Kardrako has been
waiting for Finglos to return and report on the fracas at the bridge.
(In fact, if Finglos is still charmed, he will have returned and told
Kardrako that the characters are coming.) So the dragon lurks about
100 feet from the pit, watching the passage. Once the heroes reach the
far side of the pit (or if one character -- even Finglos -- jumps across
and attempts to disarm the trap), Kardrako flies out of his lair to
attack.
Kardrako:
Red dragon juvenile; CR 9; 159 hp; See the Monster
Manual,
pages 67-68.
Skills and Feats:
Bluff +18, Diplomacy +18, Intimidate +18, Jump +25, Knowledge (arcana)
+18, Listen +18, Search +18, Sense Motive +18, Spellcraft +18, Spot
+18; Flyby Attack, Multiattack, Power Attack, Spell Focus (enchantment/charm),
Wingover.
Spells Known
(cast 6/5; base DC = 12 + spell level): 0 -- arcane mark,
dancing lights, detect magic, mage hand, mending;
1st -- charm person, doom, shield.
Tactics:
Kardrako attempts a Flyby Attack to bull rush any characters on his
side of the pit into the trap, then uses a Wingover to turn around and
prepare for another Flyby. He breathes on any characters still in the
passage before going into melee.
If Finglos is still
charmed, he remains hidden during this battle (either behind the treasure
trove or in one of the manticore caverns, depending on where he ended
up after the pit trap encounter).
Kardrako's Treasure
Kardrako has amassed
a sizeable treasure by forcing the manticores, hill giants, and even
Finglos to waylay merchant caravans for him. Much of the treasure is
too bulky for the characters to remove from the caves (large bolts of
rough cloth, caskets of salt, and crates and crates of pottery). However,
the merchants of Tringlee may pay a reward for learning the whereabouts
of all of their goods. If the heroes defeat Kardrako and Search (DC
20 for each category) through all of the cargo in the back of his chamber,
they can find:
Coins: Three
chests each containing 6,000 sp, 2,400 gp, and 150 pp.
Gems: Four
silk purses each containing 3 gems (3 tiger eyes worth 10 gp each; 3
moonstones, 50 gp each; 2 white pearls, 100 gp each; 2 black pearls,
500 gp each; 1 emerald worth 1,000 gp, 1 diamond worth 2,000 gp).
Trade goods:
Scattered amongst the goods are a small bolt of silk worth 105 gp, a
crate of unrefined mithril worth 550 gp, and a small wooden box containing
a set of silver combs inset with sapphires worth 1,050 gp.
Magic items:
In addition to the regular merchant wares, coins, and gems, characters
might find a +1 cloak of resistance, dust of disappearance, figurine
of wondrous power (serpentine owl), glove of storing, ioun stone
(dull gray), and a necklace of fireballs (type I).
Finglos's items:
Lastly, Kardrako kept all of Finglos's items stored in a chest, allowing
the rogue only a few items (armor and weapon) when needed (and only
when charmed). The rest of Finglos's items still lie in the chest. They
are: 280 gp, a +1 mighty composite shortbow (+2 Str), a ring
of feather fall, and 3 potions (1 cure moderate wounds, 2
spider climb).
Encounter
5: The Dragon Attacks
Before
moving to the Online Media department at Wizards of the Coast, Will
McDermott was editor in chief of TopDeck magazine and, before
that, The Duelist. Will has written strategy guides for both
Magic: The Gathering and the Pokémon TCGs, and is currently
writing a Magic: The Gathering novel.
