Temple of Mishakal The Cataclysm & The War of the Lance The current year for our homebrewed Dragonlance campaign is set during 381AC. Inspired By Trampas Whiteman

Your vision seems to blur, as if you're losing consciousness or maybe falling asleep . . . and then, everything goes dark for a moment. In what seems like a few seconds of darkness, your vision clears. You are no longer (where ever they are at). Before you, you see what appears to be a large chamber of a dimly lit temple of sorts, an ancient temple by the looks of it. The floor still shows a layer of dust covering it letting you know this place has not been visited is many many years, perhaps hundreds of years - it's clearly very old by the look of the construction.

No furniture exists anywhere, the room is basically empty of all furnitings actually. On the far side of the chamber, a soft glow begins to appear, slowly getting brighter. You believe a figure is forming and slowly walking towards you. The figure draws nearer and now you can make out the form of a woman, a slender woman that is dressed in flowing white robes with a hood covering her face. She holds a marble white staff that is roughly 5.5 feet tall. You hear no fall of footsteps as she walks towards you. You feel no evil intent from her, and in a way . . . you feel a sensation of calm wash over you.

What are you doing now?

She moves closer and then stops roughly 4 feet from you.

Welcome daughter, please, be at ease, for no harm shall come to you in this place.

Allow Elora to question her etc etc . . .

I fear a grave darkness is coming to this land, a darkness that will destroy the world of Krynn and plunge into a darkness that has not been seen before. The goddess known as Takhisis, "Queen of Darkness", has once again returned and with her she has brought dragons, dragons of such evil as this world has never seen.

It is now time to restore the balance of the universe. Evil will soon tip the scales. The Queen of Darkness has returned once again, seeking that which will allow her to walk freely in this land once more. Dragons and even the dead, once again, walk the land. “To gain the power to defeat them, you will need a powerful gift from the gods themselves", Dragons have once again returned, but an even greater threat looms beyond them.

To the north lies a temple in an ancient sunken city that now lies in ruin, in these ruins, haunted by the glories of ages past, rests the Book of Life; which needs to be combined with the evil Book of the Dead. Find this tome and you can call upon my power, for I am a servant of Mishakal, goddess of healing and I will aid you in the coming battles ahead.

Your way will not be easy. The gods of evil know of and fear the great power of this book and will try to stop you from reaching it, you must not falter. The ancient and powerful being, guards the book. It's lair is deep beneath a ruined sunken city north of Xan Tsorath. Danger lies ahead of you if you choose to try and recover this book. Therefore I bless you this staff. Present it boldly, never wavering, and you shall prevail.

Allow for conversation!

1) I am your mother
2) My life faded giving birth you
3) There was no father, you were meant to be a gift to this world, to help save the world from a darkness never before seen on Krynn

She walks over to you and embraces you in a loving embrace. She speaks softly into your ear, be brave my daughter, you have a long journey ahead of you. Be strong and be brave. Look after your companions and lend them your strength for in the coming days they will all need it.

And, with that, everything fades to black and a moment later you reappear with your companions.

Me talking to Jenn.

Now this was a very personal experience for Elora, You now know of your mother, your real mother and how she is a servant of the Goddess Mishakal. I mean this was a shocking experience for Elora, so much just happened in a short amount of time. You now have information of what is to come and what you and your companions needn to do.

1) Do you keep all of this secret?
2) Do you keep most or some of it secret?
3) How much of this does Elora share with your friends?
4) It's not like this is top secret shit or anything but it was life changing for you, even now after the fact you still are in a state of shock.
5) If you do share this, how do you even present this to the others?
6) You even have thoughts this might not even be real if it were not for the staff you now hold in your hands.
7) Do you keep it to yourself for the time being to give yourself time to process everything in your mind?

You and only you (Elora) have to decide how to proceed forward with what just happened and what to do with this information.
Don't over think it of course, just do what you think Elora would do.

