d20 Dungeon Dwellers' Guild Games Depths of Ruin.pdf

The stat blocks and all other text directly relating to gameplay in this document are Open Gaming Content.

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CREDITS

PROLOGUE

When Mr. Muth and I set out to make Depths

of Ruin a reality, we embraced two objectives. First

was to maintain the acclaimed quality of our origi-

nal project with Matthew, Temple of the Scream-

ing Skull . Second was to use customer comments

to make this effort simultaneously “more of the

same” and “better than ever”.

Concept

Matthew Muth

John C. Walborn

Writing

Matthew Muth

John C. Walborn

A great deal of effort went into making these

goals a reality. We hope you find we have suc-

ceeded and this product exceeds your expectations.

Editing / Production

John C. Walborn

PRODUCTION NOTE

Art

John C. Walborn

We’re trying something new, for us, by putting

the main module text on all the primary pages and

adding the crunch, such as maps and stat blocks, in

the back of the document. We’ve tried to lay it out

so that absolutely every detail is as quick to refer-

ence as possible.

LPJ Design

(Image Portfolio Series)

V. Shane

(Arcane Publishers Edition Series)

Octavirate Entertainment

(Stock Art Collection)

Team Frog Studios

Please drop by our website and let us know if

you would like to see this format continued:

(Clip Art Collection)

Rick Hershey

(Publishers Assistant Series)

http://www.ddggames.com

The stat blocks and all other text directly relating to gameplay in this document are Open Gaming Content.

Storyline, flavor text, art, and layout, are all Product Identity and / or used with permission.

Because of the proximity of the evil forces to

their own homes, and because of the blasphemous

use of a dwarven artifact, the dwarves decided ac-

tion must be taken. They thereby resolved to attack

Hilraeth’s forces by surprise, coming up into the

heart of their lairs from below by way of the under-

ground lake, a plan which they executed perfectly

and took the evil forces, far greater in number than

expected, by surprise.

INTRODUCTION

A ruthless band of criminals has been raiding

merchant wagons for several months, causing great

anger and frustration for the nearby towns and

merchants. However, the true motives for the at-

tacks are as yet unknown and may prove to be far

more sinister than first expected. The mastermind

behind the attacks is certainly a figure to contend

with as his schemes have roots in an ancient arti-

fact. Will the PCs be able to stop him or will they

fall victim to his sinister machinations?

An adventure designed for four 7 th level charac-

ters, “ Depths of Ruin ” can be played in one or two

sessions with enough seeds for further adventure to

start off a small campaign.

BACKGROUND

Thirty years ago a small clan of dwarves living

in the caverns near the human settlements of

Renuad and Lashin made a startling discovery; a

minor artifact held sacred and thought lost had

fallen into the hands of a band of unscrupulous

dark elves lead by Hilraeth , a wicked priestess who

had recently occupied an old fortress ruin not far

from their subterranean lairs. The artifact was

Hammerrune , a dwarven warhammer enabling the

user to, among other things, craft and shape stone.

By the time they became aware of her presence,

Hilraeth had already established a small band of

henchmen and aberrations ready to assist her in

destroying the human villages and taking her first

steps to power over the region. Under the fort, Hil-

raeth she had begun using Hammerrune to carve the

earth and create a hidden series of lairs from

whence she could plan her attack in secret. She

found her efforts aided as the earthen walls of the

fort’s basement gave way to reveal large natural

caverns.

Armed conflict ensued as the dwarven raiders

and Hilraeth’s forces fought for supremacy. After a

full day of pitched battle, forces on both sides were

decimated or fled with a scarce few of Hilraeth’s

forces remaining. In the frenzy, Hammerrune was

lost, Hilraeth slain, and the few survivors were too

weak to pursue their foes. What remained of Hilra-

eth’s forces, now without a leader or cause, eventu-

ally looted the lairs and left the area. Those few

dwarves who survived and fled into the surround-

ing hills were not heard from again.

