Perilous Gateways
Moon Portals
By Eric Haddock
Olosler's Portal
The city of Sundabar, which consists of 14,000 strong souls north of the Nether Mountains, has but one purpose according to Faerûnians: to make magic weapons while not getting overrun by the hordes that assault it every year. Sundabar has two walls, many forges, and a sky that's usually thick with smoke. Rarely is there a time when there's not substantial cover over the sky from clouds, soot, or soot-stained clouds.
For this reason Oloster Bluriman constructed a portal for his beloved god, Selûne. The key is quite simple: Whenever the moon shines upon the portal, it's active. Oloster felt the goddess had spoken to him in a dream and the focus of that dream was making a portal that would be open for as long as a moon was in the sky.
Unfortunately, the portal wasn't built quite as well as Oloster would have liked. Instead of being always open, it's open only during nights of near full moons. The portal itself is a stone trellis atop Oloster's flat roof. He keeps a rudimentary garden there, and the trellis looks like a natural addition. He did not know what plans Selûne had for the portal, but Oloster always kept refreshments on a table next to the portal, just in case a visitor from far away would want something. (They would have been sent by Selûne, after all, he figured.)
The outlet for this portal is a much larger portal in the Moonwood. It's a two-way portal, so someone could step through Oloster's trellis then be in the Moonwood and once there take the Moonwood portal to any of the other portals it serves or back again through the trellis.
During the night of the most recent full moon, the forges and fires of Sundabar paused for just a moment, and the winds acted in just the right way to allow nearly an hour's worth of direct moonlight shine onto Oloster's portal. Much to his surprise, someone did come through the portal, though the being did not partake of any of the refreshments left on the table nearby. Instead, it took Oloster.
This much at least was determined by Oloster's apprentice, Alia, when she examined the roof the next day. She found Oloster gone and the tables overturned. Nothing else was taken and there didn't seem to be any other evidence. The next night she planned to stay at the portal from dusk onward, waiting for the instant enough moonlight got through the clouds for her to use the portal and discover the whereabouts of her master.
Oloster Tarmikos: Male human wizard 18; CR 18; Medium humanoid; HD 18d4+18; hp 63; Init +0; Spd 30 ft.; AC 15, touch 10, flat-footed 15; Base Attack +9; Grp +10; Atk +14 melee (1d8+5/19-20, +4 longsword), or +13 ranged (1d8+4/x3, +4 longbow); Full Atk +14/+9 melee (1d8+5/19-20, +4 longsword), or +13/+8 ranged (1d8+4/x3, +4 longbow); SQ SR 18; AL NG; SV Fort +11, Ref +10, Will +18; Str 12, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 22, Wis 16, Cha 15.
Skills and Feats: Appraise +13, Concentration +22, Craft (alchemy) +27, Decipher Script +27, Diplomacy +11, Forgery +11, Knowledge (arcana) +27, Knowledge (the planes) +24, Spellcraft +31; Brew Potion, Craft Wondrous Item, Extend Spell, Magical Aptitude, Martial Weapon Proficiency (longsword), Martial Weapon Proficiency (longbow), Maximize Spell, Quicken Spell, Scribe Scroll, Silent Spell, Still Spell, Widen Spell.
Wizard Spells Prepared (4/6/6/5/5/5/5/3/3/2; save DC 16 + spell level): 0 -- acid splash, arcane mark, dancing lights, resistance; 1st -- alarm, charm person, disguise self, endure elements, magic missile, Tenser's floating disk; 2nd -- invisibility, knock, Melf's acid arrow, see invisibility, Tasha's hideous laughter, whispering wind; 3rd -- arcane sight, daylight, deep slumber, dispel magic, fireball; 4th -- dimension door, greater invisibility, locate creature, Rary's mnemonic enhancer, stoneskin; 5th -- break enchantment, dismissal, hold monster, major creation, overland flight; 6th -- disintegrate, Mordenkainen's lucubration, repulsion, shadow walk, true seeing; 7th -- control weather, greater teleport, power word blind; 8th -- discern location, stilled greater teleport, summon monster VIII; 9th -- etherealness, Mordenkainen's disjunction.
Spellbook: 0 -- acid splash, arcane mark, dancing lights, daze, detect magic, detect poison, disrupt undead, flare, ghost sound, light, mage hand, mending, open/close, prestidigitation, ray of frost, read magic, resistance, touch of fatigue; 1st -- alarm, charm person, disguise self, endure elements, magic missile, Tenser's floating disk; 2nd -- glitterdust, invisibility, knock, Melf's acid arrow, see invisibility, Tasha's hideous laughter, whispering wind; 3rd -- arcane sight, blink, daylight, deep slumber, dispel magic, fireball; 4th -- dimension door, fire shield, greater invisibility, locate creature, Rary's mnemonic enhancer, stoneskin; 5th -- break enchantment, dismissal, dominate person, hold monster, major creation, overland flight; 6th -- disintegrate, greater dispel magic, Mordenkainen's lucubration, repulsion, shadow walk, true seeing; 7th -- control weather, greater teleport, limited wish, power word blind, project image; 8th -- demand, discern location, mind blank, summon monster VIII; 9th -- etherealness, foresight, Mordenkainen's disjunction.
Languages: Common, Celestial, Elven, Infernal, Sylvan.
Possessions: +4 longsword, +4 longbow, amulet of the planes, iron flask, necklace of fireballs type VII, replica for Leomund's secure chest spell, robe of the archmagi.
How to Incorporate Oloster's Portal Into Your Champaign
- An 18th-level wizard is someone with a reputation. News of his disappearance would travel far, especially if he is known as someone who can take care of himself, as Oloster is. This news may prompt an investigation by a wide variety of people, such as merchants, bill collectors, and followers, who might hire adventurers to find him.
- Oloster's Portal may be well known among friends of Oloster or Alia. Adventurers may gather enough information from friends of either of them to know about the portal and desire to use its services.