Scenario #2: The Hunting Lodge

This follows on from the previous post (Scenario 1: The Captured Cleric). The PCs are after Brother Pholtor, a lawful cleric captured by chaotic cultists intent on interrogating and torturing him for information. 

The cultists have based themselves in a deserted hunting lodge - originally built by a Karameikian noble from Kelvin, the lodge was deemed to be unsafe, too far from help and too close to dangerous monsters, it was abandoned about 20 years ago, until the cultists came and took it over. 

1. The Main Hall: Here are the surviving cultists from the ambush. If any of these were killed in the attempt to capture then they can be disregarded here. 
   2 x Chaotic Acolyte: 1st level cleric, align Chaotic, male,
   AC 6, Move 90', hp 4, 3, THAC0 20, Att 1 mace for 1d6, Ml 12, XP 15 each
   Equipment: Scale mail, mace, black robes, unholy symbol, 10sp each
   Chaotic Adept: 2nd level cleric, align Chaotic, female
   AC 5, Move 90', hp 6, THAC0 19, Att 1 mace for 1d6+1, Ml 12, XP 35
   Equipment: Chain mail, mace, black robes, unholy symbol, 25sp
   Spells: Darkness (reverse of Light)
   The main hall is typical of the rest of the rooms in this place, holding broken and faded finery.Up against the wall are various chairs and tables, all of which have now been damaged in various ways. On the wall are 3 oil paintings, all of various hunting scenes. Each is about 3' x 4' in size and worth 50gp if sold. 
2. The dining room: 3 orcs are on guard here and will attack anyone they don't recognise. 
   Orc: AC 6, Move 120', HD 1, hp 6, 4, 4, THAC0 19, Att 1 spear for 1d6, Ml 8, Align C, XP 10 each
   Equipment: Leather armour, shield, spear, 10sp each
   There is nothing of interest or value here - the vandalous orcs have ensured that. 
3. The kitchen: Here is a single chaotic fighter, the chef for this motley bunch
   AC 5, Move 90', HD Ftr1, hp 5, THAC0 19, Att 1 axe for 1d6+1, Ml 9, Align C, XP 15
   Equipment: Chain mail, hand axe/meat cleaver, 12gp
   This room is still in use as a kitchen, and there are various pieces of meat hanging from the ceiling (rabbits, deer, boar etc), as well as a a sack of vegetables. In the southwest corner there is a fireplace with a pot of stew bubbling away.
4. The lounge: This room holds 2 orcs
   Orc: AC 6, Move 120', HD 1, hp 6, 4, 4, THAC0 19, Att 1 spear for 1d6, Ml 8, Align C, XP 10 each
   Equipment: Leather armour, shield, spear, 10sp each
5. The Trophy Room. This room is filled with the rotting remains of hunting trophies - mounted heads on the wall, skins as rugs on the floor, captured humanoid arms and armour. In the centre of this slightly grisly room is stuffed and mounted cave bear. It is of course long dead, but the family of 4 giant rats that live inside the stuffed bear are very much alive and dangerous. 
   Giant Rat: AC 7, Move 120', HD 1/2, hp 3, 2, 1, 1, THAC0 19, Att 1 bite for 1d3 + 1 in 20 chance of disease, Ml 8, Align N, XP 7 each
   Although there are no coins or precious metals, enterprising adventurers might recognise some of the trophies as valuable - a well-preserved giant weasel pelt on one of the chairs is worth 50gp, a red dragon skull is worth another 200gp, and a warhammer taken from a goblin chief is actually a dwarf-forged warhammer +1. 
   
