an abandoned fortress

7/25/2019 An Abandoned Fortress

1/14

An Abandoned

FortressA Dungeons & Dragonsd20 adventure

supplement suitable for low level characters

Kristian Richards 2002

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/hosted/csp
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2/14

Getting Started

To use this adventure supplement you will require

use of the Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook

(third edition) published by Wizards of the Coast.

Introduction

PCs, on the whole, can be an unpredictable lot,

suddenly going off in completely the opposite direction

to that which you (the DM) had planned, orinsisting on

visiting a possible adventure area that appears on their

campaign map - but which you have not designed yet.

This is where a side-track adventure may be able to

help. The basic idea behind these mini-adventure

supplements is that, while they can be used a small

adventures on their own, they can also be inserted into

an existing adventure or campaign as an extra area for

your players to explore.This side-track adventure therefore concentrates

solely on the dungeon aspect of the encounter(s), and

can be used in conjunction with the full colour dungeon

floorplans that can be downloaded from the CSP

web-site ( http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/hosted/csp ).

Even if you dont use miniatures, using the floorplans to

show the layout of the dungeon is a great time saver

(rather than having to quote the exact room dimensions

for the partys mapper all the time).

With any luck, these side-track adventures may

help you create a more believable world for your

players to explore - after all, its always a good idea tohave a back-up dungeon or two up your sleeve for those

times when your players seem to ignore every hint you

throw at them and go off at a complete tangent.

Background Information

& Adventure Summary

This adventure supplement details the layout of an

old abandoned dwarven fortress. Although the

adventure begins at the entrance to the mountain

labyrinth, the fortress itself could be part of a larger

dwarven complex (perhaps surrounded by ruinous stone

battlements), or maybe it is the forerunner to a lost

dwarven kingdom the choice is yours.

Within the depths of this ancient dungeon are host

of monsters for the adventurers to encounter, and

numerous hazards for them to overcome. It is also

worth noting that the adventure itself can be a bit

combat heavy (due to the hostile nature of its current

inhabitants), and although a simple hack & slash

approach will surly get the job done (presuming the

PCs are up to the task) - DMs should always be open

to any ingenious non-combat solutions that the players

come up with for any given encounter (presuming thereis at least a slight chance of success).

Adventure Hooks

Following are a number of circumstances in which

you may find this mini-adventure useful, as well as

several ideas on how to use this supplement as an

adventure in itself.

The adventurers have been hunting for a lost

artefact and their inquires lead them to the old

abandoned fortress.

The ruin (which happens to be quite near to a small

town or village) has recently been occupied by a

goblinoid horde. These monsters have begun

raiding some of the outlying farmsteads - growing

bolder and bolder with each attack. Therefore a

group of adventurers/mercenaries are sought out to

help eliminate the problem.

An old dwarf (possibly a elderly relative of a party

member) spins a yarn about a time when dwarves

occupied the nearby mountains. He claims to haveuncovered a map to one such fortress, which was

probably home to a small garrison of troops once,

and asks/hires the adventurers to verify the

authenticity of the map (by following it to the

indicated point). He also offers to purchase any old

dwarven artefacts that they find (at the full price)

should they undertake this task, and may even offer

to accompany them (thus urging them to enter the

old ruin once they arrive at the site).

The adventurers simply insist (for whatever reason)

that they need to travel to the dwarven ruin that

appears in a mountainous area of the campaignmap.

Severe weather threatens the safety of the party as

they are crossing a treacherous mountain range.

Luckily (or so it would seem) they come across the

entrance to an old dwarven ruin just as the main

force of the storm hits.

here lie the

halls of jarnhellir

fortress of

the mighty rune

kingdom

An Abandoned Fortress Kristian Richards 2002

1
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3/14

In addition to the monsters that are tied to the

various rooms within the dungeon, there is also a

chance that the party may encounter a wandering

monster or two during the exploration of the fortress

(due to the ruin being a fairly active place). Therefore,

if the party spend an extended period of time in one area

(due to prolonged combat, taking 20 on a check,

extensive searching, etc.) you should consult the

following table to determine whether a wandering

monster happens upon the group.

2 hobgoblins20

2 goblins18-19

Nothing1-15

Encounter1d20

WANDERING MONSTER TABLE

Note that only two successful wandering monster

encounters should be used during the course of the

adventure.

The Dungeon Layout

2

Note that the dotted lines separate one dungeon tile from another (so that they are easily distinguishable).

Wandering Monsters


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1. Entrance AreaThe cunning dwarves who originally occupied this

site made sure that no-one could approach the entrance

without them knowing about it. Therefore, secreted

away in the mountainside to the west of the entrance is

a narrow arrow slit that leads to a lookout post (area 5).

The slit itself is hidden in a dark crevice in the rock face

making difficult to spot, and characters searching this

area can only find this narrow window (that is too small

for them to crawl through) on a successful search check

(DC10).

