The Laughing Magician - Part 1

I am proud to present a complete and exciting AD&D adventure for you to download and play, many thanks go to Richard Massey for allowing me to publish his game.

If you play the adventure we would love to hear from you about your experiences during the game.

Email jason@ufbs.co.uk and tell us all about it.

General Introduction (but, strictly speaking, only for the DM)

Paadshaw village had been settled for centuries, a group of twenty or so homes nestling in a huge crater-like hollow, supplying a focus for the surrounding farming community. Little had happened there for years until a mild mannered man arrived and announced his intention to buy the recently vacated, and very expensive, manor house. The house had stood empty since the previous rather highly strung occupier fled complaining that the grounds were infested with ghosts. When the newcomer was told this he replied that this was exactly why he wanted it.

The villagers' spies set out at once, braving the winter weather and working tirelessly in their attempts to unravel the mystery of this stranger, until one day he approached Mrs. Molegrip and Mrs. Dairyman and told them that they really shouldn't be standing round in the cold and asked would they like to come in for a cup of tea? And so it was that Mr. Althrop introduced himself to his neighbours, and thus to Paadshaw village in general, as Jedwell Althrop, Honourable Mage of the Third Triangle, Most Worthy Guardian of the Fourth Secret, Premier Analyst of the Fifth and Higher Dimensions and, as Mrs. Molegrip later added of her own volition, "a very nice man".

The days passed and the wizard became quite a regular in the increasingly aptly named "Laughing Magician", at least during the hours he allowed himself leisure, in between bouts of intense research. Balcrick was in the habit of asking Jedwell of the nature of his studies, questions to which the answer would usually be that the landlord wouldn't understand the answer. Then one night after a quaff too many the wizard started explaining the complexities of the fifth dimension he was investigating, proving just how smart wizards were - Balcrick didn't follow a word of it.

At the last but one new moon the discs appeared. Two glowing yellow lights, about a span in diameter and as thin as a shadow. They appeared for about an hour at dusk each evening (except for each seventh day, for some unfathomable reason), cavorting in a seemingly random caper within a thirty feet squared area. Balcrick loved the spectacle, partly because of the curious charm of the discs' movements, but mostly because people came from all of the surrounding villages to gawp at the phenomenon, which just happened to manifest right outside the Laughing Magician. And of course, after the main attraction there should always be refreshments. The Laughing Magician had never done such a trade.

At first Althrop had denied having anything to do with the obviously magical show. But more persistence on Balcrick's part, along with yet more ample quaffs got the wizard's explanation - something to do with a mage called Tenser who had a loads of possessions and moved about a lot but was too distrustful or stingy to hire porters, more than that Balcrick again could not follow.

The energetic properties of the discs were spectacularly demonstrated one day by some of the younger onlookers at one of the evening presentations. They were playing at trying to hit one of the "performers" with a stone, a game which continued for nearly half an hour until abruptly finishing when one of the missiles finally made contact - and rebounded with an absurd velocity, punching a hole right through the front wall of the inn, and up through the roof. No one played that game again.

So why was it, Balcrick thought to himself, that that stupid half-wit magic-user had decided to put on his show inside the pub? There had been pandemonium as everything the discs made contact with was summarily pulverized. It was a miracle that no one had been badly hurt - most had been outside and looked on in a state of bewilderment as the quaint old tavern seemed to be gobbled up from the inside. This travesty of the usual dance continued for the expected hour, by the end of which the Laughing Magician was nothing more than a sand pit enclosed by low walls.

Well, Balcrick and most of the mystified crowd weren't going to stand for this! Accident or not, Althrop had disintegrated their pub and he was about to pay. What amounted to a lynch mob marched to Paadshaw Hall demanding to see its owner. On the way there, though, the landlord couldn't help but question his own thoughts and the accusations everyone was making. Balcrick just couldn't believe that old Jedwell could have anything to do with this...

"...but I keep trying to tell you, I had absolutely nothing to do with it." A middle aged man stood at a first floor window of Paadshaw Hall with a concerned expression. The wizard was confident that he could easily take on this rabble, but a lot of them had become his friends so he tried to take a more diplomatic approach. "So, it seems we have a riddle to solve. You want your local back, and I want to absolve myself of the blame for its demise, primarily so that I can join you all there for a pint. I can't possible sort out the mystery by myself, but with a few brave volunteers we may be able to sort out these dancing discs once and for all. So who's going to come forward?"

