Centuries ago, when the mysterious Pactmasters first came to Katapesh from parts unknown, they sought to create an economic empire that could bring goods from the western nations of Osirion, Thuvia, and Rahadoum overland to the rich coasts of northeastern Garund, from whence they could easily reach the fabulous markets of the Distant East. One method they used to calm the savage humanoids and barbarians of the nation’s interior was the creation of numerous battle markets in small villages throughout Katapesh. Each battle market was a multi-level bazaar, tavern, and entertainment arena designed to keep traders safe from brigands and spread wealth to the impoverished folk of the heartland. One such battle market stood at the heart of the village of Kelmarane.
Months ago the call went out that the new chieftain of the Kulldis tribe sought to reopen Kelmarane’s market as a haven for gnolls, bandits, and other folk not usually welcome in the cosmopolitan bazaars of Katapesh. As a result, a small gathering of disreputable merchants has moved into the edifice, and coins once more trade hands in the battle market of Kelmarane. Because Kardswann and his tribe are expecting visitors, the battle market is far easier than the PCs might expect to infiltrate. In fact, once they make it past the guardians on the road leading up Kelmarane’s hill, the PCs can simply walk in the battle market’s front door, even if Kardswann suspects the PCs are enemies (since here, at the seat of his power, the genie feels safe enough to handle the PCs).
The battle market is a three-story circular stone fortress with massive doors at each of the four cardinal direction points. The east, north, and west doors remain closed and locked, while the southern doors stand wide open, awaiting new customers to Kardswann’s revived market. A large skylight about 30 feet wide allows the sun to light the building’s interior, while torches in sconces along the walls illuminate the battle market in the evenings. Climbing the 60-foot-tall exterior requires three successive Level 4(12) Climb checks—once the roof is reached, it’s relatively easy to lower oneself through the skylight and onto the observation deck at area C15.
Aside from this roof portal, the battle market contains no windows leading to the outside. There are no toilets in the battle market, so visitors often relieve themselves in the ruins outside or in an abandoned corner of one of the many unused interior chambers.
Battle Market Locks: Many of the doors in the battle market are locked, but these locks are old and decrepit. Unless otherwise noted, these locks can be picked with a Level 4(12) Open Lock check. Keys for the locks in the battle market are carried by Kardswann, his flind advisor Ugruk, the harpy Undrella, and any paying guests of area C8.
Abandoned Stores: Open arches along the east and west walls of this spacious chamber lead to what must once have been a permanent shop. Empty shelves line the interior walls, and numerous partially collapsed and destoyed crates lie heaped on the floor. These chambers, marked on the map with an “S,” were once used as permanent storefronts, and have been long abandoned.
The primary inhabitants of the battle market are the gnolls of the Kulldis tribe, but other creatures dwell here too. Some of these other creatures are disreputable merchants who have set up shop in the market, some are smugglers and con-artists seeking a quick payday, and some are combatants who seek glory, fame, and riches on the market’s battle stage (area C3). Unique denizens of the market have their own stat blocks presented where they are most likely to be encountered.
The bulk of the Kulldis gnolls are standard members of their race, savage humanoids armed with battleaxes and shortbows and armored with heavy steel shields and leather armor. In all, the Kulldis pack numbers 29 strong (26 standard gnolls, a cowardly “bartender” named Kurellak, Ugruk the flind, and Kardswann himself ). The gnolls generally break into small packs of four each, and can be encountered in the Kelmarane hinterlands, the ruined village itself, or here in the battle market. Keep track of how many the PCs slay, since that number should reduce the total remaining here.
An enormous set of double doors stands wide open, revealing a torchlit passage beyond. About fifteen feet within the hall, on the left, stands a sturdy wooden door. Across the hall is another open passage leading east, curving with the contours of the battle market. The central hall proceeds perhaps fifty feet before opening into a large well-lit cavernous chamber that seems to be centered around a huge circular stage.
This entrance is left open all hours of the day and night, except in the case of an all-out attack on the ruins by the PCs and their allies. In such a case, the doors can be closed and locked (Level 4 (12) Open Lock). In Kelmarane’s past, all four entrances to the battle market were kept open, but Kardswann now keeps only this southernmost entrance unlocked for security reasons. The other exterior doors are locked (Level 4 (12) Open Lock), but can be unlocked with any battle market key carried by numerous NPCs in the area.