However, characters who step within 10ft of the slit

will be attacked (via a kobold guards crossbow) as they

approach (see area 5 for more details on the kobold

guards). To avoid being surprised, a character with

darkvision is allowed a spot check (versus the kobolds

hide check), though the kobold still gets the shot of first

(as a readied action).

After firing its crossbow the guard (and his twocolleagues) will attempt to flee to area 7. However if a

player manages to get to the slit before the guards can

make their escape (or fires a missile weapon at the

guard), the guard is considered to have 9/10 cover (and

thus gets +10 to its AC and +4 to its REF save).

Also, once the characters have been shot at, they

will thus be aware that some kind of hole is present in

the rock face - and so the search check to discover it is

reduced to a simple DC5.

When the PCs approach the main entrance:

Before you stands a large 10ft tall section of

worked stone, that has been skilfully carved to forma flat vertical surface. At the bottom of this wall is a

narrow, cleanly cut, passage, that appears to run into

the mountainside for a short distance before opening

out into a larger room.

Running around the entire rim of the passage

entrance is what looks to be runes of some sort, that

have been intricately carved into the mountain wall.

Note that the writing around the passage entrance is

written in dwarven and reads as follows:

Here lie the halls of Jarn Hellir,

fortress of the mighty rune kingdom.

Therefore any character who is able to read dwarven

will be able to identify the writing, or characters who

make a successful Decipher Script check (DC20) will

be able to discern that this is the fortress Jarn Hellir.

Also note that presuming the kobold guards located

in area 5 (the room with an arrow slit that overlooks the

entrance) have yet to be discovered, one of the guards

will fire a crossbow at any character that stands too

close to the entrance (e.g. to examine the runes, or to

enter the passage). After the initial shot the guards will

flee to area 7.

2. Entrance Hall

This 20ft square room is dimly illuminated by

daylight shining in from the southern entry, and has

10ft high walls that lead to what was once an ornate

arched ceiling. Various stone rubble, along with

lumps of gravel and dirt, lie strewn across theuneven floor, and to the east is and old rotten timber

door frame devoid of any door.

As the name suggests, this is the main entrance to

the fortress and would have been heavily guarded back

when the complex was in use. The rubble that can now

be seen upon the rooms floor is all that remains of the

once grand stone door that protected the fortress

occupants from the elements (or worse), and any traps

that were once used as a secondary precaution (against

unwanted guests) have long since been triggered or fell

into disrepair.

3. T Junction

4. T Junction

5. Lookout PostThis room afforded the fortress guards with a clear

view to the main entrance via a narrow arrow slit in the

eastern wall. It was from here that any visitors

(welcome or not) would have been espied (usually at

arrow point) while the commander of the garrison was

informed. Occupying this room at the moment are threekobold guards who take it in turns to watch the entrance

(as explained in area 1s description).

If a character looks into this room from outside:

Through the narrow opening you can see what

looks to be a small square room roughly 15ft wide

with what appears to be a narrow passage leading

off to the north.

If a character enters the room:

A narrow shaft of light streaks in from a small

arrow-slit in the eastern wall to illuminate this smalldamp chamber. The room itself is bare apart from an

old rotten stool which stands in a small puddle of

rainwater that has gathered in a small depression in

the floor beneath the window.

Three Kobolds are usually found in this room (as

described in previous entries), but more than likely they

will have already fled to area 7 when the PCs get close

to this room.

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The Dungeon


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Kobolds (3): CR1/6; small humanoid (reptilian);

HD d8; hp 2; Init +1 (Dex); Spd 30ft; AC15; Atk -1

melee (1d6-2 halfspear), +2 ranged (1d8 light

crossbow); SQ darkvision 60 ft, light sensitivity; AL

LE; Sv Fort +0, Ref +1, Will +2; Str 6, Dex 13, Con 11,

Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10.

Skills and Feats: Craft (trapmaking) +2, Hide +8,Listen +2, Move Silently +4, Search +2, Spot +2:

Alertness.

Special Qualities: Light Sensitivity (Ex): Kobolds

suffer a -1 penalty to attack rolls in bright sunlight or

within the radius of a daylight spell.

Possessions: halfspear, light crossbow, leather armour,

and d20 bolts in a crude leather quiver.

6. Secret Room

The entrance into this small dank chamber looks

to have once been a well kept secret judging by its

large stone door that has been fashioned to look

almost identical to the surrounding walls. Now

though, this secret door lies open, thus revealing the

empty chamber that stands before you.

Like a lot of doors within an ancient dungeon, the

door that leads into this room is stuck. However unlike

most stuck doors, this one is jammed in the open

position. Unfortunately, this hampers movement and

vision into the passage that leads to area 7, though any

medium sized character can squeeze past it (and into the

passage beyond) as a full round action. Due to their

size, smaller characters (and monsters) can perform asimilar action as a move equivalent action.

Characters wishing to close the door (for whatever

reason) will be required to make a strength check to

determine the result.

Secret Door: Hardness 8; hp 60; Close DC 25.