Jedwell Althrop knew he shouldn't have been surprised, when next he looked he could just about make out the back of a dwarf, the slowest of the fleeing mob, it looked like Balcrick. The rumour was that the old landlord used to be an adventurer. It wasn't quite how he expected to get rid of them but the result had been agreeable, now all Althrop had to do was to find someone who really was willing to help get rid of the dancing discs.

Player's Introduction

If you decide to accept this challenge (and, let's face it, if you don't, stop reading here) then on arrival at Paadshaw you will have no trouble in finding one of the posters erected by Jedwell Althrop, the magician in question, giving notice of his call for help. The advertisement includes directions to Paadshaw Hall which is given as a meeting place. (The usual starting point of an adventure, i.e. the local tavern, having been disintegrated - though the discs still appear at the site, unashamedly, at dusk each evening.)

Discussions with any local, especially if Jedwell is referred to, will usually recall the episode of the Laughing Magician's demise (see above) and there is obvious antipathy towards the lord of the manor.

At Paadshaw Hall you are welcomed with some warmth. Jedwell is a later-middle aged man, clearly a magic-user dressed as he is in red and gold embroidered robes, and with the usual long thin grey hair, wispy beard, tobacco stained teeth and iodine stained fingers. He affects a comfortable air and is easy to get along with, but something about his manner suggests that beneath this general affability is contained the type of power which is usually dispatched with quick bursts of lightning and the smell of burnt skin.

Having ushered you through to his study and proffered suitable refreshments he will begin to explain to you the nature of his predicament:

"My name is Jedwell Althrop, and I am a Dimensionalist. Oh I have many titles, and they each cost me dearly in days gone by as I tried to unravel the nature of this universe, but I have come to appreciate that my true vocation lies at what I consider to be at the very base of understanding - before one can begin to examine what a thing is one must first know where it is. After that everything else is simple. And co-ordinate research is what a dimensionalist does.

Everyone is happy with the concept of three dimensions, up and down, forwards and backwards and left and right, some people are okay with the idea that time is also a dimension, but I am of the opinion that there are many more directions to travel in than we are able to perceive. Parallel universes lying a whisper apart - nearly identical ones which we might shift between with every decision, or perhaps discontinuities that simply coexist on tridimensional co-ordinates by a whim of the gods, separated by some eldritch twilight zone - maybe even both ... I hope I'm not loosing you, but I tend to get a bit excited about this!

Many moons ago I was of the opinion that ghosts were a manifestation of some fifth dimensional travel. When a person dies his - or her - soul departs the flesh in some fifth direction to the afterlife that they deserve. In some cases their dessert is not entirely clear and these poor individuals become ghosts. Now, of coups, I've come to realize that this theory is a load of old pap, but when I heard about the haunting of Paadshaw Hall my interest was piqued, and after buying it I found something much more curious than some wayward spirit.

The discs which appeared outside the Laughing Magician were not the first I had seen. The grounds of Paadshaw Hall have been witness to several such occurrences (though the 'dancers' were the first that had moved), and indeed I believe that these were the phantoms which drove the previous lord of the manor away. I should point out that I play no part in creating the display, if Balcrick or anyone else has told you otherwise then I admit I might have suggested to the landlord a magical explanation for the apparition and maybe exaggerated my part in their creation - but only to shut him up, and, perhaps for the extra hospitality it afforded me. Anyway, now it seems, all of my servants keep seeing these 'ghosts' in the garden, but I put this down to general hysteria - I know for sure that, for some reason, the stationary apparitions have stopped.

The discs show an area quite clearly on each side, but are invisibly thin and this is quite fascinating to a dimensionalist like me. If you'll indulge me: on a plane, two lines of one dimension each will cross at a point; two planes, both exhibiting two dimensions can cut through each other along a line (when in a volume of space); so surely the intersection of two three dimensional volumes of space, in the elusive fourth dimension, will be of two dimensions. I'm convinced that that is what the disc phenomena are. Someone somewhere in the fifth dimension is waving to us!"

