Villa of the Seer King - Level 4

Villa of the Seer King - Level 4

Tower Level Four

T17 Guest Room

This room is well appointed with a huge canopy bed, chests of drawers, several full length mirrors. Tapestries line the walls and carpets cover the floors.

T18 The Parlor

This room has fine carpets on the floors, cushioned couches and overstuffed chairs, a collection of wine (valued at about 5,000 gp for the entire collection), and two suits of magical platemail armor (Guardian Spirits – see New Monsters – who will attack if the master of the tower is threatened in any way).

T19 The Seer King’s Outer Chamber

This room is dominated by a dais with several large chairs – a huge throne-like seat and two smaller, yet very ornate, wooden chairs. Lining the walls are a number of paintings and other works of art (about 12,000 gp total). The chairs circle a small table with a crystal ball on it.

If the party attempts to use the Crystal Ball to find the Seer King, every attempt will simply reveal the Seer King's motionless state in the Observatory. In fact, any scrying related to the Seer King (attempting to scry the demon who took the book, for example) results in an image of the Seer King standing motionless on the balcony.

T20 The Seer King’s Inner Chamber

This chamber is in disarray – the bed is unmade, clothing and papers and empty wine bottles are scattered throughout. Dust is thick on the furniture.

The Seer King will sometimes spend days alone in his chamber so he has forbidden the Unseen Servants entrance to his Inner Chamber. There is nothing of particular value or interest in this mess.

Villa of the Seer King - Level 3

One thing to note about the Villa - it is supposed to be abandoned and, by the end of the adventure, it won't matter whether or not the PCs plunder it. So, yeah, there's no monsters, traps, etc. When the Seer King was not in the state he's in now, he was adequate defense for the villa. Now, the wizard locked doors and the Seer King's reputation have been enough to keep everyone/everything out...

Villa of the Seer King - Level 3

T16 Servants’ Rooms

These unremarkable rooms are kept clean and usable by the Unseen Servants. Each room has a small bed, a small table, a small mirror, a bowl and pitcher and a two drawer chest.

Really, that's all I wrote for this whole level...sigh... Okay - here goes:

T9 Spiral Staircase

T16 Servants’ Rooms

These generally unremarkable rooms are kept clean and usable by the Unseen Servants.

A. B. C. -

Each room has a small bed, a small table, a small mirror, a bowl and pitcher and a two drawer chest. I

n addition to the above listed items, these rooms contain dresses, makeup, combs and other accouterments of camber maids (all of very minor value - 1-10gp per room). The walls have tapestries depicting famous love stories and the rugs on the floors are deep and luxurious. There is a 20% chance per room of finding 1-20 sp and 1-6 gp. In room C the PCs might find a journal tucked away in the dresser. The journal is the diary of a young lady named Clarissa who was a servant in the Seer-King's household. She writes lovingly of the Seer-King's wife, respectfully of the Seer-King himself. She writes of her love for a young man named Giles and her disdain for Mistress Pyria (presumably the Housekeeper, in charge of the chamber maids of the household). She also writes of her fear of Master Connell (the Steward).

D. Mistress Pyria's room. This chamber is more spartan than the other ladies' chambers, eschewing the carpets and tapestries for hard wood flooring and only a single painting, a poorly painted portrait of an oder man (not the Seer King). The mirrored table in this room has only a small simple (worthless) comb, basin and wash bowl. In the chest of drawers are four dark blue dresses and one white dress. The bed in this room is softer and more comfortable than the other womens' beds.

E. Valet's chamber - This room contains many trunks of clothing (the Seer-King's castoffs, which the Valet would often keep for himself) as well as a large bed (for the Valet and his wife) and a chest of drawers, a mirrored table, a small desk and chair. A rug in the middle of the room (valued at 100gp) is soft and deep. (Hidden under a loose floorboard is 18 gp and a small 50gp ruby)

F. G. H. Footman's Chambers - These rooms are very similar. They each contain a simple bed, wardrobe, chair or two, tapestries depicting hunting or battle scenes. Weapons racks are on the walls, each with 2 spears (room for more, though). F has a highly decorative helmet (10gp), G has a shield and H has a pair of throwing daggers.

