textfiles/apple/DOCUMENTATION/pool.3

                           POOL OF RADIANCE
 
                          Adventurers Journal
 
                            FREE NEW PHLAN!
 
 The new Phlan City Council is leading the fight to free their captive
city. Heroes are retaking the city block by block from the evil hordes.
 
                            RICHES & FAME!
 
  The council is looking for soldiers and rogues, mages and clerics,
    heroes of all kinds, to come to New Phlan. The wealth and land
   of an ancient city await those willing to reach out and take it.
 
                                GLORY!
 
 Legends will be written about the heroic struggle to free New Phlan!
   Ships to New Phlan depart twice monthly. When you arrive, see the
      New Phlan City Council for the latest news and information.
 
                    MAKE YOUR FORTUNE IN NEW PHLAN!
 
              WHAT IS THE ADVENTURERS JOURNAL ALL ABOUT?
 
     The Adventurers Journal is your guide to POOL OF RADIANCE. It
     includes fliers, maps, and information that your adventurers
       would know before beginning their quest. It also includes
  information that your adventurers will discover during their quest.
 
   The journal is divided into several sections. The cover shows a
recruiting announcement that tempted your adventurers to come to New
Phlan. The next sections are a history of Phlan and a bestiary of the
monsters in and around Phlan. This is information your adventurers
should already know, so read it carefully. The answer to Phlan't
current plight may lie in its history.
   The next three sections of the journal are information that the
adventurers will come across during their adventure. POOL OF RADIANCE
assumes that your characters, being careful and thorough adventurers,
keep a written journal of important items that they find during their
quest. Such items include announcements from the city council
(Proclamations), information collected during an adventure (Journal
Entries) and tales overheard in taverns (Tavern Tales).
   During the game you will be referred to the entries in the
Adventurers Journal for additional information. For example, if you go
to the Hall of the City Council the program will refer to the council's
currently listed Proclamations by number. Look up the specific numbered
proclamations and read them. Ignore the other Proclamations until they
are posted. The game will also reference Journal Entries and Tavern
Tales by number. When such a reference appears, look up the specific
numbered entry and read it.
   These items are information the adventurer would copy into his
journal. As items are referenced check them off in the margins so you
later know which items have come up during the game.
   Not every Proclamation, Journal Entry, or Tavern Tale in this
journal is actually true. Many entries are only rumors, dreams, or
plain lies. Resist the temptation to read ahead in the journal; the
true items may reveal information your adventurers couldn't know yet,
and the false items will contain information that can lead them astray.
When you've finished the game you can read through the whole journal
and spot the false entries.
   The final sections in the journal include reference material for
playing the game. These appendices are a quick reference for specific
game information you may need during play. Together, all of the
sections should give you everything you need to complete the quest in
POOL OF RADIANCE.
 
              A HISTORY OF PHLAN AND THE MOONSEA REACHES
               A Discourse on This Area and its Problems
                             by Jeff Grub
 
   To most inhabitants of the lands of the Inner Sea, the Moonsea and
its cities represent the border between civilization and barbarism. The
Moonsea sits like a great plug straddling the territory between the
Mountains of Vaasa and the Nomad Steppes, protecting the southern
territories from the incursions of savage Northerners. To the south of
the Moonsea lie the civilized lands of Cormyr and Sembia. To the north
lay hundreds of square miles of cold and unforgiving waste. Even when
the southern kingdoms are themselves besieged by orcish hordes,
dragons, and fell monsters, they take comfort in the fact that, "It's
worse around the Moonsea."
 
   The Moonsea Reaches are defined by sages as being those lands
bordering on the Moonsea and its major contributing rivers. These major
rivers are the Tesh, flowing past the shadowed battlements of Zhentil
Keep; the Wyrmflow, a cold stream flowing from the east; the
Duathamper, also called the Evenflow, beginning deep in the heart of
the Elven Court and flowing north; and the Barren River which flows out
of the Dragonspine Mountains and into Phlan. The River Lis carries the
waters from the Moonsea south to the Inner Sea.
   The Moonsea itself is an odd combination of abyssal deep spots,
ship-ripping shoals, and rich fresh-water reefs. Despite this, travel
across the Moonsea is generally safer than making the journey on land,
so that most of the major merchant activity is by water.
   This is not to say that the Moonsea is without dangers. While
monsters are more infrequent along the Moonsea, those that exist are
generally more powerful than their landed cousins. Regions of the
Moonsea are recorded as being haunted, and there have been numerous
sightings of ghost ships.
 
