NeoExodus Cold Visitor.pdf

neoexodus adventure:

LPJ9999

Cold Visitor

Written By Lee Hammock

and CHris M C Coy

Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook, Third Edition, published by

Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This product utilizes updated material from the v.3.5 revision.

NeoExodus Adventures: Cold Visitor

“Cold Visitor” is a D&D adventure for a party of 4-6

PCs of levels 6-8. All character classes will be useful

in the adventure but wizards, sorcerers, clerics and

druids will be especially useful. Someone who can

read Draconic or has a high Decipher Script skill is

essential to this adventure. A Masterwork sword and a

moderate level magic item is also needed to guarantee

success. This adventure can be used any time the char-

acters undertake any type of dimensional travel, such

as Nexus Gateways or teleport spells. The assumed

introduction is that the characters are traveling

through a Nexus Gateway from Exodus, where things

are very much in the gray, intrigue is more common

than oxygen, the world is always on the brink of

world-shattering events and heroes are truly heroes.

The PCs trip is sidetracked onto the planar bubble

called Praegelidus.

lation almost immediately in a bid to create an

army with which to conquer his home realm and

get revenge on his enemies. The humans soldiers

could not defeat Pah’tharsus in battle for he could

not be truly slain, so instead they worked to trap

him. Unfortunately for Pah’tharsus, the human magi-

cians proved both powerful and crafty. Using the

lure of a vast trove of magical lore, the wizards lured

Pah’tharsus through a magical Nexus Gateway to a

small planar bubble they called Praegelidus.

This dimension was nothing but a frigid wasteland

that had fragmented off the elemental plane of water

during some immense prehistoric cataclysm. Lost in

the multivese, Praegelidus rapidly froze into nothing

but mindless stretches of hostile wind, ice and snow

on which no mortal creature could survive for long.

In preparation for the trap, the wizards surrounded

Praegelidus with wards and binding spells that

prevented the interference of divine, celestial or

infernal creatures and blocked all dimensional travel

once Pah’tharsus was trapped, sealing the wizards in

with the beast they sought to contain. The wizards

gave their lives luring Pah’tharsus onto Praegelidus

where he could not escape and Pah’tharsus was forced

into a hibernating state by the intense cold after he

had driven them all mad. The eternal swirling storms

patterns that patrol the plane eventually buried the

demon into deep layers of snow and ancient ice.

The module is divided into several sections:

• The “GM Preparation” section contains a

summary of the adventure background, synopsis,

character hooks, suggested atmosphere and the

players’ introduction to the adventure.

• “Lay Of The Land” is the collection of descrip-

tions for the environmental conditions of

Praegelidus and adventure locations.

• “Death Marches On” is the tense and dangerous

timeline of how the encampment will slowly lose

its members to murder, insanity and a death never

ending.

• The “Appendixes” at the end of the module have

statistics for the featured monster, the NPC cast,

and new magic items, spells and equipment.

Pah’tharsus remained trapped for an unknown

amount of time on Praegelidus and all records of the

existence of Pah’tharsus and his prison were wiped

from the annuals of history. Unfortunately eventu-

ally the wards on Praegelidus began to break down

as Pah’tharsus struggled against them, weakly trying

to escape his frozen prison. A hole appeared in

the wards, allowing dimensional travelers to enter

Praegelidus once every five days but only for a half

hour span beginning at noon, a period of time that

has come to be called the entry cycle. As a signal

to indicate the failing wards, Praegelidus began

pulling in planar travelers if any were nearby when

the entry cycle was allowing visitors. The intent was

that anyone yanked into Praegelidus would repair the

wards. So far, the few unlucky souls trapped there

were clueless as to their purpose on the plane as well

as unprepared for the harsh conditions. They all froze

to death.

Since various actions are based on either location,

time or the motivation of NPC’s, it is vitally impor-

tant that so the DM should read the entire adventure

carefully before running it. Much of this adventure

happens on a schedule so DM also keep track of what

time it is in the game. An abbreviated list all the

scheduled events can be found at the end of the Death

Marches On section.

GM PREPARAtION

Background:

Long ago there was a horrible creature of immense

power named Pah’tharsus that was cast out of a

forgotten infernal realm by his own demonic fellows

for trying to overthrow the power structure of their

plane. Pah’tharsus began his exile upon a human

world and began subjugating the local human popu-

By sheer happenstance, one party was carrying

enough supplies to survive the conditions on

Praegelidus until the next entry cycle and managed

to escape, but not before their wizard, Silas Fedders

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NeoExodus Adventures: Cold Visitor

learned of the unusual properties of Praegelidus and

discovered the trove of magical lore left there by the

magicians who built the wards. Free from the inter-

ference of divine or infernal beings, divination magic

and most dimensional travelers, Praegelidus seemed

an excellent spot for those looking for some privacy,

even if it was inhospitable. Seeing an excellent place

to build a research library and a chance to make some

money by helping criminals hide on Praegelidus, Silas

arranged a return trip to Praegelidus on the next entry

cycle to set up an encampment and begin surveying

the area.

Unfortunately Pah’tharsus has the ability to create a

replica of any soul he consumes, causing confusion as

to who is still alive and who is a pawn of the monster.

