Decks 9 and 10:Living Quarters

Deck 16: Engine Deck

DoorMachineryLadderSteam PipeCableElevator

Air VentGirderCatwalkStairs to CatwalkNo FloorCoal

NOTES

Deck 2: The entrance to Earthshaker is through adoor on Deck 1. The ladder down leads to thisdeck.

Deck 10: The two ladders on Deck 10 only godown.

Deck 13: The numbers in parentheses ( ) are theheight in feet of each pile of coal.

1 square - 10 feet

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Sample file

Companion Game Adventure

Earthshaker!David "Zeb" Cook

Editor: Steve WinterCover Artist: Clyde CaldwellInterior Artist: Ben OteroGraphic Designer: Ruth HoyerCartographer: Dave "Diesel" LaForceTypography: Kim N. Lindau

Distributed to the book trade by Random House Inc. and in Canadaby Random House of Canada, Ltd. Distributed to the toy andhobby industry by regional distributors. Distributed in the UnitedKingdom by TSR UK Ltd.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, PRODUCTS OF YOURIMAGINATION, and the TSR logo are trademarks owned byTSR, Inc.° copyright 1985 TSR Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in theU.S.A.This adventure is protected under the copyright laws of the UnitedStates of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use ofthe material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without theexpress written permission of TSR Inc.

TSR Inc.POB 756Lake GenevaWI 53147

TSR UK Ltd.The Mill, Rathmore Road

Cambridge CB14ADUnited Kingdom

TSR, Inc.

0-88038-196-5

TABLE OF CONTENTS

HOW TO RUN THIS ADVENTUREHow to Use This Module 2A Matter of Size 2

SPRINGTIME IN VYOLSTAGRADThe Patriarch's Audience 5The Chief Magistrate's Audience 5The Traveler's Audience 6

THE COMING OF EARTHSHAKER 8THE TRAVELING EXHIBITION OF WONDERS 9THE GRAND TOUR

History, Operation, and Security 10KEY TO THE EARTHSHAKER

General Descriptions 11Legs 12Living Quarters, Waist Deck 12Furnace, Boiler, and Engine Decks 14Arm, Head Decks 15

THE VILLAINS ATTACKThe Plan 17

EARTHSHAKER TRIUMPHANTEarthshaker in Motion 19The Swath of Destruction 19Aftermath 22

THE AMBASSADOR'S AUDIENCE 23THE FATE OF EARTHSHAKER 24

PLAYING AIDSPre-Rolled Characters IIThe Dominion of Vyolstagrad 13Milo's Contract and Handbill 14Generic Maps 15Head Swivel, Speaker, and Command Deck Maps 16NPCs 17

An adventure for character levels 18 to 22.

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HOW TO RUN THIS ADVENTURE

Thought your characters would never settledown? That they would never learn to appre-ciate the finer things of life? With Earth-shaker!, you can remind them of all thepleasures offered by civilization. Thismodule can be played by 4-6 characters of18th to 20th levels. It is designed for use withthe D&D® Companion Set.

If your PCs have their own dominion(s),all the events described here can take place ontheir lands. This is the easiest way to splicethe adventure into your high-level campaign.

The sun rises on a new dawn, but a shadowhangs over the land. Earthshaker, mightiestmechanical wonder of ages past, towersabove the castle. Its iron grasp holds thepower for great good or incalcuable evil. Whowill gain control of the monstrous machine,Earthshaker?

How to Use This ModuleEarthshaker! is divided into several major

sections, starting with "Springtime in Vyol-stagrad" and ending at "The Fate of Earth-shaker." These sections contain encounters,descriptions, playing aids, and adventure.You should plan on spending more than oneplaying session on this adventure, but don'tworry about finishing a set number of sec-tions per evening.

Before playing any section of Earth-shaker!, read the module thoroughly, makingnotes where necessary. If you don't have timeto read the entire booklet, at least read thesections you plan to play in the next session.

The action in this adventure centersaround a giant automaton called the Earth-shaker. Since this machine is mobile, theevents of this adventure can take place any-where in your campaign where all yourplayer characters can meet.

The Setting

While Earthshaker has no particular set-ting, it is assumed in the text that charactersare adventuring in the land of Norwold. Thesample dominion described in this adventureis somewhere near the Wyrmsteeth Range.

Norworld is part of the world that appearsin the D&D® Companion Set (Book One,page 32) and is described in CM1, Test of theWarlords. Norwold is the northernmostshaded area on the Companion Set map. It isa region that is slowly being settled; all typesof lands, from wilderness to the beginnings ofcivilization, can be found there.

