LocationsF-I.............................................................................................................................................................................
Firefinger
Risinghighabovethejunglecanopyisa 300 - foot-tall,
naturallyformedspireofrockwithsmokeissuingfrom
aflamingbeaconatthetopofit.Thewallsofthespire
aresheeranddottedwithsmallcaves.Frail-looking
laddershangfromnarrowledgesatvariousheights.TherockypinnaclecalledFirefinger(map 2. 6 )isan
ancientChultansignaltower.BeforetheSpellplaguetoppled
them,manysuchtowerswereusedtosendmessagesbetween
citiesviacoloredflamesatnightorcoloredsmokeduringthe
day.Firefingerisoneofthefewstillstanding,ifnottheonly
one.
Firefingerhasbeentakenoverbyaflockofpterafolkthat
preysonhuntersandexplorersalongtheRiverTiryki.The
towerisaperfectlairforthepterafolk;inclearweather,from
its 300 - foot-highvantagepoint,theycanspotanythingmoving
ontheriverlessthan 10 milesaway,anditssheerwallsand
crumblingladdersmakeitpotentiallylethalforanything
withoutwingstoattempttheascent.
IfAzakaStormfang(seechapter 1 )iswiththecharacters,
sheinsiststheyattackthespire.Shesuggestswaitinguntil
nightfallorrain,ifnoneofthecharactersthinkofit.If
charactersrefusetoattackthepterafolk,Azakaleavestheir
serviceindisgust.
ThebestwaytoapproachFirefingerwithoutbeingspotted
bythepterafolkistostayunderheavyforestcanopyand
crossopenareasonlywhenrainordarknesslimitsvisibility.If
theseprecautionsaren’ttaken,havethepartymakeaDC 12
groupDexterity(Stealth)check.Ifthegroupcheckfails,the
pterafolkmountanattackfromabove.Theattackforce
numberstwopterafolk(seeappendixD)foreachparty
member.Ifthepterafolkbecomeoutnumbered,thesurvivors
fleebacktothespireandwarntheothers(inwhichcase,the
charactershavelosttheelementofsurprise).
Nearthebaseofthespire,charactersfindthebodyofan
elflyinginthemud.Mostofhislimbsarebroken,theribcage
iscrushed,andbrokentwigsandtornleavesarestuckinit
what’sleftofhisclothes.Thisunfortunateexplorerwas
capturedontheriver,fowntoFirefinger,strippedofvaluables,
thentossedoffthetopofthetowertohisdeath.Notfaraway,
thecharactersfindanotherbody,andathird,andsoonasthey
scanaroundthebaseofthetower.Thissamefateawaitsany
charactercapturedbythepterafolk.
Therope-and-woodladdersmountedtothespireare
ancientandcrumbling.Eachcharacterwhoascendsaladder
tothenexthigherlevel(fromthegroundtolevel 1 ,fromlevel
1 tolevel 2 ,andsoon)mustmakeaDC 8 Dexterity(Athletics)
check.Ifthechecksucceeds,thecharacterreachesthenext
levelsafelywithoutdamagingthefragileladder.Ifthecheck
fails,afewrungsoftheladderaredamagedandtheDC
increasesby 2 foreveryonefollowingbehindtheclimber.If
thecheckfailsby 5 ormore,theladderisdamagedandthe
climberfalls—quitepossiblytohisorherdeath,unless
precautionsweretaken(ropingcharacterstogether,for
example).
Pterafolkglidearoundthespireconstantlyexceptwhen
it’sraining.Theydon’tpaymuchattentiontothespireitself,
sincetheyarrogantlybelievethey’resafeintheirstronghold.
Charactersmighttakeelaborateprecautionstoavoidbeing
spotted,butthey’resurprisinglysafeaslongastheyreachthe
spireunseen.Duringrainoratnight,there’snochancethey’ll
bespottedclimbingthetower.Duringdaytimeinclear
weather,acirclingpterafolkspotsclimberswithasuccessful
DC 20 Wisdom(Perception)check,unlesscharactershave
takenotherprecautions.
Firefinger’scaveswereformedbyerosionandhave
ceilingsthatrangefrom 7 to 10 feethigh.
Level 1 .AbandonedCave
Aladderclingingtothesouthfaceofthespireendsatthis
level,whichis 60 feetaboveground.
Thepterafolkdon’tusethiscave,themostprominent
featureofwhichisa 10 - foot-deeppit.Theshortestdistance
acrossthepitwherecharacterscanusealongjumpis 15 feet.
Climbingintooroutofthepitiseasyandrequiresasuccessful
DC 5 Strength(Athletics)check.However,thefirstcharacter
whoentersthepitdisturbsfourgiantwolfspidersthatnest
increvicesalongthepitwalls.Onlyacharacterwithapassive
Wisdom(Perception)scoreof 17 orhigherisnotsurprised
whenthespidersattack.
ReachingLevel 2 .Arockchimneyleadsuptolevel 2 .It’sa
90 - footclimbwithplentyofhandholdsbutseveraltricky,
twistyspots;asuccessfulDC 8 Strength(Athletics)checkis
requiredtoascendordescenditwithouttheaidofclimbing
gearormagic.
Level 2 .StirgeCave
Aladderclingingtothesouthfaceofthespireendsatthis
level,whichis 160 feetaboveground.
Thepterafolkdon’tusethiscave.However,thechamberin
thenortheastcorneristhelairofninestirges,whichclingto
the 10 - foot-highceiling.Theydon’treactunlessmultiple
charactersentertheirlairorsomeonebringsinatorchor
otheropenflame,inwhichcasetheyattack.
Sixmonthsago,anexplorerwhowascapturedbythe
pterafolkmanagedtoescapeanddescendthisfarbefore
fallingpreytothestirges.Herdesiccatedcorpseisslumped
alongthenorthernwallofthestirges’chamber,andtheglint
ofgoldandgemscanbeseenthroughtatteredclothinganda
rottingpurse.
Treasure.Characterswhobravethestirgesandsearchthe
deadexplorercanrecover 15 gp,agoldandcarnelianring( 60
gp),andtwoonyxfigurinesrepresentingchwingas( 50 gp
each).SeeappendixDformoreinformationonchwingas.
ReachingLevel 3 .Clingingtothewestfaceofthespireisa
ledge,abovewhichisaladderleadinguptolevel 3 .Whenever
acharactercrossestheledge,rollad 6 .Onarollof 1 ,asudden
gustofwindthreatenstoblowthecharacterofftheledge.The
charactermustmakeaDC 9 Dexteritysavingthrow.Ifthe
savingthrowfails,thecharacterfallstothebaseofthespire
unlessheorsheissecuredbyropes.
Level 3 .PterafolkNest
Thislevelis 240 feetaboveground.Aladderclingingtothe
westfaceofthespireconnectsthisleveltotheonebelow.
Pterafolkeldersinhabitthisarea.They’veconstructeda
traditionalnestthat’sbettershelteredfromwindandrain.The
southwestchamberishometofourelderpterafolk( 13 hit
pointseach;seeappendixD).Theyspendmostoftheirtime
tendingtheirfire(whichmakesthechamberstiflinglyhotand
smoky)andcarvinggrislytotemsfromthebonesoftheir