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Note to GM
This is meant as a lead into parts of the Varnhold Vanishing without giving any real information that would tip off the players to Vordakai. It can be used as a supplement to the Lonely Barrow (Greenbelt, Area F) or placed as its own adventure site.
Adventure Background
In the Age of Darkness, a long extinct dwarven kingdom emerged into the Stolen Lands led by King Khadgar of Temol who drove his country to the surface in hopes of fulfilling the Quest for Sky. The end of the journey to the surface was bittersweet as Khadgar’s nation was met with an orcish uprising in the bloody kingdom of Vordakai. Attacked from the moment of their arrival, King Khadgar was killed in the first major conflict with Vordakai. It took less than a decade for the dwarven nation to collapse and fade in the wake of the necromancers. Though the kingdom fell its ruins have remained relatively untouched in the last five millennia. Eroded by the wilderness only a small flora covered hill remains where long ago the dwarves had built a surface keep. In time passing barbarians found a collapsed passage and converted the surface ruins to bury their dead never realizing what lay beneath.
Adventure Summary
The adventurers find and explore the barbarian cairn only to discover signs of dwarves and possibly an ancient dwarven lift that leads into the outlying area of the extinct dwarven settlement. In their investigations they accidentally stumble upon lost dwarven engineering marvels, dwarven clockwork, guardians, and a massive warren of cannibalistic morlocks who have taken residence in the ruins. In exploring the ruins the adventurers will finding artifacts of the lost kingdom of Khadgar as well as a strange magical tome taken from the servants of Vordakai.
More soon!!!!
I've got this finished, I just need to transfer it from my chicken scratch to a word doc. Hopefully like my RotRL content, some aweseome map maker will make some location art for it.
Hey James.
Have you be able to run this yet? Any chance of seeing the updated .doc. It sounds pretty fantastic
The group ran through about a third of it last session, I'll get a writeup done. I included some really strange content and alot of traps. My group is looking at using it as a possible city location or a fortification as soon as they clear it out. I've designated it as a pure exploration dungeon, but I did hook in a wierd artifact tome that has the face of Nethys and includes the community created content for Zudigger's Picnic. Just as a what the heck is this thing, kind of moment for the players, its kind of a mcguffin.
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The group ran through about a third of it last session, I'll get a writeup done. I included some really strange content and alot of traps. My group is looking at using it as a possible city location or a fortification as soon as they clear it out. I've designated it as a pure exploration dungeon, but I did hook in a wierd artifact tome that has the face of Nethys and includes the community created content for Zudigger's Picnic. Just as a what the heck is this thing, kind of moment for the players, its kind of a mcguffin.
Sounds pretty cool. Can't wait till you share.
Here's the first part, I'll put it all together as I finish.
Khadgar’s Folly a Kingmaker Adventure Site
Note to GM
This is meant as a lead into parts of the Varnhold Vanishing without giving any real information that would tip off the players to Vordakai. It can be used as a supplement to the Lonely Barrow (Greenbelt, Area F) or placed as its own adventure site. It is based on a group of 6 level 6 pc’s.
Adventure Background
In the Age of Darkness, a long extinct dwarven kingdom emerged into the Stolen Lands led by King Khadgar of Temol who drove his country to the surface in hopes of fulfilling the Quest for Sky. The end of the journey to the surface was bittersweet as Khadgar’s nation was met with an orcish uprising in the bloody kingdom of Vordakai. Attacked from the moment of their arrival, King Khadgar was killed in the first major conflict with Vordakai. It took less than a decade for the dwarven nation to collapse and fade in the wake of the necromancers. Though the kingdom fell its ruins have remained relatively untouched in the last five millennia. Eroded by the wilderness only a small flora covered hill remains where long ago the dwarves had built a surface keep. In time passing barbarians found a collapsed passage and converted the surface ruins to bury their dead never realizing what lay beneath.