If you do not have Jest of the Warlords,you can still play this adventure. Simply setthe story against a land in your world or usethe Dominion of Vyolstagrad.

The Player Characters

At the center of this module is a list of pre-rolled characters. If your players' charactersare not of high enough level, or the playersdon't want to use their normal characters, letthem use the PCs provided.

The pre-rolled PCs are designed especiallyfor this adventure. They are not entirely seri-ous characters (as this is not an entirely seri-ous adventure). Each has some feature orcharacteristic that makes him noticeably lessthan perfect. However, their abilities are nothampered by this. If your players use these'odd' characters, with all their quirks andimperfections, the adventure will be lighterand more humorous. However, do not forceplayers to use these characters.

If your players don't want to use the pre-rolled characters, let them use characters oftheir own or high-level characters providedwith other Companion modules. If yourplayers are currently using characters from aprevious module, let them continue usingthose characters. If one of the PCs rules adominion, let this adventure occur in thatPC's dominion.

The Dominion

An important part of the story of Earth-shaker! is the dominion that serves as its set-ting. Mighty events can take place in thisadventure—castles are razed, swampsdrained, lakes formed, villages crushed, eventhe course of rivers changed! If the playercharacters truly care about the dominion andwhat happens to it (especially if they have afinancial interest at stake), the drama andtension of the adventure will be that muchgreater. If it is their castle that could getcrushed flat, the player characters will bemuch more likely to worry about it!

If possible, use the dominion of a playercharacter. Do not be afraid to wreak a littledestruction and havoc on his lands. He willsurvive and rebuild. In fact, he probably willneed to do some exciting adventuring to raisethe cash he needs to repair the damages doneby Earthshaker!

If you are using the characters designed forthis module, read the following to Alphonso(and the other players):

court to oversee the preparations for thecrusade! He is set upon leading our greatknights in an expedition against the hea-thens of the wild country. This is seriousbusiness and the king has placed his per-sonal seal on the writ of summons. I can-not refuse to attend. So, Alphonso, I callupon you, my most trusted adviser, to actas Seneschal. You must attend to theduties of the dominion until I return. Youare the one who will keep my interestsclose to his heart.

"Mind the peasants and see that theyplant the manor fields first, and see that anew grindstone is ordered for the mill. Donot let Rurynva grow soft on his disciplineof the Guard. Be sure that the Warden ofthe North Hills keeps the shepherds fromthe lower pastures. Finally, Baron Sov-anya has been grumbling loudly about histaxes again. His payments are due in amonth and my spies report he has beendropping serfs from his census rolls so hecan pay less. If I am not back in threeweeks, make a grand tour of his lands andtake the reeves with you. If he pays short,place 100 lances across the ford to remindhim who his lord is.

"Remember, Alphonso, I place myfaith with you. Never lightly break youroath to me. I will return."

With that interview, Duke Nevikplaced his command with you. All whoserve him were instructed to heed yourvoice as the voice of their lord. Since thena week has passed. It has been very quietand pleasant in the time you have lookedafter your lord's affairs—thankfully so,for the Duke is kind and generous, butalso hard and exacting on those who failhim.

It was only one week ago when your lord,Duke Nevik, called you to his side. "Ah,Alphonso! My most faithful knight andcompanion, I have news for you. KingEricall has summoned me to appear at his

Give the player the map of Duke Nevik'sdominion (on page 13) and let him study it,answering any questions about the land.(Don't let the players look at the back of themap.) When the player feels familiar withthe lay of the dominion, begin the adventure.

A Matter of SizeAn important thing to understand before

you begin playing this adventure is just howbig the Earthershaker is. It helps the adven-ture if your players are constantly aware ofthe sheer size of the problem that Earthshakerpresents to their dominion.

Earthshaker stands 1,280 feet tall. Beloware some comparisons you can use to showwhat this means to the player characters.

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1. Imagine the length of a football field. Nowimagine four football fields stacked end toend on top of each other. Earthshaker isstill taller than this.

2. Earthshaker stands taller than the highestdam in the modern world.

3. Earthshaker is taller than the EmpireState Building (102 stories tall) or the Eif-fel Tower.

4. If you have a 25mm metal miniature, setit on the floor. Now, take a tape measureor yardstick and measure off 17' 6 ". (Thismay take two rooms, or you might have todo it outside.) Place another metal minia-ture at the end of this line. The spacebetween the two miniatures is the size ofEarthshaker in 25mm scale (the same sizeas the figure). If your players still havetrouble visualizing this, point out that in25mm scale, Earthshaker's head wouldcome up to about the second-story win-dow of a normal house.

