# 4E The Nentir Vale: A Sandbox



## LostSoul (Apr 23, 2009)

I'm trying to make a sandbox using the Nentir Vale as a starting point.  Never done that before, hopefully I know what I'm doing. 

I'm basing the setting creation on random encounter and rumour tables.  Originally the PCs were going to be about 8th level when they started to kick around in the world, but since the TPK they're a lot lower.

I decided not to change anything, and this makes Winterhaven a _real_ point of light, shrouded on all sides by darkness.  You'll see.

I've come up with so many different threats that I don't know what will happen - orcs gathering to the north, death cultists in the Cairngorms, giants beating the drums of war in the Stonemarch, a dragon growing her forces in the Cairngorms, trolls looking to create a kingdom near Nenlast, ogres awaiting "the return of the Tiger of Slaughter", and a follower of Vecna just to spice things up.

That may be too much.  We'll see.


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 23, 2009)

*Random Rumour Table: Winterhaven*

*Rumours*

Here's how I plan on handling rumours.  If this doesn't work, I'll do something else.


 Declare what you are trying to find out about specifically, or just in general.  Then pick your DC and roll Streetwise.  DCs are sorted by availability of information; Easy 13, Normal 15, Hard 20, Secret 25.
 Add +2 if appropriate funds are spent.
 Each 5 over the DC grants another rumour.
 All rumours are generated randomly.

**** WINTERHAVEN ****
*Easy*
1. Bandits lurk on the Gardmore Downs.
2. There are many dark shapes in the skies above the Cairngorms.  Fell signs, indeed!
3. Wolves have been raiding outlying farms lately.
4. Strange lights have been seen again in Watcher's Hill. [an old, ruined fort on a hill a few miles south of Winterhaven, overlooking it and the King's Road]

*Normal*
1. Cadon the Gentle had his farm burned to the ground.  Kobold and goblin tracks were on the ground.  This is the first raid they've made since Kalarel was killed.
2. Some of the kobold traps are still active in the woods - a hunter came across a deer riddled with iron spikes.
3. Some kids are planning to watch the "Winter Lights" that you can see on the peak of Calamast, highest of the Cairngorms.
4. The bloodspear orcs are gathering strength again; a merchant spotted some on the road, and was able to scare them off.
5. Tobor Krice, a fisherman, got lost in Lake Wintermist when he fell asleep, but the Raven Queen must have had other plans for him; the Ghost of the Mist did not take him back to the Tower of Dreams.
6. The Tigerclaw Barbarians are beating the drums of war, and plan to raid the valley again.
7. A noble lord is trying to raise mercenaries in Fallcrest for an expedition into the Temple of Yellow Skulls.
8. A small goblin encampment lies just north of Cadon's farm.

*Hard*
1. The bandits have a spy in town.
2. A new kuthrik burrow has reached the surface on the southern side of the Sisters. [two large hills near Winterhaven on the south side of the Old King's Road.]
3. Cultists of Orcus have made a camp near Gardmore Abbey.
4. The dead walk again in the Cairngorms.
5. The Valley of the Dead (in the Cairngorms) is changing - the trees are barren and warped, even in the summer.  It is a haunted place.
6. New statues line the Valley of Stone. [a valley in the Gardbury Downs lined by giant raised slabs of rune-carved stone.]
7. Some of the trees were burned - and charred bones left over - on the Old King's Road.
8. Large iron spikes litter the southern edges of the Gardbury Downs.

*Secret*
1. One of the Winterhaven Regulars has a brother who has turned to banditry.
2. A white dragon lairs in the Cairngorms.
3. There is a portal to the abyss in the Cairngorms.
4. The Whitefang kobolds have defeated the goblin tribes in the Cairngorms and have united them under a common banner.


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 23, 2009)

Here's the Gardbury Downs.

As you can see by the rumours of monsters, this is not a safe place for low-level PCs.  I should add more false rumours (I haven't listed if the rumour is true or false).  And maybe instead of giving away monster info I should allude to it somehow.  Oh well.

**** GARDBURY DOWNS *** *
*Easy*
1. Paladins of Bahamut have made an encampment around the Abbey, protecting it - from unwanted explorers and anything that comes out.
2. Bandits often watch the King's Road at both places it enters the Downs.

*Normal*
1. The bandits are planning to wipe out the paladins guarding the abbey.
2. The bandits are trying to recruit the ogres from the Ogrefest Hills.
3. There are many other entrances into Gardmore Abbey.
4. A chimera has recently moved into the area.
5. A dire bear has denned in the southern reaches.
6. A manticore prowls the Gardmore Downs.

*Hard*
1. The Wand of Orcus lies in the bowels of Gardmore Abbey.
2. The last battle of the Bloodspear War - the Battle of Gardmore - was a distraction by evil forces to slip past the forces of Nerath and into the Abbey to retreive its loot.  Some say the entire Bloodspear War was created with this goal in mind.
3. The first few levels of the dungeons beneath Gardmore Abbey are relatively safe - the worst that lurks there is a Kuthrik Hive Lord - but the deeper levels are much more dangerous.  Luckily they are protected by arcane wards that still stand.
4. A basilisk and some gorgons live in the Valley of Stone, but are kept well-fed by the galeb duhr that tend the area.
5. Bandits have been using Watcher's Hill to spy on Winterhaven.

*Secret*
1. The Eye of Vecna lies in the bowels of Gardmore Abbey.
2. There is an entrance into the deep levels of Gardmore Abbey via the Valley of Stone.
3. Kuthriks have infested Gardmore Abbey and have opened tunnels into the deeper levels.
4. The spy in Winterhaven meets with his brother in Watcher's Hill.


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 23, 2009)

*Fallcrest Rumours*

Fallcrest.  Boy oh boy is there a lot of crap going down in this scummy little town.  Luckily it's low-level.

Once the Streetwise roll has been made, if the PCs aren't looking for anything in specific I roll 1d10 and see what that lines up to.  (1) is the Markelhays, for example.

I also took out the true/false indicators.

edit: Oh yeah, I have to expand on the Tombwood/Moonstone Caverns/Raven Roost, and I'll do that once I get an idea of those dungeons.

These rumours are a little less developed than the other ones, I think; the idea is to get the players to decide if they want to take the time to talk to the NPC and figure out what's up.  Hmm... except for the false ones ("Lord Markelhay is a wererat").  I should fix that.  ("Lord Markelhay is never seen during the full moon."  "Lord Markelhay's castle is infested with rats and he doesn't seem to mind.")

**** FALLCREST ***
(1) The Markelhays:
Easy*
1. Lord Warden Markelhay's son Ernesto is spending time in the court of Baron Kessler, one of the charter members of the Knights of Nerath.
2. An emissary from the Knights of Nerath is spending the winter with the Markelhays.

* Normal*
1. Things are not well between the Markelhays - that's why Ernesto was sent south.
2. The Lady Allende is a witch.

*Hard*
1. The Lady Allende Markelhay is having an affair with Janis, the emissary of the Knights of Nerath.

*Secret*
1. Lord Warden Markelhay is a wererat.

*(2) Fallcrest:
Easy*
1. Sgt. Murgeddin at the Wizard's Gate fought in the Bloodspear Wars and was at the Battle of Gardmore Abbey.
2. The Nentir Inn is the best place to sleep in Fallcrest - in the Nentir Vale! - and it's cheap.
3. Erandil Zemoar built the inn with his own funds two years ago.  He plans to build a manor, if he can fund an expedition to recover the treasures in Kalton Manor.

*Normal*
1. Barstomun Strongbeard pays tribute to the Lord Warden.
2. Sgt. Murgeddin has a strong dislike for the Lord Warden.
3. Sgt. Thurmina and Sgt. Nereth are having an affair - opposites attract.
4. Irena Swiftwater passes herself off as a fortune-teller, but she is a sharp-minded merchant.

*Hard*
1. Sgt. Murgeddin was banished from Hammerfast.
2. Sgt. Thurmina will turn a blind eye to some indiscretions if you slip her some coin.
3. Erandil Zemoar stole the gold he used to build the Nentir Inn from an old widow in the south.

*Secret*
1. Barstomun Strongbeard recently killed a merchant who would not pay protection money.
2. Erandil Zemoar desires the Lord Warden's title and will kill to get it.


*(3) Thunderspire
Hard*
1. The Seven-Pillared Hall was attacked by living minotaur statues made out of solid bronze!  The Mages of Saruun still rule, however.
2. House Azaer has a trading post in Thunderspire and will trade quality magic items for a slightly inflated fee.

*Secret*
1. The Mages of Saruun are dead, their own Bronze Warders turned against them; though who did it none can say, and Orontar and Brugg are still running the show in the Hall.

*(4) Tombwood
Easy*
1. The Tombwood cemetary was desecrated when the Bloodspear orcs sacked the city, and the dead rest uneasily.

*Normal*
1. The Tombwood barrow mound is haunted by those who died in the Bloodspear Wars, and will not rest until Fallcrest is a proud city again.

*Hard*
1. The old crypts in the Tombwood are linked by secret passages to dangerous, sealed-off parts of the Moonstone Caverns beneath the town.

*Secret*
1. The River Rats and Kelson have been slipping into the Catacombs and the Tombwood to rob the graves - selling the remains to Orest Naerumar.

*(5) Moonstone Caverns
Easy*
1. The Moonstone Caverns were once the lair of the Nentir Wyrm.  Some say there may still be hidden treasure to find.

*Normal*
2. The Catacombs beneath Fallcrest hold deadly traps, ancient curses, evil shrines, and more than a few malevolent undead.

*Hard*
3. Wererats plague the Moonstone Caverns.

*(6) Raven's Roost
Normal*
1. Bandits from Raven's Roost are raiding the Trade Road.  They are led by a pair of Shadar-Kai warriors.

*Hard*
2. The bandits from Raven's Roost have a contact in Fallcrest - Orest Naerumar.
2. The Swiftwater halfing clan fences goods from Raven's Roost.

*Secret*
1. The bandits from Raven's Roost have a contact in the Fiveleague House - Barton.
2. Nimena Sandercot fences goods obtained by the Raven's Roost bandits, sending them down south using House Azaer.

*(7) Death Cult
Normal*
1. Sgt. Gerdrand says he has relatives in Winterhaven, but he doesn't; who does he visit up there once a month?
2. Orest Naerumar has put the word out that he'll pay a premium for deep-red "blood" rubies.

*Hard*
1. The River Rats and Kelson have been slipping into the Catacombs and the Tombwood to rob the graves - selling the remains to Orest Naerumar.

*Secret*
1. Orest Naerumar is selling goods to death cultists - vile goods he purchased from graverobbers.

*(8) Armos Kamroth
Normal*
1. Armos Kamroth's son Yandal is betrothed to an elven princess of the Woodsinger Clan.
2. An ugly, old hag was screeching at Armos' estate, looking for his son Yandal.

*Hard*
1. Strangly-dressed people - deep red robes with arcane markings - have been entering Armos Kamroth's estate late at night.
2. Armos made his fortune by making smart investments.

*Secret*
1. Armos Kamroth is secretly a worshipper of Tiamat, and leads a cult in Mother Chaos' service.

*(9) Nimozaran the Green
Easy*
1. Nimozaran the Green apprenticed under the last of the "High Septarch of Fallcrest" and knows more about the history of the Nentir Vale than any living man.

*Normal*
1. Nimozaran the Green is looking for a decent apprentice and, if given one, will train him free of charge.

*Hard*
1. Nimozaran the Green has a permanent teleportation circle in his tower, and will reveal its runes to people for a hefty fee.

*Secret*
1. Nimozaran the Green worships Vecna.
2. Nimozaran the Green has a vault full of magical items.

*(10) DM's Choice *


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 23, 2009)

*Quests*

Here is a list of Quests currently active.  The idea is that the players will have to choose which ones to go after; they can't take them all.  XP is set and doesn't scale.  

Hopefully all the adversity I've built into the setting will prevent grinding out low-level Quests and dungeons for XP.

Even where I spelled out the success condition of a quest, I mean for them to be situations that can be resolved in whatever manner the players choose.  Maybe I should fix them.

QUESTS (so far)

Winterhaven Quests:
Minor Quest, level 1: Cadon the Gentle, a farmer north of Winterhaven, had his farm raided.  Find out who did this.

Major Quest, level 1: Winter falls on the Nentir Vale.  The season's harvest was small due to the kobold raids, and Winterhaven is going to need supplies to make it through the winter.  Resupply the town's stocks so no one will starve or freeze to death through the winter.

Minor Quest, level 1: Organize the defenses of Winterhaven.

Major Quest, level 3: Bandits plague the Gardbury Downs.  Infiltrate their organization.

Major Quest, level 4: The cultists in the Cairngorms must be getting their supplies from somewhere.  Find out who has been supplying them and stop the supply train.

Minor Quest, level 4: Uncover the spy in town.

Major Quest, level 4: Discover evidence of the cult in the Cairngorms.

Major Quest, level 5: With your old PCs gone, Winterhaven is without a leader - again.  Take control of Winterhaven.

Major Quest, level 6: Clear the Cairngorms.

Major Quest, level 7: Clear the Gardbury Downs.

Minor Quest, level 7: Defeat the Bandits in the Gardbury Downs.

Major Quest, level 8: Save the old PCs, if possible.

Major Quest, level 12: Clear Lake Wintermist.

Minor Quest, level varies by encounter level: Defeat the powerful solitary monsters around Winterhaven (in the Cairngorms and the Gardbury Downs).

Fallcrest Quests:
Major Quest, level 1: You've heard about a dwarven armourer in Fallcrest (Teldorthan Goldcap) who lost a shipment of cargo along the King's Road, near the Cloak Woods.  Among the shipment was a cured green dragon hide; he's offering 200 gp for anyone who can return it to him.  Find the dragon hide.

Major Quest, level 2: Local legend has it that the Tower of Waiting in Fallcrest is haunted.  Check it out, find out the truth.

Major Quest, level 3: The Lord Warden of Fallcrest, Faren Markelhay, is offering a bounty for kobold ears - 10gp per left ear, and 100gp for proof that the kobold leader has been slain.

Major Quest, level 4: Locals say that the Tombwood, in Fallcrest, is haunted.  Clear out the undead.

Major Quest, level 4: Three centuries ago, a great hero named Aranda Markelhay obtained a charter to build a keep at the portage of the Nentir Falls.  He named the tower he raised Moonstone Keep after the gift Eladrin from the Harken Forest gave to him - a sword the shone with the light of the moon, forged in the deep of the Feywild, blessed by Sehanine herself - the blade Moonbane.  Legend has it that Aranda used the sword to slay the Nentir Wyrm and pacify the valley.  The sword was passed down through the generations, until it was lost in the Bloodspear War.  Recover the sword.

Major Quest, level 5: Lord Warden Markelhay and others in Fallcrest have political connections to the south, where Sir Kaldor and the Knights of Nerath have their power base.  Convince them to exert some will to stop or delay Sir Kaldor's return in the spring.

Major Quest, level varies by dungeon level: During the last age, when Fallcrest was a small and prosperous city, generations of families used the bluffs between Hightown and Lowtown as burial crypts.  Stories abound in town about treasure hoards hidden away in the crypts and the restless undead that guard them.  Venture into these crypts and clear out each level one-by-one.

Other Quests:
Major Quest, level 2: The Woodsinger Clan elves who live in the Harken Forest have kept to themselves since the fall of Nerath.  Gain their friendship and make them your allies.

Major Quest, level 2: Kalton Manor, half-finished and in ruins, has been abandonded for centuries.  Stories tell of a hidden treasure - the old Kalton fortune - hidden in secret chambers beneath the ruined keep.  Recover these treasures.

Major Quest, level 3: Goblins plague the Western edges of the Harken Forest from a keep named Daggerburg.  Eliminate them.

Major Quest, level 6: Bandits are raiding the Trade Road from Fallcrest to Hammerfast.  Do something to stop this - or take control of the bandits.

Major Quest, level 8: Eliminate the Woodsinger Clan.

Major Quest, level 8: Make the King's Road and Trade Road safe again.

Major Quest, level 15: Take control of the entire Nentir Vale.  Unite it under your banner.

Minor Quest, level 15: Make your own suit of Wyrmscale armour.


----------



## Nebulous (Apr 23, 2009)

Some good ideas there, Lostsoul. My campaign is in the Savage North of the Realms, and Winterhaven is three days from a more civilized town. I'm thinking about skipping H3 and sort of blending H2 and P1 together, with some add-on material inbetween them. I can definitely use some ideas such as these. thanks.


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 24, 2009)

*Fallcrest Dungeon 1: The Moonstone Sepulchre*

Before I can really get into the rumours I need to start building dungeons!  They need something to talk about, right?  I'm going to start in Fallcrest where they're low-level.

This one isn't much of a dungeon but it might prove interesting, especially if Fallcrest is taken over.

*The Moonstone Sepulchre*

1. Lobbey
A set of spiral stairs descends to a small (20x10) lobbey.  Two broken statues, one male, one female, flank an archway filled with a shimmering curtain of darkness.  Runes are carved into the stone archway.  The stonework here, obviously good dwarven construction, looks as though it had been defaced and then repaired.

DM's Notes: The statues are of the Lady (and great hero) Aranda Markelhay and her husband, and PCs will know this information if they can pass a DC 17 History check.  They have been restored as much as possible after the Bloodspear orcs defaced them.  The female statue bears a striking resemblance to the Lady Allende Markelhay.

The runes on the archway are written in Supernal; anyone fluent in that language can read them.  The runes Protection, Abberant, Elemental, Fey, Immortal, Natural, Shadow, Less, <unknown rune; it is the True Name of the Markelhays>, Blood, Inflict, Death, Blind, and Weakness.  (The runes may also be read with a DC 21 Arcana check.)  It is a level 10 Magic Circle that wards against all except those with Markelhay blood.  Characters who wish to defeat the ward may attempt a level 10 skill challenge, but each failure will inflict blindness and debilitating weakness (conditions last until the next extended rest) in addition to destructive magical energies (lose 2 healing surges).  

Only someone with Markelhay blood may pass through; the Lord Warden may not, as he married into the family.  If someone stands in the archway, the portal will remain open - and it will likewise do so if one places Markelhay blood in the archway!

A secret trap door in the floor (Perception DC 19) opens up to reveal a staircase leading down to the postern (area 7.).


2. Foyer/Pool
This 30x30 foot room is dominated by a pool of clear water, smelling faintly sweet, and a pair of large bronze-plated double doors at its northern end.  3 benches surround the pool.  The double doors have been finely carved and depict a beautiful woman and her husband along with three children standing before a waterfall.  A corridor running east-west cuts through the room.

[editor's notes: there should be a clue in the art on the door.  I don't yet have anything to leave a clue for though!]

DM's Notes: Anyone who drinks from the pool feels instantly refreshed (can make an Endurance check with no penalty for failure against any disease or similar condition).  In addition, the drinker gains a +1 bonus to hit rolls against dragons and their kin (dragon type) until their next extended rest.  If a dragonborn drinks this water, he instantly loses a healing surge.  The water loses its potency if taken from this room.
The figures on the double doors are of Lady Allende Markelhay and her family; PCs know this information with a DC 15 History check.


3. Crypts
The resting places of 7 generations of the Markelhay clan.  There are many bodies laid to rest here.  The most recent one is Lady Allende's father.  The remains lie in coffins placed in niches along the walls, and all the stonework here is of the highest quality.

These crypts lie along the corridor running east-west from the foyer.

DM's Notes: If disturbed, a haunting voice is heard: "You who would disturb our rest, beware, for we shall disturb yours."  If the action is continued, a curse is brought into effect.  Make an attack; +13 vs. Will; lose 1 healing surge from psychic damage and gain Markelhay's Curse (see below).  This curse does not affect those of Markelhay blood.  It is possible to avoid the curse; I leave the solution up to the players.

Treasure: Looting the dead, one can recover the following 250gp art objects: ivory statue of Sehanine, a silver-plated longsword, a gold bracelet with the inscription "to my daughter Ardayna on her 16th birthday", a silver necklace, a silk robe, and the following 1500gp art object: a gold statuette of Aranda Markelhay.  All these items are obviously related to the Markelhays and will need to be fenced in the Nentir Vale.