6. 1 chaotic guard is here at the top of the stairs and will attack any intruders. 
   Chaotic Guard: 1st level fighter, align Chaotic, female
   AC 5, Mv 90', hp 4, THAC0 18, Att 1 spear for 1d6, Ml 10, XP 15
   Equipment: chain mail, spear, dagger, 25sp 
7. Empty
8. Armoury: This room contains 4 human-sized suits of chain mail, 2 human-sized suits of scale mail, 4 spears, 4 shields, 3 maces, 3 hand axes, 2 shortbows and a barrel of 45 arrows. There are 3 orcs guarding it:
   Orc: AC 6, Move 120', HD 1, hp 6, 5, 1, THAC0 19, Att 1 spear for 1d6, Ml 8, Align C, XP 10 each
   Equipment: Leather armour, shield, spear, 10sp each
9. Empty
10. 1 chaotic mage, Mecurios, aspiring to one day be a chaos sorcerer. Note that if more than two people confront him, he will pretend to be a helpless prisoner and will apparently thank the adventurers for rescuing him, then slip away at the soonest opportunity, possibly using Ventriloquism to distract the others. 
    Mecurios: 2nd level magic user, align Chaotic, male, 
    AC 9, Move 120', hp 4, THAC0 19, Att 1 dagger for 1d4 or 1 spell, Ml 6, XP 25
    Spells: Charm Person, Ventriloquism.
    Equipment: dagger, robes, 11gp, 22sp, spellbook (Read Magic, Charm Person, Shield, Ventriloquism)
    
11. Berdanna, the priestess of Chaos, is the leader of the chaos cultists and orcs in this hideout 
    Berdanna, 3rd level cleric, align: Chaotic, female
    AC 3, Mv 90', hp 14, THAC0 19, Att 1 mace for 1d6, Ml 11, XP 75
    Equipment: chain mail, shield +1, mace, unholy symbol, 23gp, 10sp, key to room 12
    Spells: Protection from Law, Detect Magic
    Underneath some loose floorboards there is a sack with the chaotic cell's treasury: 320gp , 400sp and a potion of healing. 
12. Brother Pholtor. The door to this room is locked. It may be broken down using normal rules, or using the key around Berdanna's neck. Brother Pholtor is here, beaten up and tied up but still alive.  Although he has an XP value, it is suggested this is for returning him safely, not killing him. 
    Brother Pholtor: 2nd level cleric, align Lawful, male
    Str 10, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 13
    AC 9, Move 90', hp 2 (normally 8), THAC0 19, Att 1 fist for 1, Ml 10, XP 25
    Equipment: none
    Spells:Detect Chaos
13. Orc leader: AC 6, Move 120', HD 1, hp 8, THAC0 19, Att 1 hand axe for 1d6+1, Ml 8, Align C, XP 15
    Equipment: leather armour, shield, hand axe
    This orc leader only takes orders from Berdanna, the chaotic priestess. He commands the respect, if not outright obedience, of the other orcs around the hunting lodge. He sleeps on a big fancy bed, underneath which is a chest containing the orc band's wealth of 120gp, 680sp and 2 amethyst gems worth 50gp each. 

Scenario #1 - The Captured Cleric

This is intended as an introductionary adventure for 1st level characters to get the Karameikos campaign started.

The PCs join a caravan from Kelvin to Threshold, along with a lawful cleric, Brother Pholtor, who is investigating a possible cult of Chaos gathering in the hinterlands of Karameikos. On the way the caravan is attacked by orcs, but robed humans target and abduct Brother Pholtor from the caravan during the attack. If the PCs do not follow the kidnappers immediately, they are asked by lawful clerics in Threshold to retrieve Brother Pholtor. He has been taken back to their lair, an abandoned hunting lodge, now guarded by orcs and other chaotic creatures.

Brother Pholtor: 2nd level cleric, align Lawful, male
Str 10, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 13
AC 4, Move 90', hp 8, THAC0 19, Att 1 mace for 1d6
Equipment: Chain mail, mace, holy symbol, 23gp, 2 weeks iron rations
Spells: Detect Chaos

The caravan has 2 merchants - Chuldor the Clothier (Normal man, 2hp, neutral), who is bringing a cartload of linen and wool clothes up from Specularum and Barashi the Trader (1st level fighter, 6hp, Lawful, scale armour & normal sword), who is bringing a cart of Ierendian brandy and hopes to purchase dwarf-forged weapons at a reasonable price. Both are aware of the risks of encountering bandits (both humans and humanoids) and they hire the PCs as additional protection - 5gp each per day. Brother Pholtor joins because he has been summoned by his superiors to join them in investigating this new cult of Chaos.

