THE GROUNDS 14C UPPER LEVEL.

14C  UPPER LEVEL.  The stairs from Room 14A ascend about fifteen feet.  The ceiling in this room rises to a peak of about ten feet at its highest.  Three large metal devices are placed against the west, the north, and the south walls.  Heavy metal wires extend from each of the devices towards the peaked ceiling.  The spaces on the walls above them are transparent from this side only.  From the outside of the building they look like gray stone.  The flattened body of a man lies upon the floor near the south metal device.

The metallic devices are actually magical control panels used to affect the weather in the Grounds. They are decorated with green and red knobs, levers, and switches.  They are also marked by colorful pictograms and strange characters.  These devices were designed by a powerful druid and a wizard skilled in the elemental arts working together.  Each has some amount of precious metals worked into the surface display, necessary for its proper function.  The characters used can be read by any druid or an ranger who is capable of using druid spells.  Some sages who have studied druidical magic may also be able to operate the mechanisms.  A read languages spell will also allow safe operation.

The west control panel is used for controlling humidity.  From this site a user can send instructions the local clouds causing them to release water or to dissipate, see the cleric spell control weather for guidelines.  This has no effect on the Magic Cloud at Area 34 and the weather effects are limited to The Grounds, they will not greatly affect either the Castle or the Forest Perilous.  If the controls are used without understanding the pictograms, roll a 2d20 and add the user's intelligence score when checking on the following table:

Humidity Device Operation Table

2d20 + intelligence	Effect
up to 10	Critical malfunction, shocks user with 3d6 electricity damage
11-20	Power fluctuation deals 1d6 damage in electric feedback
21-30	Improper command subroutine confuses device.  It refuses to operate for 1d10 hours as it reboots.
31 and above	See Weather Change Subtable below

Weather Change Subtable

1d20	Weather
1-8	Very clear
9-10	Light clouds or hazy
11-13	Cloudy
14	Deep clouds
15	Fog
16-17	Mist/Light rain
18	Sleet
19	Heavy rain
20	Driving rain storm with lightning

Any weather effects created, either on purpose or by accident, will remain in effect for 1d6+6 hours unless the controls on the machine are changed.  This control panel is decorated with silver and platinum wires and knobs.  If these are pried off they will be worth about 650 gold crescents in total but will also make the device inoperable.  If any person attempts to remove this valuable material they must roll a 1 on a 1d6 or receive an electric shock for 1d6+3 damage.  This assumes a normal adventurer taking their time.  If a thief attempts the job they may substitute their pick pocket or remove traps skill instead.

The north control panel is for controlling temperature.  From this site a user can alter the local temperature of The Grounds.  As with the previous panel, if the controls are used without understanding the pictograms, roll a 2d20 and add the user's intelligence score when checking on the following table:

Temperature Device Operation Table

2d20 + intelligence	Effect
up to 10	Meltdown causes 2d6 heat damage (50%) or the unit freezes up causing 2d6 cold damage (50%)
11-20	1d4+2 small fires spring up spontaneously in the room, sprinklers engage from the ceiling spitting hail causing 0-3 (1d4-1) points of damage to everyone in the room
21-30	Machine overheats (50%) or freezes up (50%) and won't operate for another 1d6 hours.
31 and above	See Temperature Change Subtable below

Temperature Change Subtable

1d20	Temperature
1	Sweltering heat
2-3	Hot weather
4-10	Warm weather
11-17	Cool weather
18-19	Cold weather
20	Arctic cold

Any temperature effects created, either on purpose or by accident, will remain in effect for 1d6+6 hours unless the controls on the machine are changed.  This control panel is decorated with gold and electrum wires and knobs.  If these are pried off they will be worth about 750 gold crescents in total but will also make the device inoperable.  Use the same chances of success when trying to remove metal from this panel as with the west panel.  If failure occurs the victim will suffer 1d6 damage from intense cold (50%) or burning heat (50%).

The south control panel was used for controlling pressure and wind velocity.  A band of thieves entered here and removed the valuable metal from this device but one of their number made a mistake and was crushed under extreme localized pressure.  The device is currently inoperable.

Characters can get a reasonably good view of the nearby portions of The Grounds from this site.  If they attempt to map, the Dungeon Master should take into account the extra perspective gained from the height.  For example, they should be able to see the lake at Area 20 and the exit from the hedge maze to the west.

