Warehouses

Inns

Slum Districts

Sanction

Lava River

Stone Bridge

Temple

Army Tents

Steep Ridge

Volcano Caldron

1985 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. DRAGONLANCE is a trademark owned bv TSR, Inc.

Sample file

Official Game Adventure

Dragons of Deceitby Douglas Niles

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prologue 2Wherein the tale is told, and the story expounded thus far.

Chapter 13: The Silver Messenger 5Wherein the aftermath of battle dawns chill, but an old comrade returns.

Chapter 14: Into the Dragonlands 7Wherein a smoking city marks the center of the Dragon Queen's domain and guards the

secret of the good dragons' Oath.

Chapter 15: Sanction 12Wherein the evil city yields its vile tale.

Dungeon Master's Folio 15Wherein aids for the DM are given and much is explained.

Silvart Folio: 23Wherein the motivations and goals of the silver dragon, known to the PCs as Silvart, are

explained.

Chapter 16: The Lords of Doom 38A fiery confrontation brings freedom or death.

Chapter 17: Battle in the Skies 43Wherein the good dragons are found and the war in the air begins.

Epilogue 45Wherein hope has been found in the war against evil.

Appendices 46Wherein new races and monsters are described.

CREDITS

Editor: Mike BreaultCover Art: Larry ElmoreInterior Art: Diana MagnusonCartography: David Sutherland IIITypography: Linda BakkKeylining; Colleen O'Malley

Distributed to the book trade in the United States by RandomHouse, Inc., and in Canada by Random House of Canada, Ltd. Dis-tributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributofs. Distrib-uted in the United Kingdom by TSR UK Ltd.ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D,DRAGONLANCE, PRODUCTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION, andthe TSR logo are trademarks of TSR Inc.

This adventure is protected under the copyright laws of the UnitedStates of America. Any reproduction or other unaurhorized use of thematerial or artwork contained herein is prohibited without theexpress wrirtcn permission of TSR Inc.

8 1985 TSR Inc. All Righrs Reserved. Printed in U.S.A.

TSR Inc.POB756Lake GenevaWI 53147

Printed in U.S.A.ISBN 0-880J8-095-09137

TSR, Inc.PRODUCTS Of VOUH IMAGINATION'"

TSR UK Ltd.The Mill, Rathmore Road

Cambridge CB1 4ADUnited Kingdom

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pRoloque

"Dragons of Deceit" is the ninth module inthe epic DRAGONLANCE® series. It ends thesecond book of the DRAGONLANCE saga:"Tales of Winter Night," following "Dragonsof Ice," " Dragons of Light," and "Dragons ofWar."

The modules recreate the DRAGONLANCEstory, casting the player characters in the roles ofthe epic's heroes. Thus, it is recommended thatthis module be played as pan of the series, usingthe player characters provided. If players wish touse their own characters, however, allow them todo so, taking care that the party is as balanced asthe party included in this module.

This module may also be played as a stand-alone adventure without having played therest of the series.

The characters listed on pages 16 and 33 aresome of the heroes of the DRAGONLANCEstory. The equipment and magic items listedfor each should be used if you have not playedprevious DRAGONLANCE modules or havenot used that particular PC before.

If your party has played a previous modulein the series, however, use the equipmentlisted on the original character cards plus anyadditional items that the PCs have acquiredduring your adventures.

In DL6, "Dragons of Ice," the originalparty of PCs was split into two groups. Thismodule deals with the group that went southfrom Tarsis—the Heroes of the Lance. Theremaining heroes will return in the nextmodule, DL10.

If you do not have enough players to take allthe heroes as PCs, run the others as NPCs orallow players to run more than one character.In any event, it's a good idea to keep the partyto a size you are comfortable with.

The player character of Lord Gunthar isintroduced in this module. Any player whosecharacter met a heroic death during the battleat the High Clerist Tower should be allowed toplayer Gunthar from the start of this adven-ture. If no characters died, keep Gunthar inreserve in case a PC should die during thisadventure (in which case Gunthar appears inChapter 17).

In the DRAGONLANCE multi-moduleepic, some heroes and villains figure promi-nently in later adventures. If an importantNPC, such as Fizban, Ariakus, or Kitiara,should be slain, invoke the "obscure death"rule. This rule states that, as in Saturday after-noon matinees, the circumstances of death ofan important character should be confusedand the body not found. Later the charactermay reappear with a story of how he miracu-

notes foe the dunqeon mastep

lously survived. Sivaks, a new draconian raceintroduced in DL7, polymorph into their slay-er's likeness when killed, providing a new wayto explain the apparent death of an importantcharacter.

