Dungeon Magazine #172.pdf

ISSUE 172 | NovEmbEr 2009

A DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ® ROLEPLAYING GAME SUPPLEMENT

Contents

4 legACy of io

By Daniel Marthaler

The Scales of War Adventure Path continues.

Bahamut has fallen and the war seems lost. But

a long-time ally of the PCs comes to them with

an urgent request for escort—to the Astral Sea! A

Scales of War adventure for 24th-level PCs.

61 ClAsh of steel

By Jennifer Clarke Wilkes

The heroes must discover who has stirred up

the gangs of Barrinsgate before the city falls into

chaos. This adventure features material from

Draconomicon: Metallic Dragons . An adventure for

13th-level PCs.

89 DemonomiCon: CoDriCuhn

By Robert J. Schwalb

Known also as the Blood Storm, the demon prince

Codricuhn climbs slowly and inexorably up through the

Abyss.

100 explore Airspur: villAins

AnD vAgAbonDs

By Matt James

More possible villains are detailed in the third and final

installment that explores the city of Airspur.

106 ruling skill ChAllenges

By Mike Mearls

Mike continues to educate on the nature of skill

challenges, with unique applications and examples.

41 ChAos sCAr: the brothers grAy

By Greg Vaughan

A gang of half ling cutthroats has claimed an old

mine stake and begun staging raids on passing

caravans. The PCs must venture into the scar and

stop the Brothers Gray once and for all. A Chaos

Scar adventure for 1st-level PCs.

guArDiAns of the lAbyrinth

By James Wyatt

A federation of orcs protect the rest of Khorvaire from the

depredations of the Demon Wastes. Learn more about the

Ghaash’kala here.

110 sAve my gAme

By Stephen Radney-MacFarland

A DM’s best friend? Stephen Radney-MacFarland, back

with more advice and letters from the mailbag.

51 ChAos sCAr: DeAth in

the pinCers

By Rob Heinsoo

Giant ants and other terrors from the Scar have

been swarming from a new nest. Can the PCs

figure out what else is happening inside their lair

and put a stop to it? A Chaos Scar adventure for

1st-level PCs.

114 DungeonCrAft

By James Wyatt

James discusses the latest changes to his f ledgling

campaign.

118 eye on the reAlms

By Ed Greenwood

Ed’s new column begins, as he starts exploring the hidden

corners of the Realms in his own inimitable style.

on the Cover

Illustration by Adam Paquette

Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, D ungeon , D ragon , d20, d20 System, Wizards of the Coast, all other Wizards of the Coast

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articles, adventures, and information, visit www.wizards.com/dnd

85 expeDitionAry DispAtChes:

E D i T oR i A L

172

GATOR MAN

Dungeon

No vemb e r 2009

Editor-in-Chief Chris Youngs

SeniorArtDirector

Jon Schindehette

WebSpecialist Chris Sims

Have you ever been to a carnival that has kiddie rides? one of

the more popular rides for young kids is the mini-coaster. it

consists of several cars, usually decorated to look like a dragon

or an alligator. it rolls around on a metal track with gentle

ups and downs—a placid, oval journey. it’s many a kid’s first

thrill ride without the comforting presence of mom sitting

alongside. This is as tame as amusement park rides get, and

running The Gator has to be about the most boring duty a

carny can pull.

one July 4 weekend, as my family and i strolled through

the midway at a local carnival, The Gator caught my eye.

it wasn’t the ride; that was the same as always. it was the

operator.

Here was a guy, probably in his mid-50s, dressed in

scuffed cowboy boots, stiff blue jeans that were a bit too tight,

a growing paunch restrained by a belt with a huge silver

buckle, and a denim shirt with pearl snaps and the sleeves

rolled up to show his USMC tattoos and knock-off Rolex. A

pack of thin cigars was tucked in his shirt pocket. His skin

was so leathery that he looked like he might be half gator

himself. His face was mostly hidden behind mirrored shades,

a handlebar moustache, and a straw cowboy hat with the

brim rolled up on the sides and broken down so sharply in

front that it practically brushed the tip of his nose. And he

was chewing a matchstick.

You could find a more intimidating figure to park in

front of a carnival ride for three-year-olds, but not without

some effort.

