Jolgruul the Corruptor and other Chaos Cults

Jolgruul the Corruptor 

One of the more subtle and insidious Chaos Princes , Jolgruul prefers temptation over confrontation. Although he and his followers are quite capable of violence, he prefers to inveigle the foolish and unwary into his machinations. He will often use the seven deadly sins, particularly Avarice, Pride and Lust, to lure mortals into his grasp. Although most chaotic creatures do not consider contracts to be worth the paper they are written on, Jolgruul is much more likely to use contracts with mortals, with the end results never being in the mortals' favour. Such contracts are both cunningly written as if by a master lawyer and also magically enforced, and breaking the contract will bring terrible curses or other consequences on the reneger. Unusually for a paragon of Chaos, Jolgruul himself will also stick to his side of the contract, even if it is not in his favour. Whether he is concerned about practical consequences or he has some strange sense of obligation around these deals is not known.

Jolgruul's cultists may well have entered into contracts with him, or else been ensnared and corrupted and then found that their only option was to go along with him. They are typically sneaky, deceptive and occasionally quite charismatic, making everything they do and encourage others to do seem quite acceptable and reasonable. Jolgruul's followers are most often found in and around Thyatis, particularly the large cities, though there are rumours cult cells have made it to Specularum in Karameikos and also the pirate port of Vlaad in the Kingdom of Ierendi. Although not active in Darokin, Jolgruul is impressed with some chaos cults in Darokin City, particularly the Black Rabbits and the Lords in Scarlet and has encouraged his clerics to consider some sort of alliance with them. 

Although most of Jolgruul's followers are humans, there are a few monstrous creatures that are interested in his approach, including some that can shift into human form. Devil swine, mujina and doppelgangers have all been known to be part of Jolgruul's cult. But Jolgruul generally ignores those who cannot be subtle and deceptive. Centipede Demons are also found assisting these cultists - whether the cultists are powerful enough to summon and bind these fiends themselves or whether Jolgruul sent them as a boon to his followers is not clear.  

The Snake Cult of Jaboor

Art by Conceptopolis, source

Underneath the Ylari port of Jaboor there are a network of tunnels that lead down to the caverns that contain the sunken river bed of what was the river Nithia. This is now home to a colony of serpent people and some of their monstrous allies. However, in the last five years they have human allies in the town above as well. The human townsfolk are all expected to follow the official religion of Ylaruam, The Eternal Truth, and the vast majority comply, with many being true believers. But there are a few who resent such dogma and orthodoxy, and seek a different sort of immortal patronage. The serpent people have made contact with these, initially using magical disguises, and introduced these renegade humans to the worship of Apep the Snake God, the bane of ancient Nithia.  Although the cult now has human followers, the serpent people are definitely the ones in charge, though they very rarely emerge onto the surface. Most of the time it is the human followers who go down into the caverns, using an old cave entrance among a cluster of boulders to the west of town. 

Out of the town population of 4500 people, only about 20 are true followers of Apep while another 50 or so are hired by the cult as guards, mages and the like. As with many of these cults they are very selective and careful about who they try to recruit and convert. Some of these cultists want some sort of power and prestige that they cannot gain legitimately, including forbidden magic of ancient Nithia, while others join as angry, blasphemous defiance against what they see as the overbearing and smothering monotheism of the Eternal Truth that holds sway over Ylaruam. For the previous 5 years they were just establishing the cult, gathering trustworthy members, money and information, but now they are getting bolder.  Recently the cult has kidnapped several citizens of Jaboor. Two have already been sacrificed to Apep but another two are being held for the next ceremony, including a visiting cleric of the Eternal Truth. 