The timing of the dwarves coming to the surface would approximate at -4987 AR and in less than a decade through the orcish uprising and finally the use of Vordakai’s Occulus of Abbadon the dwarves of the kingdom of Temol became extinct nearly overnight.
Adventure Summary
The adventurers find and explore the barbarian cairn only to discover signs of dwarves and possibly an ancient dwarven lift that leads into the outlying area of the extinct dwarven settlement. In their investigations they accidentally stumble upon lost dwarven engineering marvels, dwarven clockwork, guardians, and a massive warren of cannibalistic morlocks who have taken residence in the ruins. In exploring the ruins the adventurers will finding artifacts of the lost kingdom of Khadgar as well as a strange magical tome taken from the servants of Vordakai.
If using the Lonely Barrow, add to the last sentence in F5 to read(F4 mistake in adventure). Start with B1. The Lift.
“The stone fixture sets upon a cog shaped metal plate that is unquestionably dwarven in origin.”
If using as a stand alone location place this barbarian cairn in any hill hex.
A1. Outside of the Cairn
A tangled mess of thorns and low trees parts before rocky angular hill a half sphere of large stones surround an opening.
A2. Entryway (CR 3)
“A dark tunnel leads down at a gentle slope along vine chocked stone walls. Primitive cave drawings line both sides, some obscured by the foliage.”
The cave drawings were left here by passing barbarians who in ages past sought shelter before entombing their dead here. Since then this tunnel has hosted many animals including a small family of black bears. There is a 30% chance that the bear will be here with its cub.
Black Bear (1) Bestiary
A3. Entombed dead
“Broken bits of clay pottery and scattered bones litter alcoves in each wall a few pieces of armor and weapons rusted beyond repair lie in each. Several tunnels may have once led deeper, but two have all but collapsed completely. A third is chocked with boulders and debris. “
Over time the elements and animals have eaten away at the bones and gear, leaving little of value. If studied a small clay pot can reveal possible cultural ties to Numeria. The barbarians buried here were of no great importance to the tribes. Three Tunnels branch off from this hallway, two are collapsed beyond all use, but the third can be cleared to reveal area A4.
A4. Abandoned Living Chamber
This room suffered from a cave -in in the non-recent past, bits of broken pottery litter the floor here as well as stones arraigned to form a primitive hearth. Although the floor here is covered in a thick layer of dirt, it is apparent that a huge circular metal tile lies beneath it.
B1. The Lift
After cleaning off the dirt and rubble it is apparent that a dwarven made steel floor tile covers the floor. The seal bears the dwarven inscription “Long live King Khadgar XI of Temol” and the stern face of a dwarf.
Knowledge checks about Khadgar XI or any of his line will likely lead nowhere since his people went extinct five millennia ago, but a knowledge Nobility DC30 will yield that Temol is and ancient nation of the dwarves and no known descendants exist. A Perception DC 20 can find a trio of retractable levers that are trapped which if operated correctly causes the tile to lower with a metal clanking sound at a rate of 10 feet per round down a circular metal tube composed of dwarven steel (alchemically hardened steel +1 Hardness). Correct operation of the device requires a knowledge DC20 Engineering or Disable Device check, failure by 5 or more sets off the floor trap.
Trap: Razor Cog Saws CR 3, Type Mechanical, Perception 20, Disable 20, Reset Automatic 1 Minute, Effect all targets standing on the metal floor, Attack Melee +14, 2d6+7 damage.
B2. The Descent
With a steady and resounding clanking the platform lowers amongst a trio of rails built into a cage like metal cylinder that descends through a lightless stoney shaft at the pace of 60 feet per minute. Outside the walls of the cage it is possible to see rough cut stone.
The lift has room for roughly 10 people to use it at a time and will descend nearly half a mile without any mechanical problems. The walls of the lift are fairly easy to climb at DC5 with numerous handholds in the metal cage. Near the bottom fragile non-magical dim florescent blue crystals were cultivated over the centuries by the dwarves to serve as a dim light source. It is possible to stop the lift or reverse course at any time, although attempting to raise the lift causes three hinged metal poles to rise up and in turn they can be rotated to cause the lift to rise. It is possible to examine the work of the dwarves outside the lift, numerous practical dwarven steps and long rotted pulley systems helped dwarves in its construction, many of the artifacts still exist outside the caging.
