indepthfrom 2 to 5 feet.Phosphorescentfungi
illuminatethepoolwithsoft,dreamyhues.Short,frog-
likehumanoidsofdifferentcolorsarefussingwiththe
fungiandtossingflowerpetalsintothepool.Atthebackoftheshrineisanelevatedsemicircular
basinofwater 10 feethigh.Wallowinginthebasinisa
grungwithgoldskin.Onitsbrowrestsagoldencirclet.
Anorange-skinnedgrungperchesnearby,shortbowat
theready.Theshallowpoolatthefrontoftheshrineiswhere
Krr’ook(ared-skinnedgrungwildling;seethe“Grungsof
Dungrunglung”sidebar)andherassistants(sixblue-skinned
grungs)preparefortheGreatRitualbytendingthe
phosphorescentfungiandscentingthewaterwithdelicate
perfumes.Removingthefungifromthepoolisforbidden,by
orderofKingGroak.
Theelevatedpoolatthebackoftheshrineisfedbyan
undergroundspring.KingGroak(agold-skinnedgrungelite
warriorwithacircletofblasting;seethe“Grungsof
Dungrunglung”sidebar)issuescommandsfromthepool
duringthedayandsleepshereatnight.Herarelyhascauseto
leavetheshrinethesedays.ByhissideisRoark(orange-
skinnedgrungelitewarrior;seethe“Grungsof
Dungrunglung”sidebar).
Treasure.KingGroakwearsacircletofblasting,which
he’snotafraidtouseagainstanyonewhoinsultsordefieshim.
Liningthebottomofhispoolare 33 gpandafist-sizedchunk
ofgreenquartz( 50 gp).
5 .GrungHovels
Dottedabouttheshoresofthelakeareseveralsquathuts
madefromswampmossandreedsplasteredtogetherwith
mud.Thehutsrangefromabout 15 to 25 feetindiameter,and
eachhasasingle,lowentrance.Somehavesmall,round
windowlikeopenings,andafewhavestoutmudchimneys.
Eachhutislargeenoughtoaccommodatesixadultgrungs
plus 2 d 6 babygrungs(noncombatants).Alltheoccupantsofa
givenhutbelongtothesamecaste,andthushavethesame
colorskin(excepttheyoung,whicharealldullgreen-gray).
6 .LakeGrunglung
LakeGrunglungisreallyjustalargepondcoveredwithlily
padsandduckweed,whereslow-movingcatfishgulpatthe
surfaceforair.Thethick,muddybottomislitteredwiththe
bonesofthegrungs’feasts.
7 .PrisonPit
Thisdug-outpitis 5 feetdeepandcoveredbystout,
woodenbars.Prisonersconfinedhereareguardedaroundthe
clockbytwogreen-skinnedgrungs(warriors)untiltheycan
becookedandeaten.Anyitemstakenfromtheprisonersare
entrustedtopurple-skinnedgrungsinthenearbyhovels(see
area 5 ).
Acharacterinthepitcanthrowasidetheprisonbarswith
asuccessfulDC 20 Strength(Athletics)check.Beforethecheck
ismade,eachguardmakesoneopportunityattackagainstthe
characterattemptingthecheck.
THEGREATRITUAL
OncetheGreatRitualiscomplete,KingGroakexpects
Nangnangtomaterializeandspeakwordsoflove,praise,and
reassurancetohim.Fearingthattheritualwillfail,Krr’ookhas
concoctedadesperateplantofoolthekingbutneedsthe
adventurers’helptopullitoff.
Krr’ook’sPlan.Awhileago,Krr’ookfoundaboxof
Nolzur’smarvelouspigments,whichshehidfromtheking.She
planstopaintanimageofNangnangofsuchqualitythatGroak
willbefooledintothinkingit’stherealgoddess.Krr’ookhopes
thatoneoftheadventurerswillhavetheskilltoillustrate
Nangnangconvincingly.She’swillingtogivethemagical
pigmentsasarewardtotheadventurersifallgoeswell.Asa
furtherreward,Krr’ookoffersaringofjumping.Anyone
touchedbyadoseofpoisonmustsucceedonaDC 12
Constitutionsavingthrowortake 5 ( 2 d 4 )poisondamage.A
doseofpoisonisuseduponceitdealsdamagetoacreature.
MomentofTruth.Theritualhappensatnight.Firesarelit
throughoutthevillage,whereuponscoresofcommongrungs
enterthelakeandwatchtheshrine.KingGroakdons
ceremonialgarbmadefromreedsandwildorchids,andawaits
hisloveonthestepsoftheshrine,wringinghisrubberyhands
withanticipation.
TofoolGroak,thecharactersmustpaintanimageof
Nangnangonasurfaceorcraftsomeotherrepresentationof
her,thenusemagic(iftheycan)togiveitasemblanceoflife.
Animateobject,majorimage,minorillusion,andsimilarspells
canhelpenhancetheillusion.Spellssuchascolorsprayand
prestidigitationcanalsobeusedtodazzleanaudiencelong
enoughtoconcealafatalflub.
WhoevergivesvoicetoNangnangmust“sell”theillusion
withhoneyedwords,inordertoconvinceKingGroakthathe
haswonaspecialplaceinNangnang’sheart.Finally,theritual
mustendwithNangnang’sdeparture,handledinsuchaway
thatKingGroakwon’tsuspecthe’sbeenfooledorabandoned
forever.IfNangnangorherwordsringfalse,KingGroak
ordersthedeathsofKrr’ookandanyonebelievedtohave
aidedher.
MakingNangnang.TofoolGroak,thepartymustsucceed
atthreeormoreofthefollowingtasks.Havethecharacters
maketherequisiteabilitychecksinthefollowingorder:
PaintingorcraftingarepresentationofNangnang
requiresasuccessfulDC 12 Intelligencecheck.Using
Nolzur’smarvelouspigmentsgrantsadvantageonthe
check.
AnimatingNangnangconvincinglyrequiresasuccessful
DC 12 Charisma(Deception)check.Ifmultiplecharacters
contribute,haveonecharactermakethecheckwith
advantage.
ConvincingGroakthatNangnang’swordsaregenuine
requiresasuccessfulDC 15 Charisma(Deceptionor
Performance)check.Ifthewordsaredeliveredina
languageKingGroakdoesn’tunderstand,thecheckis
madewithdisadvantage.(GroakspeaksGrungonly.)
SellingNangnang’sblesseddeparturerequiresa
successfulDC 15 Charisma(Deception,Intimidation,or
Persuasion)check.Thecheckismadewithdisadvantage
ifherwordsarespokeninalanguageotherthanGrung.
EndResult.Ifthecharacterssucceedatthreeormore
checks,KingGroakisthoroughlydupedandveryhappyforthe
foreseeablefuture.Characterswhorequesthishelpwill
receiveit,noquestionsasked.Iftheparty’strickeryis
discovered,KingGroakordershissubjectstoattackthem.The
attackingforceconsistsofsixteengrungelitewarriors
(includingRoark)andfortygrungs.Groakretreatstohis
elevatedpoolintheshrineandmakeshisfinalstandthere.