*Markelhay's Curse	Level 10 Disease (curse)	Wisdom stable DC 22, improve 26*

```
The target <	Initial Effect:			<>	The character regains only	>	Final State: 
is cured 	The target recovers only 1/2		one Daily power per extended		The character gains no
		of his healing surges during		rest.					benefit from an extended
		each extended rest.								rest.
Special: Heal may not be used to treat this disease.  
Substitute Religion instead, and even then only 
Unaligned (at best) methods will work.  
If rites of Tiamat are used, add a +2 bonus to 
the Religion check.
```

4. Major Tombs (Encounter Level 11, XP 3150)
These tombs are valuted chambers (20x20) holding the first-born and immediate family of 7 generations of the Markelhays.  The first-born of each family - (almost) always a woman - rests in a sarcophagus on a raised dias and the others rest in coffins in niches along the walls.  One tomb is completely empty.  Another has a place for "Lord Tarfon Markelhay, beloved of Lady Tinda" in the first-born's sarcophagus, but no body rests here.
These major tombs are connected to the tomb of Aranda Markelhay by sturdy iron doors.

DM's Notes: If disturbed, the Markelhay's curse is brought into effect (see 3. above), and protective spirits will appears to defend the dead.  A Banshee (Wailing Ghost) appears in area 5. and in each tomb a Trap Haunt will appear, Trapbound to all squares in areas 4. and 5.  They will attack until the tombrobbers have left the sepulchre.  As in the crypts, those of Markelhay blood are not subject to this effect, and smart (and greedy!) players may come up with a solution.

Treasure: Each tomb holds a different treasure.  Once these tombs held magic weapons, armour, and other items useful in battle; they were taken and lost during the Bloodspear War.  If any are returned to their proper resting place, grant the PCs a Minor Quest reward (level 10) and the following boon: a holy symbol of good fortune +3, not keyed to any god.
a) A gold ring with a 100gp gem - an engagement ring (170gp).
b) A watchful ruby eye in the eye socket of a long-dead Markelhay mage.
c) A chime of awakening hanging over the first-born's coffin.
d) A lamp of discerning providing illumination to the room.
e) A silver-plated sword, still grasped by dead hands (290gp).
f) A crown studded with gems resting on the skull of a dead lord (1300gp).
g) Cloth of gold vestments dedicated to Sehanine.

5. Tomb of Lady Aranda Markelhay 
The double doors from the foyer open into a large (50x100) vaulted tomb.  Pillars line the walls and support the weight of the stone above.  A beautiful stained-glass window, backlit with a radiant glow, dominates the north wall (15x15); it depicts a beautiful woman in plate armour doing battle with a white dragon.  Her sword is pure white and shines brightly.  A marble sarcophagus, the top of which is carved into a likeness of the woman depicted in the window, sits on a raised dais.  The floor and walls are polished marble and reflect the scene.  Four sturdy iron doors lie in the east and west walls.  The air in here is cool but refreshing.

DM's Notes:  This is the final resting place of Lady Aranda Markelhay and her immediate family.  Each square of the window radiates a powerful aura to a distance of 5 squares.  Any undead or dragon creature that enters or starts their turn in the area of effect takes 10 radiant damage.  All creatures save undead or dragons gain a +2 bonus to all defenses and good-aligned immortal creatures gain regeneration 5 (does not work if they take necrotic damage).  This effect can be ended if the window is destroyed (AC 5, Fort 2, HP 30).

A secret door (Perception DC 25) is recessed into the north-west corner of the room.  It leads to the vault (area 6.).

Treasure: Lady Aranda Markelhay passed down her arms and armour, including the sword Moonblade, to her heirs.  All have been lost in the Bloodspear Wars.  If her armour or shield is returned to her tomb, grant the PCs a minor quest reward (level 10); if the Moonblade is returned, grant them a major quest reward (level 10) and they hear a voice: "You have proven yourselves worthy of my legacy.  You are now of my own blood.  Take my blade and use it to do good."  The PCs are now considered to be heirs to Aranda Markelhay.

6. Vault (XP 1500)
Through the secret door is a small (10x10) area which leads to a thick (5') steel door.  Beyond this door is the Markelhay vault.  This is a fair-sized room (20x20) with mostly-empty shelves.  There are a bags, bins, and chests strewn about the room, as well as wickedly-barbed spear leaning against one wall.  

DM's Notes: This room is trapped.  Only Lady Allende Markelhay and her immediate family know how to bypass the traps.  When the door to the vault opens, the secret door slams shut.  Make an attack against any characters in its space: +13 vs. Ref; 3d8+5 damage, and the target is pushed 1.  The secret door cannot be opened while the vault door is opened (DC 28).

1 Electrified Floor Trap
1 Force Blast Trap (Elite level 10 Blaster trap)
Trap: This trap is a small orb on the far side of the room.  It emits a thundering blast of energy.
Perception
DC 21: The character locates the orb.
Additional Skills: Arcana
DC 25: The character realizes that getting close to the orb will provoke a powerful blast.
DC 21: The character's knowledge provides a +2 bonus to Thievery checks to disable the trap.
Trigger
The trap rolls initative when a creature enters the vault or begins its turn in the vault.
Attack
Standard Action		Ranged 6
Target: One creature
Attack: +15 vs. Fortitude
Hit: 3d6+5 thunder damage and the target is pushed 1 square.
Miss: Half damage.

Immediate Reaction	Close Blast 5
Trigger: When a character is adjacent to the trap
Target: All creatures in burst
Attack: +15 vs. Fortitude
Hit: Push 2 squares.
Countermeasures
An adjacent character can disable the trap with a DC 26 Thievery check.
The orb can be disabled with attacks (AC 24, Reflex 0, Fortitude 24).
A secret password can be uttered to disable the traps.  When the correct phrase is clearly stated, an audible groaning sound can be heard as the traps shut down.

Treasure: The Raven Queen has not been kind to the Markelhays since Tarfon Markelhay fled the Battle of Gardmore Abbey with the Moonblade.  As a result, the vault has only 500gp, 10,000sp, and 50,000cp in it.  The spear is a Spear of Wounding +1.

7. Postern
The stair from the lobbey descends deep into the earth.  20' down there is a landing and a passage that heads further north, and you can feel a cool breeze of fresh air coming from that direction.  The stairs continue to descend.

The passage ends in a small bolt-hole, a room partially filled with rubble.  Fresh air is coming from the other side of the rubble.

DM's notes: The passage leads outside Fallcrest and was used as a secret means of entering and exiting.  It was intentionally destroyed after an assassination attempt by Bloodspear orc assassins during the final days of the war.  There is no roll to clear the rubble, it just takes time.

The staircase continues down to a secret door that leads into the cisterns.


----------



## JeffB (Apr 25, 2009)

This is great stuff! 

I'm not running 4E ATM, but when I was, I did very much the same thing with the Nentir Vale. Perfect little area to detail/expand.


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 25, 2009)

I'm working on the cistern at the moment.  It's full of rats and wererats.  (Literally - the cistern is _full of rats._)

The leader of the troupe is going to have a power to create a rat king out of that mass of rats.

Here's one of the bad guys in there.  I'm trying to squish the statblock as much as possible:

Wererat Killer: lvl 5 elite brute XP 400
init +6; per +4 (low-light)
AP 1; SV +2
HP 150/75; AC 17, F 19, R 20, W 17
 cleaver +8 vs AC; 2d8+4 damage
 bite; minor; requires CA; +6 vs. F; 1d6+4 and ongoing 5 (sv)
 rage; when first bloodied; immediate reaction; close burst 1; cleaver attack against all enemies in range
 spiked tail whip; immediate interrupt; when flanked; +6 vs. R; 1d10+4 and prone
S +4 C +4 D +6 I +1 W +4 C +1


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 28, 2009)

*The Cistern*

*THE CISTERN*

Overview: The cistern was built when Aranda Markelhay raised her tower; if a city was to be built, it would need a more secure water supply in the case of a siege than the river.  The cistern is now dry as the floodgates have been closed.  The circulation system to keep the water from growing stagnant is still in working order, though the waterwheel which powered it (beneath the falls) has been destroyed.

A group of wererats, worshipping a horrid, demon-like creature they call the Rat God, have moved in here and made it their lair.  They are smart enough not to plague the townspeople of Fallcrest, but will strike at merchants.  They have filled the cistern with rats and have kidnapped a number of merchants as slaves to their Rat God.

The Rat God is an aberration from the Far Realm; it is sleeping, senseless, having crawled into this place after the Bloodspear War to feast on the remains of the dead left after the sacking of Fallcrest.  A travelling arcanist discovered it here and placed magic wards to keep it from leaving if (and when!) it would awaken.

Entrances: There are a number of entrances to the cisterns:
1. Via the Markelhay Sepulchre.  A stair descends to a secret door.  No one is aware of the existence of this door.
2. Via a well in Moonstone Keep.  The well has been capped as the cisterns are now dry.
3. Via a well in the Tombwood.  This well has been overgrown but is not capped.
4. Via a passage through the crypts under the Tombwood.
5. Via a passage from the catacombs in the Moonstone Caverns.

1. Cistern (XP 150)
A vast chamber (100x100) that echoes with the squeal of thousands of rats.  The ceiling is vaulted and leads up into darkness.  Pillars support the weight of the earth above.

There is a 20' deep pit in the middle of the room, measuring some 40x40 feet in area.  It would be empty save the thousands of rats who climb over one another here.  Two 5' wide tunnels lead out of the pit, one heading north and the other south.  Rats are climbing into and out of these tunnels.

4 doors line the walls.  Most are made of wood and warped or decaying; one is made of stone and is closed fast.

Dim lanterns line the walls and give off a faint light.

DM's Notes: A single wererat rests here in the shadows, on guard.  There is a 50% chance that he is sleeping, giving the PCs automatic surprise, though he will wake shortly (in 1d4 rounds from the PC's arrival) as the rat's squeals grow in intensity.  If he is not sleeping, PCs who have low-light vision spot a man is guarding the area and have them make a check; the DC is 14.  If the PCs succeed, they spot the wererat before he spots them and may act as they wish with surprise.  His suspicions will become aroused shortly, however, due to the strange activity of the rats; unless the PCs do something to calm the rats, the PC with the lowest Stealth modifier must make a check against DC 19 (though other PCs may Aid).  Succeed or fail, they will see him, and he will attempt to flee into the wererat lounge (area 6) to warn his allies.

(Optional) Assassinating the guard: As the rats serve as a alarm of sorts for the guard, it is unlikely that PCs will be able to slip past him.  However, a single character trained in stealth may be able to do it.  By slipping from pillar to pillar a character can maintain stealth, although at a -5 penalty.  (Do not call for rolls each round; only one is needed, otherwise you might as well state the character fails automatically!)  Once in range of the wererat, maintaining Stealth indicates the PC will have surprise and can make an attack.

This attack is unlikely to kill any but a helpless guard or minion.  The goal, then, is to make an attack to make sure the target cannot cry out for help.  Make an attack as a standard action, rolling Str or Dex vs. Fort; on a hit, the target cannot shout he target cannot shout, yell, or talk normally, though he can still whisper (save ends).  Combat can then proceed, though the guard will attempt to flee (best to grab him).  These sorts of combats are best considered to be done in near total silence (DC 20 Perception to hear).

The cistern is empty of water, the floodgates closed, but it is filled with rats.  Anyone who does not have immunity to filth fever who enters or begins their turn in the cistern takes 5 points of damage and suffers an attack: +7 vs. Fortitude, on a hit the character contracts filth fever.  Although it is 20' deep, treat falling distance as half that due to the soft cushion of rats the character will land upon.  See the control room (area 2.) for details on what occurs when the floodgates are opened.

Every 20' there is a line of squares (1x4) that is in total darkness.  Characters with low-light vision can penetrate the gloom.  The wererat guard hides in one of these squares

There is a well that draws water from the cistern when it is full (though it is covered at the moment); PCs can notice this if they have low-light vision or darkvision and succeed at a DC 18 Perception check.

2. Control Room.
The stone door to this room is locked (DC 20).  When opened, the room seems to gasp as stale air exits; it has not been opened for nearly a hundred years.  Within the stone room is a large wheel, a pair of levers, one up and one down, and two gauges.  Dwarven writing has been carved into the wall above each control.  Both gauges read 0.

A corridor in the western wall leads into darkness.

DM's notes: If a character can read dwarven, they can make out the following: "Main Floodgate" over the wheel, "Cistern" over the left lever, "Moonstone Well" over the right lever, and "Water Level" and "Hammers" over the gauges.  ("Hammers" is a dwarven measure of force equal to the force required to lift a warhammer 3 feet (basically 1 newton); it measures the amount of energy the waterwheel produced.  The waterwheel which once stood behind the falls has been destroyed.)

The wheel opens the main floodgate.  If turned, it will make a great creaking noise unless oiled, and will alert anyone in the cistern (area 1.) or the wererat lounge (area 6.).  Once opened, the sewers will flood with water and can once again be used by Fallcrest (instead of dumping waste directly into the river, it is taken downstream a few miles).  Reward characters who open the main floodgate with a level 1 minor quest.

The levers open the floodgates; the left one opens the floodgates that sends water into the main area, and the right opens the floodgate that leads to the small cistern that feeds the well under Moonstone Keep.  If the left floodgate is opened, a roaring sound can be heard coming from the western tunnel in the cistern (area 1.); in 5 rounds, a gust of water will pour from it.  Any creatures within 5 squares of the western tunnel are subject to an attack: +10 vs. Fortitude, 3d8+5 damage and knocked prone.  This will clear out the rats in the cistern within 2 rounds as they flee into other areas, creating difficult terrain in the rest of the cistern until the end of any encounter.  Creatures within this difficult terrain are subject to an attack: +7 vs. Fortitude, 4 damage.  If any damage is dealt via an area affect (such as a scorching burst or flask of oil, but not blinding barrage), those squares are cleared of rats until the end of the character's next turn.  If this occurs outside of an encounter, each character must make a DC 19 check or lose a healing surge.

In a short time, the cistern will fill; if both levers are opened, the Moonstone Keep cistern will fill as well.  Fresh water may be drawn from the wells.  In a week, however, the still water will foul and those who drink it are subject to an attack: +3 vs. Fortitude, on a hit contract filth fever (dysentery/flux).

3. Moonstone Keep Cistern (XP 300)
The northern tunnel leads into a vaulted chamber, 15x15.  A small pit, 20' deep and 10'x10' in area, dominates the room.  The pit is lined with a yellow sludge.  There is a shaft in the ceiling.

DM's Notes: The yellow sludge is actually an ochre jelly.  The wererats fought it and were unable to defeat it but pushed it into this area.  A Dungeoneering check (DC 15) will indicate that PCs know what this is (though let the players metagame).  It will lie dormant and attack once all PCs enter its space, or attack if assaulted.  The ochre jelly suffers no penalty for having other creatures in its space as it flows around other creatures.  (If using this modified rule, add an extra 100 XP to the encounter.)

Treasure: The chain that once held the bucket to feed the well still lies here; it is made of sterling silver and worth 100gp.

4. Storeroom.
This room (30x30) is full of a variety of goods - grain, meal, chickens, spices, tools, luxuries, etc.  It appears that some of the banditry attributed to the Raven Roosters is misplaced.  A set of stairs in the north wall leads up.  There is a simple wooden door, recently repaired, in the western wall.

DM's Notes:  This room is where the wererats keep their ill-gotten gains.  There is a total of 470gp here - though 200gp of that is in trade goods which cannot easily be taken.  If the PCs deliver this to market and sell it, reward them with a level 1 minor quest.  The other 270gp is in magical reagents - 30gp of mystic salves, 100gp of alchemical reagents, 120gp of rare herbs, and 40gp of sanctified incense.

Those who search this room must succeed at a DC 19 Stealth check or they will alert the wererat guard in area 1.

The stairs lead to the tombwood crypts; the door leads to area 1.

5. Hightown Well Shaft (XP 350)
This shaft leads to the covered well just north of the Kamroth Estate, in the Tombwood.

DM's Notes: 2 Cavern Chokers lurk here, chased out of the catacombs, feeding off the vermin in the sewers.  They have since had to be more cautious with the arrival of the wererats some few months ago.

If PCs climb the tunnel, they will come under attack.  Likewise, if there is a battle in the cisterns, the cavern chokers will hear it and investigate; once the battle turns, the chokers will descend and attack.  During the battle, anyone who calls for and makes a DC 20 Perception check will notice the chokers lurking there.  The chokers relish the idea of gaining some treasure that isn't rat bone necklaces.

6. Wererat Lounge (XP 1000)
The door to this room is stuck (requires a DC 11 check to open; if Thievery is used, surprise is possible, otherwise the wererats will be aware of the PCs and gain a +5 bonus to initiative).  This room (40x40) has two tables and a small fireplace.  A roasted pig is on a spit over the fire.  5 wererats - one of exceptional size, with spiked steel armour over its tail - are lounging here.  A keg of beer stands next to the fire.  Three doors are here - one leading to the cistern, one on the north wall, and another on the west.

DM's Notes:  Pushing someone into the fire will deal low limited damage based on the character's level (as those who are higher level push with more force!).  The pig, if it takes any damage (such as from an area attack), bursts into pieces creating concealment in a burst 1 area for one round.  If any large amount of liquid (such as the keg) is placed onto the fire, hot steam will burst forth, dealing 5 damage in a burst 1 area and creating concealment for one round.  If the keg is put there, it will take 1 round before it explodes.

If attacked, one of the wererats will attempt to move into the sauna (area 7.) and the wererat warren (area 8.) to raise the alarm.

Wererat Killer: lvl 5 elite brute XP 400
init +6; per +4 (low-light)
AP 1; SV +2
HP 150/75; AC 17, F 19, R 20, W 17
regen 5 (silver)
 cleaver +8 vs AC; 2d8+4 damage
 bite; minor; requires CA; +6 vs. F; 1d6+4 and ongoing 5 (sv)
 rage; when first bloodied; immediate reaction; close burst 1; cleaver attack against all enemies in range
 spiked tail whip; immediate interrupt; when flanked; +6 vs. R; 1d10+4 and prone
S +4 C +4 D +6 I +1 W +4 C +1

7. Dwarf Sauna/Bathhouse (XP 875)
This 20x100 area is warm and the air is humid.  The walls and floor are made from white tiles.  Red-hot stones pulse with magical heat, covered by metal grates in  sunken area in the middle of the room.

DM's Notes: This area is dimly lit.  A lone wererat takes care of his 3 guard drakes and 2 spitting drakes in this room.  The drakes are sleeping over the grates.  

The stones that produce the heat and only light are magical; their heat can be raised or lowered by someone who speaks the correct incantation (Arcana DC 18; a Dwarf character can substitute a History check with a -2 penalty).  The grates can be easily removed.  If water is poured on the heating stones, a heavy burst of steam is created (concealment in a burst 1 area).  If the grate is opened, any character who enters or begins his turn on that square takes 5 points of fire damage.  If the heat is turned off, these effects do not occur.

Treasure: One of the drakes has a gem-studded collar worth 140gp.

Wererat Caretaker: lvl 5 controller
init +6; per +10 (low-light)
HP 63/31; AC 19, F 17, R 18, W 17
regen 5 (silver)
 short sword +10 vs. AC; 1d6+4.
 whip; ranged 5; +9 vs. R; 1d10+4, prone.
 whip disarm; minor; encounter; +9 vs. R; one held item is disarmed and ends up within 5 squares.
sic 'em; minor; encounter; ally within 5 makes basic or charge attack with +2 to atk.
Stealth +11, Nature +10
S +3 C +4 D +6 I +2 W +5 C +1

8, Wererat Warren (XP 725)
This 25x30 area stinks of filth and decay.  Pallid straw mats line the floor.  A number of bags are scattered about the room.  A fire burns low in a brazier in the middle of the room.  A 10x15 area in the south-western corner is curtained off, and a candle flickers from the other side.

DM's Notes: This is where the wererats sleep. A dark creeper emissary from Raven Roost is meeting with the warren king, attempting to cow the warren king into paying a fee for working this turf.  They are not making much headway.  The warren king will not let the dark creeper leave with his life; he will be sacrificed to the Rat God (see area 9.).

A single wererat bodyguard (as wererat but with fighter's mark and +2 bonus to AC to adj allies) is in the room, ready to respond to any treachery from the dark creeper.  This wererat is deaf.

The brazier can be used to light the mats on fire; this will create a thick, nauseating black smoke to rise, granting total concealment in a burst 1 area.  Any character who enters or begins his turn in the smoke is subject to an attack: +7 vs. F; -2 to atk (sv).  Wererats are immune (comfortably living in their own filth).

Treasure: The dark creeper has a silvered dagger worth 75 gp.