Peeking around the door (to get a view of what lies

beyond, will cause the character to become the target of

another crossbow attack from the kobolds beyond

(though the player will be considered to have cover

(i.e. +7 to AC).

7. Guard Room (Kobold Lair)Given the opportunity, this is where the kobold

guards from area 5 will have fled to. There is also a

kobold warrior lurking within this room - which will

probably bring the total to 4 by the time the PCs reach

it.

Kobold (Lvl 1 Warrior): CR1/2; small humanoid

(reptilian); HD 1d8; hp 8; Init +1 (Dex); Spd 20ft;

AC16; Atk +0 melee (1d6-2 shortsword); SQ

darkvision 60 ft, light sensitivity; AL LE; Sv Fort +2,

Ref +1, Will +0; Str 6, Dex 13, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 10,

Cha 10.

Skills and Feats: Craft (trapmaking) +2, Hide +6, Listen

+2, Move Silently +2, Search +2, Spot +2: Alertness.

Special Qualities: Light Sensitivity (Ex): Kobolds

suffer a -1 penalty to attack rolls in bright sunlight or

within the radius of a daylight spell.

Possessions: shortsword, leather armour, and a small

steel shield.

Once the PCs gain access to the room:Arranged along both left and right hand sides of

this small, fairly nondescript room are numerous

skins and pelts. Directly opposite from the entrance

is a small pile of rotten pieces of timber and an

occasional tattered rag.

The animal hides found in this room are used as

bedding by the Kobold guards. Similarly the pile of

rotten timber is what the guards have managed to scrape

together for firewood. Searching the room (DC10) will

turn up the following items:

A pouch containing 8 small blue quartz gems (worth5gp each).

A bag of silver coins (contains 243sp) A darkwood shield (worth 257gp).

8. Waiting Room

The passage leads into a dingy little room with

more rubble strewn across the floor in the form of

splintered wood and tumbled down stone.

Decorating the eastern wall is an impressive looking

archway, beneath which runs a wide corridor

leading further into the fortress.

9. T Junction

10. Reception Hall

This large 25ft square room has exits located on

both the northern and western walls - though any

doors that once hung within these 10ft wide portals

have long since vanished. Adorning each of the lofty

walls are images of many large pillars, all of which

have been carved into the stone itself, presumably to

add a touch of grandeur to this spacious chamber

rather than to perform any real structural support.

11. Mess Hall (Goblin Hideout)

A large square room opens out before you with

exits located in the centre of each of the four walls.

Various pieces of broken crockery litter the floor,

along with splintered remnants of rotten wood that

probably once formed grand dining tables. In the

corner of the room is one such table, still intact -

though turned upon its side.

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Hiding behind the upturned table in this room is a

goblin archer (who thus gains cover - i.e. +7 to AC

and +3 to Ref saves). Players who stand at the doorway

to this room are required to make a spot check (versus

the goblins hide check) to determine whether they are

aware of its presence. As soon as any PC steps foot

into the room the goblin archer will attack and then startscreaming for help.

For each round that the goblin screams for

assistance you should allow its comrades (in area 18

make a listen check DC20) to determine whether they

hear its pleas for help, and thus come rushing to its

aid.

Goblin: CR1/4; small humanoid (goblinoid); HD

1d8; hp 4; Init +1 (+1 Dex); Spd 30ft; AC15; Atk +1

melee (1d6 halfspear), +3 ranged (1d6 shortbow); SQ

darkvision 60ft; AL NE; Sv Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +0;

Str 8, Dex 13, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 8.

Skills and Feats: Hide +6, Listen +3, Move Silently +4,Spot +3; Alertness.

Possessions: halfspear, studded leather armour and d20

arrows in an animal-hide quiver.

12. 4-way Junction

13. Kitchen

Upon the walls of this 30ft square room are

numerous rusty iron brackets, a few of which still

support mould covered wooden shelves. Scattered

here and there across the dusty floor are severaldented and broken pots, pans, and other cooking

utensils. Dominating the southern wall is what looks

to have been a huge fireplace - though now

blackened with soot and partially blocked will fallen

rubble. In the eastern wall there lies a set of rotten

wooden doors hanging clumsily from their corroded

hinges.

Despite their obvious ruinous state, the doors

located on the eastern wall of this room have swollen in

their frame and become stuck.

Rotten Wooden Doors: Hardness 5; hp 10; Break(open) DC 13.

In addition, the chimney of the fireplace is now

home to a dire bat. Therefore, any character who

attempts to examine the fireplace (and thus peers up the

chimney) will disturb the creature - who will come

swooping down to attack the intruder. The character in

question is however allowed a spot check (versus the

dire bats hide check) beforehand - to determine

whether he/she is surprised by the animals attack.

Dire Bat: CR2; large animal; HD 4d8+12; hp 30;

Init +6 (Dex); Spd 20ft, fly 40ft (good); AC20; Atk +5

melee (1d8+4 bite); Face/Reach 10ft x 5ft / 5ft; SQ

blindsight; AL N; Sv Fort +7, Ref +10, Will +6; Str 17,

Dex 22, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6.