   THE ANCIENT CITY OF PHLAN
 
   Phlan was the first great city of the Moonsea, reaching its peak
some thousand years ago. In those days, the Moonsea was better known as
the Dragon Sea, named for the large numbers of great Wyrms that
inhabited that area and the regions to the north. The Barren River was
then called the Stojanow, a dwarvish word meaning "Trade Route," for it
was down this passage the ore-laden barges floated, bound for the
south. Early Phlan was a trading outpost on the north shore of the
Moonsea, set up to facilitate trade between the Elves of Myth Drannor
(the most powerful elven capital of the time) and the tribes of Thar,
Vaasa, and the Ride, as well as the Dragonspine Dwarves.
   Trade between the powerful elves, the wild humans, and
merchant-dwarves was a great success for all sides. Soon Phlan was the
most powerful city on the Moonsea, outshining its only rival, the Elven
Docks of Hillsfar, on the south coast.
   At this time, the elves planted the Quivering Forest north of the
city. This copse was mildly enchanted, hastening the growing season to
produce a great woods in the span of a human generation. Though the
woods have been felled on a number of occasions, it has always returned
to its original form, becoming a light woods within two years, and a
deep shadow-filled forest by the end of a man's life.
   The elves, the legend says, first discovered the Pool of Radiance.
Its description has varied through the passage of the years. Many wise
sages have declared it a myth and a con-man's gambit. The location of
the Pool changes from tale to tale. Sometimes it is deep in the heart
of an eternal wood, sometimes on an island circled by great wyrms, and
sometimes in the heart of a huge solitary peak that rises above all
others in the Dragonspine Mountains.
   It is said that the pool glows with its own energy. Those that
approach it feel new power within their bones, while an unreal melody
holds them in a rapture. Legends say that the Pool's power created the
Quivering Forest and caused the Sorcerer's Isle to appear.
   The Pool is said to bring great power to the worthy, and death most
horrible to the unworthy. Some tales say that the individual should
drink it, bathe in it, or throw coins into it and wish. There are
numerous folk tales of the wise fool stumbling upon the Pool, and
gaining wondrous power or meeting a gory end. The abilities of the Pool
change according to the needs of the tale-spinner. In any event, a
trader or adventurer who encounters a sudden windfall or great riches
is said to have "visited the Pool."
   Whether the Pool is real or some literary invention, the First City
of Phlan (also called Archaic Phlan) survived in peace for many
generations of men. In the end, outside influences brought about its
downfall. Settlers began to intrude from the lands of Cormyr and Sembia
into the south of the Elven Court. At the same time, the beast-men of
Thar, which are today called ogres, began gathering into large hordes,
ravaging the countryside.
 
   Phlan built mighty walls and withstood a decade of constant
invasion. In the end, its fate was sealed by the elves withdrawing
within the Court combined with the dwarves pulling back into western
reaches of the Dragonspine Mountains.
   With its trading lifeline cut, Phlan fell into disrepair. When the
Black Horde finally demolished the city walls in the Year of the Tusk,
(112 DaleReckoning,) they found little but an empty husk. The greatness
that was Ancient Phlan had passed.
 