Warren King: lvl 5 elite controller (leader) XP 400
init +6; per +9 (low-light)
HP 126/63; AC 21, F 17, R 20, W 19
regen 5 (silver)
AP 1; SV +2
 filthy short sword +9 vs. F; 1d6+4, ongoing 2 (sv) and filth fever.
 flying rats; ranged 5; +9 vs. R; 1d4+4, -2 to atks (sv).  The warren king throws a hungry rat at the target.
 tail trip; reach 2; +9 vs. R; 1d6+4 damage and the target is knocked prone.
 create rat king; only in cistern full of rats; creates large rat king in the cistern and the rat king attacks.  As a move action, move the rat king up to 6 squares; +9 vs. R; 2d8+6 damage and the rat king grabs the target; sustain minor: a target grabbed by the rat king takes 1d8+6 damage.  As a standard action, the warren king can make another attack but it must release a target it has grabbed.
 release rat swarm; encounter; close burst 3; targets enemies; +9 vs. F; 1d8+6, ongoing 5 (sv) and difficult terrain (not to wererats).  The warren king can no longer make flying rat attacks.
Stealth +11, Streetwise +9, Thievery +11
S +3 C +3 D +6 I +6 W +4 C +4
equipment: filthy short sword, bag of rats

9. Lair of the Rat God (XP 1000+)
The entrance to this room is marked with ancient runes.  At the far side of the circle, flies buzz angrily against an unseen barrier.  A mass of red-eyed maggots has created a carpet one-foot deep on the floor, squishing up against the magical ward.

This large (35x55) vaulted chamber stinks worse than an outhouse in the middle of summer.  In the dark, a horrid wheezing sound comes in uneven intervals.

DM's Notes: A far-realm entity known only as the Rat God lives in this squalid chamber.  It is not a rat nor a god but the wererats worship it as such, giving it sacrifices (which it slowly consumes through its maggot offspring, feeding off the pain).  The rat god sleeps but will awaken if attacked.

5 creatures have been sacrificed to the rat god and have died, becoming slithering spawn.  Treat 2 as fire bats (remove ongoing fire damage, increase damage to 1d10+4) - a cross between a man and a fly; 1 as a vine horror - a mass of maggots in humanoid form; and 1 as a slaad tadpole, a large flesh-devouring worm.

10 squares are covered in maggots; treat as a treacherous ice sheet.

Two slaves, one a halfling merchant, the other a human, cower in the corner.  They are slowly being eaten alive from the inside out by the flies and maggots that fill the room.  If left to die, they will become slithering spawn.  If saved, grant the PCs a level 5 minor quest.

Treat the rat god as an adult green dragon with the proper reskinning (no fly speed, flyby attack = slither, breath = maggot explosion, etc.).

Treasure: The wererats have thrown five 100gp gems into this room as tribute to their god.


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 28, 2009)

*The Tombwood*

*TOMBWOOD*

Overview: The Tombwood crypts were built by the wealthy of Fallcrest two centuries ago, wanting to give their dead a more dignified resting place than the catacombs in the Moonstone Caverns.  They are now covered by a mass of tangling trees.  Most crypts are simple one-room tombs, empty of anything living or dead; others hold dangerous creatures (living and undead) and secret passages connect them to others deeper in the ground.

The Tombwood has been twisted to evil thanks to an artifact of Vecna placed in an unmarked Tomb deep in its midst.  The necrotic energies it sends out have been twisting the Tombwood for centuries, animating undead, turning the trees to evil.  The Eye of Blight makes it almost impossible to navigate the Tombwood.  (It has no problem with the activities of the River Rats and they find no such troubles.)

Wandering Monsters: Monsters wander the tombwood.  Each time the PCs take a short rest or navigate through the tombwood, roll 1d6.  On a roll of 6 (4-6 at night) the PCs encounter a wandering monster.  Roll 1d6 to determine the nature of the encounter.


```
Roll
1	The very trees attack! (1 vine horror, 8 twig blights, 1 zombie); XP 525.
2	Rats swarm from out of the well (3 rat swarms, 2 dire rats); XP 575.
3	Zombies lurch out of their graves (2 zombies, 1 deathlock wight, 1 corruption corpse); XP 600.
4	3 guard drakes and 2 goblin sharpshooters stumble upon the PCs; XP 625.
5	Skeletons rise out of the ground and attack (2 skeletons, 8 decrepit skeletons); XP 500.
6	River Rats (4 human bandits, 2 human berserkers) come to rob graves; XP 850.
```

1. Outskirts
The old cemetary is now overgrown with trees tangled together in grim embraces.  The forest floor is thick with thorn-covered bushes.  No paths are evident.

As the wind picks up, the trees seem to shift a moment too late, as if they had a will of their own.

DM's Notes: Navigating through the cemetary to find a location of interest is difficult (DC 19 due to the influence of the Eye of Blight).  They can search for a specific location or at random.  Each character must make the check.  If the roll is failed, the PCs lose a healing surge as they exhaust themselves trying to find their way through the cryptwood and they arrive at a random location.

The PCs can find recent paths with a DC 15 Perception check.  Those trained in Nature gain a +2 bonus to the roll.  If found, these paths lead to the Open Graves (area 4.).  Once found, PCs will find that the trail has disappeared and will not appear again.

2 a. Dwarven Crypt (XP 400)
This stone mausoleum has an emblem of a dwarven warrior on it.  Thick weeds and briars grow in abandon around it.  The stone door hangs open; beyond you can see a small room that has a set of stairs leading down.

DM's Notes: In dwarven, the words "Longbeard: Stonemasons of Moonstone Keep" can be read.  A DC 20 History check (+2 if the character is dwarven) means the PC knows the name as two dwarves who helped build Fallcrest.

4 stirges lurk in the trees around this crypt.  They can be spotted with a DC 18 Perception check; with a DC 13 Perception check, PCs can notice a number of small animal skeletons.  With a DC 15 Heal check, it can be determined that the animals died from blood drain.  The stirges do not attack until the PCs engage with the clay scout in area 1 b.; they have learned to work together with the mindless construct.

2 b. Entrance (XP 125)
This small room (20x20) is cold and dark.  The shattered remains of a dwarven statue are spread across the ground.  A heavy iron door, bashed in, lies open.

DM's notes: A clay scout lurks in the shattered remains (DC 18 Perception).  It will attack the first creature who enters the room (its guarded area) with its mind touch.  Once it attacks, the stirges from area 2 a. will swoop down.

2 c. Tomb of Durgeddin & Mordweddin Longbeard (XP 500)
This tomb (20x40) is cool and dark.  Two stone coffins rest in the far end of the room.  Their rune-covered lids have been shattered and stone lies on the floor.  An iron statue of a dwarf wielding a warhammer stands before them.  A humanoid skeleton lies on the ground.

DM's notes: The Longbeard's corpses have been animated by energies from the Shadowfell and have risen as corruption corpse zombies.  These two dwarves both worked in the construction of Moonstone Keep and the complexes beneath it.  They created the clay scout in area 2 b. and the iron defender (the dwarf statue) here as well.

The dwarven statue can be identified as an iron defender with a DC 15 arcana check.  The iron defender guards both corruption corpses.

The skeleton on the floor is that of an orc that was killed by the iron defender when the tomb was looted.  The orcs, thinking they had taken all the loot from this room, left the iron defender alone.

Treasure: Hidden under a loose tile between the two coffins (Perception DC 15 if searched) is a small pair of gems worth 100 gp each can be found in small receptacles.  Removing the gems will trigger a trap (Perception DC 20); the floor tile will sink and the entire tomb will begin to collapse!  Make an attack against all creatures in the tomb: +4 vs. Reflex, 3d6+3 damage.  Placing something that weighs as much as the gems in the receptacles required a Theivery check (DC 20); success means that the tile will not sink.  If the PCs disable the trap and gather the gems, reward them with 100xp.

When the tomb collapses, a passage to The Soldier's Ossuary (area 3 b.) is revealed.

The runes on the coffin lids once held detailed plans of Moonstone Keep and the complexes beneath them.  If the room is searched, a PC will be able to notice this with a DC 25 Perception check or if the rubble is specifically searched.  If put back together using the Make Whole ritual it will form a map detailing Moonstone Keep, the Markelhay Sepulchre, and the Cisterns.  Award PCs a level 1 minor quest if they put the map together.

3 a. Knight's Tomb - entrance.
This tomb has been bashed open.  Its copper doors, covered in a layer of verdigris, have a bas-relief of a knight looking mournfully towards the moon.  Stairs lead down into gloom.

DM's Notes: A History check of DC 15 will mean they recognize the knight as Sir Teukros, a knight of Nerath who led a campaign from Fallcrest against the cultists of Vecna; a DC 20 check means they know they story of his downfall, having taken his own life when, upon his return from Thunderspire, he was betrayed and his eladrin wife was killed.  DC 25 means they know who killed his wife - the abbot Garthulmas of Gardmore Abbey.

3 b. Knight's Tomb - Soldier's Ossuary
This long room is lined with skeletal remains.  There is a small shrine at the far end of the room.  An inscription on the floor reads "Together Even In Death" in common.  Two doors lead out of this room, one in the eastern wall and the other in the west.

DM's Notes: If the dwarven tomb (area 2.) was destroyed, an open-air passage will lead into this chamber.

3 c. Lady Eveningsong's Tomb
The walls of this tomb are carved to appear as though they were trees.  A small mound of earth lines in the middle of the room, overgrown cave moss.  A single white flower blooms in the darkness amid the weeds.

DM's Notes: The final resting place of the Eladrin Lady Eveningsong.  She rests uneasily.  If the white flower is plucked, she will rise in 1d4 days as a banshee (wailing ghost), lamenting the loss of her husband who has not come to join her on the other side.

PCs who succeed at a DC 20 Nature check recognize the flower as an Eladrin manu-lote, a spirit flower.  They are planted when an Eladrin dies; as the spirit rejoins the Feywild and moves on, the flower blooms and spreads peace and beauty.  This one has never bloomed.

PCs can guide Eveningsong to peace if they succeed at a level 7 skill challenge; she does not wish to leave her husband here, but cannot find him.  (DMs, feel free to adjudicate however fits your vision; I suggest Nature or Religion checks to contact her - Speak With Dead considered an automatic success - and once contacted, she must be persuaded to leave her love behind.)  Failure will mean that she will never find peace and rises as a wailing ghost, though not of particularly harmful intent (she will not use her spirit touch unless attacked, and any creature who is killed from psychic damage sinks into a catatonic state of despair for 1d4 weeks).  A Gentle Repose ritual will prevent this from occuring, though it is only a matter of time.

3 d. Sir Teukros' Tomb (XP 575)
A deathly chill fills the air in this room.  A single coffin stands in the middle of the room.  The far wall holds a stained-glass window of a knight and his hauntingly beautiful eladrin wife; the window is backlit with an eerie purple glow.

DM's notes: Sir Teukros, unable to go on, has risen as a deathlock wight.  He mourns for his lost love and curses Vecna.  He has no sense of his surroundings and still believes he lives.

Sir Teukros knows things long since forgotten: The location of the Tower of Secrets in Thunderspire; that Gardmore Abbey was infiltrated by cultists of Vecna; that the Eye of Vecna lies deep within the dungeons beneath the Abbey, sealed off long ago; and many other things.

Sir Teukros will ignore the PCs unless they succeed on a DC 17 check or he is attacked.  If he is attacked, he cries out: "Garthulmas, you cowardly swine!  I can see through your disguises!  To arms, my men!"  At this, 2 skeletons and 4 decrepit skeletons from the ossuary will animate and rush to his aid.  Sir Teukros gains regeneration 5 (radiant) while the stained-glass window stands; purple light flows into his wounds.  If it is destroyed, Sir Teukros flies into a rage, gaining a +4 bonus to attacks and damage.

PCs who succeed at a DC 20 History check recognize the name Garthulmas as an abbot of Gardmore Abbey.

The PCs may be able to help Sir Teukros find peace; what is needed is that they convince him his wife is waiting for him on the other side.  Run this as a level 4 skill challenge; failure means that Sir Teukros will never find peace.  If he departs, his wife leaves with him and the PCs can smell the sweet blossom of the spirit flower.

A secret door behind the stained-glass window opens to reveal a passage that heads to area 7 d.

Treasure: Sir Teukros fights with a Battlecrazed Longsword +1.

4. Open Graves
These graves appear to have been freshly dug up and the contents removed.

DM's notes: The River Rats have been graverobbing; they have taken these bodies and sold them to Orest Naerumar.  The tracks are reasonably fresh, and can be tracked back to The Lucky Gnome Taphouse with a DC 22 Perception check.

5. Overgrown Well
An old well is here, full of twisting vines and weeds.

DM's notes: This leads into area 5. of the cistern.  PCs who succeed at a DC 18 Perception check can make out a dim light at the bottom of the well and hear faint squeaking noises.  PCs who descend will also alert the chokers in the well (see the cisterns, area 5.).

6. Twisted Grove (XP 500+)
The tangle of the tombwood lets up slightly here in this small grove dominated by one large, sickly-looking tree.  It sits on a small barren hill and a single grave marker lies at its roots.

DM's Notes: This tree was planted in memorium of the man who was buried here; it has become tainted and evil.  It desires to draw the life out of anyone who approaches.  Killing this tree will mean the end of the vine horrors and twig blights.

Each round, there is a 50% chance that a decrepit skeleton (1-3) or twig blight (4-6) appears and attacks.

Treasure: 35gp and a poisoned spear +1 can be found if the area is searched.

[editor's note: there should be a better way to do this.  Monster or what?]

7 a. Tomb of Secrets
This tomb stands in decent repair, its outer surface only damaged from the elements.  The doors to the tomb are closed fast.  There are no markings to indicate who was buried here.

DM's notes: The doors to this tomb are locked (DC 20).  This was the tomb of a secretive sage, a worshipper of Vecna.  He was the one who first spied on Gardmore Abbey.

The doors open to reveal a set of stairs that descend down, ending in another set of doors.

7 b. Vecna's Guardians (XP 0-900)
This chamber is lined with sarcophagi, 6 on each wall, each one wearing a featureless mask.  Two doors, one in the north wall and one in the south, provide exits from this area.

DM's notes: When the PCs enter to the middle of the room, the door leading to area 7 a. slams shut as if by a ghostly wind.  The following round, and each round after that as long as PCs are in the area, two sarcophagi open and discharge skeletons.  The skeletons attack until slain.

PCs can destroy the sarcophagi, though they are tough.  The sound will attract a wandering monster and, when the sarcophagi is destroyed, the skeleton within will attack.

A DC 15 Religion check identifies the masks as symbols of Vecna.

PCs who succeed on a DC 15 Perception check notice strange runes on the floor; these trigger the skeletons.  They can be lept over easily.

7 c. Tomb of Secrets (XP 0-900)
This chamber appears to be a library.  The walls are lined with books and scroll cases.  There is a table at the far end of the room.  The table is empty save for a deep purple candle and a small silver bowl.

DM's notes: All the books and scrolls appear blank unless the candle is lit; in that case, the writings can be made out.  If the candle is lit without making the appropriate gesture to Vecna, the flame explodes in a powerful burst and all those who see it suffer a curse (+7 vs. Fort; Blinded until next short rest and suffer the Curse of Vecna).  This explosion attracts the attention of the skeletons in area 7 b., and they move into to attack.  

PCs who make a DC 20 Religion check identify the candle as a symbol of Vecna; those who make a DC 25 check know the rite to appease the god.  (This involves cutting out one's eye and placing it in the bowl!  The effects of this are to lose a healing surge and a -2 penalty to Perception checks.  Both are permanent until the eye is somehow restored.)

Curse of Vecna		Level 4 Disease (curse)		Wisdom DC 18 Maintain, 22 Improve

```
The target is	<	Initial Effect:		<>	Worsen:			>	Final State:
cured			The character cannot 		Memories are slowly		The character falls into a 
			focus and has trouble		eaten away; take a 		catatonic stupor, unable to
			remembering; -5 penalty		penalty to all rolls and	take actions.
			to all Int-based skill		defenses equal to 1/2
			checks & the character		the character's level.
			becomes illiterate.
Special: Heal may not be used to treat this disease.  Substitute Religion instead.  If rites of Ioun are used, gain a +2 bonus to the check.
```

If someone does perform the ritual of Vecna and lights the candle, the secrets are revealed: horrible writing made to disgust and warp the mind of the reader hold countless pieces of valuable information.  Characters know that studying the writing will reveal long-lost secrets, though he will be putting his mind at risk.  If the character studies the scrolls and books for at least 6 hours, he gains a +2 bonus to all Int-based skill checks!  In addition, reward the character with a level 4 minor quest reward, and he learns the following terrible secrets:
-He gains a +5 bonus to all skill checks related to knowledge about Vecna
-He gains a +2 bonus on checks to disable the Eye of Blight in area 7 d.
-The eye of Vecna rests in the deep levels of Gardmore Abbey
-He gains a map of the first level of Gardmore Abbey
-He learns that agents of Vecna had turned Lord Warden Tarfon Markelhay to the worship of Vecna
-He learns of the location of the Tower of Secrets in Thunderspire

However, once per day at any time, the character's mind thinks back to the foul secrets he has read of; he suffers an attack: character's level vs. Will; stunned (save ends).  This can be removed with a Cure Affliction ritual, though the character will also lose any benefits as his mind is wiped clean of this tainted knowledge.  (The player may retain all the information he has learned, though, as some secrets linger on.)

Once read, the scrolls turn to dust.

7 d. Eye of Blight (XP 250-1150)
This area holds a single stone coffin - featureless save for a blank mask - and, at the far end of the room, a small orb glowing with an unholy purple light.  A door is recessed in the eastern wall.

DM's notes: The door leads to area 3 d.

The orb is an artifact of Vecna, created by the nameless sage and placed here when he died.  He attempted the ritual to become a lich but Vecna held those secrets from him, instead using his soul to empower the Eye of Blight.  The Eye of Blight is the source of the fell energies animating the undead in the area, and it is what causes the Tombwood to grow so tangled, warped, and evil.

The nameless sage has become an Enigma of Vecna.  It rests in the coffin until the Eye of Blight is disturbed; if this happens, it attacks, and the skeletons in area 7 b. rise and attack.  

This can possibly be a very dangerous encounter, especially if the PCs are low-level.  This danger can be eased if the PCs have killed the skeletons already or if the Eye of Blight is destroyed!  This can be done in two ways:

1. Any PC may cut out his own eye and place the Eye of Blight in the empty eye socket.  Cutting out one's own eye is a standard action and deals damage equal to the character's bloodied value.  Picking up the Eye of Blight is a minor action, as is placing it into the eye socket.  If this is done, the Enigma of Vecna and skeletons immediately stop acting and come under the control of the PC.  PCs who make a DC 15 Religion check will know this.

2. Disabling the Eye of Blight.  This requires a level 7 complexity 1 skill challenge (DCs 15/19/23).  Failure indicates that the PCs do not have the will to overcome the power of the Eye of Blight; success indicates that all undead in the Tomb of Secrets are instantly destroyed and no more will be animated in the Tombwood.  
Some possible skill uses include (but are not limited to):
-Arcana (DC 19, standard action) to ward the energies of the eye 
-Arcana (DC 15, minor action) to understand its powers; adds a +2 bonus to all future rolls, reveals some of the other options, but does not count as a success);
-Religion (DC 19, minor action) to recall the rites and prayers that can disable the Eye;
-Heal (DC 15, minor action, must touch the Eye) to spend 2 Healing Surges to channel your life force into the Eye
-The Eye cannot be damaged by attacks, though a successful attack (DC 19, standard action, Eye must be a target) that deals radiant damage will provide all future roll with a +2 bonus
-If 100gp worth of sanctified incense is burned, gain a +2 bonus to all future rolls (minor action)

If either option is taken, award the PCs with a major level 7 quest reward and XP for all monsters (the enigma of Vecna and the skeletons) as if they had been defeated.

Eye of Blight
Heroic Artifact
Concordance: As the Eye of Vecna
Body Slot: Head
Property: You gain a +1 bonus to Intimidate and Perception checks.
Property: You gain resist 5 necrotic.
Property: You gain vulnerable radiant 5.
Property: You take a -2 penalty to Diplomacy checks.
Power (encounter, arcane, implement, psychic): Standard action.  Make an attack using your highest mental ability stat (Int, Wis, Cha) +2 vs. Will.  On a hit, the target takes 2d8+your ability modifier psychic damage.  If the target is reduced to 0 hit points by this attack, it will animate as an Enigma of Vecna in 1d4 days.

Pleased
Property: You gain darkvision.
Power (daily, arcane, implement): Standard action.  Make an attack using your highest mental ability stat (Int, Wis, Cha) +2 vs. Will.  Can only target undead.  On a hit, the target is Dominated (save ends).