Skills and Feats: Listen +11*, Move Silently +11, Spot

+11*.Special Qualities: Blindsight: Dire bats can see by

emitting high-frequency sounds, inaudible to most other

creatures, that allow them to locate objects and

creatures within 120 feet. A silence spell negates this

ability and forces the bat to rely on its weak vision,

which has a maximum range of 10 feet. *The dire bats

+4 racial bonus to Spot and Listen checks are also lost

if blindsight is negated.

14. Food Store

After finally managing to bypass the doors you

discover a small musty chamber with more rotten

shelving. From the ceiling hang large rusty hooks

suspended from corroded chains, down which

trickles a tiny amount of water that echoes

throughout the room as it drips into a green, slimy,

moss-like substance that covers the entire floor.

The floor of this chamber is covered in Green Slime

(see below for details) that will deal damage to any

player or item that touches it.

Green Slime: CR4; Green slime deals 1d6 points of

temporary Constitution damage per round while it

devours flesh. On the first round of contact, the slimecan be scraped off a creature (most likely destroying the

scraping device), but after that it must be frozen,

burned, or cut away (applying damage to the victim as

well). Extreme cold or heat, sunlight, or a remove

disease spell destroys a patch of green slime. Against

wood or metal, green slime deals 2d6 points of damage

per round, ignoring metals hardness but not that of

wood. It does not harm stone.

15. Y Junction

16. T Junction

At the far end of this long narrow corridor is a

ancient looking iron door, covered in rust and

sporting a large lock. To the left is another shady

passage leading off into darkness.

The Iron door at the end of the passage is securely

locked and requires the key found in area 18 to open.

Door: Hardness 5; hp 20; Break DC23; Lock DC25.

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As the PCs reach the intersection:

As you reach the junction you can now see that

the passage to the left is also barred by a closed

wooden door.

You should secretly roll listen checks (DC10) for

the PCs as they reach the intersection to determine

whether they hear gruff guttural voices coming from

room 18. PCs who make a point of listening at the door

for sounds of life only need succeed a DC5 check.

Similarly, PCs that make any noise in this area will

give the goblinoids beyond the door a similar chance of

a listen check. If the goblinoids do hear anything - one

of the goblins will be sent to investigate.

17. Commanders Office

The first thing that grabs your attention as you

peer into this small room is the huge carving thatdominates the rear wall. The entire surface of the

stone appears to have been skilfully fashioned into

the likeness of a large dwarven face, which, though

defaced with childlike scrawl and chipped from the

impact of various weapons, still manages to retain a

certain nobility.

In front of the impressive carving, littering the

floor is several broken pieces, is what looks to have

once been a grand table and chair.

As the title suggests, this chamber was reserved for

the commander of the fortress. Although the room has

long since been ransacked there are still a few items ofnote that may be discovered. Also, characters who

actively listen at the north-western wall (DC20) will be

able to hear the hushed voices of the goblinoids lurking

in area 18.

Secreted away in the mouth of the huge dwarven

face is a map that details the entire layout of the fortress

(Search check DC 15 to find if the character examines

the carving), though any writing on it is, of course, in

dwarven (see the player handout at the end of this

supplement for more details). Accompanying the map is

a large rusted key that can be used to open the door

leading to area 24. Any character who simply puts hisor her hand into the mouth hole will automatically find

the above items.

18. Officers Quarters

This large rectangular room reeks with the smell

of sweat and rotten meat. Upon the floor, arranged

in a haphazard fashion are tattered looking bedrolls,

and in the far corner is what appears to be the

remains of a half eaten mountain goat.

Hanging from an old hook upon the far wall can

be seen a rusty looking key suspended from a small

corroded chain.

Within this room there can usually be found 3

goblins and one hobgoblin. It is these goblinoids that

are given the task of guarding the lesser treasures that

are contained within area 19.

Goblins (3): CR1/4; small humanoid (goblinoid);

HD 1d8; hp 4; Init +1 (+1 Dex); Spd 30ft; AC15; Atk

+1 melee (1d6 halfspear), +3 ranged (1d6 shortbow);

SQ darkvision 60ft; AL NE; Sv Fort +2, Ref +1, Will

+0; Str 8, Dex 13, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 8.

Skills and Feats: Hide +6, Listen +3, Move Silently +4,

Spot +3; Alertness.



Hobgoblin: CR1/2; medium size humanoid(goblinoid); HD 1d8+1; hp 5; Init +1 (Dex); Spd 30ft;

AC15; Atk +1 melee (1d6 scimitar), +2 ranged (1d8

longbow); SQ darkvision 60ft; AL LE; Sv Fort +3, Ref

+1, Will +0; Str 11, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 10,

Cha 10.


Spot +3; Alertness.

Possessions: scimitar, longbow, chain shirt and d20

arrows in a leather quiver.