What really grabbed my attention about this scene, how-

ever, was the sign taped to the ride. it was scrawled in black

marker on a piece of corrugated cardboard, and read:

GATOR MAN NEEDS A WOMAN!

35-45

Willing to travel

Must cook

have a battle; you interact with NPCs. They are the most

direct expression of the world that characters will meet, and

the more varied and colorful they are, the more the world

breathes. if your characters stroll though a carnival, you could

describe the sights and sounds around them or you could

describe Gator Man and let the characters talk to him. The

conversation will make a deeper impression.

What might Gator Man look like in a D&D setting? Con-

sider his essential characteristics. Gator Man didn’t look like

just any cowboy; he looked like the cowboy. He went out of

his way to make himself look grizzled and fierce for his job

of working with young children. Your NPC could be an old

warrior, retired from adventuring but still tough as nails; his

ornate sword hangs in a patched, cracked scabbard and the

battered hat of an officer in the Dragon Cavalry is crushed

around his skull as if it grew there. is it true that he saved the

Duke’s life but then was dismissed in disgrace? Why does he

call himself the Gorgon Man, and how did he wind up run-

ning the town’s orphanage?

Answer those questions and you’ll get a unique NPC who

the characters will remember whether they encounter him

once or a dozen times.

The good news for DMs is that varied, colorful people are

all around. You can’t miss them if you keep your eyes open.

They might not all be as distinctive as Gator Man, but he was

one-of-a-kind.

What are your stories of NPCs that break the mold? Do you

know any real-life characters who would make unforgettable

NPCs? Let us know about them at dndinsider @wizards.com .

WebProduction bart Carroll, Steve Winter

ContributingAuthors

Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, Ed

Greenwood, matt James,

rob Heinsoo,Daniel marthaler,

mike mearls, Stephen radney-

macFarland, robert J. Schwalb,

Greg vaughan, James Wyatt,

Developers Stephen radney-macFarland,

Peter Schaefer, Stephen

Schubert, rodney Thompson

Editor miranda Horner, Steve Winter

CoverArtist Adam Paquette

ContributingArtists rob Alexander, Christopher

burdett, Wayne England, Jorge

Lacera, Patrick mcEvoy, raven

mimura, Adam Paquette, rick

Sardinha, William o’Connor,

Cartographers

Jared blando, Sean macdonald,

mike Schley

PublishingProductionSpecialists Angelika Lokotz, Erin Dorries,

Christopher Tardiff

WebDevelopment mark A. Jindra

D&DCreativeManager Christopher Perkins

ExecutiveProducer,

D&DInsider Chris Champagne

DirectorofRPGR&D bill Slavicsek

What does this have to do with D&D? Much of what

brings a game to life is NPCs. Battles can be exciting and

memorable, but they’re not where the characters live. You

SpecialThanks

richard baker, Greg bilsland, Logan bonner, michele Carter,

Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, Andy Collins, bruce r. Cordell,

Jeremy Crawford, rob Heinsoo, Peter Lee, mike mearls,

Kim mohan, Cal moore, Stephen radney-macFarland,

Peter Schaefer, Stephen Schubert, matthew Sernett, rodney

Thompson, James Wyatt

LEGACY

By Daniel Marthaler

An adventure for 24th-level characters

illustrations by William O’Connor

cartography by Mike Schley

“And thus it was that the proud god Io, forefather

of dragons, went forth alone to meet that

formidable primordial known as the King of

Terror. The confrontation raged ierce between

the divine and the base for long days as grievous

wounds were wrought by both upon the form of

the other. It continued in such ferocity unabated

until the vile King of Terror took up his crude

axe and dealt to noble Io a fearsome blow that

shattered his divine form, hewing the valiant

god in twain. The vicious primordial ’s triumph

was not to be, for no sooner had Io’s sundered re-

mains fallen to earth than they rose up to assail

the beast as the twin gods Tiamat and Bahamut.

Their sudden assault saw the King of Terror torn

asunder in a righteous fury, yet in their triumph,

the victorious deities fell upon each other. Two im-

perfect forms for a single essence, the pair are ever

drawn together, locked in eternal hatred as that

which they are seeks unachievable consolidation.”

