El Dado Inquieto

http://eldadoinquieto.blogspot.com

Aventuras en la Marca del Este was written by Pedro Gil “Steinkel”, Cristóbal Sanchez
“Khristo”, Salvador García “Fistán”, José Luis García “Chiquito”, Mateo Lucas, Francisco
García Latorre and Javier Jiménez and is published by the publisher Holocubierta S.L.
http://www.lamarcadeleste.com
http://www.holocubierta.com

Proofreading and minor editing for the English version: David Macauley
(http://theresdungeonsdownunder.blogspot.com/)

Cover credits:
Susulyka (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Susulyka) for the photograph
(http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Swamp.jpg), used and modified by El Dado Inquieto
(http://eldadoinquieto.blogspot.com) under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0
Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)

Interior illustrations credits:

Håkan Ackegård (http://ackegard.com): pages 4 (tavern), 5 (dryad and Necrongeneral), 7
(goblin) and 8 (dryad), free/non-commercial use with attribution
(http://ackegard.com/gallery/faq.php)

AJ: page 6 (Man fighting death: http://www.openclipart.org/detail/1373/man-fighting-death-by-

aj), under Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication license
(http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)

Telecanter (http://recedingrules.blogspot.com/): page 8 (ogre) and page 9 (Spirit), used under

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States (CC BY-NC-SA
3.0) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/)

CSKInfo (http://www.cskinfo.com): page 8 (cobra) used under non-commercial use license

(http://www.cksinfo.com/termsofuse.html)

36peas (http://www.36peas.com/): page 9 (skeleton), used under Creative Commons Attribution

2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en)

1
ÍNDICE

INTRODUCTION 3
BACKGROUND 3
THE REPOSE OF THE SLEEPING GIANT INN 3
IN THE SWAMP OF SIGHS 4
ENCOUNTER WITH THE DRYAD 5
INSIDE THE TEMPLE 5
The pillared hall 5
The subterranean hall 6
Dealing with Kalarsh 6
EXPERIENCE 6
NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS 7
Kobolds 7
Goblins 7
Ogre 8
Spitting cobra 8
Dryad 8
Skeletons 9
Spirit (Kalarsh) 9

2

INTRODUCTION
This adventure is designed to be used as
an introductory gaming session for the
game Aventuras en La Marca del Este
and it can be easily adapted to any other
fantasy role-playing games, it can also be
used as the start of a campaign or during
the same as a secondary adventure.
The duration of the adventure is designed
for one or two playing sessions for a total
of 4 players, each of level 3.
In principle players can use any kind of
character, but it is necessary that at least
one of them is a cleric because the type
of enemies they will face at the end of the
module.
BACKGROUND
Players are at the Repose of the Sleeping
Giant inn, owned by Galen and his
daughter Elmira. The inn is located close
to the Road of Kings, a great trade route
that crosses the territory, and a swampy
wooded area known as the Swamp of
Sighs that is generally avoided by the
locals.
Players don’t know it, but in the middle
of the swampy area there’s a temple in
which is imprisoned the spirit of Kalarsh,
a tyrant who ruled the area centuries ago
and is currently contained in a jar placed
on a pedestal in the main hall of the
temple; the spirit of Kalarsh will lure
Elmira to possess her so it can leave to
join his followers.
THE REPOSE OF THE SLEEPING
GIANT INN
The reason why players are at the inn
may be varied: they can be part of one of
the trade caravans that journey along the
Road of Kings; they may want to travel
in one of those caravans or be looking for
work as mercenaries or bodyguards.
While resting at the inn and talking to
customers they can hear any of the
3
rumors of the following table (it is
recommended that at least 3 rolls to be
made):
1D10 Rumor
It is said that Elmira, daughter of the
1 innkeeper, is an easy girl and sleeps
with anyone (False)
No one dares to venture into the
2 swamp because there dwell the souls
of those lost in it (False)
Something sinister is hidden in the
3
swamp (True)
In the swamp there’s a tomb of an
ancient lord of these lands (Half true,
4
inside the temple is trapped the spirit
of Kalarsh)
The innkeeper is not to be trusted, he
5
is involved in shady business (False)
Those who have gone into the
6
swamp never returned (True)
On the night of the full moon it is
possible to see a procession of
7
ghosts moving through the swamp...
(False)
The former monarch of this land
8 buried his treasure in the swamp
(False)
9
The swamp is full of strange and
dangerous creatures (True)
Mercenaries went into the swamp
long ago and did not return (True,
10
they are the skeletons that players
will find inside the temple)
After socializing with those present the
adventurers may want to rest.