Creature: A goblin clad in a colorful jester’s outfit is posted at this entrance at all hours. The tired creature is Jank, an odds-and-ends peddler who came to the market about a month ago and was subsequently adopted by Kardswann as his major domo. Kardswann doesn’t let the goblin take breaks, and Jank tries to catch a few hours of sleep here as he can when the genie’s not looking—he’s certainly too craven to ask for a more lenient schedule.
The fawning, sycophantic manikin offers the PCs his genuine greeting, hoping to lure them to the stage for a brief discussion with the “Mouth of the Carrion King” (Kardswann), who sits on his throne on the observation deck at area C15. “Welcome, welcome!” the goblin rasps, jangling a short wand topped with a series of tiny bells. “You have been expected! The Mouth of the Carrion King seeks an audience with you immediately! This way, this way!” he says, beckoning toward the central chamber and the wooden stage.
It’s possible (perhaps likely) that the PCs simply charge in with their swords swinging. In this case Jank flees with a shriek and the entire structure erupts into chaos. The goblin and his master are hoping for a more civilized outcome, however, and should the PCs approach without hostility, Jank does nothing to betray them (at least until they are standing on the battle stage).
Jank
A goblin clad in a colorful jester’s outfit.
Health: 4
Damage: 2 damage
Armor: 1; Level 2 Speed Defense
Movement: Short
Modification: Tasks related to perception, stealth, and setting traps as level 5.
Languages: Common, Goblin
Combat: Goblins attack from the shadows with ambushes and hit-and-run tactics. When they have surprise, goblins attack as a level 4 creatures and deal 2 additional points of damage, and they attempt to draw lager prey into level 5 traps they've previously set. They often flee in the face of real danger.
Equipment: piecemeal leather armor, goblin cutter (small blade), shortbow with 20 arrows
Morale: Jack will immediately run and hide if there is any hostile action.
Two sets of stairs lead up to a second floor landing on either side of the battle market. The inside walls of both landings are open to the main outer ring of the structure’s second level.
The battle market’s four entry halls lead into a huge arena-like room dominated by a massive circular wooden stage, its surface smeared and sticky with blood. Two rows of terraced benches surround the stage, which is bathed in natural light from a large open circular hatch in the citadel’s roof far above. Torches illuminate a darkened gallery of compact market stalls in the eastern half of the first floor’s inner wall. A raised platform along the northwest curve of the inner wall sports four round tables, several wooden chairs, and a long bar stocked with numerous bottles of distilled spirits.
About twenty feet above is an open balcony, beyond which lie a series of small rooms on an upper floor of the market. Several rows of empty bleachers peer down from the edge of the balcony. Twenty feet above the second floor a half-circle balcony marks the highest of the citadel’s terraces. Three thrones look down from this vantage, each positioned to give a commanding view of not only the stage below but the entire market.
This central platform serves the battle market as an arena—in Kelmarane’s day, the stage saw mock battles, contests, performances, and all matter of entertainment. Under the gnolls’ watch, though, the entertainments offered here are much more violent and brutal. Many thugs, savages, and hopeful warriors have gravitated to the region and regularly pit their lives against other foes (some volunteer, some supplied by Kardswann) for chances at riches and glory.
As long as the PCs behave themselves and stay off the stage, they’ll be free to move about the battle market relatively uncontested. As soon as they pick a fight, or worse, as soon as they step onto the stage, things quickly get dicey.
Make sure to familiarize yourself with the occupants of the surrounding areas, particularly the occupants of the bar at area C5 and the stalls at area C4. If the PCs step up onto the stage (either on their own or after following Jank’s request), they quickly become the center of attention—all of the surrounding humanoids grow silent with an expectant excitement, assuming the PCs are the latest entertainment.
Moments after the PCs step onto the stage, a figure seated in the largest throne up in area C15 above stands—a 7-foot-tall armored bald human man armed with an enormous greataxe. The man stands and speaks down to the PCs with a booming voice that echoes throughout the entire structure.
“I am Kardswann, Mouth of the Carrion King, Chieftain of the Kulldis Tribe and master of this village. Tell me, what business brings you to Kelmarane?”
