can pass through
ing or driving off the Riders or because of the physical objects but not forces, and move silently
Riders presuming Ironbay to be dead. Ironbay or not as they wish. In either case, they use their
decides that he really needs to not attract any fly rating. They get a +10 bonus to their Hide
more attention of that sort; if any of the characters levels if they choose to keep mostly in side a
has acloak or other covering garb to spare, Ironbay physical object.
somewhat desperately trades for it, offering all of While corporeal, the worms move their nor-
his limited store of money and any one of his magic mal speed and cannot fly. Casting antimagic field
items. or dispel magic successfully on them inflicts Id6
hp of damage each and makes them incorporeal.
Epjsode 3: The Engineer’s be Telepathy (Ex) : Slarecian worms can sense
A single road now leads along the course of each other and communicate with any of their
the Hornswythe River. Each day the trees thicken kind within one mile.
and the whole environment becomes more vital.. . Voice (Ex): The worms can make a wide
except for the damage left by recent tainted flood- variety of sounds in corporeal form, and can
ing that killed the grass in riverside meadows and render any spoken language, albeit with very
blighted many of the nearby trees. A few dead strange overtones and harmonics. They can speak
animals lie here and there, and since all the forces competently one language.
of decay were also killed at the same time, the
corpses aren’t decomposing but simply mummify-
 ADVENTWRES IN SHADOW

ing where they lie. The contrast of dead shorelines dwarves. These dwarves took him and his com-
and flourishing heights should be disturbing, and panions prisoner and treated him with terrible
doubly so for druids, priests of gods of life, and others cruelty, threatening them regularly with execu-
with a concern for the health of the world. tion and using them in the mean time for slave
Travelers along the road draw pure water from labor. Characters familiar with dwarf lore and/or
cisterns erected and maintained by the inhabitants the Kelders may make a check of DC 12 against a
of Bridged City. Catch basins collect rain water and relevant skill to recognize these as forsaken dwarfs
snow melt, and when necessary, Bridged City cara- (the ones from whom Sutane Terk fled long ago);
vans fill in any deficit with water brought down upon hearing the description, Ironbay immedi-
from springs high above the region affected by ately agrees that these were his captors.
Blood Basin flooding. Most travelers realize that The dwarves, Ironbay explains, were using
supplies are finite and take care; GMs wishing a mysterious technology that he finally learned origi-
little social scene along the way can include a tense nally belonged t o the Slarecians. This included
verbal joust between a caravan team being care- amazing tunneling devices. Ironbay and his com-
lessly wasteful of the stored water and bystanders panions were part of a mining crew preparing a
who object to being put at risk themselves because tunnel that would run under the Kelder Steppes
of the gluttons’ actions. and allow the forsaken dwarves access to Vesh‘s
cities. An earth tremor caused a cave-in, crushing
Worms! Ironbay’s captors and opening a fissure just wide
Shortly before sunrise o n the seventh day, a enough for him and a few others to climb through.
more significant encounter takes place. A swarm of They came out high on the slope above the gully
five adult Slarecian worms attacks. They smell the where the orcs and then the characters found
distinctive tang of Slarecian-derived arts on Ironbay them - hence Ironbay’s earlier remark about
and the absence of the equally distinctive tang of “down from the depths.”
Slarecian approval. That makes him a thief of their
The Slarecian worms’ attack was essentially a
creators’ lore and therefore an enemy to be re-
matter of mistaken identity, and Ironbay apolo-
moved. The characters also come under attack, but
gizes profusely to any characters injured in the
only because they happen to be in the area and a
fight. The worms, he says, must have recognized
possible food source. At the beginning of the fight
the magical aura associated with the forsaken
the worms will attack whoever is closest, but as they
dwarves and not realized that it would also “in-
begin to isolate who is magical and who is not, all
fect” prisoners and others who were forced to be
spell casters will become more interesting feeding
part of such magics. He realizes that he’ll have t o
targets than non-magical characters. Ironbay re-
seek some means of purification, and decides that
mains the focus of their ferocity, however.
the monastery where he once lived must be some-
The worms make tinny shouts when they turn where in the vicinity of the Bridged City.
corporeal, calling out to Ironbay “Traitor!” and
Characters capable of detecting lies find that
“Unfaithful servant!” and “Wretched thief!” Any-
he words things very carefully to make certain that
one who comes t o Ironbay’s aid must be an ally of
no single statement is entirely false, and when
his, and also comes under more vicious attack. The
possible simply drops hints and proposes possibili-
worms persist until half their numbers have been
ties, allowing t h e PCs t o make their own
killed or all of them have been rendered incorporeal
assumptions. Characters can easily sense, how-
by counter-magic at least once. Note that, as before,
Ironbay should not be allowed to die. If he falls
unconscious, the worms will concentrate on feeding
from the PCs until they are killed or driven off.
The worms’ treasure nestles in the cleft of a rock
20 feet above the path, next to a channel running
down into the nearest cistern. A Spot check, DC 15,
locates it.
In the aftermath of the attack, many lost details
of memory flood into Ironbay’s mind. He knows that
the way these pieces fit together is deliberately
misleading, though he doesn’t yet know the truth.
Ironbay tells the characters about how he used to
study in a monastery/school somewhere in these
mountains until he and several of his fellow stu-
dents stumbled upon a group of extremely unfriendly
THE P€NWMBRAL PENTAGON

ever, that he must know more than he is saying, well. The city guard probes the characters to
and that he’s doing something to lead them astray. determine their honesty, and upon finding them
Nonetheless, there is likely no reason not to press truthful, Queen Gwatra offers to grant the charac-
on in search of the place he describes and hope to ters envoy status to investigate the matter further.
find more answers. She refuses to believe ill of the honorable old
If the GM wishes to include one or more establishment where Ironbay disappeared.. .but she
scenes in Bridged City, this is the place for it. See would rather know the truth, even if it’s unpleas-
Scarred Lands Campaign Setting: Ghelspad for ant to her personally.
a description, Otherwise, Ironbay eagerly ques- The stage is now set for the characters to meet
tions travelers and receives directions to the the Penumbral Fortress head on.
Bridge Gate, which most people in the area re-
gard as a somewhat eccentric spiritual retreat.