Item: Florescent Crystal – value negligible, they shed light at 15 feet, but if cracked or broken they cease shining, it is possible to harvest some Alchemy DC15 or Jewelcraft DC15, but if exposed to daylight they cease functioning.
Hopefully this doesn't get confusing, I'm definitely not an artist, but if people like this enough, feel free to make sum up and post links.
B3. Base of the Lift CR8
The lift slows as it lowers and outside of the cage a blue lit cavern emerges. Numerous structures, bridges, and doorways line the walls as well as a chill gusting wind and sounds of rushing water in the far distance. The cage cylinder here is coated in a slimy translucent web like substance that obscures view somewhat when the lift settles and stops at the base in what appears to an enclosed courtyard with carved stony pillars flanking a metal fence surrounding the lift. The lift cylinder itself may have once had a gate long ago, its hinges apparent but rended apart.
Long ago in his prime Vordakai descended the lift with his undead giants and ripped the gate off before using the Occulus. The entire city was enthralled, those who weren’t were thrown off the nearby cliff by his minions or fled deeper underground never to be seen again. The city itself has seen hosts of monsters pass through and has been casually looted by squatters over the ages, mostly morlocks and occasionally a duergar expedition. Two strange creatures prey in this area strange flying air breathing jellyfish creatures, change their swim speed to fly. The area is coated in a web like goo they secrete that reduces movement by half, which can be avoided by an Acrobatics DC 10 or Perception DC 15 per round.
Giant Jellyfish (2) Bestiary 2.
C. Fort Skybreaker
“The Cavern itself is large and impressive, a blue hue from tens of crystals along the walls and ceilings lights the area, the walls are covered in dwarven pictographs depicting various figures. The eastern third ends in a steep cliff that descends into darkness pocked by small dim blue lights that lead down a narrow mossy stair. The center of the cavern is dominated by a square cagelike fort with that surrounds the lift cylinder, stone stairs and walkways lead around its edges, an opening on to the west may have once served as a gate, though it stands empty. The raised walkway of the fort leads extends into a bridge to the north nearly 100 feet in length almost 20 feet off the ground. At its end is a massive stone door carved to resemble the face of a dwarf, two large iron rings protrude from it. The western wall of the cavern is a 15’ tall raised portcullis, its operating mechanism a lever on the nearby wall. The tunnel leads down a square undecorated corridor and turns abruptly after 60’ a large iron hanging brazier hangs in the passage.”
Fort Skybreaker is the cavern the lift lowers into the center of and by which the dwarves of Temol could go into the Hall of King Khadgar (north exit, Dwarven Face Door, Area D), descend the cliffs of the Underlands (eastern area, the Narrow Stair, Area E), or go into the City of Skybreak (western tunnel, Area F). The Fort itself is little more than a palisade of iron bars and simple empty stone structures resembling the floor plan of Oleg’s Trading Post with the exit facing west, though all of the buildings are stone. The alchemically fortified steel gate to the fort was disintegrated long ago and its remnants could give clues to its method of destruction DC 26 Spellcraft. Searching the area produces a few artifacts, Perception DC 10 finds human like bones probably no more than a few months old with a strange skull with no eye sockets (an unlucky morlock), DC 15 finds ancient crushed pottery of dwarven origins, DC20 finds a rusted (broken) masterwork dwarven steel* mace. The dwarven pictographs on the wall denote dwarves in various stages of digging, farming vast mushroom fields, mining, fighting orcs, and worshipping the dwarven gods (Religion DC 15) of Droskar and to a minor extent (DC10) Torag.
Dwarven Steel*: Dwarven steel has its hardness increased by 1, increase the base costs of all dwarven steel items by 10% as a general rule. Dwarven steel is made by using semi-rare earth coals that are available in the markets of underground races. A rare earth coal mine is a +1 Economy Resource.