The dwarves became aware of her presence,

and of the artifact, when she and her forces entered

and settled into these caverns. While the dwarves

had not been using these specific caverns, they were

aware of them as these caverns connect to their own

through an underground lake.

Now the old fort has become a focal point of

evil again. One of Hilraeth’s underlings from the

original force has returned to enact his own evil

scheme. Quareth , a cowardly but exceptionally

clever drider with a taste for human hearts, formed

The stat blocks and all other text directly relating to gameplay in this document are Open Gaming Content.

Storyline, flavor text, art, and layout, are all Product Identity and / or used with permission.

his own consortium and returned to the fort.

Quareth did very little during the dwarven assault,

aside from save his own hide and make his escape

with a small trove of treasure, leaving the rest of his

compatriots to deal with the enemy. Upon his re-

turn, years later, he found things essentially as he

left them and felt this would be an excellent loca-

tion to form a base of operations for himself. Since

the fortress was ruined, forgotten, and since un-

touched, it proved the perfect headquarters for his

sniveling plans.

best… Or the PCs, at least. It is entirely pos-

sible the group is summoned to the area by

one of many individuals paid to spread the

word far and wide on the premise of help-

ing the villages and making a good profit at

the same time, potentially up to 500 gold

pieces per PC depending on their qualifica-

tions, reputation, and ability to sell them-

selves.

• It is possible one of the captives taken by

Quareth’s minions was a friend or relative

of one of the PCs. If it suits the setting and

one of the PCs could be from the selected

area, this is a solid possibility. Even in this

case, though, the official quest taking is

likely to happen through the mayor of

Renaud .

• Perhaps the PCs have previous or current

business with a merchant directly affected

by the raids. If so, this merchant will urge

them to speak to the mayor of Renaud about

the situation as a personal favor to him. In

this case, the merchant will help negotiate

with the mayor to get the best payment

possible.

• Alternatively, the PCs could be drawn in

for reasons unrelated to the villages or mer-

chants. They could potentially be hunting

for the artifact based on something they

heard in a legend or bards song. They could

even stumble into the story by accident,

traveling through the area to get some-

where else or simply exploring.

It did not take long for Quareth, a powerful be-

ing despite his selfish cowardice, to collect a small

band of rogues, underlings, and creatures to serve

him. He immediately put to use the talents and loy-

alty of these new followers to make raids on mer-

chant caravans traveling on the road between

Lashin and Renaud . Given the element of surprise,

his initial efforts met with resounding success and

prime loot, including captives to sate Quareth’s

grisly appetite.

However, their activities have recently caused

the officials in the two human villages to take ac-

tion. The towns are now seeking brave adventurers

to deal with what they believe to be a band of des-

perate and disorganized criminals camped in the

wilderness, probably keeping the captives as slaves

or hostages for eventual ransom.

GETTING STARTED

The adventure can be placed in just about any

campaign world with a heavily forested, remote

area that could contain natural caves and a river.

This should fit just about any standard fantasy

world, though the Game Master should feel free to

play around with the adventure details to fit their

setting as needed.

When the PCs are engaged and ready to inter-

vene, some general facts they will be able to glean

from simple conversations with whomever they

speak to about the quest:

• Attacks on trade caravans to, from, and

around the villages have been relentless for

the past four months. Several merchants

refuse to do business with the villages until

the problem is resolved.

• The locals commonly believe, given the at-

tacks have been indiscriminate and seem-

ingly unrelated to cargo type or value or

the merchant to which the cargo belongs,

the menace is a disorganized and desperate

criminal band, probably displaced merce-

naries or deserted militia with little or no

leadership.

Once a suitable location is selected, there are

many ways to draw the PCs into the adventure:

• The most likely method is for the PCs to be

drawn in by the mayor of Renaud or a

prominent merchant with an urgent need

for the situation to be resolved. Security

details previously sent with the caravans

have proven insufficient, so the individuals

involved are now ready to pay for the

The stat blocks and all other text directly relating to gameplay in this document are Open Gaming Content.