The Ravenous Maw

source

This cult is quite unlike the previous two and makes no attempt at subtlety. It is established in various humanoid tribes along the Black Peaks, Altan Tepes and into southern Rockhome, particularly among ogres, gnolls, trolls and hill giants. It is focused on hunting and eating, and since all of its worshippers are naturally carnivorous, this fits in with their primary concerns - finding and killing prey and eating their carcasses.  This cult has relatively few human members, but these are often the worst sort of degenerate cannibals. Even among the humanoid cult members, eating each other is not unknown, though for the sake of cult cohesion and combat strength the shamans only sanction eating other cult members when they have died from other causes such as battle against enemies of the cult. Of course, some of the more hungry members will ignore this rule - they are chaotic after all. 

The Ravenous Maw does not seem to have a coherent personality that the members worship but merely the concept of predation and carnivory. Having said that, shamans will often conflate the Ravenous Maw with chaos princes and minor immortals linked to their race - Yeenoghu for gnolls, Vaprak for ogres and trolls, and Baphomet for minotaurs, all of whom encourage their followers to hunt, kill and eat humans. It is believed from captured members that Maglubiyet the Immortal patron of goblins and hobgoblins holds the Ravenous Maw in contempt, considering it animalistic, disorganised and short-sighted, thus few of those races are found in this cult. 

The Ravenous Maw is quite open minded about who or what can join their ranks - as long as the new member is suitably vicious and hungry but controllable, it will be considered. Ettins, athaches, frost giants and thouls have all been found among them. Predatory beasts are sometimes used as mounts or war beasts, including cave bears, sabertooth cats and giant hyenas. 

The Ravenous Maw is not yet powerful enough to threaten major towns or castles but it has certainly attacked human villages in northern Karameikos, northern Thyatis and southern Darokin around Selenica, devouring villagers, livestock and pets. The dwarves of Rockhome have been threatened but so far have fended off attacks on their strongholds. The folks of Ylaruam have not yet been attacked but they could still be next on the menu. 

The Scuttling Scourge

Developing from a much smaller cult of scorpion-worshippers of Ylaruam who followed a Chaos Prince that had been a manscorpion (referred to as The Scorpion King), the Scuttling Scourge holds vertebrates in contempt and eight-legged arthropods in great respect. Spiders, scorpions, whip-scorpions and rhagodessas are all considered a higher form of life. This cult has spread from its homeland of Ylaruam and now has members dotted across the Known World including Davania, Yavdlom and Sind. Araneas are considered allies, although they are not religious and will not join in the ceremonies. 

Unlike the Snake Cult of Jaboor where human worshippers respect snakes and serpent people but do not expect to become one, the human worshippers of the Scuttling Scourge aspire to transform from a feeble four-limbed mammal into a much better form - an eight-legged predator protected by chitinous armour and armed with deadly venom. It is not known how this happens or even if it does happen (are the human cultists being fooled and just used as edible pawns?) but it is what the most fervent cultists desire. There are some manscorpions associated with the cult in its homeland of Ylaruam and on the eastern edges of the Great Waste bordering Sind who encourage this belief and it is possible that they have a way of transforming humans into manscorpions but this has not been confirmed.

Those familiar with a wide range of chaos cultists know that the Scuttling Scourge is not the only cult with an affinity for spiders - certain Arvorians of Norwold follow a spider-like entity called Mohosskith, though it is unlikely to be involved in this cult. 

Aalthir and Cittinova: When Cities Meet

Cittinova is a Thyatian colony on the northern coast of Davania, and is effectively the main town of Thyatis on Davania (though Raven Scarp would argue that point). It has a population of 2,000 people (mostly humans, a few jungle elves and a handful of other races).  Compared to smaller colonies and outposts such as Herakanthia it is a bastion of civilization, and is relatively secure from the monsters prowling the jungle. And yet as far as other cities in the Known World are concerned it is rather small and insignificant, and would really only count as a provincial town. Cittinova has a town guard of 200 soldiers, mostly armed with chain mail and either longswords and light crossbows or else longswords and polearms such as pikes and halberds. These town guards keep the peace within town and also fend off roaming monsters - although they need to fight in formation to defeat the larger dinosaurs.  