Satisfied
Property: The item bonus to Intimidate and Perception rises to +2.
Property: You gain low-light vision.
Special: Gain access to the Vecna's Blight ritual.

Normal
-

Unsatisfied
Special: Once per day at any time, the Eye of Blight attempts to drain your energy.  The Eye makes an attack against your Fortitude defense, rolling 1d20 + your level.  If the attack hits, you lose a healing surge.

Angered
Special: Once per day at any time, the Eye of Blight attempts to blind you.  The Eye makes an attack against your Fortitude defense, rolling 1d20 + your level.  If the attack hits, you are blinded until you take a short rest.
Special: Once per encounter, the Eye can attempt to animate a corpse within 5 squares.  It rises as an Enigma of Vecna in 1d4 rounds.

Vecna's Blight
Level: 7		Component Cost: 200gp
Category: 		Market Price: not for sale
Time: 6 hours		Key Skill: Religion
Duration: Permanent

This foul ritual creates a blighted area (100'x100').  The ritual causes the natural terrain to become overgrown and difficult to pass through for all save the caster and any one he indicates during the casting of the ritual.  Any dead buried in the area will rise as free-willed undead unless precautions are taken.

Creatures who wish to move through the terrain must make an appropriate check with a DC equal to the caster's Religion check.

The caster must have the Eye of Blight implanted in his eye socket to cast the ritual.

8. Deep Stair.
An iron door, bent and rusted with time, lies on the ground nearly completely overgrown with weeds.

DM's notes: Opening the door requires a DC 20 check; it is not locked, merely stuck.  Once opened, it will descend into the Tombwood Crypts.

9. Tombwood Barrow Mound.
A large hill, overgrown with brambles and thickets, rises out of the mass of tangled trees.  An old stone door marks a single entry point into the ancient barrow mound.

DM's Notes: This is the above-ground entrance point into the Tombwood Barrow Mound.

Refer to the Tombwood Barrow Mound key for future exploration.


----------



## Nebulous (Apr 28, 2009)

Hey, you've been busy, Lostsoul.  If the Rat God supposed to be the same thing as Torog from TL?


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 28, 2009)

Nebulous said:


> Hey, you've been busy, Lostsoul.  If the Rat God supposed to be the same thing as Torog from TL?




We're playing on Wednesday and I don't know what the PCs are going to try to do.  So I'm trying to get ready!

The "rat god" fit with the filth that was working for the wererats, but otherwise, it's just a pulpy swords & sorcery monster.

I have the barrow mound in the Tombwood finished as well - it's actually got some goblins, I was getting sick of undead - and some of the first layer of the crypts.  My idea is that some hobgoblins ended up in the Moonstone Caverns and put a guard post in the barrow mound.  

The first layer of the crypts is full of stupid wandering undead.  I'm thinking about running it in "zombie horror" fashion:

(Optional) Zombie Hordes: If you want to give the game a more zombie-movie like feel, roll once every time the PCs make noise.  [For wandering monsters; 1 on 1d6 means there's an encounter.]  This includes every round in combat and any time they force open a door or something to that effect (to be quiet, they must succeed at a DC 11 Stealth check).  If you get a wandering monster, make it any mix of zombies or skeletons with an XP budget of 500.​
Even the goblins have to sneak past them to get to the third level of the crypts, where it links up with the moonstone caverns and their hobgoblin overlords.

Why are there hobgoblins under Fallcrest?  I don't know yet.  I'm thinking of having a tunnel that connects to the Moonstone Caverns that leads to somewhere in the Moon Hills, or an exit to the Underdark.  Or both.


----------



## Derulbaskul (Apr 29, 2009)

There's some great stuff here. Thanks for posting your ideas.


----------



## Nebulous (Apr 29, 2009)

Yeah, i can incorporate some of this stuff into our Thunderspire campaign. We've only just started and they haven't even reached the mountain yet. Particularly the Vecna artifact, The Eye of Blight, that will be useful.


----------



## cthulhudarren (Apr 29, 2009)

Very well done, LostSoul. Thanks for posting!


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 30, 2009)

*Tombwood Barrow Mound*

These things are hard to read without maps.  Maybe I'll post the flowchart as well:


```
key: $ - secret door
     # - walled doorway
     > - archway
     [ - door
		   -----------------------> 3. despoiled chamber $---------
		   |			|				  $
Tombwood -> 1. entrance -> 2. ossuary ->|-# 4. walled-off chamber     9. torture room
					|				  |
					|-> 5. queen's chamber	 [--------|
					|				  |
					|-[ 6. commander's room  [--> 7. storeroom
									  |
									  |
								      8. guard post
```

*TOMBWOOD BARROW MOUND*

Overview: This barrow mound holds the dead of the chieftans who made Fallcrest their home long before Aranda Markelhay raised Moonstone Keep.  Most valuables have been pillaged over the centuries and other foul creatures have moved in.  The Gutwound Hobgoblins who have made a lair in the Moonstone Cavern have fortified the area as a forward watch point.

The goblins know a little about the crypts below; they stay out of the Tombwood for the most part, only poking their heads out to see what's up.

Wandering Monsters: Goblins and their allies patrol the barrow, and monsters from the tombwood sometimes wander in.  Each time the PCs take a short rest or make an excess of noise, roll 1d6.  On a roll of 6 the PCs encounter a wandering monster.  Roll 1d6 to determine the nature of the encounter.

Roll
1	The goblins from area 2. are running a patrol and come across the PCs.
2	The goblin blackblade is slinking through the tunnels; Perception DC 20.  He will attempt to warn his allies.
3	The hobgoblin commander is wandering around drunk.
4	The goblin underboss has taken 4 guard drakes out to play catch with a goblin cutter's head.
5	4 skeletons and 4 decrepit skeletons have wandered into the mound.
6	A group of undead (a ghoul, a deathlock wight, and 2 gravehounds) has lurched into the mound in search of flesh and life energy.

1. Entrance (XP 525)
This barrow is far older than the rest of Fallcrest.  The walls are constructed from rough-hewn stone blocks.  Roots and vines reach down from the surface, and the floor is covered in a bed of dry yellow grass.

A corridor runs east-west and ahead a stone archway leads into darkness.

DM's Notes: 3 cavern chokers lurk here, paid by the goblins with food and treasure.  As the PCs push further into the barrow, they ambush from behind.  If the fight goes poorly for them, they attempt to flee and warn their goblin masters.

The archway leads to the ossuary; the hallway wraps around the ossuary and leads to chambers 3 - 6; however, the western passage has caved in after about 50'.

Treasure: The cavern chokers have stuffed 20 gp, 21 sp, 30 cp, and 1 peridot (100 gp) into a crack in the wall (Perception DC 15).

2. Ossuary (XP 625)
A 40' passage leads into a large, round chamber (50' diameter) holding the skeletal remains of many long-dead men and women.  The bones are scattered all over the floor, and many of them have been broken.  At the far end of the room another door leads out.

DM's notes: A pair of goblin sharpshooters stand watch here with their 3 guard drakes.  Unless the PCs took extra care in dealing with the chokers in the entrance (area 1.), the goblins are aware of the PC's approach and will be ready.  If they are not ready, the PCs have a chance to surprise (have the PC with the lowest Stealth modifier make a check against DC 17).  If the battle goes poorly for the goblins, they will attempt to flee to the Queen's Chamber (area 5.) to alert their allies.

Stacks of bones provide cover, and bone shards create difficult terrain.  If a character is actively pushed into the bones, that attack deals a low normal damage expression for that level.

Treasure: The goblins have amassed 116 gp, 58 sp, and 60 cp in loot.

3. Despoiled Burial Chamber
This 30x30 room is square in shape.  There is a small depression in the middle of the room.  Shards of shattered clay urns covers the ground, some of it half-buried.

DM's notes: This room is empty.  PCs who wish can dig in the depression, unearthing a decomposed body wrapped in a burial cowl.  If they do so, it will come to life as a wight and attack.

A secret door leads to area 9.

4. Walled-Off Burial Chamber
The entrance to this chamber has been walled off with thick, rough hewn stone.

The chamber beyond is large, some 40x40, and contains the unspoiled remains of an ancient warrior king.  A small depression is in the middle of the room.  Stone shelves along the walls hold clay pottery, artfully decorated, wooden and stone totems, and a wooden shield and bronze axe.  The shield is decorated with a tiger's claw.

DM's notes: PCs can break through the wall; no check need be made, though constant work will draw wandering monsters.

This is the burial chamber of an ancient chieftan distantly related to the Tigerclaw Barbarians; PCs who make a DC 20 History check will reveal this information (as will any Tigerclaw who sees the shield).  This could possibly cause the Tigerclaws to make a claim on Fallcrest!  However, if given as tribute, the Tigerclaws will accept the gift with great honour and consider the giver a friend.

Treasure: The axe is a reproachful axe +1, and the shield is a heavy battleforged shield +1.

5. Queen's Chamber (XP 775)
This room stinks of filth.  Straw mats are strewn on the ground and a depression in the ground has been fenced off.  The fence is of poor construction.  A firepit has been dug into the ground and rats roast on spits over it.  A table is covered in small marked knucklebones.  Two doors are in this room, one in the north wall and another in the south.

DM's notes: This is where the goblins spend their down time.  A goblin underboss pushes around 2 goblin warriors and 4 goblin cutters.  A guard drake chews on old bones it has unearthed in the depression.  If they are alerted to danger, the underboss will warn the goblin hexer in the torture room (area 9.) first, and then will wake/warn the hobgoblin commander in area 6.  If they are not aware of the PCs, the underboss will release the guard drake and charge into battle along with it (ready a charge for when the guard drake is adjacent to an enemy).  The underboss will direct the guard drake to attack when he misses, so he attempts to stay adjecent to it, relying on the other goblins to provide flanking.

The northern door leads to a corridor that runs east-west and into the Storeroom (area 7.) and the Torture Room (area 9.).

Treasure: One of the goblins has a pouch of Lockbust Chalk.

6. Commander's Room (XP 200)
The wooden door leading to this room is locked (poorly, DC 15).  Within the room is a desk against the eastern wall, a chest next to it, a brazier burning low in the middle of the room, and a curtained-off area in the north-western wall.  A wooden door is in the northern wall.  Empty bottles fill a depression in the middle of the chamber.

DM's notes: The hobgoblin commander of the goblins lives here.  He hates the goblins and considers this job a punishment for being lax on guard duty (which it is).  He can be found sleeping/drunk 50% of the time.  If he is sleeping, sounds of snoring can be heard from the other side.

The bottles provide difficult terrain; if they are broken (as a minor action), they deal 2 damage to anyone who enters that space.

The northern door leads to the Storeroom (area 7.).

Treasure: The hobgoblin commander has 180gp locked in his chest (DC 20).  He holds the only key.  He also has keys for all the locked doors in the complex.

7. Storeroom
This room is filled with bags, crates, and barrels.  There is a door in the southern wall and a corridor running east-west out of the room.

DM's notes: The goblins store their supplies here.  There is nothing of much value; some arrows, goblin food, etc.

8. Guard Post (XP 625)
This room has a number of tables turned over to create a short wall.  The makeshift wall faces a hole in the ground (with a rope on a peg trailing down) in the south-eastern corner of the room, and not the corridor in that leads out to the west.  Behind the wall, a cauldron of water simmers over a bed of hot coals.

DM's notes: The goblins have posted a guard over the entrance to the crypts.  Two goblin sharpshooters stand behind the wall and two guard drakes prowl through the rest of the room.  If the goblins notice someone pulling on the rope - and they are not given the signal ("Bree-Yark!") - they will cut the rope and drop the boiling water down (area burst 1, +6 vs. Ref, 3d6+3 fire damage).  The goblins do not hold the area on the other side of the hole.

The goblins are afraid of the drakes, and the drakes will attack them if they get the chance (they're not discriminating).

If alerted to danger, two of the goblin sharpshooters will leave with the last one stuck in the room with the drakes.

9. Jail/Torture Room (XP 250)
This room contains a number of torture devices - hot pockers, a rack, and iron maiden, etc.  There is a desk against the wall and a bed next to it.  A small chest is on the desk.

DM's notes: The goblins put their prisoners here.  They've captured one of Kelson's River Rats, a despicable man named Ral.  A goblin hexer torments the man with foul goblin curses and laughs at his pain.  A goblin blackblade watches the pointless torture with glee.

Ral has a vague idea of how many goblins lurk down here, that they have a number of drakes, and they're commanded by a drunk hobgoblin.

A secret door leads to area 3.

Treasure: The goblin blackblade has some bloodstinger poison.  The goblin hexer has 25gp and locked (DC 20) in his chest are arcane reagents worth 90gp.


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 30, 2009)

*Tombwood Crypts - Level 1*

Here's the first level of the Tombwood Crypts.  Back in the day people used to bury their dead here and worship all different sorts of gods.  Why they did it underground I have no idea, but I had no clue what else should go in here.

I also didn't describe the rooms in detail.  Oh well, it's not that big a deal.

This dungeon has 17 rooms, so the flowchart is probably necessary to make sense of it all.


```
key: $ : secret door
     # : walled doorway
     > : archway
     + : door
     - : corridor
     = : level change
						    10. old priest's tomb +----------------------
							^			+		+
							|		    9. sanctuary + 12. new priest's tomb
							v			+		|
						|-> 6. new crypt	 --------		|
						|                        |			|
						|-> 5. dark mass +-------|			|
						|                        |			|
Tombwood -> 1. entrance ------+ 3. major crypt -|-+ 8. haruspex fane +---|			|
		|			|	|	+					v
		+			+	|	------------------+ 11. vault +--- 13. rough cave -> cave in -= BARROW MOUND
	    2. communal area -> 7. mosaic room 	|						^
					|	|-+ 4. funeral hall $= LVL 2			|
					|	v						|
					----------------------------> 17. unfinished tomb	|
					|				^
					|				v			|
					----------------------------> 15. hall of gruumsh +------
									  		    $
											    =
											  LVL 3
```

*TOMBWOOD CRYPTS - LEVEL 1*

Overview: the first level of the Tombwood Crypts holds the majority of Fallcrest's dead over the centuries.  It was looted and despoiled by the Bloodspear Orcs during the sack of Fallcrest.  As a result, undead mill about the area, though rarely do they leave their resting place.

Wandering Monsters: The dead rest uneasily and wander about.  Each short rest or when a room is searched, make a roll (1d6); a 1 indicates an encounter.  Roll on the following table to determine the nature of the encounter.

Roll
1	Skeletons - 3 skeletons, 2 decrepit skeletons
2	Zombies - corruption corpse, 2 zombies, 2 zombie rotters
3	More skeletons
4	More zombies
5	Goblins - 3 goblin warriors, 2 goblin lurkers, running for their lives!
6	Wights - 2 wights, 1 deathlock wight

_[editor's note: what would be cool... a lvl 6-7 encounter where the PCs team up with the gobbos... 
that would look something like... 2 4th-lvl encs, one coming from each side:
2 skeletons, 4 rotters, 1 deathlock wights, 1 corruption corpse; 1 mad wraith, 3 zombies, 12 rotters
will that work in 4E, though? bah - cool idea, no good for a random encounter]_

(Optional) Zombie Hordes: If you want to give the game a more zombie-movie like feel, roll once every time the PCs make noise.  This includes every round in combat and any time they force open a door or something to that effect (to be quiet, they must succeed at a DC 11 Stealth check).  If you get a wandering monster, make it any mix of zombies or skeletons with an XP budget of 500.​
1. Stairs Up.
These stairs are covered in a grimy filth.

At the bottom of the stairs there is a stout stone door in the north wall.  A corridor heads south for 40' from the stairs.  In the western wall at the end of the corridor is an archway.

DM's notes: The filth is cave slime; characters who enter these squares must succeed at a DC 10 Acrobatics check or fall down the stair (1d10 damage).  Characters can identify it with a DC 15 nature check.  It burns easily, though the stench may alter wandering monsters (1 on 1d6).

The stone door leads to area 2.  It is stuck; Athletics DC 15/Theivery DC 20 to open.  If either roll is failed, roll for wandering monsters as the noise attracts attention.​
2. Communal Area
-shrine to place candles on
-old bronze tubs to wash up in
-bone shards scattered all around
-exits to 1, 3, and 7?

DM's notes: This room is empty.  If the shrine is re-consecrated (treat as a Gentle Repose ritual, making wandering monster checks every 5 minutes), it will create a radiant field that gives undead a -2 penalty to attack rolls.  Award the PCs a level 1 minor quest if they re-consecrate the shrine.​
3. Major Crypt (XP 250+)
-tons of bodies buried in the floor
-pillars holding up the vaulted chamber
-skeletons in heaps on the ground
-5 exits: to 1, 4, 5, 6, 7

DM's notes: The dead do not rest easily here.  If any character - including undead - go over certain squares, skeletons and zombies will spring to un-life and attack anything living.  PCs can spot these squares with a DC 15 check: the stone slabs that cover the resting places are loose.

4 decrepit skeletons and 2 zombies are already wandering about the room.  They will spot the PCs unless they succeed at a DC 18 Stealth check (and they must keep behind the pillars).  If they fail, place the PCs near one of the pillars and roll initiative.

Optional Resolution: You can draw out the battlemap for this room and roll initiative.  Each PC must remain hidden.  Skeletons spot if the PC fails a DC 12 check, zombies on DC 10.  If one spots a PC he will attack or head toward that square, and others will on their turns as well; otherwise, skeletons move 1d6 squares in a random direction and zombies move 1d4.​
4. Funeral Hall
-funerals were held here
-altar
-old rotted pews
-leads to 3

DM's notes: Empty room.  If the altar is re-consecrated (this time requiring a DC 25 Religion check and a Gentle Repose ritual), any creature who is lain on the altar and given final rites is considered to have the Gentle Repose ritual cast upon it without any expenditure of sanctified incense.  Award a level 1 minor quest reward.

A secret trap door under the rotting pews (Perception DC 20, only detectable if searched) leads to the second level of the crypts.

An inscription in common is on the altar but it has been scratched out.  A Make Whole ritual will restore it; it says, "Bring Peace to the Beloved Departed".  This simple prayer is required to open the secret door in the Sanctuary (area 9.).​
5. Hall of Bones/Dark Mass (XP 900)
-2 one way doors to/from area 3
-large vaulted chamber
-filled with bonework
-not damaged much at all
-stairs at the western end lead to an altar raised on a dais
-stained-glass window backlit with unearthly purple glow
-door hidden in an alcove leads to areas 8 + 9







DM's notes: A mad wraith floats at the altar, babbling an insane sermon to an audience of 2 zombies, 2 skeletons, and 4 decrepit skeletons.  The wraith will notice PCs unless they succeed at a DC 17 Stealth check.

Treasure: Hidden in a secret panel in the altar (Perception DC 15) is 276 gp, 89 sp, 70 cp, the last collection.​
6. New Crypt (XP 500)
-room was once walled off, but the brick has been clawed through
-more bodies buried in the floor
-leads to area 10

DM's Notes: A ghoul and 2 skeletons lurk here.  The orcs walled off three soldiers whom they discovered hiding in the crypts and left them to die.  One of them ate the other two and when he died he turned into a ghoul.  He clawed his way through the wall and now roams around the crypt with his friends.

The ghoul initially attempts to talk, ordering his two men to hold back; as the conversation goes on he gets hungrier and hungrier until he attacks.  PCs can keep him from attacking with a DC 20 Diplomacy check.  If they do this, award them with a level 1 minor quest reward along with the XP for defeating them!  (Don't award XP for defeating him a second time, though.)​
7. Mosaic Room (XP 200/0)
-number of mosaics on the ground
-most destroyed
-some still glow with an inner light
-leads to area 2, 17, & 15

DM's notes: The mosaic has been possessed by a poltergeist, the spirit of the artisan who created the mosaics in this room.  It will attack with vicious anger in a swirl of porcelain shards.  It will not attack anyone of the squares where the mosaic has been left untouched.

Characters who make a DC 15 Religion check will realize that the poltergeist will reform shortly after being destroyed.  The only way to destroy the poltergeist is to fix the tiles; making use of the Make Whole ritual will repair 4 squares.  There are a total of 16 squares that need to be repaired; each quarter repaired reduces the number of hit points of the poltergeist by the same ratio.

Award the PCs with a level 1 minor quest if they put the poltergeist to rest.