THE GROUNDS 14B UNDERGROUND LEVEL.

14B UNDERGROUND LEVEL. The stairs from Room 14A descend for about fifteen feet. This room is lit by the green glow coming off of three large cables running from the floor to the ceiling (the three green squares on the map). About twenty metallic keeper's bodies (unanimated) are lined up against the west and south walls, along with normal gardening tools (clippers, shovels, hoes, rakes, etc.) Three metal doors are in the north wall.

The cables hold green goo and pump it up and down from the pool of the keepers in Room 14A to a storage reservoir when it is restocked with nutrients. If the cables are damaged, 2d6 keepers will activate in Room 14A and come down to investigate. They are willing to attack in order to maintain the cables' integrity.

Keepers (AC 6; MV 12"; hp 5 each; #AT 1 fist; D 1-4; SA Possession; XP 15 each)

Each of the metal doors in the north wall is about 4'x4' and five feet off the floor.

Door 1 holds large amounts of horse manure that the keepers have been storing as fertilizer. They haven't handled it properly so it will pour out on whoever opens the door.

Door 2 holds bags of seed corn, wheat, rice, etc.. A giant rat has been gorging on it and has grown to an unusual size.

Giant Rat (AC 7; MV 9"//3"; HD 2; hp 10; #AT 1 bite; D 1-6; SA Disease; XP 48)

Door 3 holds a Spade of Colossal Excavation.

THE GROUNDS 14A GROUND LEVEL.

14A GROUND LEVEL. This level is open to the surrounding courtyard. A green glow emanates from a ten foot diameter pool near the center of the room. The lip of this pool is four feet high and clustered about it are about a dozen keeper's working bodies, resembling skeletons made from metal with a box-like head. Each body is facing away from the pool, with its back pressed against the side of the pool. Stairs lead up to Area 14C and down to Area 14B.

Swimming within the pool of green semi-solid material are about three hundred keepers in their natural form. These are artificial life forms created by Triskelion mage-scientists to maintain The Grounds with gardening, landscaping, and tidying up.

The keepers slide into the back of the metal humanoid bodies at intervals known only to themselves, performing a six hour shift in The Grounds. Most monsters ignore them since they are non-threatening and don't taste good.

If any person touches the material in the pool, there is a 75% chance that a keeper will mistake them its regular body and try to inhabit their mind. Treat this as a magic jar attack. The keepr's intelligence will be 5-7 (1d3+4) and its wisdom will be 2-8 (2d4). In addition it has a +4 bonus as it is well-rested.

Each turn spent here, there is a 1 in 6 chance that a 1d4 keepers will possess some of the metallic bodies adjacent to the pool. When they do so, they will go down the stairs to Room 14B, retrieve tools, and go then about their usual business of gardening.

There is also a 1 in 6 chance per turn that 1d4 keepers will return from their work to this area.

Keepers (AC 6; MV 12"; hp 5 each; #AT 1 fist; D 1-4; SA Possession; XP 15 each)

NEW MONSTER: KEEPER

KEEPER

FREQUENCY: Very rare

NO. APPEARING: 1-4

ARMOR CLASS: 6

MOVE: 12”

HIT DICE: 1 (5 hit points each)

% IN LAIR: 50%

TREASURE TYPE: Nil

NO. OF ATTACKS: 1

DAMAGE/ ATTACK: 1-4

SPECIAL ATTACKS: Possession

SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard

SAVE: Fighter 1

INTELLIGENCE: Low

MORALE: See below

ALIGNMENT: Neutral

SIZE: M (working form) or S (natural form)

PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

LEVEL/ X.P. VALUE: I/ 15

Keepers are artificial organic life forms created by the Triskelion family to do menial work, specifically gardening and groundskeeping in The Grounds portion of Castle Triskelion.

While working, keepers inhabit humanoid bodies made of rust proof metal alloys. The bodies have almost a skeletal appearance, with the head being box-like. These metallic frame bodies are not particularly sturdy and can sustain only five hit points of damage.

Keepers are created in order to do gardening, planting, trimming, and they excel at such tasks. In self defence they are capable of striking out for 1-4 points of damage but they will never attack of their own volition and they are completely incapable of harming members of the Triskelion family under any circumstances.

In their natural form, they are amorphous green bundles of plasm a few inches in diameter. They float in a pool of similarly colored semisolid material which provides them with nourishment. They assume their metal working form by sliding into the bodies through a connecting link in the back. They may remain away from their pool for up to six hours, when they must return to replenish their life force. If they remain away from their pool for longer than six hours they will perish.

