[Adventure] [9228] The Throne of Bloodstone.pdf

Official Game Adventure

The Throne of Bloodstone

by Douglas Niles and Michael Dobson

Table of Contents

Introduction ..................................... ...2

Pregenerated 100th-Level Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91

Running 100th-Level Characters ....................... .6

Mazes.......................................65,67-69

Cover Maps for the Palace of Orcus ................ .93, 95

City Maze of Orcusgate ............................. .94

Battle Arena.......................................96

Prologue ........................................ ...9

Chapter 1:

Citadel of the Witch-King ................. .12

Chapter 2:

Into the Abyss ........................... .30

NPC Capsules

Arctigis ........................................ .15

Zhengyi.........................................19

Klavikus ...................................... ..23

Dimwold........................................50

The Dire Whiner ................................ .55

Fyrillicus........................................58

Baphomet .......................................64

Glyphimhor .....................................72

Orcus ...........................................76

Realm of the Undead ..................... .46

Chapter 4: The Abyssian Fortress ..................... .57

Chapter 5:

Into the Seven Heavens. ................... .78

Epilogue:

Return to Bloodstone Pass .................. .82

People of Bloodstone Pass ..................... . . . . . . . . 85

Pregenerated Player Characters ................. . . . . . . . . 86

CREDITS

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Canada by Random House of Canada, Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby trade

by regional distributors. Distributed in the United Kingdom by TSR UK Ltd.

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logo are trademarks of TSR, Inc.

Editing: Mike Breault

Cover Art: Keith Parkinson

Interior Art: Graham Nolan

Cartography: David C. Sutherland III, Stephen Sullivan,

and Dennis Kauth

Typography: Betty Elmore

Keylining: Stephanie Tabat

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9228

Chapter 3:

INTRODUCTION

Notes for the

Dungeon Master

The four-module Bloodstone Pass

campaign series (of which this is part

four) explores what is one of the most

interesting aspects of the AD&D®

game: becoming a ruler.

Although the Dungeon Masters

Guide provides that a character of

sufficient level can build a castle, hire

an army, and set himself (or herself)

up as a proper medieval ruler, the

rules given for accomplishing this are

not sufficient to allow ruling and role

playing to go together. Instead, high-

level characters who become rulers are

normally considered to be retired

from adventuring. Perhaps from time

to time these old warhorses in your

campaign get trotted out for a partic-

ularly tough challenge, leaving their

seneschals behind to administer their

dominions for a while. But mostly the

campaign moves on to younger, new-

er characters.

More often, players avoid the bur-

dens of rulership altogether, prefer-

ring to maintain their high-level

characters as freelance adventurers,

ready to move on to the next

dungeon, carrying their treasure in

their backpacks or in the saddlebags

of their mounts, or in a convenient

magical chest that neatly avoids the

issue of encumbrance altogether.

It has been our feeling for a long

time that there is a lot more that can

be done with characters who become

rulers. The Bloodstone Pass saga is

our attempt to show that high-level

AD&D® game play can be qualita-

tively, as well as quantitatively, differ-

ent from low- and medium-level

playand just as exciting.

In this conclusion to the saga, the

villain that has been lurking just

behind the scenes, Orcus, Prince of

the Undead, comes to center stage, as

the player characters must enter the

Abyss and defeat Orcus on his own

territory in order to secure their king-

dom. The authors acknowledge their

debt to the spirits of such great tradi-

tional dungeon-crawls as the infa-

mous S1, Tomb of Horror, and Q1,

Queen of the Demonweb Pits. Dave

Sutherland, co-author of Q1, and

currently Chief Mapmaker for TSR, is

the designer of the castles of the

Witch-King and of Orcus, and his

malevolent, sinister imagination is

greatly appreciated.

As noted in H3, The Bloodstone

Wars, this series was integrated into

the new FORGOTTEN REALMS

Fantasy Game Setting from TSR, Inc.

