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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wicht" data-source="post: 533671" data-attributes="member: 221">The following is unrelated to my current campaign, but I just remembered I had it lying around with nothing really to do with it (Dungeon rejected it <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" />) so I thought I would post it here as a Christmas freebie to any loyal readers. There is no map with it but the layout is simple enough not to need one - its basically four rooms, twenty foot by twenty foot - in a straight line - well you will see...The Traveling Wizard’s  Lab...Good things come in small packages.By Jonathan McAnulty    The Traveling Wizard’s Lab is a 3rd edition D&D Side-Trek adventure designed specifically for a one-on-one session between the DM and a Player with an arcane spellcaster of 6th level.  It centers around a new magical item discovered by the PC spellcaster.  Though meant for a one-on one adventure, with a little work it could be altered to accommodate a party of low-level adventurers or a wizard of higher or lower level.  The item in question is extremely valuable (70,000 gp value) and DMs must decide how it best fits into their campaign.  Adventure Overview    A spell-book, taken from a fallen foe or a treasure trove, turns out to be more than expected.  It is actually a version of Halvena’s Portable Lab (see item description).  The laboratory is not completely deserted however.  Various creatures reside within, waiting for the return of the previous owner.  Needless to say, they are not happy to see the premises change hands.  Before the PC spellcaster can take possession of the laboratory, she must first rid the book of its current inhabitants. Introduction    Before this adventure can be run, it is necessary for a PC spellcaster to obtain an unknown spell-book.  The spell-book in question is actually a version of Halvena’s Portable Lab. It does not matter where the PC obtains the book, but the adventure starts as soon as the PC begins to study the new “spell-book.”      Encounters within the Lab are designed to accommodate a variety of origins for the book.  If the book was taken from an ancient treasure trove, then the creatures in the Lab are generally quite upset at being left alone for so long and attack out of sheer spite.  If the book was pried from the fingers (so to speak) of its previous owner, then the creatures are upset to see the intruder and attack out of loyalty to their master/companion.    Before the new owner can open the book, she must first dispel or bypass an Arcane Lock (DC 17).  The normal procedure would then be for the PC to cast Read Magic.  As soon as Read Magic is cast begin the Players Introduction.    Player Introduction    When the PC spellcaster unlocks the book and casts Read Magic, read or paraphrase the following to the player.      The arcane scribblings of the spell-book quickly transform before your eyes, becoming legible, taking on meaning. As you peruse the text and illustrations, to your surprise, you see that what is encoded with the book is not a set of spells at all.  Instead they seem to be arcane descriptions of a set of rooms, four to be exact.  The rooms in question would seem to be designed for the study of magic.  Furthermore, if the text is to be believed, the rooms in question are located within the pages of the book itself!  There is a command word, “Germakle,” included in the text, the utterance of which will convey you into and out of the rooms.    If the player asks questions about the nature of the rooms, inform them that there seems to be a study, a set of laboratories and a forge.  Spellcasters who utter the command word while holding the book are always teleported into the Study (Room 1).  Once within the rooms, the same command word instantly transports the character out of the rooms no matter which room the character is in.      Inside the bookRoom 1 – The study (EL 1)    Spellcasters who enter the book using the command word “Germakle” find themselves in this room.  DMs may read or paraphrase the following description to the player.     As you utter the command word, there is a flash of light and you feel yourself pulled towards the book.  As the light subsides and you orient yourself, you see that you are in a comfortable room, 20-ft by 20-ft square.  The walls are lined with books and a soft light from the ceiling provides the perfect reading environment.  The floor is lushly carpeted.  There is a comfortable looking chair.  As intriguing as all these things are, what immediately grabs your attention are the three skeletons advancing from the walls of the room towards you. CreaturesSkeletons (3): hp 5, 6, 6Treasure    This room contains quite a treasure!  The books lining the wall make up a complete arcane library (10,000 gp value).  They are everything a spellcaster would need to research a new spell or magic item.Room 2 – The Work Room (El 2)    As soon as the PC attempts to travel from the study into this room, read or paraphrase the following    You open the door out of the study and peer through.  The room adjacent to the study is also well lit.  You see a set of shelves containing various canisters, jars, and urns.  You see a heavy counter lined with powders, mummified spiders, a jar of eyeballs, a stuffed monkey and other odds and ends.  There is even a quaint stuffed crocodile hanging from the ceiling on wires.  As you look at the hanging crocodile, you also notice a hideous small shape flying on batwings near the ceiling.  As you gaze in horror, it opens its mouth as if to shriek.  Creatures    The flying creature, a “pet” of the former owner is a 2 HD vargouille about to emit its shriek.Vargouille: CR 2; Small outsider (evil); HD 2d8+2; hp 11; Init +1; Spd 30 ft (fly good); AC 12; Attk +4 melee (1d4 + poison bite); SA shriek, poison, kiss; SV Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +4; Str 10, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 5, wis 12, Cha 8.    