THE MAGE'S FAIR:
================

an AD&D Adventure by Ryan Cooper
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(as long as you aren't making any profit and you give me credit)
Sorry this adventure is so disorganized!
I have left out details such as character stats for the DM to flesh out.
E-mail me with comments: h87rpc@morgan.ucs.mun.ca
Check out more of my adventure modules at "The Rar Side":	
           http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quadrant/2765/index.html
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The adventure begins in a medium sized city (hopefully the PCs' "home base"). It all starts
when a local thieves' guild decides to send it's resident wizard, one Menudo the
Magnificent, to a legendary mage's fair held every four years, far in the northern
mountains. There, creatures of all races are free to gather to buy, sell, and trade all
things magical (weapons, armor, potions, automatons, mutant monkeys, whatever). Of course,
this fair attracts many powerful creatures, and there is always danger of theft or violence,
bespite the efforts of the magical guardians summoned by the fair's proprietor, a powerful
archmage known as Arcturus. Menudo is being sent with various magical items which are 
useless to the guild, as well as a large sum of money, and is expected to bring back items 
that could be of value to the guild. He is not extremely powerful (in fact he's also a bit 
of a coward), so he arranges for an escort of able warriors to guard him and act as his 
agents at the fair. Of course, this is where the PCs come in. It's up to you to decide how
to get the PCs the job (perhaps they owe the thieves guild a favor, perhaps they will do it
simply for a monetary reward, maybe Menudo is the PC mage's cousin, etc.) If for some reason
Menudo should have reason not to trust the PCs (bad reputations, etc.), he may bring a few 
thieves guild thugs "just in case", and he'll probably bring a potion of spelld or some 
other item that would allow him to escape quickly.
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THE JOURNEY:
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The journey to the location of the fair, known as "The Valley of Mist", is long and 
perilous. This effectively weeds out those who probably don't belong at the fair. The 
journey requires a 100 mile hike through rough mountains, along cliffside paths, with the 
occasional dangerous climb or swaying rope bridge. Obviously, horses or other mounts cannot 
be taken on this journey. In addition, flying is out of the question, as above the sheltered 
passes between the mountains, the harsh wind and bitter cold are too much to endure. If you
wish, the PCs may be attacked somewhere on the way (I recommend a small pack of yeti, or 
maybe a few griffins). Despite the brutal conditions, once the PCs get fairly close to the 
valley, there are caves about every 20 miles along the path. These caves are stocked with 
food, water, and firewood, as well as spare blankets (although these have been used by 
countless travelers). These supply caves should prevent travellers from freezing to death in 
the night.

As the PCs crest one of the final rises before they reach the fair, they encounter an 
unusual individual. A very large man (about 7' 2") dressed is a full suit of jet black armor
sits on a large boulder by the path. As the PCs approach, he stands up and says that no 
group may pass without one of their number dueling him. He need not be defeated, but if he 
wins, he demands to have one of the PC's magic items. He will choose the item. Believe it 
or not, this is a umber hulk wearing a ring of polymorphing and a ring of detect magic. He 
is wearing full plate +1 and carries a non-magical 2-handed war axe(2d8 damage). He knows a 
limited amount of common.

If he is defeated, he will let the PCs pass. If he wins, he will take a magic item of his 
choice (remember, he can tell what items are magical but not what their powers are). If the 
PCs attack as a group, he fights until badly injured, then removes his ring and reverts to 
his normal state, bursting from his armor. He flees while the PCs are suprised. If followed,
he quickly runs to the fair, and is admitted. It is vital that he escapes the PCs, hopefully
still in possesion of their item. They will have a chance to get it back later.