Pah’tharsus also gets stronger as he gains more souls

and the rest of his body begins breaking free of its icy

prison. The PCs learn the true history of Praegelidus

from the tomes left by the original wizards who

trapped Pah’tharsus as well as find out what must be

done to restore the wards. If the wards are not restored

before the next entry cycle, Pah’tharsus may be strong

enough to break free and renter the material plane.

Silas’s actions caused Pah’tharsus to stir in his frozen

grave and using the scraps of his power still avail-

able he sent messages to Silas through Silas’s dreams,

leading the wizard to where Pah’tharsus was buried.

Curious to a fault, Silas followed these amazing

dreams and dug part of Pah’tharsus up. He dragged

the ice-encased fragment of the great beast back to

the encampment. As the ancient evil prepares to

reawaken, the players enter the scene unaware that all

hell is about to break loose.

To succeed, the PCs must find and destroy the frag-

ments of Pah’tharsus, save as many lives as possible

and perform the rituals to restore the binding magics

on Praegelidus all while dodging paranoid wizards

and soldiers who are scared out of their wits.

Character Hooks:

“Cold Visitor” is a very easy adventure to introduce

to the characters because they are essentially hijacked

onto Praegelidus while undertaking some form of

dimensional travel. This can be anything from

teleport to using established portals. The default situ-

ation is that of entering a Nexus Gateway in a city in

the lands of Exodus.

Adventure Synopsis:

The PCs arrive on Praegelidus in the midst of the

storm that coincides with each entry cycle. The PCs

appear at the portal stone, the epicenter of the wards

encasing Praegelidus, and are soon discovered by

Silas’s men. As long as the PCs are polite, they are

shown about most of the camp and treated well since

the settlement doesn’t get much in the way of visi-

tors. They are not allowed to inspect the portal stone

too closely or wander into the wizard’s section of the

camp. The PCs will be told the basics of the situation

on Praegelidus, including:

Suggested Atmosphere:

The theme for “Cold Visitor” is one of extreme para-

noia. The PCs are stuck in a frozen wasteland with a

bunch of people they do not know, a horrible monster

that can assume any humanoid shape, and they cannot

leave for five days to boot. Soon after arriving the

PCs should feel like they cannot trust anyone in the

camp, or even each other at times. Between the frail

sanity of some of the people on Praegelidus and the

possibility they may be part of Pah’tharsus, the PCs

should be wary of trusting anyone who leaves their

line of sight for more than few minutes. This is an

excellent opportunity to play mind tricks on the PCs;

roll dice at random and then look disapprovingly at

the result or pass lots of notes to the PCs to make

them unsure as to who has turned and who hasn’t. If

the PCs split up try to get the players into different

rooms, heightening the feeling that anyone who goes

off alone will surely be turned into some type of

monstrosity.

• They cannot leave for five days.

• Divine spells cannot be regained on Praegelidus.

• Divination spells do not function on Praegelidus.

After the PCs have had some time to explore the

camp, one of the camp’s guards is murdered and

another goes missing. The portion of Pah’tharsus

removed from the ice disappears as well but Silas

keeps this secret. Soon the Captain is killed as the

Pah’tharsus Shard begins attacking the camp and

creating soul shells. Silas tries to avoid telling the

PCs the truth but soon factions begin to form in

the camp as the Green Griffon mercenary company

turns against the wizard and his apprentices. While

they begin to blame each other for the slowly

mounting death toll, the PCs must try to avoid falling

victim themselves and find out what is going on.

In addition to the threat of Pah’tharsus, most of the

other people on Praegelidus will probably be of little

assistance to the PCs. Most are not mentally prepared

for what befalls them and these poor souls will soon

be seeing threats behind every random noise or

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NeoExodus Adventures: Cold Visitor

strange shadow and since all this trouble started with

the arrival of the PCs that means the PCs will prob-

ably receive a sizeable dose of suspicion.

the snow and coming slowly closer to you. Soon, a

light accompanies the noise and three heavily clothed

figures step out from the storm illuminated by a blue-

green torch that burns without paying heed to the whip-

ping winds all around. The first figure pulls a thick

scarf down from his face, revealing a thick black beard

beneath a red nose. “Welcome to Praegelidus,” the

man says. “I hope you can cope with boredom.”

It is suggested the DM use the encumbrance rules on

this adventure. This is a survival horror style game

where what the characters can carry becomes very

important. There is also a lot of possible loot in the

encampment, but its unlikely the PCs will be able to

transport all of it off Praegelidus and still manage to

survive.

These three men are Lieutenant Orgun and two of his

men. They just escorted one of Silas’s apprentices

to the portal and watched him travel to another plane

using a coldshift scroll in Appendix C. With visitors

being so rare on Praegelidus the soldiers are happy to

the see the PCs, hoping they can provide something

different from the monotonous life they have found

on Praegelidus. Lieutenant Orgun will introduce

himself to the PCs, tell them of the nearby encamp-

ment and invite them to visit; noting that staying at

the portal stone is suicide. Lieutenant Orgun will

avoid questions about why the encampment is here

at all, instead saying Captain Penser and Silas should

answer such questions. Lieutenant Orgun knows that

some discussions are best left to your superior officer.