There may be random encounters along the road - as this is for low-level characters, I suggest the table below - 1 in  6 chance 2 times per day (one check in daytime, one check at night), 1d10 for creature type:

1. 1 wolf
2. 1d4+1 goblins
3. 1d4 orcs
4. 1 giant bat
5. 1 giant boar
6. 1d4 human bandits
7. 1d4 human travellers (normal men, lawful or neutral)
8. 1d4+1 human soldiers (1st level fighters, scale mail, shields, spears) patrolling from Threshold
9. 1d4 deer (2hd herd animals)
10. 1d4 hill goats (1hd herd animals)

    




The journey is 6 hexes of 8 miles each and the mule-drawn carts travel at 16 miles/2 hexes per day. The first day from Kelvin to Highforge is peaceful enough but on the second day the orcs attack as the caravan passes through a rocky valley studded with bushes and small trees. 7 orcs attack the merchants on the path, all armed with spears and shields. During this attack, the merchants try to drive their carts forward through the ambush, while Brother Pholtor is not sure what is happening and falls behind. At this point 3 figures in black robes emerge - 2 chaotic acolytes and a chaotic adept. One of them reads something from a scroll (a Hold Person spell, which Pholtor fails to save against) and together they carry off Pholtor's rigid, motionless body. The chaotic adept and acolytes will focus on capturing Pholtor and will not attack the PCs unless the PCs try to intervene in Pholtor's abduction.

Chaotic Acolyte: 1st level cleric, align Chaotic, male,
AC 6, Move 90', hp 4, 3, THAC0 20, Att 1 mace for 1d6, Ml 12, XP 15 each
Equipment: Scale mail, mace, black robes, unholy symbol, 10sp each

Chaotic Adept: 2nd level cleric, align Chaotic, female
AC 5, Move 90', hp 6, THAC0 19, Att 1 mace for 1d6+1, Ml 12, XP 35
Equipment: Chain mail, mace, black robes, unholy symbol, 25sp, Scroll of Hold Person (used at start of encounter)
Spells: Darkness (reverse of Light)

Orc: AC 6, Move 90', HD 1, hp 5, 3, 7, 4, 3, 2, 2, THAC0 19, Att 1 spear for 1d6, Ml 8, Align C, XP 10 each
Equipment: Leather armour, shield, spear, 10sp each

This is actually a fluid situation and there are a number of possible outcomes

• The PCs and merchants survive and all continue on to Threshold without Brother Pholtor who is abducted - If this happens then when they arrive at Threshold, Brother Pholtor's superior, Senior Brother Barnheim (4th level cleric, lawful, male) asks that the PCs retrace their steps and try to retrieve Brother Pholtor, suggesting that the ambushers may have a hideout near the ambush site. They are offered 1000gp on Pholtor's rescue, or 500gp on evidence of his killers' demise and retrieval of his body.
  
  
• The PCs manage to prevent Brother Pholtor's abduction and he and the merchants all reach Threshold - In this case Senior Brother Barnheim and Pholtor are both sure that the robed attackers are followers of Chaos - normal bandits don't use Hold Person scrolls. After being rewarded for the safe delivery of Brother Pholtor (500gp total), the PCs are offered another substantial reward (another 500gp + any loot they find) to find the attackers' lair and bring back evidence.
  
  
• The merchants are killed and PCs suffer losses, and Brother Pholtor is abducted/- If the ambush goes badly for the PCs and merchants, survivors will try to get to the nearest town - either forwards to Threshold or, if the way is blocked, back to Highforge. News reaches lawful clerics and secular authorities. The clerics offer 500gp for the rescue of Pholtor, and the local authorities offer another 500gp to get rid of the "bandits" threatening trade on this road.The surviving PCs may need to recruit more adventurers (either new PCs or NPC hirelings). 
  