Mosaic Poltergeist: lvl 1 elite artillery (XP 200/0 if encountered a second time)
Init +1; Per +1 (darkvision)
Whirling Tiles Aura 1; 2 damage, difficult terrain
HP 56/28; AC 15, F 16, R 13, W 15
resist necrotic 5; vulnerable radiant 5
AP 2; SV +5
Spd 6, fly 8 (hover)
 tile smash; +8 v AC; 1d6+3 and prone.
 whirlwind; close burst 3; recharge 5, 6; +6 v F; 1d6+3, push 3.
 spout of tiles; ranged 10; +6 v R; 1d10+3 and difficult terrain in square.
tile dust; when hit by a melee attack; encounter; +6 v F; 1d6+3, blind (sv).
more tile dust; when first bloodied; encounter; use animate tiles again.
S +3 C +3 D +1 I -2 W +1 C -2​
8. Haruspex's Fane (XP 665)
-hole in the ground belches fumes
-smoky
-hot fire burns in hole
-leads to 3, 5, 9, and 11

DM's notes: The entire room is covered in fumes, granting concealment.  Near the hole, the fumes grant total concealment and a mind-numbing sensation.  If a character is in the cloud of fumes on the beginning of his turn, make an attack: poison; +4 v Fort; -2 to attacks (save ends).  First failed save: dazed (save ends).  Second failed save: unconcious (save ends).  Fire damage burns away the cloud for 1 round, negating concealment.

The corpses of the 8 haruspices lurk here, reanimated as zombies.  One is a corruption corpse, 2 are zombies, and 5 are zombie rotters.  PCs must succeed on a DC 19 Stealth check or the zombies will notice them.  They will press the PCs: "Haruspex: What do you see?" and hold their guts up to them.  PCs will know that this is an ancient form of divination if they succeed on a DC 15 Religion check.

If the PCs stutter and stammer - or rather, if the players do - the corruption corpse will cry, "The entrails portend fell times!" and throws his liver at the PCs, gaining a single surprise action.  He is smart enough to use the cloud as cover, moving in and out of it.

If the PCs make a "prophecy", have them make an attack against all zombies, even those that they cannot see: roll Int (+2 if Trained in Religion) vs. Will; on a hit, the zombie is stunned (save ends).  The zombie considers the prophecy and takes no actions.  Add a +2 bonus if animal guts are used.  They can take continue to do this as standard actions during the combat.

1 of the zombies and 2 of the rotters are hidden in the cloud.  They will attack on their turn as normal, though by this time they may have surrounded PCs going after the corruption corpse.

The hole links to the Elemental Chaos, a bit of it trapped in the world.  Characters who fall into it take falling damage (1d10).  If the fumes are collected and refined (a long process, taking 12 hours and proper tools and a DC 15 check), they can gather 1d6gp worth of mystic herbs or sanctified incense.  PCs may use this as a steady income flow, though they'll need to hire someone at a rate of 2gp/day.​
9. Sanctuary
-Vaulted chamber
-Torn apart
-leads to 5, 8, 10, 12
-empty

DM's notes: A DC 15 Religion check will reveal that this was the sanctuary of those who held service for the dead.

Treasure: A secret door opens up into a small (10x10) chamber in the wall; the secret door can be noticed with a DC 20 Perception check, and requires a simple prayer to open: "Bring Peace to our Beloved Departed".  PCs may know this with a DC 25 Religion check.  Within the chamber is a skeleton resting peacefully, wearing a suit of frozen plate armour +1.​
10. Old Priest's Tomb (XP 850)
-large room, 60x60
-leads to 6, 9, 12
-symbols on the ground
-body in the corner, shining dagger in his chest
-stench of death
-stones capping graves in the ground

DM's notes: The symbols are symbols of an Orcus cult, the Ashen Covenant, the one active in the Cairngorms.  A Religion check (DC 10) will reveal the symbol as that of Orcus; DC 20 reveals it as the symbol of the Ashen Covenant.  It has been placed here within the past few weeks.

In the corner, an Ashgaunt is playing possum; PCs can see through his bluff with a DC 18 Insight check.  He uses a winged dagger +1 to draw the attention of curious treasure-hunters.  If he is approached, he attacks, and 3 zombies and 1 corruption corpse rise and attack.  The zombies rise from loose graves; their location can be noticed with a DC 15 Perception check (and that the stink in the room is coming from one of them).

The Ashgaunt is intelligent and will bargain for its (un-)life if it is sorely pressed.  It can trade information on the Ashen Covenant, though it's doubtful this will save him.

Ashgaunt: lvl 7 soldier (leader) XP 300
see The Ashen Covenant from WotC​
11. Vault
-Vaulted chamber
-Once held treasures
-empty

12. New Priest's Tomb (XP 500+)
-newer construction, showy, less stable
-lots of rubble on the ground
-only half of the graves are capped
-leads to 9, 10, 13

DM's notes: As the PCs cross through the middle of the room, a group of 4 zombies shambles forth after them from a random entrance.  If the PCs engage the zombies in the room, it may trigger a cave in (1-3 on 1d6).  Roll each round 

PCs can notice the chance of cave-in here with a DC 15 Dungeoneering check.

Cave-In: lvl 2 lurker (trap)
Init +4
Trigger: when strenuous activity occurs in the room
Attack: Standard rection; close burst 3; +5 v R; 2d6+3, miss 1/2; continues to attack for 1d4 rounds.
Countermeasures: DC 20 Dungeoneering to stabilize room; requires 3 successes; any failure triggers attack.​
13. Rough Cave
-leads to 11, 12, 14
-strange markings on wall

DM's notes: PCs who speak goblin can translate the markings: North: Gutwound Post.  East: Gutwound Lair.​
14. Wealthy Tomb
-leads to 13, 15
-looted

DM's notes: 2 wights and a deathlock wight lair here.  If alerted to the PC's actions by combat, they will follow them and strike when they are vulnerable.  PCs will spot them with a DC 14 Perception check.​ 
15. Hall of Gruumsh (XP 977)
-rough-hewn walls
-source of despoiling
-symbols of Gruumsh carved into cavern walls
-piles of skulls loaded before it

DM's notes: A secret door (DC 20) just north of the Hall leads to the third level of the Tombwood Crypts: The Gutwound Hobgoblin Lair.

This place pulses with the hatred of Gruumsh.  A curse is in effect: hatred overwhelms all living creatures in the area, compelling them to destroy the weak.  At the start of each character's turn, make an attack: affects living creatures only; +4 v W; target makes a basic melee attack against the nearest creature (roll randomly if more than one), charging if necessary.  This does not count against the character's actions for the round.  In addition, corporeal non-minion orcish undead rise again as decrepit skeletons if reduced to 0 hp.

A deathlock wight lairs here, stacking skulls before a large eye painted in blood and viscera on the wall.  When PCs come in, he attacks, calling 4 rotting orcish zombies, 2 skeletons, and 3 decrepit skeletons to "protect the eye!"

Characters who wish to disrupt the curse in some way (knocking the pile of skulls away, destroying the eye on the wall, saying holy rites) must succeed at a complexity 1, level 1 skill challenge.  Failure means that the curse has proven to be too powerful for them; all orcish undead gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls.  This will not give the dead peace, but it is worth a level 1 minor quest reward, and if you're using the zombie horde wandering monster option, stop it.

A spectre lurks in the cave, invisible at the start of combat.  It will not enter combat until it has a perfect strike set up.

Treasure: In the skulls, PCs can find 116 gp, 33 sp, 70 cp + 3 turqoise gems (100 gp each) and a sacrificial axe +2.​
16. Cave-In
-rope hangs down from Barrow Mound.
-strange writings on wall

DM's notes: Empty room.  Check out the Barrow Mound to see what the goblins will do if the rope is disturbed.

PCs can hear low growling if they make a DC 12 Perception check.  A character who succeeds in this check can make a Nature check (DC 17) to identify the sounds as guard drake growls.

Characters who speak goblin can make out a waymarker that says: Up: Gutwound Post.​
17. Unfinished Tomb
-hewn out of the earth
-empty


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 30, 2009)

*Fallcrest Catacombs, level 1*

Here's the first level of the catacombs.  It descends to level 8.  I figure I'm going to put about 5 encounters or so on each level, balanced for 5 PCs of that level.  Maybe more encounters if I get into it.

Level 2 also hooks up with level 6 and level 3 of the Tombwood Crypts (that's where the Gutwound Hobgoblins have holed up).



```
LVL 3 & LVL 4
							=
						7. long stair
			      FALLS			|
				=		6. rooster hideout
				|			[
				$			|
		    ------> 5. windy cave >--------------- twisting passages ---|
		    |								|
		    ^								|
Fallcrest -> 1. entrance -> 2. watchpoint ->--- 4. meetinghouse		8. guard post >-- 9. ??
				       v		$			|
				       |		|			=
				       ^		|		      LVL 2
				3. storeroom $----------|
```


*CATACOMBS*

Overview: The catacombs have been left mostly empty as Fallcrest guards will periodically clear out the area.  It sees most use by townspeople wishing to avoid the notice of the guards.

Wandering Monsters: Creatures from below sometimes wander up here, and people from Fallcrest can be found within.  Each time the PCs take a short rest or make an excess of noise, roll 1d6.  On a roll of 6 the PCs encounter a wandering monster.  Roll 1d6 to determine the nature of the encounter.

Roll
1	River Rats coming to drop off some loot and/or get drunk (3 human bandits, 1 elf archer).  XP: 500
2	Goblins probing the top levels of the Catacombs (2 blackblades, 2 warriors, 1 hexer).  XP: 550
3	Kobolds poking around for loot (1 fire beetle, 2 kobold slingers, 2 kobold skirmishers). XP: 500
4	River Rats dragging some corpses (1 human berserker, 3 bandits, 1 crossbowman). XP: 675
5	Raven Roost bandits (2 human bandits, 1 dark creeper, 1 gnome skulk, 1 gnome arcanist). XP: 700
6	Feral drake clutch (1 rage drake, 2 spitting drakes, 2 guard drakes). XP: 750

Human Crossbowman: lvl 2 artillery
Init +4; Per +1
HP 32/16; AC 14, F 14, R 15, W 12
 xbow smash; +7 v AC, 1d4.
 xbow; recharge with move; ranged 20; +9 v AC, 1d10+3.
 jagged bolt; encounter; ranged 20; +7 v Ref, 1d10+3 and slowed.
S +1 C +3 D +4 I +4 W +1 C +0

1. Entrance
-well-trod entrance
-remains of fires, some old, some new
-paintings and wall carvings
-leads to 2, 3

DM's notes: Some of the paths can be easily tracked - Perception DC 15 to track a group of 5 men heading north into area 2, and another set of tracks, some human, most not (DC 15 to identify - dark creeper, elf, and gnome) heading west to area 5.​
2. River Rat Watchpoint (XP 500)
This room is a large natural cave that has been slightly worked over.  The passage heading north ends in a 10' high ledge after 20 feet, and some rough stairs, carved from the natural stone, lead down.  The middle area of the room is about 60' north-south and 80' east-west, and dotted with stalagmites.  At the far side of the room, steep stairs lead up about 20' to another ledge.

The flicker of a campfire and the smells of cooking meat come from atop the southern ledge.

Empty graves line the walls.  The floor and walls are covered in paintings and carvings.

DM's notes: A group of bored River Rats hang out here, watching the entrance.  They are composed of 2 human crossbowmen and 2 human bandits.  They are making a lot of noise; PCs will hear them if they succeed at a DC 10 Perception check, and they can possibly gain surprise (Stealth DC 9).

The steep stairs count as difficult terrain.  The River Rats are sitting around a table playing cards.  They have a firepit going, with a sheep roasting on a spit, and a keg of cheap ale.  The stalagmites may be used for cover.

The River Rats will approach to the lip of the ledge, gaining cover to those below.  If necessary, they will overturn their table and use it for cover.  If someone appears ready to ascend the stairs, the bandits will get into flanking position and ready attacks.  If outmatched at range, one of the bandits will flee to area 5 and raise an alarm.

The River Rats do not raise hostilities; they will talk, telling the PCs "this is our turf, get lost unless you want a bolt through the brain".

PCs will be able to see a corridor heading south and a tunnel heading east.

Treasure: The bandits have about 20gp between them and 32 gp, 49 sp, 70 cp scattered on the table in bets.​
3. River Rat Storeroom
This cavern is filled with boxes, bags, barrels, crates, and furniture.  A tunnel heads west out of this room, and a small tunnel (about 3') heads north.

DM's notes: If the PCs search the area, they will turn up a number of corpses.  The River Rats plan to sell them to Orest Naerumar.

Treasure: All of it stolen, and all of it taking a long time to lug out, the PCs can fence off about 60gp worth of goods.​
4. River Rat Meetinghouse (XP 625)
-bricked walls, columns
-stone altar in centre, used as a table
-passage heading south, small crack in east wall heading east to 3

DM's notes: This is where Kelson conducts his secret meetings.  His underboss, a grim man named Otto, runs things for him here.  The River Rats hang out here, getting drunk, taking it easy.

There are 4 human rabble armed with slings, 1 human bandit, and 1 crossboman in addition to Otto in this room.  

Otto knows that Orest Naerumar buys the corpses, though no one else here does.  He has no idea what is done with them and doesn't really care.  He also knows that Sgt. Numina comes down here every now and then, but if you pay her off (at least 10gp) she'll look the other way.

Otto: lvl 2 elite artillery (leader)
Init +4; Per +3
HP 64/32; AC 16, F 14, R 17, W 16
 poisoned dagger; +9 v AC, 1d4+4 and +7 v F, 5 ongoing poison 1/enc.
 xbow; ranged 20; +9 v AC, 1d10+3.
rapid fire; make two xbow attacks.
 jagged bolt; encounter; ranged 20; +7 v Ref, 1d10+3 and slowed.
tumble; imm reaction; when missed with a melee attack; shift 3.
direct fire; minor; encounter; allies in 5 make free ranged attack at +2.
S +1 C +3 D +4 I +4 W +1 C +0
equipment: leather, crossbow, bloodstinger poison-coated blade.

Treasure: Otto has coated his dagger with bloodstinger poison, and have 257 gp, 24 sp, and 60 cp in a small steel lockbox hidden in a small crack in the wall (DC 20 to open and find).  Otto has the key.​
5. Windy Cave (525)
The air in this cave is damp and windy.  Stalactites drip water onto growing stalagmites.

A passage heads east to the entrance and north deeper into the catacombs.

DM's notes: Strong gusts of wind are generated from time to time in this cavern.  They tend to blow out light sources.  When the PCs advance to the middle of the cave, make an attack roll against whoever is holding the light (and only if it's a lantern or torch): +4 v R, light is extinguished (-1 atk if lantern).  It requires a standard action to relight a torch and two minor actions and a standard to relight a lantern.

When the lights go out, the 3 cavern chokers in this area attack.  PCs can spot them with a DC 20 Perception check.  They will retreat if there is light, slipping into narrow cracks in the walls.

PCs can notice a small tunnel heading west - the source of the wind and moisture - with a DC 18 Perception check.

Treasure: The cavern chokers have stolen 55 gp, 69 sp, 50 cp and have jammed it into a crevice (DC 15 to grab and to spot).​
6. Raven Roost Hideout (XP 875)
20' west off the main corridor is a wooden door of poor make.  Cracks in the door reveal portions of the room inside.

The room inside is quite large (40x40).  Crates, boxes, bins, etc. are stacked in here.  A table is near the far end of the room, and a curtained-off area blocks the far western wall from sight.

DM's notes: The door is stuck, requiring a DC 10 check to open and alerting the bandits on the other side.

2 dark creepers, gnome arcanist, gnome skulk, and 2 elf scouts from Raven Roost are here.  These bandits have come here to trade goods with Sandercot - as well as to spy on the other activities going on, especially those of the River Rats.  They suspect Orcus activity and want to destroy it in the name of the Raven Queen - the raids on the merchants are providing them with the resources.

PCs who peer through the door can see crates and other merchant goods and they can spy the elves and the gnomes telling stories to each other.  They must succeed at a DC 20 Stealth check to avoid being heard or spotted.  The dark creepers are praying in the dark to the Raven Queen.

Treasure: The stolen trade goods are worth 470gp, though it will be almost impossible to move them.  The bandits have 61 gp, 90 sp, 40 cp + 1 pearl (100 gp) and 150gp in arcane reagents and another 150gp in rare herbs.​
7. Long Stair
The tunnel ends in a long stair.  The air is noticeably colder here.

DM's notes: This stair descends to levels 3 and 4 of the Moonstone caverns.​
8. Gutwound Guard Post (XP 750)
-stairs lead to level 2
-some minor fortifications
-links to area 9

DM's notes: This is a watch point that the Gutwound hobgoblins have recently set up.  A goblin hexer commands 4 cutters, 2 sharpshooters, a skullcleaver and a warrior.​
Treasure: 79 gp, 24 sp, 20 cp.

9.  eh.

[editor's note: there could easily be a dealy-do that warns PCs of upcoming danger.  Otherwise I'll leave it empty.]


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 30, 2009)

*Lucky Gnome Taphouse*

*LUCKY GNOME TAPHOUSE*

Overview: See the DMG, pg 205.

The Lucky Gnome's sign is a well-done wood carving of a halfling performing lewd acts on a gnome.  The halfling is Kelson.

Random Harlots: Because PCs need something other than ale to spend their coin on.  They all work for Kelson.

Roll
1	Slovenly trull (has filth fever)
2	Brazen strumpet (she's pushy)
3	Cheap trollop (one-legged)
4	Saucy tart (cursed; has a heart of gold, literally)
5	Wanton wench (lewd serving girl)
6	Haughty courtesan (she doesn't waste time on the riff-raff)

Random Events: If the PCs just decide to drink away, make it exciting.

Roll
1	The emissary, Lord Artworthy Cunningham of the Knights of Nerath, comes in for a drink with his bodyguards & Lady Allende's handmaiden. (elite skirmisher 8 & elite human guard 5 (bodyguard))
2	A boisterous drunk spills his drinks all over a PC and challenges them to a fight.
3	Members of the porter's guild crash the place and start a fight.
4	Orest Naerumar sneaks in, in disguise, to talk to Kelson (Insight DC 23; otherwise they just see a cloaked man)
5	Sgt. Numina and a group of guards comes in and cracks down, looking for bribes.
6	A young orphan tries to pick the pocket of a random PC; Perception DC 15 or lose a small random item or coin.

If a fight breaks out, remind players that killing someone is going to get them exiled from Fallcrest.  Let them use improvised weapons and remind them that taking actions the rules don't cover is the best way to deal tons of damage and conditions.

Drunken brawler: lvl 1 brute
Init +0; Per -1
HP 36/18; AC 11, F 14, R 12, W 11
 drunken haymaker, +4 v AC, 1d10+3.  Characters reduced to 0 fall unconcious (end of encounter).
 chair, +2 v R, 1d6+3 and prone.
 uppercut, +2 v F, 1d10+3 and slowed (sv).  1st failed save: dazed.  2nd failed save: unconcious (end of encounter).
S +3 C +3 D +0 I -1 W -1 C -1

1. Common Room
When you want to get drunk, this is the place.  It's full of drunks carousing and trying to win the attention of lewd women. The food menu is posted above the bar using pictures so everyone can read.  Drink prices are marked on the kegs: swill: 1cp, pilsner: 5 cp, ale: 6cp, lucky gnome brew: 4cp.  Dwarven spirits and elf wine can also be purchased for 5sp per bottle.  They also have more exotic drinks, but you have to know someone to order them (eladrin frost wine, drow blood, shadow spirits, impish delight).  All of the exotic drinks cost 10gp per bottle.

DM's notes: The exotic drinks carry some side effects:  
-Eladrin frost wine, distilled from frozen vines in the Feywild.  Grants resist cold 5 and -2 attack for 6 hours.
-Drow blood, wine mixed with the blood of a sacrificed drow.  Grants darkvision and weakened for 6 hours.
-Shadow spirits, mixed with mushrooms from the Shadowfell.  Grants +2 to stealth checks and -2 to Int-based checks and attacks for 6 hours.
-Impish delight, wine mixed with imp stinger poison.  Grants the ability to speak Abyssal and -2 to Will defense for 6 hours.

The bartender, a smart and surly half-orc named Grug, works for Kelson.  He and his waitstaff (a wanton wench named Tylla) listens in on any conversation (DC 17 to keep it secret).

The haughty courtesan is an attractive woman named Tira.  She has a relationship with Kelson, a kind of love-hate thing.  She knows his secrets.

Four human rabble act as bouncers here.

