Minidungeon: The Tribe of Rorvash

There will always be those who find it easier to take from others than to do a day's honest work. Rorvash was always one of those despicable individuals -- and magic only made it easier; a few judiciously-applied charm spells on a splinter tribe of goblins and he had his very own band of bandits.

Now Rorvash and his goblin underlings, along with their pack of mantids, ambush small-merchants and travellers along the trade roads before retreating to the old ruin in the hill with their ill-gotten gains ...


The Ruin: An outpost of bygone days, the small complex is carved out impeccably and faced with tight-fitting stones of grey granite. Every twenty feet is measured by a torch-bracket on the walls; the scale is one square = 10'.


1. Common Room: This chamber is cluttered with the detritus of goblin occupation: worn furs, ratty leathers, crude and broken pottery, bits of cold-worked metal, and the remains of mantid shells not yet worked into weapons or other objects. A firepit is in the centre of the chamber; to the north lies a corridor blocked with a stained tapestry, whereas to the west a corridor runs 10' before abrupting narrowing to a tiny passage.

In the chamber are four goblins [AC6; HD 1-1; hp 5, 3, 4, 3; Mv 90' (30'); Att by weapon; Dam 1-6; Sv Normal Man; Ml 7; XP 5] who will immediately stop their game of knucklebones, snatch up weapons and attack any intruders, shouting for reinforcements. Each goblin carries a handful of silver coins: 8, 5, 11, 7.


2. Mantid Den: The floor of this circular chamber has been layered with soil and half-rotten logs as a lair for the band's mantids. Three verdant mantids are present
[AC4; HD 1+3; hp 9, 6, 8; Mv 180' (60'); Att claws; Dam 2-5/2-5; Sv F1; Ml 10; XP 19], along with one goblin handler [AC6; HD 1-1; hp 5; Mv 90' (30'); Att by weapon; Dam 1-6; Sv Normal Man; Ml 7; XP 5]; the handler will take one mantid and join any scuffle in areas 1) or 3) in three rounds.


3. Leader's Quarters: Less cluttered with trash than the outer chamber, and also curtained off by another ratty bit of tapestry, this room contains rough beds belonging to Neth, the goblin band leader [AC6; hp 15; Mv 90' (30'); Att by weapon as 3HD; Dam 2-7; Sv Normal Man; Ml 7; XP 15], and his two lieutenants [AC6; hp 9, 10; Mv 90' (30'); Att by weapon as 2HD; Dam 1-6; Sv Normal Man; Ml 7; XP 10]. If combat breaks out in area 1), the trio will spend two rounds preparing and then enter combat. Neth carries 4 gold pieces and 13 silver pieces; his lieutenants carry 2gp and 8sp each.

Piled along the walls of the chamber is an abundance of bulk goods stolen from unwary travellers: 10 casks of wine (3gp ea.), 23 hand-sized ingots of fine blue glass flecked with gold (2gp ea.), 60 sacks of grain (1gp ea. -- some complete with mice!), and 24 bolts of reddish-violet silk (5gp ea.)


4. Rorvesh's Chamber: Equipped with bed, desk, storage chest and chamber-pot, this smaller room is kept immeculately clean by the obsessive Rorvesh. The magic-user will remain squirrelled away in his chamber unless it looks like the goblins are taking a severe beating; then he will try to bargain his way to safety only to attempt to betray or charm the party at the earliest convenience.

Rorvesh's desk is cluttered with tallies of the band's victims, entomological minutae, crazed musings on an ancient snake-cult and haphazard notation ultimately intended as magical research. The chest is packed with many red and rust robes and a moth-eaten fur cloak; Rorvesh's spellbook is hidden in a secret compartment in the bottom. Another tight fit of a passage links Rorvesh's chamber with a second small chamber.

Rorvesh: second level MU; AC 7; hps 6; Mv 120' (40'); STR 8, INT 15, WIS 11, DEX 16, CON 12, CHA 10; Align Chaotic; spells - 2 1st; equipment: silver dagger, spellbook (read magic, shield, charm person, bloodbite), healing potion x2, pink pearl (100gp) and silver pearl (50gp) in a small leather pouch

(Bloodbite: as magic missile, save for inflicting only 1-6 hit points of damage and disorienting the target [-1 on all rolls] for two rounds)


5. "Treasure Vault": This second room contains the true valuables Rorvesh's band has acquired, as well as a few antiquities the magic-user found within the ruin before leading the goblins to it. Laid out neatly against the furthest wall are: 6 electrum ingots (15 gp ea.), 10 fat waxed leather pouches packed with gold dust (75gp ea.), two strongboxes containing 2230sp and 463gp respectively, and a small bronzewood coffer containing an ivory and coral set of prayer beads (130gp) and an amber ring set with a carnelian sealstone depicting a coiled wyvern (224gp).

Set to one side are a two foot tall greenstone idol of a coiled winged serpent with a feline head (432gp), and Winterfang.