The key hanging on the wall can be used to gain

access to area 19, and a successful search check (DC10)

will also reveal the following amongst the goblinspossessions:

2 full waterskins.

37 silver coins & 14 copper coins.

19. Treasury

With some effort the old door slowly creaks open

to reveal a small square chamber with three heavily

built chests lining the rear wall. Upon the walls are

several large rusted hooks and brackets, most

probably used for supporting shelves and hanging

small weapons, though none are now evident.

The three chests within this room are securely fixed

to the floor (hence them still residing within this room).

All three have had their locks broken, as they were

plundered long ago, but have since been filled with the

following.

Chest 1 contains 1000 silver coins.

Chest 2 contains 500 copper coins, 400 silver coins,

and 100 gold coins.

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Chest 3 appears to be empty, however a successful

search check (DC20) will reveal that it has a false

bottom. Beneath is a small square hollow in the

stone floor, into which has been secreted away a

golden idol of long-bearded dwarf clutching a huge

hammer (worth 1000gp & weighs 15lb).

20. Barracks

A large rectangular chamber opens up before you

with exits located near the centre of each of the

eastern, western, and southern walls. Upon the floor

lie various rugs and furry animal hides that are

arranged in such a way as to suggest that they are

used as some kind of primitive bedding.

Upon the northern wall lies the remnants of an

ornate fireplace, though its fine craftsmanship has

been marred by the disfiguring marks of many cruel

hands.

This large chamber has, since its construction, been

used to house the general rank & file troops that

manned the fortress (and is still used by the current

occupants in a similar fashion).

Sleeping atop one of the furry pelts is a bugbear.

Characters who enter this room will entitle the beast to a

listen check (DC10) to see whether they disturb the

bugbear from its slumber (or an opposed move silently

check if the player attempts to be quiet). Once

awakened the bugbear attacks any intruders in its lair.

Bugbear: CR2; medium-size humanoid (goblinoid);

HD 3d8+3; hp 16; Init +1 (Dex); Spd 30ft; AC17; Atk+4 melee (1d8+2 morningstar), +3 ranged (1d6+2

javelin); SQ darkvision 60ft; AL CE; Sv Fort +2, Ref


Cha 9.

Skills and Feats: Climb +2, Hide +3, Listen +3, Move

Silently +6, Spot +3; Alertness.

Possessions: leather armour, small shield, morningstar,

and javelin (also see below).

Note that for combat situations the sleeping bugbear

is considered to be helpless. Characters (who get close

enough) may therefore attempt a coup de grace on the

creature. A melee attack against the helpless bugbear isat a +4 bonus on the attack roll (a ranged attack gets no

special bonus). In addition the helpless creature cant

use any Dexterity bonus to AC. In fact, its Dexterity

score is treated as if it were 0 and its Dexterity

modifier to AC were -5 (and a rogue can sneak attack

him).

Players wishing to search the fireplace will discover

that it is completely blocked with large tumbled down

stones and other bits of debris - thus rendering it

useless. Players searching the bedding can find one of

the following on each successful search check (DC10):

An empty waterskin. 5 copper coins.

A rusty dagger.

Flint & steel.

A coiled rope (50ft).

In addition, players may search the bugbears body

(presuming it is defeated). In doing so they will

automatically discover all of the items listed as its

possessions, but on a successful search check (DC10)

they will also discover the following (secreted away

beneath its armour:

A ceremonial electrum dagger (worth 1000gp).

21. Passage

22. Jailers Room

The passage leads to a small damp chamber with

narrow archway set into the south wall.

23. Corner Passage With Alcove

The narrow corridor opens out into a small alcove

off to the right before turning to the left and ending

in a heavy set ironbound door.

The door at the end of the passage leads to a small

prison cell, and is therefore securely locked. To bypass

the door characters may either attempt to break it down,

pick the lock, or use the key hidden in area 17.

Door: Hardness 5; hp 20; Break DC23; Lock DC25.

24. Dungeon

This small square chamber is set on two differing

levels, with a set of stone steps leading down to the

lower of these off to your left. Set into the wall of

the lower level is a pair of rusty iron manacles,

hanging from which is a small skeletal figure

covered in dusty cobwebs.

The set of manacles that holds the skeleton in place

is actually a magically animated object. However, upon

a simple visual inspection, the manacles will appear to

be fairly mundane and a little rusty. It is not until anycharacter comes within the objects reach that they will

discover its true nature - as this is when the construct

will attack.

Also note that due to the manacles being securely

fastened to the wall of the dungeon, the constructs

movement is confined to the 5ft square that it occupies.

Characters examining the skeleton in this room will

be able to discern that it if that of a small goblinoid or

similar (maybe a goblin or a small orc).

Animated Manacles: CR1; small construct; HD

1d10; hp 5; Init +1 (Dex); Spd 30ft; AC14; Atk +1

melee (1d4 slam); SA constrict; SQ construct, hardness10; AL N; Sv Fort +0, Ref +1, Will -5; Str 10, Dex 12,

Con -, Int -, Wis 1, Cha 1.

