Herrnhall - The Doomed City - A New Adventuring Locale For Mystara
by ViktorD20Overview
The city of Herrnhall stood once between the lands of Sanis and Imiec in the northwestern wilderness of Brun. The city was elevated atop a large underground oasis that brought the settlers that found it great wealth. Overtime the city grew into an impenetrable bastion in the wastes inhabited by Sansurfer Gnolls and the odd band of slavers and bandits. Herrnhall's greatest pride were the artifact weapons and alchemical findings of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal that led to the discovery of blasting powder and the creation of the city's mighty firearms. The city's leaders, however, could never decide on the next course of action after the city's prosperity was secured. Invasion or non-hostile expansion? Regulation of firearms and other weapons within the walls or allow baring of weapons to keep the streets safer? For decades the city existed in magnificent stagnation. But as is generally the case, all good things come to an end.
In AC 994, the College of Stars, the local arcanist guild, discovered a comet in the sky. It was a strange shade of bloody red, and barely noticeable against the night sky. Its trajectory was seemingly all over the place, and it almost seemed like it was adjusting its course like a sky-ship trying to avoid a deadly crash. For several weeks the wizards of Herrnhall tried to find some rhyme or reason in the comet's origin, its purpose, and why it moved like it did. No answers were found, and the Arcane Patriarch grew worried. His worry would be proven valid as the comet crashed into the city, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake, and sinking into the oasis. Those who lived outside of the walls could hear the screams and saw the silhouettes of the atrocities within, but not their source. The few that made it outside sealed the gates as they ran, but the evils in the dark made it outside, even if only temporarily before vanishing. The few survivors were caught by the Sandsurfer Gnolls, or sold to slavery, and the great city in the wilds died overnight.
However, not everything that was lost that night has stayed that way. After the discovery of strange minerals of bloody red hue near the city, and rumors of great treasure vaults and artifacts within the walls, adventurers, mercenaries, outlaws and fortune seekers alike have begun venturing into the city in search of wealth, fame and power. Monsters, horrors of nightmares, and other greedy looters lurk in the city's streets, killing anyone that enters their territory. Herrnhall is a terrible place, no living being would in their right mind enter the walls of that cursed ruin. It's suicide.
So, how about it? Just sign here, and you've got yourself a job. Artifacts await you within, so go get them.
The map of Herrnhall, put together from the notes and poorly drawn maps of fortune seekers.
The Major Groups At Work In The City
Blackstache Sapper Syndicate is a faction of gnomes that often bring down entire buildings in an attempt to find the greatest artifact armories. They used to control large portions of the city, but they've been pushed to the southeastern gap in the recent times due to more monsters and aggressive assaults by Strigoi vampires.
The Black Prince is a Strigoi, a vampire of more unusual, feral and ghoulish origin. In his living days he was the leader of a group of knights in the city before its fall, during which he was adventuring. Now he and his few remaining loyalists have come to claim the city and its riches for themselves, as he believes it's his birthright.
The Battlemagi are a group of wizards hailing from the principalities of Klantyre, Belcadiz, and New Averoigne. Led by their charismatic leader, the Klantyre wizard Brandon Xerx, the group have attempted multiple times to reach the College of Stars to learn its arcane secrets, but with very little success. Brandon has also taken interest in the minerals found in the city, believing they could be used to create new forms of magic.
Fortune Front are a faction comprised of adventuring parties that launch expeditions and looting runs into the city, selling most of what they find while keeping a cut for themselves. They get along well enough with the other groups, save for the Black Prince, and their leaders work towards one day breaching the city hall to acquire the wealth within.
Other minor groups include mysterious and violent cults, bandits, bands of humanoids and those seeking something less obvious within the walls.
The Great Treasures of Herrnhall
The main thing the city has to offer is not the gold left behind by the dead, although it is a nice added bonus. No, the city's greatest treasure is Wyrdrock, the strange mineral brought by the comet that killed the city. It's magically potent, makes for good enchantment material, and looks nice enough to be worth tons of money for collectors. It can be found almost anywhere, and some adventurers have found veins of the stuff under the city's streets. The main issue is that long periods of exposure leads to the one holding the mineral to lose their mind and become a withered husk over time.
The artifact weapons and armor of the city are another excellent reason to visit the city. Most weapons and armor left in the city are magical, ranging from +0 to +4 enchantments, and they're stored in hidden armories, antique shops guarded by monsters, or any various other hard to reach places. The firearms are often nonmagical, but there are some exceptions, like the Sanctified firearms that deal double the damage against undead, and the Elemental firearms that deal any number of different elemental damage types, from fire to cold, to acid to lighting.
Random Encounters In The City
1 - The Black Prince and his retinue (3-12 vampires)
2 - A band of 4-24 monsters looking for flesh to eat and treasures to plunder
3 - 1-10 magic users of any level working for the Battlemagi
4 - 3-18 gnomes looking for artifacts
5 - 4-14 ogres
6 - 1-4 Mujina
7 - 2-8 Malfera brought by the comet
8 - 3-18 Diaboluses brought by the comet
9 - 2-12 gnolls
10 - 5-20 adventurers
11 - 3-12 trolls
12 - A dragon (any color) looking for treasures to add to its hoard
Adventure Hooks
"I don't care how, just get me the minerals!": A group of adventurers hired by Brandon Xerx have been slain and their loot has been swallowed by a basilisk. The party is tasked with recovering the loot, no matter the method.
"Let the bells toll!": The Fortune Front have received intel on a magical artifact bell that could clear a section of the city of the nightmarish creatures plaguing the streets, if only temporarily. A nightmarish cult attempts to stop the bell from being toll and the party must fight their way through armies of cultists to reach the bell.
"Antiques and Armories": The party have been tasked by the gnomes of the Blackstache Sapper Syndicate to find an antique shop that supposedly holds all the information on the locations of various armories and artifacts. However, the Black Prince catches wind of the antique shop and it becomes a desperate race against time as the Black Prince seeks to destroy the knowledge held within.
"Kill them, and let Rathanos sort them out": A fanatical cult of Rathanos has gotten their hands on several barrels of blasting powder, and are now looking to destroy the supply lines and infirmary camps of the Fortune Front. The Black Prince hires the party to stop this from happening, as the adventurers have aided him reclaim parts of the city and he owes them that much. The cult will attempt to detonate the powder and kill anyone in the areas of effect, but should it fail they will fall back to a temple they've converted to their base of operations and a final stand will take place.
"One man's dream is another man's nightmare": The party are suffering from troubled dreams that other people seem to find to be good omens, seemingly oblivious to their frightening visages. Eventually it will be revealed that the perception of others is being altered by a Malfera worshiped by a nightmare cult and the party must destroy the artifact held by the cult, a large cauldron the color of night, to stop the dreams from occurring.