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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4426 Posts |
 Posted - 16 Apr 2021 : 18:12:10
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Greetings Realms fans,
So as I take time away from being the DM of our group (currently a player in other other DM's 5e game, so yay...) I use this time to write up a new campaign for when my turns comes up again. This got me thinking about the old modules for D&D in the 3e era and how I'd like to go and run them. I've never run the Sunless Citadel and while I do know that there's a 5E adaptations for it in Tales of the Yawning Portal book....meh I prefer 3.5 (or 4E) as a system when DM'ing and so I'm going to use that. That probably explains my significant interest in 3.5 material as of late.
So with that, I have a PDF copy of the 3rd Edition Sunless Citadel adventure. This spans 1st to 3rd level, possibly 4th if they get caught up in random encounters or the like. With two players being fairly new to the 3.5 system, I felt this was a good adventure to get their feet wet with the mechanics. The adventure location is suggested in Yawning Portal to be put somewhere near the town of Neverwinter.....but no. Nope, I'm pretty burnt out on the Sword Coast, Western Heartlands, North region. It's great, but I'm just tired of it. SOOOooo.....I'm going south to the Border Kingdoms.
The adventure is set in the town of Oakhurst. And in the Border Kingdoms, I felt a natural area for this town to be in was the Barony of the Great Oak, I mean that sort of wrote itself! So the barony is rather sparse in both lore and locales. This is pretty perfect for what the adventure suggests.
I'm going to set out a bunch of hooks and other things the PCs can look into besides the train-tracks of the Adventure, should they want to venture further afield. Aside from that, what I would like is to rope them into venturing farther south towards the Cannath valley and the events that unfold there for the Red Hand of Doom adventure. I'm just not sure how to make it appear as a natural flow?
Below I'm going to outline some ideas I have for at least the Sunless Citadel and the surrounding environs as well as interesting things the PCs can do with NPCs and the like. Feel free to use whatever you like or add in ideas!
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4426 Posts |
Posted - 16 Apr 2021 : 18:20:08
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Oakhurst and its People
Important Figures of Oakhurst
Mayor - Vurnor Leng (LG Male Mulan human Ari7 [Cha 14])
Constable - Felosial (LN Female half-moon elf War4 [Str 17])
- Deputies: Ben, Lu, Jym, and Roda (Male and Female Chondathan human War3) and town guards War2 (12)
Blacksmith - (N Male gold dwarf Exp3)
Town healer - Dem “Corkie” Nackle (NG Female rock gnome Clr4 [Ilmater/Healing & Good])
Innkeeper - Caron (N Male Calishite human Exp3)
- Staff: Eira, Com1 (barmaid) and Jak, Rog3 (bouncer, bar-back)
Merchant / Investor - Kerowyn Hucrele ('Hue-crella') (LE Female Tethyrian human Com6)
Merchant - *Wymar Lorrigan (CG Male Chondathan human Exp3)
Others - Exp3 (7); Rog3 (1); Rgr2 (1); Com 1 (782)
*Wymar isn't listed in the adventure, but there's a General Store located on the map in the adventure. One might assume this shoppè is Kerowyn, but I don't believe it's mentioned so I made up a new NPC for it.
Important Locations and Environs
Manor / Stately House (North of the town, next to the new road): Residence of Vernor Leng and where they takes any guests concerts about the town. The first floor serves as a town gathering.
Constable and Jail: Houses the constables, deputies, and the town guards when they’re on duty. No one currently resides in the jail cells.
Ol' Boar Inn: The only inn and watering hole in Oakhurst, owned and operated by Caron, who is warm and welcoming. Though it’s nothing to look at, the beds and fare are of common accommodations and Caron operates them as such (5 sp a day, includes breakfast the following morning). Known for his aged Oak-Barrel beer called Oakenale. It’s quite good, a bit dark, with a thick foamy head and nutty aftertaste. Consumption of more than 4 mugs (5 sp) and you must make DC 11 Fortitude save or take a -2 penalty to attacks and Dexterity-based skill checks. However, you gain a +5 competence bonus against Fear effects.
