Mud Bowl Walkthrough
Leave the Wolf Lair behind and set your sights on the Mud Bowl area, which is to the northwest of your present position. Naturally, going straight there isn’t an option, so use these directions to reach your goal:
- Southeast
- Northeast
- Southwest
- Northwest
- West to empty node north of Mud Bowl
- South
The first thing you’ll notice about this area is the nauseating fog that permeates the air here, forcing your characters to make a [Fortitude 17] save every round, becoming nauseated if they fail. A nauseated character is severely hampered, but fortunately you can simply wait out the effects of the nausea after which your characters will have acclimated to the environment.
When you’ve got your churning innards under control, venture north and you’ll spot some Black Rattlecap mushrooms – the fungus the Old Beldame requested. You’ll need ten of these mushrooms, and unfortunately the area is home to a Tendriculos, a shambler-like beast that prowls around the center of the area.
Not only does the Tendriculos hit for between 20-30 damage, but it gets multiple attacks per round and has a high enough Attack bonus to challenge whatever Armor Class you may possess. You know how this plays out: if you attempt to fight the Tendriculos without buffing, you’re probably going to have a bad time of it. If you buff yourself (including the all-powerful Haste) you might just come out of the fight completely unscathed.
If you smite the Tendriculos you’ll be rewarded with a hefty influx of experience, quite possibly enough to bring you within range of hitting level seven. You’ll also be free to search the area for the ten Black Rattlecaps you need. No need for instruction here, there’s fourteen of them spread about and you only need ten, so you don’t even need to be particularly vigilant. Grab the mushrooms you need, then search some foul water along the western end of the map to find a pack near a corpse you can loot for two Potions of Enlarge Person, a Potion of Blur, 89 GP among other, less valuable items.
With the ten Black Rattlecap mushrooms in hand, it’s time to leave. For the sake of continuity the reward for turning these mushrooms in to the Old Beldame will be listed below, but the delivery will be left up to your own initiative. Don’t bother going out of your way to do so now; you’ll get an opportunity to swing by later.
- Reward: For giving the Old Beldame ten Black Rattlecaps
400 XP / 400 GP