The Forgotten Realms is the creation

of the incredibly talented Ed Elmin-

ster Greenwood, whose columns in

DRAGON® Magazine have inspired

many a campaign. A certain amount

of retrofitting had to take place to

shoehorn this campaign into the larg-

er world, including melting a large

glacier on the original maps from Ed

Greenwoods campaign to make

room for the kingdoms of Damara

and Vaasa.

Pre-generated characters are pro-

vided for those players whose charac-

ters are not yet of sufficient levels.

Certain situations are built around

the specific abilities of these charac-

ters, but handling those situations

should pose no challenge for the

experienced Dungeon Master.

High-level modules are inherently

open-ended, because of the vast

range of options available to powerful

characters. It takes skill and a firm

hand to run such an adventure suc-

cessfully, but we have confidence in

your ability to handle the unforeseen

in the context of the evolving plot.

This is the first module written for

people who run super-high level char-

acters. Although we do not endorse

the so-called Monty Haul cam-

paign, theres nothing wrong in sam-

pling what really high-level play has

to offer!

As usual, the authors will be

pleased to answer questions when

accompanied by a stamped, self-

addressed envelope, mailed to us

using the address on the back cover.

Good luck, and good adventuring!

What Has

Gone Before

Players whose characters have

adventured in the first three modules

of the H-series should be familiar

with the background information

that is summarized here. Players who

are new to the Bloodstone Pass cam-

paign need to be given the general

background; it may also not hurt to

refresh the memories of the other

players. Certain deep background

information is for the use of the

Dungeon Master only; the player

characters will discover the truth soon

enough. . . .

This material may be read or shown

directly to the players, or it may be

revealed in the course of the adven-

ture as the PCs explore the area, con-

duct research, or ask those whom they

encounter.

The Kingdoms of

Damara and Vaasa

For generations, the cold northern

wastes supported a scant population

of hunters, trappers, and poor

farmers. These hardy souls scrabbled

a meager living from the hard, stony

soil; they barely endured the long,

dark winters.

But that was before the coming of

the Witch-King, Zhengyi, who

formed the Kingdom of Vaasa and in

a single night built an evil castle atop

a lonely crag, from which his sinister

shadow crept across the land.

Some said that Zhengyi had

enlisted the aid of powerful demons,

or was a demon himself, and this

must have been true, for the King-

dom of Vaasa soon raised a powerful

army of human, non-human, and

undead warriorsfar more than the

poor northern lands could possibly

support. And with this army, Vaasa

became a power to be reckoned with

in the Forgotten Realms.

The armies of the Witch-King

invaded the peaceful Kingdom of

Damara without warning. At first

they seemed unstoppable. But the

army of Damara was brave and well-

trained, and soon the tides of battle

turned. For 10 long, bloody years, the

forces of Vaasa and Damara fought,

neither able to achieve final victory.

Many thousands of brave warriors and

fell creatures died.

Then, in the summer of 1147,

King Virdin faced the Witch-Kings

cohorts at the Ford of Goliad in what

would be the final engagement of the

long war. Some say it was the treach-

ery of the Kings chief lieutenant,

Felix (who was reputed to be secretly a

member of the Guild of Assassins, in

league with the enemy), that

betrayed the young King to his death,

and threw his army into utter defeat.

The Witch-King and his secret ally,

the Grandfather of Assassins, moved

quickly to consolidate the victory. In a

single night, the most loyal and pow-

erful nobles of Damara were slain by

sword and by poison, leaving the cra-

ven, the incompetent, and the disloy-

al to sue for peace.

Indeed, the Witch-King would

make peace, but on his own terms.

He took the rich northern provinces

for his own, then generously granted

independence to the southern

lords. . .as long as they paid tribute

and acknowledged the Witch-Kings

power. This was a shrewd political

move, for each petty baron and duke

conspired against the others for scraps

of power and wealth, throwing the

entire south into political chaos. A

steady stream of refugees moved

south, searching for an ever-elusive

safety and leaving economic chaos in

its wake.

harvest followed by a long and terri-

ble winter caused mass starvation,

and dire wolves from the Galenas

preyed on whatever they could find.

