CCONTENTSONTENTS 4 BEYOND THE TROLLHAUNT 55 THE SAND KING’S DAUGHTER By Logan Bonner If you’re looking for more from King of the Trollhaunt Warrens, check out these extra encounters. Alternatively, use any of them to spice up any adventure of a similar level, or use them as presented as a ON THE COVER self-contained Side Trek. A Side Trek for 11th-level PCs. Illustration by William O’Connor By Ari Marmell 14 DEN OF THE The brown dragon Urum-Shar lurks in a strange 3 EDITORIAL DESTROYER tomb, plotting schemes only a wyrm of incredible By Rodney Thompson power could understand. Expanding on content from Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons, this 98 DUNGEONCRAFT A Scales of War Adventure Path adventure takes the heroes into Urum-Shar’s dark By James Wyatt adventure. The PCs are the heroes and trap-filled lair, where they will eventually face of Overlook, but before they can the powerful dragon herself. An adventure for really enjoy the fruits of their labors, 101 SAVE MY GAME 25th-level PCs. they receive a strange summons from By Stephen Radney-MacFarland Brindol. This summons will send them on an adventure that will dramatically 91 SUMMER’S END shape the coming conflict in Elsir Vale . By Bill Slavicsek and possibly have even more significant repercussions in the near future. Get a first glimpse at the Dungeon Delve An adventure for 7th-level PCs. supplement, releasing in February, 2009, with this delve-style adventure. A delve for 18th-level PCs. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, DUNGEON, DRAGON, d20, d20 System, Wizards of the Coast, all other Wizards of the Coast prod- uct names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., in the U.S.A. and other countries. TM This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental. Printed in the U.S.A. ©2008 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without written permission. For more DUNGEONS & DRAGONS articles, adventures, and information, visit www.wizards.com/dnd TM EDITORIAL 160 PPushush ‘em‘em RealReal GoodGood DUNGEON November 2008 When it comes to the pace of a game, DMs like to think they’re in control. After all, a DM can Editor-in-Chief Chris Youngs change the course of a session at any time with but a word. But in reality, when it comes to the hour to hour flow of the game, the PCs often set the pace. Senior Art Director Stacy Longstreet Web Specialist Chris Sims w Web Production Bart Carroll, Steve Winter How do players take this power out of the DM’s hands? That’s right, don’t let ‘em rest. Have a breathless NPC By resting. Sure, 4th Edition is better about this than show up and ask for their immediate help. Start a skill Contributing Authors Logan Bonner, Ari Marmell, previous editions. As a rule, you don’t have wizards challenge. Or just send in a fresh wave of bad guys. Stephen Radney-MacFarland, or clerics telling the group to rest after a single fight Rodney Thompson, James Wyatt anymore. Most balanced groups can make it through Chris Perkins is a master of the push. In fact, he’s used five or six fights before they need to rest, often more if it dozens of times in his campaigns, often when the Developers Mike Mearls, Stephen Radney- they’re particularly skilled—or they get hot hands with PCs felt genuinely deserving of rest. I can remember MacFarland, Peter Schaefer their dice. the party wizard telling the group he’s down to 1st- and Editors Scott Fitzgerald Gray, 2nd-level spells, plus maybe a couple of wands, and Miranda Horner, Gary Sarli But 4th Edition still has some nonrenewable resources, Chris dropping us into a big fight. And then another most importantly daily powers and healing surges. one. And then another. We found creative ways to Cover Artist William O’Connor Still, I’ve yet to really see dailies prevent a group from contribute, even if we were out of spells. We scoured Contributing Artists Rob Alexander, Jason A. Engle, pressing on. No, what seems to stop most groups is the Player’s Handbook for tactics (Aid Another!) and our William O’Connor, Sam Wood when one or more characters run out of surges. I saw character sheets for something—anything—that could this happening last week in my game, and as the group help (“What if I take this sunrod and…”). And we rose Cartographers Kyle Hunter, Sean Macdonald, started to debate whether to stop and rest or push on to the challenge, every time. And those were some Mike Schley (they’re on a bit of a time crunch, or I don’t think it of the best, most