Tools. Leaning against the walls of this enclosure are
a pair of 10-foot poles, each with a loop of rope at one
end, and a battered wooden tower s hield.
When Yargoth gives the order to attack, three hobgob-
lins acting on the same initiative count load, aim, and
fire each of the flame cannons. The hobgoblins discov-
ered these siege engines during their initial exploration
of Trobriand's Graveyard.
A flame cannon is a bulky mechanical contraption
that hurls casks of alchemist's fire that explode on im-
pact. Before one of these weapons can be fired, it must
be loaded and aimed. It takes one action to load the
weapon, one action to aim it, and one action to fire it.
Each flame cannon has three casks of alchemist's fire
resting next to it.
Flame Cannon. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 60/2 40
ft., one target. Hit: 3 (ld6) bludgeoning damage plus 17 (Sd6)
fire damage, and the target catches fire. While on fire, the
target takes ld6 fire damage at the start of each of its turns. A
creature can end this damage by immersing itself in water or by
using an action to make a successful DC 10 Dexterity check to
extinguish the flames.The stone enclosure has a hinged gate made of sturdy
wooden poles lashed together with rope and held shut
with a simple latch. The hobgoblins like to starve the
rust monsters for a few days, then set them loose on
this level. The rust monsters can't escape from the pen
on their own, but they are drawn to the scent of metal.
The hobgoblins use the wooden tower shield and 10-foot
poles to wrangle the rust monsters outside their pen and
keep the beasts away from their metal armor.
Twelve giant fire beetle glands illuminate the rust
monster pen. Each gland is the size of a small loaf of
bread and glows for ld3 days before going dark.- PARADISE LOST
These 40-foot-high caverns once housed a thriving
fungus forest and a colony of peaceful myconids. The
hobgoblins slaughtered the myconids, then burned
down the forest. A thin, pungent smoke hangs in the air
throughout these caverns.
12A. SOUTHERN FOREST
Burned Remains. Blackened and smoldering zurkh-
wood stalks, their caps destroyed by fire, stand amid
the charred remains of what once were neatly tended
fungus gardens.
Corpses. Lying amid the razed mushrooms are the
charred corpses of ld4 giant fire beetles, ld6 myconid
sprouts, and ld8 myconid adults. The glands have
been torn out of the fire beetles' bodies.
A character who inspects the corpses and succeeds on
a DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) check can determine that
the beetles and myconids were killed by slashing weap-
ons and arrows, then burned.12B. CENTRAL FOREST
This area contains the same features as area 12a.
LEVEi 13 11'.ROBRIAND"S CRAVEYARD12c. NORTHERN FOREST
In addition to features similar to those in area 12a, the
body of an 8-foot-tall myconid sovereign lies among the
dead-pierced by multiple hobgoblin arrows and burned
like the other corpses. If the sovereign is touched, it
trembles with life, having stabilized at 0 hit points. If it
receives magical healing, it awakens and ejects a cloud
of rapport spores so it can communicate with its rescu-
ers. Award the party 450 XP for healing the sovereign.
The myconid sovereign, Chanterella, has a flaring
yellow cap and a ruffled yellow body half cooked by fire.
It recounts the hobgoblins' horrific attack and mourns
the destruction of its colony. In gratitude for helping it,
the sovereign gives characters its hidden treasure (see
"Treasure" below). Chanterella then urges the charac-
ters to seek out Zox if they're looking for allies. The my-
conid has a high opinion of the gnome.
Chanterella won't leave these caverns. Although its
colony has been wiped out, the myconid sovereign wants
to try to regrow the fungus forest. After helping the char-
acters as well as it can, it bids them farewell and invites
them to return whenever they feel like it.
Treasure. A 1-foot-thick, 10-foot-square patch of lumi-
nous but soot-blackened purple mold covers the roof of
the northern alcove (marked X on map 13). Buried in the
mold are two gourds, one containing a potion of diminu-
tion and the other a potion of longevity. Chanterella grew
the purple mold and can silently command it to extrude
sticky tendrils, which it uses to lower the potions within
easy reach.
Sunlight, any effect that cures disease, or any effect
that deals radiant or necrotic damage destroys the mold.
If the mold is destroyed while the potions are still hid-
den in its mass, the potions fall and shatter on the floor.
A character in the alcove can use a reaction to try to
catch one falling potion, doing so with a successful DC
11 Dexterity saving throw.Aftermath
Defeating the hobgoblins calms this level for a tenday.
After that, Doomcrown sends more hobgoblin raiders up
from Arcturiadoom (level 14) to gather metal for his fire
giant masters-unless the characters take the fight to
him in the meantime.
Months of work are needed to finish construction of
the Simulacrux. If work on the project continues and
Zox completes his arch, there's no telling whether it
functions as intended. Scaladar simulacra created by
the arch might be defective or uncontrollable. It's also
possible that the Simulacrux might be able to create
rust simulacra of other creatures besides scaladar. It's
equally likely that the Simulacrux won't function at all,
prompting Zox to tear it down and build another metal
monstrosity in its place.
If the myconid sovereign in area 12 survives, it re-
leases spores to seed the scorched earth, giving rise to a
new colony of myconid sprouts. The fungus forest recov-
ers on its own, though it takes years.