The Floating City of Aalthir is in a completely different league. Created and lifted by incredibly powerful magic, Aalthir has a population of 23,000, of whom 2,000 are magic users. That means for every man, woman, child, elf or whatever in Cittinova, there is magic user capable of casting Magic Missile or Charm Person in Aalthir. And there is a council of 12 archmages who both act as the rulers and  navigate the city through the skies of Mystara.  Any one of those archmages could wipe out a town like Cittinova, guards and all, from a safe distance. 

And now Aalthir has come to rest over the sea just north of Cittinova, in plain sight of the Thyatian town. This has caused considerable consternation and speculation among the population, and many citizens are fearing annihilation or conquest. After all, Aalthir originally comes from Alphatia, and although now it is effectively an independent city-state, it still has many cultural and political ties to that great empire. And as everyone knows, Thyatis and Alphatia do not usually get on well together. 

Instead, the archmages have sent a delegation down to Cittinova on a skyship, claiming only wishing to trade and establish friendly relations. Of course, the Thyatian governor of Cittinova doesn’t trust these Alphatian wizards at all but firstly he knows they have the upper hand in nearly all respects, and secondly many of his citizens are fascinated by this magical marvel. Even the merchants of Cittinova are eager to do business with their fellow traders a mile above the ocean.  

 Art by VargasNi, Source

The Aalthir authorities are quite careful about who they allow onto Aalthir itself - only a few select Cittinova officials actually set foot in Aalthir. One enterprising skyship captain has been offering sight-seeing trips to the curious people of Cittinova, taking them on her skyship (an exciting adventure in itself!) and then circling around the floating city several times but not landing as the captain and her crew point out landmarks and features that the tourists would find interesting. At one point a squadron of six hippogriff riders flew from Aalthir over Cittinova for a fly-by. But this scared both humans and livestock  who were not sure if this was some attack. The rulers of Aalthir have forbidden any future visits by hippogriff.  As a friendly gesture it did not go as well as planned but as a display of military might it was certainly demonstrative. 

For the moment there is a bustling trade in the main marketplace of Cittinova, with goods and passangers being ferried to and from the floating city via skyships. The merchants of Aalthir are buying local specialities including jungle fruits, rare woods from the enormous nearby trees, and animals, both butchered body parts and also the occasional live specimen. One Aalthir wizard has bought a captured phanaton as a pet, despite the phanaton's protestations. In return the merchants of Cittinova are buying silks from Ochalea, tea and spices from Bellissaria and many magical potions and curiosities made in Aalthir itself. A visiting trader from Minrothad has joined in with the buying and selling, partly to make money but also to see how Alphatian merchants operate and what they have to offer - making connections between Minrothrad and Aalthir could be profitable. A mysterious archmage called Ellaria has travelled by magic carpet from Aalthir to briefly visit Cittinova, though she always wore a silver mask that completely covered her face and long clothes that covered her skin.  

One skyship took a band of Aalthir mages deep into the jungle of Davania, and they have returned with various trophies including a sedated giant chameleon, a grateful but rather confused rakasta whom the Aalthirians rescued from a hungry Tyrannosaurus and the severed head of said dinosaur - the rest of its body had been blasted by lightning bolts, and a charmed Deinonychus. The new owner of the Deinonychus insists that it will stay friendly; Other people on board are not so sure. But a jolly good time was had by all, except for the crew hand who got attacked by a carnivorous plant. He survived but is still badly shaken. 

 Art by ValerySazanov, Source

But what is going on behind the scenes? Firstly a Thyatian wizard visiting from his home back in Port Lucinius has teleported back home and ridden to Thyatis City to report on this visit. The Thyatian government is now aware and considering its response. Secondly one of the tourists onboard the sight-seeing tours is an Imperial Thyatian agent and has used his elven cloak and boots to hide on the ship, then snuck off when it docked, so now there is a Thyatian spy on Aalthir, though his ability to report back to his superiors is limited. Similarly an Alphatian wizard has wandered away from the trade delegation into Cittinova and is now looking to see what is going on in this Thyatian backwater, although he does not have the same government connections, and might be doing this for his own curiosity. 

