Mystaran Deepspawn

 

Deepspawn, by Baxa (source)

Deepspawn have been mentioned earlier as possible generators of infestation-style dungeons. It seems appropriate to properly stat them out here. I should point out that deepspawn are not my own creation - they were first encountered in the Forgotten Realms in the FR11 Dwarves Deep supplement but I have adapted them here for the B/X rules and my version of Mystara. My stat block for them is:

Name	Deepspawn
Armor Class	See table below
Hit Dice (Avg hp)	See table below
Movement	60’
No Attacks	3 bites/2 tentacles
THAC0	As per HD
Damage	See table below
No Enc	1
Save as	Fighter at same level  as HD
Morale	10
Alignment	Chaotic
Treasure	See table below
Size/Type	Aberration (see table  below for size)
Intelligence	See table below
XP value	See table below

Hit Dice	AC	Bite damage	Tentacle damage	Intelligence	Size	XP	Treasure Type
2	9	1d2	1d2	4 (semi)	Medium	20	nil
4	9	1d3	1d2	6 (low)	Medium	75	C
6	8	1d4	1d3	8 (low)	Large	275	C x2
8	8	1d6	1d3	10 (avg)	Large	650	B
10	7	1d8	1d4	12 (very)	Huge	900	B
12	7	2d4	1d4	14 (high)	Huge	1100	A
14	6	1d10	1d6	15 (high	Huge	1350	A
16	6	1d12	1d6	16 (excep)	Huge	1350	A
18	5	2d6	1d8	17(excep)	Gargantuan	2000	H
20	5	2d8	1d8	18(genius)	Gargantuan	2000	H
22	4	3d6	1d10	19(genius)	Gargantuan	2500	H x2
24	4	2d10	1d10	20(genius)	Gargantuan	3000	H x2

Deepspawn can defend themselves, lashing out with tentacles and vicious maws on the end of rubbery appendages. However, they rarely allow themselves to get into situations where they must fight for themselves, and much prefer to get minions to fight for them. 

These deepspawn can create minions that serve and protect them, bringing food, treasure and information, as well as creating and maintaining large dungeon-like lairs. Deepspawn can create minions if they have sampled the flesh of that species. Minions are always of living species (animals, humanoids, magical beasts, vermin), never undead, constructs or elementals. Note that minions spawned by a deepspawn are not born with much knowledge or experience, but may gain these by staying alive and serving the deepspawn. Unlike deepspawn of the Forgotten Realms, these ones cannot spawn NPCs with levels in classes - they start off unskilled and must gain levels through experience. They are spawned biologically mature though - the deepspawn has no use for infant minions, and they are always loyal to their "parent". The size, power and quantity of minions is determined by the deepspawn's Hit Dice - larger, older deepspawn can spawn bigger, more powerful minions. 

Deepspawn Hit Dice	Max minion size	Max minion HD	No of Minions
2	Small	1	4
4	Small	2	8
6	Medium	3	12
8	Medium	4	16
10	Large	5	20
12	Large	6	24
14	Large	7	28
16	Large	8	32
18	Huge	9	36
20	Huge	10	40
22	Huge	11	44
24	Huge	12	48

Minions come in all sorts of varieties including humans, demihumans and for the largest deepspawn, giants and dragons. Deepspawn tend not to have minions that are too dangerous for even the deepspawn - cockatrice and basilisk minions have a tendency to petrify their parent deepspawn by accident.

Deepspawn start off as stupid, small and vulnerable but those that survive will learn quickly and become very clever and dangerous leaders and masterminds. Deepspawn pick up languages quickly and will often speak Common, Goblin, Orc and other languages of creatures they have encountered (and then devoured and sampled). Their lairs are usually excavated by their minions - deepspawn avoid hard physical work unless they have to. Gestating and spawning a minion generally takes a single day, but they cannot spawn new minions in the middle of combat. Gestating and spawning also requires a substantial amount of food (usually meat), so deepspawn are particularly ravenous when they are spawning lots of minions. 

Deepspawn are believed to have originated from other dimenions or planes of existence, but have arrived in Mystara and adapted well. Once a deepspawn reaches Huge size (10HD), it gains the ability to spawn a 2HD baby deepspawn once per year; this is asexual - no mate is required. Unlike minions, this baby deepspawn is not compelled to be loyal to its parent, but may stay around for the first few years, benefiting from the parent's protection and experience before setting out to set up its own lair with its own minions. . 