Remember that player characters are nolonger subject to the obscure death rule. If aPC dies, he's gone forever!

Module Sections

This adventure is divided into chapters thatlead to the conclusion of the secondDRAGONLANCE book. Although the chap-ters move toward the climax and culminationof this part of the PCs' adventures, allow yourplayers' decisions to affect the direction andcourse of the adventure. The PCs have a greatdeal of freedom in determining how they pur-sue the quest that is laid before them in thefirst chapter.

In the very center of the module is a four-page pullout folio (the Silvart Folio) on thecharacter of Dargent/Silvart. This should begiven to a player who will play Silvart (duringthis adventure only). The player controllingSilvart should not control any other PCs dur-ing this adventure.

The skill of the player controlling Silvartwill have a great bearing on the success or fail-ure of the adventure. Try to assign this charac-ter to a player with good role-playing skills!

Surrounding the Silvart Folio is a 12-pageDungeon Master reference section. This con-tains the maps needed to play the adventureas well as the Random Encounter Chart andNPC Capsules. Carefully remove both thefolio and the DM reference section.

The countersheet included in "Dragons ofDeceit" contains cardboard counters repre-senting the dragons that meet in the module'sfinal engagement—an aerial battle over theevil Temple of Luerkhisis. These counters canbe used with the BATTLEYSYSTEM™ rules oremployed simply to clarify the positions of thecharacters and their mounts during whatshould be a rather fast-moving and wild battlein a three-dimensional battlefield.

Starting Play

One player should be given the Silvart Foliofrom the center of this module and asked toplay the role of Silvart. This is a challengingpart, but the module will be much more funto play if Silvart is treated as a PC, rather thanan NPC. This is a one-time only exception tothe restriction on monster player characters,and whoever plays Silvart should regain their

usual character after this adventure.Be sure to read the folio before giving it to

the player. You, as the referee, are primarilyresponsible for making sure that Silvart abidesby the Oath.

Each chapter is divided into a series ofEvents and Encounters. The Events, listed atthe start of the chapter, occur regardless ofwhere the PCs are or what they are doing.Each event includes instructions on when touse it. Encounters, on the other hand, arekeyed to locations and occur only if the heroesgo to the appropriate places.

Occasionally an Ability Check is called foragainst one of a character's abilities (Strength,Wisdom, etc.). Roll ld20 and compare theresult with the appropriate ability score. If theroll is less than or equal to the ability, theaction succeeds; if greater than the ability, theaction fails and the character suffers the conse-quences given in the text.

New Weapon

At the start of the adventure, the player char-acters possess 20 Dragonlances—10 footman'sand 10 mounted—obtained in DL7 (unlessthese were lost or destroyed in subsequentadventuring).

There are two types of Dragonlances:mounted and footman's. The footman's lanceis eight feet long while the mounted lance istwice as long and much heavier. The mountedlance often has an attached shieldguard.

A footman's lance causes 1-6 points of dam-age versus normal foes and 1-8 against largerthan man-sized targets. Against dragons itinflicts damage equal to the hit points of thewielder (a 14-hit point fighter would cause 14points of damage to a dragon). The weapon is+ 1 to hit if held in hand; it can be cast as aspear at -2 to hit.

The mounted lance causes 3-9 points ofdamage versus normal foes and 3-18 againstlarger than man-sized targets. Againstdragons it inflicts damage equal to the hitpoints of the wielder and his mount. A 15-hitpoint fighter on a 40-hit point dragon causes55 points of damage when the lance strikesanother dragon. The mounted lance is almostexclusively mounted on the backs of dragons(see the sketches on page 28). If not mounted,the lance causes 3-18 points against dragons.The weapon is + 2 when mounted; normalwhen unmounted.

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PROloque

There are several important differencesbetween the world of Krynn and the standardAD&D® campaign world. While players whohave played previous DL adventures are famil-iar with these changes, new players should bemade aware of the following information.

Clerics

When the Queen of Darkness started her waragainst the folk of Krynn, true clerics wereunknown. Early in the war, the heroesretrieved the priceless platinum Disks of Mis-hakal.

Mishakal is the benign goddess of healingand growth. Knowledge of her existencebrought the first use of good clerical spells.Through the reading of her disks, knowledgeof the entire pantheon of the Gods of Goodhas been returned to the people.

Likewise, the Dragon Highlords of theQueen of Darkness have gained the power ofclerical spells of evil, bestowed by the Queenherself.

Clerics are still very rare on Krynn, but asknowledge of the good and evil gods spreads,their presence becomes more and more com-mon.

the WORIO of kRynn

If PCs do not have the information given onthe disks from previous modules, allow clericsto select as a deity either Mishakal or Paladine,the high god of good.