Jedwell will now walk over to a long shallow wooden box out of which he will lift three ordinary looking lengths of wood. Two of the planks measure six feet long with a four by six inch cross section. The third piece is cut of the same thickness but is only three feet long. Two notches in the shorter piece will allow the longer pieces to be inserted into it to form an entablature, and so a doorway. The wizard will then remove a five yard length of gold chain from the box, with a silken bag tied to one end, and attach the other end to the top of the frame by means of a tack.

"A not inconsiderable amount of work has suggested to me that I may now have the ability to send you through the dimensions. With the use of an adapted `Dimension Door' spell, this assembly", Jedwell indicates the wooden structure, "and a deal of good fortune throwing this bag over one of the dancing discs, I hope to be able to create a special force field of my own -a gate spanning the universes for you to walk through.

Ah yes, of course. The thought foremost in your minds must be what do you get out of this? Well, as if the opportunity to explore such an exciting new land weren't enough, you have two more possible rewards to go for. If you manage to destroy the dancing discs, thus allowing me to be accepted again among the good people of Paadshaw I am willing to pay you one hundred gold pieces, but a greater reward, to be decided at the time, will be given you if you return with information which might be helpful to my research.

As you may be aware, the dancers appear at around dusk each night, so if you accept this task you have a little time to prepare - or if you prefer you can start tomorrow, though the sooner you can go is the better from my point of view.

Now I suppose I should ask if you have any questions - but if they're about what will be on the other side of the door I doubt very much that I'll have the answers."

Jedwell will be eager to reply to any queries you have, but, true to his word, knows next to nothing about the parallel universe he expects to send you in to. The next step is to arrange a time for you to set off. The wizard will offer overnight accommodation in his spacious manor house if necessary, but there is very little to do in Paadshaw so unless you had a particularly arduous journey there, and need some rest and recuperation, there is no reason to hang around.

At the appointed time, and if everyone is in agreement, Jedwell will meet you at the ruins of the Laughing Magician, where Balcrick has been reduced to serving his beer from a marquee. A crowd of villagers will gather, eyeing Jedwell and yourselves with some suspicion. Punctual as ever the discs will appear and the wizard will start his ritual. With the architraving of the gate assembled he will attempt to bag one of the discs. After some time it is inevitable that he will be successful at which point he will utter a brief spell, the sound of which is drowned out by a deafening blast as the bag disintegrates along with half of the gold chain, leaving only a blue green dust which gently falls to the floor.

With this done Jedwell will point to the frame, the middle of which is now filled with a familiar yellow light. A howling gale blows impossibly from the conjuration, and he has to shout: "One thing I haven't told you yet, the gate is one-way. The only way back is to return to whatever place you come out at. I'll try to open the reversing gate for five minutes at the same time every day until you come through it. Good luck!"

The first of you to try to pass through the gate will notice a slight resistance as you go through, like a very thin brick wall, but this will not hold you back for long...

DM's Introduction

All of the above combined with a discovery made by a lost pot-holler some years ago made Black Pike singularly perfect for the use to which it has now been put. Deep in the bowels of this crag is the largest natural air filled cavern ever found, and within this an institution has been created which is so secret it hasn't even got an official name.

"The Tub", as it is known by its inhabitants, is the site of a number of top secret military research centres, in a world similar to, but a few years more technically advanced than ours. The projects being conducted here tend to be slightly off-the-wall affairs. If they work, great, if they don't, well, they never happened. It is a completely self-contained unit, supplies are surreptitiously brought into the cavern via a secret entrance concealed within the aforementioned tunnel every four months, and refuse leaves the same way.

Anyone working at the Tub is, of course, carefully vetted regarding their scientific ability as well as their ability to keep a secret and loyalty to the aspirations of the organization. What amount to "talent scouts" are sent all over the country to look for new ideas, and so it was that some months ago a young theoretical physicist named Jake Achegan was drafted. A few rules were bent during his recruitment, such was his scientific genius that his attitude towards the government and rather suspect taste in music were overlooked. His advances in the field of Hyper-vector theory could produce a revolutionary type of shield, so he was quite welcome.