The Engjneez’s Truth

+ This adventure can stand alone as an intro-
duction t o t h e Penumbral Fortress and its
Three days’ more travel brings the characters
inhabitants, or work in conjunction with “The
to the road leading up t o the “hermitage’’ that is
Engineer’s Tale” - and the two adventures can
the Bridge Gate. Travelers providing information
come in either order. “The Shadow of Death”
say that they don’t know anything about its hav-
brings characters to the Canyon of Souls and the
ing acted as a school, but go o n to admit as well
mysteries within, and like “The Engineer’s Tale”
that they’re either new to the area, simply not
leaves the characters prepared for further struggle
familiar with all the place’s details, or both. In the
against the shadow worshippers.
face of denials (and therefore the risk of the
characters doubting him), Ironbay presses hard Where “The Engineer’s Tale” is almost en-
enough to get the admission that the travelers tirely a matter of social interactions, this adventure
don’t know for sure that there isn’t a school as well involves a substantial amount of non-combat physi-
as facilities for adults. cal exertion. Before running the adventure, the
GM should make sure to have full information on
As they climb the road south from the Bridged
what the characters’ physical capabilities are, both
City district, memories begin flooding back again
innate and enhanced with the use of magical and
for Ironbay. Familiar sights and sounds let him
mundane tools.
string disjointed impressions together at last. He
recalls where he’s been, what he was doing, and
what cause he served in doing so. He remembers
Episode 1:On the Tzajl of the Missing
the adjustable gateways and the rest of his work Word comes to one or more characters that
under Terk. someone important to them has disappeared in
the Canyon of Souls. Obviously, the GM must
He does his best to conceal the elation he
customize this setup to suit the particular charac-
feels. If any of the characters attempt to probe his
ters in the campaign. It’s easiest, of course, if the
feelings now, pit his Bluff skill against their skill at
characters have previously established contacts of
piercing such disguises, whether with normal or
some significance in Ontenazu, ready to be sub-
magical means. If the characters discover what
jected to disappearance (and worse, the characters
he’s really thinking and he realizes it, he’ll imme-
will find later) for the sake of the plot. However,
diately shout out “Fare thee well, useful pawns!”
since the Canyon of Souls is now the major route
and disappear behind shadow conjuration as defen-
through the Kelder Mountains south of Bridged
sive color. Otherwise he saves that outburst for
City and the Hornswythe River, characters from
when he’s standing at the very entrance to the
nearly anywhere on Scarn could be affected. T h e
Bridge Gate building, leaving the PCs literally as
GM can decide whether to spring this develop-
well as figuratively in the dust.
ment as a surprise, raising the questions “What
What Now? happened?” and “Why were they in Ontenazu!”
The guards at the Bridge Gate turn the char- simultaneously, or set up this adventure with ear-
acters away with bland reassurances that they lier mentions of relatives, colleagues, or allies in
have nothing to do with shadow magicians. The circumstances that make it worth risking the can-
characters can succeed in pushing their way in, if yon passage.
they have the strength, only to find themselves The news of the characters’ apparent loss
facing the might of the Penumbral Fortress. comes delivered by a young man barely old enough
If the characters go to Bridged City, they find to work as a n adult. He’s a runner in the employ of
a ready audience for their stow. Others have Haresha Two-Hangs (see sidebar for statistics),
noticed strange things associated with shadows as whom characters acquainted with the Canyon
 ADVENTURES I N SHADOW

other group consists of four first level characters, a

fighter, a cleric (of Corean), a rogue, and an ex-
pert, all living in the Hornswythe Valley. Their
Haresha Two-Hangs
Fem$e human, w. CR 6; S2 Medium-sized humanoid
(5’4“,12OIbs.); HD 6d6+12;hp38;lnit+3(Dex+3);Spd 30
missing associates were friends and relatives who
came to Ontenazu in hopes of getting rich from the
ft.; AC 15 (+3 Dex, +Zbtfrwwmor); Atk +4(ld6+1 short increasing density of trade through the canyons.
sword, 2d8+1 light crossbow); ALE; SV Fort+4, Ref +8, When everyone has arrived, Haresha hosts a
Will +2; Str 12, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 14, Cha 12 dinner in the White Cliff Inn, run by a retired
Skills: Appraise +4,Balance +lo, Bluff +6, guide of her father’s generation. She’s used it often
Climb +6, Craft (rope) +6, Decipher Script enough for private business that the innkeeper
+4, Diplomacy +4,Disable Device +4,Dis- thinks nothing of letting her use the back rooms
guise +3,Escape Artist +5, Forgery +4,Gather again. She and two 5th level fighter bodyguards
Information +6, Hide +5, Innuendo +6, In- address the assembled outsiders, explaining the
timidate +3, Intuit Direction +4,Jump +3, dreams afflicting her runners and stating frankly
Listen +4,Move Silently +6, Open Lock +6, that she has n o idea what it all means and regards
Perform +3, Pickpocket +5, Profession (guide) it primarily as a particularly unusual annoyance
+lo, Read Lips +4, Search +4,Sense Motive disrupting her ability t o ply her trade. The Veshian
+6, Spot +4, Swim +3,Tumble +5,Use Magic outsiders bubble over with conspiracy theories
Device +3, Use Rope +10 involving everyone from Slarecians to Calastians
Feats: Ambidexterity, Dodge, Point Blank to titans escaped from their various prisons, but are
Shot, Track at a loss to explain why these particular individuals
Possessions: masterwork sword and cross- would attract such attention. As they turn to one
bow, +2 leather a m , potion ofcure light wounds another with speculations about what dire secrets
(x3), potion of cure moderate wounds (x2), ring their friends must have learned about Ontenazu to
of x-ray vision attract such dire trouble, Haresha turns most of her
Haresha begins with neutral feelings to- attention to the PCs.
ward the characters. If any of them annoy her, She has a simple plan in mind: study the last
she applies Innuendo and Intimidate to make known movements of the missing individuals and
their lives less enjoyable. follow their route. From there, they can only wait
and see what happens. She’s already consulted
local priests and oracles in hopes of finding relief
for her runners, but t o no avail. Whatever’s going
recognize as one of the best guides there. If none of o n is wrapped in magical defenses or some even
the characters have such acquaintance, the run- more obscure way of hiding from divination at-
ner, Tinosea, introduces himself and explains his tempts. So people will just have t o go to the spot
work in great, enthusiastic detail. Finally he also themselves. If the characters seem amenable to
explains how he knew to find the characters, and haggling, she’ll suggest that they can claim equal
here he’s much less exuberant: dreams guided him. shares of whatever loot might remain with the
For as long as it’s taken him to get here, his dreams bodies she expects to find; to more idealistic PCs
have alternated between visions of the characters she emphasizes the benefits of knowing what might
and visions of their missing comrades being sub- be interfering with travelers. In either case she
jected to myriad tortures at the hands of unseen offers to waive her usual fee until finding out
beings. Several of his fellow runners have suffered what’s going on.
the same kinds of dreams, and o n the third night The discussion should conclude with the PCs
of their repetition, Haresha sent them forth to willing to join in the search for their missing
bring these strangers in their visions to her. She friends or relatives. After careful consideration,
has little idea what purpose may draw them forth, the Veshians decide that they’re just not up to the
but she wants this matter settled and hopes the challenge and that they’d be better off waiting at
characters will too. the inn for more information before proceeding.
The journey to Ontenazu goes calmly enough, Besides, someone should stay put in case the miss-
unless the GM chooses to add supporting encoun- ing people turn up.
ters along the way. The characters rendezvous
with Haresha in East or West Ontenazu, depend- Episode 2: Into the Heart
ing on which side of the Kelders they were on of the Canyon
when the runner arrived. A second group of trav- It takes five days of careful travel to get from the
elers, also escorted by runners, waits in the same inn at one mouth of the Canyon of Souls to the last
inn to which Tinosea takes the characters. The
THE PENWMBRAL PENTAGON