The next day Elmira will be gone and
Galen will want some brave warriors (the
characters) to find her daughter. In
exchange for her safe return the father
promises free room and board whenever
they pass by the inn.
IN THE SWAMP OF SIGHS
Players will probably want to go in
search of the temple in the middle of the
swamp, to do so they must venture into
it, so they may encounter various
creatures or difficulties as shown in the
following table (roll 4 times):
1D10 Encounter
1 No encounter
2 Shifting sands - Marshy area
3 Goblin band
4 No encounter
5 Shifting sands - Marshy area
6 No encounter
7 Ogre
8 Spitting cobra
9 Kobold band
10 No encounter
If an encounter is of the Shifting sands -
Marshy area kind apply the following
rules:
To avoid falling into the swamp:
Characters need to exceed on a roll of
1D20 + Dexterity modifier their own
Dexterity.
4
If a character falls into the swamp:
Character needs to exceed on a roll of
1D20 + Dexterity modifier with a -5
modifier his own Strength to get out by
himself.
Helping another character:
The -5 modifier can be avoided if he is
helped by another character, in this case
the character making the roll will be the
one with the highest strength.
(If the referee desires he could use
Saving Throw against Petrification or
Paralysis instead of the proposed
mechanic).
If an encounter involves any of the listed
creatures combat will take place in the
normal manner and their number will be
determined by the amount of characters
present (although in some cases their
number won’t vary):
Goblins: Half the number of the player
character’s group +1
Ogre: 1
Spitting cobra: 1
Kobolds: Player character’s group +3
Combat will take place in the normal
manner and player characters will find
themselves at the maximum possible
distance from the creatures; in principle
the creatures won’t be aware of the
characters’ presence, although if the
referee wishes to determine if they are
seen he could demand players roll 1D20
+ Dexterity modifier against their
Dexterity.
 ENCOUNTER WITH THE DRYAD INSIDE THE TEMPLE

The pillared hall

The temple doors are not closed and it is
possible to see into a room with pillars
located on both sides and supporting the
roof of the building.

In this hall the Kalarsh faithful gathered.

At the rear of the hall is an altar where all
sorts of impious rituals were carried out
to provide Kalarsh with means of
avoiding his spirits’ death; at the base of
the altar there’s an entrance to a tunnel
that leads to an underground room.

Hanging from the columns are the

remains of a series of tapestries that
explain the history of the region and how
Kalarsh terrified the inhabitants before
disappearing; to interpret them properly
and to know the above information it is
necessary to exceed the character's
Wisdom on a roll of 1D20 + Wisdom
modifier with a -2 penalty.
Finally the characters reach the temple
doors. Before they can enter they may
notice nearby a solitary tree behind
which hides a female figure. She is a
dryad who knows about the history of the
region and is willing to help players if
they decide to go inside the temple
(assuming, of course, they don’t attack
her).

Such aid will be the delivery of a glass

flask containing a strange amber liquid
and a warning: “Use it when the situation
is desperate”.

Upon players accepting their gift the

dryad will disappear inside the tree.

5
The subterranean hall
Following the tunnel it is possible to
reach the underground room where the
urn of Kalarsh is stored and other dangers
await the players.

