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Just bought the adventure "Heart of Nightfang Spire" (3E D&D, 2001) and am wondering where to place it in the Known World. It contains an old, haunted tower full of undead priests working to bring back a semi-immortal dragon and should be placed 65 miles from a town, in which the adventure begins.
But which town to choose and where to place the tower?
Come to think of it: which are your favourite locations in the Known World to place those out-of-the-way scenarios that involve ancient ruins and mysteries that have somehow gone largely unnoticed by civilization for generations?
What places are deep in the wilderness now but may have contained some measure of civilization earlier?
:-) Jesper
If you're getting sick of Karameikos, I'd put it in Darokin south of Alfheim. There are a couple of towns to start out in there, and lots of wilderness hexes. The ruin could be a relic of the orc wars. (The northern edge where the orcs still live doesn't have any human towns to use as a base camp - although if you want to get fancy you could start them out in Alfheim itself, in Feador, and have them emerge from the forest into the mysterious outside world to find the tower.)
Another option might be the Isle of Dawn. And how about the Northern Reaches?
Ruins can be anywhere; Remember the Castle of Gygar a few miles north of Threshold? You could put the tower in some forested hills near the mountains in the Grand Duchy, deep enough into goblin territory that humans haven't seen it since the Traldar fought the Gnolls.
Castle Gygar, where is this from?
Havard
Castle Gygar, where is this from?
Havard
Is that the ruins/dungeon in the old, red basic set that you can use as an introduction to the game?
I can't remember hearing about it before?
:-) Jesper
Is that the ruins/dungeon in the old, red basic set that you can use as an introduction to the game?
Yes, but the name is Castle Mistamere that many years ago was ruled by Gygar the Wizard.
Yes, but the name is Castle Mistamere that many years ago was ruled by Gygar the Wizard.
I see. Thanks. Does it have anything to do with the castle featured in the Castle Caldwell B-series module, where the PCs are hired to clear out the inhabitants of an old castle outside Threshold that Caldwell (a merchant IIRC) has purchased?
:-) Jesper
-Norwold (lower Norwold, or the Wyrmsteeth, full of dragons and weird priests like those in CM2, Death's Ride)
-Denagoth (full of undead and nasty dragon-cults)
-Wendar (the southern border, close to Boldavia... see where I'm going?)
-Darokin (northern border with Alfheim, between the Orclands, Ethengar and the Broken Lands... you could tie it to Wrath of the Immortals scenario that features the dragon Calor reborn and the nosferatu priestess of Hel named Lilith.. come to think of it, it would be a GREAT way to beef up that encounter! ;) )
you could tie it to Wrath of the Immortals scenario that features the dragon Calor reborn and the nosferatu priestess of Hel named Lilith.. come to think of it, it would be a GREAT way to beef up that encounter! ;) )
I haven't had a chance to read it all yet but the main plot is that a dragon departed on a quest for immortality and then its followers chose undeath for their long wait in preparing its return. In the center of the tower is the dragons floating undead heart, which the main vampire mage highpriest uses as his coffin (he has filled one of its four chambers with grave soil). The way into the tower is just filled with undead followers of the dragon, who have gone insane because of their long wait. It should be quite a showdown, once the party gets started :D
Castle Gygar, where is this from?
Havard
Sounds like a Castle haunted by Gary Gygax. :D
I haven't had a chance to read it all yet but the main plot is that a dragon departed on a quest for immortality and then its followers chose undeath for their long wait in preparing its return. In the center of the tower is the dragons floating undead heart, which the main vampire mage highpriest uses as his coffin (he has filled one of its four chambers with grave soil). The way into the tower is just filled with undead followers of the dragon, who have gone insane because of their long wait. It should be quite a showdown, once the party gets started :D
Ouch... what a carnage! I didn't know the plot was this... gruesome!
Forget the pairing with the adventure in WotI then!
I suggest you place this aberrant adventure in the Wyrmsteeth, maybe some days of marching north-west of Kildorkak or Oceansend.. so your PCs can start off there.
Personally I think this adventure is just a whole mess of a ultrapowered no-brains dungeon crawl based on this info... I hope for your party's mental sanity that I've been mistaken, else they'll all get bored to death after the n-th room filled with raving undead and magical treasures... ;) :P
Personally I think this adventure is just a whole mess of a ultrapowered no-brains dungeon crawl based on this info... I hope for your party's mental sanity that I've been mistaken, else they'll all get bored to death after the n-th room filled with raving undead and magical treasures... ;) :P
We'll see
The adventure is set up to appear to be just-another-dungeon and then the awful truth is realised by the PCs when they are knee-deep in it. The atmosphere is closer to terror than to horror, I think.
And my players get plenty of political intrigue and brainteasers elsewhere that they can appreciate a good old "brain-eating zombie masses breaking down the doors" type of scenario once in a while :evillaugh
:-) Jesper