Today: the final installment of Supplement III! Commence fanfare!
MIGHTY SERVANT OF LEUK-O: The first thing to note here is that this item is a relic of a race of space travelers. This ties in very well with the space-faring people that appear in the Temple of the Frog module, and is further proof that the World of Greyhawk exists in a galaxy with some highly developed planets.
The Mighty Servant itself is a huge automaton (9 feet tall and 6 wide), that can be used as a fighting machine, mode of transportation, or magical attack device. Such is its size that it causes intelligent creatures to save vs. fear. This is inconsistent with a lot of D&D monsters that are much larger and require no save, but I can chalk this up to the alien construction of the thing making it scary to look at. Anyway, the Mighty Servant is very hard to hit, completely immune to magic and has a whole bunch of other resistances. It's slow to move and attack, and it has a very small chance to hit, but if it does it deals 10-100 damage. Like Baba Yaga's Hut from the last post, this artifact is given a flat % chance to hit rather than using the standard method. I suppose it's fair enough that such a powerful machine would ignore armor, and it does take Dexterity into account, so everything works. But when people praise the unified mechanic of 3e for streamlining the game, this is the kind of thing they're thinking of.
Suggested powers: levitation, light, sleep, user becomes permanently chaotic, and the user is compelled to undertake a holy quest.
This last bit makes me think that the aforementioned star-faring race must have been a bunch of religious zealots.
Oh, and as usual with these artifacts we have the requisite NPC: Leuk-O. There's no indication here of who he is or what he's done.
THE JACINTH OF INESTIMABLE BEAUTY: This is a big glowing gem that charms anyone who looks at it. It is rumoured to have once been the property of 'the fabled Shah Cham'Ponee', but as usual we learn nothing else about him. The gem has some other suggested powers as well: acts as +1 armor, detects traps and secret doors, 20-die lightning bolt, death spell, paralization, wielder has a 25% chance to permanently lose a hit point whenever the gem is used, the gem causes extreme greed in any viewer and may cause him to try to kill the wielder, and the user becomes permanently Lawful.
THE CRYSTAL OF THE EBON FLAME: This is a crystal, smaller than a human skull, that constantly emits rays that induce fear in any viewer. Inside the crystal is a darting flame, and if it is focused on the other powers of the crystal may be used.
Suggested powers: Detect invisible, acts as +1 armor, 10-die cold ray, wielder has a 25% chance to permanently lose 1 point from an ability score every time the item is used, user cannot touch or be touched by metal, time stop.
Despite the evocative and cool name, this artifact is disappointingly devoid of any background info.
HEWARD'S MYSTICAL ORGAN: This is an enormous pipe organ, that is purported to have an air elemental trapped in the bellows to power the thing. The organ can create any number of magical effects, but if it is incorrectly played it will be detrimental to the user. There are no specific powers listed, so this one is really up to the DM.
(And, in my PDF this item is listed as "Reward's Mystical Organ". I've listed it as Heward, as it is in later versions, but I'm not sure if this is an OCR error or if it is in the actual text. Plus, new NPC - Heward. He is still a mystery.)
HORN OF CHANGE: Heh heh heh. When this horn is blown three times, it produces a random effect from the artifact tables. Man, I love randomised items like this one.
THE RING OF GAX: This platinum ring has an eight-sided gem on it, each facet of which contains a specific power. The gem can be twisted to use each facet, but it has a habit of turning at random by itself, so the PCs won't know which facet is which until they use a bit of trial and error. It's impossible to mark the ring, so they'll be going through this process every time they want to use it. Again, it's another semi-randomised item, to my joy.
Suggested powers: Fly, wizard eye, detect traps and secret doors, conjure elemental/djinn/efreet/invisible stalker, power word stun, user attacks anyone within 20 feet, item consumes 50-100% of the user's treasure, user cannot touch or be touched by metal, finger of death
And, Gax! Another as yet undeveloped NPC to add to the ranks.