Furthermore, most everything insideEarthshaker is gigantic and oversize. Usevivid descriptions to convey this—all pistonsare huge, gears massive, cables as thick asarms, etc. Only those things that are used bycharacters (ladders, stairs, etc.) are not onthis gigantic scale.

Use these examples (and any others thatyou may discover) to give your players a trueunderstanding of the size of Earthshaker.Once they are aware of how big it is, they willtreat the automaton with a great deal morerespect. They will quickly realize that Earth-shaker, if maliciously used, could flatten anybuilding in the dominion, even the largeststronghold.

The Maps

Because the adventure takes place inside ofEarthshaker, there are many maps for thecritical areas of the machine. These maps arelocated on the inside of the module cover andon the central pull-out pages. However,much of Earthshaker is empty space filledonly with catwalks, elevators, ropes, ladders,pipes, and girders. Instead of giving maps forevery inch of Earthshaker, two geomorphicmaps of the empty areas have been included.Whenever the characters have an encounterin an unmapped area, you can use either ofthese geomorphs. None of the geomorphs aremarked with north and south, so you canchoose which side of the geomorph will benorth, etc. Furthermore, if the charactersfind the catwalk they are on leads off to emptyspace, don't worry. The interior layout ofEarthshaker does not always need to makesense to the players. It is, after all, a great

wonder.If the player characters return to an area

where a specific geomorph had been used, donot worry about trying to use the samegeomorph in the same position. If the playerscomplain, explain that the characters weremistaken—that they arrived on a level 10'below the one they were on or 30' to the side.

Operating Earthshaker

Earthshaker is a gigantic, fantasy machine.As a machine, many workers are required tofuel, oversee, and maintain it. These workersare a clan of gnomes who permanently liveinside. Earthshaker is their clan stronghold,so all the normal accouterments of the clanare found here, including their Relic.

The Clanmaster and the Keeper of theRelic share the responsibility of managingEarthshaker. The Clanmaster, Krazmos,handles the day-to-day operations of Earth-shaker and the clan. He settles disputeswithin the clan, grants leave, provides fueland water for Earthshaker, and handles alldealings with the circus owner, Milos For-miesias. The Keeper of the Relic, Gryzix, isresponsible for his normal duties of the reli-gious life of the clan. In addition, he super-vises the training of the workers for thevarious machines that power Earthshaker.This knowledge is granted to him by his god(and the Relic) as it is needed. Thus,although he trains the others, Gryzix reallydoesn't know how to operate Earthshakerhimself. Krazmos, Gryzix, and Milos aredescribed on the NPCs page.

The gnomes are keenly aware of the awe-some power of Earthshaker and of theirimportance as its operators. This has madethem intensely secretive about how themachine works. Children are expected toassume their father's post when he dies. The

father is expected to train his children beforehe dies. Each gnome knows how to operateonly a small portion of the machine. Should afather die before he can pass on his knowl-edge, Gryzix (through his god) completes thetraining.

The gnomes also know that each piece ofmachinery and each worker's job is vital tothe overall operation of Earthshaker. Theywill not willingly kill another gnome ordestroy any item of machinery onboard,since this could bring Earthshaker to a halt.The machinery onboard is quite ancient andmany of the skills needed to repair or build itare now lost. For the purposes of the adven-ture, once an item is damaged, it is unusablefor the rest of the adventure.

Since tours of Earthshaker are sold as amoney-making attraction, the gnomes haveall been instructed to be pleasant and helpfulat all times. However, to keep a determinedfoe from learning how to operate the automa-ton by patiently and carefully questioningeach gnome during casual visits, the Keeperhas devised a jargon that can be used whenanswering any questions about the machine.Whenever a player character asks a gnomewhat he is doing or how something works, usethe jargon lists to create a reply. For eachblank space in the sentences below, choose aword from the appropriate list.

1. "Well, this (List 1) connects to the (List1), by which I (List 2) the (List 3) before itgets to the (List 1)''

2. "I (List 2) this (List 1) so that when we(List 4) the (List 1) will stay within properlimits."

3. "Each time he (List 2) the (List 1), I (List2) the (List 1) so that the (List 1) will (List2) the (List 3) when we (List 4)."

List 1valvepressure feedfurnacepistoncoolant linegovernorgearboxcabletake-up drumsafety valveintake fanbellowspumppistonbleederdrain port

List 2regulatewatchopenclosebalancecut-inoverridehaul upshut offadjustincreasepumpprimelower

List 3water pressuresteam pressuretemperaturegear ratiostorque speedcoolantforward impetusenergy constantairflowkinetic thrustinternal tensiondensity

List 4bendtake a stepreachstoptwistspeakmove a fingerkneelnodrunraise an arm

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Damaging Earthshaker

Once the action begins in The Earth-shaker, the characters will undoubtably try tostop the mechanical monster by damagingthe internal machinery. In some cases, theresult is specified in the Key. In many places,however, the result is not specified. Use thefollowing rules to handle these situations.