If the PCs have been sneaking into town and picking off his gnoll patrols one-by-one, Kardswann already has a good idea what the PCs want, but he is eager to hear it directly from their mouths. If the PCs claim to be interested in trade, the genie warns them that so long as they keep their weapons to themselves, they are welcome to enjoy the hospitality of the battle market. If they wish to negotiate or demand that the gnolls abandon Kelmarane, he toys with them for a while, refusing to leave his perch 40 feet above the battle stage. When he tires of this, he says:
“Enough!” Kardswann yells. “I tire of your disruption. It is time that this battle stage be put to use.” The chieftain raises both arms into the air. “Honored guests,” he roars. “I offer you 500 pieces of gold for each of the strangers’ corpses!”
Things go bad quickly from this point, but the PCs have the inherent disorganization of the denizens of the battle market on their side. Not everyone in the building attacks them at once—some prefer to watch the fight to gauge the PCs’ strengths, and plan on stepping in to attack once the PCs are tired and wounded. Others simply don’t have an interest in taking part in the battle. But many jump at the chance to earn some of Kardswann’s promised gold.
When the battle breaks out, Jank immediately flees to area C11 on the second level. The bartender, Kurellak, will not fight under any circumstances and is not above begging for his life should the PCs dispatch the opposition.
Kardswann has little interest in remaining behind to watch the battle, leaving Ugruk behind to watch the event and alert him if the PCs do anything unexpected as the genie leaves the observation balcony for the market guard headquarters in area C12. There he warns his personal guard of the fight brewing on the main floor, casts his preparatory spells upon himself, and eventually leads his guards to a final confrontation with the PCs.
If Kardswann issues his bounty for the PCs’ bodies, the battle likely develops as outlined here. Try to space out the appearance of these adversaries by a few rounds so as not to overwhelm the PCs. If, on the other hand, the PCs make short work of their enemies (or you expect them to based on prior experience), have all of the enemies pile on at once.
Round 1: Hurvank the Strangler (see area C8d) is first to reach the stage—he fights barehanded, and is able to barrel up onto the stage from the bar almost immediately as a result.
Round 3: The bugbears (see area C5) at the bar take a few rounds to gather their weapons and finish their drinks before bounding up onto the stage to join the fight.
Round 5: The patrol of gnolls from area C7 joins the fray.
Round 6: The gnolls in area C11 join the fight from the balcony above, firing arrows down on the PCs if they remain on stage, or moving to a position to do the same if the PCs can’t be fired upon from the balcony.
Round 8: The three smugglers are an optional foe—whether or not the smugglers attack is up to you. This adventure assumes that the smugglers simply watch the entertainment and do not take part, as combat is not where they excel. If you think the smugglers would make interesting NPCs after the PCs have settled Kelmarane, they decide to play it safe and not to attack the PCs. Otherwise, the smugglers join the fray on this round.
Round 10: If the PCs haven’t defeated the schir demon, it enters the battle market at this point, roars, and charges into the fray; it doesn’t care about the gold, but the sound and smell of battle have aroused its bloodlust. If the PCs are having problems, the demon could attack indiscriminately, giving the PCs a chance perhaps to flee as the other combatants are suddenly forced to defend themselves from a crazed demon.
The 10 small stalls east of the battle stage were designed to hold the wares of traveling merchants drawn to the battle market by crowds and coin. Most of the floors of these stalls are strewn with debris, but the stalls in C4a, C4b, and C4c contain an assortment of goods displayed on wagons or spread out upon blankets on the floor. Statistics for the stalls’ proprietors are provided in area C5, since the three smugglers spend most of their time getting drunk in the battle market’s bar, anxiously awaiting customers who never seem to come. Of course, they can see their stalls from area C5, and if anyone starts poking around, the proprietor is swift to appear.
C4a: This stall, managed by the male human smuggler Gorundal, contains one of every piece of adventuring gear listed in the PH. Most of the items are slightly damaged or of shoddy construction.
C4b: This stall contains several small racks displaying thin vials filled with multi-colored liquids, crumbs of tarry resin, or bits of colorful plants. All of these are addictive narcotics, ranging from pesh to flayleaf to shiver. Consult page 54 of the Pathfinder Chronicles Guide to Korvosa for details, or improvise statistics of your own for these quasi-legal substances. The proprietor of this “shop” is a twitchy human female smuggler named Kalyx. All told, her stash is worth 450 gp.