Scions of the Outer Dark and their Followers

Warning: This post involves adult themes and may be considered not safe for work (NSFW) or small children. 

As first mentioned in my post on Arvorians, the Scions of the Outer Dark are the intermediaries between the Great Old Ones (unfathomable and alien beings from the Sphere of Entropy) and mortals such as Arvorians, humans and chaotic humanoid tribes. While the Scions of the Outer Dark are also unfathomable and alien, they at least deign to communicate with mortals, and even grant them spells in a similar way to more human-like immortals. But while saints, exalted and chaos princes are raised from exceptional mortals, the Scions of the Outer Dark are born from the Great Old Ones. The Scions have the most influence in northern Norwold, where the interdimensional entrance to their prison is, though there are reports of worship of these things reaching the Known World. 

There are perhaps dozens of these Scions known to the Arvorians, and the Scions grant the Eldritch Crusaders (Fighter/Clerics of the Arvorians) clerical spells as well as command over the undead.  Scions can communicate with mortals, mostly through dreams but also through the use of various divinations, particularly haruspicy (the inspection of a sacrificial victim's organs). Although these Scions of the Outer Dark are currently held in an interdimensional prison, they can still occasionally create avatars on the Prime plane. These avatars are vastly weakened versions of the Scions themselves, and have been compared to an immortal-level sort of Project Image spell. There have even been instances when brave and powerful mortals have fought and defeated an avatar, a feat unthinkable if the real Scion were present. 

E'hillit: This being has a weird fascination with insanity and will toy with the minds of mortals and watch them unravel as a callous and curious child might pull the wings of insects and watch them scurry about helplessly. E'hillit is notorious for taking the most terrifiying and mind-warping forms when appearing to worshippers - a sort of Escher staircase of flesh and tentacles, defying biology and geometry at the same time. It has let its followers know that although it could appear in a more acceptable form, it chooses not to. Pets include creatures that cause confusion and insanity, such as Umber Hulks and Gibbering Mouthers. Before its imprisonment, E'hillit most frequently visited the material plane in the aptly named City of Madness. Its worshippers include Arvorians, a few human Chaos cultists and goblin and gnoll tribes. Among such believers insanity is not seen as an affliction but a gift, for they believe that reason is a form of denial and only the insane can truly see the horror of reality. 

Vergilloss: This is a whisperer of dark secrets and forbidden knowledge. Vergillos has been known to appear to followers as handsome male arvorian wizard or arcane knight, always holding a book with writhing flesh as its bindings. Although rarely worshipped among humanoid tribes, Vergilloss is popular among both Arvorians and human Chaos cultists, especially chaotic human magic users. Twisted Summoners are especially fervent followers, as Vergilloss can grant them their special powers to control monstrous minions, and even teach the summoners about new types of minion. Vergilloss is known to occasionally grant new spells to followers, usually magic-user spells though sometimes clerical. It does not give magic items directly but will sometimes inspire mortals to create new magic items, nearly always with a chaotic, evil purpose and possibly side effects. Vergilloss has an affinity for bats and the avatar occasionally abandons its arvorian form to become a giant bat. His followers occasionally keep pet bats, and try not to hurt wild bats. It prefers sacrifices to be killed by interesting and unusual spells.  

Tallassia is a Scion with a female bent and an unhealthy interest in the undead. She takes one of two forms - both of a slim, elegant Arvorian lady, but in one form she is alive and healthy and could pass off as a striking and noble mortal, while in another she is the same Arvorian lady but rotting and clearly undead. She tells followers that life is only a temporary phase and that their true destinies are as undead creatures, the more powerful the better. She and her followers are contemptuous of living things and do not hold life in much regard - killing creatures is prematurely releasing them from their feeble, painful, fearful state of life. Arvorian Eldritch Crusaders, chaotic human clerics and even humanoid shamans that follow Tallassia are gifted with the ability to control and command undead with the same chance as they would to turn undead. Many of her followers are actually undead, and include liches, vampires and death knights. 