Finally the PCs reach the Valley of Mist. The reason for it's name is obvious--steam billows
upward from the bottom of the valley, where a small area (600 ft x 800 ft oval) is being 
magically heated. Inside the parimeter of the magic (the border is marked by a thin wall of 
mist) there is no snow, and people walk around in light clothes. When the PCs reach the gate
(a large marble arch), they are greeted by a friendly silver dragon (an associate of 
Arcturus), who explains that the fair's main activity, the auction, does not begin until the
next day, but that the market is open now, and that they are free to look around. He also 
points out a pit fiend walking down the main thoroughfair, saying that crimes are subdued by
the pit fiend guards, and criminals are exiled from the fair.
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MAP:
----
		*********--*******
	     ****                 *****
	 ****                          **
	*    H    H            H  H      *
	* H    H                H   H   H *
       *    H    H                 H   H   *
       * H     H                 H          *
       * _________                   H       *
      * |         |            __________    *
      * |         |           |          |   *
      * |         |           |          |   *
      * |  1      |           |          |   *
      * |         |      5    |   2      |   *
      * |         |           |          |   *
      * |         |           |__________|   *  
      * |_________|                         *
       *  /\                           H    *
       * /3 \   _______          H  H       *
       * \  /  |       |                    *
       *  \/   |       |      ___      H   **
	*      |  4    |     |3  |         *
	 ****  |_______|     |___|      ***
	    *******		    **
		   *****************

KEY:
*= mist barrier
H= small house owned by important fairgoer
1= the Spellflinger Inn
2= the Auction House
3= mysterious building guarded by pit fiends
4= strange black tower
5= Marketplace

Let the PCs explore the fairgrounds. Of course, they will probably end up in trouble. After 
all, no PC can stand not knowing what's in any give "mysterious building". However, 
hopefully they won't get in enough trouble to get kicked out of the fair. That would screw 
up the adventure a bit (but you might still be able to pull it off). If only a few of the 
PCs get kicked out the adventure is managable (in fact that may make it work better).
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A few notes about the fair:
---------------------------

Payment is almost exclusively made in gems, mithril, or other valuable commodities, since no
one wants to carry around the huge sums of gold pieces required to do business at the fair.

Anyone walking into the mist barrier (which is mere inches thick) will find themselves 
walking out on the same side, right where they walked into the mist (even though they didn't
turn around). This prevents people from fleeing the fair with stolen items, or from entering
from anywhere besides the gate.

The mysterious buildings contain mutants, automatons, etc. These are a reserve force of 
Arcturus in case he loses control of the pit fiends or the fair gets really out of hand. The
black tower has no door and is magical. It is Arcturus home, and is effectively inpenetrable
(magical and mundane barriers and traps).

Each small house is owned by a visitor of the fair who returns every time there is a fair. 
The only way to secure one of these is as a gift from Arcturus.
	
Arcturus is a 25th level mage of incredible power. Don't even let your PCs consider trying 
to kill him or something stupid like that.

If the PCs go looking for the black knight, they don't find him... yet.

Rooms at the inn go for about 50 gp a night(Menudo will pay for the PCs' lodgings), not 
including meals or drinks. The inn is about 150' x 200'. The commonroom is filled with all 
sorts of creatures, from vampire mages to underwater-dwelling creatures in water-filled 
"space suits" to normal mages. There are several groups gambling over magic items at any 
given time, and a fighting pit in one corner takes bets (minimum 100 gp) on the outcomes of 
battles between guests' pet monsters, mutants, etc. This is the center of commerce in the 
late hours after the marketplace and auction house have closed.

The auction house is where the big items get sold. Here you might find a vorpal sword or a 
portable hole. Items range in starting price from 1,000 gp (very minor items) to 25,000 
gp(very powerful items).

The marketplace is open from dawn to dusk. Stalls are 500 gp/day to rent, and almost 
anything of middling magical power can be found here, including potions, scrolls, 
spellbooks, rings of protection, armor, cloaks, gauntlets of strength, whatever you can 
think of.