I. Master Connell's room - this large chamber contains a huge canopy bed, a desk, a small table with four chairs, several chests of drawers, two wardrobes. Tapestries line the walls (depicting famous historical and religious scenes). The carpets on the floor are deep and very valuable (four rugs worth 200gp each). On the desk are a gold pen and crystal inkwell (worth 10gp), a number of papers (mostly notes about household business) and a small scale. One drawer in the desk is locked (the key is long gone). The locked drawer contains 100sp and 200 cp as well as two ledgers (which on the surface appear similar, but in fact reveal that the Steward was stealing from the Seer King). A hollow in the headboard of the bed reveals a small secret compartment with a potion vial (invisibility) and a dagger (+2). One of the wardrobes has a false back which opens to reveal a secret compartment containing a black robe (non-magical) and a silver dagger with strange sigils etched into the blade.

Villa of the Seer King - Level 2

Villa of the Seer King - Level 2

Tower Level Two

T9 Spiral Staircase

T14 Grand Library

This entire level is taken up with the Grand Library. The Seer King is a collector of lore and has thousands of books here. All of the books in the main tower are valuable (to a library, collector, historian, sage, etc) but not magical.

The answer to what is causing the plague cannot be discovered in the tomes in this library, no matter how long the party studies. They can find the Seer King’s journals, which he has kept for the past century. If they study the volumes (and there are 147 volumes (of 150-300 pages each) covering a total of 119 years of his life, they will find that he traveled widely during the past century (unbeknownst to the people of Malan), he has enjoyed the company of several good friends and that he has very much enjoyed helping the people of Malan, even with very trifling affairs.

A more thorough examination (taking 2-12 days) will note a subtle shift in the Seer King’s attitude, beginning about 3 years ago. He begins writing about “deep knowledge” and attaining “the ascendancy,” though with no definitions of what these things mean.

The final entry is probably the most relevant to the adventure. The Seer King writes that he had finally acquired the book The Sacred Knowledge of the Worlds but that a demon had stolen it and fled through the soul gem. He made preparations to enter the soul gem and follow the trail of the demon to retrieve the book in “the maze of the deep knowledge.”

A small closet (T13A) houses cleaning supplies and other mundane items. When stepping through the soul gem, however, the closet becomes the gateway to the Seer King’s Mind (see The Seer King on level six of the tower).

The entrance to the tower (T15) chamber is magically locked (at 20^th level) and can be opened with the key that is around the Seer King’s neck (a three tone whistle).

T15 Special Library

Herein are the Seer King’s most valuable books and scrolls.

Here the party could find The Book of the Ages, (magic from ancient eras – some unknown today) The Songbook of Soliman (a bardic songbook), Far and Near (A Treatise on Magical Travel), Chaosia (a huge book speculating on the nature of demons and the chaos realms), Hope and Sorrow(a book studying various religions and religious practices related to the dead, of vital interest to necromancers), anything the DM desires to be here. Behind one of the bookshelves is a secret hiding place where the Seer King has hidden a Tome of Clear Thought.

Villa of the Seer King - Level 1

Some time ago I put together a fairly high level adventure based on the Kansas album The Point of Know Return. A small part of the adventure takes place in the villa of the former Seer King of Malan (a pretty high level mage with delusions of grandeur).

I never finished the adventure - it got bogged down in design and became a meatgrinder - basically just a series of combat encounters (okay, kind of Gygaxian, in a way...but not what I was after). So I've shelved the adventure for now - but there are pieces that I'll post that might be of interest to others or others might see ways to improve them.

Anyway, that's the intro for the following several posts...

Villa of the Seer King - Level 1

Closet Chronicles (Part 1)

The journey to the tower is unremarkable, since this is a fairly settled area. If desired, a couple minor random encounters can be dropped in. Remember, the tower is only a day's journey from Malan (to the East, along a road for most of the journey).

Entering the tower is meant to be a minor challenge, since the main doors are wizard locked at 30^th level. There are no windows on the first or second level. The first windows appear 35' up, but are all shuttered (and wizard locked). The tower is 80' tall, 60' in diameter, flanked by two lesser towers (30’ in diameter, 30’ high), all roofed with conical wooden roofs.

The main doors and the shutters are constructed of Ironwood and are reinforced with iron. They are nearly indestructible (and are shielded against magic) though a persistent person could hack through them with 4 successful bend bars rolls.

On the sixth level there is a balcony directly over the main doors. The doors leading into the sixth level are glass and lead. They, too, are wizard locked and shielded, though they are breakable via normal means (frankly nearly any non magical attack will destroy the doors).

The party can deactivate the wizard lock by simply speaking the key (found on the portrait in the library of Malan). Or they can seek magical means, or batter their way into the building.

It doesn't really matter how the party gains access to the tower (though cynical players may assume that the glass doors are meant to railroad them into a particular area), they will find the tower to be neat and orderly and well kept.