area where anyone saw the missing travelers. Each ledges the party experienced on day one. Eventu-
day presents its own distinct challenges. Treat each ally, she explains, local officials with properly
of these encounters as the equivalent of fighting equipped troops will come to repair the damage,
one 1HD monster per character for purposes of but for now she deems it best to just avoid the area.
experience. There’s a semi-abandoned route higher up the
canyon wall, accessible via ladders and handholds
Day One: The Narrow Ledges carved into the rock at several points. T h e charac-
Erosion has shrunk the width Of Haresha’s ters must each make three Climb checks (DC 10,
favored road in several spots. The characters must 15, and 20 respectively). The first double failure
eachsucceedinthree Dextests (DC 10,12,and 15 (failing the roll, and then failing the follow-up)
successively). Describe the situation vividly: a inflicts i d 6 damage as described above. The set-
Stone ledge wide enough to lead wagons o n sud- ond inflicts 2d6 and the third 3d6, reflecting
denly narrows to the width of a city block’s curb, progressively greater falls onto nastier surfaces.
Or becomes a cracked ready to break loose at It’s difficult to fall headlong into the depths of the
any moment. Failure inflicts 1hp of damage on the canyon, but slipping even one’s own height onto
character, ignoring all armor, from bruising and shards of exposed rock can do a lot of damage.
knocking around on the brink of the abyss before
This night, the characters share dreams of
the character regains proper balance. In addition, their lost companions being tortured on very so-
any character failing one of these tests must imme. phisticated machinery by shadowycreatures. The
diately roll again with the same difficulty; failure torture chamber is dark except for a single lamp
on the follow-up roll inflicts an additional ld6 of Over the head of each victim, and the features of
damage, which also bypasses armor. the torturers remain lost in the gloom.
Day Two: The Stampede Day Fjve: The Crevasses
Up ahead in the Canyon somewhere, a par- The old high road gradually leads down to
ticularly loudandsuddenshriekofwindhasstartled rejoin the currently most traveled path, but not
a train of pack mules and sent them into frenzied without difficulties. It winds through very tight
flight* They charging at the characters and clefts artificially enlarged to allow people and
must be subdued to avoid damage*This animals to pass, including deep notches into
requires three Hand1e checks in quick which the sun never shines directly. A t several
succession (DC lo, 12,and l5 Only points dangerous chasms open up the road,
characters who make one or more of these rolls are deep within the shadowynotches and therefore
eligible for the confidence bonus described above impossible to bypass except throughflight Or other
(though who lack re- means of getting up off the ground altogether. The
tain the bonus for an extra day, since it’s not characters up with other
Jump (or
through that miss Out On the oPPortu- means) across one five-foot gap and one eight-foot
nitY today). Each failure to restrain a Panicked
mule lets one through to attack the other charac-
gap. ney must also make a concentration check
(DC 12) to avoid losing their footing while emerg-
ters. ing from one of the clefts just before a landslide
Day Three: The Sandstorm starts directly below them.
The wind rises sharply out of the depths of the T h e dreams are more intense and unsettling
Canyon, and here it carries grit from the depths t o tonight, and the healing from rest is reduced 10%
lash at the characters. Each character must make tonight (and each night thereafter until the men-
a Use Rope check (DC 10) to tie onto a safety line ace is resolved, though the penalty is n o t
and a Spot check (DC 12) to make sure of the cumulative).
footing ahead. If a character fails and then fails The Twin Canyons
again, thereby taking l d 6 damage as described
T h e characters finish this day o n ground
above, the characters immediately ahead and be-
about as solid as this part of t h e Canyon of
hind o n the safety line suffer 1 point of damage
Souls gets, facing t h e entrances to the Twin
each from the unpredictable yanks o n the rope
Canyons. It’s unusually clear down here today,
they’re tied to. The storm lasts for a n hour; the
allowing Haresha t o readily distinguish the
characters must make their Use Rope checks at
dangerous western canyon from t h e passable
the outset, and the Spot check at any point during
eastern canyon. As she was half-expecting, a
the storm that suits the GM.
few trinkets readily identifiable as the property
Day Four: The Ascent of the missing travelers lie on t h e ground up in
Haresha claims that the path the characters the western canyon - whatever took them,
cross today is even more damaged than the narrow took them into the part of t h e canyon most
 ADVENTURES I N SHADOW

known as a point of n o return. Haresha sighs,

but apparently feels she has n o option but to
proceed.