More tommorrow, my group is slightly past this point, they have explored the length of the Hall of King Khadgar.
Hall of King Khadgar (Area D)
D1. The Great Door
The massive door depicts the stern face of a dwarf with an open faced helm staring down dwarves pushing large stones and building steps around a massive vertical tunnel that runs the to the top of the door. The top of the door depicts scenes of battles between dwarves and other humanoids some very large.
The massive stone door would normally be difficult to open, but due to dwarven engineering it opens with a strength check DC 18. Two characters can grab each ring netting a +6 on an aid another to a fourth, taking 10, a character with 3 allies should be able to easily pull the door open. The door itself has a dwarven steel reinforced core doubling its hit points, should it be relevant.
D2. The Hall of Toils
The walls here are rife with cracks that run through more dwarven pictographs depicting dwarven battle scenes with orcs and other creatures in the depths of the caverns, particularly detailed stonework depicts a dwarven shield formation against large humanoid rocks.
This hallway has been picked over by an ill-fated duergar scouting expedition nearly a century ago, they were overrun by the nearby camps of morlocks and most died a grizzly death within these halls. Pieces of dwarven plate, a pile of crossbow bolt heads, a chisel and hammer, a broken shovel, and bits of dried bones are all that remain in this corridor. Knowledge nobility DC 20 could tell that the makings of the armor denote duergar, not regular dwarves. A heal check DC 10 can show that the dwarven bones were chewed and that they probably have been here a hundred years or less.
D3. Droskar’s Anvil CR4
This circular room is adorned with dwarven text and and yet more pictographs of dwarves in toil.
This circular room served as both a religious reminder and defense for the royals of Temol, the floor is a conglomeration of small metal shields forged together each bearing the standard of a dwarven noble and various dwarven gods. Unless the passphrase of Droskar is spoken aloud the floors of this room will cause the stone doors to slam shut and the floor to electrify for 1d6 rounds, 4d6 each round. A common punishment by the clerics of Droskar were to cast several lazy dwarves into this room after cutting out their tongues. A DC15 Religion check can identify members of the dwarven pantheon, gods represented on the walls Torag “By the Fires of his forge we are Made”, Angrad “By my Family I shall know my Honor”, Kols “May the Eldest of his line guide our Hands”, and Droskar “By my toils I serve, my blood is mortar my body his bricks.” Many of the walls of this room are adorned with religious text, only by speaking the religious text beneath the image of Droskar will deactivate this trap.
Trap – Magical Electric Floor CR4, Perception 25, Disable DC25, 4d6 Electricity every round for 1d6 rounds Reflex DC 15 for half, reset 1 hour.
Looking forward to more...
I'll have more tommorrow on the Hall of Kings and the start of the City of Skybreak. This past Friday my players delved into the Halls of Khadgar then retreated back to the surface having stirred up the morlocks. The player's temporarily disable the lift DC25 Engineering/Disable Device. Left alone for months in my scenario the mutant Morlocks found Nethy's Tome of Secrets and one of them became freakishly smart, at least for their kind and they began climbing the shaft and making raids on the surface during the night. The Sootscale encampment was within the night's march and was attacked. In response, the players rallied their army on the surface and waited for the morlocks to surface, unfortunately they were overanxious and spooked the morlocks back into the tunnels.
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I'll have more tommorrow on the Hall of Kings and the start of the City of Skybreak. This past Friday my players delved into the Halls of Khadgar then retreated back to the surface having stirred up the morlocks. The player's temporarily disable the lift DC25 Engineering/Disable Device. Left alone for months in my scenario the mutant Morlocks found Nethy's Tome of Secrets and one of them became freakishly smart, at least for their kind and they began climbing the shaft and making raids on the surface during the night. The Sootscale encampment was within the night's march and was attacked. In response, the players rallied their army on the surface and waited for the morlocks to surface, unfortunately they were overanxious and spooked the morlocks back into the tunnels.