C4c: The blankets lining the floor here display at least three of all of the “special substances and items” listed in the PH, from acid to tindertwigs. The proprietor is a railthin male human smuggler named Juluce. His inventory is worth 550 gp.
A long bar with a huge collection of varicolored glass bottles against the outside wall perches upon a raised section of the main chamber here. The south and east walls are solid, but the curved inner line of the room on the map depicts where the raised floor begins and ends. The tavern contains four tables with chairs for drinkers not interested in the battle at the center of the room. Food smells rise from behind the bar, filling the battle market with the redolence of cooking meat.
Creatures: A one-eyed, cowardly gnoll named Kurellak plays at bartender here, although his skills are mostly limited to simply taking money and handing over bottles of cheap wine, ale, and beer stolen from elsewhere. His standard customers are a trio of surly bugbears who moonlight as brigands and three human smugglers who maintain stalls in area C4.
Unless offered a bounty by Kardswann, the ruffians dwelling in the bar do not attack the PCs unprovoked. The smugglers treat them as potential customers, engaging them in chatter and attempting to lead them to the stalls in area C4 in hopes of making a sale. These three smugglers are named Gorundal, Kalyx, and Juluce—all three of them are second-level human experts, but since they’re unlikely to be brave enough to fight, no stats are given for them.
The extraordinarily gruff bugbears don’t appreciate the company of strangers. They’re here to watch their champion, Hurvank the Strangler, defeat all challengers on the battle stage. It’s been 2 weeks since the last challenge, and the bugbears are beyond bored. Kardswann continues to hint that “it would be very dangerous” for them to leave, so they remain in the battle arena, unsure of their fate.
Several chambers line the inside wall of this passage, including a market guard outpost, various prison cells, and the private quarters of the traveling gladiators who visit the battle market. All doors leading to and from this passage are kept locked.
Creatures: The battle market’s primary security patrol of four gnolls spends most of its time in this chamber, rotating with the three gnoll patrols in Kelmarane and the environs and the two groups in areas C11 and C12. The doors on the north and south wall are opened with the same key that allows access to area C6 and the other chambers off that hallway.
Hunched and feral, this furred, hyena-headed humanoid stands slightly taller than the average human.
Health: 8
Armor: 2
Damage: battleaxe 4 damage + bite 2 damage
Movement: Short
Modification: Darkvision
Languages: Gnoll
Combat: Gnolls relish combat, but only when they have the obvious advantage of numbers. In other situations, they prefer to avoid combat except as a means of winning a kill from another hunter, or as a clever ambush to bring down a large meal. These hyena-men see no value in courage or valor, instead preferring to flee once it becomes clear that victory is not possible, noting that it is better to run with tail tucked away than to lose one’s tail entirely.
During combat, gnolls use a strange mixture of pack tactics and individual standoffs. If a gnoll feels that it is winning, it attempts to take down a weaker being rather than aiding its fellows. If the gnolls are struggling, they gang up on a powerful leader and try to take that creature down, in the hopes of forcing its allies to flee.
Equipment: leather armor, heavy wooden shield, battleaxe, longbow with 20 arrows.
Morale: Gnolls will retreat if their health drops below 3.
Treasure: If any PCs are captured during the course of the adventure, the gnolls keep their gear in a closet in this chamber. The closet also includes the gear of the slain members of the Lions of Senara. In total, the trove contains: a ring of protection +1, a cloak of resistance +1, masterwork chainmail, a +1 dagger, a wand of bull’s strength (8 charges), 4 applications of silversheen, an amulet of natural armor +1, a cloak of Charisma +2, and slippers of spider climbing. Additionally, the closet contains the cleric Oxvard’s (see page 30) +1 splint mail and cold iron heavy mace. If these are returned, the surviving members of the Lions of Senara willingly turn over the gear of their dead companions to the PCs.
These small quarters are meant to house prisoners or traveling gladiators—Kardswann prefers gladiators since he can charge them rent. Each features a bed and a desk. Kardswann occasionally pits the prisoners and gladiators against one another, an event that may give imprisoned characters an opportunity to escape.
