3. Lower Resting Area

This room is furnished with two small round tables and odd looking stools which appear to have been crudely modified to be higher than their original design intended. In the far end of the room, a long table is placed against the wall. On top of it, a few small kegs lie flat next to which stand a couple of glass bottles and many wooden mugs. If there are still barklings in this room when the PCs first enter it, read the boxed text below. As you enter, seven barklings stand up from their stools brandishing small swords, aggressively growling and barking. This room is a resting area for the barklings. When they come back from expeditions out in the wilderness or when they simply want to enjoy a mug of ale, they’ll come here to have a drink and play cards or Fizzle. If the PCs fight barklings when they first walk into the room, the creatures will all be drunk and thus fight with a -1 penalty to all their attack rolls, armor class, damage rolls, and saving throws. Moreover the creatures will all be rendered more courageous by their drinks and will fight with a base morale value of 8. 6 Barkling: AC 13 (leather), HD ½ (1d4 hit points), #At 1 bite or 1 dagger, Dam 1d4 bite, 1d4 dagger, Mv 30', Sv NM, ML 7 (9), XP 10 ea. HP Barkling Warrior AC 15 (chainmail), HD 1, #At 1 bite or 1 dagger, Dam 1d4 bite, 1d4 dagger, Mv 20', Sv NM, ML 7 (9), XP 25 HP Approaching from the southwestern corridor, the PCs will be able to surprise the barklings on a roll of 1-4 on a d6. Things will however be different if the PCs arrive from the descending stairs (to the south) since the noise of their steps will resonate and will have a reasonable chance of alerting the barklings. Hence the PCs have a 1-2 chance on a d6 of being surprised coming from the stairs while the barklings will only be surprised on a roll of 1 on a d6. On the improvised service table, the PCs will find two kegs of Dwarven Ale, one of which is half-way empty. The other one is full and could be sold for 20 gold pieces (weighs 15 lbs). Next to it, two bottles of spirit can be found. They both contain Elvish Myrlir Brandy, a very strong and highly flammable beverage that must be cut with water before consumption. Each bottle can be sold for 25 gold pieces (2 lbs each). Moreover, if used as a grenade-like weapon, treat it as a pint of flaming oil. Since the barklings were playing games, their money will be on the tables, ready to be gambled. On one of the two round tables, among a scattered deck of tattered playing cards, the PCs can find 38 cp, 42 sp, and a bronze necklace holding a medallion shaped like a flying goose (worth 10 gp). On the other round table, between dirty mugs of ale are 40 cp and 31 sp. There is also a set of dice used to play Fizzle similar to the one found in area 1.