Sons_of_Gruumsh.pdf

D ESIGNER : Christopher Perkins

A DDITIONAL D ESIGN : Will Littrell, Stephen Schubert

D EVELOPER : Stephen Schubert

E DITING M ANAGER : Kim Mohan

D ESIGN M ANAGER : Christopher Perkins

D EVELOPMENT M ANAGER : Jesse Decker

S ENIOR A RT D IRECTOR RPG R&D: Stacy Longstreet

D IRECTOR OF RPG R&D: Bill Slavicsek

P RODUCTION M ANAGERS : Josh Fischer, Randall Crews

F ORGOTTEN R EALMS A RT D IRECTORS : Mari Kolkowsky, Robert Raper

C OVER A RTIST : Todd Lockwood

I NTERIOR A RTIST : Mike Dubisch

G RAPHIC D ESIGNER : Dee Barnett

C ARTOGRAPHERS : Dennis Kauth, Robert Lazzaretti

G RAPHIC P RODUCTION S PECIALIST : Angelika Lokotz

Based on the original D UNGEONS & D RAGONS ® rules created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and the

new D UNGEONS & D RAGONS game designed by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, and Peter Adkison.

This Wizards of the Coast game product contains no Open Game Content.

No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without written permission. To learn more about the Open Gaming License

and the d20 System License, please visit www.wizards.com/d20.

U.S., CANADA, ASIA,

EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERS

PACIFIC, & LATIN AMERICA

Hasbro UK Ltd

Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

Caswell Way

P.O. Box 707

Newport, Gwent NP9 0YH

Renton WA 98057-0707

GREAT BRITAIN

(Questions?) 1-800-324-6496

Please keep this address for your records

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First Printing: September 2005

ISBN-10 : 0-7869-3698-3

620–88446740–001–EN

ISBN-13: 978-0-7869-3698-4

D UNGEONS & D RAGONS , D&D, D UNGEON M ASTER , F ORGOTTEN R EALMS , d20, d20 System, W IZARDS OF THE C OAST , Sons of Gruumsh, Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide,

Monster Manual, all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., in the U.S.A. and other countries. All Wizards

characters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

Distributed to the hobby, toy, and comic trade in the United States and Canada by regional distributors. Distributed in the United States to the book trade by Holtzbrinck Publishing.

Distributed in Canada to the book trade by Fenn Ltd. Distributed worldwide by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., and regional distributors.

This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America.

Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

This product is a work of ﬁ ction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental.

Visit our website at www.wizards.com/forgotten realms

I NTRODUCTION

Introduction

This adventure takes place in the Moonsea region of Faerûn, an

inhospitable land marked by seafaring city-states. The Moonsea

offers much to anyone wanting to earn a reputation or a fortune.

Nearly every type of creature, monstrous and humanoid, lives in

this region. The machinations of Zhentil Keep and the other cities

are numerous and deadly. What no one in the city-states realizes is

that an orc horde is massing in the land of Thar north of the city

of Melvaunt. Properly led and organized, this army could put the

entire area to the torch.

Meanwhile, the city of Melvaunt has a crisis of its own. Several

scions of the great families have disappeared, and the player charac-

ters have been recruited to ﬁ nd and rescue them. Their investigation

leads deep into the rugged wilderness of Thar where, of course, they

discover the dire orc threat.

Sons of Gruumsh is a D UNGEONS & D RAGONS ® adventure designed for

four 4th-level characters. Player characters should advance at least one

level in the course of the adventure and perhaps two by its conclusion.

Preparation

As Dungeon Master, you need four books to run this adventure: the

Player’s Handbook , the Dungeon Master’s Guide, the Monster Manual ,

and the F ORGOTTEN R EALMS ® Campaign Setting . Monster Manual III,

Monsters of Faerûn, and Races of Faerûn might also be useful.

If you are planning to run this adventure in the Moonsea region,

review the information presented on pages 159–165 of the F ORGOT -

TEN R EALMS Campaign Setting. Otherwise, feel free to modify the

adventure to suit a different location.

The encounters in Sons of Gruumsh are designed for use with D UN -

GEONS & D RAGONS miniatures. In some cases, a miniature represents

a character or creature perfectly; in others, the adventure suggests an

appropriate miniature when a perfect match isn’t possible. This informa-

tion is presented as part of the creature’s statistics block.

