PREAMBLE
"The Cult of Pestilence" is a short AD&D® adventure designed for 4-8 characters of levels 1-3 (about 12 total levels).  A balance of character classes and good combat ability in the party will greatly increase survival chances.

DMs may find it useful, but not necessary, to read the GREYHAWK: FROM THE ASHES write-up of Incabulos and his priesthood.  The priesthood section of FROM THE ASHES may be found at the Wizards of the Coast website as this URL: HTTP://WWW.WIZARDS.COM/.

This module uses the AD&D® FRPG system, and elements from the WORLD OF GREYHAWK™ campaign setting; both © TSR inc.
 

ADVENTURE BACKGROUND
Greyhawk City is infamous as a city of thieves, assassins, and adventurers — and yet, not all groups find welcome within the city.  The Cult of Incabulos is one such group.  Universally hated and reviled, the worshippers of Incabulos practice their foul faith in secret places and under the cover of darkness.

Several years ago, a cleric of Incabulos discovered a long-forgotten series of chambers while exploring the fetid sewers beneath the City of Greyhawk.  Having cleared the chambers of monsters and debris, the evil cleric and his acolytes made the place a haven of worship for their dark god.  Cloaked in secrecy, these wicked folk sally forth at night from their hideout to kidnap the unwary denizens of the city.  It is best not told here what becomes of these unlucky souls during the hideous rites of Incabulos, the lord of plagues and nightmares...
 

FOR THE DUNGEON MASTER
You may wish to single out a good character, or at least one likely to investigate, when you read the passages under "Starting the Adventure" heading below.  It may also be a desirable to have all of the characters at the same inn; however, this is not absolutely necessary as long as the characters can be mustered in a reasonable amount of time.

Of course, the opening below is just one possible way the characters may discover the hidden temple of the Incabulites.  Perhaps the beggar can approach the characters and relate to them how he saw "demons seize a young woman and carry her into the earth."  Or maybe the disappearances have begun to attract attention and the rumors of "evil spirits" will cause the characters to investigate.  Feel free to change or disregard the opening given below as it does not really affect what the characters will discover within the hideout.
 

STARTING THE ADVENTURE
The adventure begins at night, after the characters have gone to bed and are asleep.  It is assumed that at least one character is in a room on the third, or higher, floor of the inn.  Choose this character and read the following:
 

Hopefully, the character to whom you chose to relate the above is a red-blooded adventurer either willing to investigate instantly or soon after rousing his companions.  Let the characters search the area of the abduction and the side alley for a while, but have them find nothing of importance.  At the abduction site, the only evidence the party will find is a small round of cheese and several loaves of bread, all wrapped in a bundle with cloth and string.

Once you've determined that the cultists have had enough of a head start, read the following:
 

Poor Haggis is quite delirious; his mind ravaged from years of drink and street life.  Haggis, from his secluded hiding spot, witnessed the woman's abduction.  The "demons" (as he calls them), grabbed the girl and carried her past him, just feet from where he lay.  He will point to an area about 15 yards from his doorway and say, "and them demons, they jes' disappeared!  Vanished right down in deh groun'!"  The characters will not be able to get much else out of Haggis save insane ramblings and pitiful pleas for mercy.

The spot indicated by Haggis contains nothing; however, set into the ground is a large rusty sewer grate.  The grating is fairly heavy, but can be lifted up easily enough.  The hole is large enough for one character to descend at a time.  The sewers here are dark and bad smelling, and only the faint dripping of water can be heard.  Unfortunately for any would-be rescuers of fair maidens, the kidnappers did indeed descend into Greyhawk's dreaded sewers.
 

INTO THE SEWERS
The sewers are dark, wet, and nasty.  The floor of the sewers are curved inward at the center to allow water to flow freely, but along the walls are flat, 2 1/2' wide walkways.  The water in the sewers is quite low as it hasn't rained in Greyhawk for several days at least; and the thick brown muck coating the walkways of the sewers will allow the characters to easily track the cultist kidnappers back to their lair.  However, if the characters waste too much time before beginning the pursuit (12-24 hours or so), they may need the services of a ranger or similar person to follow the trail.

The sewers of Greyhawk are quite dangerous, and easy to get lost in.  You may want to have the characters wonder about aimlessly for a while losing and regaining the trail, and/or encounter a pack of giant rats, muck dwellers, or other suitable creature.  Eventually, however, the characters will follow the foot prints in the slime until they stop abruptly at the far end of a small side passageway — an obvious hint to the location of a secret door.

