d20 Legion Publishing Critical Hits 12 - Stitched in Time.pdf - Legion Publishing - R5700

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INTRODUCTION

Greetings traveler and welcome to Critical Hits - a

series of electronic publications from Legion Publishing.

Each Critical Hit is a complete encounter that can be

dropped into any fantasy campaign with very little prepa-

ration needed by the DM. The encounters are little gems

of ideas built around a single situation, person, location,

creature or object that the players stumble across in their

travels. Each Critical Hit provides all the DM needs to use

the encounter. Whether used as a disposable diversion or

the springboard for adventure, Critical Hits give the over-

worked DM a break and the players some memorable

encounters that encourage creative role-playing.

V o l u m e 3 N o 4 - E n c o u n t e r L e v e l 2

S T I T C H E D IN T I M E

Published by

Stitched in Time can take place in more or less any

terrain you see fit, as there are no particular surroundings

necessary to make the encounter playable. Curiosity alone

should be enough to draw the PCs into the encounter. As

with the other Critical Hits, text inside a border should be

read aloud to the players (unless you have modified the

setting, in which case you're on your own!).

www.legionpublishing.co.uk

First Published 2003

C R E D I T S &

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

Written by

Rob Clayton Jones

Editing

Simon Lucas, Robin Elliott & Matthew Harffy

Cover Illustration by

Matthew Harffy

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED

Interior Illustration & Cartography

Robin Elliott

Almost three hundred years ago, construction was com-

pleted of the most wondrous clock ever known. Crafted by

the hands of a cloud giant named Jeder Skyreach, this 50'

tall grandfather clock was fashioned from the trunk of a

single oak tree, and carved onto its mantle was a huge

eagle. So wonderful was the clock's design that it became

the envy of all who knew of its existence. One such being

was the Elven mage Pereaphron. Aside from the object's

beauty and its sheer scale, the wizard was fascinated by

the clock's supposed time-traveling qualities.

Typesetting and graphic design by Wildstar Digital Arts

Contact - info@wildstardigitalarts.co.uk

Author courtesy of Snake Eyes Studio

Contact - info@snakeeyesstudio.co.uk

Legion Publishing, Critical Hits, the Legion Publishing logo, Legionnaire,

and all related characters and elements are trademarks of Legion

Publishing.

Wildstar Digital Arts and its logo are trademarks of Wildstar Digital Arts.

Snake Eyes Studio and its logo are trademarks of Snake Eyes Studio.

Although a good person at heart, Pereaphron was so

beguiled by the thought of repairing his past indiscretions

that he schemed to steal the clock, assuaging the guilt he

felt at such an act by reasoning to himself that he needed

it but for a short while. Breaking into the giant's castle,

the wizard animated the giant carved eagle and ordered

it to fly back to his lair deep within the Ermin Wood, car-

rying the massive timepiece in its oaken talons.

'd20 System' and the 'd20 System' logo are trademarks of Wizards of

the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and are used according to

the terms of the d20 System License version 4.0. A copy of this License

can be found at www.wizards.com/d20.

Designation of Product Identity

All material, other than material already considered Open Gaming

Content is considered Product Identity as described in Section 1(e) of

the Open Gaming License v1.0a. This includes but is not limited to

Critical Hits and all significant characters, names, creatures, spells,

events, plots, logos, trade dress, product names, product lines, places,

Reserved, except where otherwise noted. The use of another company's

trademark should not be construed as a challenge to that trademark.

Reproduction of non-Open Game Content from this work by any means

without the express written consent of Legion Publishing is prohibited.

However, just like a weary racing pigeon, the eagle did

not arrive in the wood; Pereaphron had miscalculated the

Legion Publishing - Critical Hits

Volume 3 No 4 - EL 2

speed of the eagle and, as the clock lost contact with its

new master, the spell faltered and the eagle returned to

its inanimate state. Now it rests where it fell to earth,

close to the PCs, in a slightly damaged state. The party

starts the encounter as they come close to the clock's

resting place.

Every living thing within 20' of the clock is also teleport-

ed along with the PC.

If the PCs are too altruistic to fall for the jeweled

bait or not curious enough to attempt to touch the clock,

then drastic measures are required to force them into the

encounter. Have them drawn in towards it by an irre-

sistible magnetic force pulling them closer, and closer

until one of them touches the clock. A successful Will

saving throw (DC30) negates the force but at least one

character should fail, transporting all living beings within

20' with him, thereby catching even those that saved.

Suddenly you are alerted to a thin, reedy voice, still

hidden from your view but close by.

"Gyaa! The device is wondrous, it must be worth a

king's fortune - let's steal it away!"

A second voice comes, deep and croaky,

"I agree. Why the wood alone must be worth five or six

hundred platinum, and those gems… If we could carry

the thing we would indeed be rich. But how, by Lolth?

It must be forty feet high!"

There is no answer, and all is now silence.