Occupied City The Cataclysm & The War of the Lance The current year for our homebrewed Dragonlance campaign is set during 381AC. Inspired By Trampas Whiteman

As you exit the mausoleum in the cemetary you can tell that it's well after dark and you and your friends are extremely tired, hungry and in need of rest, strangely the ground is cover with snow & it is snowing steadily - the temperature is below freezing which raises serious concerns since this is supposed to be the beginning of summer. You hear many loud noises coming from Gateway. As you look towards the settlement you see many buildings on fire, hundreds if not thousands of soldiers are striking people down in the streets dressed in mostly black armor with white trim and many with white cloaks, people are screaming and yelling for help. From where you stand, you can see many bodies laying on the ground scattered around the settlement.

You hear a loud wooshing sound and realize it's the flapping of giant wings from a massive sized White Dragon that you see drop down and land on one of the larger structures. On the dragons back, you see a rider, dressed in fancy plate mail armor of black/white trim and wearing a flowing white cloak. Seeing this thing you feel a sense of awe and fear build up within you but you are far enough away from it, you are not affected as much.

What grabs your attention most is a huddled group of civilians with a group of soldiers wielding bows with arrows nocked appearing to be ready to kill the civilians they have lined up together in front of them not 25 feet away from where you stand. 2 Soldiers standing watching the group with bows while 2 more soldiers are lining up civilians 2 at a time to kill. To the side you also see a man who appears to be in charge, an officer of some sort giving the orders.

Soldier (4):
ARMOR CLASS: 14
HIT DICE: 1
HP 8
NO. OF ATTACKS: (1) 1d6 with Sword
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: N/A
Size M
XP VALUE: 20 (each)
▶ Treasure: N/A

Officer:
ARMOR CLASS: 16
HIT DICE: 3
HP 24
NO. OF ATTACKS: (2) 1d6/1d8 with Sword
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: N/A
Size M
XP VALUE: 200xp
▶ Treasure: N/A

[When the fight is over, let things play out but the civilians will run off into the nearby forest to escape - one of the civilians is Stan Whiteguard, the owner of the Steel Piece Inn].

Stan appears shaken but is focused. He looks up at you all and breathes a sigh of relief. I'm glad your all ok, he looks back at the settlement with a look of sorrow. Nothing you can do here my friends, Gateway is lost. They came all of a sudden, without warning. Before anyone knew what had happened the soldiers were already securing Gateway. You've got to get the hell out of here, it's not safe. This army is moving north, so you can't go that way, the safest way out of here is south, stick to the trees and stay off the roads, try to move into the mountains - that's your only option. I've got to stay here and try to help as many as I can escape.

[Stan needs to run off to allow a transition from the current scene to the two soldiers spotting the PC's and sounding the alarm]

Allow For Roleplay . . .

Right after Stan rushes off, you see two men dressed in the black/white armor of the soldiers spot you, one of them yells out the name DERRICK!!! as he stares at the downed officer.The second soldier then begins blowing a whistle as they both begin to back up away from you. They are roughly 50 feet away.

[Common sense would say it's time to leave. Make sure I hammer home that the PC's have been identified as killing 4 guards and an officer]

*sandbox time*

Random Road Events
1) Massive white Dragon flies overhead towards Gateway. Use Dragon Fear Rules.
2) Encounter a group of 10 Goblins.

Goblin:
AC 6 [13], HD 1–1 (4hp), Att 1 × weapon
(1d6 or by weapon), THAC0 19 [0],
MV 60’ (20’), SV D14 W15 P16 B17 S18
(NH), ML 7 (9 with king), AL Chaotic,
XP 5 (bodyguard: 20, king: 35), NA 2d4
(6d10), TT R (C)
▶ Infravision: 90’.
▶ Hate the sun: –1 to hit in full daylight.

3) Brigade of marching soldiers (the PC's best hide)
4) Bandits:

Bandit:
AC 6 [13], HD 1 (6hp), Att 1 × weapon
(1d8 or by weapon), THAC0 19 [0],
MV 60’ (20’), SV D14 W15 P16 B17 S18
(NH), ML 7 (9 with king), AL Chaotic,
XP 20,

5) N/A
6) Many soldiers on Horseback riding north.