Image by GCMM, source

Skeereett appears as a hideously diseased and rotting rat of huge proportions. It revels in decay, disease and decadence, and it teaches its followers that everything decays as soon as it is created, including living things. Worshippers often have a variety of horrible diseases which oddly do not affect the bearer's effectiveness. They typically have a pessimistic, gloomy attitude as well as shockingly bad personal hygiene. As well as rats, Skeereett also has an affinity for slimes and oozes, and they are used in ritual sacrifices to Skeereett, with victims being dropped into pits that contain these organisms to be dissolved and devoured.

Belthag'uur appears in different forms, sometimes an oversized Arvorian warrior standing 12' tall in hellforged iron armour and wielding an elaborate but bloodspattered sword, sometimes a huge muscle-bound minotaur wielding two great axes, or sometimes a gargantuan troll. It is a creature of violence and battle and eternal struggle. As far as Belthag'uur is concerned, life is an ongoing fight and only the strongest survive, and the weak will be trampled underfoot. This simple philosophy appeals to both Chaos Warriors and many humanoids and chaotic monsters. Strangely enough most Arvorians find this rather crude and simplistic, so Belthag'uur has far more human, orc and ogre worshippers than Arvorian followers. Belthag'uur has ordered his followers that every full moon there should be a sacrifice in the form of a gladiatorial fight to the death. The winner lives (at least until the next match) and the loser's entrails are inspected for signs of divine favour or ire.

Mohosskith is the master of stealth and shadows, and often appears to its followers as a massive black tarantula with far too many legs that never makes a sound. Arvorians are not very good at conventional stealth, though they can often use magic as a work-around - Arvorian followers of Mohosskith also like to use illusion and phantasm spells a lot, including spells that are also used by gnomes. There are a few human cultists of Mohosskith who are skilled as thieves, burglars and assassins. Goblins, kobolds, bugbears and doppelgangers admire Mohosskith's gift for sneakiness. Mohosskith's favourite sacrifices are when its followers sneak into a victims home and kill them in their beds without waking anybody else up. Followers of this Scion are discouraged from hurting any spiders except in unavoidable self defence.

Art by Wayne Reynolds, source

Not all Arvorians are followers of Scions. There are some who just worship Chaos in general, and are less interested in freeing the Scions from their imprisonment. Such a lazy and apathetic attitude is often viewed with contempt by the disciples of the Scions. 

City of Madness: The Capital of the Arvorians

Here I admit I am jumping ahead in the campaign ideas for the Arvorians of Norwold, as I originally envisioned in my theoretcial campaign that the PCs would only find this city after a number of previous adventures that gave them clues and maybe outright directions and maps. 

This used to be the Arvorians' third major city until the events around the imprisonment of the Scions of the Outer Dark and then the devestation of the Blackmoor civilization by the Rain of Fire. Since the demise of both civilizations, the Arvorians have hung on in this city more than others. Its true name in Arvorian language is Ursholl'lekti, but humans and other races refer to it as the City of Madness, mostly due to its association with a extraplanar being that drives people mad simply by its mind-twisting appearance. 

Architecturally it is primarily made of black basalt, and the weather tops this off with a sprinkling of white snow, causing a strong visual contrast. There are thousands of small houses perhaps 2 or 3 storeys each dwarfed by the imposing wall towers (#1 on the map), gatehouses (#2) temples (#6 on the map), the wizard sanctums (#4 on the map) and the largest of them all, the central citadel (#7). The port (#3) has some impressive stone piers but is also littered with shipwrecks, so docking here is hazardous. There is also a park (#9) and an amphitheatre (#8)

Most of the city is underground, and is essentially a megadungeon, albeit one that is dominated by a single species. The surface level shown on the map is generally abandoned, though Arvorians do emerge, usually at night. There are also less human creatures that roam the streets. Few natural animals wander here as there is something about this place that scares them and they are probably right. Undead, extra-planar and constructed creatures can all be found in the city, along with a few biological specimens that have escaped their cages or vats. 

The dungeon levels are expansive in all directions, and include living quarters for thousands of Arvorians, their humanoid servants, their monstrous minions and constructs. The first level is accessed via the Great Citadel on the surface (#7 on the map) and contains many trading and residential areas. The second level has numerous natural caverns enhanced by manual and magical excavation to hold great farms of fungi and strange herd animals to feed the humanoid population. Further down below things get more dangerous with crypts and catacombs, libraries and laboratories, barracks and barricades, temples and shrines. There are known to be at least 10 main levels, and dozens of sublevels. There is one particular sublevel with a series of portals that allow instant travel to other Arvorian cities and strongholds, which in turn have their own portals. This has enabled trade, diplomacy and migration between Arvorian cities without the risks or delays of overland travel. 