RAT PACKED

Having teleported the PCs within the clock, they are

unaware of where they are and know only that they have

been transported.

A successful Listen check (DC13) alerts the PCs to a

deep hum that could be heard for a few seconds during the

conversation. The discussion of value should be enough to

pique the PCs' interest and, should the PCs decide to

investigate the source of these noises, in time they locate

the device. The PCs' may recognize the accents of the

unknown characters to belong to a pair of elves. By the

time they reach the clock, however, the 2 elves are

nowhere to be seen. Instead, they are faced with Jeder

Skyreach's masterwork of time keeping.

In an instant your eyes adjust to the dark surround-

ings. In the gloom you can see a huge shape moving

above your heads. A booming crack sounds from high

up, assaulting your ears and reverberating around the

room you are standing in. Shortly after, another crack

comes, then another. The deafening sound continues.

CRACK! All about you is shrouded in darkness. CRACK!

The air is musty and smells of wood and dust.

CRACK! At your feet you can see rings of green smoke

betraying your teleportation. CRACK! The sound con-

tinues at regular intervals!

Before you stands a giant clock. Carved completely

from oak, it is as tall as a small tree. Its face is ornate-

ly numbered, and sitting proudly atop it is a giant

wooden Eagle. The rough dimensions of the clock are

around 50' tall by 15' deep and 15' wide. The span of

the eagles' wings is 10'. The clock face is fashioned

from a single piece of giant pearl, finely ground into a

paper-thin circular lens. Encrusted into the twelfth

numeral and the eagles' claw is a single, green

emerald. Such a masterpiece must be immensely valu-

able but its presence here is very odd.

You should give the players a chance to explore their

surroundings and let them figure out themselves that

they have teleported inside the clock. In addition to the

shift in space, another shift has taken place. The PCs

have now been shrunk to only ¼ of their height (about

1'6" for 6' tall creatures such as humans or elves and only

6" high for a 2' tall creature, such as a halfling).

However, as far as the PCs are concerned, they are the

same size and everything around them has grown. Thus

spell and weapon ranges, spotting distances, movement

speeds, and any other distance-related rules work as if

the clock had grown. This makes things easier to figure,

rather than recalculating the range or effect of a spell,

the distances are given relative to the characters' adjust-

ed size. Everything in the magical clock now assumes

massive proportions and the aim of the encounter is to

make it out of the clock alive.

Casting Detect Magicreveals a dense field surrounding

the timepiece, yet more concentrated behind the face.

Close inspection of the case reveals thousands of tiny

carved birds all flying up and down the clock. The clock

appears to be emitting a soft humming sound, which seems

to be getting slowly louder.

Any PC touching the clock is instantly transported, in

a shower of green sparks, inside the giant timepiece.

Legion Publishing - Critical Hits

Volume 3 No 4 - EL 2

A note about the clock

Unlike most grandfather clocks, this one is magical

and therefore has an unusual sequence of clock parts. As

the PCs ascend the clock starting at the base, they will

encounter several levels in the following order:

susceptible to surprise attacks, however, and receive a -5

modifier to their Listen skill checks.

THE BASE

The relative height of the clock is now 200' from top

to base, its width 60'. The base in which the PCs are now

trapped is 60' wide (relative to the party). The wooden

walls are impenetrable to their tiny weapons and rela-

tively weak spells. There are no visible exits in the base,

the only way is up! Climbing the walls is practically

impossible (DC 25) unless a successful Spot check is made

(DC17) in which case claw marks made by the giant Rat

(see below) can help, providing a +6 circumstance bonus

when attempting to climb.

1. Pendulum

2. The pendulum neck (bolts)

3. Gears

4. The spring

5. Time travel vortex

6. Weight

7. The clock face

8. Compass

After their eyes become accustomed to the gloom, the

PCs can examine their surroundings. Torches or lanterns

shed light on the task that lies ahead. The base is all but

empty and fairly featureless. An 8' tall paper box sitting

in the corner of the base area is home to a giant rat. This

vermin is currently asleep and, even if the party is silent,

can only be heard within the open-topped box with a suc-

cessful Listen check (DC15). If the PCs are making much

noise, apply an appropriate modifier to the DC.

Any PCs disturbing the box automatically cause the

rat to stir. It tips the box onto its side and bursts out from

the open top.

Suddenly in a shower of dust, the box wavers and

topples violently onto its side! Bursting forth from the

shower of sawdust and wood shavings bounds the

biggest rat you have ever seen! With a piercing shriek

the huge creature bounds forward, its yellowing teeth

bared and malice in its beady black eyes.

The creature attacks as it has nowhere to run and also

the party presents the opportunity for food!