REMEMBER, keep the level of power of the items relative to the amount and power of magic in 
your campaign. If magic items are rare and low powered, the most powerful item at the fair 
might be a shortsword +2. If powerful magic items are common, the PCs could probably find a 
holy avenger +4. Whatever the case, make the most powerful magic items beyond the PCs 
financial reaches, and save the most powerful items to be auctioned at the auction house. If
they have saved a lot of money to come to the fair, allow them to purchase a few items. 
Before they spend all their money, remind them of the auction the next day. Menudo tells the
PCs to keep an eye out for items that his guild could use, and to report to him immediately 
if they find anything (he makes all purchases himself, since he deos not trust the PCs 
enough to allow them to make the purchases). He remans at the inn (he is intimidated by all 
the powerful and magical creatures around). The PCs may find a few items of use such as: 
potion of invisibility, gloves of climbing(+10% chance to climb walls), dagger +1, potion of
infravision, etc, but nothing really useful or powerful.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Encounters:
-----------

The following encounters happen to the PCs as they wander about the fairgrounds (if the 
party has split up, have the encounters happen to different PCs as they explore the grounds:

NOTE: these are not random encounters, they are planned, and have something to do with the 
plot of the adventure.

1. The goblins:
	The PCs will probably be suprised by this. Amid powerful mages and magical creatures
of all types, they see a small troupe of ordinary-looking goblins led by a shaman in a 
wolf-hide cloak making their way through the crowd. They aren't going anywhere important, so
if the PCs decide to follow them out of curiosity, they won't discover anything. The goblins
eventually return to their inn room.

2. The neogi:
	As the PCs are looking around the marketplace (or wherever), a normal-looking mage 
walking in front of them suddenly becomes fuzzy in appearance, then the image of him melts 
away into that of a neogi (see Monstrous Compendium), a spider-like creature about 4' tall. 
The neogi makes a suprised sound, then scurries away to the inn. No one pays much attention,
except a goblin loitering nearby. He lookes startled, then also runs for the inn. If either 
is followed, they go to their respective inn rooms (the goblin goes to the same room as the 
other goblins).
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The Auction:
------------

The main action of the adventure starts at the auction. Menudo wakes the PCs early the next 
morning and they all go to the auction house and take seats. The first few items are just 
magical weapons and armor (nothing of use to the thieves guild, though the PCs may wish to 
bid for them). Eventually a very useful item is brought to the stage to be auctioned: a 
silver key that will open any lock. The bidding starts at 4,000 gp. Menudo places a bid, but
immediately afterwards he is outbid by a slender, spidery middle-aged mage sitting next 
to... the black knight! If the PCs cause a scene at this time, they are subdued by the 
guards and exiled to wait for Menudo outside the fair. Assuming they don't cause trouble 
just yet, Menudo places another bet, but is again outbid by the same man. This continues 
until Menudo reaches his limit (he only has about 7,000 gp left at this point), and is again
outbid. No other items of exceptional usefulness are auctioned. After the auction, Menudo 
tells the PCs to follow the mage and the black knight. They merely return to the inn. 
Afterwards Menudo calls a meeting in his quarters and hatches a plan. He plans to follow the
pair when they leave the fair and ambush them in the wilderness, stealing the key.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What's really going on:
-----------------------

Ok, you might be confused by now and might be thinking that this adventure is going nowhere.
But here I'm going to explain it all. Here we go:

The mage travelling with the black knight is a rogue neogi named Garek. Years ago he fled 
from his brethren to live his own life. Neogi do not take well to defectors, and they have 
been trying to track down Garek since he left. Soon after landing on this planet (if you do 
not use spelljamming in your campaign, the neogi are a race from far in the underdark) he 
purchased a ring of alter self at the mage's fair, and has since then been travelling in his
present guise. He also secured an identical ring for his Umber Hulk slave (see Neogi MM 
entry--all negi have umber hulk slaves), and suited him up in black armor. Now Mendor (the 
umber hulk) appears to merely be a very large human, and calls himself the black knight.