In certain circumstances a keeper is capable of attempting to possess a living body. If a keeper has been in its working form for six hours and has been prevented from returning to its pool, it will try to come into physical contact with a creature in order to “ride” its body and return to its pool. Treat this as a magic jar attack, with the keeper having an intelligence score of between 5 and 7 and a wisdom score of between 2 and 8. After the keeper returns to its pool the host will be no worse for wear.

Similarly, if a being touches the green stuff of the pool of a batch of keepers, there is a 75% chance that a particularly stupid or distracted keeper will mistake the body for that of its normal host and perform a magic jar attack. In this case, the keeper is fortified and gets a +4 bonus to its attack. If it succeeds in possessing a host it will go about its normal duties for six hours before returning to its pool.

THE GROUNDS 14 KEEPER'S TOWER.

14 KEEPER'S TOWER. From afar, this gray tower is the twin to the one at Area 10, twenty five feet tall and having a pyramidal peaked top. It is in an open courtyard instead of being surrounded by bushes. It is connected to the main castle by a sixteen foot tall gray wall. At night a faint green glow emanates from the base of tower because of the pool in Area 14A.

There are three large openings in the west, north , and south walls of the ground floor of the tower, so that the points at these vertices of the tower are more like pillars than walls.

There is a 1 in 6 chance that 1d4 keepers will be in the vicinity at any time.

Keepers (AC 6; MV 12"; hp 5 each; #AT 1 fist; D 1-4; SA Possession; XP 15 each)

Keepers are non-violent gardeners, looking a bit robot-like with metal bodies and box heads. They will be carried hoes, rakes, and shears. Normally they will ignore people and avoid physical contact.

THE GROUNDS 13 UNDERPASS.

13 UNDERPASS. The path slopes down to pass under the wall here. A green slime clings to the underside of the wall.

Green Slime (AC 8; MV 0”; HD 2; hp ; #AT 1 (drip); D Turn to slime in 1-4 rounds; SA Corrosive properties; XP 610 + 2/hp)

THE GROUNDS 12 CENTRAL TRISKELION STATUE.

12 CENTRAL TRISKELION STATUE. This statue is of a laughing man with a staff. A bone bracelet is on his staff, it is decorated with the face of an vulture in brass. It will detect as magic with a auras of divination and alteration. Anyone who looks through the hole of the bracelet will see bird heads on any beings within their vision (provided that is a living being who actually possesses a head). It can be sold for 250 gold crescents.

THE GROUNDS 11 ARCHWAY.

11 ARCHWAY. This archway is equipped with a rusty portcullis raised to its maximum height. It is loose and each person that walks beneath shakes the ground just a little bit. It has a 1 in 6 chance of falling per person, doing 1d6+1 damage. Once it falls, a lift gates roll must be made to raise it again manually.

THE GROUNDS 10E PRISON.

10E PRISON. The ceiling of this room has a very high ceiling which tapers to a pyramidal shape, as it is the highest floor in the tower. A seventeen foot tall woman stands here. She has gold skin, four arms, and tendril-like silver hair each strand of which is thick as a man's finger. She is blind folded with a gold cloth and is bound by her wrists and ankles with huge metal shackles and chains to thick moorings on the floor.

Caprice, Chaotic good enchanted life form (AC 2; MV 21”/24”; HD 17; hp 86; #AT 1; D 7-42; SA Spell use, psionics; SD Resist air-based damage; MR 60%; S 24, I 17, W 16, D 16, C 24, Ch 19; XP 9150)

Cleric Spells:

Augury, Cure Light wounds, Detect Lie, Dispel Magic, Neutralize Poison, Protection From Evil, Remove Curse, Resist Fire

Magic user spells:

Confusion, Forget, Friends, Haste, Hold Monster, Ice Storm, Mirror Image, Shocking Grasp, Slow, Wall Of Force

Psionic Ability: 134

Attack/ Defense Modes: B,C,D,E/ Immune to psionics

She was created out of magic and elemental forces several hundred years ago by a powerful group of Triskelion wizards led by Boniface and Astrid Triskelion in a attempt to make a being that was strong as a titan and who had the powers of a djinn. Rebelling against the selfish wishes of her creators and yearning for freedom, she attempted to fight and escape. Using their combined mighty magics, the Triskelions bound her and forced here into this tower until they could think of a way to force her to their will. They placed the challenges in the lower levels so that only they could enter back into this room, thinking in their arrogance that only they could solve the Tests. Eventually the wizards quarreled among themselves, as is their way. The tower's original purpose was forgotten after hundreds of years and the entry passage was tunneled into and replaced with the burrows of the ghost spiders.

