the Swamp Hag

Set Up

* The party is paid 1,000 gp each to protect a pair of merchants buying gold antiques from tribesfolk within the jungles of Hepmonaland.

* The party is paid a similar sum to accompany and protect a bored, rich Medegian noble who wants to "do research as sages do" on the people of Hepmonaland and their customs.

* The PCs are searching for fabulous treasures (learned of from a contact or map) deep within the steaming jungles. In all cases, the immediate set up begins with the party being surrounded by a group of Hepmonaland tribesmen who politely ask for help.

An Invitation to Assist

To begin with, the PCs are entering swamp and jungle terrain. It is very hot, and very humid. You can apply rules from the Wilderness Survival Guide here for wearing armor and fatigue, and the like. If you do not have this book available, use a simple rule of thumb: nothing bulkier than simple leather armor is tolerable in the jungles. Anyone wearing anything heavier will keel over from heatstroke in very short order.

This encounter takes place on the border between the Pelisso Swamp and the central Hepmonaland jungle.

From the jungle around the PCs, black faces suddenly appear all around the party. Most of them have blowguns pointed right at the PCs. There are some 20 tribesmen visible, and probably more the PCs can't see. Make it very clear that if the PCs try to fight, they will be killed; the darts they can see have discolored tips. If the PCs have merchants with them, they say that this is a strange tribe, one they have never met before.

Assuming the PCs have the sense to stay fairly still and offer no offense, one of the natives steps forward.

He is dressed in a greed-dyed loin cloth, carries a blowgun and wooden spear with a heat-hardened tip, and around his neck he has a leather thong bearing spectacular plumes of multicolored bird feathers. He speaks in halting common, and does not (initially) respond to questions.

The leader, Javaero, begins with an impassioned short speech . "We no talk your words easy. We know you think we sav ages , you use this word. This not so. Fault is with you, not us. You no see who we are. We men too." Assuming the PCs do not demur, Javaero quiets down a little after thus asserting the humanity of his people. "We ask help. Evil earth spirit come. Talk to creatures of water and earth. Kill our people. My father, the elders , they say we cannot harm earth spirit. They say hurt spirit is bad, we can do nothing. I know this wrong. I cannot disobey father and elders. But I can ask you to help. If you help, Javaero bring you gold and pearls. You fair-skins like pretty , worthless things. You do this?" Javaero is asking for the reply of the PCs.

The PCs may, not unreasonably, ask for extra information. They can learn that the "earth spirit" is a human-sized creature, very ugly (but very rarely seen), which consumes human flesh. It seems to be able to speak with the creatures of the forest and swamp, for it has been seen riding a crocodile in swamp waters. A couple of blowgun users managed to strike it with darts, but the poison had no effect (the skin of the greenhag, for such is the monster, is too tough for the darts to penetrate).

The native people, a splinter group of the Kusvero tribe, can lead the PCs to the area where the earth spirit has been seen most frequently.

It is up to you how easily the PCs find the lair of the greenhag. It is hard to dis cover (see below) and you may want to add one or two minor encounters while the PCs are searching.

Terrain: Swamp/Jungle (Hepmonaland)

Total Party Levels: 42 (Average 7th)

Total gp: Variable

Monster XP: 2,960

The Lair

This is shown in the accompanying map. Since it is located within thick jungle it is obviously very difficult to find. However, it is better to let the PCs search and find the main entrance to area 1 (or fall down the shaft at area 3) rather than have them see the greenhag and trail her though this option can be used.

Area 1 is the entrance to the lair of the greenhag. It is located in the bank of the river that flows sluggishly through the jungle down into the swamp. Inside this watery entrance, the lair is protected by a giant crocodile that has been befriended by the greenhag using her speak with monsters ability. The croc is well submerged, with only its eyes above the water. Water depth here varies from five feet (center) to two feet (edges), and there is some air space between the ceiling and the water-about two to four feet.

Since there is some minor driftwood in this chamber, the crocodile's concealment causes a + 5 penalty to the PCs' surprise roll when the croc attacks (there is only a 5% chance that the party spots the croc before he attacks, unless some special resource (such as a gem of seeing) is available. The cunning old croc does not attack until at least one PC has advanced well into the main body of the chamber.

