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The
Hive
(by Jon
Winter)
CHARACTER:
Think
as one of us, and you'll be one of us. The strong
prevail, and there is strength in numbers. Numbers
prevail. Join your mind with us, act with us, be us. We
are all one together, just as we are many. Collected
wisdom and knowledge are shared with all. We are not
drones, but we are not individuals either. A hybrid of
one mind and many, we benefit in all ways.
THE
CHANT:
This
Hive, as opposed to the seething pit of chaos like a boil
on Sigil's skyline, is a small and fiercely independent
burg deep in Mechanus. Allegedly set up by mind flayers,
this community of humanoids has some disturbingly similar
habits to that rather unsociable race. This falls short
of devouring brains, however, visitors will be happy to
note.
Locals
are really rather similar. While each individual has
distinct physical traits, strengths and weaknesses, and
their own voice and accent, it would appear to the casual
observer to stop there. In fact, all the locals of Hive
share common thoughts; it's as if each and every one of
them was mindlinked to all the others, permanently
via the psionic power. Most likely, they are.
Actually,
locals do have their own personalities, not that a
cutter'd know. But since they're also hearing the
thoughts of dozens of other cutters simultaneously, they
all tend to be slightly detached and vague.
Hive
is a burg with no secrets. Anything told to any member is
instantly known by all the others, provided the local is
in a one mile radius of the town's centre. This seems to
be the limit of the mindlink power. For largely that
reason, Hivers are very rarely found much further away
from the burg -- for cutters so used to the babble of
thousands of voices in their heads, it's a lonely life
without it.
RULER:
There's
another surprising thing about Hive. One might expect all
cutters in the burg to have an equal say in the running
of the place, but in reality none of them do. See,
the town hall has a rather deep cellar, and it's in here
that the locals put the brains of their dead. In a rather
horrific ritual (to outsiders, anyway), the corpse of
folk who've lived and died in the burg are divested of
brains and buried. The brains are added to the pool and
their thoughts and memories once again shared with the
inhabitants of the burg.
BEHIND
THE THRONE:
Nobody
really knows how many ancestors are down there, but Hive
has been in existence for several hundred years, so it
must be a lot. The town-mind is the real ruler of the
burg, and is now so powerful and wise that most powers
would be afraid to tackle it. Fortunately, Hive's
inhabitants do not see overly keen on expanding their
little burg. In fact, it's not very obvious what they
really are doing.
Psionic
planewalkers report that there's a loud mental drone
emanating from Hive, in a manner not dissimilar to that
around Ilsensine's Caverns of Thought. Rumours as to what
the brain pool is doing abound, from the simple "testing
the limits of psionic powers" to the rather wilder
"setting up shop for a new illithid power in Mechanus".
Whatever the case, the fact is the people of Hive seem
remarkably content and average, if it were not for the
mind-pool they so happily live on top of.
Plurality
(by Center of
All)
The
one is weak. The many are strong. "I" does not exist.
There is only "We". What is individuality beside the lure
of ultimate law?
This
strange burg sits smack in the centre of one of Mechanus'
smaller gears. Its population consists mostly of
petitioners, with a few modrons and one or two Guvners
and Mathematicians. Don't expect to ever find just one of
anything in this place, cutter; Things always come in at
least pairs, more often sets of larger numbers. That
includes people, and while this doesn't affect the
modrons (they all look the same anyway), it can be pretty
eerie to walk through a town of people with exactly the
same face, talking the same way, living in exactly the
same house (there are different buildings, but they look
so alike one often has to count to be sure). This affects
outsiders as well. After about a month (twenty five turns
of the gear to be exact- some barmy fool actually went
and counted it!) of staying in Plurality, a berk starts
to take on aspects of the 'group features'. Whether this
is regarded as a curse or a blessing depends upon the
recipient.
Repetition
(by Joshua
Jarvis)
Some
leatherheads believe that insanity is a chaotic thing and
that lawful folks can't be barmy. Those folks are wrong!
Repetition is as barmy as lawful can be. This berk is
located on a smaller cog, a cog that doesn't turn
anymore; a cog that once had many small, sharp, teeth but
has long since been worn smooth from friction with the
surrounding cogs. Much like the order of this berg goes
against the surrounding order.