Caprice has the djinn's resistance to air-based attacks and can fly at will. She has the same ability as a djinn to create food, drink, soft or wooden items, and metal items. If she is freed from her shackles (this requires only the removal of a pin from each of the six moorings) she will be profoundly grateful. She will grant each of her rescuers a wish and then smash a hole in the wall and fly away.

Her blindfold is made of cloth of gold and worth 300 gold crescents. Her chains and shackles appear flimsy but are made by dwarves out of platinum, mithril, and infernal silver and strong enough to hold a titan. They are worth 20,000 gold crescents and weigh only 1000 gp weight in total.

After the room has been entered, the door will turn green. Taking it will lead to Room 10A and the green door will then disappear. Once the tower trial has been completed, the old man in Room 10A will no longer appear.

THE GROUNDS 10D TEST OF GREED.

10D TEST OF GREED. An old man sits behind a desk in the center of the room. He looks just like the old man from Room 10A. No doors except the red door are present when the room is first entered.

Sacks of coins are sitting in front of the old man. He will offer sacks of gold if the participants give up the trial of the tower. The number of gold crescents will be 1000 X the level of the highest level character among the participants. Each participant will receive that amount. The old man is not corporeal, being only a programmed magical effect, and cannot be attacked normally.

If the participants agree to take the gold or just grab it, a green door will appear behind the old man. It leads to Room 10A.

If the participants refuse the gold, the old man will turn into a purple being that looks like the other tests. A purple door will appear that leads to Room 10E.

THE GROUNDS 10C TEST OF FAITH.

10C TEST OF FAITH. This room holds the Test of Faith. He greatly resembles the other two tests but has crimson skin. Like the Test of the Mind, he is not corporeal. He stands in front of two white doors and says that the left hand one is the correct door. He will invite them to choose a door.

He is telling the truth. If the party tries to open the left door, it will turn red and lead them to Room 10D. If the right door is picked, it will turn green. The left door will disappear and the green door will lead to Room 10A.

THE GROUNDS 10B TEST OF THE MIND.

10B TEST OF THE MIND. Upon exiting the yellow door from Room 10A, the participants in the tower climb will find themselves in a vast maze of transparent walls of magical force, like the maze spell. Each participant will think they are alone. They may give up and return to Room 10A by exiting the yellow door, which they will always be able to find or they may find their way through the maze which will take a certain time based upon their intelligence:

Intelligence	Time
Up to 3	2 to 8 turns
3 to 5	1 to 4 turns
6 to 8	5 to 20 rounds
9 to 11	4 to 16 rounds
12 to 14	3 to 12 rounds
15 to 17	2 to 8 rounds
18 and above	1 to 4 rounds

Upon escaping the maze, the participant will find himself or herself in Room 10B as it really appears. If others are still trapped in the maze, the finisher can see them walking about feeling invisible walls, but they can not be disturbed or brought out of this trance-like state until they solve the maze.

The finisher will be greeted by a creature resembling the Test of the Body. This is the Test of the Mind and looks very much like the other but has skin the color of blueberries. He is incoporeal, a powerful programmed illusion with auditory and visual capabilities and an ability to interact with characters. It will ask a question and the correct answer is required to move on to Room 10C.

The finisher may wait for any additional party members to solve the maze or he or she may answer the question right away. If the participant elects to answer alone, the conversation with the Dungeon Master should be private.

The question will be one of the following (DM choice or make up your own):

Question 1:

It occurs once in a minute

It occurs twice in a moment

And never in ten thousand years.

Answer 1: The letter 'M'

Question 2:

Which of these math problems is impossible:

2m + 4n + 8 = (2m)(4n)

2x + 3y + 10 = 4x + 6y +14

3a + 4b = 5c

Answer 2: 2x + 3y + 10 = 4x + 6y +14. If the variables are eliminated the constants do not equal each other.

Question 3:

There is one word that is the most difficult in all of the world.

Spell it and I will let you pass.

Answer 3: Spell the word it: 'I T'.