Episode 3: What Once Were

Chjldren
A n ancient power lurks in the depths of the
western Twin Canyon. It has no ambitions for
anything beyond this canyon, it merely wishes
complete control over its home and the absence
of intruders. T h e Penumbral Pentagon offends
it deeply, since these meddlers persist in dis-
turbing the whole area. T h e power of t h e canyon
wants them gone, and has prepared several
unwholesome encounters to help the process
along. This episode and t h e one following lead
the characters into doing the canyon power’s
will.
At first the western canyon proceeds straight-
forwardly enough, with beautiful wind-carved
arches and small stream channels, only a few of
which now carry water. Occasional promontories
allow characters to attempt a Climb check (DC
10) to look for anything up ahead. After an hour
of this, they do indeed spot something, whether in
advance by scouting or simply by coming over a
low rise and facing it.
There is a small cemetery, with five tomb-
stones arranged around each of the points of a
five-pointed star marked in white chalk. A Spot
check (DC 15) lets characters recognize the odd-
ity that the chalk remains undisturbed and
uncovered by windblown sand or dirt despite rest-
ing slightly below the surface level of t h e
surrounding ground. When they’re within 20 feet,
a second Spot check with the same difficulty lets
characters realize that all the graves are small -
too small for adults. This is the burial spot for 25
children.
An Unholy Discovery
Haresha goes rigid. She was obviously not
expecting to find this here and reacts a little
slowly to her surprise. Anyone thinking to pit
Sense Motive against her Bluff may notice that
she’s deeply afraid of this spot, the first time she’s
shown fear at all, and trying very hard not to let it
show or even to acknowledge it to herself.
As the characters approach, direct sunlight
shines down through a fortuitous opening, giving
a very good look at the lay of the land. Then a
cloud drifts across the sun and the characters can
see the translucent forms of children floating above
the ground, their eyes level with the characters.
The ghosts were too washed out t o show in direct
sunlight, though they gain more opacity now. The
one closest to the characters calls out in a very sad
THE PENVMBRAL PENTAGON

UMyChiId:CR 5; SZTiny Undead; HD 4d12, hp 26; Init

+O; Spd crawl 20 Ft., Fly 40 Ft.; AC 14 (+2 size, +2
natural); Atk +2 melee (ld3 bite), +O melee (Id claw);
FaceIReach 2.5 ft. by 2.5 ft/lO ft.; SA dread presence,
Frost touch, frost breath; SQ non-corporeal, smile of
innocence, undead; AL NE; SV Fort +4, Will +1, Ref +3;
Str 3, Dex 9, Con -, lnt 4, Wis 14, Cha 8.
Skills: Listen +2, Move Silently + l .
Frost Touch (Ex) :When materialized, the
unholy children may lay a hand on an oppo-
nentasatouchattackand inflict2d6offrostbite
damage. This automatically takes effect if an
unholy child claws an opponent.
Frost Breath (Su): The unholy children
may breathe out a 10-foot cone of supernatu-
rally chilled air. Anyone caught in it must
make a Fort save (DC14) or temporarily lose
ld4 points of Con. Anyone reduced to 0 Con
dies. Lost Con returns at the rate of one point UL uit:r ~ I I U I I L L J ~ ~ I
per ten minutes of rest.
Non-corgoreal (Su): The unholy children
can materialize or dematerialize (turn ethe-
real) as an attack action. While ethereal, they
cannot harm creatures in the physical plane.
Smile of Innocence (Su) : Unholy children strands of vapor that cannot coalesce into recog-
can appear like perfectly normal babies. They nizable forms. (Those ghosts have been too badly
do this to attract nurturing attention, so that mauled to retain independent identity.) As they
they can bite a caretaker’s neck or gouge out approach, the lead ghost keeps a steady flow of
eyes. Unholy children revert to their normal cries and complaints. “You tookme away and gave
forms as soon as they attack or use any of their me to the men and they killed me... you told
special attacks. Mother that you were going to take care of me.. .
Undead:Unholy children are immune to you said that I’d fallen into the Canyon ... I’ve
poison, steep, paralysis, stunning, and disease, been so lonely and cold.. ..”
and are not subject to critical hits, subdual After two rounds of this, Haresha finds her voice
damage, ability damage,energydrain, and death again and says, very coldly, “I don’t know what you’re
from massive damage. talking about.” All 12 children shriek at precisely
These ghostsmove faster than most of their the same pitch and attack directly. They fight on
kind, because the canyon power wanted them until nine of them have been destroyed, after which
to be able to ambush and chase intruders. They the other three flee further up the canyon or into
are also lacking in some of the usual powers of their graves.
unholy children, specifically the Dread Presence Each of the graves proves to contain the body
ability, as it might have warned the party of the of a child who has the regional features, just like
children’s presence too quickly for the canyon Haresha. The one closest to the characters does in
power’s purposes. The other 13 formless ghosts fact bear a striking resemblance to her, even in
have no other powers or abilities. death; she refuses to talk about it, dismissing it all
as a clever trick of some sort. A Knowledge (arcana)
or Spellcraft check (DC 12) allows characters to
notice that the pentacle around which the bodies
voice, “Auntie Haresha, Auntie Haresha, you came
were buried has been positioned to act as part of a
back for me!” Haresha shakes her head and backs
protective ward aimed at anything coming from
up slowly.
the upper reaches of the western canyon. The
The creatures are unholy children (see sidebar chalk lines remain clear thanks to small gusts of
for statistics; see Creature Collection Revised for wind, which automatically blow to preserve the
full details), 12 in all. The ghostly children drift structure of the ward.
toward the characters. T h e other 13 graves emit
 ADVENTURES IN SHADOW