Keep it comin. :)
D4. Hall of Ascension
A grand staircase ascends for nearly 100 feet, flanked on either side by large stone bases supporting cracked and broken statues of regal looking dwarves. Of the 14 bases, only 11 appear to have ever borne statues. Of the eleven elaborate statues only 1 has survived relatively undamaged. The staircase ends in a stone archway and blocked by a portcullis.
Since before the Age of Darkness began, Khadgar Temol the 11th’s line had ruled over the nation of Temol, although Vordakakai ended their line for good. Although this settlement was a temporary one, Khadgar honored his ancestors and built these rooms anticipating the arrival of three more kings before his people would have to found a new city in their quest. The only statue remaining is of King Khadgar the 8th with a date of -1647 Skybreak (AR -6634), which is in the Age of Prehistory for Golarion.
Portculis: Can be lifted with a successful DC25 Strength Check after it is succesfully unlocked with a DC 25 Disable Device or the lever on the other side can be flipped if the players can squeeze through the bars Escape Artist DC30. Portculus (Hardness 10, hp 60).
D4. Throne of the Lost CR3 or CR7
Rivulets of water drip from the walls and four sealed bronze pipes in the ceiling into knee deep standing water, the walls and ceilings of this room are made of a dark colored stone that absorbs light, though small twinkling blue crystals seem to adorn the walls at unevenly spaced intervals. In the center of this roughly spherical room a raised stairwell leads to a platform ten feet above the floor upon which sits a corroded metal throne. Several halls lead off around this room creating a circular tunnel with numerous small empty rooms. The far wall stands out as it is carved to resemble another larger dwarves' face leering down upon the throne with fiery eyes made of gemstone that twinkle with an eerie red light, from the dwarve's visage a mighty medallion is carved into the relief resting at the room's edge.
Incorrectly entering the answer to Droskar's Medalion or prying the eyes from the Image of Droskar trigger the Machine Guards to fall from their ceiling tubes, which causes them no damage. This is the throne room of Khadgar, long flooded by an underground river that burst parts of the cieling. The prophets of Droskar whispered stories of a cavern with no ceiling and were given visions, which were later made into this cieling, a replica of their vision of sky. A careful observer would note, knowledge History DC 25 that certain crystals on the cieling represent the planets of the solar system in order from closest to the sun to farthest: Aballon the Horse, Castrovel the Green, Golarion, Akiton the Red, Verces the Line, the Diaspora (asteroid belt), Eox the Dead, Triaxus the Wanderer, Liavara the Dreamer, Bretheda the Cradle, Apostae the Messenger, and Aucturn the Stranger. The medalion hanging from the statue of Droskar is actually a door almost 6' tall, but it is a puzzle. Eleven small metalic balls must be aligned to the exact position of the day of skybreak to open the door knowledge history DC 25, using the dates from the statue in the hall and decifering the ceiling grant a +10 bonus on this check. Once entered the central Sun may be pressed which causes the medallions face to slide back and roll to the side revealing the king's treasury.
Eyes of Droskar: Phosphorescent Rubies 500 gp each, climb check to get them DC 10.
Trap CR 7 Protectors of Droskar Perception/Disable DC27: Creatures Machine Soldier (4) Bestiary 2.
D5. Khadgar's Folly
This room opens into a small deep cavern a cleanly carved pillar of rock stands in the center 20 feet from the edge. There appears to be no bottom to the pit surrounding the pillar which descends into darkness. A slowly swirling sphere of cagelike metal sits atop it, the color of bronze, inside the cage is a large tome half obscured by the swirling metal, though it appears to have a face inscribed upon its cover half white, half black. The cage itself has an odd odd looking control arm with a spinning gyroscopic knob on the end.
