TYGER TYGER

     Maximus (Max) Gykyop: Goblin, son of the owner of the 
Berserk Bear Inn.  He is a semi-trained wizard, particularly interested 
in magic.  Specifically in learning the spell *Fish Control*.  If any 
PCs are obviously wizards, he will try to make a deal to acquire that 
spell.  If not available, and the PC(s) offer a different one he can 
use (IQ 13, Magery 2, see his spell list below if necessary) he must 
make an IQ check to keep from impulsively accepting it. (If successful 
he will hang on to the money he has saved until he can find a teacher 
for fish control.  He knows the fishing fleets pay handsomely for mages 
who can cast that spell.  However, if not, spells that might 
particularly (IQ - 2) tempt him are mind reading, mammal control 
or simple illusion.)

     He is generally friendly & courteous to the guests of the inn and 
a good source for most of the above information.

     History: (Easily available from Max or anyone in town) Max was an
assistant alchemist at Kethalos when his father died 6 years ago.  Sick 
of the intrigues between the Alchemy Guild and the two Mages Guilds of 
Kethalos, he readily returned home to help his mother run the inn.  His 
alchemical training helps here.  He makes several house specialties the 
PCs should enjoy.  "Civilized" races and characters probably would rather 
not know just what is in those drinks, however.  You don't want to 
know.  Trust me.   

     He really is overqualified for this job and would like to get into
wizardry again, so long as it paid enough to take good care of his 
mother.  The Kethalos Alchemist's Guild is the only Alchemist's guild in 
the county (it's chartered both in the city and outside it) and Max left 
on poor terms with the guild leadership.  

     Because Tefrigio is a part of the County of Kethalos, Max cannot 
legally practice alchemy.  This has never stopped or seriously affected 
Max's alchemical sideline.  

     A writ of exemption from the local lord allows him to make one 
potion.  Max bribed D'Oxhamshire for 150 writs (paid in product 
instead of cash) four years back and still has 48 left!  His mother's 
failing health keeps him running the inn, and without time to make 
elixirs.  Had her health not deteriorated, he's probably have had 
to get a few more writs by now.

     Max has six potions left in the back, 1 elixir of Achilles, 2 
potions of Chiron, one of Janus & 2 left to the GM's determination.  
Prices are 30% above the listed due to the remoteness of the locale, 
and there is a $200 per potion fee for the writ that allowed the elixir 
to be made that is added on.  (On a favorable reaction roll or an 
emergency, he might drop the writ fee to the $150 per writ he 
mathematically paid.) He is "expert" in all of the potions listed above 
and all Combat potions not already listed. 

     Max is rather popular among the garrison troops, and people who 
trouble him tend to end up regretting it.

     Benito of Vekamera:  Human, 1 legged blacksmith.  Formerly a 
guardsman stationed here, he took up armoury after losing his leg 
to infection.  He is quite good at repairing swords (skill 16) and 
decent at armor (skill 14).  His smithy has a number of apprentices 
right now, and unless a PC is a dwarf or gnome AND can prove he/she 
is skilled, he is not hiring.  He actually has more work than he 
and his staff can handle, but not the facilities.  He hopes next 
year to be able to build a larger foundry.  Being the only smith 
around for miles, his prices are high enough to make that likely. 

     Theresa & Valaria:  As the only prostitutes around a small 
garrison, they snort at Benito's frequent complaints about being 
overworked.   Neither is noticeably good looking, though Valaria 
can be talkative and is knowledgeable about the situation at the 
castle (IQ 12, Streetwise & Politics at 14.)   

     Eduard: The stabler of the villa.  If the Party has horses, 
they will have to deal with him to have their horses cared for.  He 
is also an imperial spy.  If the characters make any anti-
Megalosian statements in his presence, the offending character's 
description (and name if it can be obtained) will be passed along 
to his superiors.  He will not openly act against any seditious or 
even treasonous characters, but can arrange for appropriate 
imperial force to go after the characters.  

     His primary job is to watch the people running the keep, so 
his identity is not known to Phillip or Phillip's underlings.  
He is unlikely to take any actions that would expose him as a spy. 

     His identity is known to Odysseus Josephs.

     Phillip's position is more perilous than he realizes.  

     Word of what is happening here has alre
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two at the court.  Phillip is worried and has told his closest 
associate that he sent his wife back to the capitol to find out what 
is being done or said and make a case in defense of his actions, and 
told the tale about her going to help the local coven as the public 
cover story for her absence.  (In truth, he recognized Josephs and 
is actually getting his wife out of the way of danger and has sent 
her back to Kethalos.) 