The
people of this town all have an obsessive compulsive
disorder. Some of them feel they constantly have to wash
dirt off their hands, others feel they must count the
windows on a certain building. All the folks here are
barmy in their own consistent, lawful way. The obsession
with creating order where it already exists has been
rumoured to have an odd effect, rumour is that some of
the petitioners here have turned into modrons! Of course
we know not to trust every rumour we hear don't we berk!
Of course, without many worshippers some suspect that the
deaths of people like this may be the source of some of
Primus's modrons, petitioners have to arrived somehow,
monodrone division can't explain them all, or can
it?
Circular
Unity
(by Belarius)
CHARACTER:
Today
is today, and we have our routines. Of course, we don't
know what they are, we haven't decided. But we will, we
do, we have. Everything is linked, you see. Free will is
an illusion because the outcome of our every action is
predestined. So, no matter what routine we take, the end
is the same. Thus, all routines, in their infinite
variety, are the same. We have our routines. We have
yours, too. but our destiny is embossed in metal. There
is nothing more liberating, after all, than a sense of
the inevitable.
RULER:
The
city has no organised government or ruling body. The
clearest term describing the ruler of the Circular Unity
is Fate. Because it is impossible to do that which is not
predetermined, no one has ever held a title of power.
Fate has kept this from happening.
BEHIND
THE THRONE:
It's
not as though people haven't tried to circumvent the fate
Circular Unity has given them. On at least three
occasions, the slaadi have come here and tried to lay
waste to the city and enslave the population. In every
case, they found themselves powerless to the force of the
river of future history, as it swept them from the city.
Currently, an Anarch named Zrenim (Planar / male
githzerai / T7 / Anarch's Guild / N) and a Signer named
Bujencci (Planar / female tiefling / M11 / Sign of One /
NG) have joined forces to try to bend Circular Unity to
their wills. Though without success so far, they are
determined they can succeed. Zrenim wishes to bend the
axle of one of Circular Unity's rings to stop the
movement of the entire city. Bujencci tries in vain to
affect people's choices, though magic, guile, and will.
Both have actually shown some signs of progress, but
this, too, was determined ahead of time. The locals,
grinning, call them the town's Freedom
Fighters.
DESCRIPTION:
Circular
Unity is, at it's simplest, sixteen interconnected flat
rings which can line up to form a flat disk. The
outermost ring is connected to the rest of the gears of
Mechanus, and has a toothy edge, locking it in with other
gears. Each ring is connected to the next smallest and
next largest ring by a single spoke. Each spoke runs
along a different angle, and all of the rings rotate at
seemingly random speeds. In truth, this gyroscopic burg
is as organised as any other. They key is that the
organisation is based on the people, not the people being
based on the organisation.
To
clarify: most burgs in Mechanus have lots of laws, and
the character of the citizens is made distinct by those
laws. In this case, Circular Unity has lost of people,
and the laws (and therefore the burg) are made distinct
by the people. In other words, the design is from the
inside out, not vice versa.
Thus,
every native of Circular Unity is born with his life
planned. Every surprise is known ahead of time, every
pratfall can be accounted for. The funny thing is that,
because it is their life to live, no citizen of Circular
Unity does anything BUT live the life he is born with. A
barmy is as lawful and as intelligent as any other
citizen, but because it was his lot to be barmy, he
behaves in a barmy manner.
Each
person's plan for life is written on the Great Placard of
Unity, a blank brass plaque which nearly covers the
entire side of the city hall on the central ring. Each
person sees the placard as the entire manuscript of their
life (and thus, all see something different). The amount
of time you will in Circular Unity as compared to your
total life span is directly proportional to how much of
your life you can see written. It's all there, but only
those destined to be born and die in Circular Unity can
see it all. Thus, an explorer with a lifespan of 40 years
who enter Circular Unity and will leave (he has no choice
in the matter) in four days will see, at random, one word
out of 5,000 in his life story on the Placard. But those
are only those portions spent in Circular
Unity.
The
most disturbing aspect of the city is that, upon entering
the city, no on has any free will. Our explorer from the
above example plans on spending a week in Circular Unity,
but he manages to decipher from the Placard (out of sheer
luck) that we will stay only four days. He can either
ignore this or act based on it. If he ignores it, he
sells his goods in record time, is accused of magical
manipulation, and is exiled. If he acts based on this
portent, he sells things over eagerly, and decided
magical mani[pulation is the only way to get all of
his goods sold. He charms some customers, is tried, and
exiled. No matter what course he took, he would be
accused of magical enchantment and exiled from Circular
Unity.