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Special Attacks: Constrict (Ex): The flexible animated

object deals automatic slam damage with a successful

grapple check against creatures up to one size larger

than itself.

Special Qualities: Construct: Immune to mind-

influencing effects, poison, disease, and similar effects.

Not subject to critical hits, subdual damage, abilitydamage, energy drain, or death from massive damage.

Hardness (Ex): The animated object has the same

hardness it had before it was animated.

Tactics: As mentioned above, due to the manacles

being fixed to the wall, the construct will wait until a

character comes within its reach before attacking. If

this occurs, the construct will drop the skeleton from

its grasp and attempt to grapple the nearest opponent

(note that the object is considered to be able to

move-in to maintain the grapple even though it isnt

usually allowed any movement beyond the 5ft square it

occupies). If the construct is then successful in gaininga pin on the grappled character, the object is considered

to have locked its manacles in place about the

characters wrists. From then on the object should be

treated as a normal set of manacles (see below for

details), with the unfortunate character it was grappling

imprisoned within its grip.

Manacles: Hardness 10; hp 5; Break DC26.

25. Corner Passage

26. Well RoomThe air in this room feels damp upon your skin

and fills you nostrils with an unpleasant aroma. In

the far corner of the rectangular chamber you can

make out an octagonal arrangement of worked

stones blocks, which appears to be a well or chute of

some kind.

The well in this room (that also supplies the rest of

the fortress) is slightly tainted and therefore any

character that drinks from the well will be required to

make a Fortitude save (DC10) or suffer 1d2 temporary

Constitution damage after an incubation period of 24

hours. Needless to say, due to continual exposure to the

tainted water supply, the creatures who now dwell

within the fortress have become immune to its effects.

27. PassageLocated at the midpoint of this narrow passage is a

secret door that is relatively hard to discover (DC20 to

find). Characters who possess the map of the fortress

(found in area 17) and thus are aware that there should

be a room beyond the wall, will have a slightly easier

time discovering the door (DC15 to find).

28. Secret Room

A 5ft wide section of wall swings inward, kicking

up years of dust in the process, to reveal a small

square chamber. At the centre of the room stands a

old wooden mannequin-like torso, over which is

draped a chainmail shirt covered in fine cobwebs.

It is within this secret room that the dwarves of the

fortress hid away many of their prised possessions.

Unfortunately during their fall, most of the dwarves

were wearing their enchanted armour and wielding their

most powerful magical weapons in an attempt to repel

the invaders.

All that remains within this room now is a single(though still much sough after) mithral shirt (worth

1100gp).

29. 4-way Junction

30. Passage

31. Bath House

Dominating the far corner of this room is a large

circular pool filled with murky looking water. An

old rusted chain that is fixed to the wall by several

large clasps, winds its way across the floor before

disappearing from view beneath the waterline of the

stagnant pool.

Scattered here and there, about the floor you cansee numerous bones of various shapes and sizes,

most of which appear (at least at first glance) to be

roughly humanoid in appearance.

Lurking beneath the water of the pool is a hungry

crocodile that is kept as a pet by the current inhabitants.

The animal wears a sturdy metal collar around its neck,

that is in turn fastened to the chain that hangs from the

chamber wall.

Therefore, due to its restraints, the crocodile can

only move (and thus attack) within the confines of this

room (though of course the chain may be broken in the

normal way).

Chain: Hardness 10; hp 5; Break DC26.

Crocodile: CR2; medium-size animal (aquatic); HD3d8+9; hp 22; Init +1 (Dex); Spd 20 ft, swim 30 ft;

AC15; Atk +6 melee (1d8+6 bite), or +6 melee (1d12+6

tail slap); SA improved grab; AL N; Sv Fort +6, Ref +4,

Will +2; Str 19, Dex 12, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 2.

Skills and Feats: Hide +7*, Listen +5, Spot +5 (*A

crocodile gains a +12 racial bonus to Hide checks when

submerged).

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Special Attacks: Improved Grab (Ex): To use this

ability, the crocodile must hit a Medium-size or smaller

opponent with its bite attack. If it gets a hold, the

crocodile grabs the opponent with its mouth and drags it

into deep water, attempting to pin it to the bottom. The

crocodile automatically deals bite damage each round it

maintains the pin.

Tactics: the crocodile will remain hidden (hide check

verses the characters spot check) just below the surface

of the water - at the centre of the pool. Any character

who then enters the room and decides to examine the

pool or lingers near the waters edge will become the

target of the animals attack. However if the PCs

simply rush through the room with the intent to bypass

it as quickly as possible - roll a D6 for each PC as

he/she does so to determine the crocodiles action. Only

on the result of a 6 will the animal leave to water to

attack the character (as a readied action).