There is room is spherical though the chasm drops 100 feet to a spiked floorway below (10d6 plus 1d6 spikes, 1d6+4 each) into a region covered by a permanent 20' radius darkness and silence spell. The Cage device is roughly 10'x10' and spins by force of magic doubling any impact it recieves and increasing the hardness of its materials to 20 while active, possibly shattering any objects it is hit with and deflecting all ray spells. Close observation of the spinning sphere reveal that it is a rough map of Golarion's surface. Khadgar's generals took this tome from one of Vordakai's servants and it granted them the clarity to create their mechanical protectors near the end of their existance. They wanted to ensure that the book would not fall into the hands of the enemy so they hid it away. The device protects the book from divination and teleport based spells. Unlocking the Cage requires the correct placement of the knob, which symbolizes Golarion's single gray tidally locked moon, identifying it as such requires a knowledge Nature DC 20 as well as its location on the current date.
Nethy's Tome: This Osirion artifact was old when the original Vordakai found it five millenia ago. It only shows each holder once vision of their future, but not which path to take, nor what the results could be. In this case, held by any member of the council of the Stolen Lands, it shows the art from Zudiger's Picnic, mentioned in AP#5.(http://paizo.com/forums/dmtz2rhl&page=2?Zuddigers-Picnic-artwork, art by Jess Door)
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D4. Hall of Ascension
A grand staircase ascends for nearly 100 feet, flanked on either side by large stone bases supporting cracked and broken statues of regal looking dwarves. Of the 14 bases, only 11 appear to have ever borne statues. Of the eleven elaborate statues only 1 has survived relatively undamaged. The staircase ends in a stone archway and blocked by a portcullis.
Since before the Age of Darkness began, Khadgar Temol the 11th’s line had ruled over the nation of Temol, although Vordakakai ended their line for good. Although this settlement was a temporary one, Khadgar honored his ancestors and built these rooms anticipating the arrival of three more kings before his people would have to found a new city in their quest. The only statue remaining is of King Khadgar the 8th with a date of -1647 Skybreak (AR -6634), which is in the Age of Prehistory for Golarion.
Portculis: Can be lifted with a successful DC25 Strength Check after it is succesfully unlocked with a DC 25 Disable Device or the lever on the other side can be flipped if the players can squeeze through the bars Escape Artist DC30. Portculus (Hardness 10, hp 60).D4. Throne of the Lost CR3 or CR7
Rivulets of water drip from the walls and four sealed bronze pipes in the ceiling into knee deep standing water, the walls and ceilings of this room are made of a dark colored stone that absorbs light, though small twinkling blue crystals seem to adorn the walls at unevenly spaced intervals. In the center of this roughly spherical room a raised stairwell leads to a platform ten feet above the floor upon which sits a corroded metal throne. Several halls lead off around this room creating a circular tunnel with numerous small empty rooms. The far wall stands out as it is carved to resemble another larger dwarves' face leering down upon the throne with fiery eyes made of gemstone that twinkle with an eerie red light, from the dwarve's visage a mighty medallion is carved into the relief resting at the room's edge.
Incorrectly...
I like your use of foreshadowing
The art created by some of the fans is great and I wanted to have a good way to introduce it in a significant manner. For my group I printed out all the art and then printed out a cover sheet with the symbol of Nethys on it, it makes a great prop.
I was trying to avoid any mention of Vordakai or his undead, but at the same forshadow what is to come. I'm going to add in some pictographs of dwarves meeting the centaurs in their prime, in which they are probably still very standoffish. My writeup for the city of skybreak reminds me more of hex exploration, I was inspired by the City of the Spider Queen 3.5 adventure for it, ran that a long time ago. Its a series of random encounters in a city with exploration locations.
If anybody has any ideas to drop in let me know, I'll try and incorporate them. Up soon.. Mutant Morlocks.. Gray Renders... lots of fungus and an ooze or two.
Edit: I try to keep alot of this short and sweet, because I'm pretty bad at maps and I don't want to distract from the game too much. Nothing in here says "hey you must deal with this". Also I would probably suggest adding some extra treasure here and there for flavor. Maybe dwarven gold coins...