THE CROWNS, ORBS AND SCEPTRES: There are several sets of these, one for each alignment. This raises a question right away - are we talking about the original three-alignment system, or the expanded system that includes Good and Evil? In the interests of keeping things simple, I will probably go with the original system of Law, Neutrality and Chaos.
There's another thing to think of as well - what of the Crown/Orb/Sceptre sets of the Fighter, Cleric and Magic-User that were posited in the OD&D boxed set? Are they connected, or a separate thing altogether? Again, to keep things simple, I will go with the former. The Crown, Orb and Sceptre of Law will be the same one said to be for Clerics, the set for Neutrality will be said to belong to Fighters, and the Chaotic set to Magic-Users. I've theorised before that they were once owned by the respective guilds of each class, but it's obvious from this that they will predate the guilds by a long way, and will have purposes of their own separate from the guilds as well.
Anyway, these items are scattered around and lost, and can only be used by someone who shares their alignment (as usual, punishment is visited upon anyone else who picks one up, and there's no use of detect good/evil to get out of it). Each item has a number of powers, and more powers become available if you complete the set.
Suggested Power for the Orbs: Light, fly, double-strength slow spell
Suggested Power for the Sceptres: Acts as +1 armor, telekinesis, conjure elemental/djinn/efreet/invisible stalker
Suggested Power for the Crowns: ESP, detect magic, shape change
Extra powers if two items owned: user immune to magic but cannot use magic himself, Legend Lore, Commune
Extra powers if three items owned: items cause extreme greed in all viewers, summon a demon once a day
THRONE OF THE GODS: A massive gold-inlayed throne crafted by an ancient race in honour of their gods (oh so lovely and vague, I can cram that in anywhere!). It's carved right into the heart of a mountain, and so it can't be moved. That makes me think Dwarves at the moment, but I suspect I might be swayed towards one of the Underdark races if I'm feeling nasty. Anyone who sits on the throne gets a random magic item, but can only do so once. Also, he can use any of the throne's powers, but is subject to the drawbacks as well.
Suggested powers: Clairvoyance, telekinesis, speak with dead, teleport, charm monster, death spell, locate treasure, gem of seeing, raise dead fully, throne releases gas which puts all nearby to sleep
Woah. If the suggested powers are anything to go by, there aren't a lot of drawbacks to using this thing. Luckily it can't be moved. Given the general benevolence of the thing, I'm likely to stick with ancient Dwarves as the builders.
THE ORBS OF DRAGONKIND: Hey, shades of Dragonlance! These five orbs are about as big as a human head, and each contains the imprisoned essence of a dragon.
The Orb of the Hatchling: The user of this orb has the suggested power of ESP, and does not need to eat or drink. This orb is pretty weak, and will obey any person who can speak the language of dragons.
The Orb of the Dragonette: This is like the one above, but with different powers: detect evil, wizard eye, 10-die cold ray, user becomes fantastically strong but really clumsy.
The Orb of the Dragon: Again as above, but with different powers: Telekinesis, death spell, locate treasure. The drawback? The user is instantly killed. Hey, hope your buddies enjoy that treasure you just located!
The Great Firedrake's Orb: This orb is much more wilfull than the previous three, and can try to possess the user like a magic sword. It's extremely evil, so if the user is possessed he'll try to control or destroy those nearby. The orb's powers are: move at double speed, fire resistance, dispel magic, user loses 1 hit point permanently with each use, disintegrate
The Orb of the Eldest Worm: This one can possess you like the previous, but it's even more likely to succeed. It's powers are: speak with dead, adds`1-3 to an ability score, charm monster, finger of death, user has a chance a body part will rot and fall off, power word kill
That's it for artifacts, and for the rest of the book effectively, as the remainder is a revision to the Wilderness Wandering Monster tables. I'll be quietly incorporating that at the same time as the rest of this book. Since that wraps up Supplement III, my next post will be a round-up of the various elements that have been incorporated into the campaign so far. That might take me a while, so my usual Friday update may not appear.