   GREATHAMMER AND THE FIRST REBIRTH OF PHLAN
 
   Phlan remained relatively uninhabited for the next 500 years. The
city's position at the mouth of the Stojanow did make it a useful
meeting place for traders. Twice during this period a pirate community
grew on the ruins of Phlan. The first time they were burned out by a
navy sailing from Mulmaster. The second time a group known as the Red
Horde, led by a red dragon of incredible age, leveled the community.
Following this attack, buccaneers never regained their power in the
Moonsea (though small bands still persist).
   With time, the civilizations of man moved further north, the greater
beasts retreated, and many cities were founded on the shores of the
Moonsea. Yet the beasts did not retreat far. Dragons nested in the
Dragonspine Mountains, ogres raided from the Great Grey Land of Thar,
and horrible undead things lingered in the swamps and in the passes
through to Vaasa.
   Hillsfar retained its elven ties and flourished even as Phlan't
power was deteriorating, growing from a small town into a large
prosperous city. The foundations of Zhentil Keep and Mulmaster were
laid while Phlan lay in ruins. Small towns such as Melvaunt, Thentia,
and Elmwood were started during this period. The inland city of Yulash,
situated atop a great mount that dominates the southwestern corner of
the lake, rose to the zenith of its power during this time.
   In 712 DR, the year of the Moon's Tears, Milsor the Valjevo, Founder
of the Valjevo Dynasty, journeyed to Phlan to re-establish the city as
a trading outpost. He was aided in his task, by the Wizard Rimon and
the Priestess Alonius of Tyr.
   Milsor, Rimon, and Alonius gathered together interested adventurers
and cleansed the city of the evil orcs and goblins that had made it
their fair. They cleared the banks of the Stojanow and drove the
arch-lich Zanakar from the Sorcerer's Island in the center of Lake
Kuto. In return for his efforts, Rimon was given the Sorcerer's Island
as his home. Alonius, in turn, was given a wide area in the recovered
regions of Phlan as a temple to Tyr, the god of justice.
   By 750 DR the temple complex has been finished. In its day, it was
said to be the largest temple of good in the entire North. The city as
well had recovered, and large numbers of immigrants arrived. Some were
natives of other Moonsea cities seeking to make or expand their
fortunes in the new lands. But others arrived as well, including men of
the Dalelands and Sembians, as well as farmers and lumbermen, intent on
making the region their home.
   The newcomers built on the ruins of the old city, often not checking
what had lay beneath their foundations. Some curious souls reported
great, twisting passages leading far beneath the earth. Exploring such
areas was first discouraged. It was later outlawed after a party of
adventurers freed an extremely large beholder. The newcomers, led by
Valjevo and his heirs, closed off the passages choosing to ignore the
past and seeking only the future for their city.
   The dalesmen spread up the Stojanow River. They diverted the river's
flow and turned the rocky terrain into a rich landscape of fields and
orchards. The reach of the farmlands extended from Lake Kuto to the
city of Phlan at the mouth of the river. Some say the land was so rich
because of the proximity of the enchanted Quivering Forest. Others
ascribe the bounty to the wizardries of Rimon. Still others credit the
series of dikes and levees that the farmers, aided by magical spells,
used to harness the river itself.
   Whatever the cause, the healthy harvests of the Stojanow River
Valley provided Phlan with a solid trading base. For the next 200 years
Phlan was the center of the trade around the Moonsea. Its grains,
fruits, and tubers filled vaults from Mulmaster to Zhentil Keep. It
appeared that civilization, after a false start, had finally made a
major foothold in the lands north of the Moonsea.
   Such was not to be the case, for the forces of good and evil ebb and
flow like the shores of the Moonsea itself. In the 195th year of Phlan,
(907 DR), the golden age ended in rust. A plant rust, which affected
most of the farmlands around Phlan, destroyed harvests for the next
three years. Suddenly the Moonsea reaches were in the grips of a
powerful famine, relieved at great cost with shipments from the south.
There was great suffering, and other cities, once so enamored of
Phlan's gentle power, were resentful that it had failed.
   The native Phlanars were resentful as well. Their once good rulers
had fallen into a sloth and ease in the centuries since the
reestablishment of the city. The Valjevo blood was said to run thin in
the Princes and Princesses of Phlan. They reacted to the plague
infesting the grain by first ignoring it, then setting up committees,
and finally legislating it out of existence. Only when the magnitude of
the problem became clear, did they act. Even then they failed their
people, overracting to the point of placing a ban on all shipments out
of the city, seeking to keep what supplies were left for the native
population.
   The other cities, already angry with Phlan for its rising prices in
the face of the plague, rebelled against this new measure. Fleets from
Mulmaster and Hillsfar began to raid cargos destined for the city.
Smugglers operated out of the Twilight March and Stormy Bay despite
official attempts to enforce the ban on shipments.
   A large land force equipped with siege machinery set out from
Zhentil Keep toward Phlan. The force encamped at Stormy Bar while the
ruling heads of Phlan negotiated to spare the city. In the end, the
Keeper force was turned back through a massive payment to their
leaders. These leaders were the first appearance in Phlan record of the
Zhentarim, which would increase in power over the next 300 years.
   During this activity, Rimon, now old in the ways that only wizards
can be old, disappeared from his rocky abode. What became of Rimon is
unknown, for the rulers of Phlan had not sought his council for a
generation. Some say he became a lich himself, using the methods
discovered by Zanakar. Others say that he sacrificed himself in battle
on a far-distant plane in order to save the lands of Phlan. Still
others state that he had found the Pool of Radiance and became a great
and powerful being in some other part of the Realms. Most likely Rimon
merely fell prey to the effects of old age as all mortals do. Whatever
the cause, Rimon was never seen again in the Realms, and his citadel
became a haunted, abandoned ruin within a decade.
   The Famine of the Red Plants passed after three seasons, and an
abundant harvest returned to Phlan. But the harvests were never to be
as great as before, nor the fruit from the orchards as sweet. Whatever
magic, true or imagined, that had reestablished Phlan passed. The city
began to become gray and ordinary, losing power to the Keepers and the
men of Mulmaster. The golden age was over.
   The Valjevo Princes, their blood thin indeed, continued for another
century. The century was filled with petty wars between the various
city-states. No longer the leading city of the Moonsea, Phlan battled
with its rival more often. Piracy, or rather privateering, was on the
rise, a situation that continues to this day among the city-states.
   Phlan was wracked by interior torments as well. The people of the
city were well aware of their loss of power and prestige. Farms north
of Phlan were now being abandoned. Dark shadows lurked between the
massive trunks of the trees in the Quivering Forest. An attempt to
clear a path through that growth in 1023 DR resulted in the death of
the last surviving Great Prince of the Valjevo family.
   The death of the Great Prince resulted in a three-year civil war
within the city, as various factions supported different candidates to
take the mantle of the Great Prince. All candidates' claims upon the
royal blood were questionable and every faction sought to control
Phlan's future through placing their choice on the throne. During this
time, the great temple of Tyr was looted and burned, leaving only a
great blackened shell. Many of the leading merchant families fled to
other climes.
   In the end, the last survivor was a young noble supported by a group
of powerful merchants. They created the first Council of Phlan to act
as regents for the youth. The Council spoiled the child, who grew into
a spoiled man who was unable and unwilling to take the reins of power.
He died without issue forty years later, and the Council has ruled ever
since.
 