  
• The merchants are killed but the PCs save Brother Pholtor - Senior brother Barnheim in Threshold is glad but both Pholtor and Barnheim are suspicious about the nature of the ambush. After being rewarded for the safe delivery of Brother Pholtor (500gp total), the PCs are offered another substantial reward (another 500gp + any loot they find) to find the attackers' lair and bring back evidence. The local authorities are also worried about the loss of the merchants and suggest that the PCs make sure these particular bandits don't attack anyone again.
  
  
• The PCs chase after Brother Pholtor's abductors. Although annoyed at the PCs abandoning them, the merchants make it back to Threshold. The PCs can follow the cultists who are carrying Pholtor (they bind and gag him before the spell wears off) back to their lair.

Regardless of the exact sequence of events, near the ambush site is a track heading off from the road to the north-east, with fresh footprints, which carries on for about 6 miles, after which it arrives at a hunting lodge (to be concluded in the next post).

Dungeons in Karameikos

 One thing I have noticed while going through Gaz1: The Grand Duchy of Karameikos is that while there is information about the society, laws, regions, armed forces and towns, there are only a few dungeons and ruins marked out on the map, namely:

• Krakatos - a ruined walled village mentioned in "The Song of King Halav". 
• Koriszegy Keep - a ruined keep haunted by a cursed vampire. This keep is mapped out, with 8 encounter areas. 

There are 2 possible conclusions:

1. The designers of the gazetteer do not envision dungeons and ruins to play a significant part in campaigns and adventures in the Grand Duchy. 
2. The designers have left it up to each dungeon master to place dungeons as they see fit and so the map is a proverbial white canvas or blank slate for the DM to place dungeons and the like as and where they wish. 

I am going with the second conclusion..

Going back through Mentzer's Expert set, the map of the Known World beyond the Grand Duchy has suggested places for the placement of published B/X modules. 

B1: In Search of the Unknown is set west of Threshold near the banks of the Achelos River. My notes on it are here.

B2: The Keep on the Borderlands is set northeast of Penhaligon, along the Castellan River where Castellan Keep is. The Gazetteer confirms this in its brief entry for Castellan Keep. My notes on it are here.

B3: Palace of the Silver Princess is in the realm of Haven, east of Penhaligon and at the source of the Rugalov river. The Gazetteer confirms this in its brief entry on Haven. 

B4: The Lost City is set in the desert of the Emirate of Ylaruam, north-east of Karameikos

B5: The Horror on the Hill was released after the Mentzer Expert set so does not appear on that particular map but I have placed Guido's Fort and the Hill upstream of Penhaligon. 

X1: The Isle of Dread is set far to the south, beyond the Kingdom of Ierendi and Minrothad Guilds. 

X2: Castle Amber is set in the Principalities of Glantri

X3: Curse of Xanathon is set in the Kingdom of Vestland, beyond Karameikos, to the north-east of Ylaruam. 

X4: Master of the Desert Nomads and X5: Temple of Death are set far to the west beyond the Five Shires and Atruaghin Clans. 

At the moment I am quite happy to keep these adventure locations as they are. I am considering changing the details of Krakatos and Koriszegy Keep but not just yet. The descriptions in the gazetteer are not the whole story but merely what folks of Karameikos know and can tell the PCs. 

There is no megadungeon for Karameikos. B1, B2 and B3 all have multi-level dungeons but none of these are extensive enough to meet the generally agreed definition that a megadungeon should be able to host an entire campaign - something similar in size to Castle Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms' Undermountain. This is an absence I intend to correct with new locations such as Tarrag Duun. 

See also my shorter dungeons set in Karameikos: 

Scenario #4: Lair of the Twisted Summoner

Logos Location #4: Kamroth's Cairn

Rules for the Karameikos Campaign

 I'm going to keep this pretty close to official, BtB Basic/Expert D&D that I have used for this blog. Similar to what I did while I was writing about Kaelaross, I'll use the official B/X rules as the starting point that I know other gamers have, and then add bits on (new monsters, new spells etc.) within this blog. 