Episode 4: Prisoners and Guards

Badly shaken by the encounter with the chil-
dren, Haresha nonetheless presses on further up
the canyon. As she goes, she finally explains halt-
ingly that one of those children was indeed her
nephew -she’d been taking care of him while his
parents guided caravans, and one day a vital rope
had broken on a bridge near their encampment,
sending several people, including the boy, to their
deaths in the canyon below. The runners find this
perfectly plausible, since such accidents happen a
few times every year, and it takes a Sense Motive
check (DC 18)or magical means to establish that
the whole story is a lie. If any of the characters
accuse her of lying, she stops speaking t o them
altogether and relays orders through the runners.
Another hour up the canyon, the group finds
the remains of an old temple. Anyone familiar
withdwarvish religion can identify it as a veryold-
fashioned dwarvish construction, dating back to
some unknown period before the Titanswar since
it lacks a number of distinctions the dwarves now
make about which beings are responsible for what
parts of the world. The iconography reflects the
belief in a comprehensive creative force that in-
spires toolmakers and their tools to carry on the
unfinished work of making the world perfect.
The temple consists of a massive marble slab
50 feet square resting o n granite pillars. Inside,
sandstone walls reach up to dwarvish waist height,
or not far above human knees, to divide the space
without obscuring vision. Thus direct sunlight
can never enter the inner partitions even as any-
one inside can look out in all directions. A Spot
check (DC 10) lets characters see from 100 yards
away that translucent objects bigger than a human
being float inside, each tethered to the floor and
drifting slowly in transitory air currents. A single
figure of roughly human proportions also floats in
the center of the temple.
As they get their first glimpse of this prospect,
the characters may also notice someone behind
them, with a Spot or Listen check (DC 20). Haresha
notices it automatically and identifies it as a Pen-
umbral Fortress guard patrol (see sidebar for
statistics). She assumes the patrol is following her
and the others to see what’s up. She has no concern
about them and endeavors to reassure any suspi-
cious characters that it’s just the wind blowing the
dust around. For its part, the patrol hangs back to
avoid the risk of being discovered; it was purely an
accident that the guards got close enough for
Haresha to get the glimpse she did.
An Unwelcome Surprjse
T h e being in t h e center of the old temple
becomes clearer as the characters approach. It’s
 TH E PENUMBRAL PENTAGON

“Hello, Haresha,” the shadowspawn says

first. This presumably surprises the characters.. .
FortressPatrol and also Haresha, who has no idea what the
thing is doing here. She immediately suspects
P d Lcwdsr, F t h CR 6; SZ Medium-size humanoid; HD
6D10+12; hp 55; lnit +6;Spd 20 ft.; AC 15 (+2 Dex, +10 t h a t it was put there by the Penumbral Penta-
armor,+3 shield); Atk melee+11/+6(bastard sword ld10+6 gon t o keep a n eye o n the canyon. “Your nephew
damage), ranged+8/+3 (composite longbow ld8+3 dam- told me so much about you, and about how you
age);AL LE; SV Fort+lO Ref +6, Will +7; Str 16, Dex 14, gave him over t o Dar’Tan and Chiruli for the
Con 14, lnt 13, Wis 12, Cha 12. binding rites. He really wanted you to under-
Ski&: Climb +8 (+0 in armor), Craft (ar- stand how unhappy you’d made him by helping
mor) +3, Heal +5, Jump +8 (+0in armor), Swim t o kill him. He didn’t like t o talk to me, but h e
+6 (-2 in armor). did anyway, because after all, the only other
Feats: Cleave, Exotic Weapon (bastard company was t h e other children your masters
sword), Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, planted there .”
Power Attack, Weapon Focus (bastard sword), Haresha is i n rather profound shock a t this
Weapon Specialization (bastard sword). point, shaking her head and trying to make
Possessions: +2fullplate, +I large metalshield, sense of i t all. She realizes that she knows much
+2 bastard sword, +1 composite longbow, 20 nor- less about this part of the Canyon of Souls than
mal anows,poticmofcuremoderatewounds, potion she suspected.
of endurance, +1 cloak of resistance, ring of Seeing her dither, t h e shadowspawn imper-
darkvision. sonates her voice and shouts out, “Behind! Five
zsdour Guard, Ftr4: CR 4, SZ Mediurn-sizehumanoid; HD armored men! Spread out, flank, and attack!”
4d10+12; hp 35; lnit +6; Spd 20 Ft.; AC 19 (+2 Dex, +7
armor); Atk melee +9 (bastard sword ld10+3 damage), Hearing this, t h e hiding patrol assumes that
ranged+6 (composite longbowld8+3 damage); AL LE; SV Haresha has betrayed them for reasons of her
Fort +8, Ref +4, Will +3; Str 16, Dex 14,Con 14, Int 12, Wis own and mounts an immediate attack. T h e
12, Cha 12. shadowspawn waits for them to close before
SkiUs: Climb +6 (+1 in armor), Craft (ar- drifting up t o start attacking the characters
mor) +3,Heal+5,Jump+6(+1inarmor),Swim from the side opposite t h e guards.
+6 (+ 1 in armor). T h e ensuing three-way combat is messy,
Feats: Exotic Weapon (bastard sword), Im- and provides plenty of opportunity for the play-
proved Initiative, Power Attack, Weapon Focus ers t o try out innovative, improvised, or just
(bastard sword), Weapon Specialization (bas- plain muddled tactics. Nonetheless, in the end,
tard sword). somebody wins, and there’s time t o get some
Possessions: +2 chainmail, +1 bastard sword, answers.
+J compositelongbow, 20 normal arrows,potion of The Shadowspawn
cure moderate wounds, potion of endurance, + I
T h e shadowspawn came here in response to
cloak of resistance, ring of darkvision.
t h e i n t e n s e magical energy a n d vaguely
Slarecian taste of the Penumbral Fortress. It
found an abandoned passageway it could use to
connect from here in the western Twin Canyon
human in form but pitch black to all visual t o t h e Hall of Temples inside the Shadow For-
senses - it might as well be a n outline drifting tress, and has set about raiding for prisoners
i n the air, its feet a foot or so above t h e from within t h e Penumbral Fortress for its own
ground. This is a Slarecian shadowspawn (see use. It knows vaguely that something claims the
sidebar for statistics), and t h e other human- canyon for its own, but the canyon spirit ap-
like figures i n the temple are the prisoners i t proves of t h e shadowspawn making trouble for
has been feeding from. W h e n t h e characters the Penumbral armies and therefore leaves it
are within conversational range, i t speaks t o alone. Those PCs who know anything about
them, its voice changing with every sentence. shadowspawn, for whatever reason, may notice
T h e Slarecian shadowspawn have n o native that the behavior of this individual is not in
capacity for speech despite being intelligent keeping with most knowledge and legends about
beings, but they can manipulate their forms t o these creatures. Either its dislike for the Pen-
impersonate the speech of others. This one umbral Pentagon or its proximity to t h e canyon
goes from male voices t o female and back spirit or both have made it unique in both
again, young and old, low and high pitched, methods and behaviors.
without any obvious pattern.
J
 ADVENTWRES IN SHADOW

