Part 2: Monastery of the Distressed Body - Lost Laboratory of Kwalish

Part 2: Monastery of the Distressed Body. The known route of Kwalish's original expedition ends at the series of tunnels leading into the Barrier Peaks, with no sense of how that long-lost company proceeded. However, recent carvings have been etched into these tunnels in thieves' cant and Infernal, marking the route to the monastery for new recruits. The markings can be spotted with a successful 12 Wisdom (Perception) check, and list the names of individual outlaws that have passed through. They also make reference to something called "the Monastery of the Distressed Body" and its "Grand Master," who supposedly offers shelter and protection to all those who submit to their authority. Additional symbols also mark out the correct route through the labyrinthine tunnels to area C1. If those markings are deciphered with a successful 12 Intelligence (Investigation) check, the characters can traverse the tunnels in a few hours. Otherwise, it takes a day or more to reach the cliff edge, and the characters face a greater number of potential random encounters as a prelude to arriving at the monastery. See appendix A for more information. Scaling Options This adventure is designed for characters of 5th to 10th level. For lower-level parties, you can adjust the adventure as follows: Part 1: Mission to the Barrier Peaks Make sure the party has at least two of the NPCs with them. Then downplay those NPCs' secret agendas as needed to increase their party loyalty. Part 2: Monastery of the Distressed Body For encounters built around five monks led by an elder monk, use three monks led by an elder monk instead. You can also limit those attending any audience in the central abbey to just the elder monks. Part 3: The Ooze-Flooded City Adjust the ooze-folk so that 1d4 of those defenders activate only every 20 minutes, and within 50 to 100 feet of the characters. Appendix D: Magic Items As a reminder, many items listed in the appendix-even though thematic to the adventure-are not leve...