The secret door is easy enough to find once its general location is known.  The door is just a balanced plane of stone, disguised as part of the wall, pivoting inward with a forceful shove.  The passage beyond is dry and slopes down some 40' vertically, before terminating after 100' horizontally at the door to room #1.
 

THE COVEN OF INCABULOS
The walls and floors of this dungeon are stone; fashioned out of 1'x3' bricks, slightly more than 1' in thickness.  Unless circumstances dictate otherwise, sounds of battle, yelling, etc. should not attract unwanted attention.  The hallways are a uniform 12' in height, and the ceilings of the rooms are typically 15' - 20' high.  The dungeon's rooms and passages, unless otherwise noted, are damp and cool.  The lighting is typically very dim, with infrequent lit torches in sconces along the walls.  Doors are of stout, metal reinforced, wooden planks, and unlocked unless specified.

Random Encounters.
Check every turn rolling 1d6, a result of 1 indicates a random encounter.  In the event of an encounter roll 1d10 and consult the following:
 

 1.  Guard Room.
The door to this room is locked, but the lock is of poor quality (+25% chance to open locks).  It can be barred from the inside, but the careless guards within have neglected to do so.  If the door is picked open, the characters will surprise the guards on a 1-6 on a d10.  If the door is forced open on the first try, the chance to surprise is reduced to normal (1-3); and if the party takes two or more tries to force the door there is no chance for the guards to be surprised.  If the party is unable to force the door within four tries, the guards will have time to recover from their surprise and will dispatch one of their number to bring reinforcements first from area #2 and then to warn the clerics of area #10.

Read the following if the characters have managed to surprise the guards by picking the lock (adjust as necessary if the characters enter more forcefully):
 

There are 5 Cultists in this room.  Each Cultist carries 10 sp each; and there are 75 sp on the table.

Cultists (5): AC 8 (leather), MV 12, HD 1, hp 5, THAC0 20, #AT 1, Dmg 1d6 (short sword), SZ M, INT 9, AL NE, XP 15.

1a.  Closet.

Nothing else of value can be found here.

2.  Dormitory.

There are 12 Cultists total in this room, four of which are awake when the characters enter.  The sleeping Cultists will awaken in one round, and will be effectively surprised for an additional round.  At the end of the fourth round of combat, Tor-oh an evil fighter and Dreena his companion from area #2a, will enter the fray fully armored.  A thorough search here reveals 300 sp.

Cultists (12): AC 10, MV 12, HD 1, hp 5, THAC0 20, #AT 1, Dmg 1d4 (dagger), SZ M, INT 9, AL NE, XP 15.
Dreena: AC 8 (leather), MV 12, HD 1+1, hp 6, THAC0 20, #AT 1, Dmg 1d6 (short sword), SZ M, INT 9, AL NE, XP 35.
Tor-oh: AC 6 (ring mail + shield), MV 9, HD 2+2, hp 12, THAC0 18, #AT 1, Dmg 1d8+1 (longsword), SZM, INT 9, ALNE, XP 65.  Items: Potion of Invisibility, key to the chest in area #2a.

2a.  Tor-oh's Room.

If the party somehow managed to quietly dispatch the Cultists in area #2, then they will also find the Dreena and Tor-oh within (as above, but without armor).

There is a non-magical dagger underneath the pillow of the bed.  The locker is fastened with an iron padlock (Tor-oh has the key), inside is a small shaving mirror of polished silver worth 150 sp, and pouch containing 300 sp.

3.  Torture Chamber.

The torturer, Kamak, is indeed feeding his beloved "pets."  And he doesn't take kindly to strangers.  The rats are well-trained to obey the torturer's orders.  The 4 Giant rats will fight for 1d4 rounds after their master dies before fleeing.  The 20 normal rats flee when the giant rats do.

Aside from the various items of torture the room contains nothing of interest.  However, a very careful study of the NE corner will reveal a loose stone that may be pried open.  A character removing the stone will discover a rat, insane with hunger, which will jump out and try to latch itself to the character's face (+4 to hit, -4 to surprise).  After dealing with the rat, the characters also find a brown leather pouch containing 40 sp, 25 gp, and a woman's bracelet made of woven gold set with semi-precious stones worth 1,250 sp (this is a Bracelet of Protection +1; it acts as a ring of the same name when worn).