C8a: This room contains the last of the captured Lions of Senara. The captive member of the Lions of Senara is Oxvard, a cleric of Abadar. The man has only 2 health and no spells remaining, and quickly befriends his rescuers. He tells his saviors that he came to Kelmarane with five other members of his party, explorers from the distant nation of Cheliax seeking treasure in the far-off deserts of Katapesh. He’s already seen several of his companions murdered by the foul gnolls, but believes that his friend Felliped may yet live. Felliped escaped the gnolls recently, but Oxvard suspects his friend hasn’t been able to escape the village entirely and has been forced to hide out in one of the ruined buildings. The Lions of Senara were imprisoned on the first of three floors in the battle market, and Oxvard knows relatively little of the place’s interior layout.
C8b-C8c: If the gnolls capture any PCs in the course of the adventure, they are imprisoned in one of these cells.
C8d: This room houses the ogre wrestler Hurvank the Strangler. The leader of the three bugbears in area C5, Hurvank has claimed this room for himself, although he spends most of his time in the tavern since he finds this room to be a little too cozy for his frame. His bugbear toadies get to sleep on the floor of the battle market or bar or wherever they can find the space. Hurvank has made a fair amount of money from his wrestling bouts with prisoners and captured beasts on the battle stage, but he fears his fame in the battle arena is waning ever since he lost a bout against the swashbuckler Haleen several days ago. Ever since, he’s been plotting a way to kill Haleen, but his newfound fear of her swift blade has so far made every plan he’s come up with to kill her crash before he’s gotten the plan off the ground. He may ask the PCs to do his dirty work for him, promising them 100 gp in return for the deed (a promise he full well intends on not keeping). Hurvank the Strangler CR 2
This creature’s python-thick apish arms and stumpy legs conspire to drag its dirty knuckles through the wet grass and mud. The stooped giant blinks its dim eyes and an excess of soupy drool spills over its bulbous lips. Its misshapen features resemble a man’s face rendered in watercolor, then distorted by a careless splash. It snarls as it charges, a sound the offspring of bear and man might make, showing flat black teeth well suited for grinding bones to paste.
Motive: Hungers for flesh, sadistic
Health: 15
Damage: 7 damage
Armor: 2
Movement: Short
Modification: Feats of raw strength as level 6; Intellect defense and seeing through deception as level 2; Speed defense as level 2 due to size.
Combat: During Combat Hurvank likes to feel his foe’s last gasp at life, and fights unarmed as a result. He prefers to attack foes who aren’t heavily armored, but note his Morale below. Morale Until recently, Hurvank was a blustery and fearless beast, but his recent humiliating defeat in a fight against Haleen has given him a fear of agile opponents. He normally fights to the death, but if faced with a foe who uses Combat Expertise or Weapon Finesse, he panics and flees if he ever fails to hurt the foe after 2 rounds of attacks, or if he takes more than 10 points of damage from such a foe. If he flees, Hurvank does not return to the battle market, but he certainly hides out in the surrounding wilderness and makes plans to ambush and murder his new enemy if he gets the chance.
Bash: If an ogre strikes a foe smaller than itself, either the victim is knocked back up to 5 feet, or it is dazed and the difficulty of its next action is increased by one step.
Strangle: The ogre grabs a target (level 6) and starts to strangle them for 4 damage. The target is dazed and the difficulty of their next action is increased by one step.
Morale: When their prey turns out to be more dangerous than they thought, the rare moment of good sense seizes ogres; they flee if reduced to less than 3 health.
C8e: This room houses the swashbuckler Haleen. Gruff and eager to prove her battle prowess, the swordswoman has become friends with the smugglers in area C5, but she is her own woman and prefers to travel alone. Haleen was recently forced to flee from her home town after an unfortunate series of events left her owing a lot of money to a local criminal. She wandered the wilds for some time before finally coming to Kelmarane, and hopes now to earn back the 2,000 gp she owes without having to resort to selling her heirlooms (her buckler and rapier) by fighting for gold in the battle market. So far, she’s managed to defeat every foe Kardswann’s arranged for her to fight, thanks to a combination of skill, speed, and luck; her latest triumph over the ogre Hurvank has left the creature dangerously humiliated, and she’s now worried that he’s planning to kill her. She’s spent much of her free time lately hiding out in here as a result, unaware of the fact that her defeat of the bugbear has left him even more afraid of her than she is of him.