Showing posts with label Artifacts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Artifacts. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry part 16
In this installment: VECNA!
THE HAND OF VECNA: Here it is, probably the most iconic D&D artifact ever. For the probable few of you who don't already know, this artifact is a shriveled and blackened hand that is the sole remnant of an ancient lich who imbued it with power that has lasted long after his destruction. In order for the hand to be used, it must be attached to the stump of an arm, which has resulted in all sort of hilarity perpetrated on PCs over the years. The owner becomes undetectably evil, but can remove the hand at any point up until he uses one of its primary powers. After that, each use of a power drops the chance to remove it by 10%, until after ten uses it can never be removed. Not only that, but every use of a primary power subjects you to a negative effect from the artifact tables, so this is a very nasty thing to have. Even worse, none of these ill effects can be altered in any way, even by acts of the gods. This is said in ALL CAPS, so it is extra-true.
The hand has secondary powers that can be used without ill effect. They are: the user has an ever-increasing chance to automatically become ethereal when under stress, levitation, infravision, fly and detect traps and secret doors.
The hand's primary powers are the ones that come with ill effects. They are performed by making finger gestures, and can only be discovered by trial and error. Something tells me my players will go for the Ronnie James Dio horns first thing. The primary powers are: Sleep, double-strength slow spell, finger of death, regenerate half of all hit points lost in combat, teleport, monster summoning, x-ray vision, 10d6 cold ray, death spell, locate treasure, and your touch turns your opponent's bones to jelly. Oh, and you always get a premonition of danger just before it happens. Okay, yeah. I can see the upside to this thing.
THE EYE OF VECNA: I've always thought the eye a little creepier than the hand, so far as Vecna is concerned. Its existence is rumoured, and has yet to be confirmed, but is only talked about in hushed whispers, and never to strangers. I'll have to remember this if my PCs ever decide to hunt this thing down. Asking around for the Eye of Vecna could lead to trouble for them. It's also of interest that the eye glitters in the maner of a feline, and so may not have actually belonged to Vecna.
Much like the hand, the eye must be pressed into an empty eye-socket. Once it's in there, it can't be removed, and it turns the wearer Chaotic.
Secondary powers (no ill effects): immune to disease, clairaudience, water breathing, paralization.
Primary power: The wearer is granted one wish per week. Every time the wish is used, there's a cumulative chance that the power of the eye will break free, destroy the wearer's soul, and use his body to kill all of his hirelings and associates. Good times.
BABA YAGA'S HUT: This hut belonged to Baba Yaga, who is said here to have been the greatest Wizardress of all time. It's a hut that's bigger inside than outside, and it walks around on giant chicken legs that it can also use to clobber enemies. It's interesting to note that they are said to have a 30% hit probability. So this means that they completely bypass the Armor Class system? It can also cast a Finger of Death once a day, and the image of the hut pointing with a chicken leg to cast it already has me in hysterics.
IRON FLASK OF TUERNY THE MERCILESS: This is a heavy metal urn closed with a turnip-shaped stopper covered with mighty runes. Inside the urn is 'the Groaning Spirit', a devil or demon which can be loosed to perform evil deeds. The wielder needs to know a special word to open the stopper, the special spell which commands the Groaning Spirit, and the word of closure to seal it up again. Otherwise, shenanigans. It's got a few other powers as well: teleport, stone to flesh, the user receives a premonition of danger just before it happens. The urn will consume half-to-all of the user's treasure to sustain its power.
The question remains, though, who was Tuerny? A cursory bit of research reveals him as a wizard of Greyhawk, a former king, and a bad dude. I'll have to do some more poking around when I get into my post-OD&D research phase.
QUEEN EHLISSA'S MARVELOUS NIGHTINGALE: This is a bejewelled mechanical songbird held in a mesh of golden wires that springs to life when activated. Its song causes wondrous effects, as do the scintillating lights from its eyes, and the two in combination are said to be able to produce many powerful spells. It also has an aura that protects all nearby from detection spells, as well as hunger and thirst.