Although initially I was intending to keep this campaign strictly BtB, I think now I may include my new demihuman classes:

• Elf Ranger
• Dwarf Cleric
• Halfling Defender

and also allow my optional rule about regular halflings (halfling scouts) reaching 12th level.

Similarly, spells, monsters and magic items that I have introduced in this blog may be used - none of them are exclusive to Kaelaross and they should transfer to Mystara without problem.

This follows the ideas I talked about regarding "simple core, many options". where the B/X rules are not so much the entire rules so much as the common, established framework on which new stuff can be attached. 

The Grand Duchy of Karameikos

Karameikos is one of the earliest campaign settings, as it was included in the Cook Expert D&D book in 1981, before Dragonlance or Forgotten Realms. Only Greyhawk and Blackmoor can claim earlier publishing as official D&D settings.

Some general points about the official version of the nation that I intend to carry over into my version:

• The coast and lower river areas are relatively well populated and safe. The further upstream and inland you go, the sparser the human habitants and more common the monstrous ones. 
• The human population is a mixture of Traldar (the original inhabitants, rural and superstitious but noble) and Thyatians from the nearby empire (recent immigrants, more civilised and educated but also cynical and untrustworthy). 
• There is a certain element of the "Points of Light" campaign concept in that the southern coast and main river valley are strips of civilization. Moving away from these into the woods and hills and things will get dangerous and unknown. 
• The Black Eagle Barony is the seat of power of a ruthless and evil megalomaniac who happens to be a cousin of the Grand Duke. Although he has not yet threatened the Grand Duchy itself, some say it is only a matter of time. 
• The main city is the estuarine port of Specularum with 50,000 inhabitants. Other large settlements include Kelvin (20,000 inhabitants), Fort Doom (10,000 inhabitants) and Highforge (6500 gnomes, 1000 dwarves).  
• In the woods and forests there are clans of elves and centaurs, as well as hostile tribes of humanoids, and more sinister creatures such as vampires and werewolves. 

In my writings about possible adventures in Karameikos, I shall base what I consider canon on GAZ1: The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, the first of the gazetteers, and set the timeline at AC1000. Lots of other sources mention Karameikos (such as Vaults of Pandius and its associated Threshold magazine) and though I might borrow from them, I won't consider them canon. 

I should also point out that although I will generally stick to the gazetteer, I may change things to suit the adventures I intend to write. 

For more of my writings about Karameikos see:

• Dungeons in Karameikos
• Scenario #1: the Captured Cleric & Scenario #2: the Hunting Lodge
• Tarrag Duun - the Lost Dwarven Fortress
• My Ideas about B2: The Keep on the Borderlands
• Ideas about Penhaligon
• Scenario #3: The Raiders of Guido's Fort
• Tomb of the Frost Shamans
• The Reclusium of Serenity
• Grulven's Prospect
• Dragons of the Black Peaks
• Orders of Mages in Karameikos
• My Ideas about the Town of Luln
• Scenario #5: Slave Raiders!
• Notable Gnomes of Highforge
• My ideas about the villages of Rifllian & Kota-Hutan
• The Battle of Duke's Road Keep
• Koriszegy Keep
• The Tower of Aelarda Starria
• Goblins of the Dymrak Forest
• Chaos in the Black Eagle Barony

The Cult of Chaos in Karameikos

 The main villains for this new campaign I'm thinking about will be a new, insurgent cult of Chaos that is attempting to take over Karameikos. Why them?

• Clear cut bad guys - very few people will be upset or morally outraged if adventurers kill chaos cultists and chaos marauders. They are among the worst of humanity (and demihumanity). 
• A wide range of members - certainly humans from all 4 of the basic classes (fighter, mage, thief and of course cleric), but also corrupted demihumans, humanoids (orcs, gnolls etc) as well as more monstrous recruits, mercenaries and pets.  
• A wide range of power levels - a campaign about beholders or dragons might not have a battle with the main bad guys until adventurers have been through plenty of previous adventures to get them to the requisite levels. But chaos cultists can start off at 1st level and progress upwards. 
• Switching from stealthy infiltration to brute force and back again as needed allows for a variety of adventures. Chaotic humans can easily enter towns, get jobs and (as long as they maintain their cover) even rise to positions of authority within civilised society. But also they can muster their forces (both human and inhuman) to form legions of destruction. 