Dragons

Dragons have been absent from Krynn forcenturies, returning only with the initiation ofthe war. The only dragons most people haveseen are red, green, blue, black, and whitedragons—all creatures of highly evil nature.

Rumors persist of other dragons—copper,bronze, brass, silver, and gold—that are crea-tures of good. The PCs have met only twogood dragons thus far: Blaize, the brassdragon in DL3, and Silvan. No other gooddragons have appeared to take part in the waragainst evil.

Kender

The equivalent of a halfling in the world ofKrynn is a kender. In addition to the standardabilities and limitations of AD&D halflings,kender have the special abilities of taunt andfearlessness.

See Tasselhoffs character card for gamemechanics for these abilities, which will beusable by all PC kender (and halflings fromother campaigns).

Money

Steel is the most valuable metal in the worldof Krynn while gold is fairly common and oflittle worth.

One steel piece (stl) is the equivalent inpurchasing power of a gp in a normal AD&Dcampaign. A gold piece on Krynn is theequivalent of one sp in a standard campaign.

Player characters who enter Krynn fromother campaigns may be allowed to trade theirgold pieces for steel—though they will findtheir personal wealth greatly reduced.

Icy winds race across the desolate plains ofSolamnia. Their force concentrates at a narrowpass in the sheer Vingaard Mountains, howl-ing with banshee intensity. Firmly planted atthe summit of the pass rests the battle-scarredbulk of the High Clerist Tower.

Savage fighting has raged here since winter,for bodies litter the valley south of the keep.Many fresh graves have been excavated in anearby graveyard.

Yet this huge battle was but one small partof the Queen of Darkness's plan to crush theforces of good throughout Ansalon. There aremany more fronts to the Dragonarmy's eviloffensive.

War has raged across the continent of Ansa-lon for many months. Men, dwarves, elves,and kender have found the courage to resistthe armies of the Queen of Darkness.

The evil dragons that fly with the Queen'sarmies have proven nearly invincible on thebattlefield. The mere presence of the creaturesparalyzes most mortals with a sense of terrorand awe.

But strides have been taken to further thecause of good. Knowledge of the true gods—

the StoRy

lost for nearly three centuries—has beenregained. True clerics once again walk amongthe people of Krynn.

The knowledge needed to forgeDragonlances—knowledge lost even longerthan that of the true gods—has also beenrelearned. But even these mighty weapons arenot enough to halt the Dark Queen's hordes.

Rumors speak of other dragons—dragons ofbrass, copper, bronze, silver, and gold—whofought against the evil dragons in a war nowlost in the mists of time. Yet hope springsfrom these myths—hope that good dragonsmight still exist and might aid the cause of theWhitestone Council. This brings us to ourstory.

The heroes have bought themselves sometime with the savage battle at the High CleristTower. "Vet they realize that this only delaysthe inevitable conquest of Krynn by the DarkQueen.

In this setting, and with this knowledge,they receive a visitor—Silvart, a companionfrom a previous adventure ("Dragons ofLight"). Whether or not Dargent (the silverdragon) took the form of Silvart in DL7, she

meets and travels with the PCs in this formduring "Dragons of Deceit." Dargent willassume her true form only after the perversionof the good dragons' eggs is revealed in thisadventure.

Silvart tells the party that the key to thegood dragons' Oath lies in the evil city ofSanction, in the very heart of the DarkQueen's empire. She wishes to recruit theheroes to undertake a quest to Sanction to freethe good dragons from this oath.

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Chapter 13: the Silver messenger

The adventure in DL9 begins three days afterthe last battle at the High Clerist Tower. Threeintroductions are provided: one for playersnew to the DRAGONLANCE® saga; one forDL8 players who won the battle at the HighClerist Tower; one for players who lost the bat-tle at the High Clerist Tower.

If the players are new to the saga, the meet-ing with Silvan occurs in the city of Palanthus.If they have played DL8 and won, allow themto decide whether or not to return to Palan-thus after the battle (the meeting with Silvartoccurs wherever the PCs are). If the tower fellto the Dragonarmy, the heroes and all surviv-ing defenders will be forced to retreat toPalanthus.

If they are in the city, establish some lodg-ings for the characters and inform them thatthey have just had time to rest from the jour-ney, and are finally feeling fit and ready foraction. Any wounds inflicted in the previousadventure have healed.

Allow the player controlling Silvart/Dargent to read the Silvart Folio in the centerof the module before beginning play. All ofthe adventure beginnings require this charac-ter to visit the PCs and present them with arequest for aid.