Suggested powers: detect evil, speak with animals, double-strength slow spell, restore one lost level per week. It's suggested that maybe the restored level can be taken from another nearby PC, but I don't think that's really appropriate for this item. It also has a cumulative chance that the power of the bird will break free, destroy the wearer's soul, and use his body to kill all of his hirelings and associates. This is harder to reconcile with a seemingly benevolent item, but I guess appearances can be deceiving.
Queen Ehlissa herself is said here to have reigned for several centuries, bending the nightingale to her will and never allowing it to escape.
THE MACHINE OF LUM THE MAD: This is a gigantic machine covered in levers and dials, with a large booth for people to stand in. Twenty of the levers and dials are unusable due to age, and the thing is too large and delicate to be transported with teleport magic. Anything in the booth will be affected when the levers and dials are operated. The thing has 80 powers, which is just about everything in the book, and the DM is also encouraged to come up with some things himself.
Who is Lum the Mad? Another quick check on the internet reveals him to have been a Baron and warlord who got betrayed and hurled through a dimensional rift into limbo. Again, more on this later I guess.
Next: More artifacts, more artifacts, more artifacts. I have a child, and so henceforth will refrain from promising to finish up with this next time.
THE HAND OF VECNA: Here it is, probably the most iconic D&D artifact ever. For the probable few of you who don't already know, this artifact is a shriveled and blackened hand that is the sole remnant of an ancient lich who imbued it with power that has lasted long after his destruction. In order for the hand to be used, it must be attached to the stump of an arm, which has resulted in all sort of hilarity perpetrated on PCs over the years. The owner becomes undetectably evil, but can remove the hand at any point up until he uses one of its primary powers. After that, each use of a power drops the chance to remove it by 10%, until after ten uses it can never be removed. Not only that, but every use of a primary power subjects you to a negative effect from the artifact tables, so this is a very nasty thing to have. Even worse, none of these ill effects can be altered in any way, even by acts of the gods. This is said in ALL CAPS, so it is extra-true.
The hand has secondary powers that can be used without ill effect. They are: the user has an ever-increasing chance to automatically become ethereal when under stress, levitation, infravision, fly and detect traps and secret doors.
The hand's primary powers are the ones that come with ill effects. They are performed by making finger gestures, and can only be discovered by trial and error. Something tells me my players will go for the Ronnie James Dio horns first thing. The primary powers are: Sleep, double-strength slow spell, finger of death, regenerate half of all hit points lost in combat, teleport, monster summoning, x-ray vision, 10d6 cold ray, death spell, locate treasure, and your touch turns your opponent's bones to jelly. Oh, and you always get a premonition of danger just before it happens. Okay, yeah. I can see the upside to this thing.
THE EYE OF VECNA: I've always thought the eye a little creepier than the hand, so far as Vecna is concerned. Its existence is rumoured, and has yet to be confirmed, but is only talked about in hushed whispers, and never to strangers. I'll have to remember this if my PCs ever decide to hunt this thing down. Asking around for the Eye of Vecna could lead to trouble for them. It's also of interest that the eye glitters in the maner of a feline, and so may not have actually belonged to Vecna.
Much like the hand, the eye must be pressed into an empty eye-socket. Once it's in there, it can't be removed, and it turns the wearer Chaotic.
Secondary powers (no ill effects): immune to disease, clairaudience, water breathing, paralization.
Primary power: The wearer is granted one wish per week. Every time the wish is used, there's a cumulative chance that the power of the eye will break free, destroy the wearer's soul, and use his body to kill all of his hirelings and associates. Good times.
BABA YAGA'S HUT: This hut belonged to Baba Yaga, who is said here to have been the greatest Wizardress of all time. It's a hut that's bigger inside than outside, and it walks around on giant chicken legs that it can also use to clobber enemies. It's interesting to note that they are said to have a 30% hit probability. So this means that they completely bypass the Armor Class system? It can also cast a Finger of Death once a day, and the image of the hut pointing with a chicken leg to cast it already has me in hysterics.
