|
Is there an adventure that takes place in a dwarven stronghold with actual dwarves in it? I ask because so far, I've found loads of adventures that have maps of dwarven strongholds, but they're vacant. It seems that no dwarven clan can actually keep their stronghold safe for longer than a few seconds before it gets stolen from them and adventurers are needed to get it back for them.
The Official RPGA Tournament Handbook has one, "Long Way Home", it's for 1st edition though.
There might be some Underdark adventures that connect to dwarven strongholds, but I'm not aware of any specifically.
Pathfinder Module S1: Clash of the Kingslayers takes place in a couple different dwarven holds. One is occupied by dwarves, and one is mostly abandoned by them. Of course, the occupied one may not be by the end....
Probably much of the reason you see all the abandoned strongholds is that when you're going adventuring in a stronghold, you're going there to fight the occupants. Since
- a) dwarves are usually the good guys and
- b) they'd probably beat the pants off an average adventuring party,
you're not going to see that scenario all that often. You don't see too many adventures in an occupied elven/gnomish/halfling stronghold either. It's pretty much only the humans out of the 'good' races you see being enough of a threat to those around them to warrant a visit by good-hearted murder-hobos (aka adventurers).
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I don't know any dwarven modules. Instead I submit to you: The Ironmourn Company.
Drokoth Ironmourn is a hard but fair mercenary captain. After the great paladin's castle was attacked by the blue dragon Ballathunda and fell into ruin, there were none left to protect this part of the Trade Way. Over the years Captain Ironmourn has assembled a hardscrabble band of dwarves who made many lucrative contracts with the merchants.
Unfortunately the Order arose.
The paladin had worshipped a draconic god for he was also a sorcerer and their blood flowed through his veins. When the ruined citadel was overrun by kobolds his body and legacy were lost. Then an amazing thing happened; a handful of the creatures rebelled and fled the dungeons to wander the surface ruins. Here they found the noble paladin's corpse, perfectly preserved and his impact crater formed an ideal new home. The kobold rebels no longer worshipped their mistress but now put their faith in the dead man with the dragon's blood taking his draconic patron's crest and shield as their own symbol. It was a miracle; it inspired a rebirth of the paladin's order.
It was bad for business with the Ironmourn Company.
So after dwindling profits and cheating merchants trying to swindle him Drokoth Ironmourn decided he'd had enough. He approached the ruins from the north over hard-scrabble hillsides of rugged granite and heath and his company made an inroad into the dungeons below to seek their fortunes. Many of them died but those who lived were rewarded with treasure and power. However this was only step one of Drokoth's plan.
The company did not fly back to Ravenhurst or Gildermaine or one of the other towns along the Trade Way to fritter away their fortunes. Instead they retreated to a shattered tower on the northern heights. Once it had been a guard post of the citadel and even some of his own company thought Captain Ironmourn mad for seizing a base a mere stone's throw from one of the largest dungeons along the coast. But Drokoth knew that the Order of the Dragon's Shield was doing the same to the west and he would no longer suffer the indignity of it.
And so Drokheim was founded. The tower was razed and it's stone repurposed for the initial build and over the past two years many surrounding walls and structures were similarly plundered. As they delved the dwarf mercenaries used their fortune to hire more of their kin into the company, now some 400 strong. These men and women have formed a clan of sorts and live and work together at the burgeoning settlement. They have expanded it to include mines and even a secret path into the dungeons kept secure by the Company.
As I said; Drokoth Ironmourn is hard but fair.
He and his lieutenants routinely broker deals with foolhardy adventurers who wish to descend into the depths below Flamenwing Castle, there to battle the endless hordes of the kobolds and other creatures of the dark for their own fortunes. However the draconic pests are themselves intelligent and shrewd; once they realized that these dwarves were dug in like ticks and would not be moved easily they negotiated an uneasy peace with Captain Ironmourn. Now as often as the Company escorts adventurers in, so too do they administer the kobolds out on black nights when no light will find them in the highlands.
So the kobolds continue to raid the countryside and the Trade Way. The Order from their own stronghold on the western reaches of the ruin does their best to combat them but they refuse open war on the dwarves. And through it all this mercenary captain sits on his granite throne while his profits continue to soar.
So then the "module" would be a series of adventures into Flamenwing Castle, a megadungeon filled with kobolds, dragons an anything else you care to add. Drokheim is considered a Village by PF standards but with a LN alignment and qualities that make it wealthier than it should. It is a trading and smuggling hub for the nearby dungeon; adventurers and rogue kobolds routinely come to market here to do business, buying and selling loot, manufactured items and such. Of course these dwarves have to eat and live too, so there are some meadows outside the underground halls for tending livestock and a narrow track winds up through the highlands to deliver grain and agrarian goods as well.