Grug: lvl 4 controller
Init +4; Per +8 (low-light)
HP 58/29; AC 16, F 17, R 17, W 15
 grab, +8 v F, 1d6+4 and grabbed.  -5 to escape.
choke, grabbed targets only, 10 damage.
 fire breath, close blast 3, requires booze and flame, +8 v R, 1d6+4 fire and ongoing 5 fire.
 keg smash, requires keg, burst 1 within 5, recharge with move if adj to keg, 3d6+4, booze sprayed, prone.
booze sprayed, character gains vulnerability 5 fire (sv).
Perception +8, Streetwise +6
S +6 C +6 D +2 I +4 W +3 Ch +1​
2. Kitchen
Whatever they're cooking in here, it doesn't smell good.  A deep stove is in one wall and a pile of coal is next to it.  A foul brew bubbles in a cauldron over the stove.  Cupboards hold various goods.  An assortment of knives and sawing tools that look like they'd be more at home in a torture chamber hang from a rack above a bloody table.

DM's notes: The cook is a mad dwarf named Fargarson Vilebrew.  He was exiled from Hammerfast for making a sub-par batch of ale.

Fargarson Vilebrew: lvl 3 skirmisher
Init +3; Per +2 (low-light)
HP 50/25; AC 15, F 17, R 15, W 14
Resist poison 5
 meat cleaver, +8 v AC, 1d8+3 and ongoing poison 2 (sv).
 vile stew, +6 v R, 1d6+3 and 5 fire.
Bloody meat charge, requires raw meat, Fargarson takes a bite of raw meat and makes a charge attack, dealing an extra 1d6 damage.  He can move through enemy's spaces but can't end in an occupied space.
S +5 C +5  D +1 I +3 W +2 Ch +0
equip: filthy cleaver, small pot of stew, ladle, bloody apron​
3. Converted Stables
The stables has been converted into a number of cheap rooms, available for 1sp a night.

4. Upstairs
This area curls around an open space, looking down on the taproom.  A sturdy railing is decorated with trophy heads - goblins, orcs, and even a troll.  A table is pushed into an alcove at the top of the stairs.  There are four rooms up here.  They run for 2sp a night.

DM's notes: An elf scout and a halfling slinger spend most of their time here playing card games.  PCs can join in with a DC 15 Intimidate or Streetwise check or a DC 20 Diplomacy check.  They have a total of 122gp; if the PCs take it, they will let Grug know that the PCs can't leave without losing it all.​
5. Kelson's Room
This large room overlooks the lower quays.  The room is actually quite nice and tidy.  The bedroom area is separated from the rest of the room by a screen.  The bedroom niche has a king-sized bed in one corner, a halfling-sized mirror, a small closet, and a trunk at the foot of the bed.  There are two small chairs in the room, a large oak desk facing the window, and a tapestry hanging on the wall.

DM's notes: Kelson spends most of his time here (75%).  He rarely sleeps (only 20% chance at night), but when he does, Tira is usually with him (60%).

Kelson runs the River Rats from his room in the Lucky Gnome.  He's grown quite wealthy.  

Treasure: Kelson has a pair of goblin stompers, a lightning dagger +1, and a cloak of distortion.  He has 1000gp locked in a combination safe hidden behind a false panel in the wall (Perception DC 20, Thievery DC 23).  A journal with a list of bribes to Sgt. Numina, a list of transactions with Orest Naerumar, and something on Faren Markelhay is also here.  Only Kelson knows the combination to the safe.

[editor's note: what does he have on the Lord Warden?]

Kelson: lvl 5 elite skirmisher
Init +8; Per +9
HP 120/60; AC 21, F 20, R 21, W 16
AP 1; SV +2
 dagger, +11 v AC, 1d4+4 lightning.
 dagger, +10 v AC, 1d4+3.
 riposte strike, +11 v AC, 1d4+7 lightning, if target atks Kelson before start of next turn, make an atk: +10 v AC, 1d4+6 lightning.
 tortuous strike, encounter, +11 v AC, 2d4+10 lightning.
 deep cut, encounter, +11 v F, 2d4+7, ongoing 8.
tumble, move, shift 3.
sneak attack, +2d8+3 once per round with CA.
second chance, encounter, force reroll.
lightning weapon, encounter, on a dagger hit, the target and each enemy in burst 2 take 1d6 lightning.
goblin stompers, encounter, immediate reaction, when missed with melee attack, shift 1.
cloak of distortion, ranged attacks more than 5 away take a -5 penalty.
Athletics +10, Intimidate +8, Stealth +11, Streetwise +8, Thievery +13
S +5 C +3 D +6 I +2 W +2 Ch +3

[editor's note: should I spice him up, or just leave him as a PHB badass?]​
6. Cellar
Kegs, bins, and barrels line the walls here.  A door leads into a cold pantry full of meat on hooks and another leads into a pantry with preserved food.

DM's notes: There is a secret door through one of the kegs (Perception DC 20).  It leads into the sewers.  It runs about 500 feet to the cistern.  There are a number of other exits, though these are blocked off with grates (Athletics DC 22 to bend bars/lift grates or a short rest to cut through).  The sewer is small, giving any medium or larger-sized creature a -2 penalty to atks, AC, and Ref.​


----------



## LostSoul (May 2, 2009)

*Watcher's Hill*

Here is a "lair" - something that I don't know if I'd map up.  (The lower levels would be a proper dungeon.)

*Watcher's Hill*

An old fort (think Weathertop), built during the Bloodspear War to protect Winterhaven's flank and keep the road open.  Destroyed by the Bloodspear orcs after a long siege, it has lain empty for a hundred years.  Local legend has it that Watcher's Hill is haunted, patrolled by the restless spirits of those who fell during the Bloodspear War.  Strange lights have been seen on dark nights and during the full moon, and it is eerily quiet - no birds sing their songs nearby, no crickets chirp, no wolves howl on that haunted tor.

DM's Notes: In truth, Watcher's Hill is not haunted.  Bandits use the fort to spy on nearby Winterhaven and their torches are the lights the locals have seen.  A Gelatinous Cube lairs here, devouring anything that comes near (hence the absence of animals and insects); the bandits are aware of it and avoid it.

Watcher's Hill was built on the site of an ancient Bael Turathian Warlock's tower, abandonded during the war with Arkhosia.  A demon still waits to be released, helpless, in a summoning circle in the secret chambers beneath the hill.  

The Bael Turothian chambers are sealed beyond a black, runed-covered door; behind this lies a small chamber (10x10) with a portal circle inscribed into the stone floor and similar runes carved into the wall.  Only one rune is missing from the portal; replacing it with one of the wall-runes will activate the teleport circle (cost for components: 50 gp for powdered silver or similar), sending the PCs to another level.  Which level can only be determined through exploration or a DC 31 Arcana check.

Within these ancient chambers the PCs may find maps, etc. of nearby areas, including Gardmore Abbey, portal runes that will transport the PCs across the world (and to Vor Kragal), and ley-line information.

This Tiefling Star Pact Warlock - Sargon of Yeth - was a master of portals and came to his end of the world (Nimrud in the ancient tongue) to study them.  He created the Shadow Rift and opened a portal (closing it before he left) to the Abyss.  He created the portal that leads to the Death Knight in the Cairngorms, closing that one as well.

Valthrun the Wise has a book of his ("The Blessings of Khirad") and, if the PCs ask him about the strange markings and inscriptions in Watcher's Hill (History DC 15 to identify them as ancient Bael Turathian, DC 30 to identify them and Sargon of Yeth), he will recall the information in Sargon's codex and tell them about it.  It is a long and rambling treatise about the Far Realm and its "glory".  By reading it and making a DC 19 Arcana check, the Linked Portal ritual can be learned - though only at great strain; the reader gains a temporary insanity (treat as a disease) on success or failure of the roll.  The reader also gains a +5 bonus on Arcana checks to bypass wards set by Sargon.  It sells for 1800gp.​


----------



## LostSoul (May 3, 2009)

*Catacombs, level 2*

This area isn't finished yet, but I like how it's turning out.

*CATACOMBS LEVEL 2 *

Overview: This area is divided up into two sections, an east and west side.  The western area has been taken over by the Gutwound Hobgoblins who lair on level 3 of the Tombwood Crypts.  The eastern side is the lair of a group of desperate kobolds from the Cloak Wood, who, after an unsuccessful raid on a well-defended caravan, found a tunnel leading here.  They've tamed a clutch of drakes.

Wandering Monsters: Monsters wander in from above and below.  Each time the PCs take a short rest or make an excess of noise, roll 1d6.  On a roll of 6 the PCs encounter a wandering monster.  Roll 1d6 to determine the nature of the encounter.

Roll
1	Goblins scouting (1 blackblade, 2 sharpshooters, 3 warriors).  XP: 650
2	Kobolds taking their drakes for a walk (1 dragonshield, 2 guard drakes, 2 slingers, 1 skirmisher).  XP: 675
3	Goblins and kobolds coming from both directions (4 cutters, 1 sharpshooter, 1 hexer, 4 minions, 1 slinger, 1 wyrmpriest). XP: 700
4	lvl 3
5	lvl 3
6	A gnoll huntmaster, his slave gladiator Bargus, and 4 hyenas have come here looking for slaves. (XP 950)

Bargus: lvl 2 elite skirmisher
Init +5; Per +3
HP 82/41; AC 18, F 17, R 16, W 14
 trident stab, reach 2, +7 v AC, 1d8+3 and grabbed.  Cannot attack unless grabbed target is released.
Trident twist, minor, +5 v F, grabbed target only, 1d6+3 and prone.
 net, recharges when net is picked up, area burst 1 within 3, +5 v R and restrained.
 gladiator's riposte, immediate reaction, when missed with a melee attack, requires trident, +7 v AC, 1d6+3, prone, Bargus shifts 1.
Cheer of the crowd, immediate reaction, when first bloodied and within LoS of 2 allies, encounter, Bargus gains +2 to atk and dmg.
Bloodcut armour, minior, when bloodied, encounter, gain resist all 10 until end of next turn.
Skills athletics +9, acrobatics +8.
S +4 C +4 D +3 I +1 W +3 C +3 
Equip: trident, net, gladiator's armour (bloodcut hide)

Bargus is a 25-year old man from Winterhaven, captured as a slave some 10 years ago.  His will is broken but he might leave his gnoll master if the fight turns poorly for him.​

1. Entrance
The stairs descend into a corridor stretching east and west.  Dim light comes from the western corridor.

DM's notes: The PCs may notice yaps and screeches of the drakes in area 3 with a DC 20 Perception check.  If a character succeeds at this check, the same character may make a DC 15 Nature check to identify the noises as drakes.​
2. Gutwound Guard Post (XP 700)
This room, some 40x60 wide, has a wide open pit (30x20, 10 deep) in the middle of the room.  Sharp wooden spikes lie at the bottom.  A ledge winds its way around the pit on both sides.  The walls are lined with empty niches, once used to hold the dead.  

Torches light the area.  The western end of the room has a low makeshift wall, about 4' high.  It is constructed out of bones, wood, and debris.

There are two exits, a corridor going east in the eastern wall and another headed north in the western wall.

DM's notes: The Gutwound hobgoblins have created this guard post to keep out the drakes in the eastern edge (and worse from below!) until they fortified their position.  Recently the drakes were tamed by a group of kobolds and this has caused the hobgoblin who commands the guard post to become exceptionally cautious to the point of paranoia.  His troops have low morale (even for goblins!) as he killed a goblin blackblade whom he believed to be a kobold shapeshifter.

The hobgoblin commander is a hobgoblin archer; his troops are 2 goblin sharpshooters and 2 goblin warriors.

The pit has spikes at the bottom (atk: +4 v Ref, 1d6 dmg), and they have set up 3 sledgehammer traps in the middle of the ledge that leads around the pit.

Sledgehammer: lvl 2 minion (trap)
Per/Dungeoneering: 
DC 15: There is a sledgehammer in the niches in the ledge around the pit.
DC 20: A nearly invisible wire 3' off the ground will trigger the sledgehammer.
Trigger:
When a character enters the trapped squares.
 immediate reaction, encounter, +4 v R, 3d6+3 damage and push 1.
Countermeasures:
Avoiding the tripwire requires a DC 15 acrobatics check or a move action.
Cutting the tripwire requires a DC 20 check.  Failure: the trap triggers.​
3. Kobold Guard Post (XP 675)
This room (40x50) slopes up 25' to a 10x50 ledge at the eastern end.  A 5' wide walkway runs around the room; 15' and 30' away from the western entrance, 5x5 columns jut out from the northern and southern ledges into the room.

The room is dark.

DM's notes: The 8 squares in the middle of the slope have been covered with a grease rendered from animal fats, placed here by the kobold trapmaster.  It is considered difficult terrain and characters who enter these squares must make an acrobatics check (DC 15) or slip and fall prone, tumbling to the bottom of the slope, and ending their move.  Any fire damage done to the greased squares results in ignition; the square burns for the rest of the encounter, dealing 5 points of fire damage to any character who enters or begins their turn there.  Fire spreads at a rate of 1 square per round in all directions (but only on greased squares).  A character can see the grease with a DC 15 Per check.

2 kobold slingers lie down flat on the top of the southernmost columns, hiding there (Per DC 22).  At the top of the slope, 2 kobold dragonshields, just barely in sight from the bottom of the slope (Per DC 20), hold onto a needlefang drake swarm (!).  In addition, they have a long (20') spiked log that they can release with a standard action - on this action the log will roll down the hill, making an attack against any character whose space it passes through: +4 v R, 3d6+3 damage, prone.  A character who wishes to block it can do so, though he will take maximum damage (21) and make an attack: +6 v F, prone.  Ask the players what their characters do as the log rolls down the slope.​
4. Goblin Lair (XP 850)
The main corridor runs 20' to the west.  At the end of the corridor is a wooden door.  Beyond the door, squabbling voices can be heard.

The room is some 50x50 feet.  A curtain cuts off a 20x10' area of the southwestern corner.  Three fire pits hold disgusting stews.  10 straw matresses covered in fleas are spread around the room.  Boxes and barrels are strewn about the room.  There is a corridor leading south about 30' from the door in the southern wall.

A stairway leads up in the western wall.

DM's notes: The voices are goblin, and they are squabbling about all sorts of things.

6 goblin cutters, 2 sharpshooters, 2 warriors, 1 blackblade, and a hobgoblin lasher are here.  The lasher and the sharpshooters are behind the curtained area, while the minions and the warriors are spread about the room.  The blackblade is in the corridor, which leads to a latrine.

A bed, desk, and chest are beyond the curtain.

If stew is dumped into the fire, it will create concealment for 1 round in a burst 1 area, as well as a horrible stench: +4 v F, -2 atk (sv).  The same effect occurs if a straw mattress is burned, though this zone lasts until the end of the encounter.

[editor's note: It might be simpler to just add an extra -2 to atk if someone's in the area of effect; however, making an attack means that there's slightly more tactical space to maneuver in.  Is it worth it?  I don't know.]

Hobgoblin lasher: lvl 3 controller (leader)
Init +2; Per +2 (low-light)
HP 49/24; AC 17, F 16, R 14, W 14
 poignard, +7 v AC, 1d4+4.
 black lash, ranged 3, +8 v AC, 1d6+4 and -2 atk (sv).
 wild lash, close blast 2, +7 v F, 1d6+4.
 trip, ranged 3, +7 v F, 1d6+4 and prone.  Miss: lasher falls prone.
 He who bears the lash and drives us ever on, minor, all allies within 3, 5 damage and +4 atk and dmg until end of next turn.
S +4 C +4 D +2 I +1 W +2 Ch +0
Equip: lash, dagger, chain.

Treasure: 105 gp, 31 sp, 70 cp in a locked chest (DC 20) behind the curtain.  The lasher has the key.​


----------



## LostSoul (May 13, 2009)

5. Maglubiyet's Shrine (XP 675)
The main corridor running south turns to the west, where runs for about 10' before it ends in a wooden door.  A pair of glowing red eyes has been painted on the door recently by someone of obvious talent.

This chamber is some 40x40 in area.  A crude shrine, a large stone covered with a black cloth, dominates the western end of the room.  The black cloth is bloodstained, and on it rest a dozen skulls.  Two sticks of incense, releasing a nauseating odour, burn in the eye sockets of the skulls.  The walls are covered in crude drawings of a goblin with glowing black eyes slaughtering elves and dwarves with a battle axe; the floor has a well-done, half-finished painting of the same goblin's head.

Two passages lead out of the room, one in the north wall and one in the south.  Both are covered by black curtains.  A wooden cage, 10x10 in area, is in the southwestern corner of the room.

DM's notes: Identifying the pair of eyes on the door as the symbol of Maglubiyet is a DC 15 Religion check.  Characters who succeed at a DC 20 Religion check recall the rites of Maglubiyet - the sacrifice of a beating heart each new moon.

Four goblin cutters and a warrior are in the room, taunting the prisoners and worshipping at the shrine.

The passages lead to 20x20 bedrooms.  A goblin underboss uses the north one and a goblin hexer (son of Maglubiyet) uses the southern.  These two goblins hate each other and struggle against each other for dominance over the goblins in the Gutwound tribe, their hatred kept in check only by the stern warnings of their hobgoblin masters.

The incense in the room applies a -2 penalty to attacks (poison).  It can be extinguished easily.

If the PCs enter this chamber before the first new moon, they will find Darmon the painter and his fiancee in the cage.  They are to be sacrificed.  If before the second, they will only find Darmon.  Darmon painted the eyes on the door and is in the process of painting murals on the floor and walls.  (One can only imagine what he uses as paints!)

Characters who search the room can notice a small crack underneath the altar with a DC 20 Peception check.  If the altar is moved, PCs will find a set of blood-caked stairs leading to area 6.

Treasure: The goblin hexer has a mummified heart hanging on a tarnished silver chain (30gp) around his neck.  The underboss wears small-sized black iron scale +1 (resist 5 fire, necrotic).​
6. Hidden chamber
The stairs lead down to a small room.  An archway leads to a set of descending stairs.  Carved into the archway are ancient runes.  The ones in common read: "Take care, seeker, lest ye wake the doom of Sarnath."

DM's notes: The stairs lead to level 3 of the catacombs.​
7. Drake Warren (XP 725)
This chamber (40x40) has a high, vaulted ceiling (20') held up by pillars.  Mounds of earth lie scattered around the room.  A large chandelier, held up by sturdy iron chains, hangs from the middle of the ceiling.

This room is well-lit from torches on the chandelier.

DM's notes: 2 spiretop drakes roost on the chandelier.  They, a guard drake, and two spitting drakes are looked after by a kobold skirmisher.

The chandelier covers 4 squares in the middle of the room.  If the chain holding the chandelier is released, it will plummet to the ground.  Make an attack: Dex v R, 3d8+3, ongoing fire 5 and restrained (sv).  Miss: 1/2 dmg.  The chain will launch anyone holding onto it 4 squares, which can be used as a move in any direction.  Distance travelled horizontally equals distance travelled vertically, so falling damage is a consideration.

A secret door constructed by the kobolds (DC 20) is in the eastern wall.  It leads to a corridor running east for 20', then turning north.  This corridor connects (by secret door) to areas 9 and 8.​
8 a. Trapped Hallway (XP 200)
The 10' wide hallway runs in all directions, coming to a 20x20 foot intersection.

DM's notes: This area has been trapped by the kobolds.

A pit trap, triggered to go off when approximately 4 medium-sized creature step on it, covers the entire intersection.  The pit is filled with oil.

There are springboard traps that line the areas bordering the pit.  They arm when the pit is triggered.

The pit trap also sets off an alarm, a loud clanging bell in the ceiling.  This alerts the kobolds in area 8 b.

If there is a fight in the hall, kobold minions will be commanded to trigger the pit (standard action).

Pit trap: lvl 1 lurker (XP 100)
Perception/Dungeoneering DC 15: The stones ahead are slightly discoloured.
DC 20 (search only): There is a pit trap here, covering the entire intersection.
DC 25 (search only): The pit will trigger if 4 people step onto it.
Trigger: When 4 medium-sized creatures enter the trapped spaces.
Attack:  immediate reaction, +4 v R, the character falls in the pit and takes 1d10 damage.  Miss: The target returns to the last square it occupied and ends its move action.
Effect: the false floor opens and the pit is no longer hidden.
Special: If the oil is lit on fire, it deals 5 fire damage to anyone standing in it.
Countermeasures: Disable Thievery DC 20.  Trigger DC 10.

