TOPSY AND TURVY
Twin deep gnomrl>, Top~>y and her brother Turvy
are originally fro111 BlingtlenstOne in the Underdark.
They Wt'rt' cnplUrecl hy the drow while our garhe ring
mushrooms in llw tunnels near their ho me. Like most
other svirfncblin, Top~y ha!> a stringy mop of hair while
Turvy only ha~. a few tufts of hair atop his otherwise
bald head. Topsy is by far the more social of the two.
Turvy constantly mumblec; and muners darkly. with
Top~} reptwling or tram.lating what her brother says.
Topsy and Tun} hide the fact that they arc wererats.
Infected with the curse of lycanthropy. neither deep
gnome has entire!} embraced it yer. and rhey struggle
to control their wcrcrat instincts and urges. They a re
fearful of what potential allic·-. might do if they learn
the truth. and arc looking out for each other and their
own o.;urvi\ a! With thcar transformations controlled by
the> un'i<'rn ryrlc· of the• moon. you can use the twins·
impending chnng<' as a w1ld curd in the adventure.
They've bct•n pri-.ollt'r!> for le!>l> than a month, meaning
the full moon is com1ng.
A MOTLEY CREW
The other prisoners who manage to escape with the player
characters are likely to become their companions for a
substantial part of the adventure, so it is good to lay the
groundwork for those relationships early on. Some of
the NPCs might not survive the Initial escape attempt.
Others might be lost to the dangers of the Underdark- or
m1ght reveal the.r true colors and betray the party. A few
could become true compamons. Keep in mind the other
pnsoners have the.r own personalities and goals, but are
generally w1lhng to cooperate for the~r own benefit. Their
knowledge of the Underdark should encourage the player
characters to keep them around at least initially.
Smce managong such a large cast of NPCs can be quite
mvolved, enl1st the aod of the players of you wish, having
each of them take on the role of manag1ng one or more of
the party's companoons The pla)er generally decides what
that NPC IS doong. wllh the knowledge that you, as Dungeon
Master, can overrule them as needed by the story. Not only
d~ th1s make the secondary characters easier to manage,
11 helps the players get to know them and strengthens the
bonds between the NPCs and the adventurers.f:IIAI"It:lllll'KISONfNS 01 Ill£ J.>NOWWHAT T H E P R ISONERS KNOW
Allow the character'> to freely mingle and interact with
their fellow prisoners or t•vt•n the drow guards, although
the guards rart'ly tnlk to 1 he> "surface-dweller scum." Of
all the prisoners, only Eldeth andjimjar speak Ouent
Common. The ot lwrs !.peak Undercommon (or at least
understand it). Ront knows some Common. while
Derendil -.peaks Elvic;h. Stool's rapport spores can
establish telepathic communiCation to allow everyone
to speak freely. The $fuards aren't observant enough
to notice.
You might wish to conc;ult the social interaction rules
in the Dungeon Uaster's Guide. in which case the other
prisoners are initiall) indifferent toward the characters.
HandJe the interacuons using roleplaying. Charisma
checks. or a balance of the two as best suits your group
and the way the ad\enture unfolds.
The characters can learn the following things from
talking with their fellow pnsoners, some of who have
been captives of the drow for a tenday or two:
Tht>re are nint>teen drow at the outpost, including
llvara. Shoor. andjorlan. as well as another priestess
named Asha. There Me also a dozen quaggoths and a
number of giam spiders.- Three drow g ua rds watch the slave pen from the
hanging guard towe r across the rope br idge, visible
through t he locked ~ate. - The cell has some sort of ami magic effect on it (sec
area 11 for details). - jorlan the drow warrior suffered disfi~uring injuries
recently. Before then. he seemed more in llvara·s
favor. ow hoor seems to have displaced him. - jorlan used to have a wand that shot globs of sticky
material able to trap targets. 'low Shoor carries it, as
another sign of their change an statu5.
It might be a maucr of dayo; or tt"ndayc; before a contin·
gem from Mcnzobt·rranzan arriv~ to take prisoners
back to the drO\ c11y.
Additionally. the drO\ Sarith Kzekarit knows
the foiJowing:
A gra) oote hve-. in the pool. lt'!> harmJess. feeding off
waste unles<, diMurbed. - A supply patrol from Mentoberrantan is a few days
overdue, which IS unusual.