Shadowspcrwn damage. The shriekdoes have the positive effect of

S k i a n !3&wpwn: CR 3; SZ Medium-size Outsider releasing all of the shadowbound victims.
(Incorporeal, Evil); HD 3d8+3; hp 16; Init +7 (+3 Dex, +4 Shudowbind (Su): When touched by the
lmprovedlnitiative); Spd40 ft., fly 10 ft.(perfect); AC 16(+3
Dex, +3 Deflection), Atk+6 melee (2 claws, 2d4 each); Face/
shadowspawn,any victim rendered helpless, asleep
Reach 5 ft. by 5 ft./5 ft.; SA pass through, death shriek, or stunned must make a Fort save, DC 14, to avoid
shadowbind; SQ light vulnerability, incorporeal, weapon re- becoming encased in shadows which rapidly hard-
sistance; AL NE; SV Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +6;Str -, Dex 16, ens into a glassy shell. The shadowspawnmay drain
Con 13, Int 18,Wis 16, Cha 16. 1point of Strength from one such victim each day;
Skills: Appraise +6,Hide + 10,Knowledge (art) those who reach 0 Str die. While trapped, victims
+8, Listen +6, Spot +6. have nightmare-ridden sleep, with visions that
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative. combine their real experiences with hallucinations
Pass Through (Su): The shadowspawn may do and extrapolations. The shell crumbles when ex-
this instead of making a regular attack. Moving posed to direct sunlight and when the shadowspawn
through an enemy inflicts 2d6+3 of chill damage emits its death shriek.
and stuns the targets for 2 rounds unless the target Light Vulnerability ( E x ) : Light-based spells
makes a Fort save, DC 13. The attack also does Id4 which damage the undead also affect shadowspawn
damage to the shadowspawn and negates the Dex- in the same way. Direct sunlight completely de-
terity bonus to its armor class the round after it stroys the shadowspawn.
performs the pass through. Incorporeal:The shadowspawnmay be harmed
Death Shriek ( E x ) : W h e n killed, t h e only by other incorporeal creatures, by + 1 or better
shadowspawnemits aspecialshriek. Anyone within magical weapons, and by magic. It has a 50%
IOfeetrnustmakeaFortsave, DC 13, orbedeafened chance to ignore the damage inflicted from any
for ld6 weeks. Anyone within 30 feet must make a corporeal source other than for effects, and can
Fort save, DC 11, or be deafened for ld6 days. move silently and pass through solid objects at will
Anyone within 100feet must make a Fort save, DC (without triggering the pass-through attack unless
9, or be deafened for d6 hours. These saves are it chooses to do so). Attacks made while the
cumulative; someone within 10 feet must make all shadowspawn is incorporeal ignore the target’s
three. Anyone who fails two or more of these saves armor.
suffers permanent deafness. The shriek also causes Weapon Resistance ( E x ) : The shadowspawn
massive structural damage in the area, collapsing takes only 1 point of damage per + 1 enhancement
roofs and toppling enough solid material to inflict in a magical weapon, except for ghost touch and
3d6 damage on all who fail a Reflexes save, DC 12, holy weapons. These do their regular damage if
and even those who make the save suffer Id6 they hit. Sun blades do double their usual damage.

If the shadowspawn survives the fight and still survive (albeit badly weakened). T h e last
learns that the characters dreamed of the pris- clear memory each of them has is being guided
oners, it can explain that its temple lair acts as by Haresha and t h e n ambushed by soldiers just
an emotional amplifier, or a t least t h a t it will like the guards i n t h e recently concluded fight
u n t i l some t r a n s f o r m i n g force, l i k e t h e here. As this information comes out, if Haresha
shadowspawn’s Death Shriek for example, un- is still alive, conscious, and free t o move, she
leashes itself a n d destroys t h e d e l i c a t e immediately runs away, going by a relatively
arrangement of low walls that causes the ampli- direct route t o t h e Canyon Gate.
fication. A Knowledge (religion) or Spellcraft
roll, DC 12, can provide the same information The Guards
even if the shadowspawn isn’t available t o an- The guards helped t o capture victims cho-
swer questions. sen more or less at random by Haresha. They
have n o idea what’s going o n here and learn far
The Prjsoners t o o l a t e t h a t t h e shadowspawn i m i t a t e d
T h e prisoners have dim memories of the Haresha’s voice t o simulate her betrayal. Even
above as well, t h e result of psychic leakage from once they learn what’s going o n , they suspect
their captor. There were fifteen prisoners all her of treachery of some sort. They can also
told, including several corpses, but all of the describe, if Intimidate or other means over-
captured travelers important t o the characters come their Will to resist in contested checks,
THE PENWMBRAL PENTAGON

