Page 32 - Tomb of Annihilation

YTEPKA SOCIETY THINGS To Do
The Ytepka Society, also known as the Triceratops Port Nyanzaru offers plenty of distractions for visitors,
Society, is based in Port Nyanzaru and dedicated to but the following sections describe four activities that
preventing any individual or group from abusing power the characters are likely engage in before setting out to
and upsetting the natural social order. Its members are explore the darkest reaches of Chu It:
primarily neutral good Chultans. In many respects, the
society's goals are similar lo those of the Harpers. • Buying a special item
The Ytepka Society was instrumental in liberating • Dinosaur racing
Port Nyanzaru from foreign powers and facilitating the • Finding a guide
rise of the seven merchant princes. Its members now • Gathering information
work tirelessly to prevent the Zhentarim and other dubi- BUYING A SPECIAL ITEM
ous factions from taking over the government or gaining
undue influence. The Ytepkas also work covertly to elim- Characters can easily find most mundane items for sale
inate the threat from pirates, but they've been unable to in any of Port Nyanzaru's markets, at standard prices.
locate the pirates' base or track down pirate spies in the Anything needed to survive in the jungle is considered
city. A handsome reward awaits those who can defini- a mundane item in Chult. The chief exception is heavy
tively pinpoint the pirates' base or capture their ships. armor, which is rare in Chult and thus commands a high
Currently there are fewer than fifty active.members price: triple the Player's Handbook prices for heavy ar-
of the Ytepka Society. They don't advertise their mem- mor, or double them if the character makes a successful
bership but identify one another using a simple hand DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check to bargain down
gesture: a raised left hand with the index finger, middle the price.
finger, and third finger extended, representing the three The only alternative to buying specialty items through
horns of the triceratops. the merchant princes is to deal with the black market,
When the society judges that someone has damaged which is highly secretive in Port Nyanzaru; the mer-
the social fabric of Ch ult or is on the verge of commit- chant princes crack down harshly on competitors. Con-
ting a great wrong, it presents a warning by anony- tacting black marketeers takes half a day in the Old City,
mously delivering an iron token bearing the likeness of Malar's Throat, or Tiryki Anchorage, plus a successful
a triceratops. It's up to the marked individual to figure DC 15 Charisma (Deception) check to pose the right
out the meaning of the token and take steps to correct questions to the right people at the right time. To de-
the offending behavior or undo the damage. If the per- termine the black market price of an item, multiply the
son ignores the warning and persists in offending the item's normal price (see the Player's Handbook where
society, the Ytepkas secure permission from the mer- appropriate) by ld4 + 2. If an unusually large quantity is
chant princes to mete out punishment as they see fit, up needed, increase the price multiplier by 1.
to and including a sanction (see the "Laws and Punish- The following special goods are available for sale in
ments" sidebar earlier in this chapter). Chultan markets.
Unfortunately, because of the society's secretiveness,
not many people understand what those iron tokens CANOE
signify, and there's a lot of misinformation about the A canoe can be purchased in Port Nyanzaru for SO gp. It
Ytepkas in Port Nyanzaru. The society doesn't recollect holds up to six Medium creatures and has a maximum
its tokens, either, so unscrupulous types have used old speed of2 mph. It is otherwise identical to a rowboat
(or even counterfeit) tokens to frighten competitors away (see chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master's Guide).
from business ventures.

ZHENTARIM
The Zhentarim is an unscrupulous shadow network that
seeks to expand its influence and power base through-
out FaerQn. Its members pursue wealth and power
through any means, though the public face of the orga-
nization appears much more benign- the Zhentarim
provides the best mercenaries money can buy.
The merchant princes of Port Nyanzaru hire Zhen-
tarim guards to defend the city walls and Zhentarim
mercenaries to protect hunting, lumbering, and mining
operations in the jungle and foothills. The Black Net-
work has used this wide-ranging access to the city to set
up its own woodcutting camps and mining operations. It
also mounts treasure-hunting expeditions. In addition,
Black Network spies have learned that Artus Cimber
is in Chult, and they've assembled teams to find the ex-
Harper and wrest the Ring of Winter from him.

CHAPTER I ( PORT NYA.NZARU