   THE FALL OF PHLAN
 
   The last 300 years of Phlan have been a continual retreat from the
greatness that once was. Smaller rural towns were abandoned in the face
of increasing evil to the north. Sorcerer's Isle was said to be
inhabited again by fell powers. The city fell back upon that which it
did so well so long ago: trading. It began to serve again as the
middleman between the new powerful Northern tribes and the established
nations of the South. For a short time, about a hundred years ago, the
awful tide of retreat seemed to be halted and the city was on its way
to becoming a prosperous trading town once more.
 
   Yet dark things continued to lurk on the borders of Phlan.
Sorcerer's Island was said to be inhabited by Yarash, an evil mage who
was said to be seeking Rimon's power, the Arch-Lich's magic, the Pool
of Radiance, or all three. The greatly diminished Dwarven Nations of
Dragonspine reported great hordes of orcs and ogres attacking their
citadels, and their barge trade came to a complete halt. Small towns
and hamlets were raided and burned with increasing regularity, sending
refugees to Phlan seeking passage to safer lands.
   Then disaster struck, Raiders from the north, aided by dragons and
other dangerous creatures, poured down out of the northlands. The
Quivering Forest was burned in a massive fire that dominated the sky
for a month. Monstrous hordes containing every imaginable creature
marched with horrifying precision toward the city.
   The Council debated, argued, and debated again while the hordes drew
nearer, much as the last Valjevo Princes did in their long-ago folly.
Finally, they chose to fight, but were overwhelmed by the forces or orc
and dragon. Phlan burned and fell to the forces of evil, who looted and
pillaged that which remained.
   The last remnants of the Council stood their guard, trying to
evacuate as many citizens as possible. Of the council members, the Last
Priest of Tyr, Ferran Martinez, held the last garrison, Sokal Keep,
which stood at the mouth of the Barren River. It is said that Ferran
placed a terrible curse upon the Keep to prevent anyone from taking it.
   In the end, even the waters of the Stojanow river turned poisonous
and murky, and the river took its present name, the Barren. The rich
farmlands of the Stojanow River Valley were laid waste and became known
as the Scoured Lands.
 