Storyline, flavor text, art, and layout, are all Product Identity and / or used with permission.

• No bodies have been left behind in any of

the attacks., though a great deal of blood

has been found at several of the scenes.

This is commonly thought to be a feeble

attempt to eliminate any potential wit-

nesses on the odd chance a victim survives.

• The wagons are generally left behind, but

always picked clean. Greed definitely

seems to be one of the motives, though that

scarcely explains why shipments of such

invaluable cargos as textiles or lumber have

been taken. (These are attacked more for the

human bounty than for the goods, though the

goods are taken anyway because Quareth’s

forces are under specific orders to loot absolutely

everything. Quareth doesn’t trust their ability

to judge value.)

• Some rumors tie a mysterious hermit, liv-

ing northeast of Renaud in a series of natu-

ral caves beyond the river, to the calamity,

saying no one lives in secret unless they

have something to hide. One of the wilder

stories claims the hermit is an old merce-

nary captain and the bandits are his former

men.

caves, but it is a strong theory among many of

the townsfolk and merchants.)

• (DC 18) There may be an abandoned for-

tress ruin to the west of the main road and

south of Lashin , though it’s likely to be

nothing more than a pile of stones now.

(This detail would have to be relayed by an older

person or loremaster who could potentially re-

member the events of many years ago, and even

then it’s told as a distant and unsure memory.)

THE PROFESSOR

(optional encounter)

Note: As one of the more popular features from

Temple of the Screaming Skull , some optional encoun-

ters have been included in this adventure. These can be

implemented or not at the GM’s whim, or even taken on

their own and ported into an entirely different scenario.

A roaming professor, Adderly Finch , has been

exploring the forests near Lashin and Renaud , look-

ing for new flora and fauna for his studies. Prof.

Finch is oblivious to any sinister activities in the

area and is primarily interested in wildlife. Cur-

rently he has a large knapsack filled with botanical

clippings, animal droppings, and other curiosities

he has found. His journals are filled with sketches

and random notes.

More clues, these not so public, are potentially

available through use of a Gather Information

check. These clues are listed below, each one begin-

ning with the DC needed to discover the informa-

tion:

The characters can stumble across him easily

enough as Prof. Finch is perceptive as a rock to any-

thing other than the nature surrounding him. He

may well seem suspicious, rather than a random

and unrelated encounter, since the PCs are expect-

ing the GM to throw enemies and monsters at them.

Perhaps mistaking him for an evil wizard or sor-

cerer may make for an amusing derailment.

• (DC 12) The security details on certain of

the trade caravans have been both numer-

ous and competent, yet there were no sur-

vivors from any of the attacks. This, com-

bined with evidence of a mob combat at the

scene, suggests a large, mostly untrained

force with more quantity than quality.

• (DC 13) Based on tracks and other evidence

at the scene, the attackers are believed to be

human or strongly humanoid.

• (DC 15) Tracking the attackers to and from

the combat scene, they seem to be coming

from and returning to the forest to the west

of the road.

• (DC 16) The caves to the northeast, in the

hills beyond the river, have long been sus-

pected to contain bandits or evil beings, as

other people have been rumored to disap-

pear in that area in the past. (This is mislead-

ing, as the bandits are setup nowhere near the

Finch is open to meeting new people so long as

they do not threaten him or step on any of the inter-

esting plants he is examining. (More than likely, no

matter which way the characters walk, they will

step on something the professor finds important

and as such will begin lecturing them.)

No matter how bloody, beaten, sinister or

armed the characters appear, Finch will be oblivious

to potential danger (once again, unless overtly

threatened). He will begin talking endlessly on na-

ture and how important it is to preserve the rarely

The stat blocks and all other text directly relating to gameplay in this document are Open Gaming Content.

Storyline, flavor text, art, and layout, are all Product Identity and / or used with permission.

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