All the time the PCs are in the clock, the thunderous

sound continues, the ticking of the clock amplified to ter-

rific proportions. The din of the pendulum is so terrible,

any PC not covering their ears in some way automatical-

ly suffers a -2 to all skill checks due to distraction. Elves,

Gnomes, Half-Elves and Halfling PCs get a -4 penalty on

checks due to their more acute hearing. A successful

Concentration check (DC15) prior to a skill check allows a

PC to halve the penalty. A character taking careful pre-

cautions such as stopping up their ears with cloths can

ignore the effects of the ticking. They may also be more

Giant Rat HD 4d8; 18 hp; Initiative -1 (dex,), speed

30ft, AC 14 (-1 size, -1 Dex +6natural), Attacks claws

+6 melee, bite+1 melee, Damage claws 1D8+4

bite1d6+2, Face/reach 5' by 10' by 5', Special Attacks

Improved grab, saves fort+6,ref+0,will +3, Abilities

Str 14, Dex 8, Con 15, Int -, Wis 14, Cha 9, Skills and

feats, hide +5, listen +5, spot +5, CR 2 AL neutral.

If the rat is near death it attempts to escape up the

walls of the clock. With a successful Concentration check

Legion Publishing - Critical Hits

Volume 3 No 4 - EL 2

Lore check (DC13) to reveal their footprints in the dust.

These footprints peter out beneath the huge swinging

pendulum.

(DC15), the PCs can get a +5 bonus to Spot checks to find

the path taken by the rat up the walls.

By defeating or chasing off the rat, the PCs can

examine the box. Although the nest smells strongly of rat

urine and half eaten food, there are some useful items in

the abandoned box. Within are giant spools of thread and

a giant-sized golden needle (about 6ft long!) it is worth

600gp. This can be used as a long spear (Damage1D8,

Critical x3, 9lb weight, piercing weapon). The thread is

almost inexhaustible, and can be used as a hemp rope

whilst within the clock.

THE PENDULUM

The big shape swinging 25' above the PCs' heads is a

giant pendulum. This is the best option for the PCs to

climb up the clock as it is fashioned from the backbone of

a long-dead creature. The vertebrae allow the PCs to

scale the pendulum much like climbing a ladder.

Like a gargantuan swinging ladder, the pendulum

heaves back and forth. It must be at least 80 feet tall,

vanishing into the inky blackness high overhead. Made

from what must be the polished backbone of a huge

creature, the pendulum thunders out its rhythmic

drone.

ALWAYS READ THE LABEL!

Hanging on the wall behind the box is a huge parch-

ment. Written in the giant tongue, the message reads as

follows to anyone who can decipher it.

Wherever stands this clock of mine,

Stands a piece of earth and time.

To boldly go back to the past,

Is the eagle's claw at nine to grasp.

To temp fate and break this wonder,

Will shrink and do bad things asunder.

Do not get caught confined in this spot,

For a broken spring will time forever stop.

The PCs must successfully grab the tail vertebra in

order to begin scaling the pendulum. To do this they must

somehow get to within 3' (relative to their height)

beneath the pendulum and then succeed in a standing

Jump skill check (DC15). Remember, the maximum a PC

can jump while standing is 2' plus 1' for every 8 points

above 10 on the check. The use of a jump spell enables a

PC to gain +30 to the skill check.

The clock's mechanism is powered by a magic vortex

that was captured from a miniature world in ages past.

The vortex drives the giant spring of the clock and this

in turn drives the clockwork mechanism (there is no

key required for this device). The mini vortex was

damaged by the fall when Pereaphron's spell failed

and is slowly leaking from its glass container behind

the clock face, causing the shrinking side effects to

occur. The message on the parchment refers to the

carved eagle on the mantle, and warns that should the

clock be malfunctioning (as it is at present), then those

touching it will be shrunk. This unfortunate conse-

quence is a side effect of the leaking magic vortex at

the center of the mechanism.

The party may try standing on each other's shoulders

to reach the swinging vertebrae, requiring a successful

Strength and Balance check at DC15. Alternatively, for

more adventurous PCs, a successful Use Rope check (DC15)

allows the PCs to lasso the tailbone. A successful Climb

check (DC14) then allows any PC to climb the dangling

rope.

In order to climb to the top of the pendulum, the PCs

must complete successive Climb skill checks (DC14), trav-

eling one-half the character's speed as a miscellaneous

full-round action. The character can move half that far,

one-fourth of the character's speed, as a miscellaneous

move-equivalent action. Failure at one of these Climb

checks means the character has not advanced at all for

that round, clinging to the grisly swinging pendulum

instead. Remember that characters without adequate ear

protection suffer a penalty to these checks as a result of

the deafening ticking of the clock. Eventually the party

should be able to make their painstaking way to the top

of the spine.

A successful Spot skill check (DC12) reveals two pairs

of charred footprints beneath this label, and a single

faint handprint across the last line of the label's

message. The footprints are those of the other two

"guests" inside the clock - Pereaphron's elven servants,

who the party overheard at the start of the encounter. A

character with the Track feat may attempt a Wilderness

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