Day 1)
You're able to escape Gateway to the south without being seen, looking back though you do see a number of soldiers converging on the location where you killed those soldiers. You hear even more whistles sounding off from behind you.

(Whoever is in the rear guard, they see a party of soldiers forming)

You see a mid sized group of maybe 10 soldiers along with maybe 20 goblins forming up - it's easy to guess they are forming for a man hunt (you). The skies are dark from the smoke coming from Gateway which in a sense is a good thing, it makes it darker which will in a sense give you more cover.

Send Joe Rice: Arion knows of a cave up ahead alongside the mountains that you might be able to reach to hide for a time and let things settle down and you guys are well past the point where you need to rest/sleep for a while.

Ready For Content The Cataclysm & The War of the Lance The current year for our homebrewed Dragonlance campaign is set during 381AC. Inspired By Trampas Whiteman

The Hatchery The Cataclysm & The War of the Lance The current year for our homebrewed Dragonlance campaign is set during 381AC. Inspired By Trampas Whiteman

1) The Entrance: After descending a very deep staircase you find yourself
in a dark cavernous hall with several stone pillars looming
before you like monoliths that reach up to the twenty plus
foot high ceiling. It appears that multiple tunnels branch off
from this area. The air is cool and has a musky scent to it. The
atmosphere is eerily silent. But what steals the bulk of your
attention is a shimmering dark light at the far end of the hall
to the north east of the pillars (basically, ahead of you). It’s as if the entire open alcove
at the end of the hall is glowing with a purple aura - but at this distance, you can't really tell what it is.

[Inspecting the Wall of Force PC's can tell a large room exists on the other side but the field of view is blurred and they can't tell anything about the chamber.]

- [The space in between area #1 & #2 is blocked by a wall of force.]
- [In order to bypass it one must insert five amulets into the pillars in the main hall.]

[Each pillar has a small space in it
around eye level that allows an amulet to be inserted. Each
pillar represents one of five chromatic dragons (white, black,
green, red, and blue) and the amulets found in area #3 are the
keys. It is up to the DM to decide which pillar correlates to
which color amulet as each pillar is painted in accordance to
which chromatic dragon it represents. The PC’s can worry
about that later though for if they loiter around for too long
they “hear heavy foot steps echoing throughout the chamber”
as four baaz draconian soldiers arrive from area #3 and
immediately attack.]

Baaz Draconian:
ARMOR CLASS: 14
HIT DICE: 2
HP 16,10,8,6
NO. OF ATTACKS: (2) 1d4 (each attack)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 20%
MORALE: 20%
Size (5½ tall)
XP VALUE: 175 (each)
▶ Treasure: 25stl
When a Baaz reaches 0 hit points, it turns into a stone statue.
The person who struck the death blow must roll a successtul Dexterity
Check with a -3 penalty or his weapon is stuck in the statue.
The statue crumbles to dust within ld4 rounds, freeing the
weapon. The weapons and armor of the Baaz remain behind after
it turns to dust.

Bozak Draconian:
ARMOR CLASS: 18
HIT DICE: 4
HP 30
NO. OF ATTACKS: (2) 1d4 (each claw attack)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Upon Death, body crumbles, next turn explodes for 1d6 damage (10' radius)
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +2 to all Saves
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 20%
MORALE: 20%
Size (5½ tall)
XP VALUE: 1,400 (each)
SPELLS: Burning Hands, Enlarge, Magic Missle, Shocking Grasp, Invisibility, Stinking Cloud, Web, Sleep
▶ Treasure: Spellbook (strapped to back) with above spells.
Treasure: 200stl
When a Bozak reaches 0 hit points, its scaly flesh shrivels and
crumbles from its bones in a cloud of dust; this process takes one
round. In the next round, the bones explode, causing 1d6 points
of damage to all within ten feet (no saving throw)

2) Hatchery: A large sunken area spills out before you that is overlooked
by an imposing statue of a five headed dragon. All around the chamber, the ground is
covered with what appear to be dragon lances (like those that were used in the War of the Lance)
but, these appear different somehow, like the metal has been corrupted somehow and they have a dark red and black appearance to them,
not like normal metal as they should be. Their are dozens of them and they all appear
dark and twisted like disturbing reflections of what they should be.