There are also some smaller, separate dungeons underneath some of the smaller surface buildings, especially the wizard sanctums (#4 on the map) and temples to the Scions of the Outer Darkness (#6 on the map). These are typically only a dozen or so chambers in size but a few do connect via winding passages to the main subterranean levels. 

This city now sits on the northwest coast of Norwold, far north of the Great Bay. There are 2 other cities of the Arvorians nearby - their true names are unknown to humans but they have been given suitably daunting names in the Common tongue. There are suspected to be other Arvorian cities further westward and north into the frozen hinterlands known in common tongue as the Everwinter Lands. As previously mentioned, these cities were founded long before the Blackmoor disaster, and as such would have previously enjoyed much milder climates. 

Based on original by 6inchnails, source

In terms of adventures set in the City of Madness I suggest two different approaches. The first is as a simple dungeon crawl. This is entirely doable although once the Arvorians realise how dangerous the PCs are they will get more cunning and ruthless, using allied and servant monsters en mass to overwhelm the intruding humans. Arvorians may be chaotic but they are definitely not stupid, and will coordinate and cooperate if they face a common threat. I would expect this would suit characters of levels 5-20. The second, more interesting approach, would involve the PCs interacting with the Arvorians non-violently, perhaps as diplomats or traders. This is a similar approach advocated in two modules that deal with the Drow - D3: The Vault of the Drow (1st Ed AD&D by Gary Gygax) and Menzoberranzen boxed set (2nd Ed AD&D by RA Salvatore), and would allow far more exploration of Arvorian culture and overall aims. In fact finding out what the Arvorians intend to do (releasing the Scions of the Outer Dark) could be a major part of this interaction. However, the PCs would be isolated from support or sanctuary, and if things turned nasty they would find themselves underground in a hostile city surrounded by a deadly, intelligent enemy, some of whom could be 25th level. 

The treasure held in the City of Madness has been accumulating for millenia. The Arvorians and their human and humanoid henchmen will certainly use gold and silver coinage for trade and to display wealth. Rarer but still used as conventional wealth are the gems and precious metals - some are recognisable by jewellers of the Known World such as amber, jade and sapphire, while others are unknown outside Arvoria. But the best treasure is the sort that is beyond mere monetary value. Magic items, new spells, arcane knowledge and powerful weapons can all be found - some of it is distinctly Arvorian in style but still understandable to humans, while others, especially the spells, have been passed to the Arvorians by the alien supra-genius intellects of the Scions of the Outer Dark. Such spells and arcane knowledge are not easily comprehended by mortal minds and, while potent indeed, could carry a heavy cost in terms of sanity and souls. 

Scenario #8: The Lost Forge of Power

 

Art by Larry Elmore from Companion Rules

This is a short adventure for a party of characters of levels 5-7 set in Rockhome.

A forge of power is a dwarven artifact that both offers clerical magic and also greatly assists dwarven smiths in forging magic weapons, armour and other mystic items such as the fabled Dwarven Lens. They are rare, and greatly sought after. In Rockhome there are seven great clans of dwarves - all but one have their own forges of power - only the Wyrwarf clan lacks one. Although a forge of power is not the defining point of whether a clan of dwarves is recognised as such, it certainly improves their standing and reputation. The Wyrwarf clan leaders feel they ought to have one, if only to shut up the more haughty clans such as Torkrest and Burhrodar. 

Thus when old archives were rediscovered in a forgotten basement in Dengar (the dwarves' capital city) that pointed to a forge of power last claimed by a clan over 570 years ago, the members of Wyrwarf knew they needed to act before the forge's location became widely known. The clan seniors are looking for a team of adventurers find this Forge of Power and claim it for the Wyrwarf Clan. The Lost Forge is located in the southwest mountains of Rockhome near the source of the Evemur River and about 30 miles southwest of Karrak Castle. 