the location of the Penumbral Fortress and a bit that seriously, and is genuinely puzzled in the
about the mighty armies camped inside. They face of good PCs’ revulsion.
play up its strength and wonders, hoping to She accepts her status as a prisoner if the
intimidate the characters right back. ...
characters manage to subdue her or so she
Haresha claims. In truth, she waits for the best opportu-
If caught, Haresha prefers to deny every- nity t o escape and then heads out into the
t h i n g . A c t u a l t o r t u r e or very skillful Canyon’s wild stretches to begin assembling a
manipulation may make her start talking, but band of her allies. S h e even has a lair prepared
even so each datum comes out slow and as for the eventuality.
misleading as she thinks she can get away with. Like “The Engineer’s Tale,” this adventure
She does convey the sense of a great fortress of concludes with the characters knowing where
darkness underneath the mountains, run by to find (part of) the Penumbral Fortress and
schemers who can grant tremendous power in having seen some of its denizens in action. The
exchange for sacrifice. She offered up her own stage is therefore set for the characters to con-
relative (her nephew) for a rite calling for sac- duct a campaign against the Pentagon, by
rifices with personal bonds, and chose strangers themselves or with potential allies recruited in
for sacrifices calling for the absence of personal Ontenazu or even beyond.
bonds. Thoroughly amoral herself, she believes If Corean’s paladins, for example, learn of
that nobody really takes moral objections all what’s going o n , they’re likely to be very inter-
.
ested indeed.. .
THE PENVUBRAL PENTAGON

Large Outsider sages of Lokil have some information o n such

Hit Dice. 8d8 (36 hp) creatures, and are interested in travelers' tales, but
Initiative: +4 (Dex) so far most information about wisps remains con-
Speed: 30 ft., fly 40 ft. jectural.
AC: 15 (-1 size, +4 Dex. +2 deflection)
Attacks: Shadow tendrils +7/+2 Combat
Damage: Shadow tendril ld6 and energy drain
FaceIRd: IO ft. by 10 ft. / 10 ft. Wisps prefer to hide in shadows, and rarely
Special Attacks: Improved grab, constrict, energy drain reveal themselves unless they are certain that they
Special Qualities: Incorporeal, daylight powerlessness can overcome their prey. A wisp will normally wait
saves: Fort +6,Ref +6, Will + 8 until a lone victim has passed by, then attack from
Abilitk. Str -, Dex 18, Con -, lnt 12, Wis 15, behind, gaining flanking bonuses and catching
Cha 13 foes flat-footed. They will immediately use their
Silk: Hide +15, Listen +lo,Spot +I3 grab and constrict attacks and try to drain the
Feats: Alertness, Bhd-Fight, CombatReflexes victim's energy as quickly and efficiently as pos-
Climate/'Temin: Any land sible.
Organization: Solitary or gang (1-4) A wisp can only survive on the material plane
Challenge Rating: 5 for 2d6 days, after which it dissipates and vanishes.
TreaWre: None Every energy level that the wisp successfully drains
Alignment: Always lawful evil
adds one day to the time that it can survive away
Advancement 9-12 HD (Huge)
from the plane of shadows. A wisp can return to the
Descriptjon plane of shadows through an open shadow gate or
similar dimensional portal.
Sometimes when the Penumbral Lords create
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the
a shadow gateway, or otherwise create a connec-
wisp must hit a Medium-size or smaller opponent
tion to the plane of shadow, something else comes
with its shadow tendril attack. If it gets a hold, it
through, or is left behind when the gate closes, like
can then inflict constricting damage.
a wisp of fog that curls into a room when a door
slams. Usually these wisps of shadow dissipate Constriction (Ex):A wisp deals ld6 points of
crushing damage with a successful grapple check
harmlessly, but on occasion they are possessed of
against Medium-size or smaller creatures.
malign intelligence, and move into the material
world, preying upon its inhabitants in a fit of rage Energy Drain (Ex):A victim that is hit by a
and the need to return to the plane of shadows. wisp receives one negative level. The Fortitude
This is no idle desire o n the part of the wisps, for save to remove the negative level has a DC of 15.
even if they dwell in the deepest of shadows, they Incorporeal: Can be harmed only by +1 or
fade and vanish within days of their entrance into better magic weapons, or magic, with a50% chance
the material plane. In that time, however, they are to ignore any damage from a corporeal source. Can
capable of causing considerable mayhem. pass through solid objects at will, and own attacks
Wisps are most often encountered in the shad. pass through armor. Always moves silently.
ows of the Canyon of Souls, hiding in deep Daylight Powerlessness (Su): Wisps are ut-
shadowed crevasses and caves. The area is the terly powerless in natural sunlight (not merely a
subject of many rumors and frightening stories, daylight spell) and flee from it. A wisp that is
especially the depths of the canyon beneath the exposed to direct natural sunlight takes ld8 points
Featherweb Bridge, and many of these tales speak of damage per round until destroyed.
of living shadows that emerge to envelop and Skills: Wisps receive a +5 racial bonus to hide.
devour the living. So far, the wisps remain rumor,
as no one has captured or actively studied one. The
 CREATWRES OF TI4 E SHADOW

ow Qeature
Descriptjon creature’s normal weapon. This is not a real weapon,
only a shadow of what the creature normally carries,
“Shadow creature” is a template that can be
and it cannot be disarmed nor can the weapon be
applied to another creature.
taken from it.
The Penumbral Lords live in and worship the
Damage: The shadow creature’s attacks inflict
shadow. They summon shadow beasts and transform
themselves into creatures of shadow.They hold truck one die type less damage than those of the base
creature.
with things that dwell in darkness, and seek to plunge
the world into gloom. In the heart of the Penumbral Special Qualities: A shadow creature retains all
Fortress lurk things that have escaped from the realms the applicable specialqualities it had in its prior form.
of shadow, or been purposely summoned. Some have It also gains the following special qualities:
even slipped the bonds of the fortress, and now stalk Live in Shadow (Ex): Shadow creatures can
the shadowy depths of the Canyon of Souls and other only exist in shadow. If conditions exist (such as
shadowed caverns in the Kelders and elsewhere. magical light, full daylight, etc.) that prevent the
The creatures of shadow resemble those that formation of shadow, the shadow creature vanishes
dwell in the material world, but only as dark silhou- and reappears ld4 rounds later in the nearest area of
ettes. They have many of the same abilities, but their shadow. If, under such circumstances, there are no
insubstantial natures make them even more danger- shadows available within 120 feet of the creature, it
ous andcunning. From time to time, shadowcreatures is instantly slain instead.
are called into existence whose form and outline Superior Darkvision (Ex):All shadow crea-
resemble nothing material at all, but are instead tures can see in total darkness without penalty.
vague formless masses of shadow, as if they represent Incorporeal (Su): The shadow creature can
the silhouettes of beings of unimaginable horror or only be harmed
unknowable shape.