Rurik’s Smithy: No fancy name adorns the old wooden post outside his shoppe, but Rurik makes fine steel items for his business. On hand, he has every simple weapon found in the PHB. Martial weapons are more uncommon, since the townsfolk don’t use them and the constable and deputies often use non-lethal or bludgeoning weapons. Roll 4 times on the Common Melee Weapons table to determine which martial weapons he has available in his shop at any given time. If a simple weapon is rolled, simply re-roll. He has all light and medium armors available in the PHB. He has 5 total sets of light armor (randomly determined) as well as 4 sets of medium armor. If Players want him to craft a heavy suit, he will need a week to complete the task and ½ the cost of the item up front with the second half of the payment due when the work is complete.
House of the Shared Suffering: This simple temple dedicated to the god of Martyrdom, Ilmater, is more of a thatched roofed house than any temple. Square and two-storied, the base floor serves as a small chapel with a few rows of pews to a humble altar with the Broken One carved out of an Oak tree at the center. The temple houses only one cleric of Ilmater, the rock gnome townsfolk call Corkie (because of her reverence of a human deity instead of a Gnomish one). Corkie can perform some healing for a price (listed in the PHB for spellcasting services). In addition, she recently had another initiate of Ilmater staying there, a newer Paladin named Sir Braford from the order of the Golden Cup. He went with a group of other youths to explore a nearby citadel that is rumored to be evil and possibly plaguing the town. No one has caught word of them since they left. As a 4th level cleric, Corkie can cast up to any 2nd level spell. She also has stored in the temple, two scrolls of Raise Dead in the event of a dire emergency.
Wymer’s Goods: The proprietor of this general store is Wymer Lorrigan, an older human that started just as the town was built. Originally from Cormyr, Wymar got tired of the constant fees and taxes that kept being pushed as Cormyr grew and grew. Having enough, he packed up all his belongings and headed south to warmer weather. Eventually he settled here in the Barony of the Great Oak when Oakhurst was in its initial stages of becoming a town. This general store has all non-weapon/armor items you’d find in the PHB. He will buy items from Players at #8531; the value. |
Edited by - Diffan on 16 Apr 2021 18:20:46 |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4426 Posts |
Posted - 16 Apr 2021 : 18:26:13
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Rumors and Tales
Additional Rumors in/around Oakhurst
When the PCs talk to people in and around Oakhurst, they can gain certain information and local tales about the area. A Gather Information check reveals the following:
- (DC 10)
• A giant purple worm inhabits the Glassy plain to the west. (Partially true, its actually a large nest of Ankhegs [two colonies, 9 in total over a 25 mile stretch])
• A small ruined tower lies at the North-Western edge of the Barony and is used by a terrible Wight's lair. (False)
• Near the river to the south, it's said a Dryad will lure you into her grotto and keep you there forever. (True)
- (DC 15)
• The Qurth Forest has deities that inhabit the area for a night, one time a year. (Partially true, it's 4 nights a year) (reference the Barony of Great Oak free article from the Border Kingdoms)
• There's an old hermit that lives on the border of the Great Oak Barony that has a pile of gold. (Partially true, the old hermit is a CN female Mulan human Drd10/FrM*4 and doesn't like visitors and is relatively poor.)
*FrM: Forest Master, (F&P, pg 192)
• The bottom of the river Scelptar has a portal to the plane of water. (False)
- (DC 20)
• The small ruined tower is actually on the old road towards Oeble, and is inhabited by a Death Knight. The map is inside the stuffed boards head above the fireplace mantle in the Ol' Boar Inn. (True)
• Elminster himself left spells for the Barony's wizard Ammuth Lorkan to study and learn. (False)
• A old map of Copperdelve is located in the tower of Great Oak Keep. (Partially true, the map exists but is kept by Vurnor Leng himself).