Six months after he started working in the centre Jake seemed to have something of a breakdown, smashing his equipment and destroying his work. He had erased all but the bare essentials of his research work before he could be stopped and is now kept under lock and key.

As you might have guessed, Jake's team's research into further dimensions has given rise to the phenomena of the discs observed in Paadshaw. The reason for Jake's bizarre behaviour will be made clear by his explanation to the party when they meet him.

The "Tub"

The Tub is made up from seven buildings a large hemispherical dome houses a number of laboratories, a library and a control centre, built near to this is the stores depot, and at a discrete distance is a small power station. Security is directed from the Defence Centre. Next to this is the Catering block and neighbouring this is the "civilian" accommodation block, incorporating an entertainment section and a small medical unit. Finally there is the Sports centre, where all the action will begin.

Without wanting to force the characters into a predetermined plot, they are going to find their task a lot simpler if after arriving in the Tub (see squash court 3) they get caught and imprisoned by security. This way they will meet up with Jake Achegan who can explain the situation to them.

Pretty well all of the adventurer's battle encounters outside the research complex will be with soldiers from the defence centre. Unless otherwise specified treat these as third level fighters with strength 15 and an effective A.C: 5 and THAC0: 18. It is of the greatest importance that each soldier has memorized the appearance of all of the authorized inhabitants of the Tub, therefore any of the party they see will be challenged. Note that in all situations the weaponry used by the security force within the tub is of a non-lethal, subduing kind (the scientists who work here have the best brains in the country and they may not come to any harm, whatever they do) so these guys are big on wrestling or pummelling and some even carry tranquillizing guns. Anyone proficient with these rifles has a +4 to hit bonus and their darts have a tranquillizing poison which will cause sleep for twelve hours unless saved against. They take two rounds to reload and each soldier armed in this way carries ten rounds of ammunition.

The Sports Centre

Squash courts: these are typical, run of the mill squash courts. Court number 3, however, has a rather unusual game being played in it. Here each player wears a strange suit of full plate armour made from a plastic type material, one yellow and one red. Their racquets are weirder: at the end of a thick handle, which also supports an obvious switch and a couple of small lights, is a frame of normal squash racquet size inside which is a circle of glowing yellow light. Jake's team have managed to produce a shield generator small enough to be portable, and two of the engineers thought it would be fun to use the science to create the fastest game of squash ever - seen in Paadshaw as the daily display of dancing discs.

When the party cross through the dimensions from Paadshaw, squash court three is where they will end up. By chance Jedwell will have created the door to appear about a centimetre into the far end of the left wall (as viewed from the court's door). A loud crash will announce their entrance to the two players as brick and plaster dust is sprayed all over the floor, followed by our trusty heroes, leaving behind them a bare wall of breeze-blocks.

As the game is in full swing there is a chance (25%) that the ball will hit one of our adventurers (doing 1D3 damage). The squash players will be surprisingly cool about their entrance saying something along the lines of: "Nice work boys, don't you know we've got money on this game?", followed, as soon as the dust settles, with: "And what are you wearing?" Both players will believe that the party are from another research team, but if questioned will not reveal any information about their own work giving replies like: "C'mon guys you know the rules, I'd like to tell you, like I'd like to know about this teleportation of yours, but we're not allowed to discuss projects." Too much persistence on the part of the adventurers will lead to the squash players becoming suspicious, and they may raise the alarm after they leave.

If for some reason the adventurers attack the players, treat them as second level human fighters, wearing AC.2, with no stats. bonuses. The racquets make very dangerous weapons, doing 2-20 damage when they hit, but if battle ensues the sportsmen's prime directive will be to run away and raise the alarm.

Each of the other squash courts is being used but the occupants will be used to strange noises coming from number three so will ignore any commotion unless there is a specific cry for help. Note that the adventurers may have some trouble finding the door of the court (but as secret doors go, this one would never have been used to hide the entrance to Moria).

Gymnasium: this room is filled with all manner of exercise machines. They can be described as torture devices, since the people trapped in them will have agonized expressions on their faces. The wall between the gym and the corridor has several windows in it and so the adventurers have a problem if they walk past.