The statue of the dragon queen is intricate and ancient. [DC15 Wisdom check to tell the stone work is hundreds of years old (precataclysm).] The shrine and the marble imagery on the walls all display the circular symbol of Takhsis.

[Non evil PC's that touch a lance will take 1 point of corruption damage].

3) Shrine: This small room has an alcove in the far wall from the door with a human
sized statue of a five headed dragon. Around each of the necks dangles an amulet. Upon the wall near the
entry way are marble reliefs: one relief depicts a circular
symbol comprised of dragon claws while the other depicts
a ceremonial mask with five dragon heads upon it bestowed
like a crown.

4) Vestment Chamber: [These chambers have little of interest aside from storage trunks containing a total of a dozen black robes fitted for Draconians]

6) Alter of the False Mask: A good sized room spills out before you in the darkness. On
the back wall is a fifteen foot long black stone slab flanked by
statues of five headed dragons. Upon this alter are several
burnt black, green, red, white, and blue candles resting
among an elaborate ceremonial mask with five dragon heads
set upon it like a crown.

If they search for secret panels DC12 they find a panel
that drops open from the wall. Inside is a chest (Mimic).

Wander into room from behind
Baaz Draconian:
ARMOR CLASS: 14
HIT DICE: 2
HP 16,10,8,6
NO. OF ATTACKS: (2) 1d4 (each attack)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 20%
MORALE: 20%
Size (5½ tall)
XP VALUE: 175 (each)
▶ Treasure: 25stl
When a Baaz reaches 0 hit points, it turns into a stone statue.
The person who struck the death blow must roll a successtul
Dexterity Check with a -3 penalty or his weapon is stuck in the statue.
The statue crumbles to dust within ld4 rounds, freeing the
weapon. The weapons and armor of the Baaz remain behind after
it turns to dust.

Mimic:
ARMOR CLASS: 13
HIT DICE: 7
HP 26
NO. OF ATTACKS: (1) 1-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Glue (STR-DC to escape each round)
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
Size (Chest Size)
XP VALUE: 450
▶ Treasure: 6 Gems (100stl each)

[The mask has no magical power]

7) The River Entrance: You hear the trickling sound of running water echo through

the cavernous tunnel long before you finally see the dark
river carving it’s way through the area and blocking your path.
It’s a dead end! The water is running very swift.
It seems (both ways) that the water eventually goes beneath the stone walls on each end.

Ruined Outpost The Cataclysm & The War of the Lance The current year for our homebrewed Dragonlance campaign is set during 381AC. Inspired By Trampas Whiteman

You can tell these ruins used to be a small outpost of sorts, probably belonging to the City of Tarsis many years ago. It has since been destroyed and now stands in ruin. Crumbled towers lie on the group as rubble, nothing much is left, mostly just a pile of ruins of what once was structures long ago.

If they investigate . . .

You catch sight of movement on the far side of the ruins for just a moment then it vanishes. You can't make out what it was, only that it was a dark humanoid form of some type.

If they go to check, let them roleplay it up some then announce they have found some old crumbling stairs leading down into the darkness.

Campaign Introduction The Cataclysm & The War of the Lance The current year for our homebrewed Dragonlance campaign is set during 381AC. Inspired By Trampas Whiteman

Welcome to the world of Krynn. The year is 381AC or "After Cataclysm" and nearly thirty years has passed since the war that raged across Continent of Ansalon ended, a war that brought about great change to the world of Krynn. For many years, peace has ruled the land and trade routes that were once closed have reopened. All across Ansalon people of every race and class exist in a more trusting and less prejudiced land.

This continent is divided both by jagged terrain and political powers. To the north lies the kingdom of Solamnia, a shining beacon of hope to the lands of Ansalon, home of the Knights of Solamnia . . . an ancient order of Knights that stands watch against the forces of evil.

