Iron Circle Mercenaries Are Plundering the Land
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Credits NTRODUCTION Design I Richard Baker Reavers of Harkenwold™ is a two-part DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® Additional Design and Development adventure set in the Nentir Vale, a region introduced in Christopher Perkins the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Fantasy Roleplaying Game. The first half of the adventure takes the characters from 2nd to Editing Reavers of Harken- M. Alexander Jurkat, Christopher Perkins 3rd level and is presented in this book. wold Part 2: The Die Is Cast contains the second half of the D&D Creative Manager adventure, which is designed to take characters from 3rd Christopher Perkins to 4th level. Design Manager Reavers of Harken wold pits the heroes against the Iron James Wyatt Circle, a company of cruel mercenaries that has seized Development Manager control of the small land of Harken wold. In this adven- Andy Collins ture, the heroes become daring rebels and lead the folk of Harken wold against their oppressors. Director of RPG R&D Bill Slavicsek Harken wold is a small barony in the southeast reach of the Nentir Vale. Several tiny hamlets and a number of Art Direction steadings (isolated farms) are scattered across the broad Kate Irwin, Jon Schindehette dale of the White River. The great Harken Forest sur- Graphic Design rounds the realm, isolating it from the lands nearby. In Leon Cortez better times, this quiet backwater contently avoids major Illustrations trouble. Adam Gillespie, Ben Wootten At present, Iron Circle mercenaries are plundering the land. Baron Stockmer, the rightful lord, is a prisoner in his Cartographers Jason A. Engle, Mike Schley own keep, and a villainous lord named Nazin Redthorn rules in his place. The Harken wold folk are down to their Publishing Production Specialists last hope—that brave heroes will answer their calls for help Angelika Lokotz, Erin Dorries and break the Iron Circle. Prepress Manager Jefferson Dunlap Adventure Background Imaging Technician Lord Vhennyk and his mysterious Iron Circle mercenaries Carmen Cheung came to the Nentir Vale from the southern city of Sarthel Production Manager Sampleroughly file two months ago. Their mission: Bring the Nentir Cynda Callaway Vale to heel. Vhennyk decided that overt operations would DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, WIZARDS OF THE COAST, Dungeon Master’s Kit, start in the relatively isolated Barony of Harken wold, a col- Monster Vault, Reavers of Harkenwold , all other Wizards of the Coast product lection of hamlets scattered over fifty miles of the upper names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries. All Wizards characters, and the White River valley. He tasked his subordinate, a brigand distinctive likenesses thereof are property of Wizards of the Coast LLC. captain named Nazin Redthorn, with seizing the region, This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork then hurried on to implement his other plans for the Vale. contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of About six weeks ago, Nazin led a large band of Iron Wizards of the Coast LLC. Circle mercenaries into Harken wold in a surprise attack. Printed in China The brigands stormed Harken Keep and took Baron Stock- ©2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC 300-24464000-001-EN mer captive. Iron Circle sweeps and raids soon quelled ISBN: 978-0-7869-5630-2 any show of resistance, leaving Harken wold a conquered Visit our website at DungeonsandDragons.com land. The new bandit “authorities” are pillaging Harken- wold through “tolls” and confiscations, harshly punishing anyone who resists. Nazin is further strengthening his hold by negotiating with other malignant forces. In par- ticular, he’s used some of the loot he’s plundering from Harken wold’s suffering populace to buy the friendship of a group of odious bullywugs (a race of bipedal frog people). 2 300_24464000_DM_Kit_Adv1.indd 2 4/15/10 3:05 PM In the climactic challenge of the adventure, the heroes ADVENTURE SYNOPSIS infiltrate Iron Keep (encounters K1 through K7). With The adventurers have a truly heroic challenge ahead of fortune on their side, they strive to free Baron Stockmer, them: the liberation of an oppressed land. defeat the remaining Iron Circle soldiers, and kill or cap- Reavers of Harken wold is split into two parts, each ture Nazin Redthorn. Their heroic efforts bring freedom to part contained within its own 32-page adventure book. Harken wold once again! Although the story’s outcome hinges on the actions of the player characters, the adventure will likely unfold as follows. USING THIS Part 1: The Iron Circle ADVENTURE Reavers of Harken wold can be played as a follow-up to “The On the outskirts of Harken wold, the adventurers