Presuming the crocodile is defeated, players mayattempt to search the pool (which is only a couple of

feet deep). Resting at the bottom of the pool (search

check DC10) are the following:

A blue quartz gem (worth 10gp). A small iolite gem (worth 20gp). A large obsidian gem (worth 15gp). A small amber gem (worth 40gp). A large freshwater pearl (worth 15gp).

32. Passage

33. Corner Passage

34. Armoury

The passage leads to a long rectangular room with

a further exit leading off to the right. At the far end

of the chamber can be seen a large forge-like hearth

which, despite its rather sorry state of repair,

appears to be at least partially usable. In front of the

hearth stands a blackened anvil.

PCs who go around to the other side of the anvil

will see a large hammer resting against it. PCs who

decide to examine the hearth will discover that it is still

slightly warm. In addition, there are two hobgoblins

lurking in area 36 who should be allowed listen checks

(DC20) should the PCs make any excessive noise. If

the creatures do hear anything - they will come to

investigate.

35. Round Antechamber

The narrow passage opens out to form a small

round antechamber with another passage leading to

a rather battered looking iron door off to the left.

Standing in the centre of the room is a life-size

statue of a dwarven smith of some sort, with amighty hammer raised above his head.

If any of the characters examine the door to the

north, they will discover that it looks to have been

forced open (after much abuse). Characters making any

noise in this area will give the hobgoblins (who are

luring in the room beyond the door) the opportunity to

make a listen check (DC10). If the creatures do hear

anything - they will come to investigate.

Alternately if a PC listens at the door, he/she will

hear harsh, guttural voices on the other side (on a

successful listen check DC5).

36. Weapon Stores

With some effort you mange to pull the damaged

door open, thus revealing a small chamber beyond.

Lining the walls are several half-empty weapon

racks, above which hang a few metal shields. In the

far corner their lies a pile of dented helms, while

upon the floor their lie a few corroded spear heads.

Usually there will be two hobgoblins lurking in this

room (though that obviously depends on whether they

have been given the opportunity to make any listenchecks). It is in here that they would have been either

attending to the maintenance of the various stored

weapons (e.g. sharpening blades), or (as is more likely

the case) seeking a quiet place to hideout to avoid guard

duty.

Hobgoblins (2): CR1/2; medium size humanoid

(goblinoid); HD 1d8+1; hp 5; Init +1 (Dex); Spd 30ft;

AC15; Atk +1 melee (1d6 scimitar), +2 ranged (1d8

longbow); SQ darkvision 60ft; AL LE; Sv Fort +3, Ref


Cha 10.

Skills and Feats: Hide +0, Listen +3, Move Silently +2,Spot +3; Alertness.

Possessions: scimitar, longbow, chain shirt and d20

arrows in a leather quiver.

Searching the room turns up the following:

2 scimitars & 3 halfspears (on the weapon racks). 3 (somewhat rusty) small steel shields. 4 dented (and unusable) helms. 3 corroded spear heads.

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37. Hall Of Heroes

This large room must have once been an

impressive sight judging by the line of dwarven

statues that adorns the far the wall. Each stands

roughly 10ft tall, and although cracked, and missing

the odd appendage in one or two cases, are still amagnificent sight to look upon.

Beneath a finely carved archway to the right runs

another narrow passage, while to the left hangs the

tattered remnants of a gigantic tapestry. Upon the

floor, gathered mostly about the corners of the room,

are various bits of rubble, some of which appear to

be the missing parts from the broken statues.

Characters taking a closer look at the statues will

discover numerous chips in the stonework (from both

blunt and edged weapons) and crude marks scratched

into the surface.

The tapestry on the south wall is covered in patches

of brown mold (see below for more details). Therefore

anyone approaching the south end of the room will

notice a decrease in temperature as they do so. If the

mold is destroyed, the tapestry is found to be too badly

damaged to discern any kind of pattern or writing.

Characters searching the piles of rubble will find

several pieces that have been broken off the statues (e.g.

a hand, the head of an axe, a lower arm, etc.) amongst

other less obvious fragments of stone and dirt.

Brown Mold(CR 2): Brown mold feeds on warmth,drawing heat from anything around it. It normally

comes in patches 2 to 3 feet in diameter, and thetemperature is always cold in the area surrounding it.

Living creatures within 5 feet of it take 3d6 points of

cold subdual damage. Fire brought within 5 feet of the

mold causes it to instantly double in size. Cold damage,

such as from a cone of cold, instantly destroys it.

38. Corner Passage With AlcoveCharacters making any noise in this area will give

the bugbear (lurking in area 40) the opportunity to make

a listen check (DC15). If the creature does hear

anything - it will lie in wait (i.e. move to the side of the

door) - ready to ambush anyone who steps into thechapel.

Alternately if a PCs choose to listen in this area,

they may attempt a similar listen check (DC15) in order

to hear the deep voice of the bugbear conversing with

its goblin underlings.

39. Chapel Entrance

The passage leads to a small circular room with a

huge stone door to the north-west. Engraved upon

the door is a large image of two crossed hammers

over that of an anvil, all of which has been defaced

with unintelligible scrawl. The door itself sitsslightly ajar and appears to swivel about its mid

point.