   THE REEMERGENCE OF PHLAN
 
   That should have been the end of Phlan's story, but it is not so.
Men remember the tales of Valjevo, who brought the first city of Phlan
back from its ruins. Adventurers, smugglers, and small traders visited
the region and brought back tales of Phlan under control of its evil
masters. Many of the buildings were burned, but many others were
spared. The shell of the temple of Tyr had been rebuilt, dedicated to
some darker, more evil god. Zhentarim spies and agents of dark Vaasan
nobles met and planned in Phlan, and the riches of the ages still
survived for those who sought to look.
   In time, more modest men returned to Phlan to rebuild her. A
stockaded community rose from among the rubble of the past glories.
These men intended to engage in the same profession as those before
them, for Phlan still occupied a prime position for trading on the
Moonsea. However, until the city was cleared, the Barren River made
clean, and the competeing city-states pacified, Phlan was likely to
stay in impoverished ruins.
   Two years ago, in the Year of the Worm, two things happened that
would mean a change of Phlan's future. First was the Flight of the
Dragons that surged through the northern regions of the Lands of the
Inner Sea. Due to a cause unknown, great wyrms came down from the far
north destroying all in their path. These are not the rare,
opportunistic dragons seeking alliance with humanoid tribes, but rather
huge waves of angry scaled monsters, bringing destruction where they
travel.
   Many of the Moonsea and Daletowns suffered great destruction in the
battles that followed. Yulash was utterly ruined by the attack, and
Hillsfar was greatly damaged. The most telling blow was delivered by
the body of a great dragon that fell into the Hillsfar harbor, blocking
that entrance for a month.
   Much of the Phlan was also smashed into a smoking ruin by these
beasts. Strangely, it worked in the favor of those men who lived there.
Most of the damage was taken in the already-ruined section of the city,
where various evil warlords vied for control and riches. The attack of
the dragons broke their power, creating a vacuum in the control of the
city and giving the men of Phlan a chance to re-establish themselves
and their homes.
   Yet this would not occur without leaders, and the reappearance of
the Council of Phlan was the second great thing to occur in the city.
Descendents of the last Council still survived all the turmoil that had
occurred, and many families wished to return to the land. These leaders
were no great mages or wondrous fighters, but traders, merchants, and
clerics. Their leaders, who remain to this day, were the shrewd and
powerful trader Ulrich Eberhard, the retired mercenary captain Werner
Von Urslingen, and the Bishop of Braccio of Tyr. They have been joined
by their junior member, Porphyrys of the ancient House Cadorna.
   Together the council has proposed exactly that which Valjevo
accomplished so long ago, clearing the city by means of recruited
adventurers. The promise of great treasure and the myth of the Pool of
Radiance provided adventurers with an irresistable draw. The Council
published notices and paid traveling bards to make sure that the story
of Phlan's waiting riches was distributed all around the Moonsea and
beyond.
 