Some of the wolves were infected with

lycanthropy, compounding the hor-

ror. Many people starved in that long

winter, and those who dared to hunt

for food themselves became fodder

for the dire wolves.

The next disaster struck the follow-

ing year, when the Witch-Kings arm-

ies closed the passes through the

Galenas, cutting off the Barony of

Bloodstones remaining source of

wealth. Many families left for the

south that year, and the population of

the valley dwindled to a scant fraction

of what it had been. The remaining

humans gathered close to the village

of Bloodstone, abandoning the outly-

ing areas. The dwarves, halflings, and

centaurs who shared the valley

became clannish and insular, and

withdrew to their own communities.

Poverty settled in the valley. Bandits

and strange creatures began to infest

the passes to the south. Escape was no

longer possible; the valley of Blood-

stone was now completely isolated.

Then the final disaster struck. In

1147, following the defeat at the Ford

of Goliad, the Grandfather of Assas-

sins, whose mysterious citadel was

long rumored to be hidden in the

Galenas, reached out to organize the

bandits of the mountains. Soon, a vir-

tual army (allied with Vaasa, of

course) had built a camp in the can-

yon that once held the mining opera-

tions. The poor citizens of Bloodstone

knew nothing of this, until the army

began demanding tribute of gold,

food . . . and finally, slaves.

Baron Tranth, 5th Baron of Blood-

stone, was discouraged from long

years of hardship and defeat. His oath

to protect and defend his people had

kept him going through each succes-

sive disaster. . . even the personal trag-

The Barony of Bloodstone

Hardship and poverty had long

been no stranger to one small barony.

The Barony of Bloodstone, so named

for the deep-green chalcedony

flecked with red jasper that was

mined there, had once been a pros-

perous, if small, province of Damara,

located in a verdant valley in the

Galena Mountains. In addition to the

gems that were its trademark, the bar-

ony gave its name to Bloodstone Pass,

the major route through the Galenas

to points north and west, including

Zhentil Keep and the Moonsea. The

valley was home to humans, dwarves,

centaurs, and halflings, who farmed

the land, mined the mountains, and

maintained the trade routes. All gave

their loyalty to the Baron, and lived in

peace for many generations.

But at approximately the time the

Witch-King came to power in the

north, the first of a series of disasters

befell the Barony of Bloodstone.

First was the loss of the mines.

Once, the bloodstone mines pro-

duced stones worth well over 100,000

gp annually. Human and dwarven

workers toiled side by side beneath

the earth, providing a steady stream

of wealth. But one day, a duergar dis-

covered a strange pool of mercury

within which lurked a nameless evil.

The evil awoke, and death stalked the

mines. Only a few mine workers

returned to tell the tale. Many brave

souls tried to enter the mines to dis-

cover the truth and defeat the evil,

but none returned alive.

Next came the fell winter of 1137,

known as the Wolf Winter. A poor

edy of his wifes death in childbirth.

He had counseled that his people give

tribute to the banditsanything,

just to keep surviving. But slavery was

worse than death, and so he resolved

to fight back, even at the risk of losing

all.

He needed helppowerful help,

but where could he turn? There was

no treasure with which to buy merce-

naries. He could only beg. Garlen

and Garvin, two cousins, were sent

south just before the fall harvest to

seek the aid of powerful adventurers

who might save his people.

the children took up arms, and all the

enemys might could not sway them.

The bandit army was broken, and the

Grandfather of Assassins retreated by

magic to his mountain fastness.

The beautiful daughter and heiress

of Baron Tranth, Lady Christine, fell

in love with one of the adventurers, a

brave paladin, and they planned to

wed. It seemed that with the power-

ful patronage of these adventurers,

the Barony of Bloodstone might have

a bright future.