No vemb e r 2009 | Dungeon 172 4

OF IO

LEGACY OF IO

“Legacy of io” is an adventure for five 24 th -level

characters. By the end of the adventure, the PCs

should be midway through 25 th level. This adventure

follows “Grasp of the Mantled Citadel” in the Scales

of War adventure path but can be adapted for use in

any campaign.

in “Legacy of io,” the characters seek out and

recover an ominous artifact they hope will assist

them in their struggle against the forces of the dark

goddess Tiamat. Unlikely alliances are forged and the

heroes find themselves in violent conf lict with the

good-aligned forces of the heavenly city of Hestavar

as they storm through the peaceful planar metropolis

in search of what might be the only way to thwart the

seemingly unstoppable machinations of the Dragon

Queen.

fragment-turned-artifact retains the furor of the

Dawn War that raged during its creation and is a

potent weapon against both the divine and primor-

dial. infused with the colossal energies released at the

destruction of io and birth of his successor gods, the

relic is capable of exerting inf luence over the forces of

life and death.

This immensely powerful object was eventually

sequestered by servants of Pelor, Erathis, and ioun,

for the trio of gods had plans for the artifact. As part

of an unusual bargain with Asmodeus, the deities

undertook a great ritual to lock away the artifact with

four great seals.

The PCs have several options. The fourth and

final seal is inaccessible until the first three are

destroyed, but the first three can be tackled in any

order. Regardless of the sequence, the characters

need to open all four to gain access to the Arrow . once

they destroy the first, they come to the attention of

the Bright Guard, a company of exalted responsible

for policing Hestavar. The Bright Guard combs the

streets for the characters, forcing them to move care-

fully or attract unwanted attention.

To open the seal dedicated to Pelor, the heroes

must fight their way through the angelic guardians

of the Dawnbell Bastion to sunder the bell in which

the seal has been bound and that gives the small

fortification its name. The self less defenders are

unaware of the nature of the bell (and would not be

moved even if they knew), and they resist violently

any attempts to trespass or tamper with the rightful

property of their master.

When the PCs make their way onto Methion, the

mercantile district where Erathis’s seal is located,

they are ambushed by a band of celestial dragonkin,

this time augmented by forces from the Nine Hells.

After dealing with the seemingly random attack, the

characters head to the spacious market square where

the goddess placed her seal. Before destroying it, the

heroes must overcome Erathis’s faithful who patrol

the square and the guardians summoned by the dis-

turbance of the seal itself.

Before the PCs can neutralize the seal dedicated to

ioun, they are forced to scour the city for the entrance

to its hidden resting place. once they gain entry to the

Sealed Library, they must fight their way through the

scholarly defenders and undo the seal.

ADVENTURE SYNOPSIS

BACKGROUND

Amyria, driven by the visions that began shortly after

Bahamut’s destruction, approaches the PCs and begs

their assistance in recovering the artifact. At her

urging, they travel to the astral city of Hestavar to

seek out whatever knowledge of the artifact’s location

they can discover. Upon arriving in the domain, how-

ever, the characters come under attack by draconic

forces seemingly loyal to Bahamut.

After fending off the assault, the heroes make

their way to the great libraries of the Swan Tower,

home to the goddess of knowledge, ioun. At possibly

the greatest collection of divine lore and scholarship

that exists, they search for information on the bizarre

visions tormenting Amyria. They discover that the

artifact they seek is known as the Arrow of Fate and

that it is hidden within Hestavar. Four mystical seals

conceal the artifact; each is guarded in turn by forces

loyal to the gods and dedicated to preventing anyone

and anything from tampering with their ward.

in the previous installment of the adventure path

(“Grasp of the Mantled Citadel”), Tiamat’s sinister

and far-reaching plans bore dark fruit as she sum-

moned Bahamut in mortal form and destroyed him.

He may have fallen, but Bahamut has one last gambit

in play: the deva paladin Amyria has begun experi-

encing visions that depict the Arrow of Fate , an ancient

and powerful artifact that dates from the Dawn War

at creation’s beginning that could be the undoing of

Tiamat’s schemes.

When the primordial known as the King of

Terror cut down the original dragon-god io, the

fallen god’s sundered remains rose up as the dei-

ties Tiamat and Bahamut. A shard of io’s form had

been torn off during the titanic battle and remained

separate from the newly birthed gods, becoming

what is now known as the Arrow of Fate . The divine

No vemb e r 2009 | Dungeon 172

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