   PHLAN TODAY
 
   The city of Phlan, built on ruins upon ruins, is a city at war. It
is divided between the human forces of the Council, and those evil
forces that hold a great deal of the city under their sway.
   The human territories of Phlan are nestled behind a strong stockade
of stone quarried from the ruins and trees lumbered from the Quivering
Forest. A substantial city-guard patrols the openings in the walls at
all hours, always ready to repel any attacks by the old city's evil
inhabitants.
   The buildings of rebuilt Phlan are sturdy and utilitarian, with
little of the splendor of the ancient past. The glories of the past
shine through in an ancient column now used to support a stable's
wooden roof or a faded fresco overlooking an adventurer's taproom. The
past is always with the inhabitants of Phlan, reminding them of what
once was and could yet be again.
   The natives of Phlan are a mixed group, including descendents of the
families of Valjevo's day and returnees who seek to reclaim lands and
treasure lost to the dragon horde fifty years ago. The city is also
filled with adventurers seeking new fortunes and traders hoping to
reestablish the old trading lines.
   Orcs and other generally evil humanoids are viewed with alarm within
the city, though evil humans come and go unmolested with the ships. It
is said that spies from the other cities of the Moonsea make regular
calls with the ships, overseeing the progress of the Council in
re-establishing the city. If the Council is TOO successful, some say,
then sabotage may be in order to prevent Phlan from returning to its
former power.
   The lands beyond the civilized stockade are wild ruins controlled by
whatever local faction or tribe holds that piece of land. Control lasts
only as long as the reach of claw or sword. Petty bands of orcs,
goblins, and men vie for power, some led by more sinister monsters.
   Much of Phlan's ruined greatness can be found in the Old City. The
main sights include: the forgotten riches of the wealthy old noble's
houses; Podol Plaza, the center of the old trading district; and the
Old Temple, now dedicated to the dark god Bane. Valjevo Castle has been
refortified and is being used as a headquarters for one faction leader
or another.
   Phlan remains now, as it has ever been, a city with the greatest of
potential. In the cycles of its rise and fall, legends have arisen
before. In engineering New Phlan's renaissance, new legends are sure to
emerge.
 
                        THE PHLAN AREA BESTIARY
 
   This is a list of some of the monsters found in and around Phlan and
the north shore of the Moonsea. Most monsters can strike fear into the
hearts of men, but some are more powerful than others. The monster's
reputation is reflected in its monster level, listed as a Roman numeral
after its name. Level I monsters are less powerful than a well-equipped
beginning fighter. A Level VIII monster may be more powerful than
several heroes.
 
   Anhkeheg (VI): Large burrowing insects with great mandibles. These
creatures have been known to spit a powerful acid.
 
   Basilisk (VII): A giant eight-legged lizard. One of the most
dangerous creatures in the realms because their gaze can turn creatures
to stone!
 
   Bugbear (IV): Hideous giant sized goblins who stand over seven feet
in height. Bugbears look clumsy but are strong, quick fighters with
great stealth.
 
   Centaur (IV): These good creatures are half men and half horse. They
are capable fighters and can be valuable allies.
 
   Displacer Beast (VI): These creatures are large, black puma-like
creatures with two tentacles sprouting from their backs. These
creatures can appear several feet from their actual location.
 
   Drider (VI): These creatures resemble a cross between a drow elf and
a giant spider. They are powerful spell casters.
 
   Efretti (VII): These large powerful jinn are from the elemental
plane of fire. They are very arrogant and will only serve a powerful
master.
 
   Ettin (VII): These creatures look like giant two-headed orcs. They
have great strength and usually wield two spiked clubs that inflict
terrible damage in combat.
 
   Fire Giant (VIII): These evil giants have flaming red hair and are
immune to all fire. They usually attack with giant two-handed swords.
 
   Giant Frog (III): These are giant carnivorous frogs. They are fast,
dangerous predators who may be poisonous.
 
   Giant Lizard (IV): These are the giant cousins to the common lizard.
 
   Giant Mantis (VII): These are the giant version of the common
mantis. These creatures are fast, strong, and have good armor.
 
   Giant Scorpion (VI): These are the giant version of the common
scorpion. Its poisonous tail can kill a man.
 
   Giant Snake (V): These are giant poisonous snakes.
 
   Ghoul (III): These are evil undead whose touch may paralyze a man in
combat. They feed on corpses and attack all living creatures on sight.
 
   Gnoll (II): These creatures are hyena-headed humanoids who stand
over seven feet tall.
 
   Goblin (I): These are small humanoids common in the Realms.
 
   Hill Giant (VII): These are one of the smaller, more stupid giants,
but they are still tough opponents. They usually carry large clubs.
 
   Hippogriff (III): These magnificent creatures have the forelimbs and
head of an eagle and the body and hind legs of a horse.
 
   Hobgoblin (II): These are human-sized, intelligent relatives of the
goblin.
 
   Kobold (I): These are small, cowardly humanoids who delight in
killing and torture.
 