Kamak: AC 7 (studded leather), MV 12, HD 1, hp 5, THAC0 20, #AT 1, Dmg 1d8 (battle axe), SZ M, INT 9, AL NE, XP 15.
Giant Rats (4): AC 7, MV 15, HD 1/2, hp 3, THAC0 20, #AT 1, Dmg 1-3, SZ T, INT 3, AL NE, XP 7.
Rats (20): AC 7, MV 15, HD 1/4, hp 1, THAC0 20, #AT 1, Dmg 1, SZ M, INT 1, AL N, XP 7.

3.  Prison Cells.
The doors to these cells are locked (Lalceps has the keys in is room, area #8).  Each door has a small barred window, covered by a sliding wooden panel, that allows one to look into the cell.  Read the following for each cell as the characters enter or look into them:

3a.  Cell A.

This cell contains nothing.

3b.  Cell B.

The body is a zombie.  It will attack the moment it is disturbed.

Zombie: AC 8, MV 6, HD 2, hp 10, THAC0 19, #AT 1, Dmg 1d8, SZ M, INT 0, AL N, XP 65.  Undead; strikes last every round.

3c.  Cell C.

Characters opening this door will find the floor literally crawling with thousands of cockroaches.  Light from the opened door will cause the cockroaches to flee in all directions (down the hallway, up the character's legs, etc.).

3d.  Cell D.

The deal with Rodur (the fellow inside the cell), is that he is profoundly evil and has been driven quite mad after months of torture.  A former cult member, he earned the displeasure of the high priest, and has been sentenced to death after one year of continuous torture.

He will pose as an innocent trapped in the clutches of the cultists and will say anything to be let free.  He will feign friendship with the party in the hopes of betraying them at some crucial moment.  (He mistakenly believes that by doing so he will regain the High Priest's favor.)  Rodur will attempt to lead the characters to area #10 if possible.

If Rodur discovers that the cultists have been defeated, he will fly into a rage and attack a random party member with his fists (he will temporarily be at 18/00 strength during this attack due to his insanity).

Rodur has no treasure, and will never willingly give the party any useful information.

Rodur: AC 10, MV 12, HD 1, hp 2, THAC0 20 (17*), #AT 1, Dmg by weapon (+6*), SZM, INT 9, ALNE, XP 7. *When in a blind rage, see above.

4.  Kitchen.

The kettle contains a simmering broth.  Attentive characters will notice some fresh herb and vegetable clippings on one of the table.  Characters actually willing and able to carry off the kitchen items may sell them all for about 500 sp; however, this will take many trips.

Just before the characters entered the room, Sou-souk, the female half-orc cook, went into the pantry (area #4a).  She heard the PCs come into the room, and is now waiting just beyond the door with a large meat cleaver and her pet osquip Arl.  Characters opening the door to area #4a are attacked by Arl and Sou and suffer a -5 penalty to their surprise rolls.

Sou-Souk (1/2 orc): AC 10, MV 12, HD 1, hp 5, THAC0 20, #AT 1, Dmg 1d4+1 (meat cleaver), SZ M, INT 9, AL NE, XP 15.
Arl (osquip): AC 7, MV 12, HD 3+1, hp 16, THAC0 16, #AT 1, Dmg 2-12, SZ S, INT 1, AL N, XP 120.

4a.  Pantry.

A search here will reveal most common food items and about 10 weeks worth of dry rations.

5.  Dining Hall.

The tapestry is an abomination and any good character should feel the urge to destroy it.  Characters wishing to sell the tapestry will get 5,000 sp for it from the right buyer (as well as a lot of unwanted attention).

6.  Reading Room.

These cultists are under the influence of powerful hallucinogenic.  They are oblivious to everything unless roughly shaken or attacked.  Their reactions to the characters will be completely random and may be anything from stupor, lassitude, anger, fear, worshipfulness, etc.  The cultists will begin to regain their senses in 1-6 hours.

The shelves contain various books and scrolls of an evil nature concerning the worship and rites of Incabulos, several brass incense burners, and a supply of exotic incense sticks (some of which are hallucinogenic).  The books, scrolls, incense and burners are worth a total of 800 sp.  The cultists also carry 25 sp each.

Cultists (3): AC 10, MV 12, HD 1, hp 5, THAC0 20, #AT 1, Dmg 1d4 (dagger), SZ M, INT 9, AL NE, XP 15.

7.  Priest's Room

This is the room of Anar, the second highest ranking priest of Incabulos.  The chest is locked (Anar has the key) and trapped with a needle mechanism (save vs. poison or go into convulsions losing 1 hp per round); it contains a pouch holding 200 sp  and 50 gp, and other personal items.