Springboard trap: lvl 1 minion (XP 25)
Perception/Dungeoneering DC 15: The stones ahead are slightly discoloured.
DC 20 (search only): There is a springboard trap here.  It is not armed.
Trigger: After the pit is activated, any character who enters the square is attacked.
Attack:  +4 v F, the character is pushed 1.  The springboard is nearly flat to the wall; -5 penalty to save to avoid falling.  Characters who fall take 1d10 damage.
Effect: The springboard creates a short wall, providing cover.
Countermeasures: Disable Thievery DC 20.  Trigger DC 10.​
8 b. Kobold Lair (XP 650) 
This chamber is some 50x50 feet in area.  Sixteen straw, flea-ridden matresses line the first 20 feet of the room.  Rats and other vermin are being cooked over a large, 10x10 firepit in the middle of the room.  

In the middle of the southern wall is a small pool raised 2' off the ground.  It is filled with a bubbling, gooey tar, heated by coals underneath.  On the opposite side of the room is a large vat with a thick gluey substance.  In the northeastern corner of the room, there is sealed cauldron over a low fire.  This cauldron emits a horrid stench.

Scattered around the southeastern corner are all sorts of gears, widgets, serrated blades, spears, picks, and other trap making components.

DM's notes: A kobold spiker, 2 kobold slingers, and 8 kobold minions are here.

The trap gear can be used as an attack: if you push someone into it, make an attack as an immediate reaction, Str v R, 1d8 dmg.

The stinkpot brew, if tipped over, creates a horrid miasma:  Str -2 v R, blast 3, 3d6+3 fire, effect: -2 atk until the end of the encounter.  The firepot oven deals 5 fire ongoing fire damage to anyone who enters its space.  Globs of burning pitch can be thrown, though the attacker takes 10 fire damage:  ranged 5, Dex v R, 1d6+3 fire and ongoing 5 fire.  The gluepot mix can be dumped (blast 2); until the end of the encounter, characters entering those squares are immobilized (sv).

Burning matresses creates concealment in a burst 1 area until the end of the encounter.

A secret door constructed by the kobolds (DC 20) is in the eastern wall.  It leads to a corridor running east for 20', then turning north and south.  This corridor connects (by secret door) to areas 7 and 9.

Treasure: The kobolds have 86 sp, 20 cp in various bags.  The spiker has a moonstone (100 gp) on him.

Kobold Spiker: see Dragon 364​
9. Shaman's Room
This room (20x20) has two doors, one on the north wall and one on the south.  A small font made of stone sits in the middle of the room.  A gemstone can be seen in it.

DM's notes: Both doors are false, having been walled up by the kobolds.  There is a secret door at the east end of the room.  This leads to a corridor running 20' east, and from there the room to the north and the south can be accessed.  The corridor turns north, and a small crack in the wall leads to a long tunnel that eventually exits in the Moon Hills.  The north room belongs to Kobold Wyrmpriest, the south to a slyblade; both rooms are 20x20.

The kobolds have cut some arrow slits into the south wall (Perception DC 20 to notice, no search required).  They are closed off.

The water in the font is poison.  If someone grabs the gem, a trap triggers, and a spray of poison bursts up.  

Poison trap: lvl 1 lurker (XP 25)
Perception:
DC 15: The gem seems to be attached to something.
DC 20 (search only): The gem is attached to a trigger.
Trigger: Someone grabs the gem.
Attack,  close burst 1, +4 v R, 2d6+3 poison. 
Effect: A large stone block collapses to the ground, cutting off the western exit.  This noise alerts the slyblade and wyrmpriest.

Treasure: The slyblade has a medium-sized point-blank crossbow +1.  The wyrmpriest has 87 gp, 34 sp, 80 cp.  The gem in the font is worth 200 gp.​
10. Cursed Room (XP 25)
This room (30x30) is bare save for a single stone sarcophagus in the middle of the room.  A corridor leads to the west through an archway carved to resemble a demon's face.

DM's notes: If a character approaches to within 5' of the demon archway, a magic mouth with an ancient accent intones: Lo, for Sarnath was great and his doom was mighty.  A thousand souls were his, and serve him yet.  Enter the well and your soul shall be his."  Characters who succeed on a DC 22 Arcana/Perception check (no search required) will be aware that the demon mouth is slightly animate and has an Abyssal spirit of its own.

The sarcophagus is difficult to open, but if lifted by characters with Str scores totalling 36, it will open.  Once opened, a trap set by the kobolds is sprung, a cloud of poison gas released.  Burst 1, +6 v R, 2d6+3 damage.  Perception DC 20 to notice the trap, thievery DC 25 to disable it (failure sets it off).  XP 25.

The sarcophagus is empty save for a note written by the kobolds that says, "Suckers."  There are scratchings on the inside of the lid, however, insane ramblings scratched from the inside by tooth and nail.  If characters who spend time reading the writings succeed at a DC 22 Religion/Arcana check, they can discover an important passage: "And woe unto me for I spoke the name of the Chained God in the tongue of power and with great will did I command the creations of Sarnath; but I dare not say his name again, for my mind cannot take the strain."  A religion or arcana check (DC 15) indicates that PCs know that "tongues of power" probably refers to the Words of Power: Supernal and Abyssal.

Characters who know the name of the Chained God in Abyssal gain the following power:
Tharizdun
At-Will * Arcane, Fear, Psychic
Minor Action * Close burst 5
Target: One creature in burst
Attack: Charisma vs. Will
Hit: 1d4 + Charisma modifier psychic damage.
Effect: You are subject to a special attack roll: 1d20 + your level v W.  If this attack hits, you fall unconcious for 6 hours in a catatonic coma as horrid nightmares and alien visions plague your fragile conciousness.  Upon awakening you act as though you had just cast the ritual Consult Mystic Sages.
Special: If this power is used more than once in a one-month period, the character is stricken by insanity and is Helpless for a month.​
11. Well of Souls (XP 500)
The walls of this round room (30x30) are carved with disturbing images - of sacrifice, of dark alien gods, of a dark and evil man.

A 10x10 well is in the middle of the room.

DM's notes: Characters who make a DC 22 Perception check (no search required) notice that the mouth seems strange, almost as if it is alive.  It detects as magic.  When all characters have entered this room (the well determines this magically, with a Per check of +12), the demon-carved archway slams its mouth shut (+5 v R, 3d6+3, push 1 to anyone standing there).  

Shortly thereafter, the images start to come to life in a moving-picture, swirling around the walls.  Anyone in the room watches thousands sacrificed on a ziggurat by a man wearing ochre robes.  Their souls disappear down a dark well, similar to the one in this room.  Once this scene is played out, a great swirling eye appears over the well, and the eye speaks in Abyssal: "Come to me."

Characters in the room who are not blind or deaf are struck with an impulse to leap into the eye.  This is a trap.

Well of Souls: lvl 6 elite blaster trap (XP 500)
Trigger: One round after the eye appears or the demon mouth is attacked.
Init: +8
Arcana/Religion:
DC 22: The well has an Abyssal spirit of its own.
Attack:  burst 2, +9 v W, slide 3.  Characters who fall down the well descend a 40', upon which they are teleported into level 6, area xx.
Countermeasures:
Athletics DC 35: The character breaks through the demon mouth.
HP 80/40; AC 4, F 12, R 4, W 19
Religion/Arcana DC 26: The demon mouth can be commanded to open, provided one uses the proper command! ("Tharizdun" spoken in Abyssal)
Characters who deafen and blind themselves are immune to the attack.  Characters who do one of the two gain a +2 bonus to their defenses.

If the PCs are able to get out of the room, award them with 500 XP.​


----------



## LostSoul (May 13, 2009)

This area is hard to understand without the map.  It was designed to be tough to confront head-on but, with clever use of certain areas, excellent use of stealth, and discovery of some secret doors, PCs can manipulate the environment against the monsters.  Hopefully I succeeded at that.

*TOMBWOOD CRYPTS: LEVEL 3 (GUTWOUND LAIR)*

Overview: During the last winter, a group of hobgoblins nd their goblin slaves, unhappy with the leadership in Daggersburg, moved into this area.  Their leader, a powerful hobogoblin servant of Bane named Hargut, prowls the deeper areas - "the sunken city of Sarnath" - in search of lore and treasure that will make the Gutwound tribe powerful enough to sieze control of Daggersburg.

The present commander is a cowardly hobgoblin named Skarzgard.  He has an idea of what lurks in the Moonstone Caverns:

wererats in the cisterns;
undead in the tombwood crypts;
human bandits on the first level of the catacombs;
kobolds in the second level of the catacombs;
orcs, gnolls, spiders, ancient curses, and a dragon warped by chaos on the fourth level;
many portals
an inky-black fog that devours flesh and cannot be killed
gnolls, troglodytes, and worse in "the sunken city of Sarnath" (5 and down);
and rumours about some horrible creature in the lowest level.

Skarszgard is having his leadership challenged by Torguz, a hobgoblin warcaster.

Wandering Monsters: Monsters rarely wander into this lair, but the hobogoblins do patrol.  If the PCs are in the hobgoblin area, roll 1d4; otherwise, roll 1d6.

Roll
1	Gobbos heading out with supplies (2 sharpshooters, 2 warriors, 1 skullcleaver).  XP 600
2	Hobgob patrol (2 soldiers, 2 archers, 4 grunts).  XP 752
3	Hobgobs returning from assault (subcommander, 4 grunts, 1 soldier, 2 archers).  XP 750 
4	Bugbears strangler, lurking about (Per DC 24).  XP 250 
5	Undead (lvl 4)
6	Undead (lvl 5)



1. Grand Hall
This area is a large, vaulted hall, some 40' wide north-south and 100' long east-west.  The ceiling rises 50' on large, chipped pillars carved into the likeness of men.  Three of the eight pillars hold a lantern from an outstretched arm, each with a small gem that provides a dim, arcane light.  The centre avenue of the hall, 20' wide, is sunken 10' into the floor, and along its length are old, cracked mosaics.  A 5' wide ledge runs around the room, 40' off the ground.

A cold wind, eerily steady, comes from the west.  Dim light is visible to the east.

Mounds of stone lay at the base of the pillars without arms.  Bones can be seen protruding from one of the stacks.

The room has two exits: corridors running east and west.

DM's notes: This room is empty.  The western corridor leads to the second level of the catacombs, and the east to area 2.

There is a doorway in the northern wall up on the ledge; spotting this requires a DC 20 Perception check or at least 10' of elevation.  The doorway opens into a corridor that leads to area xx. 

Characters who wish to take the gems must make a DC 15 Climb check.  The pillars are weak and could break at any time; if a character pries the gem out of its socket, it collapses and crumbles, crashing to the ground.  Make an attack: +6 v R, fall 30' and the gem crashes to the ground and shatters.  Secondary attack, :burst: burst 1 at the base of the pillar, +5 v R, 3d6+3 and restrained.  Miss: 1/2 dmg.  The arms can be brought down with a successful attack dealing 5 damage or an Athletics check (DC 10).  Reward a PC who claims a gem with 38 XP if he manages to escape harm.

Falling stone will alert the hobgoblins at their watch area (area 5.) and provoke a wandering monster roll.

Treasure: The gems act as floating lanterns.​
2. Burial Chamber (XP 175)
-stairs in the north-eastern area, leading to a small raised area (10') and a corridor heading east
-corridor heading south
-many niches in walls
-half-eaten hobgoblins, lightning-burned corpses, bones, skeletons on floor
-corridor in southern wall heading south, dim light visible
-terrible cold in the room

DM's notes: A specter flits in and out of the niches, hiding there (Per DC 21).  If it is not seen, it will lurk after the PCs, attacking from behind when the opportunity is best.​
3. Gallery & Stage
-main gallery is 10' down
-10' stage to the east
-balconies 10' to the west
-north and southern exits both have stairs
-concealed door just after exits, DC 15, locked DC 20
-balcony leads to 4 via corridor with portcullis

3 a. Storeroom
-door
-dry goods of little importance
-door leads to back of stage and 3 b.

3 b. Guardroom (XP 750)
-cots
-firepit, stew
-door leads to 3 a. and corridor behind stage
-clean

DM's notes: Hobgoblins watch this point closely.  2 hobgoblin archers stand guard in the balconies.  2 soldiers and 4 grunts take 3 shifts, watching the gallery.  On a 1-2 on 1d6 2 grunts stand just east of the stage in the corridor linking 3 a. & b.; otherwise, 1 soldier and 1 grunt are on duty.  Their job is to hold off any attack until the rest of the complex is alerted (one of the off-duty guards will alert the rest; roll 1d4 to determine who).​
4 a. Torguz the Warcaster's Room (XP 150)
-locked door (DC 20)
-table, chest, desk, bed

DM's notes: The hobgoblin warcaster Torguz lives here.

A lever lowers the portcullis that leads to the balconies in area 3.

Treasure: Torguz has 158 gp, 16 sp, 40 cp + 1 amethyst (100 gp) locked in the chest (DC 20).​
4 b. Archer's Room (XP 300)
-two beds
-table
-longbows, arrows

DM's notes: 2 archers sleep here and must be woken before they can enter combat.  They will hear combat in the hall and wake, ready to fight in 1d6 rounds.​
5. Barracks (XP 750)
-vaulted ceiling, 30', held up by pillars
-16 beds
-sand pit for fighting
-large room, old temple
-cooking area in the south wing
-storeroom blocked by curtain in the north wing
-steps 10' to altar, blocked by curtain
-torture area by altar behind curtain
-door in north wall at far eastern end of altar area leads to 6

DM's notes: The bulk of the hobgoblins live here.  There are 2 archers, 2 soldiers, and 4 grunts in the main area.  A bugbear strangler is checking the torture equipment behind the curtain.  None of them are wearing armour, but they can be ready to fight in 1d6 rounds.

Treasure: All together, the hobgoblins have 225 gp, 54 sp, 80 cp.​
5 a. Skarzgard the Commander's Room (XP 200)
-bed, desk, table chest
-door leads to 6 and another to a walled-off corridor

DM's notes: Skarzgard, a hobgoblin commander, lives here.  He has a suit of lifegiving plate armour +1.​
6. Training Area (XP 450)
-ring for sparring
-wooden weapons
-archery targets
-combat dummies

DM's notes: 2 soldiers and 4 grunts are here, sparring.

Just north of here a set of stairs lead down to the second level of the catacombs.​
7. Hargut's Room
-table, desk, bed
-Prayer book to Bane
-Locked chest

DM's notes: This is Hargut's room.

Treasure: In the chest (DC 23) are 98 gp, 97 sp, 30 cp + 3 jade gems (100 gp each).

The prayer book has the rituals Hand of Fate, Discern Lies, and Speak With Dead.​
8. Unholy Shrine (XP 875+)
-50x80
-Well in middle drops 30' to 20x30 area
-Pillars hold up vaulted room
-Altar raised 10' in 20x30 area
-exits lead to 9, 10, and 7 (walled by hobgoblins)

DM's notes: A deathlock wight preaches madly at the shrine, babbling insanities to a group of 8 decrepit skeletons and 4 zombies.  The shrine provides a +4 bonus to attack rolls to all undead in the area, but it can be destroyed with a successful religion check (minor action, DC 21, on a failure the character loses a healing surge and one undead within 5 gains 1/4 hp, or rises if a minion).  Award the PCs with a level 4 minor quest reward if they destroy the shrine.

There is a chance that creatures from area 9. will hear any combat.  Each round roll 1d6; on a 1, an undead creature from area 9. will shamble in.

This area is dark.

The well area is packed with zombie rotters (16).  Any character who falls down the well suffers 3d10 damage and living creatures will be attacked by the zombies.  The zombie rotters do not leave the well area.  Characters can make attacks down the well, though it is dark.  Each 2 squares targetted has 1 zombie in it; only the square directly beneath the well can be targetted.

There is a secret door in the shrine area (DC 20, search only) that leads to area 12.​
9. Steps of the Damned (XP 751+)
-stairs rising to two 10' wide ledges, one above the other
-corridor to the well area (see area 8.)
-walls inscribed with insane writings and reliefs meant to lend "enlightenment" to those who climb
-leads to areas 2 and 8

DM's notes: Two corruption corpses and a rotwing zombie mill about on the top ledge.  A gravehound and 2 zombie rotters are on the lower ledge.

After the first round of combat, the 16 zombie rotters in the well area will begin to shamble out.  4 will appear at the end of the second round, 4 at the end of the third, and 8 at the end of the fourth.

Treasure: There are 4 moonstone gems embedded into the wall inscriptions (100 gp each); anyone who pries one loose is attacked by a curse: +7 v W, -2 atk vs undead until the next short rest.​
10. Chasm (XP 875)
-Two areas, 20x50, split by 20' wide chasm in middle of room
-Two statues flank each entrance
-20x30 chamber to the north of the western area
-Writings on the floor and a magic circle, one on both sides: "Embrace your end and submit."

DM's notes: The magic circle is a permanent portal, teleporting characters within from one side to the other if they submit to the will of the cirlce (no special prayer needed, just actual submission).  Characters can recall this if they succeed at a DC 15 Arcana or Religion check.

The statues are traps; they activate when characters pass beyond the magic circle or attack the statues.

A deathlock wight rests uneasily in the northern chamber.

Statue: lvl 4 blaster
Trigger: When attacked or a character passes beyond the magic circle
Attack:  ranged 8; +8 v W, slide 4; a character who falls into the chasm falls 40' and suffers 4d10 damage.  This attack does not draw OAs.  Characters in the chasm are unable to target the statues.
Countermeasures: HP 48; AC 16, F 17, R 4
Religion DC 21: Standard action, stuns statue until end of next turn.​
11. Ruined Shrine (XP )
-battlemap from KotS

DM's notes: A mad wraith babbles at the shrine, the old priest who sacrificed himself to the Chained God.  Two gravehounds flank him.  Two corruption corpses moan in the back rooms.

The wraith can draw on the energies of the shrine and...?​


----------



## aco175 (May 16, 2009)

This is realy great stuff.  You wouldn't happen to have it in a Word doc. would you?  This is mostly what I like to play, areas small enough to take a night or two of gaming and large enough to be interesting without being outlandish.


----------



## LostSoul (May 17, 2009)

aco175 said:


> This is realy great stuff. You wouldn't happen to have it in a Word doc. would you? This is mostly what I like to play, areas small enough to take a night or two of gaming and large enough to be interesting without being outlandish.




I do, actually. I think a .pdf might be better, so I'll attach it here.


----------



## aco175 (May 19, 2009)

very cool, thanks.


----------



## LostSoul (Aug 26, 2009)

This is the King's Road just south of Harkenwold.  It's about 150 miles of road through uncivilized lands to the Gate.

*THE SOUTHERN ROAD - BORDERLANDS (level 5)*

Background: 

After the Bloodspear War ended, the orc tribes the victors, they streamed like an arrow straight for the town of Port Khreth where they could build ships and raid up and down the coast.  They were stopped at the ancient Gate of Forlorn Hope in a massive battle with armies gathered from towns along the sea.  Their leader, the "Tiger of Slaughter", was killed and the humanoid bands fell upon each other in tribal warfare.  Now remnants of that once-great army raid and pillage the King's Road along the Nentir River Valley and the homesteads and villages eking out a desperate life.

The two orc tribes, the Bloody Moon and the Bloody Chains, are at war with each other.

The Bloody Moon: A tribe of orcs recently formed, led by a weretiger.  This weretiger has heard the legends of "The Tiger of Slaughter", who will one day return, and is trying to take up the mantle.  He is bringing together an army to lead into the Ogrefest Hills and take control of the tribes.

They have taken up residence in a network of limestone caves to the east side of the King's Road.

The champions of the Bloody Moon are infected with Moon Rage.  Their shaman has worked out a ritual to keep the disease from progressing.

Bloody Moon Champions are Level 5 Orc Berserkers with the following alterations:
HP 78/39
+1 all defenses
vulnerable silver 5
 claw, +9 vs. AC, 1d6+5 damage and the target contracts moon rage.
 bloody claws, the bloody claw champion makes two claw attacks.
Bloody Rage, free, encounter, when first bloodied, +5 damage until the end of the encounter (+10 to bloodied opponents!).
Blessed by the Moon, +1 to atk when fighting under a full moon.

184 orcs:
92 drudges
31 raiders
15 berserkers
6  shamans
10 artillery
13 champions
17 bloodragers
1  orc chieftan
1  orc eye of gruumsh (out of favour)
1  weretiger

The Bloody Chains: A tribe of orcs under the control of a Kyton (chain devil) who has been in the world since before the fall of Bael Turath.  He is gathering souls to give himself more and more power, hoping to open a portal to the Nine Hells.  These orcs are ritually scarred and capture prisoners rather than killing them.  They are much more restrained and disciplined than normal orcs.  He has an Unnerving Gaze - his face can take on the features of a lost loved one.