Using weapons and spells against the outerhull, decks, and various girders ofEarthershaker is not particularly significant.Earthshaker automatically makes its savingthrow against any attack where a savingthrow is allowed. In addition, even on attacksthat have no saving throw, Earthshaker has asaving throw value of 8. These attacks causeonly half their normal damage or, in the caseof all-or-nothing spells, no damage. There-fore, consider the results as having no or verylimited effect.

Even on things that can be damaged,weapons and spells may have less than thedesired effect. All machines on Earthshakerare made to withstand great heat and pres-sure, so fire-based spells have no effect. Dis-integrate spells can only destroy a limitedarea (10' x 10' x 5'). Likewise, weaponsof + 2 or less will not accomplish anythingagainst the machinery and will only get dullfrom being bashed around.

If a character uses a spell, weapon, barehands, or whatever to successfully damageEarthshaker, consult the Earthshaker Dam-age Table to find the result.

EARTHSHAKER BREAKDOWNTABLE

DamagePts.

1-3031-5051-7071-9091-99

100

Effect

No breakdown.One arm no longer works.Neither arm works.Earthshaker cannot bend over.There is a 20% chance eachturn that result A fromThe Earthshaker Damage Tablewill occur, except that Earthshakerdoes not acquire any additionaldamage points.Earthshaker is immobilized.

EARTHSHAKER DAMAGE

DiceRoll

01-1011-2021-3031-4041-5051-6061-7071-8081-9091-00

Machinery Type

Non-essential Typical

— —

— —— A— A— B— BA BE E

TABLE

Critical

—AABBCDDE

— The action has no effect on the opera-tion of Earthshaker.

A There are sparks, steam, an explosion(or whatever is appropriate) and allwithin 10 feet suffer 3-30 points ofdamage (save vs. Breath for half dam-age). Earthshaker takes 1 damagepoint.

B All the effects of A apply, except thatthe item damaged is badly broken andEarthshaker takes 5 damage points.

C There is a massive explosion ofsteam, fire, and flying metal. Allwithin 30 feet suffer 5-50 points ofdamage (save vs. Breath for half dam-age) and Earthshaker suffers 10 dam-age points.

D All the effects of B take place. In addi-tion, the damage may have caused achain reaction. Roll once more on thesame column and apply the result.

E All the effects of C take place. In addi-tion, a serious chain reaction mayoccur. Roll once on the next highestcolumn and apply the result.

NONESSENTIAL machinery includesrandom pipes, gears, cables, and whateverelse you desire or can think of.

TYPICAL machinery includes gearboxes, cable drums, valves, governors, andthe like.

CRITICAL machinery includes controlpanels, banks of valves or levers, or otheritems that you decide are important to theoperation of Earthshaker.

As the PCs damage Earthshaker, it willstart to suffer damage points. You shouldkeep track of the total damage points Earth-shaker has taken and compare them to theEarthshaker Breakdown Table to find theoverall effect.

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SPRINGTIME IN VYOLSTAGRAD

It's springtime in Vyolstagrad! Indeed, itis a glorious spring morning. The sunshines brightly through the windows ofthe audience chamber. Starlings and mar-tins land at the windows and flutter awayagain. Across the town, smoke driftslazily. Peasants clamber on their roofs,tying down new bundles of thatch andrepairing stork nests in anticipation of thebirds' arrival. Matrons shoo geese out ofthe garden plots while the men yoke theoxen for work in the fields. Only in theshadowed glades do the patches of snowlinger, crocuses and lily-of-the-valleypushing up through the icy crust. Allseems good and well in Vyolstagrad.

Unfortunately, you cannot join in thisrelaxing pastoral scene for you have thebusiness of Vyolstagrad to attend to. Thismorning is devoted to audiences. First thepatriarch of the town has requested audi-ence. Then there is a matter of murder thechief magistrate has referred to you.Lastly, a traveler has petitioned the courtfor special audience concerning a matterfor a special trade charter. These tasks cer-tainly will occupy your entire morning.

patriarch makes a slight bow and extendshis hand.

Let the PC seneschal decide who will bepresent at the audiences and who will not.Obviously, he must attend and any other PCswho wish can remain, since none of the dis-cussions are of a secretive nature. If playercharacters do not want to attend, they canspend the time in the town, attending tominor affairs of their own. After these deci-sions have been made, the herald announcesthe first audience.