     Odysseus Carel Josephs, a top wizard & assassin, has been sent 
here to kill Phillip in a manner that will provoke a minor war.  If at 
all possible, he is to make Phillip look like a traitor, and it is 
easier to do this if Phillip and most of his men are already dead when 
his masters hold their inquiry. 

     Accordingly, he is stationed at the Garrison as a minor imperial 
official in the accounting office, here to do some record checking.  
He stays in the Keep for the most part, doing the genuine accounting 
his cover requires and is unlikely to be anyone the PCs will encounter 
outside of the keep during the day. 

     He knows all listed versions of the Shapeshift spell, and plans 
to turn into a Tiger, kill Phillip and blame it on the barbarian 
allies.  To this end, he has drugged Obel and hidden him with the 
Entombment spell.  

     If all goes to the plan, he will take an arm from Phillip's 
corpse, sneak out of the castle then revert to human form.  Near dawn, 
he will release Obel from the entombment, leaving the arm near the 
unconcious boy.  Someone will come across the "WereTiger" sleeping off 
it's meal.   Josephs will remain invisibly nearby, ready to cast 
Emotion Control on the people who find the boy.  The effects here 
are to drive these people into a murderous rage.

     If Obel isn't killed outright by angered soldiers/villagers, he 
will be imprisoned for Phillip's murder, either event grounds for war 
with the tribe, something his Emotion Control spell will whip up on 
both sides over the next few hours or days, as need be.   

     From the safety of self powered flight & invisiblilty items, he 
plans to watch the battle, and note which officers of Phillip died.  
Having kept meticulous notes of the comings and goings of these 
officers after hours, he can arrange his facts and forged documents 
to "show" Phillip and these other dead officers conspired with the 
barbarians to loot the merchant caravans next spring.  The Tiger clan, 
for reasons unknown, felt betrayed by Phillip, and instigated the 
attack to avenge their "honor" upon those who cheated them.  The 
efficiency with which the savages tracked down those who betrayed them 
indicated their shamans have considerable skill in tracking spells.  
Once the last of the betrayers was slain, they withdrew, to the 
good fortune of the surviving soldiers and subjects.

     Any and all survivors will be treated as innocent pawns of the 
traitors, those who wish to clear the names of their friends and 
superiors will have to challenge the testimony of the man who is 
keeping their necks off the headsman's block.

     Of course, things do not quite go as planned.

     Josephs has made or will make a couple of mistakes: The first 
is selecting a non-were as his scapegoat.  Many of his kin are were-
tigers, but Obel is not, and proving this could undo his entire plan. 

     Being thorough and overconfident, Josephs will sneak out of the 
keep before turning into a Tiger, and break into it.  One of his 
"competitors" tripped up committing a similar mission because the 
person being framed was too short to have reached the place 
the murder weapon was hidden in.  Going through all the motions 
Obel would have had to make eliminates that risk.  This is another 
mistake. 

     Myska will be prowling around looking for signs of her brother, 
and will notice Josephs.  She has tracked her brother's scent right 
to the spot he was entombed at, but only knows she lost it.  
Joseph's human scent was there as well. 

     The tiger's scent will be different from his human scent, but 
vaguely familiar to Myska when she catches it.  Curious, she will 
follow Josephs.

     Phillip has the Danger Sense Advantage, another miscalculation 
for Josephs, and he will wake up in time and dodge out of the way of 
the attack.  Myska will come to his aid, and be wounded by Phillip 
by mistake.   

     Both tigers will flee the castle.  Due to the blood trail she 
leaves, Myska will have a more difficult time fleeing the soldiers, 
and after a couple of more wounds, barely escapes by scaling a wall.  
A silvered arrow will nick her hind leg just as she is going over, 
dropping her HT to 0.  

     She manages to remain conscious for a surprisngly long time, 
(alright, a story telling conveniently long time) collapsing 
just outside the door of a PC's room.  Unless the PCs investigate 
within 3 seconds of her collapse, Myska will be in human form when 
she is discovered.  This will automatically drop her HT by 2 points, 
making her unconcious for 2 hours barring the proper magical spells. 

     What the PCs do at this point is up to them.  Presumably they 
will come to the aid of the girl.  

     If the PCs are not yet aware of her lycantropic nature, her 
story should make it apparent, though she won't introduce that fact 
directly.  

  Weres are common among the nomad tribes, and held in some degree of 
respect (Status for being a were cancels out her "stigma" for being a 
female: Status level: 0).  A hostile reaction to weres will startle 
her.  

     Markings on her tribal beads make her lycanthropy clear to tribe 
members, (at least to other tribe folk and other locals) and she 
tells her story as though the fact that she is a were tiger is as 
obvious as her blonde hair, and about as relevant. 