If the PCs agree to help her deal with Hurvank, Haleen could well develop into a loyal friend. Alternatively, she may already be tied to one of the PCs; she might be a missing sister one of the PCs is looking for (see the sidebar on Resolving Campaign Traits on page 8 for more details). In ether case, exact details on Haleen’s history and goals are left vague so you can tailor her to fit the specific needs of your campaign.
You see a lean dark-haired swordswoman with her hand never too far from her sword's hilt.
Health: 10
Armor: 2
Speed Defense Level 4 when using Combat Expertise
Damage: 6 damage
Movement: Short
Modification: Level 4 (12) Acrobatics, Intimidate, Attack with rapier
Languages: Common, Gnoll, Kelish
Combat: Haleen relies on speed and style in combat. She generally uses Combat Expertiese to its full potential—she hits less often, but is much harder to hit in return, and often uses this technique to force her enemies to get impatient and make foolish tactical errors. Haleen is a patient fighter.
Combat Expertise: Advantage to Speed Defense, -2 to attack roll.
Interaction: Having been hiding from Hurvank, she is wary of anyone she doesn't know (which is almost everyone at the battle market). The moment she sees either Penelope or Onyx she finally relaxes, knowing they have her back against anyone at the battle market.
Equipment: chain shirt, +1 buckler, +1 rapier, battle market key, 320 gp
Morale: Haleen is no coward, but neither is she foolish. If faced with a foe she can’t seem to hurt, or if reduced to 4 or fewer hit points, she flees.
Four rows of raised wooden bleachers are positioned to offer an excellent view of the battle stage on the ground floor, about twenty feet below. A thin walkway bisects the stalls, separating what must have been general seating to the east from seating designed to accommodate a small orchestra. A few large drums with moldering skins stand at the forefront of this section, the only signs of the music that must once have filled the battle market.
Treasure: A Level 5 (15) Search of the orchestra bleachers reveals a tiny silver masterwork flute worth 130 gp that’s so far gone unnoticed under the largest of the moldering drums.
This strange shop is the largest storefront in the second floor arcade, and the only one currently in use. A bizarre alchemical apparatus against the west wall—the infusium—is a maze of glass beakers connected by rubber tubes. Seven of these tubes project from the apparatus, ending in syringelike needles.
Creature: The harpy Undrella currently administers the infusium, filling it with concoctions she brews in her cauldron vats in Kelmarane’s old tannery. If the PCs haven’t already defeated her, there’s a 50% chance of encountering her here.
Treasure: The infusium is a bulky but potent magical device, a sturdy creation that has weathered the decades since Kelmarane’s original abandonment quite well. The device functions as a masterwork alchemical laboratory, granting an asset on Craft (alchemy) checks made to utilize it. Up to seven potions may be poured into the device’s seven reservoirs for storage. As a full-round action, a character may inject one of the stored potions directly into his bloodstream, doubling the potion’s duration. Up to seven characters may use the infusium at the same time (although each requires a separate potion dosage). The infusium itself is extremely valuable, worth 8,000 gp to the right alchemist. The device weighs 900 pounds, however, making it difficult to move.
After Almah’s party moves into Kelmarane, Father Zastoran becomes obsessed with the infusium, setting up shop in the storefront and selling his potions to the new citizens of the village. Currently, the infusium holds the following potions: mage armor, magic fang, blur, cat’s grace, invisibility, spider climb, and haste. These potions can be extracted from the device with a successful Level 3 (9) Profession (alchemist) check. Failure indicates that the potion is ruined.
Creatures: This guard station, complete with card table and chairs for lounging, watches over the interior stairs to the battle market’s uppermost floor. The door is generally kept locked. If the goblin major domo Jank fled the ground floor, he makes his final stand with the guards in this room after knocking frantically on the door for several seconds.
Hunched and feral, this furred, hyena-headed humanoid stands slightly taller than the average human.