There are other motives for investigating this location besides the ambitions of the Wyrwarf Clan: Firstly local cults of chaos and chaotic humanoids have been wielding surprisingly good quality weapons and armour of dwarvish craftsmanship - disrupting their supply of equipment would reduce their ability to attack civilised folk. Secondly a dwarf expert smith by the name of Barador was kidnapped from Torrak Sorros about a month ago and the captors and poor Barador were seen heading northeast. Retrieving him alive would earn favour with the dwarves of Torrak Sorros. 

Here I am only going to detail the level with the actual forge. Other levels, such as a surface level with ruins exposed to the weather or an upper dungeon level could be added by DMs if they wish.  I will assume that the PCs only find a large set of double doors set into the mountainside, with stairs leading down to area #1. 

1. Entrance and Trading Hall: Empty apart from smashed market stalls. This is where traders would come and sell iron ore and coal, and buy finished iron items. 
2. Guard Post: 3 Chaos Dwarf Guardians have their quarters here. 
3. Empty
4. Iron Ore stores. This room contains a pair of average-sized hellhounds who are in league with the chaos dwarfs. Also this room contains large piles of iron ore - to the untrained eye it looks like large piles of dull grey rocks but those who know mining and metallurgy will recognise haematite. 
5. Smelting Furnaces: This room is dominated by two huge furnaces, each about 15' across and still burning hot. This is because each one contains a captive fire elemental (AC 2, Mv 120', HD 8, hp 36, THAC0 13, Att 1 fiery fist for 1d8, Save F8, Ml 12, Align Neutral, XP 1200, magic weapons needed to hit, immune to fire damage) . Also in this room are 4 chaos dwarf smiths who will attack intruders. If the fight is not going the chaotic dwarves way they may get desperate enough to unleash the elementals from their furnaces - each furnace has a large door on the side that can be opened if needed.There is also a chest here that contains various semiprecious stones found by the dwarf workers as they break up the ore before feeding it into the smelters. The chest contains 95 gems that are on average worth 50gp (4750gp for whole chest), and are a mix of Dioptase, Citrine and Zircon (roll 2d4 x10gp for value of any one gem). 
6. Forge worker's quarters: This room has 4 beds and a table with chairs. The forge workers are in room 5. 
7. Jail cell: This room is locked from the outside and contains a dwarf, Barador (AC 9, Mv 60', HD Dw3, hp 4 (normally 12), THAC0 17, Att 1 fist for 1, Save Dw3, Ml 5, Align Neutral, XP 75). He is unarmed and seriously weakened. He is being held by the chaos dwarves because of his knowledge of smelting and smithing and they have tortured him for it. If rescued and returned to a normal dwarf settlement he will offer to become the PCs' own blacksmith (as a hireling but for half usual pay).  
8. Slag heap. In this room there is a starving rust monster.(AC2, Mv 120', HD 5, hp 10 (25 when fully fed), THAC0 15, Att 1 feeler for special, Save F5, Ml 12, Align Neutral, XP 300, Rusting attack: Any character that is hit by a rust monster's feeler will have one metal item (armour, weapon or shield) instantly corrode and disintegrate. Magic items have a 10% chance per "+" of avoiding this effect, and if they do not, rather than instantly disintegrating the item loses a + until it becomes a non-magical item that the rust monster will destroy with its next hit)  It has been surviving on scraps of iron discarded along with the slag (the waste matter from smelting). It will attack anyone wearing metal armour. The slag heap itself is just pale gray rubble like crumbly concrete. 
9. The Forge of Power. This room is dominated by the great forge ensconced into the east wall with elaborate and ancient carved stones, still roaring away. There are also 3 anvils set into the floor and many blacksmithing tools lying around including hammers, tongs and punches . In here are 3 chaos dwarf smiths, assisted by an iron living statue . 
10. Master smith's quarters: Here is Volshrok, master of these chaotic dwarves, and he will attack intruders without hesitation: AC 2, Mv 60', HD Dw6, THAC0 13, Att 1 battleaxe +1 for 1d8+3, Save Dw6, Ml 11, Align Chaotic, XP 350, equipment: Dwarf-sized Plate Mail +1, Battleaxe +1. He also has a box of treasure under his bed which holds 2500sp, 1200gp, 360pp and, most valuable of all, 7 ingots of pure Mithril worth 1000gp each (weighing 50 coins each). 
11. Coal and Charcoal store. There is over a ton of  fuel piled up on the floor here, some in burlap sacks, the rest just loose on the flagstones.
12. Food stores & dining area: This room has no monsters but has a table with 6 chairs around it, all at dwarf height. At the east end of the room are piles of boxes and barrels with various edible provisions - the equivalent of 30 standard ration meals. There are some cooking pots, and the dwarves use the Forge of Power as an oversized stove. 
13. Junior Smith's quarters: This room holds 2 chaos dwarf smiths plus 1 chaos dwarf guardian, as well as 5 beds
14. Quenching Room: This room is where red-hot iron and steel is plunged into the central cooling pool in the middle. This is filled with dirty water and is 5' deep, with a 2' high stone wall around the rim. In here are 2 chaos dwarf smiths and a pet hellhound of average size.
15. Finishing Workshop: Around the walls of this room are large workbenches laden with whetstones, grinding wheels, leather and leatherworking tools for handles, tree branches and carpentry tools for hafts. This room is well lit thanks to a Continual Light spell in the centre of the ceiling. There are 3 chaos dwarf smiths and 2 chaotic dwarf cultists (chaotic dwarf clerics) (AC 4, Mv 90', HD DwC3, hp 10, THAC0 18, Att 1 warhammer for 1d6 or spell, Save Dw3, Ml 10, Align Chaotic, XP 75, equipment: dwarf-sized chain mail, warhammer, shield, unholy symbol, 20gp each, spells: Cure/Cause Light Wounds, Light/Darkness) 
16. Workers' quarters: There are no monsters here, just 4 beds. 
17. Shrine of Chaos: This room is dominated by a mural of a strange fiery demonic figure with dwarves bowing down before it. This is the quarters of the Chaos Dwarf Curate (AC 1, Mv 90' HD DwC5, hp 19, THAC0 16, Att 1 mace+1 for 1d6+2 or spell, Save Dw5, Ml 11, Align Chaotic, XP 300, equipment: dwarf-sized Plate Mail +1, mace+1, shield, unholy symbol. Spells: Hold Person, Bless/Blight, Cure/Cause Light Wounds, Detect Magic). He has a bed beneath which is a loose flagstone. Lifting up the flagstone reveals a small hole containing a sack with the curate's treasure: 2600gp and 600pp
18. Finished Items Storage. This room is guarded by an iron living statue and a chaos dwarf guardian. It contains an unusual treasure - a large stash of finished and saleable weapons and suits of metal armour arranged on wooden racks as found in the table below
    