Will this calm down the tensions between the two empires or will it exacerbate them? How will central Thyatis react to what could be interpreted as an intrusion? Did Alphatia approve of this event or did Aalthir conduct this entirely on its own? The ramifications of this encounter between two settlements of rival empires are yet to play out. 

The Tunnels under Corunglain

“Despite all the precautions which the city guards take against attacks and raids by the inbabitants of the Broken Lands, they seem unable to prevent small bands of them from sneaking into the city. It is believed, though proof is hard to come by, that the earth beneath Corunglain is honeycombed with a twisting maze of passages. If, as is believed, this labyrinth links up with the orc tunnels beneath the Broken Lands then the actions of the raiders are easily accounted for. By moving though the passages which are narrow and prone to periodic collapses, small bands of orcs, goblins and their kin can appear in the city, wreak a little havoc and then melt back into the earth without leaving a trace. 

The government of Corunglain has uncovered many openings which, they believe, lead into this underworld. In each case a demolition team has collapsed the passages and the discoverer given a substantial reward. It is certain that, given time and effort, a dedicated band of adventurers would be able to find additional entrances to the orc tunnels and earn the thanks of the local populace.”

Gaz11 The Republic of Darokin, DM’s book p36

And thus a mini-campaign for novice adventurers is established. Personally I really like this idea, as it means the adventurers are less like bandits themselves, raiding and slaying the humanoids, but actually defending the city from infiltrators. This has similarities with B2 The Keep on the Borderlands (going against various bands of chaotic humanoids) but set in a major city of 31,000 folks instead of a keep with a hundred or so inhabitants. 

This map shows the layout of the tunnels under Corunglain and shows what is underneath the map in this post about the surface of Corunglain. 

As can be seen there are numerous tunnels reaching all the quarters of the city. Note that this map could be just the uppermost level of tunnels - there could be even more deeper underground, and could even be part of a megadungeon. There are a dozen small lairs of three to six chambers each attached to the tunnels - this is where the humanoids rest, prepare for raids, count loot and store weapons and food. Each of these lairs is run by a gang of humanoids, usually a single race. 

There are also tunnels leading away from the city - these are the highways along which the humanoids will travel great distances. It is believed from interrogating captured goblins that there are waystations every 10 miles or so where humanoids can rest and eat. Supply wagons with food, weapons and fresh recruits can be encountered here as well as the occasional messenger. 

The tunnel complex shown here is above the water level of the river and wells, with some of the tunnel entrances opening out outside the city walls onto the river bank or a ledge on the cliffs overlooking the rivers. Only when the tunnel goes under the river does it slope down much further. At least one lair (the bottom right one) connects straight to a well shaft, about 20ft above the water level. The kobolds lodged there have learnt how to climb up the wellshaft into the surface city. 

The tunnels are all left dark, since goblins, kobolds, orcs and hobgoblins all have infravision so can see just fine. Of course these races all prefer the darkness anyway - sunlight is irritating and makes them nauseous.  In fact any light source will indicate human intruders to sentries. The tunnels are generally under 6ft tall so gnolls, bugbears and ogres rarely visit as they would have to stoop down all the time. The human soldiers who have to fight these humanoids are actually very grateful for this restriction.  

The humanoid raiding parties are usually single race, e.g. all kobolds or all goblins, and will typically be 6-10 individuals, led by a tougher, smarter warrior who acts as squad leader. There have been a few occasions of mixed-race raiding parties but these run the risk of rivalries and friction between the races.  The hobgoblins see themselves as the bosses of this tunnel complex and often stop any inter-humanoid fights getting out of hand - the hobgoblins remind everyone that the real enemies are the humans above. 