Health: 8
Armor: 2
Damage: battleaxe 4 damage + bite 2 damage
Movement: Short
Modification: Darkvision
Languages: Gnoll
Combat: Gnolls relish combat, but only when they have the obvious advantage of numbers. In other situations, they prefer to avoid combat except as a means of winning a kill from another hunter, or as a clever ambush to bring down a large meal. These hyena-men see no value in courage or valor, instead preferring to flee once it becomes clear that victory is not possible, noting that it is better to run with tail tucked away than to lose one’s tail entirely.
During combat, gnolls use a strange mixture of pack tactics and individual standoffs. If a gnoll feels that it is winning, it attempts to take down a weaker being rather than aiding its fellows. If the gnolls are struggling, they gang up on a powerful leader and try to take that creature down, in the hopes of forcing its allies to flee.
Equipment: leather armor, heavy wooden shield, battleaxe, longbow with 20 arrows.
Morale: Gnolls will retreat if their health drops below 3.
Creatures: This large room is the headquarters of the market guard. Kardswann’s personal guardians spend their days here. Their orders are to hold this room against intruders at all costs. Because of this, they seldom venture into the lower levels when the citadel is under siege. Instead, they flip over the table to create cover and prepare for enemies ascending the stairs from the guard station below.
Hunched and feral, this furred, hyena-headed humanoid stands slightly taller than the average human.
Health: 8
Armor: 2
Damage: battleaxe 4 damage + bite 2 damage
Movement: Short
Modification: Darkvision
Languages: Gnoll
Combat: Gnolls relish combat, but only when they have the obvious advantage of numbers. In other situations, they prefer to avoid combat except as a means of winning a kill from another hunter, or as a clever ambush to bring down a large meal. These hyena-men see no value in courage or valor, instead preferring to flee once it becomes clear that victory is not possible, noting that it is better to run with tail tucked away than to lose one’s tail entirely.
During combat, gnolls use a strange mixture of pack tactics and individual standoffs. If a gnoll feels that it is winning, it attempts to take down a weaker being rather than aiding its fellows. If the gnolls are struggling, they gang up on a powerful leader and try to take that creature down, in the hopes of forcing its allies to flee.
Equipment: leather armor, heavy wooden shield, battleaxe, longbow with 20 arrows.
Morale: Gnolls will retreat if their health drops below 3.
Open arches lead from the market guard headquarters to these small chambers, bedecked with bunks suitable for up to eight resting gnoll guards. A small wardrobe in each room contains a variety of worthless personal gear.
The construction in this part of the battle market is of markedly higher quality than that found elsewhere in the building. An elaborate mosaic traces an intricate geometric pattern on the floor, and frescoes of slaves harvesting pesh fields adorn the walls. A huge open arch in the middle of the inner wall leads to the observation platform in area C15, and the passage terminates at an ornate door leading to area C16.
Creatures: Kardswann, Undrella, and the sub-chieftain Ugruk often sit upon the three thrones perched at the edge of this wide observation chamber. A short railing protects observers from toppling off the platform and falling 40 feet to the battle stage below. A curved wall running from the floor to the ceiling blocks view of the thrones from the hall at area C14. Three pillars on either side of the curved wall make it very difficult to approach the thrones without being detected.
If the PCs make it through the battle market undetected (either via stealth, fast talking, or other methods) to reach this location without starting a fight, Kardswann, Undrella, and Ugruk are encountered here. Up here, face-to-face, it’s actually possible to reason with Kardswann and temporarily erode the domination effect the daemon Xulthos has been using to control the genie—but only if one of the PCs has become the moldspeaker. When this character draws near to Kardswann, he feels Vardishal’s influence inside his mind swell up, infusing that PC with a sense of bitter disappointment at Kardswann’s fall from Templar glory. That PC has an urge to identify himself as Vardishal and to admonish Kardswann from wandering off the path of the Templars of the Five Winds. The PC can then attempt a special Level 7 (21) Diplomacy check as a standard action (gaining an asset bonus to the roll if he wields Tempest)—other PCs can attempt to aid this roll if they admonish Kardswann as well. If the roll is a success, a strange look of confusion clouds Kardswann’s expression. His entire body begins shaking, as if he were struggling to control his actions. He furrows his brow and speaks through clenched teeth: “You… must… destroy… Xulthos. Below the… below the ruined church. Cannot hold on. Bind me or cut me… within an inch of death… His will is so much stronger than mine… Do it! Do it now!”