Far to the south lies the Icewall Glacier, a wall of solid ice that stretches east and west for hundreds of miles. To the east of Ansalon is the Blood Sea of Istar, or simply known as the "Blood Sea" named for its blood red waters. The Blood Sea borders Kern and Balifor and to the northeast of this is the Blood Sea isles. A massive maelstrom lies in the center of the Blood Sea that has claimed many ships.

Within the central region of Ansalon lies the city of Tarsis, surrounded by the Plains of Dust, these lands are nothing more than desolate deserts, plains, and badlands now and are very harsh to all who try to cross it.

This continents past has been one of story and legend . . . from the cataclysm just over 300 years ago where the gods threw down a burning mountain that struck the Lordcity of Istar "the shock of this event was felt around Ansalon", to the War of the Lance where evil almost won against the forces of good had it not been for mighty heroes stepping up to face this great evil.

Nearly thirty years has passed since the war that raged across Ansalon ended, a war that brought about great change to the land. For many years peace has ruled the land, trade routes have opened up in and out of the great dwarven nation of Thorbardin. There is finally reconciliation between the elves of Qualinost and Silvanost; of course the peace is strained, as is always the case with the Qualinesti and Silvanesti nations. The tribes of plainsmen are united under the rule of Goldmoon and Riverwind, two of the Heroes of the Lance. All across Ansalon the people exist in a more trusting and less prejudiced land.

Even with everything seeming as if it is peaceful and serene, one thing that has people a little concered is how the temperature is becoming slightly colder with each passing season. Summer is fast approaching but, the weather still seems like winter has yet to release its grasp on the world.

Our story, however, begins to the southeast of the settlement of Gateway, along a stretch of road that leads out of the city of New Ports along the coast. Perhaps the most relaxed region of Ansalon, the plains are home to numerous tribes of plains barbarians, as well as the settlement of Solace, and cities such as Haven, Gateway and at least one hill dwarf community. Whilst the region is best known for it's dense forests and numorous mountains, it also has a number of city states dotted throughout.

Here, in the land known as Abanasinia is where our story begins. We begin with a group of ragged and tired companions on the last leg of their journey to the settlement of Gateway, having been escorting merchant caravans for the last six months, this group of friends is ready to return home to the village of Ravenvale once they stop off at Gateway to rest before heading north.

The days have been long but spirits remain high, soon this group of friends will be enjoying a good meal and a well deserved rest at the Steel Piece Inn soon, yes, a long rest will be welcome . . .

Read to Players The Cataclysm & The War of the Lance The current year for our homebrewed Dragonlance campaign is set during 383AC. Inspired By Trampas Whiteman

Over three hundred years ago, ended the Age of Might. It is a time from memory when civilization was at it's peak. The nation of Istar was a beacon of education, industry and artistry. However, the Kingpriest of Istar stood against the gods believing himself to be their equal and when the faith turned from celebrating good to hunting and creating evil to destroy, the gods finally had enough.

After 13 warning signs from the gods went unheeded and Lord Soth failed in his act of redemption to stop the Kingpriest, the gods cast down a mountain upon the nation of Istar destroying it and sundering the continent of Ansalon creating the Blood Sea of Istar in its place.

For the next 300+ years, disease and famine spread across the land, this was known as the Time of Darkness in the Age of Despair. The citizens of the world began blaming the Knights of Solamnia for not just failing to prevent the Cataclysm but perhaps even being the cause of it. Knights and their families were hunted and murdered, cast out from their own lands, forced to go into hiding.

After a couple generations, the gods themselves became myths and forgotten. If they are spoken of, its in terms of destroyers and monsters, not loving supporters.

Frustration, anger, and hatred spreads across the continent as life becomes increasingly difficult for everyone.

The Wizards of High Sorcery were also mistrusted, as the lasting bigotry against them from Istar remained. People mistrusted magic and divine heal is completely absent.