There have been hints and mentions of a cult of Chaos in the classic modules - most notably B2: the Keep on the Borderlands where they occupy the uppermost cave, surrounded by chaotic humanoid footsoldiers, and a camp of chaotic fighters in the wilderness. They have even infiltrated the Keep itself! Also  B3: Palace of the Silver Princess and X3: Curse of Xanathon have powerful chaotic clerics as the main villains - the latter is interesting in that until the events of the adventure, Xanathon and his clerics of Cretia are tolerated within the town of Rhoona. Also X5, the Master is a chaotic cleric, leading an army of chaotic beings. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to have them all part of a network of chaotic cultists that stretches across the Known World. 

Inspiration comes from a wide range of sources, including Michael Moorcock's Elric series, where both the decadent Melniboneans and fantatical Pan-Tangians are followers of the gods of Chaos. Moorcock used Law vs Chaos rather than Good vs Evil in many of his books, and this carried on into a number of early RPGs and other games. Basic/Expert D&D, Warhammer Fantasy (both Battle and RPG, especially the classic volumes Lost & the Damned and Slaves to Darkness), Empire of the Petal Throne and of course the Stormbringer RPG all used the clash of Law vs Chaos, with Chaos generally being the bad guys. 

There are lots of other evil cults that can be drawn on for inspiration, including R. E. Howard's Conan stories, the Cthulhu mythos, the cultists from Diablo III, even Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. 

I'm going to depart from "official" Mystara in that I won't use specific deities, immortals or the like. Instead, Law and Chaos are not just belief systems and loyalties, they are forms of energy that can power clerical spells directly without gods or the like granting spells to clerics. Clerics of Law and Chaos have enough faith and belief to channel these energies into spells. Neutral clerics can draw on both energies at the same time as long as they keep the forces in balance. These forces can be represented by gods and the like, but these are ficticious personalities - this is how I am treating the Temple of Cretia in X3 - Cretia does not really exist but represents the mischievous and disruptive aspects of Chaos for the people of Rhoona. 

For the cult within Karameikos see also:

• Scenario #1: The Captured Cleric
• Scenario #4: Lair of the Twisted Summoner
• Chaos in the Black Eagle Barony
• Logos Location #4: Kamroth's Cairn

For the cult in the wider Known World see also:

• The Twisted Summoner NPC Class
• The Forces of Law, Chaos Neutrality and Immortals
• The Sith Empire and the Cult of Chaos
• Chaos Warriors
• Derothgar, the Fortress of the Damned and the Horned Crown of Chaos
• The Arvorians of Norwold
• Logos Location #1: The Cult Basement
• Chaos Cults of Darokin City

Expanding Mystara

I am toying with an idea but not yet committed enough.
The idea is expanding on Mystara and the Known World, both fluff and crunch. My ideas, at least at the moment, are along the lines of adding new stuff rather than changing existing stuff.

In terms of rules, I may well go back to some of the stuff I did earlier for Kaelaross. If I did go ahead with this I think I would stick with B/X. As you might have noticed from my previous posts, I have looked at 5E. It is not that I do not like it, it is simply that I am not used to it. When writing new stuff, whether it be monsters, spells, NPCs or adventures, I just go with rules that I already know.

So the next question is Why Mystara? It's relatively well known to me (along with Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms) and also for most of its publishing history it used the B/X rules whereas other published settings used AD&D or 3E/4E, so stuff associated with other editions (paladins, rangers & monks, devils and demons) is not too central to it. It is also a setting where there are plenty of fans but they don't seem so uptight about messing around with canon - the Vaults of Pandius are full of speculation and alteration.

The rough idea is for a series of adventures set in the Known World, with smaller ones being released here as posts, and larger ones perhaps as PDFs accessible via this blog. This blog would also be a good place for me to thrash out ideas and explain some of the background behind some of the adventures.