IRON FLASK OF TUERNY THE MERCILESS: This is a heavy metal urn closed with a turnip-shaped stopper covered with mighty runes. Inside the urn is 'the Groaning Spirit', a devil or demon which can be loosed to perform evil deeds. The wielder needs to know a special word to open the stopper, the special spell which commands the Groaning Spirit, and the word of closure to seal it up again. Otherwise, shenanigans. It's got a few other powers as well: teleport, stone to flesh, the user receives a premonition of danger just before it happens. The urn will consume half-to-all of the user's treasure to sustain its power.
The question remains, though, who was Tuerny? A cursory bit of research reveals him as a wizard of Greyhawk, a former king, and a bad dude. I'll have to do some more poking around when I get into my post-OD&D research phase.
QUEEN EHLISSA'S MARVELOUS NIGHTINGALE: This is a bejewelled mechanical songbird held in a mesh of golden wires that springs to life when activated. Its song causes wondrous effects, as do the scintillating lights from its eyes, and the two in combination are said to be able to produce many powerful spells. It also has an aura that protects all nearby from detection spells, as well as hunger and thirst.
Suggested powers: detect evil, speak with animals, double-strength slow spell, restore one lost level per week. It's suggested that maybe the restored level can be taken from another nearby PC, but I don't think that's really appropriate for this item. It also has a cumulative chance that the power of the bird will break free, destroy the wearer's soul, and use his body to kill all of his hirelings and associates. This is harder to reconcile with a seemingly benevolent item, but I guess appearances can be deceiving.
Queen Ehlissa herself is said here to have reigned for several centuries, bending the nightingale to her will and never allowing it to escape.
THE MACHINE OF LUM THE MAD: This is a gigantic machine covered in levers and dials, with a large booth for people to stand in. Twenty of the levers and dials are unusable due to age, and the thing is too large and delicate to be transported with teleport magic. Anything in the booth will be affected when the levers and dials are operated. The thing has 80 powers, which is just about everything in the book, and the DM is also encouraged to come up with some things himself.
Who is Lum the Mad? Another quick check on the internet reveals him to have been a Baron and warlord who got betrayed and hurled through a dimensional rift into limbo. Again, more on this later I guess.
Next: More artifacts, more artifacts, more artifacts. I have a child, and so henceforth will refrain from promising to finish up with this next time.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry part 15
More artifacts today.
THE AXE OF THE DWARVISH LORDS: Forged in a volcano by a long-forgotten dwarven king, this axe was passed down until it was lost about 1,000 years ago. It works like a Sword of Sharpness, and anyone who uses it gets the special abilities of a Dwarf (which always seemed weird to me, in that the special dwarven weapon grants more powers to non-dwarves than to dwarves). Not only that, but it makes the wielder resemble a dwarf as well. And since I'm firmly in the camp that says dwarven women have beards, this is a great one to spring on that guy who's always playing elven chicks.
Suggested powers: Teleport 2 times a day, Wish once a week, user takes double damage from attacks while wielding it, user must sacrifice a human being to the axe so it will function for 24 hours.
That last one gives a pretty good indication of what the dwarf king who forged this axe was like, and how he viewed humans. A sacred relic it might be, but it seems it was forged for nefarious purposes. Possibly during a particularly bloody war between men and dwarves.
THE WAND OF ORCUS: As described under the entry for Orcus himself, this is an obsidian rod topped by a skull. If someone other than Orcus gets his dirty mitts on it, it has a 50% chance to annihilate any creature struck (except for Demon Princes, High Devils, Saint and Godlings). Each time it is used the wielder is subject to a negative effect, with 2-24 points of damage being the suggested penalty. It's other suggested powers are move at double speed, cure light wounds once a day and speak with animals. Those last couple of abilities seem a bit incongruous, but who can fathom the mind of a Demon Prince?