Ancient tales once believed as fact are also myths and childrens stories. Dragons are only stories to scare children as they have not been seen in over a 1,000 years (Until the War of the Lance 30 years ago). Myths about a Solamnic Knight named Huma defeating the evil goddess Takhisis, the Queen of Darkness and banishing her to the Abyss with a fabled Dragonlance.

It's a tale only known by Scholars and historians and is told as a fable. In the desperation of this age a group known as The Seekers had sprouted up claiming to have discovered new gods that will take care of the world though in fact they were only interested in seeking economic and political power with no actual Gods behind them.

The mountain dwarves locked their Gates even to their Hill dwarf cousins instigating war and generational discord. The elves stayed hidden within their borders becoming increasingly xenophobic even the more tolerant elves known as Qualinesti Elves maintained a strict border control and did not willingly interact with outsiders. The War of the Lance was brutal and affected everyone on both sides. Good eventually prevailed but at a high cost.

It has now been 30 years since the War of the Lance, a war that brought about great change to the world of Krynn. For many years peace has ruled the land, trade routes had opened up into and out of Thorbardin. There was finally reconciliation between the elves of Qualinost and Silvanost; of course the peace was strained, as was always the case with the Qualinesti and Silvanesti nations. The tribes of plainsmen were united under the rule of Goldmoon and Riverwind, two of the Heroes of the Lance. All across Ansalon people of every race existed in a more trusting and less prejudiced land. That is, until recently.

Over the last couple of years, things have begun to change, tending more toward the dark and gloomy. Rumors of a new Knighthood dedicated to Queen Takhisis have arisen, the weather has been erratic and the sun doesn’t seem to shine as brightly from one day to the next. Scholars, sages and wizards all over the continent have been researching this phenomenon in an effort to answer the oft-asked question: “What is happening to our world”? Their studies and tests have thus far come up empty. Whatever changes are occurring, they have nothing to do with the land itself; there is a power at work here creating problems that seem to have no solution.

The bottom line is as always, it's "us" versus them and you can't survive in this harsh time without a tight-knit tribe be it family, town, region or even nation. Distrust and bigotry now runs rampant. Kender in their Wanderlust travel the continent finding adventure and trouble not to mention that item you have been missing.

The Gnomes have isolated themselves in their hollowed out volcano trying to create technological gadgets that usually end in explosions. As a player you should allow yourself to be informed by the cultural and social norms in all of their sexist and racist overtones (created by the Cataclysm) and most importantly be willing to allow personal experience to break down those walls of hatred your society and culture has built up around you.

For you, Dragonlance is about making an impact for the betterment of the world despite where you started. Building "your own story with your own unique hero". The Heroes of the Lance have told their story, now comes the time for you to tell your own story.

The Mausoleum Catacombs: Level 2 The Cataclysm & The War of the Lance The current year for our homebrewed Dragonlance campaign is set during 381AC. Inspired By Trampas Whiteman

30) Dungeon Level Access: This is the staircase leading down to level 2.

35) Reliquary: The ghostly chant is coming from the south. You can hear multiple voices saying, over and over, “She is the Ancient. She is our queen.”

The cult amassed several “relics” that it used in its
rituals. These worthless items are stored in thirteen
niches along the walls:
• A small, mummified, yellow hand with sharp claws (a
goblin’s hand) on a loop of rope
• A knife carved from a human bone
• A dagger with a rat’s skull set into the pommel
• An 8-inch-diameter varnished orb made from a
nothic’s eye
• An aspergillum carved from bone
• A folded cloak made from stitched ghoul skin
• A desiccated frog lashed to a stick (could be mistaken
for a wand of polymorph)
• A bag full of bat guano
• A hag’s severed finger
• A 6-inch-tall wooden figurine of a mummy, its arms
crossed over its chest • An iron pendant adorned with a devil’s face
• The shrunken, shriveled head of a halfling
• A small wooden coffer containing a dire wolf’s withered
tongue

The southernmost tunnel slopes down at a 20-degree
angle into a chamber with murky water.

36) Prison: You see skeletal remains shackled from the wall.

[The cultists shackled prisoners to the back walls of alcoves here. The prisoners are long dead. Skeletons hang from the walls by rusty shackles].