Then this campaign would also get to involve other members of the Company with their own agendas. There is a forgemistress with a team of hearty assistants under her - she is a proven warrior but also a mighty talent at crafting. She has discovered from kobold sources that the lower halls may contain trace amounts of mithril, so she sends a group of adventurers down to protect a team of miners while they harvest it. Another adventure might be from the high cleric of the Company who has always opposed their involvement with unsavories such as kobolds. He sends the PCs on a series of clandestine raids, attempting to keep this a secret from Captain Ironmourn, with the end goal being the devastation of a cell of draconic worship.
Hopefully this helps.
An early Dragonlance module from the original campaign (which mirrored the books - or they mirrored each other - whatever) was set in Thorbadin. The PCs had to search through the abandoned parts to find the inhabited ones so they could ask the dwarves for sanctuary. In return they had to recover an artifact (the Hammer of Kharas) from a tomb. It has been released in 1E and 2E.
It has been released in 1E and 2E....and 3.5.
Holy chromatic dragons, Batman!
Might have to pick those up.
I made a mistake. I just looked up "The Dwarves of Warka", and it contains a Dwarven TOWN, not stronghold.
And if you're serious about the 3.5 "War of the Lance" trilogy ("Dragons of Autumn", "Dragons of Winter", and "Dragons of Spring", revising the original DL module series for 3.5) I should, perhaps, warn you that to use it as written, you're expected to have the 3.5 Dragonlance Campaign Setting and War of the Lance source book.
It's 3rd party one but I gather the Throne of Night campaign is focused on either Dwarves or Drow depending on what option the players go for.
Not sure if it's out yet though
Halls of the Mountain King by Open Design, now Kobold Press takes place in a cursed Dwarven Stronghold. I'm not sure it is still available. Whispers in the Dark is a short adventure in Midgard Tales that takes place in the Dwarven mines of the Dutchy of Melana in the World of Midgard.
The Official RPGA Tournament Handbook has one, "Long Way Home", it's for 1st edition though.
I remember trying to run that one a long, long time ago. If I recall correctly the adventuring party triggers a magical effect that polymorphs them all in dwarves. An interesting concept if your party is up for the experience. In today's RPG climate, I can imagine many player's getting cranky about the changes to their ability scores. We didn't get far. Back in my early days it was difficult to get the same group of players together more than once.
Halls of the Mountain King by Open Design, now Kobold Press takes place in a cursed Dwarven Stronghold. I'm not sure it is still available.
It's not, it's one of the 5-6 campaign modules that is patron only. I hate them patrons, and their "only I can play this thing".
|
It's not a module, but Castles of the Inner Sea has a big entry for Highhelm, the Dwarven capitol. It's a stronghold the size of a city, and still very much chock full o' dwarves.
I'll bet you could find some really good hooks in there to make up your own modules.
|
|
Halls of the Mountain King by Open Design, now Kobold Press takes place in a cursed Dwarven Stronghold. I'm not sure it is still available.It's not, it's one of the 5-6 campaign modules that is patron only. I hate them patrons, and their "only I can play this thing".
Didn't know such a thing could exist.
|
Dungeon Magazine #134, 3rd edition adventure "Home on the Range." Dwarven Base is being attacked by tieflings who hide under cover of magical darkness. Party hired to escort scarab beetles that can emit magic light through the Underdark to the base.
Besides the "old west" feel of herding through dangerous territory, it's got a dwarven base. Not quite on par with Thorbardin, mind you.
Glory Hole Dwarven Mine was a Judges Guild delve for AD&D.
Axe of the Dwarvish Lords was a TSR module for AD&D.
Erik Mona has said several times he dislikes dwarves. A dwarven AP seems unlikely, sad to say.
We've been discussing Kraggodan here. Apparently it will feature in an upcoming part of the Ironfamg Invasion AP.
Here's an old thread about dwarven dungeons.
Apparently there are some PFS modules set in dwarves settlements:
Parts 1 & 3 of the Season 4 Glories of the Past PFS trilogy explored a couple different Sky Citadels, and there'll be another one towards the end of Season 5.
Didn't know such a thing could exist.Halls of the Mountain King by Open Design, now Kobold Press takes place in a cursed Dwarven Stronghold. I'm not sure it is still available.It's not, it's one of the 5-6 campaign modules that is patron only. I hate them patrons, and their "only I can play this thing".
Just noticed that this is a necroed thread but still want to point out Halls of the Mountain king is now more easily available...