With open legs it demonstrates by waving its two front appendages the spider speaks. “Greetings, great and noble travelers. We welcome you in the name of our great and glorious king, Sarkum of Tatz. Gee whiz! Its great to have you here.”
The spider turns and starts bobbing and nodding madly at the rest, and cries of “Gee whiz!” come from the other chak present. The leader waits for their cries to die down, then turns and speaks to you once again. “I am Ackack, spokeschak for our humble race. Gee whiz! Please allow me to personally welcome you to the land of Tatz! Are you violent or hostile?”

The odd and effervescent speech of the Chak may give the impression of foolishness, but this is not the case. Although they are virtually bubbling with friendliness, the Chak are a shrewd, highly intelligent race of large spiders.
The Chak are travelers and traders, voyaging between the planets and the very planes of existence in their pursuit of commerce.

The Chak have a secret trading outpost/colony located within an asteroid in Selune’s tears. Currently, the only available access point to the outpost is through the Obsidian obelisk located within the Frontier Keep.

Chak Trade
The Chak offer only three trade items: nak metal, cutter tools, and lightwands.

Nak cannot be worked except with a special tool and cannot be damaged except by that tool, magic, or extremely high temperatures. It reflects lightwand beams (see below) and is suitable for strong enchantment. Nak metal is worth one sarkum per square foot. A nak cutter tool is worth 10 sarkums. Although nak is the metal used to make the coins known as sarkums, the cutter tool is not suitable for making counterfeit coins. Any and all attempts at making counterfeit sarkums from nak, short of a wish, fail. trade goods are offered at a fixed rate. The rates offered for human goods vary with King Sarkum’s reaction to the party. A lightwand is worth two sarkums. A lightwand control ring is worth 20 sarkums when fully charged.

Trade Ratio Examples
Item RS= 60 70 80 90 100
Potion of Healing(XPV 200) .6 .7 .8 1 2
Potion of Water Breathing (XPV 400) 1.1 1.3 1.6 2 4
Ring of Invisibility (XPV 1500) 4.3 5 6 7.5 15
*Staff of Striking(XPV 6000) 17.1 20 24 30 60
*if fully charged

Calculating Trade Value of Goods
The Chak purchase most magic items and giant insects (food) at a price based upon the Experience Point Value (XPV) of the specific piece, modified by the Reaction Score (see below for calculations). Good dragons are purchased at the flat rate of one sarkum per hit point. The Chak make no offer whatsoever on evil dragons and offer a price based upon only 10% XPV (base) for scrolls, magic armor, and magic weapons.

Reaction Modifiers to Trade Values of Items
The values of trade goods vary by King Sarkum’s reactions to the characters. Calculate the reaction score as follows:
Base reaction score 50
If PCs were not imprisoned +15
Giving Ackack any gift +10
3 or more PCs lay prone before Sarkum +5
Giving Sarkum a gift* (apply one only): -normal item, value 500 gp or more +5 -magic item +10
Insulting Ackack or Sarkum -10
All PCs refuse to lay prone -5
Each bonus or penalty to reaction applies once only. Finally, modifym the total by the reaction adjustment (if any) for the Charisma of the PC who speaks for the party. When the final total is reached, circle or note which line to use for future reference.
Note: The party carries nothing to King Sarkum if they are imprisoned, but may gain this bonus by offering an item owned. If anything is offered in this manner, all the party possessions are brought to the king’s chamber and returned to the PCs.

Examples
Best: Party does not attack and is not imprisoned ( 15), gives a gem to Ackack (10), a potion to the king (+10), and elects Ghost or Finder (CHA 14, for +10% bonus) to speak for them. Most of the party members lay prone when introduced to the king ( +5), and everyone is relatively polite. Total reaction score is 100.
Worst: Party attacks and is imprisoned, gives no gifts to anyone, and calls Ackack a creepy spider ( -10). All refuse to lay prone before Sarkum ( -5) and elect Blondy, Slim, or Blaze (no adjustment) to speak for them. Total reaction score is 35.

Determining Item Values
Apply the following values for trade goods, based on Sarkum’s total reaction score. These values are not negotiable but may be modified if proper actions are taken (such as offering gifts) during negotiations.

TRADE RATIO CHART
(Items XP value per sarkum)
Total Reaction Score (RS)
Trade Ratio (TR)
35-40 450
45-50 400
55-60 350
65-70 300
75-80 250
85-90 200
95 150
100 100
Using the Trade Ratio: To determine the price offered for an item, first find its XP value. The Trade Ratio (TR) found on the chart is the number of XP worth I sarkum. Divide the items XP value by the Trade Ratio and round off the result to the nearest tenth. Items With Charges: Factor the entire XP value of a charged item in proportion to the charges remaining. For example, if a staff of striking has nine charges left out of a maximum of 25, its XPV for trade is 36% of 6000, or 2160 XP. If a wand of illumination has 18 charges left out of a maximum of 100, its XPV for trade is 18% of 2000, or 360 XP. Items with Doses: Certain unusual items normally come with multiple doses. Multiply or divide the XPV given to reflect more or less than the normal number. For example, a potion of water breathing normally has two doses. If sold with one dose remaining, the XPV is half that given. If sold with four doses, the XPV is twice that given.
Giant Insects: Food is purchased at the same rate as magic items, using the Trade Ratio compared to the XP value for the monster. Keep this information in mind should you ever decide to go back to the jungle. Live giant insects have normal value. Dead giant insects are only worth 1/10 their value.

XPV for some giant insects are:
Insect XPV
Giant Wasp 320+4/hp
Giant Dragonfly 525 +8/hp
Giant Mantis 1350 +14/hp

CHAK STATS:
AC 5 (0 IF ARMORED), HD 5, HP 26, #AT 2, DMG LIGHTWAND & BITE 1D6 (POISONED), MV 12, AL ANY, THACO 15, SA YES (BITE), SD NO, SIZE 4’ ACROSS 2’ TALL.

Chak Elder.