Looking for a good Dungeon adventure to fit into Savage Tide...

[Kain Darkwind]

Alright, here's the deal. Any of my players reading this, see your way out of the thread. Danke.

Two of my longstanding players had their favorite characters cast into the Void, when they drew that card from the Deck of Many Things during Tides of Dread. An unfortunate, and seemingly cheap end to their characters.

However, Tides of Dread has just now closed, and Vanthus is dead. The remaining party (along with some of the players' new characters) want to seek out and rescue their friends, and hints have been dropped that the Pools of Truth and Beauty are the way to that end, in the Lost Citadel. Before tackling the events of chapter 6 and moving on with the campaign.

The question is this. What adventures do people know of and remember that would fit in well with minor changes at best, to create a 'find and fight through the Lost Citadel' type of adventure? Ideally, an adventure for 12th level characters, and with maps for such a place. A Pathfinder Module would work too. I'm open to pretty much any ideas, and will have fun rereading through the adventures suggested even if they don't work out, so no pressure.

[Bellona]

If it weren't for the fact that the Wells of Darkness turn up at a later point in the adventure path, I would suggest looking in the Fiendish Codex I/Hordes of the Abyss. Being trapped in the Void is something which I equate with being trapped in the Wells, as the Savage Tide adventure path builds further on the Codex's version of the Wells and their connections with the vestiges from the Tome of Magic (the section on binders and pact magic).

[Rezdave]

Kain Darkwind wrote:

What adventures ... create a 'find and fight through the Lost Citadel' ... for 12th level characters, and with maps

Some combination of the following, adjusted for levels, might work:

Void and Tower or Castle Adventures:

Dungeon Issue # - Title - Suggested Total Party Levels - Description

031 - Beyond the Glittering Veil – 27 - A mystic Gate has opened to a dark world, and Shadows threaten the population. Travel through the gate to a lost city of a forgotten psionic race, and put an end to the threat, and the schemes of the Shades who now live there. Involves Psionics, and temporarily grants “Wild Talents” to PCs.

035 - Twilight's Last Gleaming – 45 - Evil beings from the Plane of Shadow are overwhelming the garrison protecting Twilight Pass. But this is no simple “kill the monsters” job, as a Rakshasa has possessed the garrison commander. Journey through a Gate to the Demiplane where the Rakshasa’s body is captive in stasis and end the threat.

043 - Into the Silver Realm – 60 - A red dragon is plaguing the Northlands. But this turns out to be no simple dragon-slaying when the dragon’s lair is actually a Githyanki garrison which includes a permanent portal to a fortress in the Astral Plane.

045 - Prism Keep – 42 - A floating castle of crystal and gems appears in the sky above the town. As you watch a crystal shard falls to earth, opening a bridge to the palace. Investigate the floating marvel, uncover its secrets, end any threats, and become embroiled in an old legend.

049 - Castle of the Blind Sun - 56 - Horses and cattle near your castle are being slaughtered, a neighboring bog has turned into a sylvan forest, a charlatan posing as a healing priestess is on the loose, and as a solar eclipse approaches a mystical castle appears in the mountains.

052 - My Lady's Mirror - 40 - A companion to “Lady of the Mists”. Monsters and villains are loose in the castle-palace of Lady Avancia Freitstein, released from a Mirror of Life Trapping. But appearances can be deceptive, and the Lady has not earned the name “The Dark Rose” without reason.

059 - Seeking Bloodsilver – 15 - Journey to a ruined fortress-wall that guards a mountain pass and thence into the “Shadowlands” to recover a lost weapon reputedly made of the rarest “Bloodsilver”.

060 - Nemesis - 60 - An investigation into the disappearance of a tiefling turns ugly when the trail leads from Sigil into the Abyss and becomes embroiled in the power struggles of the marilith and one demon’s quest for revenge.

068 - Al-Kandil - 24 - A magic lamp contains not a genie, but a trapped sorcerer who pretends to be one until such time as he can escape the prison by tricking someone into replacing him.

081 - Divisions of the Mind - 50 - A beholder has stumbled upon a mysterious floating crystal palace. Luring adventurers into its lair, it bargains with them to investigate the lair of a Ulitharid (Greater Illithid) with a severe case of Multiple Personality Disorder who hates mind flayers.

092 - Interlopers of Ruun-Khazai - 52 - A hundred year-old psychic storm has wound down, revealing a Githyanki outpost thought lost. Both Githyanki and Githzerai raiders seek to claim it, but Ruun-Khazai’s former master hasn’t left and is preparing a special reception for them. Avoid becoming caught in the cross-fire and becoming fuel for the next psychic storm the master is brewing to protect his domain.

