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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Greybar" data-source="post: 680645" data-attributes="member: 4938">Chaos and FireSummary:A legendary couple once fought off the forces of chaos and closed a gateway to Limbo.  Now the gateway has been opened again, and a relic of the heroes of old can aid those of today to seal the gate.Requirements are simple:  A group of heroes of level 11 or so who are gathered already and sleeping for the night between adventurers.  The named festival and locations can easily be adapted to your campaign locations, though the images will certainly best match an oriental feel.  A bias against chaos amongst the PCs would be the best match.  The high level of the party allows for a very free form scenario that assumes reasonably intelligent use of divinations and other such powers.Scene 0: The Vision"The time of chaos and fire has come again", the spirit spoke in your vision.  Her radiant hands extended, cupped before you.  As her palms opened the faint sounds of croaking came to your ears.  In her hands are cupped six small frogs that twitch and call out (see image 1).  "Seek the Tablet of Zhun Gozi, for before the Festival of the Gathered our doom will come from the mountains."  Their limbs are twisted, strange, many where they should be but one, or yet none.  "Forces of Chaos gather to open the way and I have but you to call."  The frogs twist in your vision, seeming to grow in size beyond her glistening white palms, turning to look at you.  "Beware, for they know that I call upon you to be our heroes, and they will hasten to extinguish your light."  Your vision focuses on one frog as it looks at you, one eye bigger than the other, and croaks.  The sound is twisted and echoes unnaturally in your head.  It continues to croak louder and louder, each time becoming more and more chaotic and pulsing.  "Beware!" says the voice one last time.  A terrible final croak echos in your ears driving you awake.Scene 1: Wake-up CallAs soon as your players awake, have them roll a Fort save DC16.  Indeed, this final croak was the Stunning Croak of a Red Slaad that has appeared in the middle of the heros' rests.  Note that the players will not have their armor and equipment handy, which should make for a fun and dangerous wake-up call even though the Red Slaad is well below their power level.  If you have a large group, consider adding a second Slaad.Knowledge checks, Divinations, or GM information can be used to let the players know that Zhun Gozi  was an adventurer of some three centuries ago.  He was a champion of the local kingdom along with his wife and cohort named Zhun Juni.  His sword and bow, combined with her magic and music, fought off a supernatural force gathered by a dark summoner named Karishun.  Zhun Gozi died in defense of a shrine located in a local forest, and was interred there.  You can place this shrine relatively nearby, or perhaps make it well known enough to your spell caster than they might teleport there.Scene 2: The ShrineAs the players arrive at the shrine it is clear that it is under attack.  The cries of the monks can be heard, and a now broken body of a monk comes hurtling towards the players, propelled by the telekinesis of one of the three Blue Slaad present.The Slaad are working towards a goal and will generally be willing to try summoning additional Slaad if it looks like their mission will fail.  They will push into the shrine in an attempt to find and destroy the Tablet of Zhun Gozi hidden inside.  If the Slaadi are driven off or killed, a surviving monks will tell the players about the Tablet.  The tablet is strangely stained from the ichor of a Blue Slaad (see image 2), even better if as DM you can contrive that to happen now rather than in the past.  It depicts Zhun Gozi and Zhun Juni on one of their adventures.  When held by a lawful person, it projects a Magic Circle Against Chaos effect.  Either monks or divination can reveal that the Tablet was used by Zhun Gozi to defeat a chaos-centered cult up in the mountains above a local city.The Slaadi will attempt to retreat to their mountain base, and if allowed to escape will be additional opposition for the final conflict.  The heroes may well follow any such retreating Slaadi and thus get straight to this last scene.Scene 3: The Mountains AfireEven if the heroes haven't followed all the clues, the next scene can call to them rather than them finding it.  The mountain and hillsides behind the local city are covered with a firey ooze, creeping down to the terrified commoners.  Fireworks saved for the Festival of the Gathered, a harvest celebration, are being fired off one night early in a sign of distress. (see image 4)The ooze is not lava, as the heroes will likely think at first, but a perverse chaos-infused form of fire.  Touching it will cause damage (3d6 Fort DC16, additional +1d6 to lawful characters) as the heroes skin discolors into weird patterns and seems to melt.  Striding along the flows and unaffected by it are Red Slaad in gangs of four or five.  The heroes can sneak past or fight through a few of these sentries on their way to the top.Halfway up the mountain is a cave from which the flows seem to be issuing.  The entire mouth of the cave is dancing in fire.  This is actually an Elder Fire Elemental which has been summoned and bound to deny the entrance to all.  It also has no trouble walking over the chaos ooze, while non-flying heroes will need to duck and dodge to move around without stepping in it.Inside the cave is a pulsing darkness shot with riotous colors, lit only dimly by the ooze along the floor.  The ooze pools into a bubbling lake, in the center of which rises a rocky mound.  This lake acts as a gateway into Limbo, from which the Slaad have come.  At its top shoots forth a beam of scintilating light the size of a man which strikes the roof of the cave where it shatters into innumerable beams of refracted colors.  Standing over this beam is a humanoid figure, greedily grasping into its depths (see image 3).  This is Thak'ki'krallik, a Green Slaad (advanced to 15HD) who seeks the power to complete his transformation into a Grey.  He will not stand to be interrupted in this, and will command the heroes to depart or be slain.  In battle he uses a +2 Chaotic Huge Greataxe instead of his claws.  Other items of note in his use include a Cloak of Minor Displacement, a Brooch of Shielding, and a Ring of Minor Fire Resistance.  At his call, another 4 Red Slaad will emerge from the ooze, following by an additional Red every 1d4 rounds.When the tablet is placed on the top of the mound where the beam of light shines, the opening will be closed and the ooze will quickly begin to disperse.  No futher Slaadi will be able to enter into the Material once it is gone, though the heroes may be called upon to help round up those that are already here.  The DM can hint to the players of the role of the tablet by the beam being visibly bent away from the tablet as it gets closer, or to any other Protection from Chaos effect.  If the players have managed to not bring the tablet or let it be destroyed, then a similar Lawful oriented spell can be allowed to close the gateway.</blockquote>

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