Paragraphs in italic type should be read aloud to the players or

paraphrased at the appropriate times. Sidebars contain additional in-

formation for the DM.

Adventure Background

Deep in the wastes of Thar, an orc adept named Jurrg received a dream

from her deity, the great one-eyed Gruumsh: A leader would soon

emerge from the Underdark and lead her people into glorious battle

against the humans, sweeping their cities into the sea. Her dream told

her to wait at the ruins of the once mighty orc bastion of Xûl-Jarak,

the Gray Citadel. Jurrg and her brother Rûlgar made their home in

the ruins, and after months of waiting, heard something other than

moaning Tharan winds. Three massive orogs emerged from deep below

the citadel and approached them.

Jurrg prostrated herself before the orogs. To her, these enormous

orcs, with their luminescent eyes, elongated ears, and massive bodies,

represented the epitome of orckind. She asked Thrull, the leader of

these “sons of Gruumsh,” to command her. He sent the siblings back

into the wilderness to gather other worthy followers. Five years have

passed since that fateful encounter, and many orcs have gathered at

Xûl-Jarak. They have begun to rebuild the citadel and, more important,

the large dungeon complex the citadel is designed to protect.

Compounding the orc threat, a few months ago Rûlgar found the

fabled Hammer of Gruumsh , great maul of the Tharan orc kings, in

the foothills of the Galena Mountains. Jurrg and the orogs view its

discovery as a sign of Gruumsh’s favor, and continue their efforts to

unite the various orc tribes of Thar and expand their army in prepa-

ration for a march against the human cities.

The people living in Melvaunt, distracted by the affairs of Zhentil

Keep and other evils, pay little heed to the orcs of Thar. Oreal Nanther,

the scion of an inﬂ uential noble family in Melvaunt and a relatively

inexperienced adventurer, ﬁ lled his head with childhood stories about

the great battles fought in Thar and the even greater artifacts said to lie

there, waiting to be discovered in the tombs of fallen kings. He shared

these dreams with several companions, including other noble youths.

For months, the companions have secretly embarked on adventures in

Thar. Tragically, none returned from their most recent outing. Few in

Melvaunt know what has happened to the scions, and their disappear-

ance threatens a bloody civil war.

Adventure Synopsis

The adventure begins as the PCs arrive in the city of Melvaunt (they

are assumed to be visitors; if natives, the text must be adjusted in

places). Believing the PCs are eager for gold and politically impartial,

Woarsten Nanther, patriarch of House Nanther and father of Oreal,

has called them to the city to locate his errant son and bring him home.

It is up to the PCs to discover and follow Oreal’s trail, while avoiding

as much of the intrigue-laden politics of the city as possible.

The search for the noble heirs eventually leads the characters into

the wilds of Thar. There they confront treacherous terrain and savage

denizens. They discover an ambush site and one of the companions dead.

The orc signs are clear, and the trail leads to the citadel of Xûl-Jarak.

The orog leader Thrull has declared himself warlord of Thar. To

mark this mighty event, Jurrg has contrived a ritual to give Thrull

the blessing of Gruumsh himself. Representatives from various tribes

that have not pledged fealty to the orogs have come to witness the

occasion and determine whether Thrull is worthy to command them.

More important to the PCs, the ritual execution of the captured scions

is an integral part of Jurrg’s ceremony. The PCs must negotiate the

citadel of Xûl-Jarak and the dungeon complex beneath it to reach

the scions, and then pry the captives from Thrull’s clutches. If they

succeed, they stave off civil war in Melvaunt and undermine, if not

destroy, Thrull’s plans of conquest.

Even after returning to Melvaunt, the PCs are not safe. A band

of orc cutthroats have successfully inﬁ ltrated Melvaunt! Gruumsh

hungers for the heroes’ blood, and the orcs want to please their god.

About Orogs

Orogs (also known as deep orcs) are the best and brightest

among orckind. They are descendants of a large orc tribe

that fled into the Underdark thousands of years ago. Though

slightly shorter than their mountain orc cousins, orogs are

much stronger, more intelligent, and show greater initiative.

Orog weapons are on par with those of dwarven make. No

orog fighter wears armor or wields weapons of anything less

than masterwork quality.

Orogs, with individual exceptions, worship Gruumsh alone,

ignoring the remaining deities of the orc pantheon.