Now,
this is all very confusing, but bear with me. Now, only
certain parts of a person's life are predestined in
Circular Unity, and these cannot be changed (the exile,
for example). However, those actions not specified can be
pursued in any way shape or form, because the outcome is
always the same. Spellcaster or not, our merchant is
accused, because the accusal is written into the Placard
(though he cannot see it). However, whether or not he is
guilty is not written, so it doesn't matter
whether he do the crime or not.
Similarly,
the rings of the city always seem to meet when a person
is about to step across onto another ring. They don't
seem to speed up or slow down, but they are always there
when they are needed. That is because every passing over
the rings is assigned ahead of time. In Circular Unity's
history, no one has ever been killed or injured by
falling off of the edge of a ring or getting caught and
crushed between rings.
Interestingly,
no one, not even powerful proxies or avatars, have found
themselves immune to Circular Unity's effects. Maddening
to gods of chaos, the city is an unsiegeable bastion of
Law, even more secure in Mechanus than the modrons. This
unnerving immunity leads many to point to it as a
dangerous source of lawful subversion.
Ultimately,
Circular Unity works like a machine It operated as one
precision clockwork device with intricately complicated
gear that, despite their fickle natures, always turn at
exactly the right time.
MILITIA:
Circular
Unity has no militia. Every attack against it has failed,
for reason that are perfectly reasonable. Disasters
always seem to happen exactly when the shouldn't (or
should, if you look at it from the city's perspective),
and even the hoards of acheron have no effect on the
placidly normal lives of the locals.
SERVICES:
If
a body can overcome the incredible annoyance of knowing
every move you make in the city is planned and that there
is no way you can avoid Fate, the city is actually not a
bad place to stay. Sure, there are the usual risks of
harm or death, but these are never 'accidental.' They are
predetermined. Circular Unity created wonderful clocks
which break down at a very specific time , so you know
when to buy one in advance. Of course, this is lost if
the clocks are taken out of the city.
Another
useful enterprise is the sale of food. Though it is
unclear where the money comes from, the locals always
seem have just enough money to buy just what they need
(unless their life is scheduled otherwise). Thus, a
merchant selling food is assured of making a profit
(unless, of course, Fate says otherwise).
Interestingly,
there are no portals to Sigil in Circular Unity. Not a
one. This is known because it is written so in the lives
of those who's fate it is to search for portals to Sigil.
Further, no portal from Sigil have ever been found from
the Cage's end.
CURRENT
CHANT:
As
mentioned above, the current Freedom Fighters have made
some small progress toward their goals, though they have
yet to change a single life. What is interesting is that
Bujencci, who has lived in the burg since the age of six,
can read most of her life, but has been surprised to find
no mention of death. If her theory is right, she cannot
die while she remains in Circular Unity. Whether this
means she becomes undead against her will, accidentally
becomes a prolonger (if that's even possible), or
something totally different, is unknown.
[Author's note:
This piece was inspired by Arthur Dent's inability to die
until someone misses him with a disintegration pistol and
the idea of Free Will being an
illusion.]
Music of
the Gears
(by Chris
Murphy)
One
of the oddest burgs on the cog of Regulus is the little
anthill known as the Music of the Gears. All it really is
is a few shops, inns, and taverns, and the only permanent
occupants are the owners of those shops. Why? Because the
locals aren't too fond of the machine in the middle of
town, the machine that gave the burg it's name.
What
is it? Only the biggest musical instrument in the
multiverse! The Music of the Gears is a towering,
mechanical symphony. It has a wooden frame with cymbals,
air backs that push wind through pipes, mechanical arms
that beat drums, gears that gently moves chimes, and
strings that are stretched between two wooden
beams.
"Pretty
impressive, berk, but how does it play?" I'm glad you
asked. See, there's a reason why its called the Music of
the Gears. Here's the chant..the movements of Mechanus's
gears play the instrument. How? No one knows. Or why it's
there, for that matter. As far as anyone knows, it's
always been there. The town built around it, though, is
another story. It was built about 150 years ago by a
wandering musician named Leer. He decided to build an inn
there, the Wheel Inn (which is still standing).
Travellers came, Leer made a lot of jink, and other
bloods got the same idea...a lot of travellers come this
way, so why not set up shop here? Needless to say, Music
of the Gears is a major stopping point for any
travellers, whether they give a fig about music or
not.