   Lizardman (III): These are lizard-like humanoids. They are
omnivorous but they have a particular fancy for human flesh.
 
   Medusa (VI): These are hideous women with snakes for hair. They can
turn a man to stone with their gaze.
 
   Minotaur (VI): These are strong bull-headed humanoids. They are
cruel man eaters, commonly found in mazes.
 
   Mummy (VII): These are powerful undead with great strength. The mere
sight of one has been known to paralyze a man in combat. The touch of
the mummy causes a strange rotting disease.
 
   Nymph (V): These are extremely beautiful creatures that appear as
ever-young females. They usually inhabit wild lakes and streams.
 
   Ogre (IV): These are large, foul-tempered, ugly humanoids. They are
strong fighters.
 
   Orc (I): These are evil, pig-faced humanoids.
 
   Phase Spider (VI): These are giant poisonous spiders with the
ability to phase in and out of this dimension. Usually they only 'phase
in' to attack, then 'phase out' again.
 
   Quickling (IV): These are small, fast-moving creatures. Because of
their great speed they are invisible when they move.
 
   Skeleton (I): These are the least of the undead. These animated
skeletons are usually controlled by some evil force.
 
   Spectre (VII): These are one of the most powerful of the undead.
Their touch can drain the life out of men.
 
   Stirge (II): These are small, blood-sucking birds.
 
   Thri-kreen (VI): These are intelligent, carnivorous insect-men who
live in burrows. They have four arms and a poisonous bite that
paralyzes their foes.
 
   Tiger (V): These are noble beasts who are both strong and silent.
Though their normal prey are animals, they have been known to become
"man-eaters."
 
   Troll (VI): These are large, strong, ugly humanoids. They know no
fear and can regenerate wounds.
 
   Vampire (VIII): These are one of the most dreaded undead in the
Realms. They can drain life levels, are strong fighters, and are
sometimes powerful magic users.
 
   Wardog (III): These are large, strong dogs, trained to kill. Orcs,
goblins, and other humanoids are known to use them.
 
   Wight (VI): Evil, undead humans whose touch can drain the life out
of a man.
 
   Wild Boar (IV): These creatures are the wild relatives of the pig.
 
   Wraith (VI): These creatures are non-corporeal undead. Their touch
can drain the life out of a man.
 
   Wyvern (VII): These creatures are distant relatives of dragons. They
attack by biting and using the poisonous sting in their tail.
 
   Zombie (IV): Magically animated corpses controlled by an evil force.
Zombies always fight back until destroyed or turned.
 
                 THE PROCLAMATIONS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
                             OF NEW PHLAN
 
   These messages are posted on the wall of the City Hall. They
represent messages that the City Council wants to relate to the
citizens and adventurers in New Phlan. When you go to City Hall the
game will refer to the posted proclamations by number. Each
proclamation begins with:
 
   From the City Council of New Phlan to all brave and hearty
adventurers:
 
   PROCLAMATION LIX
   Be it known that the council is interested in reclaiming the
remaining blocks of the city of New Phlan. To reclaim said blocks they
must be first cleared of monsters, vermin, and other uncivilized
inhabitants. To this end the council is offering a reward to any person
or group who is responsible for clearing any block of the old city.
 
   PROCLAMATION LXIV
   Be it known that the council is interested in acquiring information
as to the disposition of various formerly-living entities rumored to be
harassing honest citizens in the vicinity of Valhigen Graveyard. A
reward is offered to any person who shall travel to said graveyard and
return an eye-witness account.
 
   PROCLAMATION LXXVII
   Be it known that the council is offering a reward to any person or
persons who can provide information as to the disposition of several
council agents who have been sent to investigate the unseemly
happenings in the vicinity of Valhigen Graveyard.
 
   PROCLAMATION CI
   Be it known that the council, knowing that commerce is the life's
blood of New Phlan, has decreed that Sokal Keep is to be cleared of all
unlawful inhabitants. A reward is offered to the person or persons who
successfully carry out this commission. All interested in applying for
said commission shall present themselves to the clerk of the council.
 
   PROCLAMATION CIX
   Be it known that the council is offering an inducement to any
individual who shall serve in the rescue force for the mercenary band
of Taimalg-the-Invincible which has disappeared inside Valhigen
Graveyard.
 