memorable fights of all, precisely Publishing Production Specialists Angelika Lokotz, Erin Dorries, would have even been a debate), it got me thinking. because we weren’t at our best. Christopher Tardiff Man, it’s fun when you can push a group of PCs past So last week, when my group debated on whether to Web Development Mark A. Jindra their comfort limits. I think that in many groups, the rest after two characters spent their last healing surges D&D Creative Manager Christopher Perkins first PC who drops to a couple surges calls “Uncle!” and (and one of them at less than full hit points), I decided sends the rest of the party out of the dungeon. If you’re to push. The NPC accompanying them, himself almost Executive Producer, a DM, this can be frustrating. Maybe the very next bloodied, told them they needed to continue. That the D&D Insider Ken Troop encounter is the last one in a long adventure, and it’s safety of the region depended on it. And with that, they Director of RPG R&D Bill Slavicsek going to be anticlimactic if you have to stop and wait kicked in the next door, to be continued this week. while all your players refresh their character sheets after taking an extended rest. Or maybe, as in my case, I can’t wait to see what happens. there’s supposed to be a time crunch, and the PCs are supposed to feel some pressure to continue. When the group suddenly stops because the wizard wants his spent sleep power back, all I want to say is, Special Thanks “Gah! Are you adventurers, or chumps?!” If this has Richard Baker, Greg Bilsland, Logan Bonner, Michele Carter, happened to you, then I have one word for you: Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell, Jeremy Crawford, Rob Heinsoo, Peter Lee, Julia Martin, Mike Mearls, Push. Kim Mohan, David Noonan, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Peter Schaefer, Stephen Schubert, Chris Sims, Rodney Thompson, Rob Watkins, James Wyatt A KIINGNG OOFF TTHEHE TRROLLHAUNTOLLHAUNT WAARRENSRRENS SSIDEIDE TTREKREK by Logan Bonner BBeyondeyond ver the course of King of the Trollhaunt Warrens, plenty of places can tthehe lead to more adventure. You can use these encounters if your PCs are a little behind on experience or if they’ve found an area they’d like to TTrollhrollha auun t oexplore. The first two encounters can be dropped into other adventures easily. illustrations by Sam Wood ✦ cartography by Kyle Hunter The third one works well if the PCs are having an easy time during the raid on Moonstair and need a little more pressure to feel challenged. TM & © 2008 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All rights reserved. November 2008 | DUNGEON 160 4 BeyondBeyond tthehe TrollhauntTTrollhrollh aunntt AADVENTUREDVENTURE BBACKGROUNDACKGROUND The background for these encounters is in P1: King of the Trollhaunt Warrens. All these encounters occur in places onto which the DM was meant to build. AADVENTUREDVENTURE SSYNOPSISYNOPSIS This Side Trek consists of four encounters. ✦ The first encounter has the PCs face drow and bladerager troll enforcers who have abducted eladrin from Celduilon. This encounter takes place in one of the many troll ruins within the Trollhaunt. It includes ties to adventure P2: Demon Queen’s Enclave. ✦ The second encounter is set in one of the pas- sageways that branches off from the map of the Trollhaunt Warrens. In a steamy cavern that opens up around the water-filled passageway, galeb duhr and redspawn firebelchers dwell. Even trolls refuse to enter this secluded cavern. ✦ Amid the chaos of the raid on Moonstair, trolls wreck a sailing ship into the town. In the third encounter, they begin their rampage, using the wreckage as a weapon. ✦ The last encounter can take place after the adventure, inside the abandoned fomorian fortress of Mross-Kagg. A band of traitorous drow and their duped cyclops companions set up a shrine to Orcus in the ruined fomorian fortress. This It's dark inside. You hear the sound of deep encounter can serve as an adventure hook for Demon Queen’s Enclave. breathing, like a large beast might make . November 2008 | DUNGEON 160 5 BeyondBeyond tthehe TrollhauntTrollhaunt EENCOUNTERNCOUNTER 11:: Setup 2 Bladerager Troll Enforcers (B) Level 12 Brute Large natural humanoid XP 700 each DDWELLERSWELLERS IINN TTHEHE RRUINSUINS This encounter can take place in any of the ruins Initiative +10 Senses Perception +9 within the Trollhaunt (described in Adventure Book HP 151; Bloodied 75 Encounter Level 11 (3,200 XP) One, pages 8–9).