What's
it sound like? Well...you got to remember, you're on
Mechanus. Some say its the most beautiful sound on the
planes. Others say they would rather be in Pandemonium.
Anyway, the music is a constant hum, accompanied by the
soft cling of the chimes, the deep voice of the strings
and pipes, and the rat-tat-tat of the drums. Those with a
lawful bent are sure to love, and those who are a bit
more chaotic find it boring and drab.
On
thing about Music of the Gears that is still dark to
everyone is why the Modrons let it stay. Its not a secret
that they like to keep things efficient, and the Music of
the Gears isn't exactly important in the scheme of
things. The only valid story as to why this is is that a
Power (who? who knows?) put it there, and the Modrons
can't touch it.
There
are a lot of things dark about Music of the Gears, but
what is known is that it is a nice surprise in a plane of
stifling conformity.
The Spiral
Tower
(by Belarius)
HEARSAY:
Not
every bit of Mechanus is gearwork. There's a few other
sorts of mechanical bits that help to keep the whole
place turning. One such thing it the screw. Sure, a
screw's like a sideways gear. The teeth of a gear fit
into the grooves along the side and the gear gets turned
as the screw rotates. It's basic machinery. Well, I've
seen one screw unlike all the rest in Mechanus. Only a
mile or two tall, it's one of the smaller bits in
Mechanus, but it's got a secret: it's hollow. On a lark I
climbed to the top of the screw once, and I found a
staircase down into the guts of the place (if you can
give a chunk of metal guts). I let real quick, but I've
heard stories since. Some say it's the forgotten hideaway
of a lich or something. Others say it's just forgotten.
I've even heard it's a secret fiendish weapons stash! I
ain't goin' back, but I'll show you the way for a spot of
garnish, if you're interested.
DESCRIPTION:
The
Spiral Tower is a section hollowed out inside one of
Mechanus' smaller screws. It's got no windows and only
one entrance at it's very top, a trap door heavy enough
that it'll keep out most curiosity-seekers. If you can
haul the trap door open (which requires a combined
strength of 20), you'll find a simple spiral staircase
down into the hollow interior of the gear.
At
first, the tower lacks any sort of illumination even
infravision can't pierce the darkness. Magical lights
work at only 50% efficiency and no amount of metamagic
can dispel the seemingly magical blackness. If a body's
patient, though, they'll eventually (after a few hours on
the spiral staircase) get to a brightly lit area near the
centre of the screw.
Few
explorers have actually returned from the illuminated
depths of the Spiral Tower, but those who have describe
floor after floor of laboratories, workshops, storerooms,
and forges. The entire place seems empty. Occasionally,
strange magical constructs resembling nothing less than
mechanical animals attack intruders, but these encounters
are few and far between.
Thievery
is a literal impossibility in the Spiral Tower. If
someone tries to take anything from the Spiral Tower, the
item vanishes as soon as the thief leaves its confines.
Probably because of this, rare and extravagant magics lie
scattered throughout the tower, in the forms of items,
scrolls, and spellbooks.
No
explorer has discovered the true purpose of the tower,
however. It is the secret home of the 'Tenth Tertian.'
Like the nine modron armies that act as reserve forces
around Primus' tower, an additional tertian exists,
largely independently, where it produces magical items
for the modron hierarchy, researches law-related spells,
and experiments with non-natives to try and understand
greater intricacies of the aspect of Law. It has the full
support of the screw's gear spirit, which calls itself
'Latch.'
It
is unclear whether or not the Tenth Tertian is a rogue or
not. Rogues who believe themselves not to be rogues
retain control over lower-ranking modrons, and the known
terians, secundi, and Primus himself do not leave
Regulus. Thus, though he works for the good of the
modrons, the Tenth Tertian may be a rogue. On the Other
hand, it may just be a trump card in Primus' hand, a
factor which those planning against the modrons cannot
consider in their plans. If this is the case, there is
nothing unlawful about it. Remember, "Just because it's
the law don't mean it has to make sense,
berk!"
Humanoid
Settlement #1347-b
(by James
Sinks)
Humanoid
Settlement #1347-b (or as the natives call it, "Hope")
has been around for the past three hundred tears or so.