093 - Storm Lord’s Keep, The - 84 - Many towns and villages have been completely destroyed by a terrible storm that is next set to descend upon the village of Ruvian. Defend the townsfolk from a Storm of Vengeance and flights of half-dragon/half-roc mounted Storm Giants who engage them. A famous local bard can tell you of the Storm Lord who dwells in the great castle atop the thunderhead. Put an end to the giant’s wrathful raids, and perhaps learn of the terrible loss which has enraged him, or the dark secret he protects.

095 - Jackal’s Redemption, The - 36 - As a nearby wizard’s tower begins phasing in and out of the material plane, the wizard himself has been missing for months as red fiendish creatures raid the nearby countryside and kidnap locals. Enter the tower and travel to Gehenna to overturn the plans of the fiend who seduced the wizard and put these events into motion.

099 - Githzerai Monastery - Any-Single level fortified temple or dwarven fortress.

099 - Temple of Boccob - Any-Single level temple features a central chapel / sanctuary ringed by a variety of sub-chapels, living and research areas. Could easily be re-imagined as a fortified temple.

107 - Test of the Smoking Eye - 40 - Cauldron Series: Journey to the Abyss and complete the Test of the Smoking Eye to claim dominion over the plane of Occipitus, part of Celestia that fell into the Abyss.

123 - Quicksilver Hourglass - 120 - An ancient goddess of a dead pantheon sought to destroy the Prime Material Plane by constructing the Quicksilver Hourglass. Fueled by the divine essence of an allied demi-god of aging and death it would age all living things by millennia in only minutes. Lost in a time-void for eons, now the hourglass has been found by a vampire who seeks to activate it to slay the living so that he may rule an empire of the undead.

132 - Library of Last Resort, The - 64 - Age of Worms pt. 9: The druidic Order of the Storm sacrificed itself to defeat Dragortha and steal his phylactery, thereby averting Kyuss’s last attempt to invoke the Age of Worms. Journey to their extra-dimensional sanctuary and complete a series of tests to prove you are worthy of the knowledge of the phylactery’s location, but you must beat others who arrived ahead of you.

136 - Gates of Oblivion - 72 - Lacc, the city of monoliths, on the Plain of Shadow is expanding to consume world after world. Destroy the three Gates that power it and slay the lich who heads a nihilistic oblivion cult to end the threat to your world and free others overtaken thus far.

148 - Wells of Darkness - 72 - Savage Tide pt. 10: Begin striking deals with demons and free an imprisoned Succubus Lord to learn the secret to defeating Demogorgon and stopping the Savage Tide.

HTH,

Rez

[Kain Darkwind]

Yeah, Bellona, if only it was after Ch. 9, I'd have a ton of material to run.

Rezdave, thank you for the list. I have a ton of those adventures, I'll have to see if some of them work out.

I was flipping through some of my Dungeons and came upon The Mud Sorcerer's Tomb....does anyone know anything about that? It seems that such a place would make an ideal trek through the Lost Citadel to the Pools of Truth and Beauty.

[Rezdave]

Kain Darkwind wrote:

The Mud Sorcerer's Tomb ... would make an ideal trek through the Lost Citadel to the Pools of Truth and Beauty.

Ooooohhhhhh !!!!! Never though of that.

So ... you don't know MST ?!?!?! What rock have you been hiding under?

MST is one of the all-time great dungeon-crawls. IMHO, it is better than ToH because it has the same level of cunning without the random Guess-or-Die traps.

Actually, it would make a great trek to the pools, then afterwards you might want an "in the void" adventure.

Perhaps I'll look for some other water/pool-themed stuff ... I was mostly focused on void/citadel in the last search.

R.

P.S. Original #37, Revised 3.5 Ed. #138

[Kain Darkwind]

:-) Well, the Void is...it won't need to be played in, that's all I'm saying, just in case prying player eyes are watching. Once they place the bodies in the Pools, my thought is that their souls will be returned. But I want the Lost Citadel of the Olman to be an impressive adventure in and of itself, so perhaps Mud Sorcerers need to become Olman Princes.

As for where I've been, the crazy thing is that I never used to figure I'd need Dungeon, because I liked playing, not DMing. I was sort of a Dragon Mag only kind of guy. I didn't realize I might get stuck DMing and dearly require the aid Dungeon provided, so the few issues I had, I only read for the Adventure Paths. It has only been recently I've been looking at those other two adventures nestled in each of those mags. And MST actually was between Adventure Paths, so it got doubly skipped. I've been trying to correct that mistake as much as possible by buying up the missing issues when I can.