Skills: Listen +6, Spot +6.  Feats: Weapon Finesse (bite).    Tactics    Roll initiative as normal.  Regardless of the outcome or the actions of the PC, the first action of the vargouille is to emit its shriek.  If this is successful, it attempts to kiss the unfortunate.  Otherwise it bites at the PC, swooping in and out, until one or the other is dead.      Treasure    This room is mainly a storeroom for magical supplies, although the heavy counter allows for some degree of mixing, heating, etc.  There are enough ingredients in this room to make 5000 gp worth of magical goods (at caster’s cost, not at market value).  Room 3 – The Laboratory (El 2)    When the PC first enters this room, read or paraphrase the following.    Beakers, burners and even a cauldron fill this room.  There are also devices for measuring, sifting, sprinkling and pouring.  Everything needed for brewing potions or mixing chemicals seems to be in this room.  Thankfully you see no sign of hostile life in this room.    Creatures    In reality, there is a creature in the room, an invisible imp who is just waiting for the right opportunity to strike.  This imp was a cohort of the last owner, but has found itself unable to leave the premises of its own accord (it was never taught the command word).  This has put the imp in a bad mood and it wants to take its frustration out on someone.Imp: hp 12.    Tactics    The imp first strikes at the PC from behind.  Thereafter, every round, it turns invisible again and again maneuvers behind the PC to strike.    Treasure    This room contains both a complete Arcane Lab and a complete Alchemist’s Lab as detailed in Tome and Blood and the Players Handbook respectively.  Room 4 – The Forge Room (EL 3)    When the PC first enters this room, read or paraphrase the following.    Against the far wall of this room is a forge, a fire burning strongly within.  Lining the walls are hammers, tongs and other tools of the smithing trade.  You also see bars of steel on the floor and bundles of wood and leather hanging some distance off the floor.  As you take all this in, you notice that the fire in the forge seems to be moving as if it had a mind of its own.    Creature    The “fire” in the forge is actually a medium-sized fire elemental about to attack the PC.  The former owner used this elemental to heat the forge, but the creature is no longer bound and now merely desires to consume what it can.    Medium-sized Fire Elemental: hp 31    Tactics    The PC has 1 round in which to prepare before being attacked.  After this round is up, the fire elemental rushes at the PC, doing all in its power to burn the PC to a crisp.  If the PC “escapes” the pages of the Lab without first killing the elemental or closing the door to the forge room, the elemental takes the opportunity to burn anything in any room it can get its “hands” on.  This could be bad news for the books in the study.TreasureThere are enough raw materials in this room to make 500 gp worth of weapons or armor (at the smith’s cost, not at market value).    Concluding the Adventure    Assuming the PC clears out the Lab of its previous inhabitants, it’s all hers.  Alternatively, the Lab could have originally belonged to another owner altogether, one who is still around and would not mind having his property returned.  (This will appeal to DM’s that dislike giving out valuable treasures.)  Perhaps there is a reward for its return.  Or perhaps the true owner of the Lab will attempt to retrieve it through violence or stealth.  The Lab can thus be used as a means for a mage to create spells and items while traveling or as a way to introduce further adventures.  Scaling the Adventure    The adventure, as written, is quite suitable for a party of four 2nd level characters.  By changing the vargouille to a stirge, making the fire elemental a small-sized elemental, reducing the number of skeletons to 1 or 2, and making the imp more conniving and less destructive, the adventure can also be used for spellcasters of lower than 6th level.  For PCs of higher than 6th level, consider increasing the HD of the monsters encountered, or increasing the number of monsters encountered.  For solo adventures, making the EL roughly 1/3 of the PC’s level seems to be a good rule of thumb and DMs should keep this in mind when determining the strength of the encounters.       New Magical Item – Halvena’s Portable Lab    Halvena’s Portable Lab is just that, a portable arcane Laboratory carried within a spellbook.  The Laboratory has 1-4 rooms (each 20 ft by 20 ft).  A single room of Halvena’s Portable Lab takes up 25 pages of a standard spell-book.  These 25 pages are covered with arcane details of the room in question.  The owner of the Laboratory can enter and exit the Laboratory at will through the use of a command word, carrying up to 500 lbs. into or out of the Laboratory as per Dimension Door.   The command word is normally included in the arcane description of the rooms.      Though each room of the Laboratory may include up to six pieces of standard furniture as permanent features in that room, the cost of the Portable Laboratory does not include equipment or books.  These must be supplied separately and carried into the rooms by the owner.  If the book containing the Laboratory is destroyed, all the contents are destroyed as well.  A spellcaster caught in the book while it is being destroyed must make a Reflex save (DC 12) to avoid being destroyed with the Lab.    Caster Level: 7th.  Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, Leomunds Secure Shelter, Dimension Door.  Market:  52,500 gp for the first room + 2100 gp per additional room (This does not include the value of any items stored within the rooms).</blockquote>

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