From the outside Hope appears much like any other town in
mechanus, its appearance having been dictated by
Settlement code 1.4.5-b (Appearance and construction of
humanoid settlements, agrarian). And from within the
borders Hope appears much like any other town -with one
exception, there is no visible law enforcement. While
Hope does have a code of laws (in accordance with
Settlement code 4.5.2-b -Laws and law enforcement in
humanoid settlements, agrarian), it also has some very
unique laws. According to Hope's charter, every member of
the town is a full fledged constable, militia member, and
judge. As such the citizens are empowered to deal with
any law breakers as they see fit (and amazingly this
power is almost never abused).
Hope
is a small settlement of 560 people that makes its living
from farming. There is no trade with other villages,
there is no effective economy, people don't really
understand the concept of money, they simply barter for
what they need. People here are unusually friendly and
open, even with strangers (a very rare
occurrence).
Hope
is something of a planar myth, there are currently
stories circulating in the anarchist underground about a
"city of freedom, right under the Modron's noses!" If the
anarchists ever came to Hope they would be sorely
disappointed, rather than the bastion of resistance that
the stories make it out to be, it is actually full of
people who would never dream of trying to force their
views on someone else.
Hope
is a very hard burg to find; it's said that no one knows
just where the gate to Hope is, and if someone does know,
they aren't telling. Touts on the street have recently
started selling 'gate keys to Hope, guaranteed' but these
are invariably fakes. The 'loths have refused to say
anything about hope (leading to some interesting
rumours), as have the celestials. The Modrons on the
other hand are more than willing to help people find
Hope; as long as they fill out forms 11.24.6.0-c (Basic
information), 23.6.8.9-g (directional assistance
request), 5.62.4.7-* (Plane of origin form, replace *
with appropriate plane abbreviation), 5.76.3.0-a
(Destination plane form, Mechanus), 4.2.55.1-f-a
(Destination in mechanus form, humanoid settlement,
agrarian), and 3.5.66.7-e (Information request form,
directional, Mechanus, humanoid settlement, agrarian) in
triplicate. Needless to say, no one has ever gotten help
from the Modrons.
Hope
is dark and will probably stay dark, it is so unlike the
'city of freedom' that even if the anarchists found it
they would undoubtedly pass it up.
The Black
Cogs
(by Andrew
Griffiths)
Mechanus
is a plane on pure law, where good and evil are held in
check by the rigid rules of the plane. However, if enough
evil people go to Mechanus, and their aren't enough good
people to neutralise it, the plane might be tipped into
the lower planes. The Mechanus Mediators are supposed to
make sure that doesn't happen, but what if they can't, or
don't?
Recently
a group of adventures found a large cog made of a hard
black metal. It didn't require magic to realise that it
was evil, they could feel the evil emanating from it. For
some reason the Mechanus Mediators, Modrons, and powers
have done nothing. That cog was just the beginning.
Another cog adjacent to recently turned black. Many sages
are saying that their should be white cogs elsewhere in
Mechanus but none have been found. Either the cogs of
good are well hidden, or this is a sign that Mechanus is
starting to slip into the lower planes, which would be
catastrophic.
If
Mechanus reverted to lawful evil, its denizens would also
become lawful evil. The now evil Modrons would no doubt
join forces with the Baatezu, which would mean the
Tanar'ri would be forced into a defensive battle. Of
course the Tanar'ri might start thinking about tipping
Limbo in their favour... The people of Limbo, even the
Slaad, aren't happy about that idea.
Because
of the problems Mechanus' slip into the lower planes
could cause, their are many good aligned people, and many
Githzerai, going to Mechanus to try to destroy the black
cogs. Unfortunately none of the local powers, or other
people of importance (Modrons, Parai, gear spirits,
petitioners) are saying anything, quickly changing the
subject when asked or just ignoring the question. The
Athar are having a field day with this, saying that if
the powers of Mechanus were gods, they would get rid of
the black cogs.
DESCRIPTION:
The
first black cog is about 3000 feet across and the second
is about 2000 feet across. They are both made of a black
metal which resembles obsidian. No one has been able to
brake, crack, or even scratch the cogs, which has many
people worried.
The
cogs are completely bare on the outside, but their are a
few tunnel openings on the surface which lead to a
network of caves. A group of adventures went into the
smaller of the two cogs and reported that they had found
many rouge quadrones. One of the fighters had been
captured and when he was found he was strapped onto a
table being tortured by a kocrachon. No one has gone into
the other cog yet.