A few years ago Garek encountered a band of goblins led by a shaman prophet known only as 
"the Wise One", and convinced them to let him be their leader. He led them in raids of human
and humanoid villages, allowing them wealth and luxury they had not had before. They are now
his (semi-)loyal followers. As such, he has brought them to the fair with him as lookouts 
and agents, as he is still paranoid about being caught by his brethren. While at the fair, 
he contacts the Wise One only in secret, as not to arouse suspicion.

In fact, a group of neogi that were sent to track down Garek are also at the fair. They have
heard of his initial visit to the fair (before he had the ring of alter self), and have 
anticipated his return. They are using normal alter self spells (with very limited 
durations), posing as human mages while they look for Garek. When one neogi was in public 
too long, his spell wore off and he returned to his normal form. He hurried back to the inn,
but not before being spotted by one of Garek's goblin henchmen. The goblin immediately 
reported to the Wise One, who reported the information to Garek.

As for the silver key, Garek wants it because during one of his recent raids on human 
villages, he acquired a special magic item from a wizard (who he killed in the raid). It is 
a magical door and doorframe( not attached to any wall or anything). The door is a portal to
a pocket dimension that is a room about 10' by 10' by 10'. Garek has reason to believe that 
powerful magic is stored in the room. However, the door is magically locked, and Garek has 
been able to do nothing to unlock it. He refuses to try to forct the door open in fear of 
triggering a trap or destroying the door's magic in the process. So he needs the silver key 
to open the door. Of course the door is quite a bulky item, so he has not brought it to the 
fair. He has left it in his lair, a four-day journey from the fair (in a different direction
than that in which the PCs came).

After observing the fair-goers and their activities for the last two days, by the time the 
fair is over, the neogi tracking Garek down have figured him out. A small mage travelling 
with such an unusually large warrior attracted their suspicions at first, and after 
continued observence, they are now fairly certain they have found Garek. They plan to follow
the pair after they leave the fair and attack them in the wild.
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After the Fair:
---------------

After the fair is over, Garek and Mendor leave for home. They meet up with the goblins about
a mile outside of the fair. PCs tracking them may think the goblins have captured the pair, 
or they may realize tis doesn't make sense, since there are no signs of a struggle. The 
other neogi will also be tracking Garek, a little bit behind the PCs, and when they realize 
that the PCs are also tracking their quarry, they will hurry their pace, for they have been 
ordered to bring back Garek alive (so that he can be transformed into a Grand Old Master--see Neogi MM entry).

The PCs catch up to Garek and his troupe on the way back to his lair. There are 20 goblin 
warriors (several are 1st-3rd level fighters) and the WIse One, as well as Garek and Mendor 
still in their human guises. Garek is a 8th level magic user and has cast stoneskin on all 
members of his group in advance. Garek also has several combat-oriented magic items at his 
disposal (you decide). Garek and Mendor will revert back to their true forms if badly 
injured (this heals a certain percent of damage--see entry for ring of polymorphing in the 
DMG) and continue to fight. Mendor will fight to the death; Garek will surrender if he is 
near death or otherwise realizes he doesn't have a chance.

The other neogi arrive in the middle of the battle. If it looks like the PCs are going to 
kill Garek, they interfere, simultaneously trying to subdue Garek and kill, drive off, or 
immobilize the PCs. There are 6 neogi. All are 5th level magic users. If badly injured they 
will flee.

The adventure is almost over once this confusing three-sided battle is concluded. Assuming 
they are the victors, they may try to track down any neogi or goblins that have escaped. If 
they do not do this, and they have slain Garek, the other neogi will follow them and attack 
occasionally, alwys centering their attacks on a single PC, trying to kill the PCs one at a 
time. If Garek is let to live, the neogi will attempt to capture him, whetjer the PCs take 
him prisoner or leave him behind. The PCs may want to find Garek's lair and loot it 
(especially if they somehow get the information about his magic doorway out of him), or they 
may just take the magic key and return from whence they came. Once they reach the city, they
are paid in full.