Although you can try to summarize detailsto move the adventure quickly onto the roadto Sanction, it is recommended that youinstead allow the players to role play theencounter between Silvart and the other PCs,working out the objectives between them-selves.

events

event 1: B&ckQROunb

Read the first section of boxed text only if theplayers are new to the DRAGONLANCEsaga. Read the second section of boxed textonly to DL8 players who won the battle at theHigh Clerist Tower. The third section of boxedtext is to be read only to DL8 players who lostthat battle.

New Players

The world of Krynn—your world—reelsfrom the violence of a brutal war of con-quest. From out of the nightmares of thepast, dragons have returned to Krynn afteran absence of many years.

Aided by these serpentine monsters,armies of evil have spread across the conti-nent of Ansalon, seeking to subjugate allthe free peoples of your land. These Dra-gonarmies are made up of familiar troopslike goblins and hobgoblins, but the back-

bone of each wing of the evil armies con-sists of lizard-like creatures called dracon-ians.

Several types of draconians have beenencountered, including the small Baaz,who turn to solid statues upon death, tem-porarily imprisoning weapons within theirbodies, and the slightly larger Kapaks,who dissolve into caustic pools of acidupon death.

Two more-powerful types of draconians,the spell-casting Bozaks and the shape-shifting Sivaks, have also appeared. Theorigin of all types of draconians remains amystery.

%u have all performed valuable servicesfor the cause of good in this war, aiding thefight against evil wherever you can. Lately,a new weapon, known as the Dragonlance,has aided your side. Even this will not beenough to turn the tide.

A few weeks ago, you came together at atowering fortress, the High Clerist Tower,that blocks a narrow pass in the VingaardMountains. To your back was the great cityof Palanthus, the largest community toremain unconquered by the Dragonar-mies. Toward the tower charged the mightof an entire wing of the Dragonarmy, sup-ported by several blue dragons.

In a battle that raged for days andclaimed the lives of many friends and foes,you helped bring the Blue Wing to a halt.Now you have returned to Palanthus torest, knowing that this is only a temporarylull in the savage war.

And in Palanthus, you receive a visitor.%u recognize her as an elven maiden whosaved your lives on the island of Ergoth,where you were caught up in a feudbetween rival factions of elves.

DL8 Battle Losers

DL8 Battle Victors

The wounds of battle heal slowly, but youare the lucky ones, alive and whole afterthe horrible siege of the tower. %u have allspent time thinking of the brave warriorswho fell at the tower, buying victory withtheir lives.

Back in Palanthus, the atmosphere issubdued. No celebrations greet the newsof victory, for all know the respite is onlytemporary.

Within the city awaits a bit of goodnews: a visitor from earlier adventuring.The Kagonesti elfmaid Silvart has traveledfar to find you—a rare friend in this war-torn world!

The long retreat has been grueling, butnot panicked. The Knights have fallenback to Palanthus, well aware that there islittle hope of holding the city against aconcerted Dragonarmy attack.

Scouts report that the Dragonarmy isnot pressing the pursuit. The reason isunknown. For now, the evil forces seemcontent to occupy the captured tower. Noone doubts that the assault will comeagainst Palanthus, perhaps within the nextfew weeks.

Within the city awaits a bit of goodnews: a visitor from earlier adventuring.The Kagonesti elfmaid Silvart has traveledfar to find you—a rare friend in this war-torn world!

At this point, allow the player character ofSilvart to meet the other players. She has beenprovided with the information necessary toget the heroes aimed toward Sanction and themain action of this adventure.

This meeting can occur in any location thatthe PCs might be found, most likely theirlodgings or a place that the group frequents.

Allow the PCs to ask questions about thefeasibility of the different routes. If they havea map of Ansalon from a previous adventure,they may consult it. Do not show them thepartial map of Ansalon from this module,however!

This is the only scheduled event of Chapter13. Allow the players to proceed on their ownfrom here.

PalanthusSet in a narrow valley at the end of a long,fjord-like bay, Palanthus was the only deep-water port on Krynn to survive the Cataclysmunscathed. It is a center of learning and tradeunmatched in the world.

The buildings in Palanthus are tall andwell-built. The city is remarkably clean, withno garbage in the streets and a completeabsence of rats.

The city is poorly defended, since its found-ers placed their faith in the command of thesea approaches and the strength of the HighClerist Tower. Of course, if the tower has notfallen then the city remains fairly secure sinceit still has enough ships to retain control of thenearby seas.

Since the city serves only as a meeting andstarting place for this adventure, it is notdetailed extensively here. If you need to pro-vide more details to your players about thecity, expand upon the framework presented

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