Creating a Shadow Creature m d h

“Shadow creature” is a template t
can be applied to any creature, so long 2
it is not invisible or incorporeal. Thc
creature’stype changes to “outsider.”The
shadow creature uses all the base
creature’s statistics and abilities except
as listed here.
Speed: The creature retains its
base movement, but also gains the
ability to fly (good) at 50% greater
than its base speed.
AC: The creature’s natural ar-
mor class increases by +2. If the
THE PENVMBRAL PENTAGON

by other incorporeal creatures, +1 or better magic Sample Shadow Creature

weapons, or magic, with a 50% chance to ignore any
damage from a corporeal source. It can pass through This example uses an ogre as the base creature.
Shadow Ogre
solid objects at will, and its own attacks pass through
Large Outsider
armor. Always moves silently.
Hit Dice: 4d8+8 (26 hp)
Shadowstep (Sp): The shadow creature has the Initiative: +1(+1 Dexterity)
ability to step into the shadows and become one with Spesd: 30 ft., 45 ft. fly (good)
them. This requires a full-round action, and there AC: 17 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +7 natural)
must be shadows present for it to work. Once com- AthCk Shadow touch +3
pleted, the creature seems to fade away. It actually Damage: Shadowtouch 2d4+7 plus Strengthdrain
remains in the same location, but it cannot cast Face/Reach: 5 Ft. by 5 ft.110 ft.
spells, move or speak. Likewise, it cannot be attacked, Special Attacks: lncorporeal Touch
magically or physically, nor can it be detected by Special Qualities: Incorporeal, Live in Shadow, Superior
almost any means as it has essentially left the physical Darkvision, Shadowstep
plane and entered the Plane of Shadow. Returning saves: Fort: +6,Ref +1, Will +1
from the shadows requires a full-round action. If the Abilities: Str -, Dex 12, Con 15, lnt 6, Wis 10,
Cha 7
area where the creature stepped should ever fall out of
Skills: Climb+10, Hide+5, Listen,+6,Search +2,
the shadows (as the sun rises and banishes the dark- Spot +6
ness, for instance), the shadowstep is automatically Feats: Dodge, Weapon Focus (shadow touch)
ended, the creature moves to the nearest area of Climate/Temin: Any land and underground
shadows as described under Live in Shadow above, Organization: Solitary, gang (ld4+2)
and it is stunned for ld6 rounds. While within the Challenge Rating: 7
shadows, a shadow creature is only faintly aware of its Treasure: Standard
surroundings. It knows how many creatures are nearby Alignment: Always chaotic evil
but cannot hear them speak, etc. Within the shad- Advancement: By character class
ows, a shadow creature requires no sleep, food or
water. It cannot prepare spells, but the time spent in Descriptjon
shadow counts toward the rest requirement for such Shadow creatures can be summoned to the Pen-
preparation. umbral Fortress, or they may simply wander into the
Saves: Same as the base creature Scarred Lands from their shadowy realm. Travelers in
Abilities: Modify from the base creature’s abili- the Canyon of Souls sometimes claim to have seen
ties as follows: Str -, Dex +4. vague creatures emerging from the gloom - or just
Skills: Shadow creatures have a + 10racial bonus the shadows of such creatures, moving and gliding
to Climb checks and a +4 racial bonus to Hide, across rocks and canyon walls without bodies.
Listen, Search and Spot. They automatically succeed Shadow ogres are one such creature. The Pen-
at all Move Silently checks. umbral Pentagon sometimesemploysshadow ogres as
Feats: A shadow creatures gains the Dodge feat. guards in the fortress or sends them on missions into
It retains any feats that it had in its base form, but any the Canyon of Souls. They seem to serve willingly, as
that apply to a specific attack (such as Weapon if sent by some greater force in a distant land of
Focus) apply to its incorporeal touch attack instead. shadows to serve those who worship darkness in the
Climatemerrain: Any land and underground Scarred Lands.
Organization: Solitary, gang (ld4+2) Combat
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +4
Shadow ogres are every bit as aggressiveand dim-
Treasure: none witted as their material cousins, but their immunity
Alignment: Always evil to normal physical attack makes them even more
Advancement: As base creature dangerous and violent. Generally, a shadow ogre will
attack any corporeal creature that comes near, unless
specifically ordered not to do so.
-

O P E N GAME LICENSE APPENDIX

---- _-

Open Game License Appendjx

This printing of Pen& Pentagm is done under version of appearing there. The above Product Identity is not Open
1.0 and/or draft versions of the Open Game License, the d20 Game Gmtent.
SystemTrademarkLicense,d20SystemTrademkLogoGuide Designation of Open Game content: Subject to the
andSystemReferenceDocumentbypermissionfromWizardsof ProductIdentitydesignationabove,thefollowingportionsofThe
thecoast.Subsequentprintingsofthisbook will incmpomtefinal Penumbral Pentagon are designated as Open Game content: all
versions of the license, guide, and document. creature and NFC statistictemplates(i.e., from Size Type,such
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 S W O I O .
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..UOtO.

MAIN BOOKS
C R E A T U R E COLL€CTION
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T h e fint collection of monsters available for 3rd Edition fantasy.

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RELICS &, RITUALS

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Sword & Sorcery Studio's most popular and critically acclaimed

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i t e m froin minor trinkets to major artifact?; new mles and splk
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T h e second volume of new fknmy creatures.Revibit thc Carnival

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