General Notes about the Tower:

• Ceilings are 10’ unless otherwise noted.
• All spells function normally within the tower, with the exception of the library (see below)
• Unseen Servants flit around the building taking care of mundane tasks. They will not attack and if attacked they will simply disappear.

Tower Level 1

T1 Oaken Doors

Heavy oaken doors serve as the main entrance to the Tower. The doors are incredibly strong and enchanted to withstand any magical attack (including magical weapons). Brute force could be used, but the doors have 200 hp and note that magical weapons do zero damage to the doors. The doors could be opened using the Seer King’s three tone whistle key (hanging around his neck).

T2 Entry Hall

The floor here is thickly carpeted so footsteps are muted. Several stuffed chairs and a small table stand in the center of the room under the grand chandelier. Artwork lines the walls, none of it particularly remarkable. There are two suits of full plate mail armor with polearms.

This is the hall where the Seer King generally meets outsiders. Few people (only a very few close friends) have been beyond this hall.

The suits of armor radiate magic, because they are magically animated guardians called Guardian Spirits (see New Monsters). If the master of the tower is ever threatened in this room, the suits of platemail animate and attack, defending their master.

Guardian Spirits AC 1; MV 90’; HD 8; hp 8-64; THAC0 12; #AT 1; D per weapon (typically polearm and mace); SD Immune to sleep/charm/hold/polymorph/fear, +1 wpn to-hit; SZ S; Int Very; AL N; XP 1,275+10/hp.

T3 Parlor

A couch and several comfortable chairs rest along the walls here. Several tables have vases of fresh flowers on them. On one table is a decanter of fine wine (see New Magic Items) and a half dozen long stemmed glasses.

T4 Storeroom

Shelves filled with mundane household items line the walls here.

T5 Kitchen

The kitchen is very clean, almost as if it hasn’t been used for some time (because it hasn’t). Along the north wall is a basin with a water pump, a stove and an oven. Along the eastern wall, between the doors, is a rack of pots and pans and other kitchen utensils. Along western wall are shelves containing small sacks and jars with four, sugar, spices and various other items for cooking. If anything is shifted out of place, an unseen servant will replace it (if possible) within 3 rounds.

T6 Pantry

The pantry is well stocked with various dry goods – four, sugar, spices and the like – as well as dried and cured meats, jars filled with vegetables and sauces, and various other foodstuffs.

T7 Closet

The servants’ closet contains a few dusty cloaks and a dress in need of repair.

T8 Dining Hall

The huge oaken table and chairs will accommodate 20 people. Four huge, 10 candle, silver candelabras rest on the table (worth 100gp each). A chest beside the door in the western wall holds silverware and serving utensils (250 gp). Along the northern wall are portraits of previous generations of the Seer King’s family. Along the curved NE wall are tapestries depicting hunting parties in the southern woods.

T9 Spiral Staircase up.

The 6’ wide staircase hugs this small tower’s wall as it spirals upward to the upper floors. A wrought iron railing protects climbers from the treacherous fall

T10 Servants’ Room

When the Seer King built this tower for his wife, he intended to have a number of servants attend them. Since his wife’s death, he allows the Unseen Servants to care for the tower, preferring to forgo any human contact. This room is empty. If the party searches carefully, they can find a loose floorboard. Underneath is the diary of the Lady-in-waiting that the Seer King had employed for a brief time while his wife was alive. The Lady-in-waiting loved her mistress but feared the Seer King. With the diary is a pouch containing 13 sp.

T11 Stairs to Cellar

This narrow staircase descends into the darkness, leading to T12.

T12 Cellar

See sublevel.

T13 Treasury

Here is the Seer King’s fortune (or so it is supposed to appear). The door is locked with a mundane lock (the key is in the Seer King’s Inner Chamber T19) but it is also trapped – with poison darts. If the key is not used, 20 poison darts shoot out of the ceiling (THAC0 14). Each hit causes 1 hp damage and a sudden loss of Constitution (down to 5), which causes each character to make a system shock roll (at CON 5) or pass out for 3-12 turns. Constitution can be regained at the rate of 1 point per day.

TREASURE:

1,000 gp

90 gp White Pearl

7 gp Tiger Eye Turquoise

700 gp Golden Yellow Topaz

11 gp Eye Agate

500 gp Golden Yellow Topaz

60 gp Rose Quartz

Scroll: Magic Missle (6^th level)

Potions: Climbing, Giant Strength, Levitation