     Obvious goals would be to find Obel, discover who the other 
tiger was, and get the girl out of the keep before the soldiers can 
find her. 

     An alternate hook to get the players in the adventure is if 
they've just enlisted at the keep, or at least done nothing against 
Phillip's men, Phillip will secretly meet with the PCs the following 
night.   He suspects Josephs of being one of his attackers, (Josephs 
has a limited reputation) and wants to know more about what is going 
on.  The PCs are being used by Phillip rather than his own men 
because Phillip can't be sure which of his men might be in league 
with Josephs. 

     If the girl was captured, her story will be known to him.  If 
not, part of their assignment will be to find the second tiger as 
well. 

     In this case, obvious goals would be to find the wounded Were, 
watch Josephs, find proof of his involvement or eliminate Josephs. 

     His first attack ruined, Josephs will move cautiously for the 
next several days.  He spends his days going over the keeps books, 
his nights, except for a couple of beers bought at the inn, are 
spent in his quarters.  On the 4th day after the attack, Josephs 
will go past the inn to the stables, obstensibly to check on his 
horse, and pay the stable hand for another week's upkeep of the 
mount. 

     Edourd, the stable hand, is a spy for the empire, 
specifically under the control of the noble who hired Josephs.   
He will slip a note to the man.  If watched after Josephs leaves, 
Edourd will take the note out and read it (suspicious in itself: 
Stablehands in backwood keeps are rarely literate!) and stuff it in 
his vest pocket. 

     In point of fact, Edourd is a loyal Megalan who would gladly 
turn on Josephs if convinced Josephs was working against the Empire.  
However, he has been involved in some serious intrigues in the past 
and it will take some convincing to make him do so.  

     If the note can be read, it asks for a meeting with Taranaku. The 
name sounds Minotaurish, and it is. 

     It should be simple for the party to discover that Taranaku is a 
minor war chief among the Minotaurs. 

     If the note alone is brought in as evidence, it will prove 
little, as Josephs is a skilled forger and took the trouble to 
write the note in another's hand.  (The person Josephs is forging is 
a rival of his.  It is unlikely that the PCs will be able to follow 
up the clues to this other assassin immediately, though this could be 
a long term plotline for the party.) 

     If confronted with the note, he will quickly point out that the 
note is not his, and offer countless examples of his handwriting to 
prove it.  If necessary, he will point out how the Illusion disguise 
spell works and suggest that HE is being set up by someone. 

     If the meeting with Taranaku is allowed to take place, Josephs 
will describe an attack plan for destroying the keep to the minotaur, 
and sell the reluctant Minotaur on the idea by showing how he will 
get the gate open.  Josephs will cast the illusion disguise spell to 
make himself resemble Phillip, mimic his voice, and point out he has 
forged documents in Phillip's handwriting that the guards will 
recognize and obey. 

     Obvious goals for the party here are to capture or kill Josephs, 
the Minotaur chieftain and his lieutenants and/or warn the settlement 
of the attack. 

     If the Minotaurs are not stopped after meeting with Josephs the 
attack will go as planned unless Joseph's death or capture is made 
known to them.  The walls of the outer villa are low and hold little 
chance of stopping invaders.  The keep itself is what might stop the 
attackers.  

     Taranku will get his troops to move swiftly through the town to 
the keep's gate.  He expects Josephs to open the gate which will let 
his force in and decimate the defenders.  If the PCs warn Phillip 
in time he will set a trap for the minotaurs.  Roll a contest of 
Tactics between Taranku (9-) and Phillip (17-).  

     On a win, Phillip will commit troops to hide in houses and stores 
just outside the gate.  The minotaurs will be crushed between the 
keep's forces and the outside troops.  

     If Taranku wins, he spots the trap, and orders his troops to 
enter the buildings where troops would be hiding and deals with them
before they can hinder his assualt on the walls of the keep. 

     On a critical success for Phillip/crit failure for Taranku, 
Phillip has his fire wizards to cast enough create fires to 
cover the inner courtyard, and opens the gates for the attackers, 
who will charge in and be barbecued.  A detachment of Phillip's men 
who have been protected with *resist fire* will march through the 
fire and cut into the front ranks of the Minotaurs as the rear 
guard attacks.  

     On a critical success for Taranku/crit failure for Phillip, 
the Minotaurs set fire to the buildings as they advance towards 
the Keep walls that would hold the outer defenders and keeps 
Phillip's troops from charging into the courtyard, taking the 
walls and circling around before attacking the main buildings.   