• Copperdelve is actually still a very vibrant mine of both copper and alloys to make Darksteel weapons. The dwarves fled when they were losing a battle with Duergar and Drow. (True)
Feel free to come up with your own tall tales or truthful information and I'll add it in. Could definitely be used for side treks and quests.
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4426 Posts |
Posted - 16 Apr 2021 : 18:29:55
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Additional Quests
- Dem “Corkie” Nackle
She wants you to find the missing paladin Braford. His erstwhile quest to help the Hucrele's rid the town of the pests went far beyond his orders from the Golden Cup, which were to protect and defend Dem and the House of Shard Suffering. If you bring him back, you'll be rewarded 200xp per PC. And you'll receive a 75% discount on all spells cast on you in that's within her capacity.
- Rurik Lutgehr
The dwarf knows that the old Citadel had trace elements of a rare mineral property called Nephelium (this material is listed in the adventure, but sparsely so it's up to the DM to determine how much is there and how much the PCs can obtain) in it's bowels. This mineral is the prime element needed to create Glassteel items (see Champions of Valor, pg. 65). If you can procure enough of it, he could fashion the PCs with items made from it. 1 "bar" (pound) can make two light weapons, one medium-sized weapon (or a two-handed weapon) or light armor. 5 bars can make a suit of medium or heavy armor. He'll pay full price for the mineral and award the PCs 100xp each. One pound of nephelium is worth approximately 500 gp.
I stopped here, but certainly there's more opportunities from other important NPCs or even townsfolk far a field.
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4426 Posts |
Posted - 16 Apr 2021 : 18:32:31
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Active Organizations in Great Oak Barony
Paladins of the Golden Cup. An outpost resides in the city of Thur, however they only number some 20 Knights - Pal14 (1), Pal9 (4), Clr1/Ftr2 (2), Kng2/Cru4 (1), Pal4 (7), Pal1 (4). They often help caravans on patrol throughout the baronies and give aid to those who need it against enemies of evil. They tend to steer clear if intra-Barony conflicts.
Guardians of the Green. A small but fierce defending collection of hunters, druids, rangers, and shamans patrol the western front of the Qurth Forest. Travelers are allowed to move, but not tarry long within their borders. Loggers, trappers, and game hunters are given one warning (often a single red-fletched arrow buried next to their head as they arise in the morning) before being shot or taken down by the enclave. They're led by Edrec (Male wood elf Drd4/Wiz3/ArH*4) and he has the following under his command: wood elf Rgr6 (4), wood elf Rgr2/Sct7 (5), wood elf Drd3 (5), human Ftr2/Rgr2 (3), human Rgr1 (6), half-wood elf Shm7 (1).
*Arcane Hierophant (Races of the Wild)
The Radiant Crusade. This collection of good-aligned warriors, Knights, and Clerics have no central base of operations in the Border Kingdoms. They're a loose-knit organization that often work solo or with a group of other adventures seeking to destroy all the undead in the general region. In the Greak Oak Barony, one such warrior is present (south of the new road, ½ days journey to the Sunless Citadel) named Kenamon Ashraf (Male aasimar Cru2). He will tell you much of the organization with the intent to bring into its fold.
The Nightsong Guild. Relatively new to the Border Kingdoms, these members deal in matters not entirely legal as well as those quite clearly illegal—gambling, smuggling, blackmail, and theft. The guild’s reputation is one of extreme skill and competence. It is not feared as much as it is afforded the respect that it has earned. Most would refer to the Nightsong Guild as a thieves guild, but it is actually a far more extensive group than that. Its membership includes rogues, fighters, bards, wizards, and sorcerers.
In the Greak Oak Barony, the regional master is a drow female named Birel Dal'anth'el (Ftr1/Rog5/Asn1) who uses her two spies in the town of Oakhurst (human Male & female Rog3) but allows them freedom to look for potential assets to the guild.