The big exception to segregation is the large chamber in the north, underneath Cheesemarket Square (#16). This is known as the Gathering Hall and is used as a neutral meeting ground and muster point, as well as a common point for those travelling along the main tunnel to the Broken Lands. Interestingly enough some goblins and hobgoblins have started to imitate the humans of Darokin and have set up market stalls in the Gathering Hall, selling things that goblins, orcs and kobolds might want to buy - roasted rats on a stick, stolen weapons, strong beer, makeshift armour and the occasional kidnapped human. Although the stall owners are unlikely to trade with humans or demihumans, adventurers magically disguised as humanoids could buy things here. One gnome trickster claims to have visited the Gathering Hall several times and even considered setting up shop disguised as a paunchy kobold, but decided it was too risky and too smelly. 

What do the raiding parties get up to? Theft, Murder, Kidnapping, Vandalism, Sabotage, Espionage and scaring the humans. Sometimes these are with a bigger goal in mind, to destabilise the government, terrorise the population and demoralise the army, but usually it is much more small-minded, doing it for food, money and fun - that’s what humanoids are like. Some humanoids join these raids for social standing within their tribes - a warrior who brings back food, loot and slaves to their lair will be seen as more valuable and a potential leader by other members of the gang. 

It is rumoured that some goblinoid leaders are considering a major assault through these tunnels, with bands emerging simultaneously from different tunnel entrance. Espionage was mentioned above because some senior tribal leaders back in the Broken Lands are interested in what the city garrison’s response times are, and who else would oppose the humanoids. The humanoids already have a pretty good map of the city and already know the best routes to and from the tunnel entrances. But given the number of human soldiers stationed in Corunglain the humanoids would probably need twice as many on their side to succeed in overrunning the city. A more realistic prospect is combining an overland assault from the Broken Lands with raiders emerging within the city to distract the garrison and maybe open up the gates or lower ropes down the outside of the city walls

The city’s responses to these raids are with either the army or adventurers:

The XIII legion based in the Bastion includes the Corunglain Combat Engineers Company, also known as the Underminers. They can call upon some friendly mages for support and while the combat engineers provide protection, the mages will cast Wall of Stone or Rock to Mud to seal off tunnels and entrances.  The combat engineers do know of mundane ways of sealing tunnels if mages are not available, but these methods are slow and humanoids may counterattack while the engineers are working. 

Sometimes the army or city council will ask the Adventurers’ Guild to hire some suitable heroes to deal with the problem, especially if fighting underground is expected - the army is better suited to combat in large formations on open fields or city walls. This is particularly likely if the humanoids are believed to have seized captives who need rescuing or valuable items that the leaders of Corunglain want to retrieve - simply collapsing the tunnel is not appropriate. 

Unintelligent monsters, particularly giant rats, giant bats and giant crab spiders are a perpetual nuisance, and the hobgoblins may bully the smaller races into dealing with these vermin before they get out of hand. Nonethelss at least one lair has been taken over by vermin, displacing or killing the previous goblin residents. Corunglain does not have a proper sewage system so at least there are no otyughs to contend with. One arrogant hobgoblin chief brought along his pet carrion crawler - it paralyzed and ate him, then escaped into the tunnels. There are rumours among the tribes and gangs that it is still alive, lurking in the dark corners of the tunnels.

The lich Meltherrion is a potential disaster for anyone who encounters him, though diplomatic and respectful humans should escape with their lives.  This could be a valuable lesson for low-level adventurers - not every monster is there to be defeated in combat.  The known part of his lair is marked in pale pink on the map, though given the magical tools he has access to this is probably not the whole of his domain.  He does not like being disturbed but he really hates humanoids - as such he could be a powerful but unpredictable ally. 