   If Josephs escapes or is killed, Obel remains trapped underground 
until or unless the players figure out what Josephs did.  Anyone 
checking the area Myska lost his scent may make a Tracking +4 roll 
and realize that she should not have lost it where she did.  Getting 
a wizard to unentomb him is the PC's problem, though a generous GM 
could include the spell with those known by Lady Anne or in one of 
the garrison's mages' grimoires. 

     If Obel is rescued, Myska would probably be willing to become 
an ally.  Marriage to the PC paying the points for her would be one 
in-game reason for her to join the party, though others can be 
arranged if need be.  (Myska should grow another half inch in height 
and develop her beautiful appearance advantage into very beautiful 
during the next 18 months.  Her dowery will be the difference between 
the cost of her items & the $1000 starting characters get at creation 
time.)  

     If Phillip is rescued from his troubles, he can either become a 
patron or give the PCs letters of introduction that will permit them to 
acquire patrons at the Megalosian capitol, in addition to whatever 
payment they may have negotiated. 

     If Taranaku is still at large, Phillip may ask the players to scout 
around the Minotaur regions and see what is being planned.  The Minotaur has 
gathered his troops together and is likely to do something unpleasant.  If 
denied a good attack on the castle, his honor demands he at least turn some 
profit or glory out of this.  He may raid the farms supporting the castle or 
turn on the Tiger Clan, depending on which direction the GM wants to go. 

     A longer term job would be to try and find evidence to support the theory 
that Thulin is training and supplying the Minotaurs.  

     In point of fact, Thulin is not training and supplying the Minotaurs, but 
one of his lieutenants is.  Tranonakan is an ambitious dwarf who hopes to take 
the old dwarf's place when he dies.  Driving the hated Megallans away would 
certainly help his advance.

    To this end, he collected all the Minotaur slaves he could some 70 
years ago. These he used as a breeding stock. The first generation 
of minotaurs were (ironically) trained by Megallan arena overseers 
he'd purchased. If this would be valuable knowledge for Megalos, as 
it would "shame" the Dwarves of Zarak into giving them better trade 
agrreements. Or even Very good agreements if the revered name of 
Thulin can be kept untainted by the scandal. Thulin, if directly 
confronted, would prefer to see the PCs silenced, but will not 
compound the scandal.

     Tranonakan will be summoned to face the evidence.  If he cannot 
exonorate himself in Thulin's eyes, Thulin will remove his badge of 
office and walk from the room, (non-dwarven PCs may make a Savoir 
-3 roll (Gnomes & Dwarves make normal rolls to realize he is) 
effectively abdicating then and there.   Tranonakan will have to 
make a critical success on his own Savoir-faire (12-) or fall on 
his sword.  The PCs will be paid a generous reward, escorted off 
dwarven lands, and given rather direct hints that they will 
experience fatal accidents if they are ever seen in the Whitehoods 
again. 

     Wizard's in the party can probably find work at the coven 
Lady Anne was supposed to have gone to.  It is 3 days journey inside 
the Nomad Lands.  One of it's leaders is a Megalosian noble, and 
Megalosian maps refer to it as her lands, though it should be 
apparent to the PCs that they are outside of Megalos here.  
(A successful politics roll here will let the character(s) realize 
that a token yearly payment of tribute to the Empire is a small 
enough price to be left alone.) 

     The Megalosian calls herself Abrinia, speaks with a Caithness 
accent, runs around 250 to 300 points, and is well schooled in the 
Animal, Body Control, Air, and Enchantment colleges.  The other coven 
leaders should have a similar point cost.  

     They have a major problem right now: One of the members had a 
critical failure when casting independence on a Created Servant.  
The result was that his mind was transfered into the servant's 
body.  (The PCs will be told that round the clock crews have been 
maintaining the spell - in truth there is a 3 hex area very high 
mana region in the cavern they use.  This region sustains the 
hapless wizard.) 

     Abrinia will inform the PCs that they are gathering materials 
to try and develop a spell to reverse this condition, and can hire 
them to go and get some of them. (This last statement is true.)  

     Unfortunately, they need a brain from a cockatrice, and that 
must be roasted by a dragon's breath within a day of the slaying of 
the cockatrice.  The cooked brain must be returned to the coven 
within 3 days of being cooked to be useful.  

     To make matters worse, some of the materials they already have 
are going to spoil in 10 days.   

     In short, the PCs will have to find a cockatrice, kill it 
without damaging it's brain, then find a dragon and convince it to 
tenderly cook the brain, then get back to the coven.  All in less 
than 10 days. 

     And no, the coven has no idea where a cockatrice might be found, 
though several members are magically searching.  They have several 
leads on dragons willing to cooperate.  Hopefully one will be near 
the cockatrice.