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4426 Posts |
Posted - 16 Apr 2021 : 18:35:20
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The Surrounding Environs
Oakhurst and Great Oak Keep.
The majority of the Barony occupies the high, wooded hills on the north bank of the River Scelptar, just downstream from its headwaters in the thick, almost impassable Qurth Forest. The barony is sparsely-settled, but a militarily capable woodland realm of small steadings and many foresters, of which can certainly defend themselves and their homesteads. Two settlements spot this woodland realm, the newer town of Oakhurst and the Baron's own town of Great Oak Keep to the south. A vine-overgrown, crumbling tower and attached manor that stands on a rock shoulder jutting out from the north bank of the Scelptar. Much older than the barony, it has extensive cellars and dungeons and--rumors insist--a hidden connection with the Realms Below (the Underdark), but many of its ceilings are unsafe, and much of the Keep is disused, abandoned to dust, mold, and spreading fungi.
The Regions Beyond.
The roads are relatively safe from bandits as there's not much trade that flows through the Barony besides what the "Oakers" make and sell. Still, monstrous humanoids - such as goblins, kobold, some Ogre-kind, and Xvarts- are known to plague travelers that stray from the new road. Additionally, the region has seen its share of Dragon attacks. A few years ago it was a young blue dragon named Tyrgarun that ran amok among the fields and people of the Great Oak, turning miles of the area into glass (his lightning breath melted the sand and light grass on the plains to glass). Not much grows there and there is rumored to be undead, the restless spirits killed quickly by the dragon.
• North: The road north heads towards Blackblade, the capital city of the realm of Ondeeme. The travel itself can be adventurous, as there are a greater number of bandits and monstrous creatures that seem lured to the main road in search of plunder. Rumors state there’s a large clan of Half-Orcs that had banded together along the foothills to the west of the road.
• East: The eastern part is largely made up of Qurth Forest, where only those seeking death at the hands of large spiders and ettercaps. Many seek the large game hunting within its borders, of which the Guardians of the Green vehemently protest. Tales say at least two cities have been lost to the forest and a keep as well.
• South: The southern barony is bordered by a large river called the Scelptar, and along its banks lies the Great Oak Keep, where the Baron of the Great Oak resides. Across the rivers and further down is the town of Oeble, city of bridges. Along the rivers edge is where a lot of humanoid creatures reside, making it one of Great Oak’s most dangerous regions.
• West: This once regal area of open pastures, farm land, and grazing fields was plundered a short while ago (3-5 years) by the attacks of a dangerous blue dragon name Tyrgarun. Though the dragon fled south for greater rewards, he left the land a blasted wasteland of dead grass, sand, and broken glass (an effect his lightning had on the sand). Its now called the Glassy Plain. The Old Road used to go more quickly towards the town of Oeble, but now circumvents the destruction. It’s said an old citadel lies somewhere in the plain’s ruins, a fortified structure once created and used by the Cult of the Dragon. Additionally, there’s a small Tor that lies near a small tributary that flows into the Scelptar, a Tor that houses a Death Knight.
Godwalk Keep.
Oakers say Godswalk Keep was a proud fortress-city of men in the days of proud Netheril. Today, it's an overgrown valley of crumbling ruins haunted by spiders and ettercaps, where stones often collapse underfoot to plunge intruders down into dark cellars where treasure or death may await.
The gods are said to walk these spider-haunted ruins when the stars are right. At certain times of year (at each of the solstice and equinox; Gather Information DC 25). Oakers insist, Garagos stalks the ruins, slaying all creatures he finds--except the Dancing Lady (the goddess Sharess) and the Forgotten One (the sinister, shadowy figure of Jergal).
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Alaundo
Head Moderator
United Kingdom
5692 Posts |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4426 Posts |
Posted - 17 Apr 2021 : 19:07:28
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| Absolutely! Content I make is for everyone to use, so I'd be honored |
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The Sunless Citadel and connecting the dots...