The door is half-open and it’s possible to

see that the room is lit by flaming
torches. If they decide to enter the room
they can see that at the back there’s a
pedestal marked with a strange symbol
and on the top of it a sealed urn.
Arranged around the room are also
several skeletons (the remains of the
mercenaries who previously entered the
temple) in a number equivalent to the
total of players present +3.
The symbol on the pedestal is a Symbol
of Fear (p. 63 and p.65 of the basic
manual) that was placed by the enemies
of the tyrant to prevent anyone from
entering the temple to bring out the urn
and free the spirit of Kalarsh; the Symbol
is activated when anyone approaches the
pedestal (this action will cause the
skeletons to reanimate and attack anyone
who approaches the pedestal).
If there is a cleric present in the group
of player characters he may recognize
the Symbol of Fear if he can exceed his
Wisdom on a roll of 1D20 + Wisdom
modifier and know that it can be
destroyed by an attack with a weapon
made of silver (a knife or an arrow for
instance).
Dealing with Kalarsh
Kalarsh is present in the adventure as a
Spirit that can possess the body of beings
who are still alive, if the player
characters have taken some time to enter
the temple Elmira will have been
possessed by the spirit of Kalarsh (her
eyes will be glowing and her nervous
giggle will be ominous) and can use his
powers, in this case his Touch attack (a
Saving Throw against Petrification or
Paralysis can be allowed).
To finish Kalarsh it’s necessary to expel
him, which is an ideal task for a cleric.
To avoid the effects of the Touch attack
they can use the gift of the dryad: a
potion that helps to avoid the effects of
the attack for 1D6 turns each sip, the
bottle contains 1D6 sips.

EXPERIENCE
Players will receive XP for every
monster they have defeated and their
treasure, if they can rescue Elmira
unharmed they may also have another 50
XP for each group member.

6
 NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS
The characteristics of the non-player characters are presented under the following terms:

Type: Character type.

Number: Amount that will be present.
AC: Armor Class.
HD: Hit Dice.
HP: Hit Points.
Movement: Movement in meters.
Attack: Attack type.
Damage: Damage per attack
Save as: Saving throws.
Morale: Morale level of the non-playing character.
Treasure: Amount of gold that can be carried and / or proposed equivalent in valuable
items.
Alignment: Alignment type.
XP: Experience Points granted after defeating the creature.

Kobolds
Number: Amount of player characters +3
AC: 7
HD: ½
HP: 4
Movement: 9 meters.
Attack: 1 weapon (lance)
Damage: Weapon -1 (1D6-1)
Save as: Warrior 1
Morale: 6
Treasure: 50 gp (1D10 x5 gp)
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 5

Goblins
Number: Half the group of player characters +1
AC: 6
HD: 1-1
HP: 5
Movement: 9 meters.
Attack: 1 weapon (scimitar)
Damage: Weapon -1 (1D8)
Save as: Warrior 1
Morale: 6
Treasure: 125 gp (1D10 x 1D12 + 5 gp)
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 5

7
Ogre
Number: 1
AC: 5
HD: 4+1
HP: 24
Movement: 9 meters.
Attack: 1 weapon (club)
Damage: Weapon +2 (1D4+2)
Save as: Warrior 4
Morale: 10
Treasure: 1100 gp
Precious Stone (Jasper) [50 gp]
Cloak with golden embroidery [100 gp]
Plate armor [600 gp]
Shield [10 gp]
100 + 4D6 x 10 gp
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 125

Spitting cobra
Number: 1
AC: 7
HD: 1
HP: 6
Movement: 9 meters.
Attack: Biting / Spitting (page 116 of the basic manual)
Damage: 1D4 and venom (page 116 of the basic manual)
Save as: Warrior 1
Morale: 4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Neutral
XP: 13

Dryad
Number: 1
AC: 5
HD: 2
HP: 8
Movement: 36 meters.
Attack: 1 spell
Damage: Charm Person (page 52 of the basic manual)
Save as: Elf 3
Morale: 6
Treasure: Flask with a potion to avoid the effects of the
Touch attack of Kalarsh (page 6 of the module)
Alignment: Neutral
XP: 25

8
Skeletons
Number: Amount of player characters +3
AC: 7
HD: 1
HP: 5
Movement: 6 meters.
Attack: 1 weapon (long sword)
Damage: Weapon (1D8)
Save as: Warrior 1
Morale: 12
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 10

Spirit (Kalarsh)
Number: 1
AC: 5
HD: 3
HP: 10
Movement: 9 meters.
Attack: 1 Touch attack
Damage: Energy loss (1 HD or 1 Level), it’s allowed one
Saving Throw against Petrification or Paralysis
Saving: Warrior 4
Morale: 12
Treasure: 800 gp
Golden ring [50 gp]
Golden necklace [200 gp]
Jeweled dagger
(50% probability of a spell as the referee sees fit) [500 gp]
Spell book
(spells and level as the referee sees fit) [15 gp]
3D10+5 gp
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 50