|
The
Forgotten Tower
| As you
approach the crumbling stone walls, you wonder what secrets
this place holds. |
The home of
the wicked countess is five levels deep, and she is at the bottom.
All levels have pillars, stone walls and floors, and the occasional
scurrying rat. Large racks of candles light some rooms, but otherwise
the rooms and passages are dark. Arched doorways link individual
rooms and halls.
DM Note:
Make the first four levels of the Cellar any size and shape you
like. Treat them as dungeon regions. If you want to stay true to
the computer game, limit yourself to about half the area of a sheet
of graph paper. Vary the shape by halving the paper the short way
on some levels and the long way on others.
Random
Encounters
When the PCs
enter a room in the Tower Cellars, roll 1d10. On a 6 or higher,
they have an encounter.
Quests
The Quest is
the destruction of the wicked countess. Completing this Quest gives
a story award of 1,000 XP to each character, in addition to XP earned
defeating the monsters there.
Fixed
Encounters
The only Fixed
Encounters in the tower are the exits to lower levels and the countess
on Level 5.
Fighting
the Countess
See the map
below.
1. Blood
Clan: Here are CR 2 Blood Clan, plus one random unique (see
the Unique Monsters section in Appendix B for generating such a
creature). When they hear or see the PCs, they charge them and fight
to defend their unholy master.
2.
Ghosts: Here are CR 1 Ghosts, plus one random unique. When they
hear or see the PCs, they try to sneak up on the party and attack.
Once detected, they all attack the party.
3.
Trove 1: Here the PCs find (1d20 x lvl)+500 gold pieces, three
chests, and an armor rack. Roll on the Treasure Source table in
Appendix B to get the contents of the chests, but add 10 to your
roll. If you get a trap, roll again ignoring any trap result. For
the armor rack, roll 1d4 on the following table:
| 1. Roll
on the Armor section of the Base Treasure Table. |
| 2. Roll
on the Headgear section of the Base Treasure Table. |
| 3. Roll
on the Accoutrements section of the Base Treasure Table. |
| 4. Roll
on the Shields section of the Base Treasure Table. |
If you’re
using the Dungeon Master’s Guide roll for a minor magic weapon
on table 8-10.
|
4.
Trove #2: Here the PCs find (1d20 x lvl)+500 gold pieces, three
chests, and a weapons rack. Roll on the Treasure Source table in
Appendix B to get the contents of the chests, but add 10 to your
roll. If you get a trap, roll again ignoring any trap result. For
the weapons rack, roll 1d10 on the following table:
| 1.
Roll on the Knives section of the Base Treasure Table |
| 2.
Roll on the Swords section of the Base Treasure Table |
| 3.
Roll on the Clubs section of the Base Treasure Table |
| 4. Roll
on the Spears section of the Base Treasure Table |
| 5.
Roll on the Polearms section of the Base Treasure Table |
| 6. Roll
on the Axes section of the Base Treasure Table |
| 7.
Roll on the Bows section of the Base Treasure Table |
| 8. Roll
on the Crossbows section of the Base Treasure Table |
|
9.
Roll on the Wands section of the Base Treasure Table
|
| 10. Roll
on the Staves section of the Base Treasure Table |
If
you are using the Dungeon Master’s Guide, then roll
for a minor magic armor on table 8-3.
5.
Countess’s Chamber (CR 3): Dark Stalkers armed with battleaxes
guard the Countess and a locked chest in her chamber. In addition
to the normal lock, a magical lock secures the chest. That vanishes
when the Countess dies. Once the PCs open the chest, roll 4 times
on the Base Treasure Table, adding +4 to the average party level.
The
Countess (Corrupt Rogue): Medium-size undead; HD 10d12; hp 65;
Init +7 (+3 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft.; AC 13 (touch
13, flat-footed 10); Atk +9 melee (1d6+4/17–20/x2 crit +1d8
fire, short sword); SA Fire; SQ Fire resistance 8, undead; SV Fort--,
Ref +8, Will +11; SZ M; AL CE; CR 6; Str 17, Dex 17, Con--, Int
12, Wis 14, Cha 12.
Undead:
Immune to mind-influencing effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning
and disease. Not subject to critical hits, subdual damage, ability
damage, energy drain, or death from massive damage.
Skills:
Hide +16, Move Silently +16, Spot +15.
Feats:
Improved Critical, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes,
Weapon Focus (short sword).
Quote:
"Your blood will boil."
|
D&D Home
What is D&D?
This
excerpt comes early in the adventure, while player characters are still
at low levels. As the PCs enter the Black Marsh, it seems much like the
other dreary, terror-ridden regions they have visited before. Over the
trees, they see the crumbled stone remains of a tower. This tower is a
crumbling stone shell, 30 feet tall at its highest. Nothing remains of
the interior except the floor, and a ladder leading down into a cellar.
Someone, or something, knocked a hole in one wall the cellar, and it’s
through this hole that the Quest for the Countess begins. . . .