T HE L OST S CIONS

Part 1

The Lost Scions

The ﬁ rst part of Sons of Gruumsh sees the PCs navigate the ruth-

less politics of Melvaunt to ﬁ nd the trail of the lost scion of House

Nanther and his adventuring companions.

Arrival in Melvaunt

Read or paraphrase the following text to the players:

The ﬁ rst two stories are seamless stone, 5 feet thick. The next

three stories are made of newer wood and house meeting rooms and

bedrooms of various sizes and luxuriousness. They are all available

for rent (2 sp per night for a cheap bedroom, 5 sp per night for a

modest bedroom, and 1 gp per night for a luxurious bedroom). The

ﬁ rst ﬂ oor holds a main dining room and taproom separated by the

entryway “reception” room, where the bouncer, Ongom (NG male

human warrior 6), welcomes guests. Behind him, down a hallway, is

a ﬂ ight of stairs to the upper stories and beyond that, an enormous

kitchen. The second story houses longtime residents and special

guests as well as a separate common room. Access to this ﬂ oor is

gained via a locked door (Open Lock DC 30) on the second ﬂ oor

landing.

Pluarty Crow (NG male human bard 6) is the latest in a long line

of Crows to run the place. He has a mixed heritage and knows people

in all social circles. He treats everyone equally, from the saltiest sailor

to the best-dressed merchant-noble, and he tries not to embroil himself

in Melvaunt’s cutthroat politics. He is willing to make introductions

to nearly anyone in town if the PCs ask, but remains strictly neutral.

His favorite pastime is telling scary pirate tales to children around

bonﬁ res behind The Nest.

Meeting Lord Nanther

Whether they stop at an inn or make their way directly, the PCs

should visit Lord Nanther’s estate as soon as possible. When they

arrive, their seal is inspected carefully, but then they enjoy all of the

hospitality the staff can muster. In short order, Woarsten Nanther

himself appears.

You have arrived in the city of Melvaunt, which sits on the north-

western shore of the Moonsea. Melvaunt has a reputation for being

a place rife with danger and intrigue, and ripe with potential for

adventure, wealth, and fame. You carry with you the seal of Woarsten

Nanther, patriarch of a powerful and inﬂ uential noble Melvaunt

family. The seal has gained you free passage into the city, though not

without a thorough inspection by the town watch (they seem particu-

larly suspicious). Once inside, you observe that Melvaunt is a dirty

city with labyrinthine streets, smoke-clogged air, and grumpy locals.

Best be on your guard!

The PCs can make Gather Information, Knowledge (local), or bardic

knowledge checks to learn more about Melvaunt, either as they’re

making their way through the city streets or once they reach a tavern.

Natives to the city gain a +10 circumstance bonus to this check.

DC 5: Melvaunt is often referred to as the merchant capital of

the Moonsea. Bitter rivalries plague the city’s merchant families,

the most powerful of which are the houses of Bruil, Nanther, and

Leiyraghon.

DC 10: Although the city itself is dirty and inhospitable, the inns

and taverns are usually clean and relatively safe—no surprise, really,

since much of the city’s business is handled within their comfortable

walls. The Crow’s Nest tavern has the best food and coziest cots in

the city.

DC 12: The city is usually raucous and dangerous to lone or un-

armed travelers. At present, it seems subdued and guarded. The people

eye each other warily, and hurry about their business.

DC 15: The scions of the great houses of Melvaunt are missing.

Paid toughs wander the streets looking for them, but mostly just

cause trouble.

DC 18: Orcs have been attacking outlying farms and trade roads,

occasionally kidnapping folk before withdrawing into the foggy depths

of Thar.

DC 20: Two Melvauntian diplomats died recently in the city of

Mulmaster, both under mysterious circumstances. This could be a

sign that Mulmaster is preparing a ﬂ eet to attack Melvaunt.

The Crow’s Nest

The biggest and most prominent tavern in Melvaunt is the Crow’s

Nest. The PCs may travel there ﬁ rst or stop in at any other inn.

With small adjustments, the details presented here can describe any

tavern they choose.

The Nest is popular with merchants and sailors, and is always a

hotbed of rumor and speculation. The building appears very old; a

few local scholars debate whether this round tower of stone and wood

actually predates the founding of Melvaunt.