8.  High Priest's Room.

This is the private room of Lalceps, the high priest of Incabulos.  There are 12 skeletons in the room; they will animate and attack if the room is entered.  The corpse hanging from the wall has 3 rot grubs in it; the rot grubs will attack anyone touching the corpse or going under it (to inspect the skull).

The desk and drawers contain ink, paper, quills, etc., the keys to the prison cells (areas #3a-3d), and several books and scrolls of a religious nature.  The chest contains various personal items, and an ornamental bronzewood box (worth 100 sp) holding 300 sp  and 75 gp.  The crystal skull is worth 2,500 sp.

Skeletons (12): AC 7, MV 12, HD 1, hp 5, THAC0 19, #AT 1, Dmg 1d6, SZ M, INT 0, AL N, XP 65.  Undead; 1/2 damage from edged weapons.
Rot Grubs (3): AC 9, MV 1, HD <1, hp 1, THAC0 20, #AT 1, Dmg 0, SZ T, INT 0, AL N, XP 65.  Kills host in 1-3 turns unless applied with fire (1d6 hp worth), or a cure disease spell.

9.  Acolytes' Rooms.
These rooms are all very similar.  Read the following when the characters look into these rooms:
 

The scrolls are various religious writings, and the chests contain worthless personal items.

Rooms 9b and 9e are similar to the others with these differences:

9b.  Acolyte Room B.

Characters removing the sheets will discover the mattress to be a mass of huge black roaches.  It appears that this room's acolyte like to sleep with roaches crawling all over him.  The roaches are strangely tame.

9e.  Acolyte Room E.

A cat has been left here by an acolyte.  The cat's feet have been sawed off and the stumps cauterized.  The cat bears other evidence of torture.  Who knows how long this poor creature has been kept alive as a sickening plaything?

10.  Temple of Incabulos.

These are the priests and acolytes of Incabulos, in the midst of some foul ritual.  The woman is Sola — the same woman the character at the beginning of the adventure saw being abducted.  The character will also vaguely recognize this room as the one he saw in his dream.

Each Acolyte carries 50 sp.  Lalceps' holy symbol is an elaborate affair of gold filigree, silver and ornamental jewels worth 1,500 sp.  Sola, is an untrained 0-level human; however, she will fight against the priests if freed and given a weapon.

Lalceps (high priest): AC 10, MV 12, HD 5, hp 25, THAC0 18, #AT 1, Dmg 1d6 (long dagger), SZ M, INT 15, AL NE, XP 420.  Items: Ring of Free Action, Gem of Insight (will function again in 45 years).  Spells: (1) Command, Cause Lt. Wounds, Darkness, Prot./Good, Sanctuary; (2) Aid, Charm Person, Enthrall, Heat Metal, Obscurement; (3) Prayer.
Anar (priest): AC 10, MV 12, HD 3, hp 15, THAC0 20, #AT 1, Dmg 1d4 (dagger), SZ M, INT 12, AL NE, XP 120.  Spells: (1) Cause Fear, Cause Lt. Wounds, Darkness, Prot./Good; (2) Aid, Hold Person.
Acolytes (5): AC 10, MV 12, HD 1, hp 5, THAC0 20, #AT 1, Dmg 1d4 (dagger), SZ M, INT 10, AL NE, XP 65.  Spells: Acolyte #1: Cause Lt. Wounds; Acolyte #2: Cause Lt. Wounds; Acolyte #3: Darkness; Acolyte #4: Darkness; Acolyte #5: Cause Fear.

11.  Vestibule.

The secret door to area #11a can be opened by pulling on one of the unused pegs.

11a.  Sewer Shaft.

This is another secret exit/entrance to the temple.  The shaft has many winding passages and lead to various areas of the sewers throughout the city.
 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
DMs may feel the treasure within the dungeon excessive, or possibly too skimpy; they should adjust as necessary, keeping in mind the need for the characters to haul off the loot.  (Unguarded treasure has a tendency to wander off...)  Additional/alternative treasure or rewards for defeating the cultists could be a bit of local fame, a cash bounty put upon the head of Lalceps and his cult to claim, and/or the gratitude of Sola. (Who may turn out to be more than she appears...)

Some of the combats may prove to be quite deadly for a group of low level adventurers.  Suggestions for lowering the difficulty include: replacing the osquip in area #4 with a giant rat, reducing the number of cultists in area #2 or skeletons in area #7, or altering the spells available to the clerics in area #10. (Perhaps the clerics used some earlier as part of their ritual, or prayed for spells less useful in combat?)

Comments?  Flames?  Email the author at: blucher@usa.net.