Despite this, he will be polite to the PCs and will be

very concerned about their well being considering it is

unlikely they have sufficient cold weather gear to be

comfortable on Praegelidus.

Introduction:

The adventure begins when the PCs are pulled into

Praegelidus from any dimensional jaunt they happen

to be on. The default assumption is that the PCs are

heading from a Nexus Gateway located in the lands of

Exodus. Read to the group:

Girding yourself for another trip through the wondrous

pathways of the planes you step into the Nexus Gateway,

feeling an odd feeling of non-existence as you teeter for

a split second between worlds. Normally this would

be followed by a sudden jolt, a loud popping noise and

the pungent odors of your target destination, but not

this time.

You sense a sudden pull on your side. This pull quickly

becomes an insistent yank, followed a blast of cold so

strong you blood freezes in your veins. Then the wind

hits you; a cold gale filled with ice chips that strike you

like a hail of needles. Wherever your destination was,

this isn’t it.

The encampment is only half a mile from the portal

stone so it will not take long for the PCs to reach it.

The path is marked every 100 ft. by a continual flame

torch making it possible to navigate the path even

during a snowstorm. The Lieutenant will allow the

PCs a few minutes to investigate the portal stone but

he will want to report back to camp soon. He knows

the portal stone is important so he won’t let the PCs

damage it or cast spells on it, saying they need Silas’s

permission to do something like that.

As the PCs travel to Praegelidus each must make a

Fortitude save DC 20, or pass out for one minute. The

shock of traveling to Praegelidus is not pleasant. For

those who remain conscious read the following:

All your companions seem to have traveled with you

to this unknown, frigid place. The ongoing snowstorm

limits your vision to only a few paces before you and

the lonely howl of the wind makes it difficult to hear.

The only landmark you can see is a pair of stone pedes-

tals right next to you. The two pillars, each fifteen feet

tall and at least five feet wide at the base, curve slightly

toward each other at the top of their height, creating

an arch-like structure with a space in the middle. Both

pillars are covered with carvings of some type, but

inspecting them is difficult at best under these hostile

conditions.

LAY OF THE LAND

Conditions on Praegelidus:

The average temperature on Praegelidus is approxi-

mately thirty degrees below zero and there are no

seasons to speak of. Day and night each last thir-

teen hours. There is no sun or moon to be seen on

Praegelidus, making daylight more like twilight and

nighttime pitch black. The only weather types present

are overcast clouds or snow storms. Snowstorms

occur regularly every few days and are very intense.

While still trying to get your bearings you barely

hear the sound of trudging footsteps breaking through

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NeoExodus Adventures: Cold Visitor

The most powerful snowstorms occur with each entry

cycle.

or fall victim to snow blindness. The character will

suffer a -2 penalty to all attack rolls, Spot and Search

checks until their vision recovers. Another roll must

be made for each hour of exposure and the penalties

are cumulative. If the character reaches a -10 penalty

they go completely blind. One hour indoors will

remove 2 points of the penalty and the remove blind-

ness spell will remove the penalty completely. Snow

blindness is not a factor at night. While wearing snow

blinders characters suffer a -2 penalty to Spot checks.

When outside on Praegelidus, characters must make a

Fortitude save every ten minutes of exposure, DC 15,

with a +1 for each previous save, or take 1d6 subdual

damage. Characters in cold weather gear need only

check once an hour and those with the heavy cold

weather gear Silas’s people use gain a +2 bonus to

their Fortitude saves. Unfortunately, heavy cold

weather gear inflicts a -1 armor penalty on the wearer,

has a Maximum Dex Bonus of +3 and weighs 20 lbs.

While on Praegelidus, the PCs cannot use and spells,

magic items or abilities that involves travel to another

plane or summoning. This includes all the summon

monster and summon nature’s ally spells in addition

to spells such as ethereal jaunt. This also means bags

of holding and portable holes cannot be accessed on

Praegelidus. Also all divination spells, magic items

or abilities provide no information when cast on

Praegelidus. Lastly divine spells and turning attempts

may not be regained while on Praegelidus, meaning

characters will have to conserve their resources.

If a character is carrying a hot stone they receive a +5

bonus to their Fortitude saves. Characters who take

subdual damage from the cold have hypothermia or

frostbite and are considered fatigued. The presence of

snow everywhere on Praegelidus cuts all movement

rates in half unless the character is wearing snow-

shoes.

If caught out in a snowstorm characters suffer a -4

penalty to all ranged attack rolls, Spot checks, Search

checks and Listen checks. Also the high winds asso-

ciated with the storms will blow out most ordinary

flames.

The Portal Stone:

The Portal Stone is the center of the wards and spells

cast on Praegelidus to keep Pah’tharsus trapped. It is

a powerful artifact but has no effect other than to keep

the wards on Praegelidus active. It is slightly warm to

the touch and is completely covered in runes. Anyone

If a PC stays out in the snow during daylight for more

than an hour without eye protection, such as snow

blinders, the PC must make a Fortitude save DC 15

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