Woarsten Nanther enters the room, leaning heavily on a gold-tipped

ivory cane with a handle shaped like an ibis head. He has the slightly

disheveled appearance of a man who hasn’t slept in days, although

he is well dressed and capable of feigning a smile. After dispensing

with introductions, he collapses into a large padded chair and ﬁ xes

his steely gaze upon each of you.

“I wish to pay you 1,000 platinum pieces to ﬁ nd my son, Oreal.

While he’s a grown man and I don’t follow his activities on a daily

basis, he hasn’t been seen for ﬁ ve days—far too long. Worse, rumors

abound that other noble scions are missing. I’ve exhausted all prudent

avenues of investigation, but with the increased orc raiding of late

and the heightened tension caused by the missing sons, I’m afraid I

have little to show. I am certain you, as neutral operatives, will have

better fortune. I must warn you, as the lord of this great house, I have

many enemies, both within the city and without. Some no doubt seek to

take advantage of this distraction to undermine my authority. House

Nanther’s utter destruction is not beyond the pale. Such is the politics

of this wretched city.

“Please bring my son back to me, forcibly if need be, safely and

soundly. If you ﬁ nd the other scions, please return them as well—surely

the other great houses will blame House Nanther for any death or

harm inﬂ icted upon their kin. Just to be clear, however, the platinum

I am paying you is for Oreal’s safe return alone.”

If the PCs haggle, he agrees to cover their basic expenses in Melvaunt

without too much fuss. However, it takes a successful DC 30 Diplo-

macy check to persuade him to increase the reward, and he will not

pay them any more than 1,500 pp regardless.

Woarsten can provide a picture sketch of his son, Oreal. He knows

the following additional information:

T HE L OST S CIONS

Investigation

After agreeing to help House Nanther, the PCs can spend time in

Melvaunt unearthing information about the situation. The follow-

ing information can be discovered through roleplaying, or with DC

20 Gather Information, Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nobility and

royalty), or bardic knowledge checks.

C OUNCIL OF I RON : Seven Council members rule Melvaunt: the lords

of the three Great Houses (Woarsten Nanther, Dornig Leiyraghon,

and Vanth Bruil), three rotating guild leaders (currently the Armor-

ers’ Guild Master, the Weavers’ Guild Master, and the Smiths’ Guild

Master), and the elected Despot, Peuter Marsk.

House Bruil: The ﬁ erce Vanth Bruil currently leads House Bruil,

even though well into his sixth decade. He had a nasty falling-out with

his son, Halmuth, now Lord of Keys, and the two are barely civil to

each other. Desperate for a new heir and not above causing his son

heartache, Vanth proclaimed his bastard grandson Argens as heir.

Vanth will meet with the PCs, but other than blaming Halmuth for

a lack of activity, he knows little more about the disappearances than

Lord Nanther. Argens has quietly undergone paladin training at a

small temple to Tyr, and spent the days before his disappearance help-

ing to rebuild a local hostelry that had been destroyed by ﬁ re several

months ago. He was last seen in his chambers. With a DC 15 Bluff,

Diplomacy, or Intimidate check, Argens Bruil’s elderly chambermaid

reveals that at least once a month for the past several months, the

scion would not return home for up to three days. More than once,

upon his return, his clothes had odd stains and tears, and sometimes

dried blood. The maid assumed these were simply the byproducts of

youthful indiscretions.

House Leiyraghon: This great family has a dark reputation. Lei-

yraghon was a minor house that achieved greater status by bringing

down the Marsk and Natali families and breaking the stalemate

that had allowed civil unrest to torture the city. Immediately after

securing the status of a great house and on the verge of dominat-

ing the city, Dornig Leiyraghon solidiﬁ ed his family’s position by

sponsoring the idea of an elected ruler, a Despot of Melvaunt. Each

despot would lead the city’s Council of Iron for two years and then

step down. This magnanimous gesture helped temper Dornig’s and

his family’s otherwise unsavory reputation. Bremen Leiyraghon is the

Leiyraghon heir and has been assuming greater responsibility over

the house. He is a dashing, no-nonsense ﬁ gure apparently destined

for greatness. Kalman Leiyraghon, Bremen’s younger brother, is a

wastrel who spends more time in the city’s taverns than home, much

to the chagrin of his family. The Leiyraghons refuse to speak with

the PCs, suspecting them of Nanther treachery.