    Type	Quantity	Value each	Total value (gp)
    Battleaxe	20	7	140
    Mace	8	5	40
    Metal Shield	15	10	150
    Dwarf-sized Chain Mail	5	40	200
    Dwarf-sized Banded Armour	3	50	150
    Dwarf-sized Plate Mail	4	60	240
    Shortsword	10	7	70
    Normal Sword	6	10	60
    Hand Axe	10	4	40
    Warhammer	10	5	50
    Dagger	5	3	15
    		Grand total	1155

Commonly used stats

Chaos Dwarf Guardian: AC 2 (Plate mail), Mv 60', HD Dw5, hp 27 , THAC0 15  Att 1 battleaxe for 1d8+1, Save Dw5,Ml 10, Align Chaotic XP 225 Equipment: dwarf-sized plate mail, battleaxe, 2d6pp

Chaos Dwarf Smith: AC 5, (chain mail), Mv 90'. HD Dw3, hp 16, THAC0 17, Att 1 hammer for 1d6_1, Save Dw3, Ml 9, Align Chaotic, XP 75,  Equipment: dwarf-sized chain mail, warhammer, 3d6gp

Hellhound (average): AC 4, Mv 120', HD 4, hp 18, THAC0 16, Att 1 bite for 1d6 or breath weapon, Save F4, Ml 9, Align Chaotic, XP 125, Breath Weapon: Hellhound can breathe fire at an opponent for 4d6 fire damage, range 10', usable on 1-2 on d6 each round. Successful save vs dragon breath halves damage. 

Iron Living Statue AC 2, Mv 30', HD 4, hp 20, THAC0 16, Att 2 fists + special for 1d8/1d8, Save F4, Ml 12, Align Neutral, XP 125  Metal absorption: If a character hits the iron living statue with a non-magical metal weapon, the character must make a save vs spells or else the weapon is partially absorbed by the statue, and cannot be used again until the living statue is killed