The Patriarch's Audience

The doors of the audience chamber swingopen and the herald, standing in the cen-ter of the doorway, calls loudly for all tohear. "His Eminence Alexis Vatutin,patriarch of Vyolstagrad of the kingdomof Norwold!" Turning, he bows in thedirection of the procession comingthrough the doors.

Leading this group is a white-robedcleric, bearing the staff-mounted holysymbol of the patriarch. Behind him isAlexis Vatutin, the patriarch, dressed inhis white and gold robes, his thick blackbeard reaching to his stomach. Beside himis a young acolyte, bearing parchment,ink, and a quill.

The group stops before the dais and the

The patriarch expects some type of recog-nition of his high position from the playercharacter. You should decide what is appro-priate, but nothing as slight as a handshakewill do. If the character fails to make therequired gesture (or something similar to it),the patriarch will be put out and offended forthe rest of the conversation.

The patriarch has come to announce twothings. The first is that he has been called tohis religion's main temple to take part in theannual spring ceremonies. These duties willkeep him out of Vyolstagrad for severalweeks, but during that time the lower clericswill tend to the needs of the dominion. Ofcourse, he will be in occasional contact andwill receive complete reports of what has hap-pened.

Secondly, he has come to remind the courtthat it is springtime and it is customary forthe duke to arrange a planting holiday for thepeasants. He points out that the last winterwas particularly harsh and the harvest poorbefore that. Already the holiday is overdueand the peasants are beginning to grumble.He certainly cannot look after their spiritualwelfare if their lord will not attend to theirtemporal needs.

Always in the past the duke has held gener-ous holidays, arranging for entertainments,feasts, and generous alms-giving. Should theholiday this year be any less, the patriarchwarns, the people will begin to lose faith andlove for the lord. With the evil forces of themountains not too distant, this could createserious trouble. He strongly suggests that theholiday be held soon, within the next fewweeks.

If the players check the information thataccompanies the dominion map, they willfind that the hard winter has also seriouslydepleted the financial resources of the domin-ion. However, the patriarch's warning aboutthe need for a splendid holiday is serious. Ifasked, the duke's advisers concur with thepatriarch to impress the gravity of the situa-tion on the player characters. Should theplayer characters refuse to hold the holiday,the Dominion Confidence level drops 20points within a week.

The Chief Magistrate'sAudience

"May Vyolstagrad grow and prosperunder the guidance of your hand in theabsence of its sovereign lord, and may youalways receive the blessing of he who issupreme above all things." The onlookersmake the response and with these wordsthe patriarch's entourage turns and leavesthe audience hall.

As the group files out of the hall, theherald steps forward again. "The Honor-able Baron Aethelwulf, son of Ealhmund,chief magistrate of Vyolstagrad!" Withthis he steps aside and the chief magis-trate, dressed in black, fur-trimmedrobes, enters the chamber. Coming to thefoot of the dais, he kneels, bowing his headbefore you.

The door swings open and the patriarchraises his hand to invoke a benediction.

Baron Aethelwulf will not begin his audi-ence until ordered by the PC seneschal to riseand speak. It is expected that this commandwill come quickly. Should the PC forceAethelwulf to kneel very long, the chief mag-istrate takes it as a deliberate slight, puttinghim in a bad mood for the rest of the audi-ence.

The chief magistrate has come to present acase of murder to the PC, since the nature ofthe case is such that he cannot render a judg-ment himself. As final arbitrator of justice inthe dominion, the PC must make the disposi-tion on the case.

As the chief magistrate explains it, the factsof the case are this:

One week ago, a knight of Stamtral (or aneighboring dominion from your campaign)was in the lands of Vyolstagrad. AlthoughVyolstagrad now holds an uneasy peace withStamtral, relations in the past have notalways been good. Indeed, in previous years,this same knight led several raids against theborders of Vyolstagrad. This knight,Heimgarlson by name, was noted for his sav-agery and prowess.

During his travel through the dominion,the knight had cause to stop for the night inthe village of Stryna. There he was set uponby Ruva Kolchitsky, a burgomeister of thevillage, and slain. Although this Kolchitskyattempted to flee to the wildlands after thedeed, the sheriffs were swift in the executionof their duty and captured him.

That Kolchitsky had done the deed there isno doubt, as many of the villagers were wit-nesses. Under threat of torture, Kolchitskyreadily confessed to the crime. In his defense,however, Kolchitsky offered evidence thatHeimgarlson had been responsible for thedeath of Kolchitsky's parents, wife, and chil-dren during one of his previous raids. These

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