The Bloody Chain orcs live in an old fortress, half-ruined, with a series of jails, cells, and dungeons beneath it, carved out of the rock by tortured slaves labouring for over a thousand years.  The fortress lies about two day's journey to the west, over thickly-wooded hills and rough terrain.

Bloody Chain Champions are Level 5 Orc Skirmishers with the following alterations:
HP 66/33
+2 all def
 spiked chain, reach 2, +10 v AC, 2d4+4.
 scourge of chains, encounter, reach 2, +10 v AC, 3d6+4, prone and -2 to atk (sv).
Dance of Battle, minor, shift 1.
Soul Talisman, ??

168 orcs
84 drudges
30 raiders
15 berserkers
10 artillery (warlocks!)
5  shamans
10 champions
14 bloodragers
1  orc chieftan
1  level 5 orc warlock
1  chain devil


Port Khreth: An old Bael Turothian port city, it was destroyed in fire near the end of their war with Arkhosia.  For years the natural port was claimed by demonic pirates until Nerath rose to power.  A powerful wizard named Edo the Ever-Watching led a small army and took Port Khreth.  Over the years, Edo was seen less and less until he was given the name "the Unseen".  With Nerath's fall and the town's leader having disappeared, Port Khrest was claimed by pirates, smugglers, and devil-worshipping cults.  A vicious self-styled pirate king named Vengaul now rules the town with an iron fist.


Gatetown, The Gate of Forlorn Hope, The Gate of Forsaken Kings: This ancient structure was built in the early days of the Bael Turothian empire (when it was known simply as Turoth), when the first sorcerer-kings were making infernal bargains.  The 9 kings pictured here (known collectively as "The 9 Proud Men" or "The 9 of Ancient Folly" or "The Fools of Bael") were the rulers of the 9 Turothian city-states, each having won their crowns in bloody coups adided by infernal agents.  It was they who introduced devil worship to Turoth and ruled it for near 1000 years until Baelzebub claimed their souls.  (History DC 25.)

During the Bloodspear War, the orcish armies took it from an unprepared garrison.  The Last Army of Nerath struck back, breaching the wall with powerful magics, and a thousand soldiers poured through the gap - and perished.  (Hence "Forlorn Hope".)  The battle served as a potent diversion and the Tiger of Slaughter was assassinted, throwing the Bloodspear army into disarry. The Last Army was able to rout the orcs, though at great cost.

In the years since, settlers have moved into the Gate and profited from its remaining defenses, still formidable, and the trade that runs along the King's Road.  Recently they have been put under stress by wars with Vengaul and pirates from Port Khreth, as well as increased orcish activity in the nearby hills.  The Bloody Moon orcs are planning to take the Gate.

About a 150 people live in Gatetown itself, with another thousand relying on it for protection.  It is led by Hudders Alzar, a worshipper of Tiamat (level 7 controller).  There are about 30 full-time soldiers, led by the dwarven veteran Par Gahan (level 8 soldier), and an elven ranger named Adira Swiftwater (level 7 skirmisher) commands about 10 rangers.  Par Gahan and Adira Swiftwater are both veterans of the Bloodspear Wars and fast friends.  They know the dwarven guard Murgeddin in Fallcrest.


----------



## LostSoul (Aug 26, 2009)

For a long time in the campaign I've been referencing "down south" as a place of civilization.  I decided to put a name to some of the places down there.  This is what I came up with:

*Stormwatch.*  The only Nerathian city to withstand the gnoll's savage advance; located on an island, surrounded by ruins.  It is *the* hub of trade in the World; very cosmopolitan, controlled by money, with a large and rough underclass.  Home to a powerful and secretive Wizard's Guild and the largest Temple of Erathis in the World.

*The Forsaken Expanse The Plains of Nerath, The Wild Steppes, The Bloody Fields of Yeenoghu.*  Once the center of the Empire of Nerath, the expanse is now scattered with the ruins of their cities.  Gnolls hunt the plains in packs.  Those they do not sacrifice to the Demon Prince Yeenoghu are enslaved for the rest of their short, brutal lives.  The River Nerath cuts across the expanse, flowing north from old Arkhosia to the sea at Stormwatch harbour.

*The Sea of Storms.*  This sea forms a great bay.  The Nentir River flows south towards it.  No one save the very foolish or very brave cross it; the violent storms that spring up without warning are the least of a mariner's worries.  Merchants never sail out of sight of land.  Pirates have been known to plague the coast, but no one knows who or what these pirates are as they never leave any survivors - they even take the bodies of the dead.  Legend has it that a powerful sorcerer-king controls the storms from an island in the center of the sea.


----------



## Shades of Green (Dec 28, 2009)

I just read this thread from the beginning to the end and it is full of interesting ideas and very creative material. It has convinced me that a sandbox could be played in a relatively small area, and it might even lead to me buying into 4E in the future.


----------



## Shades of Green (Jan 4, 2010)

Out of curiosity (and lack of knowledge of the 4E modules), may I ask how large is that Vale? Does your sandbox focus on the several towns/locations you've detailed up, or do some adventure locations fall in the deeper wilderness around them?


----------



## P1NBACK (Apr 15, 2011)

Sorry for the thread resurrection, this thread is pure gold. I'm interested to see how this panned out for you LostSoul.


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 15, 2011)

I ended up rewriting a lot of material for my current game.  I wanted to come up with a method to generate content on the fly.  I wrote a series of random tables and filled in a hex map of the Nentir Vale with the content those tables provided.  Some of this is still in use, but not too much.  

I'm glad you like it, though!


----------



## P1NBACK (Apr 15, 2011)

LostSoul said:


> I ended up rewriting a lot of material for my current game.  I wanted to come up with a method to generate content on the fly.  I wrote a series of random tables and filled in a hex map of the Nentir Vale with the content those tables provided.  Some of this is still in use, but not too much.
> 
> I'm glad you like it, though!




You got this stuff up on the Webz anywheres?


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 15, 2011)

I might have a thread around here somewhere...

There's the "Hex Crawl.pdf" in my playtest thread (which I need to update with some minor siege warfare from Tuesday).

Here's a sample hex, filled out:

[sblock=0.10]
01.10  TERRAIN FEATURE - PLAINS - LEVEL 4
Giant skeleton of unidentified, snake-like creature with all-too-human skull running along the ridgeline.

As the King's Road heads into the Gardbury Downs, travellers can see this giant skeleton.  It's known as "The Bones of Zehir."

The skeleton is of an ancient primordial that fell in battle with Zehir, both struggling to control the snakes of the world.  Its bones are strong and have stood here for aeons, barely weathering.

When the yuan-ti ruled the world they would gather here and pray to Zehir, using this monument as a sign of their chosen god's power and that they did right by aligning with him.  There are prayers carved into the bones in draconic, talking about how great Zehir is and how strong he is and how the world is the yuan-ti's thanks to his victories over the "imposters and false prophets".

Map: Engraved on the bones are rituals and prayers to Zehir, including what must be done to open up the gate to the Lost Prison of Zehir (the dungeon in 01.05): soaking two 5000 gp rubies in the blood of enemies of Zehir, then placing them in the open eye sockets of the entrance.

Monster: Rats infest this area, chewing and gnawing on the bones.  They gain strength from the primordial power that still lingers here.  7 rat swarms live here; they climb all over the bones and under the ground.  They are strangely hostile and will attack when they smell fresh meat.

Trick: There's enough power here left to inflict worshippers of Zehir with a curse - anyone who prays to Zehir nearby is attacked, +7 v Will; in 1d6 days they will turn into a snake with a human head.  Not good.  The yuan-ti used to do this, then ritually slay the creature in a big orgy of blood.  If, however, a primal prayer or ritual to Bryakus, Father of Serpents, is performed, the character's eye teeth grow into fangs that drip poison: Str vs AC, 1d4 and ongoing 5 + Con mod poison damage.

Something Strange: Characters who spend the night here have a vision of the statues to the primordials in 34.05.

Links to Other Areas: 
34.05 (Giant-sized statues of ancient rulers, untouched by time.)
Contents: Map; Monster; Trick; Something Strange[/sblock]


----------



## P1NBACK (Apr 15, 2011)

LostSoul said:


> I might have a thread around here somewhere...
> 
> There's the "Hex Crawl.pdf" in my playtest thread (which I need to update with some minor siege warfare from Tuesday).
> 
> ...




This is ing incredible dude. 

How are you players liking this? I love how you've tied places with other bits of lore and other places.


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 15, 2011)

It's been good!

The hexes are easy to ad-lib even if I haven't come up with much content for it.  Giving it a level makes it easy - if there are wandering monsters, traps, or anything else I can use the different formulas to come up with appropriate challenge level.

Sometimes the players will wander across something on their way to a goal and get side-tracked.  For example, the PCs were on their way to Fallcrest - I forget whyt.  A Lair of Hobgoblins working with a Lair of Ettins had blocked the King's Road; the PCs decided to take the White River and avoid the Bloodreavers.

The Bloodreavers are the slavers mentioned in Thunderspire Labyrinth.  A number of monster Lairs were linked together, and I decided to use that organization.  The leader in the Nentir Vale is a robber baron (a human cavalier from MM2) named Tarkaan Atapun of the Nine-Fingered Harem.  When the PCs killed his brother (Sosruko the Magnificent, an insane wizard trying to unlock the ritual Lich Transformation), that brought the Bloodreavers into the game.​
On the first night down the river they came across the village of Scragwall.  A helpful rancher tied up their raft and offered his home for a place to rest; staying out after night wasn't safe, as the evil, acid-scarred wizard Eaner who ruled the town would let loose his demonic hyenas.

The PCs decided to kill the wizard.  Once he was taken care of, they explored his tower and found a pair of young barbarian women being held as slaves.  They came from the settlement of Redmarrow, as part of a deal the barbarians made with Eaner: a dragon laired beneath their town and Eaner had a potion that would keep it in a restless sleep.  Eaner had a map of the dragon's lair, and I printed out a map from the blog Year of the Dungeon to hand out to the players.

The PCs decided to head to Redmarrow (on the northern edge of Lake Wintermist) out of a sense of indignation and greed (the handout probably helped).  They ended up killing the dragon using a magic item and took its loot.  Since they are terribly rich, Tarkaan Atapun realized that he had to do something about them and is currently laying siege to Winterhaven.

That's an example of how the connections are working in play.


----------



## P1NBACK (Apr 15, 2011)

Sounds awesome. 

Now, how are you using your prep to come up with these situations? And, are the players dictating the flow of things? How did they decide to take out the wizard? What if they had left the area and left the wizard in control? 

You had a print-out, so clearly you knew they might encounter this area. Are you seeking feedback in prior sessions on where the PCs might go next? And, how does that impact your pre-session prep?


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 15, 2011)

1. Prepping Situations.

I take what I rolled up using the hex crawl tables and try to make something interesting out of it.  Scragwall started off like this:

13.06  RESOURCE - PLAINS - LEVEL 1
Settlement of 80 people based around a Ranch, Insane wizard

Links to Other Areas: 
09.16, 06.02, 07.00, 07.19, 09.06, 12.07
Contents: Monster; Trick; Treasure; Something Strange​
This takes a while to prep - world building, I guess.  I look at all the other areas, what's in them, if I've created anything there, and try to come up with something interesting.

The "contents" line helps give me some ideas.  One of those links was to a gnoll lair, so I decided that this insane wizard made a deal with them for the ritual to summon cacklefiend hyenas (2 @ 300 XP = 600 XP, level 1 encounter).

It's structured creativity, I guess.  Works well for me.

2. Player-driven

A quick run-down of how the game plays: 

We start with a social agreement that players will create characters driven to go adventuring.  The DM reacts to choices the players make.
The reward system supports characters who take risks by tying rewards to challenge level, not PC level.  
While adventuring, PCs deplete their resources (HP, Daily Powers) and gain their rewards (XP, GP, magic items).  
When the PC's resources are depleted they have to come back to town and interact with the setting in order to refresh them (martial characters carouse with NPCs; divine characters perform Liturgies for NPCs or secret, creepy Rites; wizards act like they have a bad case of OCD while memorizing spells; and warlocks do horrible, horrible things).
These interactions show the consequences of their choices and continue to change the setting.  NPC reactions change, PC influence in a town waxes or wanes, towns grow, and NPC Lairs gain or lose power.
With their resources replenished, they set out for adventure again in a setting changed based on their choices.

The system creates a feedback loop that is supposed to increase the depth of the PC's connection to the setting each time we cycle through it.  Since it's a challenge-focused game there are no guarantees that the setting will change in the way you want it to.

This won't work so well if you don't care about the setting.  If you do, the more you drive the game, the more you'll see your choices reflected in the changing setting.

3. Encounters

The PCs killed Eaner by hiding out and waiting for the hyenas to be released, then ambushing them.  It wasn't a very challenging fight, though I've changed Extended Rests so that every lost Healing Surge and spent Daily Power has some larger meaning.

I never pre-plan encounters that the PCs have to meet.  I play the NPCs as realistically as I can, and if that means there's conflict, we start rolling dice to resolve it.  I think one of the effects of this is that the players can come up with interesting and creative ways to get what they want.  They rarely need to fight someone; NPCs are very rarely hostile.

The reason for all this prep is so the players can come up with plans and as DM I can react to them impartially.  I think this opens up more strategic play on the part of the players in a way that encounters tailored to the PCs doesn't.  

For example, just a few miles down the White River from Scragwall there's an ancient dam.  If there was a monster Lair past that, the PCs could sabotage the dam and flood them out.

I hope that explains what I'm trying to do.

4. Consequences

If the PCs hadn't taken care of Eaner of Scragwall, nothing much would have happened: the setting was pretty stable, waiting for the PCs to come along.

That's not the case for monster "Lairs".  It's the most prep-intensive bit of work I have to do after creating the setting.  The NPCs take some actions and can grow in level over time.  If the PCs interact with these NPCs it can really hurt them (or sometimes help, if the PCs lose).  

For example, one wandering monster encounter was with some hobgoblins from a nearby lair.  The PCs ended up killing the leader of the lair, which meant that the lair started dropping in level over the next few months.  It took some time for it to stabilize.

In contrast the PCs haven't done much to upset the plans of the Robber Baron Atapun; his Lair has been growing steadily over the months.

5. Session Prep & Feedback

I've got a lot of hexes prepped so I don't need to do much work before each session.  When they started down the White River there were some hexes that I hadn't yet detailed, so I knew I had to fill those in.  The session where they killed Eaner ended just after the fight, so I had time to fill in his tower and print out the map.

Usually I don't do much prep except think about what the NPCs are up to.  That can take up a while if the NPCs are up to something big; I need to know how many resources they have and what they do with them.  Usually I don't need to do much, though.  The siege of Winterhaven took some time to work out, around 4 hours?  Normally I spend between 5 and 30 minutes for each 4-hour game.

The one big exception: dungeon crawling.  I didn't start out with any dungeons detailed.  I've asked the players to tell me if they plan to head into a dungeon so I can draw it up.  They've gone dungeon delving in places when I haven't had anything detailed, so I was forced to rely on rolls on random tables.  Experience has taught me that this is okay but should only be used as a last resort.


----------



## P1NBACK (Apr 15, 2011)

Man. This sounds amazing, and super fun. 

I love, love, love your idea about leveling bands of monsters and lairs. So, you take out the bugbear captain, his gang decreases in level by 3 for several weeks/months until a new captain takes his place and regroups them. Or, factions grow in level if the PCs do nothing to interact and impede them. 

Very cool. 

Have you thought about writing up procedures for this? Seems like it'd make an awesome PDF supplement for sandbox gaming. Lots of juicy ideas that could be fleshed out even moreso.


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 15, 2011)

I've only recently come up with the table to deal with Lair Growth.  It used to be a lame 1d6 roll +/- a few modifiers.  It didn't feel "right".  I changed it to use something similar to what I use to determine the reaction NPCs have towards PCs and the influence PCs have in a settlement.

Here it is.  Could probably use some tweaking.

[sblock]
*LAIR GROWTH*
3d6 Roll 
+ Charisma Mod.....Reaction.........................Successes....Level
4 or less..........Mutinous, mass desertion.........--...........-2
5-8................Challenged, some desertion.......2............-1
9-12...............Stable, no change................4............--
13-16..............Loyal, good morale...............6............--
17+................Fanatical, new recruits arrive...8............+1

*MODIFIERS*
*Previous Reaction............Modifier*
Mutinous........................-6
Challenged......................-4
Stable..........................+0
Loyal...........................+1
Fanatic.........................+2
*Existing Threats In ZoC......Modifier*
Lair's tier band => threat's....-1
Lair's tier band < threat's.....-1 per difference
*Martial Conflict.............Modifier*
Lair's tier band => threat's....+1 for victory
Lair's tier band < threat's.....+1 per difference for victory
Stalemate.......................-1
Retreat.........................-2
Defeat..........................-4
*Social Conflict..............Modifier*
Per loss of status..............-2
Per gain in status..............+1
*Economy......................Modifier*
GP or ritual components spent...+1 per treasure parcel of lair's level
Resources acquired..............+1 per resource
Settlement Respectful+..........+1 per tier band of settlement
Insufficient resources..........-2 per required resource
*Leadership...................Modifier*
Leader's tier band..............+1 per tier band
Leadership challenged...........-1 per tier band of challenger
per 750 XP of bodyguards........+1
Sergeant killed.................-2
Lieutenant killed...............-4
Leader killed...................-6
Guard's total XP < hex's level..-2[/sblock]

The "success" column is to determine how many successes are needed in a social skill challenge when it has something to do with the lair - interrogation, surrender, etc.  I should probably work that into the morale checks.

edit: I should note that I don't do this for every lair; I'm just too lazy.  I only do this for the ones that are interacting with the PCs or the ones I think are interesting.  

Atapun's Robber Baron Lair at the current in-game date; note that it started as level 4 (in September).  Treasure doesn't increase with level, which makes Time more of a limited resource.

[sblock]**** 20.14 TARKAAN ATAPUN'S KEEP OF THE NINE FINGERED HAREM - LEVEL 4 **** 
Stone Keep with 4 towers, 2 ballista, 2 catapaults
49 human guards, 37(1) human crossbowmen, 10(1) human nobles on riding horses, 4 human cavaliers on warhorses, 6(1) bloodseeker drakes, 1 human mage, 2 human javelin dancers, 6 dragonborn soldiers, 1 human knife fighter, 2 human slavers, 1 human dire beast hunter & dire wolf, 2 riding horses, 2 warhorses, led by Atapun, a human cavalier on a griffon with 5 town guard bodyguards.  540 villagers.
1145 gp, 384 sp, 780 cp + 6 garnet gems (100 gp each), 3 amethyst gems (100 gp each), 1 pearl (100 gp)
+980 gp from goblins in 20.13
*** MARCH ***
Level: 9
Town Level: 2
Resources: Food, ore from Sacktangle Heights
ZoC: 19.13, 19.14, 20.15, 21.14, 21.13, 18.13, 18.14, 19.14, 20.15
Influence: Loyal
Modifiers: +1 fanatic, +3 Cha, +3 tier, +1 bodyguards, -4 time, +1 settlement, +1 resources
Reaction: Uncertain _[how the people in his village feel about him]_
Modifiers: +3 Cha
Actions: Head to Winterhaven
Raid 18.13: 2 human slavers, 10 human guards, 3 crossbowmen; level 10; check +17 vs DC 15; hex atk +8 vs DC 21; atapun 28, +3x175 gp; hex 12
Patrol: 10 human guards, 4 human crossbowmen.[/sblock]


----------



## P1NBACK (Apr 15, 2011)

When are you rolling for lair growth? At the end of each session?


----------



## LostSoul (Apr 15, 2011)

At the end of each in-game month.


----------



## ssheftall (Apr 15, 2011)

Lostsoul, just chiming in to say how much I've been digging what you've done for your campaign!  I'm running a "sandbox" Nentir Vale also, but after 6 sessions so far, haven't been nearly as successful as you with the pre-planning (hex tables,etc.).  I'd planned to go that route, but...

Anyway, thanks for the great read and ideas!


----------



## Derulbaskul (Apr 16, 2011)

[MENTION=386]LostSoul[/MENTION]: Once again, this is tremendous. I am really happy to see the thread resurrected. 

I'm currently planning a sandbox/hexcrawl campaign set around Loudwater in the Forgotten Realms and this is perfect. So many ideas here!

Thanks for posting.


----------