▶ Treasure: Hanging on the back wall of the cell marked X on the
map is a human skeleton clad in a tattered black robe.
The skeleton belongs to a cult member who questioned
the cult’s blind devotion to Takhisis. Characters who
search the skeleton find a gold ring (worth 25 stl) on one
of its bony fingers.

37) Entrance: This tunnel is partially blocked by a rusty iron double doors. It stands partially opened.

38) Portal Room: The floor just on the otherside of the double doors is submerged under 2 feet of murky water.

[Peaking through the double doors . . . ]

The chanting stops as you peer into this forty-foot-square room. The smooth masonry walls provide excellent acoustics. Featureless stone pillars support the ceiling, and a breach in the south wall leads to a dark cave that appears to be heaped with all kinds of refuse/trash. Murky water covers most of the floor. Stairs lead up to dry stone ledges that hug the walls.

In the middle of the room, more stairs rise to form an octagonal raised platform that also rises above the water. Rusty chains with shackles dangle from the ceiling directly above a stone altar mounted on the dais. The altar is carved with depictions of different colored evil dragons (red, black, blue etc etc) and is stained with dry blood.

The water is 2 feet deep. The ledges and central dais are 5 feet high (3 feet higher than the water’s surface), and the chamber’s ceiling is 16 feet high (11 feet above the dais and ledges). The chains dangling from the ceiling are 8 feet long. Torches mounted to 5 foot tall poles surround this raised platform but the torch’s fire is black and seems to draw light into it. Where faces should be on each figure, you only see a void with two red eyes.

[The cultists would shackle prisoners to the chains, dangle them above the altar, cut them open with knives, and allow the altar to be bathed in blood].

The chanting rises once more as 4 dark robed figures are kneeling in front of this alter of sorts. It has a shimmering effect to it but at this distance you cannot tell exactly what it is. Each one resembles a black-robed figure. “They must die!” they chant, over and over. “They must die! They must die!”

The apparitions are harmless figments that can’t be damaged, turned, or dispelled.

Characters approaching the raised platform cause the figures to stop chanting and turn to face the characters.
• Who are you that approaches us?
• Do you follow the teachings of the Dark Queen? (DC11 to know this means Takhisis)
• [Only if the party has no Wizard: If questioned about the alter - They figures will state they need to speak the word (Shalrick) for the portal to be entered from either side].

The Altar is an arched frame with a glowing mist within it. Carved into the top curved section of the altar reads in a strange "faded" script [DC10 to make out the words] "The Dark Ruins".

When conversation ends: The main figure says I'll speak no more and they all fade away, but their tireless chant of “She is the Ancient. She is the Land,” echoes once again in the dungeon. Our queen is aware, Ansalon shall fall.

The hole in the south wall leads to a naturally formed alcove. Half-submerged pile of refuse fills it.

Animated Refuse Creature: This creature seems to have taken form from the trash and refuse in this natural cave. Save this encounter until after the Cultist are dead and they are searching the room.

AC [12], HD 4* (25hp), Att 2 × clubbing
fist (1d8), THAC0 12 [+7], MV 60’ (20’),
SV D10 W11 P12 B13 S14 (5), ML 12, AL
Neutral, XP 1,600, NA 1d3 (1d3), TT B
▶ Suffocation: If a victim is hit by both
fists in the same round, they are entangled
in the shambler’s roots and tendrils
and suffocate in 2d4 rounds. The victim
can only be freed if the shambler is killed.
▶ Weapon damage reduction: All weapon
damage reduced by half.
▶ Fire immunity: Unharmed by fire, due
to being soaked with slime.
▶ Lightning growth: If damaged by
lightning, gains 1d8hp.
▶ Seep: Can flatten body to squeeze
through small holes through the floor to escape.

▶ Treasure (in the refuse): 4 Healing Potions, One scroll of teleportation (If a Wizard exists), two scrolls of disguise, 250stl.

Upon stepping through the portal (or end of session) Award each character 1,000xp for finishing this part of the adventure.