The Last One will fight back on this level using a Nightwalker (hd20) and a host of human skeletons and zombies, mostly coming from area 32 and other areas of the ruins. All will be destroyed by the Darkers.
Hort-mool (area 26) and the gnoll wight of area 5 will fight too, but will be able to hide and survive the lost battle. The Last One will also send against the Darkers at least 3 vampires (former adventurers he slew), two other gnoll wights and the giant vampire bat (see Followers of the Last One table). It’ up to the DM to decide if they will survive the battle or not.
THE BATTLES FOR KOSKATEP
This battle will not be the last one for the control of Koskatep. Approximatively one year after the Darkers take over (of longer if the DM prefers) several things could happen:
● The Darkers will be stronger on level 1 as they’ll probably have obtained the aid of Ivan (Area 14), Nera and Mila (area 18), Lunio (28), Valush (29), Shakrta (30) and maybe even Gann (34).
● The Last One will unleash his revenge:
with mummies, vampires and demons he will attack, from level 10, Hel’s beastmen of level 11. If he succeed he’ll then attack the Darkers in level 7. Here on the surface he will call to action the gnoll wight (area 5), the ogre and giant zombies (10), the undead orcs (15), the Monster (16), Hort-mool (26), several human skeletons and G’kur (39). If they win they’ll go below to aid him.
● Before the Last One attack, Quehuar (see level 10) will revolt with the Inti mummies and, if he is successful, that’ll lead to the opening of level 13, with hundreds of Ixion’s followers attacking both The Last One followers and the Darkers, with the intent of destroying them all. On the surface, Ixion’s followers will have the aid of the Vision (area 31) and, depending on PCs actions, maybe even of Ivan (14) and Gann (34).
● If Hel’s beastmen in level 11 are not conquered by The Last One, they’ll eventually attack level 13. They could form an alliance with the Darkers after that, controlling level 10 to 13 and leaving the upper ones to the Darkers, but in this case some Hel’s followers will surely begin to inhabit the surface too.
● The fairies of levels 6 and 9 will eventually take advantage of one of the battles between Ixion, Nyx, Thanatos and Hel followers to unleash their attack.
They could momentarily ally with Ixion’s followers, but they’ll want to use the Starlake for their purposes. If they are very strong, Ixion’s followers could settle on controlling levels 10 to 13 and leave the others to them. On the surface Gann (Area 34) is more likely to ally with them, and maybe even Ivan (Area 14) and the Achelos rebels.
The DM could decide the exact timeline of all these events according to PCs actions (or inactions).
Die Roll (d6)
Monster DM Notes
1 Hort-mool, Goblin Shaman (see Area 26)
2
Homing Giant Vampire Bat (carries a message tied to one of its claws, written in an obscure, debased Taymoran dialect)
The message is a letter The Last One sent to one of his allies outside the ruins. It’s up to the DM to decide who the allies may be: clerics of Thanatos that could be tracked down in Karameikos or abroad, important personalities of the Karameikos government that are secretly Thanatos’ followers (or maybe they are not, and the message is just a ploy of The Last One to wrongly implicate them), or even the green dragon Argos of the Dymrak woods.
3
Vampire (7 HD, this undead was spawned by the Last One and is still bound to his master)
He could be a former adventurer killed by the Last One during the last century.
He could be now a committed follower of Thanatos or rather a tortured personality trying in vain to escape his bound.
4 Gnoll ghost (Lesser Banshee)
He could have been from one of the numerous gnoll tribes that occupied the ruins in the past. Knows much about several levels down to the seventh, but is not really willing to talk about it nor is he subject to bribes, unless the PCs find a clever way to force him.
5
A visiting Thanaton (cleric of Thanatos) from Thyatis or Darokin (C7, C). The DM can use this encounter to plant a lead or clue to leading to one of these nations.
Like Hort-mool he might not be immediately hostile, rather trying to gain the PCs trust to study them.
Encounter Table 1: Followers of the Last One
Die Roll (d6)
Monster Notes
6
If there is another minion of the Last One during this encounter, he appears to be talking to an invisible person.
However, detect invisible spells and similar powers do not reveal any presence, as the minion is contacting the Last One telepathically. Trying an ESP on the minion at this time may result in damage to the spellcaster (Save vs.
Spells to avoid) as he gets a glimps into the terrible thought processes of the Vampire Lord. Failing the saving throw causes a -2 penalty to saving throws against mind attacks, fear, and similar effects for 48 hours, as well as an appropriate reaction (fleeing, freezing or panic). A successful saving throw allows the spellcaster to break contact before damage is done. If there are no minions of the Last One, the PCs feel observed, sense danger in the form of a shiver to the spine, or experience other uncomfortable sensations for but a moment.
After the Darkers takeover some of the followers of The Last One could have been killed, others could be in hiding, but some, like Hort-mool, are probably still around as spies.
Die Roll
(d8) Monster Notes
1 Ogre shepherds (1d3 Ogres, NM).
These Ogres are members of the local Ogre tribe. They will report the PCs to their leaders if they survive the encounter, and will be reported as missing otherwise. A party of Ogre warriors will be dispatched to check on them if they fail to report after three days.