encounter USING THIS ADVENTURE DUNGEONS & a band of Iron Circle marauders threatening a farmhouse. Twisting Halls” adventure presented in the DRAGONS Fantasy Roleplaying Game They intervene and rescue the widow Ilyana and her sons . The player characters (encounter E1). Ilyana tells the heroes about Harkenwold’s should be 2nd level when they start this adventure and at troubles and begs them to help end this evil. She directs least 4th level by its conclusion. the heroes to the nearby village of Albridge and two key The adventure has the following components: Reavers of Harken wold Part 1: The Iron Circle figures in Harken wold’s growing resistance: a retired (this book) adventurer named Dar Gremath and the druid Reithann. provides an overview of Harken wold and encounters that Dar Gremath is keen to deal with isolated Iron Circle pit the heroes against the Iron Circle and its allies. The detachments. He suggests certain targets, among them encounters are split into three major sections: Events (E), a supply caravan (encounters E2 and E3). For her part, the Toadwallow Caverns (T), and the sanctuary at Dal Reithann advises the heroes to strike at the Toadwallow Nystiere (D). Reavers of Harken wold Part Caverns, the lair of a bullywug tribe allied to the Iron The second adventure book, 2: The Die Is Cast Circle (encounters T1 through T3). If the heroes defeat , contains the second half of the adven- the bullywugs, the rebels in western Harken wold are free ture, with encounters divided into two major sections: the to bring the fight to the Iron Circle. Regardless of which Battle of Albridge (B) and Iron Keep (K). option they pick, the adventurers can return to the other The adventure comes with two foldout battle maps quest whenever they want. depicting key encounter locations. The battle maps are Cleaning out the Toadwallow or raiding the Iron Circle designed for use with cardboard tokens or plastic min- brings the adventurers to Nazin Redthorn’s attention iatures, but they don’t encompass every encounter in and convinces him that they are a serious threat. He dis- the adventure. For encounters that the battle maps don’t patches strong patrols to hunt them down (encounterSample E4). cover, file you can either draw the maps for your players using The defeat of one of these strike forces emboldens freedom wet-erase markers and a blank battle map (available for fighters throughout the region. purchase at your local hobby store), or you can build the D&D® Dungeon Tiles Heartened by the adventurers’ aid, the people of maps using . Reavers of Harken wold Harken wold prepare for battle against the invaders. The includes many villains and mon- leaders of the resistance ask the heroes to contact the sters, tokens for which can be found in this box or the Monster Vault™ Woodsingers, a clan of elves living in the Harken Forest boxed set. south of Harken wold (encounter D1). To gain the aid of the elves, the adventurers must defeat the evil lurking in the Getting Started wizard sanctuary of Dal Nystiere (encounters D2 through Read this book first, and familiarize yourself with the D4). Accomplishing the quest concludes this part of the overall structure of the adventure. You won’t need to look adventure. at the adventure book for Reavers of Harken wold Part 2: The Die Is Cast until you’re ready to run that part of the adven- Part 2: The Die Is Cast ture. Review the adventure outline on the next several Returning from the forest with Woodsinger warriors pages, particularly if you are a new DM. as allies, the adventurers learn that Nazin Redthorn See “Setting the Stage” (page 5) for ways to engage the is marching to destroy the resistance. In the Battle of characters in the story, or use them as examples to devise Albridge (encounters B1 through B4), the heroes lead the your own adventure hooks. Once everyone has gathered, Harkenwolders and their elven allies against the Iron start with encounter E1 (page 12). Circle. With hard fighting and some luck, the Iron Circle is defeated, and the surviving mercenaries retreat to Iron Keep—a stronghold too well fortified for the Harken- wolders to storm. 3 300_24464000_DM_Kit_Adv1.indd 3 4/15/10 3:05 PM REEING Chapter II. Opening Salvos The heroes F decide to take on the bullywugs or oppose the Iron Circle. HARKEN WOLD Iron Circle: If the heroes choose to take on the Iron Circle directly, Dar Gremath suggests several different To successfully overthrow the Iron Circle and restore opportunities for causing mischief. The heroes can root freedom to Harken wold, the adventuring party must out Iron Circle soldiers troubling a local village, or they accomplish at least four of the following goals: can waylay an Iron Circle supply wagon (encounters E2 and E3, pages 14–17). Most of these events take place ✦ Defeat the bullywugs of the Toadwallow Caverns.