     Rewards can be cash, spell training or discounts on magic item 
production, as you and/or the players see fit.   Creating an item 
from scratch takes a LONG time, but the coven may have something 
along the lines desired in a final stage of production.  The members 
of the coven can indivdually become a patron, as could the coven 
itself. 

 
	ST 11,  DX 13,  IQ 10,  HT 11.

	Basic Spd 6,  Move 7

	PD2 DR2; Dodge 6, Parry 7 (Spear)

 	Heavy Leather Armor, No encumbrance

Disadvantages: Jealousy, Impulsive, Necrophobia, Honesty.

Quirks: Daydreams, Whistles off key to herself, Likes to race, Worries about her family, Hates rainy weather.

Skills: Tracking (+4 from Animal Empathy) 13, Bow 12, Spear 14, Leatherworking 10, Stealth 13, Fishing 10, Merchant 10, Running 10. Equipment: Hunting Spear.

Weretiger Form

	ST 33, DX 14, IQ 10, HT 13
	Speed 10,  PD1  DR
	Bite 2d-1 cut,  Claws 2d-1 imp 

      ST 10,  DX 13,  IQ 15,  HT 11.
         Basic Spd 6, Move 4.
         PD2 DR2; Dodge 4; Parry 8 (Staff), 5 (Dagger).
         Light Leather Armor; +1 PD, +1 DR, 
         Medium Encumbrance (overweight)

Disadvantages:Sense of Duty (to Council of Megalos),
Overconfidence, Professional Code, Overweight, Glutton.

Quirks:Uneasy sleeper, Doodles, Dislikes non-humans,
Keeps poison in fake tooth, Prays daily.

Skills:Accounting 14, Calligraphy 13, Criminology 14, Fast Talk 14, Forgery 14, Heraldry 14, Interrogation 14, Intelligence Analysis 14, Knife 13, Mimicry (MA, based on HT, Voice Advantage modified) 15, Poison 14, Staff 12, Stealth 13, Throw Knife 13, Tracking 14, Tongue Twisters (MH, Voice Advantage Modified) 15.

Spells: Simple Illusion 16, Illusion Disguise 16, Complex Illusion 16, Perfect Illusion 16, Control Illusion 16, Dispel Magic 16, Counterspell 16, Rooted Feet 16, Hinder 16, Haste 16, Charm 16, Rear Vision 16, Alertness 16, Keen Nose 16, Keen Ears 16, Keen Eyes 16, Emotion Control 16, Loyalty 16, Bravery 16, Fear 16, Teleport 15, Shapeshift Boar 15, Shapeshift Bear 15, Shapeshift Eagle 15, Shapeshift Snake 15, Shapeshift Wolf 15, Shapeshift Tiger 15, Persuasion 16, Soul Rider 15, Mindreading 16, Hide Thoughts 16, Truthsayer 16, Sense Emotion 16, Sense Foes 16.

Equipment:

     Self Powered Ring of Invisibility, (Name protected, cannot 
be used by anyone who has not spoken the name correctly the 
first time tried, as per the Fantasy book pg 47. The name for 
the ring is "Toy-boat-tie-bait-toy-boat-toy-pickled-pack-o-she-
sells-toy-boat-sea-shelled-pickled-peppers". The name is NOT 
written on the items, and the PCs who want to use it will have 
to work pretty hard to figure it out, let alone say it. Unless 
the players have a speech impediment, and/or you feel generous, 
they cannot roll for their character's chance of success but 
must say the name aloud. If it takes more than 10 seconds, 
they blew it). 

     Self Powered Flying necklace (Protected as above. The name 
here is "View the debut of the dubious doubloons, Dumont du 
Dupre"). Powerstone 8 ST, Powerstone 10 ST, (Name protected: 
Brazened Beads, Brass Balls, Braced with Bronze Psuedo-
Battlements backed with Brazened Bronze bells.). Three ST 2 
Powerstones. Staff, has the Staff spell enchantment, usable by 
any mage.

     These items, if captured, are a good source of income for 
the PCs when they get sold to some NPC. They are probably too 
game disrupting for the charters recommeded for this adventure, 
thus the next to impossible conditions for permiting the 
characters to use them.

       ST 14,  DX 13,  IQ 12,  HT 12.
          Basic Spd: 6.25; Move 5.
          PD 10 (Armor & Shield, +4 for magic) DR 5; Dodge 4.
          Parry 8 (Broadsword), 8 (Brawling); Block 7.
          Half Plate armor, +2 PD +1 DR, Small Shield, +2 PD, 
          Medium Encumbrance