OwLBEAR
Astonebrazierfullofcoalsglowsinthemiddleofthissmall
barracks.Fourstrawpalletsarelinedupalongtheeastwall.
Thewalltothesouthhascollapsed,butabarredwooden
doorinthatdirectionisstillclear.Acurtainhangsinan
archwaytothenorth.
Twohobgoblinsstandguardinthisroom.Theyaresmart,
tough,andloyaltoKingGrol.Atthestartofcombat,one
hobgoblinrunstowarnthekinginarea14,thenreturns 2
roundslatertorejointhefray.
Thisareawasonceaparlorforthecastle’shuman
occupants,thoughitsrottedfurnishingswerebrokenup
bytheCragmawsandusedforfirewood.
AwardingExperiencePoints
Divide 200 XPequallyamongthecharactersiftheparty
defeatsthehobgoblins.
13. OwlbearTower
Thedoortothisroomisheldshutwithaheavywooden
bar—asubtlewarningthatdangerliesbeyond.Whenthe
barislifted,thecreatureintheroomawakensandletsout
aterribleroar.
Thearrowslitshereareshuttered,leavingtheroom
dark.Theboxedtextassumesthatthecharactershave
darkvisionoralightsource.
Theupperfloorsofthistowerhavecollapsedtocreatea
hollowsiloatleastthirtyfeethigh,andtheupperreaches
oftheroomarelostinshadows.Dust,rubble,andbroken
glasscoverthefloor,andoldworktablesandbookshelveslie
strewntothesouth.Inthemiddleoftheroomisahulking
beastthatlookslikeamangybearwithanowl'shead.Itrears
upandroarswhenitseesyou.
TheCragmawshavecapturedanowlbearandconfined
ittothistower.Theroomiskeptdarktokeepthebeast
calm,butKingGroldoesn’tknowwhattodowithityet.
Ifacharacterthrowsitfreshmeat,theowlbeardevours
thefood.Otherwise,itattacksthefirstcreatureitsees
inthedoorway.
Thisroomwasoncealibraryandworkshop,butnothing
ofitsoriginalcontentsremainsintact.
Developments
Ifthecharactersopenthedoorandstayoutofthe
owlbear’sway,itfleesthecastle(mostlikelythrougharea
1 1).Thecreatureattacksanythingthatgetsinitsway.
Treasure
Allthatremainsofthetower’ssecondfloorisajagged
ledge,uponwhichsitsabatteredwoodenchest.Thechest
ishardtoseefromthefloor,requiringasuccessfulDC
15 Wisdom(Perception)checktonotice.Thechestis
unlockedandcontains 90 ep, (^120) gp,apotionofhealing,a
scrollofsilence,andascrollofrevivify.
AwardingExperiencePoints
Divide 700 XPequallyamongthecharactersiftheparty
defeatstheowlbearorreleasesit.
14-. King’sQuarters
Anycharacterwholistensatthedoorhearstwovoicesin
aheateddiscussion—aloud,growlingvoicedemanding
paymentforsomething,andasilkysmoothreply.
Thischamberhasbeensetupasacrudelivingspace,with
thickfursthrownonthefloortoserveascarpets,oldtrophies
hangingonthewalls,alargebedtothenorth,andabrazier
ofcoalsburningbrightly.Aroundtablewithseveralchairs
standstothesouthnearthedoor.Nearthetable,onthe
floor,isanunconsciousdwarfwholooksbadlybeaten.
KingGrolisafierceoldbugbearwith 45 hitpoints.He
rulestheCragmawsthroughpureintimidation.Age
hasstoopedhisshouldersandhunchedhisback,buthe
remainssurprisinglyagileandstrong.Heisdemanding
andvindictive,andnoCragmawdarestocrosshim.
GrolisattendedbySnarl,awolfwith 18 hitpoints,
andadoppelgangerdisguisedasafemaledrow.The
doppelganger,Vyerith,isamessengerfromtheBlack
Spider,cometocollectGundrenRockseekerandthemap
ofWaveEchoCavefromKingGrol.Grolwantstosell
themapinsteadofsurrenderingit,andheandthedrow
arenegotiatingaprice.Vyerithfirstwantstoquestion
Gundrentofindoutifanyoneelseknowsthelocationof
40
PART3:THESPIDER'SWEB