 

The Adventurers’ Guild of Corunglain

The city of Corunglain sits at the northern edge of Darokin, dangerously close to the Broken Lands with their tribes of chaotic humanoids that are always eager to raid and plunder. The city is heavily fortified with a strong garrison, but additional help from adventurers is often welcome, especially when the adventurers carry out specific tasks that the conventional Darokin army is not suited for. Given that much of central Darokin is quite peaceful and far from enemy forces, it is not surprising that many adventurers of Darokin gravitate towards Corunglain to find fame, fortune and action, so Corunglain has considerably more adventurers than other cities of that size. There are enough of them that the Corunglain authorities have found it necessary to organise these heroes and freebooters into a guild, to point them in the right direction and perhaps keep them in contact should an urgent situation arises. 

The Corunglain Adventurers’ Guild currently consists of 15 senior staff and about 60 regular guild members. The guild also helps manage transient adventurers who are not proper members, and may have their own ideas about what they can do within the city. The guild does not act as a police force to keep renegade adventurers under control - that is really for the city garrison. But the guild will give advice to those visiting adventurers willing to listen, and hopefully keep conflict within the city to a minimum. Those who maintain the notorious murder-hobo mindset will find that the garrison is more than capable of handling criminal activity by powerful adventurers, and the consequences can be severe.  

Emirikol the Chaotic goes full murder-hobo in Corunglain...
Art by Dave Trampier from AD&D 1st Ed DMG

The senior staff include:

• Guildmaster: Astorbius Herenka, 12th level mage, human male, align N. Astorbius was born and raised in Glantri and knows the Glantri ways of wizardry well. He has had a long and profitable adventuring career that saw him do battle against lizardmen of the Serpent Peninsula, pirates of Ierendi and tombs of undead sorcerers in Ylaruam. He has settled down in Corunglain and has taken up the position of guildmaster of the Adventurers' Guild mainly because he likes coordinating and organising people and projects - he sees himself as a natural administrator.
• Deputy Guildmaster: Tallasania Whetstone: 15th level fighter, human female, align L. Tallasania is a retired adventurer from Darokin City. Unlike Astorbius Herenka she has done most of her adventuring within the Republic of Darokin. She knows the Orclands and the wilds around Selenica well. She has become the deputy guildmaster mainly out of a sense of duty towards Darokin - this is her way of helping to protect her homeland. 
• Treasurer: Strombold Steelsplinter, 11th level dwarf warrior, dwarf male, align L.  Strombold is a very strict and uptight keeper of guild money - some say he fits the stereotypical miserly gold-loving dwarf. But he also likes order and follows laws and procedures, and if the correct paperwork is filled out with the appropriate endorsements he has little problem giving money to others, usually as rewards for services rendered. As with many dwarves, Strombold has a hatred of chaotic humanoids, and he is happy to help employ adventurers to kill goblins and orcs. 
• Religious Liason: Maghelli Truthsayer, 10th level cleric, human female, align L. Maghelli has been on missions for the Church of Law all over the Known World, including the mountains of Karameikos, Jaboor on the Ylari coast and the woods around Selenica. In achieving her missions she has hired and associated with many characters, some of whom were unsavoury but she developed the skills to motivate them and keep the peace among disparate party members. She now helps organise adventuring parties for missions that are requested by the Church of Law in Corunglain or further afield.
• Military Liason: Sir Reginald Carruthers, 13th level fighter, human male, align N. Sir Reginald is an aristocrat and knight, the third son of a nobleman of Glantri who, on realising he had neither inheritance nor magical talent, set out on an adventuring career. He still maintains his high-class bearing and can be insufferably condescending and arrogant if he takes a dislike to someone, but he has been on enough adventures with a wide range of companions that most of the time he gets on well with all sorts, including thieves, wizards and halflings. These days he talks to senior commanders of the garrison of Corunglain, including the general of the 3rd Army headquartered here, mainly to discuss missions and tasks that might be suited to adventures. He also helps smooth things over when adventurers go rogue within Corunglain, as it is usually the army garrison who deals with them. Sir Reginald tries to establish if the adventurers were misguided but well-intentioned or if they really deserve what's coming to them and advises the garrison commanders accordingly. 
• Magical Liason: Melmarris Trueshot, 11th level spellsword, elf female, align N. Originally from Alfheim, Melmarris has travelled far and wide, wherever there are spellcasters, including Glantri, Norwold and Alphatia. During her travels she has made contacts with friendly mages and magical societies including Glantri's Great School of Magic and Karameikos' Magicians' Guild. She has decided to stay in Corunglain for a decade or two to help out with the problems coming from the Broken Lands. 
• Trade Liason: Tarminax Rethis, 10th level fighter/2nd level Darokin merchant, human male, align L. Tarminax has spent much of his life as a caravan guard, working his way up through the ranks as corporal, sergeant, lieutenant and now captain. He sees his job at the moment as matching merchants seeking guards for their caravans (usually heading towards Glantri or Ethengar) with willing and trustworthy adventurers of appropriate experience. He has picked up some business skills himself and knows more about running businesses and conducting trade than some of the merchants who approach him. 
• Espionage Liason: Morthos Swiftslice, 9th level thief, human male, align N. Morthos is a partially reformed thief. These days he does not directly engage in criminal activity but he still talks to those who do. Corunglain's rulers do not allow or recognise a formal thieves guild but there is one that still hides in the shadier parts of town, and Morthos was once a member. Although his title indicates he helps coordinate espionage missions, his most common role is as a link between adventurers and the criminal underbelly of Corunglain. 