THE ROD OF SEVEN PARTS: So iconic it has its own super-adventure. Basically, this is a rod that has been broken and scattered around the world. When the first part is found it will lead you to the second, and then the third, and so on, and each time a new section is added it gets a new power. Whenever a new power is gained it replaces the previous one. Once the rod has been assembled, it can't be broken by the user, but there's a 5% chance every time it's used that it will scatter again.
Suggested Powers:
2nd part: User attacks anyone within 20 feet
3rd part: Move at double speed
4th part: Metal passes through user with no effect
5th part: Cast a 20-die lightning bolt once a day
6th part: User takes double damage from all attacks
7th part: Raises all ability scores to 18 (With (00) for Strength!)
So it looks like the quest for the Rod would be an interesting one, with the rod alternating between help and hindrance. Especially when you have the second part, and start hacking your way through everything that moves...
THE CODEX OF THE INFINITE PLANES: Woah, heaps of things to take note of here. First up is that the Isles of Woe upon the Lake of Unknown Depths were once ruled by a wizard-cleric who owned the Codex. I believe this lake is the Nyr Dyv, located pretty close to Greyhawk City? If so that's awesome, and it gives me yet another potential adventure site in that region. It should also be noted that this unnamed wizard-cleric is definitely breaking the rules - in OD&D, Wizards can't become Clerics and vice-versa. Things were obviously different in Ye Olden Days.
So eventually this guy's knowledge from the Codex caused his downfall, and the waters of the lake flooded his domain. The Codex survived, and made it into the hands of the Wizard Tzoonk, who left behind a mysterious scrap of paper before he disappeared. This is the infamous Tzoonk Fragment, and I'll reproduce the whole thing here:
"... and thereupon the voice belled forth in tones of hollow iron and spoke of the Coming of the City of the Gods. Such future events interested me not, so I gave the command: 'Answer in th ...' (here the fragment becomes entirely illegible) . . . so knowing both the secret and the spell which would unlock the Way to this horde of the Demon Prince Nql . . . (another break in the writing unfortunately occurs here). . . gathered the nine as required and proceeded forth. With me in addition were the dyoph servants necessary to transport the Codex, for I would not leave it behind on even so perilous a journey as this." (Here the entire fragment ends.)
Where to start? It seems that Tzoonk went off to face a Demon Prince (whose name begins with Nql), taking the Codex with him, and never returned. Which leads me to believe that the Codex now resides somewhere in the Abyss, under the generous eye of Nql himself. The other interesting tidbit here is the mention of the City of the Gods, and its coming in the future. This is a reference to a Blackmoor adventure run by Dave Arneson, which seems to be available as module DA3. I do know that Rob Kuntz adventured there, and has provided some details on his website.
Back to the Codex, it is said to be very large and difficult to transport. It is 99% likely to slay anyone who opens the book, and anyone under 10th level who even touches it will likewise be annihilated.
Suggested Powers: Clairvoyance, speak with plants, read magic, monster summoning once a day, user must sacrifice a human to the book for it to function, raise dead fully once a day, creatures of same alignment automatically serve wielder for 1-6 turns. After a set number of uses, the user is transformed into a minor demon or godling and is at the complete beck and call of a major demon or godling.
Next: I might just finish with the Artifacts.
THE AXE OF THE DWARVISH LORDS: Forged in a volcano by a long-forgotten dwarven king, this axe was passed down until it was lost about 1,000 years ago. It works like a Sword of Sharpness, and anyone who uses it gets the special abilities of a Dwarf (which always seemed weird to me, in that the special dwarven weapon grants more powers to non-dwarves than to dwarves). Not only that, but it makes the wielder resemble a dwarf as well. And since I'm firmly in the camp that says dwarven women have beards, this is a great one to spring on that guy who's always playing elven chicks.
Suggested powers: Teleport 2 times a day, Wish once a week, user takes double damage from attacks while wielding it, user must sacrifice a human being to the axe so it will function for 24 hours.