   PROCLAMATION CX
   Be it known that the council is seeking a stalwart band to undertake
a mission of particular sensitivity. Any brave and clever band of
adventure seekers who are not adverse to earning a large reward should
present themselves to the council clerk for a special commission. 
   PROCLAMATION CXIV
   Be it known that the council is offering a special reward for the
safe return of the heir to the House of Bivant. Said minor was carried
off during a buccaneer attack on the merchant ship in which he was
sailing. Apply to the council clerk for the council's commission and
additional information as to the abduction.
 
   PROCLAMATION CXX
   Be it known that the council has decreed that the threat of the
pirates who plague eastern shipping to New Phlan will be eliminated.
The council offers a generous reward for the exact location of the
pirates stronghold in the Twilight Marsh. An even greater reward is
offered for the elimination of the pirates as a threat to shipping.
Apply to the council clerk for a commission.
 
   PROCLAMATION CXXVI
   Be it known that the council is offering a reward for all books and
tomes containing information about the fall of Phlan. The amount of
said reward to be dependent upon the value of the information provided.
 
   PROCLAMATION CXXIX
   Be it known that the council has decreed that the foul poisoning of
the river formerly known as Stojanow is to be brought to an end.
Accordingly, a reward is offered to any group which shall travel up the
river currently known as Barren, locate the source of its poisoning,
and eliminate said source. A commission may be obtained from the
council clerk.
 
   PROCLAMATION CXXXIV
   Be it known that the council has declared those individuals who have
taken up residence in the mansion of the former Koval Family to be
traitors and thieves. Be it further known that a reward has been
offered for the elimination of these outlaws. A commission to rid the
city of this blight may be obtained from the council clerk.
 
   PROCLAMATION CLIV
   Be it known that the council has proclaimed a generous bounty for
each undead killed. Be it also known that in addition to said bounty,
the council is willing to provide a special enchanted item, useful in
the destruction of undead, to any group of adventurers which accepts
the commission to cleanse Valhigen Graveyard. Apply to the city clerk
for said commission.
 
   PROCLAMATION CLVI
   Be it known that the council is seeking a hearty band to undertake a
mission to rescue the Duchess of Melvaunt. The duchess is supposedly
being held by a band of ogres in a camp to the northeast of Phlan. A
generous reward is offered for the safe return of the duchess. Apply to
the council clerk for commission and additional information concerning
the abduction.
 
   PROCLAMATION CLXX
   Be it known that the council is interested in obtaining information
concerning bands of insect men known to plague the grassy planes to the
west of New Phlan. Said insect men are a hazard to transportation to
and from Zhentil Keep. A reward is offered to any person or persons who
return with complete information on the location, disposition, and
intentions of the insect men. Apply to the council clerk for a
commission.
 
   PROCLAMATION CXC
   Be it known that the council is interested in obtaining information
about the disposition of various hobgoblins believed to be gathering in
support of forces bent upon the destruction of our fair city. A
generous reward is offered to any who shall scout out the doings of
these foul creatures and report such to the council. A larger reward is
offered if the marshalling of said hobgoblins can be prevented. A
commission may be obtained from the council clerk.
 
   PROCLAMATION CCI
   Be it known that the council is interested in clearing obstacles to
establishing a trade route to the east. Said obstacles currently
include an infestation of lizard men in the swamps to the east. A
reward is offered to any who can locate the source of the infestation
and remove the lizard men as an obstacle to trade. A commission may be
obtained from the council clerk.
 
   PROCLAMATION CCIV
   Be it known that the council is interested in obtaining information
about the disposition of various kobolds currently believed to be
gathering in support of forces aimed on the destruction of our fair
city. A generous reward if offered to any who shall scout out the
doings of these foul creatures and report such to the council. A larger
reward is offered if the marshalling of said kobolds can be prevented.
A commission may be obtained from the council clerk.
 
   PROCLAMATION CCXIV
   Be it known that the council is interested in obtaining information
about the disposition of a large nomad band currently believed scouting
the approaches to our fair city. A generous reward is offered to any
who can prevent said nomads from joining with the force now gathering
to attack New Phlan. A commission may be obtained from the council
clerk.