THE
DARK
OF THE COGS:
The
Black Cogs are a manifestation of the evil in Mechanus,
whether the DM wants their to be good cogs elsewhere is
up to the DM. The Black Cogs are also inhabited by evil
Modrons. Most of them a quadrones, pentadrones, and
decatons. Their are also a few kocrachons and hamatula,
proving that the Baatezu are involved. Their ruler is a
hexton, but he is taking commands from a higher,
fiendish, source.
Any
Modron of septon rank or lower which comes within 200
feet on the Black Cogs must make an intelligence check
and check their magic resistance. If they fail both of
them they revert to lawful evil and enter the cogs to
join the ranks of evil Modrons. For some reason their are
no monodrones, duodrones, or tridrones in the cogs, but
people have reported seeing them enter the cogs. It is up
to the DM to decide their fate.
An
interesting effect of the cogs (or maybe their purpose)
is its effect of the fabric of the plane. The cogs are
wearing away at the boundary between Mechanus and its
neighbour, Acheron. When it rips, a huge portal will be
opened between Mechanus and Acheron, spilling the warring
factions into the plane. This could be very interesting
if you are playing with white (good) cogs. As the portal
to Acheron opens another would have to open to Arcadia,
allowing forces of good to come in as well as evil.
Remember, the denizens of Mechanus want to be lawful good
about as much as they want to lawful evil.
On
the cogs around the black cogs (but not on any directly
touching them) many base camps are being put up. Sages,
wizards, and adventuring parties are living here while
they investigate the portal. A portal to Sigil was
recently opened and a few people are coming in and trying
to sell things to the berks in the camps. Most of them
are selling food and basic things but one, Caron Smith
(Pl/male human/F2/Fa/N) (Charisma 16) has recently set up
a tent and is selling weapons. He has most weapons for
100-150% of the listed price but loves to barter. If the
player has a higher charisma or they role play very well
they could get what they wanted for half price. If he
doesn't have what the PCS want, he can order it for an
extra 5-10 gold pieces.
Unknown
to the people on the cogs. The Yugoloth have set up a
base inside one of the cogs. It is extremely important to
them that they stop the Baatezu's plans. They wouldn't
tell anyone, but they worried that the Baatezu slipped
this through them. They are starting to get nervous, and
wouldn't mind if a group of adventures would be willing
to see what is happening inside the cogs.
The
effects of the black cog could be relatively minor to
catastrophic. IT could be that a few cogs shift into
Acheron, and that it all (for now). Or the entire plane
could slip into the lower planes. If the DM chooses
something closer to the latter, they should make a lot of
preparation beforehand because this would alter all the
planes in one way or another, because their wouldn't be a
Lawful Neutral plane anymore.
ADVENTURE
IDEAS:
These
may be placed separately, they were originally one large
adventure, and are show in their former order:
- Sarjor (Planar / male bariaur /
P13 / Athar / CN), Char'trith (Planar / male githzerai /
W8 / Xaositect / CN), Marzia (Planar / female half-elf /
W(In)10 / Xaositect / CN), and 'Red Hammer' (Planar /
male dwarf / F10 / Xaositect / CN) have recently joined
together and formed the 'Saviors of Chaos' adventuring
party whose only goal is to destroy the Black Cogs. The
recently went into the larger cog and where captured by
the rouge modron living their. Sarjor was the only one
who managed to escape. He is willing to give the PCs a
mace of disruption +2 if they help him save his
friends. He does not know the powers of the mace, but he
does know it is powerful. Sarjor prefers his intelligent
claymore +3.
- A quinton and twelve pentadrones
come to investigate the Black Cogs, this is the first
time the Modrons have been seen investigating the Black
Cogs. As the group nears their destination 10 of the
pentadrones suddenly turn on the quinton. The PCS are the
only ones close enough to save the quinton. If saved he
might answer some questions about the Black Cogs, he
knows very little except that the evil modron leader is a
hexton.
- While the PCS are investigating
the cogs a large group of hobgoblins suddenly appear on
the larger of the two one. They appear stunned for a
minute, staring at the equally stunned people around the
cogs. Then they scramble into the cog and join forces
with the Modrons and Baatezu. The problem isn't the
hobgoblins, its the portal. A group of wizards quickly
set up wards and seal the portal, but the entire area
will soon rip open and let the armies of Acheron in (see
'The Dark of the Cogs'). This could lead to quests for
spell components for the wizards to seal the entire area
off going to the other side of the budding portal and
clearing out the area so the wizards can seal the portal
from both sides Or, if all else fails, mustering an army
and waiting for the portal to open.
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