That last one gives a pretty good indication of what the dwarf king who forged this axe was like, and how he viewed humans. A sacred relic it might be, but it seems it was forged for nefarious purposes. Possibly during a particularly bloody war between men and dwarves.
THE WAND OF ORCUS: As described under the entry for Orcus himself, this is an obsidian rod topped by a skull. If someone other than Orcus gets his dirty mitts on it, it has a 50% chance to annihilate any creature struck (except for Demon Princes, High Devils, Saint and Godlings). Each time it is used the wielder is subject to a negative effect, with 2-24 points of damage being the suggested penalty. It's other suggested powers are move at double speed, cure light wounds once a day and speak with animals. Those last couple of abilities seem a bit incongruous, but who can fathom the mind of a Demon Prince?
THE ROD OF SEVEN PARTS: So iconic it has its own super-adventure. Basically, this is a rod that has been broken and scattered around the world. When the first part is found it will lead you to the second, and then the third, and so on, and each time a new section is added it gets a new power. Whenever a new power is gained it replaces the previous one. Once the rod has been assembled, it can't be broken by the user, but there's a 5% chance every time it's used that it will scatter again.
Suggested Powers:
2nd part: User attacks anyone within 20 feet
3rd part: Move at double speed
4th part: Metal passes through user with no effect
5th part: Cast a 20-die lightning bolt once a day
6th part: User takes double damage from all attacks
7th part: Raises all ability scores to 18 (With (00) for Strength!)
So it looks like the quest for the Rod would be an interesting one, with the rod alternating between help and hindrance. Especially when you have the second part, and start hacking your way through everything that moves...
THE CODEX OF THE INFINITE PLANES: Woah, heaps of things to take note of here. First up is that the Isles of Woe upon the Lake of Unknown Depths were once ruled by a wizard-cleric who owned the Codex. I believe this lake is the Nyr Dyv, located pretty close to Greyhawk City? If so that's awesome, and it gives me yet another potential adventure site in that region. It should also be noted that this unnamed wizard-cleric is definitely breaking the rules - in OD&D, Wizards can't become Clerics and vice-versa. Things were obviously different in Ye Olden Days.
So eventually this guy's knowledge from the Codex caused his downfall, and the waters of the lake flooded his domain. The Codex survived, and made it into the hands of the Wizard Tzoonk, who left behind a mysterious scrap of paper before he disappeared. This is the infamous Tzoonk Fragment, and I'll reproduce the whole thing here:
"... and thereupon the voice belled forth in tones of hollow iron and spoke of the Coming of the City of the Gods. Such future events interested me not, so I gave the command: 'Answer in th ...' (here the fragment becomes entirely illegible) . . . so knowing both the secret and the spell which would unlock the Way to this horde of the Demon Prince Nql . . . (another break in the writing unfortunately occurs here). . . gathered the nine as required and proceeded forth. With me in addition were the dyoph servants necessary to transport the Codex, for I would not leave it behind on even so perilous a journey as this." (Here the entire fragment ends.)
Where to start? It seems that Tzoonk went off to face a Demon Prince (whose name begins with Nql), taking the Codex with him, and never returned. Which leads me to believe that the Codex now resides somewhere in the Abyss, under the generous eye of Nql himself. The other interesting tidbit here is the mention of the City of the Gods, and its coming in the future. This is a reference to a Blackmoor adventure run by Dave Arneson, which seems to be available as module DA3. I do know that Rob Kuntz adventured there, and has provided some details on his website.
Back to the Codex, it is said to be very large and difficult to transport. It is 99% likely to slay anyone who opens the book, and anyone under 10th level who even touches it will likewise be annihilated.
Suggested Powers: Clairvoyance, speak with plants, read magic, monster summoning once a day, user must sacrifice a human to the book for it to function, raise dead fully once a day, creatures of same alignment automatically serve wielder for 1-6 turns. After a set number of uses, the user is transformed into a minor demon or godling and is at the complete beck and call of a major demon or godling.
Next: I might just finish with the Artifacts.
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