Needlehidthefollowingitemsinthealcove:apursemade
fromtriceratopshide,asmallboxmadefromtwovelociraptor
skullscleverlyfittedtogether,andahollowdinosaurbone
withawaxplugatoneend.Thepursecontains 55 gp, 800 sp,
andthreebluequartzrings( 10 gpeach).Theskullboxis
worth 12 gpandcontainsawandoffearandtwodiamonds
( 500 gpeach).Thehollowdinosaurbonecontainsfive+ 1 sling
bullets.
NsiWastes
Thisvasttractofjunglewasravagedbyblightlongagoand
neverrecovered.Theplantsherearesicklyandpoisonous.In
theheartofthiswastelandistheruinedpalaceofthewarlord
RasNsi:acrumbledstonefortressthatoncestoodonthe
backsofadozengiantundeadturtles.ItsdestructionbyRas
Nsi’srampagingundeadwassocompletethatnothingremains
ofthisonce-awesomestructureexceptthecrushedshellsand
bleachedbonesoftheturtles,andheapsofstonesojumbled
thatnoteventheoutlinesoftheancientwallscanbepicked
out,slowlysinkingintothemuck.Thechanceforarandom
encounterisdoubledinthisregion.
Omu
ThelostcityofOmuisdescribedinchapter 3.
Orolunga
AllthatremainsoftheancientcityofOrolungaisacrumbling
zigguratwatchedoverbyaguardiannaga.Thenagais
thousandsofyearsoldandafontofusefulinformation—
perhapsthebestsourceofinformationinChult.However,
she’snoteasytoreach.
Amassivebrickandstonezigguratrisesfromthe
jungle.Twostaircasesangleupandacrossthefront
face,onefromtheright,theotherfromtheleft,to
meetatalandingonthesecondlevel 30 feetabove
yourheads.Thatlayoutrepeatsonthesecondlevel,
andthethirdlevel,butwitheachsuccessivelayer
addinglessheightthantheonebelowit.Thefourth
level, 60 feetabovethejunglefloor,isanenclosed
shrineortemple,itswallsadornedwithlabyrinth
symbols.Thejungleencroachesrightuptoandontothis
ancientstructure.Thefirstflightsofstepsarechoked
withcreepers,treeroots,andfloweringvines.It
mighthavebeensurroundedbyacitylongago,but
thejungleissodensethatitwouldtakehoursof
searchingtofindburiedfoundationsandtumbled
stones.
Thezigguratisencasedinmagic,whichbecomesobviousif
anyonecastsdetectmagic.Thisprotectiveshellprevents
anyonefromascendingthezigguratbyanymeansotherthan
climbingthestairs.Characterswhotrytoflyupriseabovethe
treesbutnevergetanyclosertotheziggurat,asifthey’re
flyingintoapowerfulheadwindtheycan’tdetect.Thosewho
trytoclimbawallgethalfwayup,theninexplicablylosestheir
gripandslidebackdown.Aladderbuilttoscaleawallnever
reachesthetop,nomatterhowlongtheladder.Arope-and-
hookthrownuptocatchtheedgealwaysfallsshort.Casting
teleportormistystepmovesthecastersidewaysinsteadofup
tothenextlevel.Bypassingthetestsbyanymeansisflat-out
impossible.Itmighthelptothinkofthewholesituationasa
fairytale;itdoesn’tneedtomakesense,becausethemagicof
Orolungaisonamythicscalethatoverpowerstheabilityof
anymortal.
FirstSteps
Thestepsfromthegroundtolevel 1 ofthezigguratare 50 feet
longandrise 30 feet.Atangleofroots,vines,andcreepers
coversthesteps.Characterscanclimbthefirst 10 feetas
difficultterrain.After 10 feet,theybegingettingscratchedby
thorns.Iftheycontinue,theytake 1 slashingdamageperfoot
climbed.After 20 feet,thatincreasesto 2 slashingdamageper
foot.Thethornsregrowasquicklyasthey’reslashed,burned,
ordestroyed,andtheycan’tbepartedbymagicorbyabilities.
Nodamageisincurredformovingdownthesteps.
Afterthecharacters’firstattemptstoclimbthesteps,they
noticeachwinga(seeappendixD)standingamongthem.It’s
aboutafoottall,anditsmaskresemblesatriceratops’head.
It’salsocarryingalargeorangeandpurpleorchid.Aftera
moment,itchargesupthesteps;thethornspartbeforeitand
closeimmediatelybehindit.
Toascendthesteps,charactersmustfindmoreofthe
orangeandpurpleorchids.Theycanbefoundinthejunglein
30 minutesifanyoneinthegrouphasproficiencyinthe
Natureskill,or 60 minutesotherwise.Eachcharacterclimbing
thestairsneedshisorherownorchid.
SecondSteps
Thestepsfromlevel 1 tolevel 2 are 33 feetlongandrise 20
feet.Thestoneiscrumblingfromageanddecay.Thosewho
tryclimbingthestepsfindthat,afterthefirstfew,thestone
crumblesintogravelbeneaththemsotheycan’tmakeany
moreprogress.Howevermuchthecharacterstrytoclimband
demolishthesteps,theyneverseemtogetanyworseandthe
gravelneverpilesupanydeeper.
Afterthecharacters’firstattemptstoclimb,theynotice
anotherchwingastandingamongthematthebaseofthe
steps.Itsmaskresemblesachameleon’shead.It’scarryingan
orangeandpurpleorchidandaredparrotfeather,anditraces
upthestepswithease,literallylightasafeatheronthefragile
stones.
Characterscanfindparrotfeathersinthejungleorlying
aroundonthislevelafterjustafewminutesofsearching.They
needboththefeatherandtheorchidtoclimbthesteps.
ThirdSteps
Thestepsfromlevel 2 tolevel 3 (theleveloftheshrine)are 20
feetlongandrise 12 feet.Thestairsareinexcellentcondition,
butswarmsofpoisonoussnakesslitheroverthem.Ifsnakes
arekilled,morecrawloutthroughholesinthestonetoreplace
them,sotheswarmscanneverbedestroyedoreven
weakened.Nospellsorabilitiespreventthesnakesfrom
attackingsomeonewhoclimbsthestairs.
Afterafewmomentsofexaminingthestairs,the
charactersnoticeathirdchwingastandingamongthematthe
baseofthesteps.Itsmaskresemblesamongoose’sface,andit
carriesaredparrotfeatherandanorangeandpurpleorchid.
Atthebottomstep,thechwingawhacksasnakewithitsorchid
tomakeitangry,thenstrokesthesnake’sflankwiththe
feathertocalmitdown,thenliesdownfacingthesnake,
whereuponthereptilecrawlsthroughthemouthofthemask
andinsidethechwinga.Thechwingathenslithersupthesteps
likeasnake,untroubledbyanyoftheotherpoisonoussnakes.
Toclimbthestepssafely,charactersmustdothesamething,
butthisstageisn’tautomatic.Usingtheorchidandthefeather
areeasy,butacharactermustmakeasuccessfulDC 10
Constitutionsavingthrowafterswallowingasnake.Evil-
alignedcharactershavedisadvantageonthesavingthrow.If