Giant Crocodile: AC 4; MV 6, Sw 12; HD 7; hp 43; THAC0 13; #AT 2; Dmg 3d6/2d10; Int Animal; AL N; SZ L; XP 420

Obviously, the attacking croc makes a tremendous noise thrashing about in here; thus the greenhag is alerted to the presence of intruders.

Area 2 contains some minor treasures and items taken by the greenhag from its unfortunate victims-there are some human-sized bones, a few gnawed on, to suggest how these items came to be here. Among rusted iron and steel. and rotted leather, lie a large scattering of coins (70 pp, 120 gp, 200 ep. 100 sp, and 100 cp), a small pearl the greenhag missed worth 200 gp, a rusted silvered flask containing a dose of a potion of water breathing, and a bone tube with half a dozen scrolls of priest spells that have, alas, all molded into uselessness.

Area 3 is a nasty trap designed to double as an escape route. This is a pit covered by a hinged flap of vegetation, very cunningly made. Only a find traps or detect snares and pits or singular spell can reveal it to be present. Below is a ten foot-deep cylindrical shaft with hand- and foot-holds clawed out of the hard earth. Anyone falling down the pit takes the usual 1d6 points of damage, plus a further 2d8 points of damage from a patch of wickedly sharp pointed wooden spikes set into the ground below (however, there is a two-foot-wide path within the spiked area enabling the greenhag to get here and run up to the handhold area quickly). Anyone Calling down here is going to alert the greenhag to his presence.

Area 4 consists of two narrow tunnels, only three feet wide, and thus forces a party to travel in single file (precisely the intention).

Area 5 is the greenhag's living chamber, where it hides when it is expecting "company." This dry cave is decorated with crude ornamentation, a bed, table, and the like, all made of rushes and vines and strips of wood from the local trees. The greenhag appears as a shrivelled pygmy female (using her change self ability). It is surprised only on a 1 on 1d10. The greenhag's coloration and ability to camouflage itself mean that opponents' surprise rolls suffer a + 5 penalty.

It tries to pin one PC in a tunnel so that the others cannot get into melee to help out. PCs may have to back out to prevent their lead fighter from being ripped to shreds!

If trapped in its lair, the greenhag may try to escape via Area 3 or to Area 1 and into the river. depending on where the PCs are. It wants to slay and eat the PCs, if at all possible, however.

If the greenhag escapes through Area 3, she rushes 20 feet to a vine hanging from a tree, clambers some 15 feet up it, and gets atop a crude platform tree house (more accurately, just the ruins of one, since only the floor remains). A PC trying to clamber up after her must roll a successful Dexterity check with a - 4 penalty (a thief may use his climb walls skill) or else be unable to ascend. If the PC fails, a second Dexterity check is rolled. If this is failed, the PC made a heroic effort and got nowhere. If this second check is successful, however, the PC clambered up about eight feet and then fell, suffering 1d4 points of damage.

The greenhag then calls in a keening wail to two of her monstrous friends, who arrive in 1d3 rounds. She uses weakness spells in the interim to weaken the PCs. The two banderlogs arrive swinging through the trees, armed with two retch plants apiece and throw them at PCs to make them sick and unable to fight. The banderlogs then drop down to fight with clubs and the greenhag comes down to fight after casting invisibility for an extra edge in the first round of combat.

Banderlogs (2): AC 6; MV 6, Cl 12; HD 4; hp 14, 22; THAC0 17; #AT 1; Dmg 1d4 + 1 or special (see below SA retch plant globes (see below Int Low; SZ S; XP 270 each

Each retch plant globe explodes in a five-foot radius, causing helpless vomiting for three rounds and halving Strength for one hour (no saving throw).

Greenhag: AC -3 (ring of protection + 1 MV 12; HD 9; hp 43; THACO 11; #AT 2; Dmg 1d2+6/ld2+6; SA/SD spell-like powers; Int Average; AL NE; SZ M: XP 2,000;

Spell-like effects, 1 per round, at will: audible glamer, dancing lights, invisibility, pass without trace, change self, speak with monsters, water breathing, weakness

The greenhag carries her treasure in a small bag of holding she took from an adventurer victim; this contains a string of pearls worth 3,500 gp, a gold bracelet worth 450 gp, a pair of gloves of thievery, and a small jade statuette of a local tribal deity worth 1,500 gp. To this, Javaero will add two finely worked gold neck chains with pearl settings, each worth 2,000 gp, if the PCs are successful in slaying the greenhag.