At this point the PCs must slay or subdue Kardswann within 3 rounds, or the will of Xulthos once again takes over. The PCs’ best option is probably to stabilize Kardswann between 0 and –10 hit points. In this case he can do nothing to harm them. If they simply tie him up, he eventually breaks free and makes a return appearance in the climactic encounter of the adventure. If the PCs leave NPCs to guard Kardswann in this case, the genie subdues them. Whether or not they survive is a matter of whether or not you want the NPCs to play a continuing role in the campaign. If so, they are merely wounded severely when Kardswann inevitably breaks free.
This creature resembles a bipedal-like humanoid with dusky russet and brown fur. Its eyes are yellow and it wears dented and battleworn breastplate armor.
Health: 16
Armor: 3
Damage: Flindbar 5 damage + bite 3 damage, 4 with longbow
Disarm Level 5
Movement: Short
Modification: Darkvision
Languages: Gnoll
Combat: Ugruk’s intellect has always given him an edge over the other gnolls, and when Kardswann slew the previous chieftain, the flind was quick to seize the opportunity and ingratiated himself into the genie’s good graces. He’s enjoyed the position of sub-chief ever since. In combat, he wields a flindbar—a pair of iron bars connected by a length of chain. This is an exotic light melee weapon that grants its wielder a bonus on opposed attack rolls made to disarm an enemy, and Ugruk is fond of this tactic—especially if he can kick a disarmed weapon off the edge of the balcony.
Equipment: potion of healing (Level 1d6+2; heals upto the level of the potion), potion of expeditious retreat (Level 1d6; doubles your movement rate for 1 minute); Other Gear masterwork breastplate, masterwork flindbar, 5 daggers, ring of feather falling
Morale: Ugruk is among the bravest of gnolls in the tribe—he fights to the death.
Health: 32
Armor: 4
Fire Armor 2
Damage: 8 damage, 10 damage vs. Angels/Devils
Movement: Short, Short (flying)
Skills: Level 6 (18) on Perception
Languages: Celestial, Common, Terran; telepathy 100 ft., speak with animals
Modification: Bull Rush Level 6 (18); Angel/Devil Attack Level 6 (18) with Axe
Combat: Kardswann may only be a shadow of his former glory, but he is still a formidable fighter and a dangerous foe. He generally saves his change size abilities to use against foes to make them smaller, and prefers using his axe and attempting bull rush to try to force a foe off the ledge. The flimsy railing is enough to grant foes who he attempts to use this tactic on a +2 circumstance bonus to resist his bull rush attacks.
invisibility (self only)
plane shift
Change size: Can decrease the size of a target creature within short range for 1 minute.
create food and water
ethereal jaunt (for 1 hour)
Morale: As long as Kardswann remains under the control of the daemon Xulthos, he fights to the death. If the PCs manage to break through this control, he reacts as detailed above. In either event, he does not use plane shift or ethereal jaunt to effect an escape.
Combat Gear potion of healing (2) (Level 1d6+2; heals pool points equal to level); Other Gear masterwork breastplate, +1 lawful outsider bane greataxe (Level 1d6+4; +1, +2 vs. lawful outsiders)
This decadently decorated chamber is part of the residence of the battle market master, and is currently home to Kardswann and (sometimes) Undrella. Three chairs sit next to a blazing fireplace, and a curtain hides a private bedroom in area C17. After the PCs have cleared the battle market, Almah claims these chambers as her personal domain.
Kardswann sleeps in this opulently decorated chamber.
Treasure: A chest hidden under the bed contains four large garnets worth 400 gp each and 3,459 gp in assorted coins.
With Kardswann’s defeat, the gnolls panic—their flight from Kelmarane is swift. Likewise the bugbears and other undesirables—only those NPCs who have established allegiances with the PCs remain after the genie’s defeat. The battle market clear, Almah and her party are free to move into Kelmarane. Once they receive word that Kardswann and the Kulldis gnolls have been defeated, they venture from the old monastery to the battle market and begin to evaluate it for eventual habitation. If she has not already done so, Almah grants the PCs the interdict key, and urges them to purge the evil from the ruined church’s crypt as swiftly as possible. The final mission to do this comprises the final act of the adventure.