Yet even in the moment of victory,

the Baron realized that very soon win-

ter would set in. Even now, the cold

northern winds were bringing the

first frost to the valley. . . .

occupied by the svirfneblin, while the

duergar led mean and squalid lives

outside the cavern network. Over

many years, the duergar had preyed

on the deep gnomes, but never

achieved military victory.

But one night a lone duergar crept

into the gnome city to steal food and

perhaps murder a few gnomes.

Sneaking through an infrequently

used tunnel, he found an open mine

shaft. Curious, he crawled inside, and

found there a pool of mercury, glis-

tening coldly. He felt a calling from

it, a sense of implacable evil that

thrilled him. He stretched out his

hand, touched the mercury, and was

instantly transformed into a figure of

transcendent horroran avatar of

Orcus, Prince of the Undead.

The spirit of Orcus ravaged the city

of the svirfneblin, driving them from

their homes and destroying their civi-

lization in a single night of horror.

The horror then stalked the mine

shafts near the surface to bring

deathand worseto those who

worked there. Then the avatar dissi-

pated, leaving the strange pool of

mercury gleaming with its eerie blue

light.

The duergar were quick to exploit

the destruction of the svirfneblin,

and took the city for their own. Cler-

ics of the duergar found the glowing

pool, and learned its awful secret: it

was a gate to the lower planes of the

Abyss, and through it Orcus would

one day be able to enter the Prime

Material plane and claim it for his

own.

The duergar built a huge Temple of

Orcus with the pool of mercury at its

center. Guards, wards, and fiendish

traps were set about it to keep anyone

from penetrating its secrets. The

svirfneblin, shattered remnants of

their former glory, lurked in small

caves outside the city, hoping one day

to return.

The Adventure of

Bloodstone Pass

In H1, Bloodstone Pass, Garlen

and Garvin approached a party of

adventurers in the town of Valls, capi-

tol of the Duchy of Arcata. Although

they could only afford to offer a fee of

five silver pieces per day, the adven-

turers agreed to help.

Operating under a cloak of secrecy

and aided by the powerful magic of

the seven heroes, the village prepared

for battle. First, a party of tribute col-

lectors was ambushed and wiped out.

The villagers, long used to defeat,

were elated. Then came a battle on

the open field, and a punitive expedi-

tion by the bandit army was defeated!

But then came a night of horror,

when a Priest of Orcus conjured the

dead of the Bloodstone graveyard to

unholy life, and corpses shambled the

streets. A simultaneous sneak attack

by enemy cavalry resulted in much of

the village being burned. The people

of Bloodstone were sore afraid, but

resolved that death was preferable to

subjugation and slavery. Thus it was

that the first clue of the presence of

the Prince of the Undead came to

light.

Then came the final battle, as the

Grandfather of Assassins himself took

the field. The aged, the women, and

The Mines of Bloodstone

In H2, The Mines of Bloodstone,

an early winter set in and the villagers

began to fear a repeat of the Wolf

Winter. The military success of the

past few months had not solved all

the problems of Bloodstone, and the

adventurers were once again called to

action. But as they began to investi-

gate the food situation, a new night

of horror descended on the village. At

a home near the Abbey of St. Sollars,

a peasant family had been foully mas-

sacred by worgs, and there was evi-

dence of vampirism. And painted on

a wall in the blood of the victims was a

goats headsigil of Orcus, Prince of

the Undead.

All signs in the investigation point-

ed to the long-closed bloodstone

mines, and it was there that the

adventurers traveled. The abandoned

mine shafts were redolent with evil; at

the bottom, demons and succubi

eagerly awaited new victims.

On defeating the demons and suc-

cubi, the heroes rescued two

svirfneblin gnomes, who revealed the

existence of a huge cavern city of

duergar far beneath the mines. Once,

the gnomes said, the city had been

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