As well as senior staff there are about 60 adventurers, some of whom operate solo, but others have formed bands that function as tight-knit teams - a few of these have been adventuring together for years. The most prominent of these bands are:

The Red Eagles have been together for five years and specialise in anti-humanoid operations. They have made numerous forays into the Broken Lands and the Orclands to the east. They suspect there is a headquarters of Chaos somewhere in the mountains but have not been able to pinpoint it. 

• Barthys the Brave: 6th level Dwarf Warrior, dwarf male, align L, from Greenston in Rockhome
• Marshia Hammershield: 6th level Dwarf Cleric, dwarf female, align L
• Nornexos: 7th level Mage, human male, align N. Born in Alphatia, wary of Glantri wizards
• Mebbillon: 7th level Thief, human male, align N, born in Darokin City. In it for the money. 
• Sarbion Wildwalker: 6th level Fighter, human male, align L, Lost an eye and gained a scar after a battle with gnolls.   

The Scorching Torches are named after one of their early quests involved descending into a cavern infested with patches of green slime. The party responded by burning everything and anything within the cavern, using lots of torches, lamp oil and a Wand of Fireballs. These days they are consumate problem solvers, and are often given unusual or complicated missions that are more than just killing orcs. 

• Tehainia: 8th level Mage, human female, align L, always has her Wand of Fireballs ready. 
• Zendax the Philosopher: 9th level Cleric, human male, align L, trained in the Reclusium of Serenity
• Gandari: 7th level Spellsword, elf female, align L, from the Callarii elves of Karameikos
• Bornis Blackblade: 8th level Thief, human male, align N. Reformed assassin from Vlaad in Ierendi.

Alphanor's Madmen are considered unpredictable and reckless, though within the city walls they are sensible enough not to tangle with the garrison. They are skilled at dungeoneering, and have assisted in countering humanoids tunnelling under the city. A former member, Emirikol, has fled Corunglain having got into trouble with merchants and then killed several city guardsmen making his escape. Emirikol's current whereabouts are unknown but Alphanor would welcome him back. The rest of the city would not. 

• Alphanor: 12th level Mage, human male, align N. From Alphatia and contemptuous of non-magical folk. He is aware of a powerful lich underneath the city. 
• Perrion Wildstrike: 12th level fighter, human male, align C, an escaped gladiator from Thyatis and angry with all sorts of authority.
• Darminia: 13th level cleric, human female, align N. The voice of reason in the group
• Markkus Deephunter: 13th level Thief, human male, align N. An exile from Darokin City
• Farathmir: 12th level dwarf warrior, dwarf male, align C. Volatile and bad-tempered, as well as typical dwarven greed for gold and gems.