2
Orc hunters (3d4 Orcs 1, led by an Orc 4
sergeant and
accompanied by 2d4 trained giant
These Rotting Snakes hunters are likely to attack a small party, hoping in an easy prey. They will give up easily if a few of them fall.ferrets).
3
Orc scouts (1d4+3 Orc 2, all with the Stealth skill).
These goblinoids belong to the Blackstone, Jagged Claw or Rotting Snake tribe (choose one or roll 1d3). They are sizing up the Ogres and/or the Darkers, depending on the time when they are met. Their reactions depend on the tribe they belong to, but they are unlikely to attack all but the weakest parties. They might parley, offering an exchange of information.
4
Orc Warrior on a vision quest (Orc 7/Shaman 1 with totemic animal spirit companion, roll 1d4: 1- Grey wolf, 2-Boar, 3- Mountain Lion, 4- Rock Baboon).
This Orc is a spirit warrior, a type of goblinoid warrior-monk with minor shamanic skills. He is following a vision quest, which entails following a totemic spirit in a long trek which is supposed to have some spiritual significance. The Orc is not especially interested in the party, but will fight to defend himself and his animal spirit companion.
5
Gark, Orc Trader (Orc 4/Wicca 1, with Barter and Loot skills).
Gark is a self-reliant, tough goblinoid with a single eye. He has a selection of fetishes and charms to offer. These include healing draughts (1d4+1 HP each), antidotes, and protective charms (+1 to one class of ST or AC for 24 hours, only one charm is effective at every time). All his goods are fairly repulsive by human standards (e.g., a healing potion may have a weird taste and/or a turbid, greenish color), and lose their potency within one week. On the other hand, Gark is reliable, willing to deal with non-goblinoids, and accepts all currency (after checking that coins are truly made of gold, of course).
Encounter Table 2: Humanoid Scouting Parties
Die Roll
(d8) Monster Notes
6
Achelos Outlaws (1d4+2 F2, 1d3 T3, led by a level 5 NPC).
These Traladaran outlaws are en route to meet a larger party of rebels, but do not yet know what their mission will be.
7 Hill Giant scout (Hill Giant, NM).
This Hill Giant is a scout from an outpost to the north. He is either looking for the Ogre chiefs or for the Darkers. His tribal leader wants to meet either of them (depending on who controls Koskatep at this time) to propose a trade alliance.
8
Hobgoblin spies (2d3 Hobgoblin 1, led by a Hobgoblin 5 sub-chief).
These Hobgoblins come from the Black Eagle Barony and belong to the Roaring Fiends tribe. The Hobgoblins report to the Black Eagle Baron, but there is a 25% chance that one of the Hobgoblin is actually a spy for an Iron Ring Master or Bargle. This spy has the Stealth skill for the Underground and Hill environments. His employer has sent him to gather intelligence about Koskatep, and is looking for a magic item, or perhaps aims to take over the dungeon.
All these parties could be manipulated by The Last One against the ogres and the hill giants of Level 1, if the latter encroach too much. Or they could try to conquer Koskatep for their own reasons. In either case, if the PCs aid the ogres and the hill giants they could gain their trust and considered guest rather than invaders. The ogres could even employ them to explore the level below, and aid them for equipment and healing.
After the Darkers takeover, the followers of Nyx will try to establish alliances with nearby orcs, hobgoblins and Achelos rebels, but they will oppose any attempt by the Black Eagle to spy on them. Any party unwilling to ally with them will be eventually considered an enemy, and in the long run they will work to eliminate it altogether from western Karameikos.
Obviously The Last One, still active on level 10, could still use them against the Darkers.
The solo adventure XS2 Thunderdelve Mountain by William Carlson (1985) introduced the lost dwarven “Halls of Paradise”
to the D&D game world. The clan structure of this dwarven community was based upon information contained within the Companion Set rules, which state that each demi-human clan possesses a sacred Relic tended by a hereditary Keeper.
In the adventure, one plays a lone dwarf tasked by the former Clanmaster of Thunderdelve to rescue the sole remaining descendant of the
Keeper of the clan’s Forge of Power from bandits and goblins presently occupying the fallen stronghold. If successful, there are opportunities to return to the dungeon to retrieve a powerful dwarven artifact, the Hammer of Vitroin, and ultimately to destroy the dragon-like creature that led to the original downfall of this dwarven kingdom.
There are suggestions for converting the module for group play (for 5-8 characters of levels 4-6, or 2-3 characters of levels 7-9), some interesting NPCs (a local bandit leader named Redface and his colorful henchmen, in alliance with a nearby goblin tribe), further adventure scenarios, and descriptions of new monsters. A runic alphabet is also provided, as well as several inscriptions for the player to decipher.
A loose sequel to this adventure, “Dragon's Delve,” was published in Dungeon magazine
#62 by Christopher Perkins (1996) using the AD&D 2e framework, although for character levels 3-6. It contains a complete map of the Halls of Paradise, so one does not have to reconstruct the map from the various entries scattered throughout the original module.