PPP Winner 3 of 3 Converted for AD&D: UNSWORDS! Encounter/Area

Unswords!

This area appears as a large round pastoral garden courtyard about 75 feet across. It features Roman or Romanesque type architecture of arches, columns, statues, pools, as well as frescoes depicting mythology on the sidewalls. The statues are apparently renditions of beautiful goddesses, open armed and yielding, all of which face the far end of the courtyard from the entrance. Here at the far end lies a fountain with a giant patriarchal sun god statue. In his right hand the marble sun god wields three long swords fanned out and extending downwards that during the day are aglow with a vibrant rainbow of energy cascading through the blades. When the sun sets the goddesses become lit up with spiked coronas and flowing luminescent robes all made with the same colorful light as the swords. The light of the swords extinguishes at night and becomes relit at dawn. If the robes or coronas are touched they will deliver a sharp sting, which may paralyze as the light recoils back into the statue. The robes and coronas will emerge again a few minutes later until they recede later when the sun sets. If any of the sun god’s blades are removed from his hand the energetic light in all of them is extinguished as the light recoils back into the statue. Revealing that upon close inspection the swords are hollow tubes with blades made of glass. Three holes can be found in the palm of the statue’s hands.

Disturbing these swords and/or the statues in general by breaking them will cause the “trap” to be sprung. The designers of the courtyard’s “lightshows” used heavy magic to bind two members of an exotic species from the astral plane. These creatures, one male and one female, are free floating unintelligent astral “jellyfish” composed of energy that constantly display the entire spectrum of known colors and are called spectrumones. The male appears as shaped like a 20 foot long hydra/polyp jellyfish and is trapped inside the sun god statue. The female appears as a much larger 50 foot wide circular medusa/standard jellyfish and is trapped underneath the entrance of the courtyard with the tentacles displaying the coronas and the robes of the goddesses at sunset. Desecrating (damaging) the statues and/or swords will break the magical binding and essentially free the spectrumones from the magical part of their prison. Although it remains for them to struggle out of what’s physically holding them in place. The spectrumone medusa will break through the floor near the front of the entrance of the courtyard surrounding all those within with a wall of flailing tentacles of undulating light as it struggles out. The spectrumone hydra will break out of the statue in the far end. The medusa has 20 tentacles while the hydra has 14. All paralyze upon contact with the skin and the two will be flailing at everything as they break their way out.

Treasure: WAND OF MAGIC MISSILES (95 CHARGES), and 32 GEMS (14,191 GP TOTAL) in a secret compartment behind an image on the back wall of a sun god with the three godesses matching the statues.

SPECTRUMONE

FREQUENCY: Very rare
NO. APPEARING: 4-400 (Astral plane)
ARMOR CLASS: 2

MOVE: 6"/30" on Astral
HIT DICE: 14 male/18 female
% IN LAIR: Nil
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 14 male/20female

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-10 (x14 male;x20 female)
SPECIAL ATTACKS : Paralysis
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard

INTELLIGENCE: Animal
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: L (male 20' long;female 50'wide)
PSlONIC ABILITY: Nil
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE:

Male: IX/6100 +18/hp

Female: IX/10,000 +25/hp

        

DEPICTED: Here the spectrumones glide peacefully through the Astral Plane (Note: the Unholy House of Hags in the distance (See THE TROW blog post)

    

 These creatures drift in the Astral Plane feeding on the varied fist-sized simple creatures swarming throughout and whatever else it can find. They avoid most Outer and Inner planar types but will readily attack living beings (not in astral form) in their proximity about a mile or so.

The young, about a quarter of the size of the adults (5' males and 8' females), will be not as versatile (AC: 6 HD: 5 male/ 8 female DMG: 1-4) but will still mindlessly attack. If struck the spectrumone will blast with light (SAVE VS POISON or be blinded for 1-4 rounds.). Staring at the spectrumone's oscillating colors can make those watching sleepy (SAVE VS SPELLS or sleep for a 2 rounds on the 3rd Round SAVE VS SPELLS again and if no save repeat while they eat sleeping victim 3-12 dmg round.)

Spectrumones are harvested for food/magic by various evil Astral intelligent dwellers and draw their attention to the areas they inhabit. 

 COPYRIGHT GENE WEIGEL 2016