Characters making any noise in this area will give

the bugbear (lurking on the other side of the door) the

opportunity to make a listen check (DC5) - or an

opposed move silently check (if the characters state that

they are attempting to make no noise). If the creature

does hear anything - it attempts to sneak to the side of

the door (move silently check), ready to ambush anyone

who steps into the chapel .

Alternately if the bugbear has not heard anything

thus far, the PCs may choose to listen in this area.

Doing so requires a listen check (DC5) in order to hear

the deep voice of the bugbear conversing with its

goblin underlings.

Players attempting to peek around the corner (hide

check) will get a rough idea of the layout of the room

and will either see two goblins and the bugbear

gathered near the centre of the room (if the PCs have

not been heard approaching), or just the two goblins

standing near the sarcophagus (if the PCs have been

heard). In the latter scenario, the character may also

attempt a spot check (versus the bugbears hide check),

to determine whether he/she manages to spot thecreature hiding off to the side of the doorway - ready to

pounce.

40. Chapel

The door swings open to reveal a large

rectangular chamber with a spectacular vaulted

ceiling that is supported by two huge pillars. Against

the far wall rests an ornate sarcophagus covered in

scrawl and childlike graffiti, which appears to have

had its lid removed. Upon the floor lies yet more

rubble and debris.

As mentioned in the above entry, the scene that

awaits the PCs as they enter this room depends on

whether the monsters inside were aware of their

approach or not. If it has turned out that the bugbear did

hear the PCs approaching (and is thus waiting to

ambush them), it should be allowed an immediate attack

on anyone who enters the room (as a readied action).

Bugbear: CR2; medium-size humanoid (goblinoid);

HD 3d8+3; hp 16; Init +1 (Dex); Spd 30ft; AC17; Atk

+4 melee (1d8+2 morningstar), +3 ranged (1d6+2

javelin); SQ darkvision 60ft; AL CE; Sv Fort +2, Ref

+4, Will +1; Str 15, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 10,Cha 9.

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Skills and Feats: Climb +2, Hide +3, Listen +3, Move

Silently +6, Spot +3; Alertness.

Possessions: leather armour, small shield, morningstar,

and javelin.

Goblins (2): CR1/4; small humanoid (goblinoid);

HD 1d8; hp 4; Init +1 (+1 Dex); Spd 30ft; AC15; Atk

+1 melee (1d6 halfspear), +3 ranged (1d6 shortbow);

SQ darkvision 60ft; AL NE; Sv Fort +2, Ref +1, Will

+0; Str 8, Dex 13, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 8.


Spot +3; Alertness.



Once the goblinoids have been dealt with, the

characters may opt to examine the sarcophagus. Inside

the tomb can be found the following items that have

been stashed away by the bugbear leaders:

A finely wrought small gold bracelet (worth 60gp) A silver ewer (worth 50gp) A carved bone statuette (worth 55gp) A brass mug with jade inlays (worth 350gp) A black velvet mask with numerous citrines (worth

105gp)

A pouch containing the following gems:

2 citrines (worth 50gp each)

amber (worth 100gp)

jade (worth 100gp)

A silvered dagger (worth 10gp) A breastplate (worth 200gp) 200 silver coins 50 gold coins

Note: If you are running this adventure as a recover the

lost artefact scenario - then this would be the ideal

place to home the aforementioned artefact.

Scaling The Adventure

For a higher level party (e.g. level 3-4) you may find

it beneficial to alter this adventure slightly - so that it

proves more challenging to your players. If this is the

case, it is suggested that you make the following simple

changes.

Replace all kobolds with goblins

Replace all goblins with hobgoblins

Replace all hobgoblins with bugbears

Add an additional sleeping bugbear to area 20.

Add a +1 magic weapon (that is suitable for one or

more of your party members) to the treasure stash

found in area 40.

Replace all of the monsters found in area 40 with

one ettin (see below for stats):

Ettin: CR5; large giant; HD 10d8+20; hp 65; Init +3

(-1 Dex, +4 improved initiative); Spd 40ft; AC18; Atk+12/+7 melee (1d10+6 [x2] greatclubs), +5/+0 ranged

(1d8+6 [x2] longspears); Face/Reach 5ft x 5ft / 10ft; SA

superior two-weapon fighting; SQ darkvision 90ft; AL

CE; Sv Fort +9, Ref +2, Will +3; Str 23, Dex 8, Con 15,

Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 11.

Skills and Feats: Listen +10, Search +0, Spot +10;

Alertness, Improved Initiative, Power Attack.

Special Attacks: Superior Two-Weapon Fighting (Ex):

An ettin fights with a club or spear in each hand.

Because each of its two heads controls an arm, the ettin

does not suffer an attack or damage penalty for

attacking with two weapons.

Possessions: hide armour, two greatclubs, and two

longspears.

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Player Handout(The Hidden Map)

an abandoned fortress

Documents