Page 69 - Tales from the Yawning Portal

also end the effect. The vapors linger for a month unless
they are cleared away by a strong wind. obviously of grea~ ~:iortance. Gems and other small
Treasure. The seal on the urns is made of beeswax adornments o" OD o s value lie on and around the body.
and may be broken so that the lids can be removed. Covering t es 111s a mask of jade with cowrie-shell eyes
Each of the six urns contains the equivalent of twenty
and obsrd an puo1 s. Aoout the corpse's neck is a jade
flasks of oil. A filled urn weighs 25 pounds.
pendant car ed with the face of a humanlike bat.

Behind the doors is a chamber cut out of the rock with
Creature. The corpse is the body of Tloques-Popolo-
a veil of calcite and stalactites covering the walls. But-
cas, a vampire spawn with special qualities (see below).
tresses rise from the corners, brown shot through with If the characters examine the contents of the tomb,
black, and triangular stone pillars support the high ceil- see "Treasure" for details. Any of the items can be lifted
ing. Occupying the center of the chamber is a colossal off or out if the characters so desire. If the mask and the
pendant are both removed, Tloques starts to awaken.
monument resembling a giant's table, covered on all
Dust is stirred up into clouds and begins to gather on
sides with intricate carvings and glyphs. Engraved on the
the bones as they knit back together. His wasted form
floor in front of the entrance is a seal that displays more
then sits up and gazes about. This part of the regenera-
glyphs. Opposite the entrance, a battleaxe is embedded tion process requires 2 rounds, during which time the
in the wall, six feet above the floor. corpse has AC 12 and 27 hit points. (If they have not
been removed, the corpse benefits from the bracers of
defense and the ring of protection he is wearing; see
The glyphs in the floor seal are written in Olman and "Treasure.") If either the mask or the pendant is forced
translate as "Ah, defilers! Now you shall join me in my back upon him before the 2 rounds elapse, he returns
eternal resting!" to death. If not, he then sits for 2 more rounds, while his
The monument is constructed from several parts. A flesh knits and swells out with the apparent vigor of the
great stone slab, 20 feet Jong by 10 feet wide, rests upon living. He gains 27 hit points in the first round and 28
a 4-foot-thick monolith of rock of similar dimensions, hit points in the second round, and he has his normal
and this, in turn, is supported by six huge blocks of AC of 17 but remains prone. He can use Multiattack to
dolomite. Every component has been covered with in- make two claw attacks in either of these rounds, but
tricate carvings and glyphs. The top of the slab depicts being prone, he does so with disadvantage. Within this
a struggle between a dark-skinned man and a mighty, period, if both the mask and the pendant are forced
knotted serpent. back on him, he can resist returning to death with a suc-
Engraved alongside this illustration are glyphs iden- cessful DC 10 Wisdom saving throw. When he is whole
tical to those found on the door. Under these sigils are again, he attacks.
etched a series of four face-glyphs in a line. At the foot Tloques, having gained his power from his allegiance
of the slab is a row of eleven of these symbols, all differ- to Zotzilaha, isn't a typical vampire and doesn't bite. He
ent in form. has the Shapechanger trait of a true vampire, except he
The carved block is the resting place of Tloques-Po- can't change into mist. Tloques also has the Children
polocas, a servant of the shadow-loving Zotzilaha. The of the Night action option of a true vampire, but he calls
glyphs on the top of the slab give his name, and the date only bats. He can innately cast the hold person spell at
he died, 54- 3-9, is written in the face-glyphs. One glyph will, requiring no components, but his target must be
is a glyph of warding (save DC 17), which casts bestow able to see him. When he has a chance to do so, Tloques
curse on everyone in the tomb if the crypt is opened by pulls his axe from the wall and then uses it for each of
those who don't serve the god Zotzilaha. The curse lasts his two attacks per round.
until it is dispelled, and 4dl0 days after this tomb has He is a blood-drinker and attempts to subdue oppo-
been broken into, every cursed violator receives a visit nents, if not vastly outnumbered, so as to assure himself
from either Tloques or some other agent of Zotzilaha a constant supply of blood. To drink blood, Tloques must
seeking retribution. first drain it into a receptacle and then drink it, which
The eleven face-glyphs at the foot of the block corre- can reduce the target's hit point maximum as a normal
spond to the numbers O through 10. The tomb is opened vampire spawn bite does.
by pressing the glyphs that correspond to the numbers Tloques will not pursue fleeing grave robbers from
of the date carved on the top, in order. When the 9 glyph his tomb immediately, but instead will seek to regain his
is depressed, a grating sound issues forth and the top bearings in the world of the Jiving for several days. He
slab slides back a bit. The tomb lid can then be opened can track down cursed thieves later, or invoke the power
the rest of the way by the combined effort of one or two of Zotzilaha to locate any treasure stolen from this
characters with a total Strength of 20 or higher. place. In the intervening time, he might regain some of
his former power.
Battleaxe. The battleaxe has a blade of bronze, and
The block beneath the slab is hollow, and inside is a
the haft is wound with snakeskin wrappings. The
crumbling skeleton decked out in decayed finery. It ap-
weapon detects as magical. It casts an ominous shadow
pears to have been a man of taller than average stature, in the shape of what appears to be a withered arm.

CHAPTER 3 I THE HIDDEN SHRINE OF TAMOACHAN
68