[Rezdave]

Kain Darkwind wrote:

Mud Sorcerers need to become Olman Princes.

The tone and ambience of MST is pretty well suited to this with minimal conversion of the flavor text.

A Few More to Consider ... :

These came from a description search for "pool" and "water" as well as the Maure Castle stuff, which is coincidentally just the right level for your needs.

072 - Deep Trouble in Telthin - 70 - The city of Telthin is inexplicably flooding, and watery monsters are ravaging the lakeside while the local water-elementalist/Archmage has gone missing. Journey to the archmage’s retreat on the Elemental Plane of Water and free him from captivity and the grasp of a Marid Caliph who invaded his home.

094 - Map of Mystery: Priest-king’s Temple of the Water Serpent - Any - A large dungeon or temple complex features a throne room, several chapels, main pool and two minor ones, and summoning well.

101 - Map of Mystery: The Water Bird - Any - Dungeon temple complex to water deity, or layout of surface buildings surrounding a huge sacred pool or even garden.

112 - Maure Castle - 48+ - Super-sized Adventure: An entire issue dedicated to 4 levels of Maure Castle. 25 years ago Bigby & Mordenkainen entered this dungeon and slew Eli Tormorast. Now he’s resurrected and continuing his search of ancient lore and power with new allies and cults in his service. Retrace their steps through new guards and threats and stop his plans once more.

112 - Maure Castle, Pt 1: The Great Hall - 48 - Past the Unopenable Doors lies the first level, a grand entry hall and audience chamber. Roving guards, a few traps and a nasty construct fend off casual dungeon-crawlers.

112 - Maure Castle, Pt 2: Tormorast’s Hold - 48+ - Once the chapels of four separate Maure cults, eventually ruled by the psychic Purple Stone. After the cultists died and the stone lay dormant, Tormorast established his headquarters on this level and keeps his quarters here. Seeker guards patrol and the Purple Stone has reawakened.

112 - Maure Castle, Pt 3: Karzit’s Fane - 48+ - The lowest layer controlled by Tormorast, it is the headquarters of his Cult of Kerzit and his Claws of Yeenoghu allies, though the relations of these factions are strained at best. Also the home/prison of the demon Kerzit. Features a grand chapel, almost random corridors and rooms.

112 - Maure Castle, Pt 4: The Statuary - 48+ - An actual sub-level of Maure Castle itself, residing between the Chambers of Antiquities (above) and Family Crypts (below). Currently being investigated by Tormorast, but contested between a lich-general and a marid wizard, both former minions of the Maure. The real power, however, is the collected will of the Maure, manifested as the psychic Id Core.

139 - Maure Castle: The Greater Halls - 68 - A level of shrines, magical workshops, private treasuries and places for the Maure to rest or engage in personal activities.

R.

[Kain Darkwind]

Ooh. Maure Castle is awesome, although I'm torn. On one hand, making Maure Castle the Lost Citadel would be incredible, on the other hand...that's quite a while before getting back to the rest of the Savage Tide.

Hmm. Choices, choices. I don't suppose Maure Castle has one of those nifty download supplement packets for all the artwork and such? My game is online, and having those maps available is a huge boon.

[Rezdave]

Kain Darkwind wrote:

Ooh. Maure Castle is awesome ... that's quite a while before getting back to the rest of the Savage Tide.

Well, you could just use part of it ...

Kain Darkwind wrote:

I don't suppose Maure Castle has one of those nifty download supplement packets for all the artwork and such?

No ... regular supplements didn't start until issue #114, but you can buy #112 for $4.95 and extract the maps from the PDF file.

R.

P.S. The supplements for #124 and #139 are HERE if you want to run just the Chamber of Antiquities and/or the Greater Halls.

[Kain Darkwind]

Thanks a ton, Rezdave. Here's what I decided to do.

Run the Mud Sorcerer's Tomb as 'under' the Lost Citadel (which I've named Opar, from Burroughs), which will lead to the Pools of Truth and Beauty.

Flip Maure Castle upside down, placing the lower (harder) levels as upper (harder) levels, and make it above ground. Should my players choose to explore the Lost Citadel beyond the pools for their immediate needs, I will utilize Maure Castle to represent the citadel proper. Entities like Eli and his Seekers will become vengeful Olman princes and gnolls will become the sagoths and mahar that seem to plague so much of my Isle of Dread.

Again, big thanks for the help. This is my first major branch away from the main Savage Tide plotline, but I think it is going to work out fine.