Ten of the twelve body-builders here are from the military quarter, and it is their first responsibility to be able to recognize everyone who can be expected to be seen at the centre. As soon as any party member is spotted from this room they will be challenged and the alarm will be raised.

The challenge will be non-lethal combat if possible. If the players defend too successfully then various bits of sports equipment can be used as clubs (1-6 vs. man sized, 1-3 vs. larger). Three of the ten soldiers (the other two body-builders will not attack) have strengths of sixteen, two have seventeen and two have eighteen (18/76 and 18/96) They wear no armour. If the battle is going badly for them, one of the soldiers will run off to get help, returning in three minutes (three rounds) with five more soldiers armed with tranquillizing guns. Note that the aim of these soldiers is to subdue the party, not kill them, whereupon they will be taken to the cells in the Defence Centre. If necessary they will use their two-way radios to call for back-up which will arrive at the same rate as an outdoor encounter (see "The Outside" below).

If any of the adventurers decide to bypass the gymnasium and access the rest of the sports centre via the Main Hall, this is what they will find:

Main Hall and Stores: within the main hall, which has its floor sunk ten feet below ground level, a game of five-a-side football is going on. The Engineering B team is playing the Catering C. No one will be that concerned about the party if they come in here, though their dress may be commented on. The stores will contain run of the mill sports equipment.

The Pool: clearly this is a large swimming pool, with access through the two changing rooms at its shallow end. At the sides of the pool are sundry discarded pool toys (floats, balls, temporary diving boards etc.). By the spiral stairs marked at its deep end is a submerged observation room, walled with thick glass. On the second floor there is a balcony with seats to allow people to watch the swimmers. Our adventuring party are probably going to find the whole scene completely bizarre.

The changing rooms: are clearly marked. Inside them is what you would find in any changing room (showers, lockers, toilets, benches etc.), but remember that the party are hardly likely to recognize the symbol for men and women, which could lead to embarrassing consequences.

Reception: is staffed by a man and a woman who will be confused by the exit of the characters - after all, they didn't see them go in - but they won't confront them unless provoked. On the wall in the reception area is a map of the sports centre, and on the reception desk are a couple of totally unrecognizable machines, whose purpose couldn't even be guessed at (telephones).

The Bar: will be almost empty at this time, one couple are drinking in a corner. The barman will ask about the adventurers dress, but will not accept gold in payment for drinks.

The Ten Pin Bowling room: has four lanes and is presently being used by four standard soldiers who will, naturally, challenge the party. If combat ensues (non-lethal, if the soldiers can help it) bowling balls will make effective pummelling weapons, doing 1 - 10 damage. If the soldiers are loosing, one of them will go to get help, recruiting those from the gymnasium after forty seconds (four rounds) and the five guards from outside after another forty seconds.

The Small Hall: is used for less common activities. At present it is empty, but in the store room can be found archery equipment (including four modern composite bows, which effectively operate with a +1 to hit bonus, and arrows, though these will only inflict 1 - 2 damage), a portable tape player (for those "Get in Shape" dance classes) with an assortment of cassettes, two table tennis tables, bats and balls, six tumble mats and four sets of fencing equipment (the foils/swords/whatever will only do 1 - 2 damage, but the armour is equivalent to AC4 at the front)

The Office: is locked, but if broken into will be found to contain lots of sports centre administrative documents in a desk, in which is also hidden a half full bottle of tequila (complete with dead worm). Elsewhere in the room are some squash trophies, two strange white boxes, one with a black glass side (a P.C. - a personal computer in this instance), another (indescribable) telephone and a few books.

The "Outside"

At first the five guards who would have gone into the sports centre will engage them. If the battle lasts that long five similar guards will arrive after two rounds, then ten more a round later, then fifteen more after that, then another twenty and then the final thirty soldiers on general day patrol (if this is at night they will stop arriving after the group of fifteen, until reinforcements fifty troopers strong come along on the eighth round - probably yawning).

If the adventurers make it to the Catering Block or the Civilian Accommodation block make it up as you go along. There is nothing unusual about either of these buildings (at least, not by early twenty-first century standards).