Chultanwarriorcarryingaspear,belowaninscription
thatreads,“Bowbeforenoone.”Fourbronzestatues
standonpedestalstoeithersideoftheshield.They
depictChultanwarriors:oneholdingasword,twowith
spears,andonemissingitsface.
Papazotl’sbonesarecontainedwithinthesarcophagus,
buttheyarewellprotected(see“GlassCauldrons”and“Bronze
Shield”below).
AdvicefromtheSpirits
AnycharactersinhabitedbythespiritsofNangnangor
Obo’lakareceiveadvicewhenenteringthisarea:
GreedyNangnangencouragesherhosttograbsomeof
thetreasurefromthechariot.
NervousObo’lakawarnsitshostthatthecauldrons
containthebonesofPapazotl’smostzealousdevotees
who,evenindeath,mightseektoprotecthim.
GlassCauldrons
Disturbingthechariot,thesarcophagus,orthetreasurelying
atopitcausestwelveskeletonstocrawloutoftheglass
cauldrons(twopercauldron).Alltheskeletonsactonthe
sameinitiativecount.Acauldrondisgorgesoneadditional
skeletonatthestartoftheskeletons’turneachrounduntil
thecauldronisdestroyedorthetombisclearedofinterlopers.
Whennoenemiesremain,anyremainingskeletonsreturnto
thecauldrons.
Destroyingthecauldronsstopstheflowofskeletons,as
doesbowingbeforethefacelessstatue(“Bowbeforenoone”).
EachcauldronisaLargeobjectwithAC 15 , 22 hitpoints,
vulnerabilitytobludgeoningandthunderdamage,and
immunitytopoisonandpsychicdamage.Adetectmagicspell
orsimilareffectrevealsanauraofconjurationaroundthe
cauldrons.Anemptycauldronweighs 500 pounds.
BronzeShield
Thebronzeshieldhangsfromthewallonleatherstraps.It
radiatesconjurationmagictoadetectmagicspellorsimilar
effect.
Ifthechariot,thesarcophagus,orthetreasureisdisturbed,
oriftheshieldisremovedfromthewall,thehunterembossed
onitanimates.Eachroundoninitiativecount 20 ,itflingsa
magicalspearofforceatthenearestcharacteritcansee,
ignoringanycreaturethathasbowedbeforethefaceless
bronzestatue.Thehuntercan’tseeanycreaturebehindthe
front-facingsideoftheshield.Whenithurlsaspearata
creature,thehuntermakesarangedspellattack(+ 10 tohit)
anddeals 18 ( 4 d 8 )forcedamageonahit.Atargetreducedto 0
hitpointsbythisattackisdisintegratedandturnstodust.
Tostoptheshield’shunterfromattacking,acharacter
mustblinditbydrapingsomethingopaqueovertheshield
(suchasasackorcloak)orturningtheshieldtofaceawall.
Theshieldcanalsobedestroyed;ithasAC 15 , 10 hitpoints,
andisimmunetoalldamageexceptforcedamage.Iftaken
fromtheroom,theshieldvanishesandreappearsonthewall
betweenthestatues.
Sarcophagus
Thesarcophaguscontainsthebrittleskullandbonesofan
eblis(Papazotl’sanimalform;seeappendixD).
Treasure
Thefollowingtreasuresarestrewnatopthesarcophagus:a
goldtorc( 250 gp),threegoldcups( 75 gpeach),fivegoldcloak
pins( 25 gpeach),andanamuletofhealth.Theamuletturnsto
dustandisdestroyedifitleavestheTomboftheNineGods
(butsee"LostTreasures").
Papazotl’sSpirit.ThespiritofPapazotltriestoinhabitany
characterwhotouchestheamuletofhealth(see"Spiritsofthe
NineTricksterGods").WhenPapazotl’sspiritmanifests,read:
Strangeshadowsshiftacrossthewalls,formingthe
outlineofalong-leggedbird.Itsbeakstabsatyouasa
voiceechoesthroughyourmind:“YouwilldoasI
command!”
Ifthespiritsuccessfullyinhabitsthecharacter,givethe
playerPapazotl’scard(seeappendixF).Iftheattemptfails,the
spiritreturnstotheamuletandwaitsforanothercharacterto
touchit.23 .BottledGenie.....................................................................................................................................................................
Ancientcobwebsfillthisnarrowcorridor,whose
midpointfeaturesanarchedalcove.Withinthealcove,a
dustybottlestandsonatable.
ThebottleisstopperedandcontainsadaonamedKeshma
al-Wazir,whowastrappedcenturiesagobyAcererak.Anyone
examiningthebottlespotsthegeniewavingfromwithinand
hearshermuffledvoicecallingout.KeshmaspeaksTerran
only.Atfirst,sheordersthecharacterstoreleaseher.Ifthey
refuse,shetriestobargainwiththem(see“Roleplayingthe
Dao”below).Whiletrappedinsidethebottle,Keshmacan’t
attackorcastspells.Onceshe’sreleased,shecancastthe
tonguesspelltobettercommunicatewithherliberators.
Ifthebottleisbrokenorunplugged,thedaoemergesina
whirlwindofsand.Shefulfillswhateverpromiseshemadeto
thecharactersinexchangeforherfreedom,thencastsplane
shiftinanefforttoreturntotheElementalPlaneofEarth.(The
attemptfails,naturally,andshewindsuptrappedinarea 57 .)AdvicefromtheSpirits
AnycharactersinhabitedbythespiritsofMoa,Nangnang,or
Papazotlreceiveadvicewhenseeingthegenieinthebottle:
TruthfulMoaadviseshishostnottobreakanybargains
madewiththedao.
GreedyNangnangadvisesherhosttocutdealswiththe
daothatbenefitonlythehostandher.
ProudPapazotlencourageshishosttotreatthedaolikea
servilelickspittle.RoleplayingtheDao
DecadesofimprisonmenthavedonelittletodentKeshma’s
imperiousnature.Asbefitsadao,sheregardsthecharacters
aslessercreaturesandbargainswiththemonlyiftheyrefuse
hercommands.
Atfirst,Keshmapromisesthecharactersrichesin
exchangeforfreedom—thesapphirescoiledthroughher
braidedhairandtheplatinumarmbands(see“Treasure”
below).Suchbaublesmeanlittletothedaointhegreater
schemeofthings,butshefeignsanguishinsurrenderingthem.
Ifthecharacterspressformore,Keshmapromisestotake
themanywhereinthemultiverse.Finally,sheofferstotravel
withthemthroughthetombandaidthemthreetimeswithher
spells.