House Marsk: House Marsk seems to be trying to gain support

in the city by winning the hearts and minds of the populace. Ruled

by Peuter Marsk, the house currently oversees many of the city’s

municipal improvements, including a troubled sewer project. The fact

that the building contracts are almost all going to Marsk allies has

not gone unnoticed and limits the good will generated. Peuter is the

current Despot of Melvaunt, further adding to his family’s prestige.

Just before his disappearance, Elaint had been training vigorously at

the local temple to Oghma and picked up a new suit of masterwork full

plate armor. He has also been seen in the company of Kara Calaudra

of late. Peuter warned him of the intrigues of House Calaudra, but

Elaint would hear none of it. If things had continued, Peuter would

have been forced to act to “ensure his House’s security.”

House Calaudra: Presided over by Andros Calaudra, this moon

half-elf house has grown steadily but kept its ambitions carefully in

check. Its long-term strategies have served the Calaudras well, but they

understand that theirs will never be more than a minor house. The

prejudice engendered by their mixed heritage ensures that. Andros is

aware of his daughter’s infatuation with Elaint Marsk, and he would

not object to an alliance by marriage to House Marsk. Still, he warned

Kara that humans usually cannot be trusted, and that she should be

prepared for disappointment. Kara had been sponsoring an adventur-

ing party of late, and had withdrawn relatively small sums of money

from the family coffers for horses, supplies, and other expenses. So

far, she had little to show for her investments, but as long as the sums

were minor, House Calaudra could be patient. All Calaudra family

members train as wizards, and Kara is no exception. She has a raven

familiar named Esselios.

House Natali: Vagr Natali presides over the largest of the minor

houses. Although his holdings are much reduced since the Leiyrag-

hon coup, he continues to seek revenge against his enemies. Having

recently inherited the leadership of his family, Vagr publicly competes

with the great houses and has loudly blamed Dornig Leiyraghon

for the death of his father. The noble agrees to see the PCs but only

to make it clear that he had nothing to do with the missing scions.

His own son Brin is safely at home, but is of weak intellect and has

a withered leg. Vagr offers the PCs 500 gp to secure proof that he

is not responsible. With slight adjustments, the PCs ﬁ nd a similar

reception (though without the offer of a reward) at any of the other

minor houses in Melvaunt.

Lord of Keys: Halmuth Bruil was the true heir of House Bruil, but

he couldn’t stand his father and gave up his birthright. He has since

secured the position of Lord of Keys, commanding Melvaunt’s army

and city watch. His ruthless brutality leads many to underestimate

his cunning and skill at strategy as well as tactics. Halmuth couldn’t

care less about the noble “brats,” particularly Nanther’s and his own.

Still, he is concerned about the distraction the disappearances have

caused, particularly given the increased orc raids going on outside the

city walls. He meets with the PCs but offers little at ﬁ rst, gauging

their mettle. In the end, he informs them that the guard captain of

the northern gate reported a party of six heavily cloaked adventurers

leaving that gate late at night ﬁ ve days ago. Judging by their supplies,

—The other missing youths are Argens Bruil, Kalman Leiyraghon,

Elaint Marsk, and Kara Calaudra.

—Oreal has some ranger training but is carefree, spoiled, and reck-

less. He also is far too trusting. He has even gone so far as to argue

that peace between the great houses is possible, perhaps among the

younger generation. Woarsten forbade him from pursuing any liaisons

that would undermine House Nanther’s security or position.

—The greatest enemies of House Nanther are Lord Dornig

Leiyraghon, a “rotten man with a vicious temper,” and the Lord

of Keys, Halmuth Bruil. Not surprisingly, Lord Leiyraghon has re-

fused to meet with Woarsten or respond to his missives. Lord Bruil

is purportedly conducting an investigation but has sent no report to

House Nanther.

—The Bruils and lesser houses of Melvaunt wouldn’t dare raise a

ﬁ nger against House Nanther. It’s very unlikely they had any hand

in Oreal’s disappearance.

—Assassins from Zhentil Keep or Mulmaster are always a concern,

but they probably had no hand in the disappearances.

—Orc raids on the infrequent caravans to the northern settlement

of Glister and on outlying farms have become much more pronounced

lately. Still, the city is safe from their depredations and no orc would

dare attack a noble family.

The Melvaunt

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: