The Dwarvenhold Campaign

Geography

Domain Name: Deep Root This is the region of the underdark in which you live. It includes areas of dwarf, drow and deep gnome control. A domain is the equivalent of an island.

City-State: DwarvenHold DwarvenHold is the name of the city-state of the mountain dwarves. It includes mines, giant caverns with conventional buildings, and dwellings built along caverns that dig deep into the surrounding area. Dwarvenhold feeds itself on miles of cavern-corrals, caves used for fungus cultivation. There are also multiple lakes stocked with cave fish.

Dwarvenhold is formed in concentric circles. The innermost circle, called the Great Hall, is a giant cavern with conventional buildings. The center of the Great Hall is The Courtyard, a vast cavern where the king holds his audience. A giant stalactite lies in the center of the cavern and reaches nearly to the ceiling, hundreds of feet above. The stalactite has been hollowed out and used as the seat of power for the city-state.

Many younger dwarves live in the Courtyard, preferring its new style of dwarven architecture and constant activity. Many of these dwarves live in apartments carved into the cavern walls. The apartments extend nearly a hundred feet up from the surface.

Concentric circles of caverns extend out from The Courtyard. Those with wealth and power tend to live in inner circles, while outer circles are used for mining, poorer housing and military outposts. The farther away from The Great Hall, the more dangerous it is.

There are well established routes, considered roads within the kingdom, as well as private caverns and routes that are off limits to those who don't belong. A main cavern route leads from the Great Hall to main underdark thoroughfares. Five concentric roads circle Dwarvenhold. These underground roads are public to dwarves, but not outsiders. Rune circles protect Dwarvenhold, with Dwarven Holdfast Rings protecting many intersections. Demographics

Name: Dwarvenhold - level 7: 2 - level 1: 24 Type: Large city - level 5: 2 Sorcerer (total: 12) Gold piece limit: 21,225 - level 4: 4 - level 6: 1 gp - level 3: 4 - level 5: 1 Population: 21,465 - level 2: 12 - level 3: 1 Total wealth: - level 1: 31 - level 2: 3 22,773,352 gp Druid (total: 10) - level 1: 6 Constable: Fighter level - level 6: 1 Wizard (total: 30) 15 - level 5: 1 - level 10: 2 Full-time guards: 214 - level 3: 1 - level 6: 1 Conscriptable - level 2: 2 - level 5: 3 individuals: 1,073 - level 1: 5 - level 3: 4 Fighter (total: 125) - level 2: 6 Power Centers - level 13: 1 - level 1: 15 1. lawful good monarchy - level 10: 2 Adept (total: 125) (dwarven defender) - level 6: 2 - level 13: 1 - distrusts lawful good - level 5: 4 - level 10: 2 cleric - level 3: 4 - level 6: 2 - allied with half of clan - level 2: 8 - level 5: 4 council - level 1: 104 - level 3: 4 2. lawful good cleric Monk (total: 6) - level 2: 8 (magical) - level 5: 1 - level 1: 104 - is indifferent toward - level 3: 1 Aristocrat (total: 125) monarchy - level 2: 1 - level 11: 2 - allied with half of clan - level 1: 3 - level 10: 1 council Paladin (total: 45) - level 5: 6 3. true neutral clan - level 12: 1 - level 2: 12 council (conventional) - level 10: 2 - level 1: 104 - factions split on - level 6: 2 Expert (total: 661) supporting monarchy and - level 5: 4 - level 19: 1 clergy - level 3: 4 - level 16: 1 - level 2: 8 - level 15: 1 - level 1: 24 - level 9: 2 Class Breakdown Ranger (total: 22) - level 8: 2 Barbarian (total: 6) - level 10: 1 - level 7: 2 - level 5: 1 - level 6: 1 - level 4: 8 - level 3: 1 - level 5: 1 - level 3: 4 - level 2: 1 - level 3: 3 - level 2: 16 - level 1: 3 - level 2: 5 - level 1: 624 Bard (total: 6) - level 1: 11 Warrior (total: 1,069) - level 5: 1 Rogue (total: 45) - level 16: 1 - level 3: 1 - level 15: 1 - level 15: 1 - level 2: 1 - level 12: 1 - level 14: 1 - level 1: 3 - level 11: 1 - level 8: 2 Cleric (total: 60) - level 7: 2 - level 7: 4 - level 17: 1 - level 6: 2 - level 4: 4 - level 15: 1 - level 5: 2 - level 3: 8 - level 10: 1 - level 3: 8 - level 2: 8 - level 8: 2 - level 2: 4 - level 1: 1,040 History of Dwarvenhold

3524 Years Ago: King Markas, a great preserver of Dwarven society and expert weaponsmith, founded Dwarvenhold. With the city established, King Markas crafted his masterpiece, a forge with the runes of each clan elder carved upon it. This magical forge, dubbed The Forge of Marcus, is said to hold the hope of the dwarves of Dwarvenhold, and many of the weapons that defend the city-state were crafted upon it and were made to be the bane of the kingdoms enemies.

40 Years Ago: A powerful lich unleashed an undead horde against Dwarvenhold. The horde was fought back, mostly through the efforts of many priests of Moradin that destroyed much of the undead. The lich was not destroyed. His lair, said to be a large ziggurat, was rumored to be deep in drow territory, although it was unlikely he was allied with them. Rune circles have since been created within Dwarvenhold to prevent entrance of undead.

19 Years Ago: Drow invade Dwarvenhold. Many dwarves and drow perished in the attack, but ultimately the drow were repelled and an uneasy peace followed. However, the Forge of Marcus disappeared during the attack, and the dwarves have not forgotten this slight. The drow claim not to know of its theft and spells seem to confirm this.

3 Years Ago. After years of incursions, the drow city of Gloomveil and Dwarvenhold agreed on a treaty to prevent further violence. Drow houses Cadryene and Sorathin met with the Dwarvenhold High Council and came up with a plan that requires the dwarves to leave certain areas of the underdark in exchange for mineral rights along a rich area of drow territory.

The dwarven elders were happy for the additional rights, but the younger dwarves were angry. Many young settlers were forced to leave their homes, either returning to live with their families, or in the case of a small minority, becoming somewhat rootless adventurers.

In the treaty meetings, the identity and location of the lich who launched an attack on Dwarvenhold was revealed. Kelborn Selbri lives within what is now drow territory. To avoid

further hostilities, the drow forbid the dwarves from attacking him.

Your Life The people of Dwarvenhold live deep within the earth. They used to know the outside world, but war has forced them ever deeper into the earth and now they have no contact with the surface world. At one time the surface was ruled by lizard men. The lizard men used beast men thralls as slaves to build their kingdom. Eventually the beast men rebelled and destroyed the lizard men, forming their own empires.

The empires of men were constantly at war, and dwarves were not welcome. First the dwarves stayed in their underground realm. Then the men began digging below the earth, desecrating it for their own sinister purposes. The dwarves dug even deeper until the chaos of the surface was no longer a threat.

Now the vile creatures of the surface no longer bother the dwarves. Instead, threats come from below. Deep below the earth is the Underdark, a realm as alive and active as the surface world.

In the Underdark the dwarves have new threats. This time the dwarves must fight for survival against the deceitful drow and the twisted svirfneblin (deep gnomes). These are the dwarves’ immediate neighbors, although many other threats exist.

Other threats inhabit the depths; horrible abominations, along with far off empires of Duergar (dark dwarves) and Kuo Toa. However, the drow and svirfneblin are the dwarves’ closest neighbors, and although they are not on friendly terms, there is an uneasy truce based on a balance of power.

Unlike the world above, where one may walk from one kingdom to another. The Underdark is a series of discrete domains that may or may not connect to each other. A domain is a collection of locales among which underground travel is reasonably easy. Multiple locales in the same domain are connected via tunnel systems. Cities in the same domain are likely to engage in diplomacy, trade and warfare. Your current domain consists of cities of dwarves, drow and svirfneblin. There are also vast complexes of structures built by the lizard men and men who built empires above the dwarven cities. These are easy to access although the practice is frowned upon.

Deepwarden Prestige Class

While clanwardens guard dwarf cities and clanholds as a last line of defense, deepwardens serve as a living early warning system against threats from both the environment and other creatures. Deepwardens are typically adventurers or retired dwarf militia members who wish to explore the depths of the earth. They travel deep underground and survive on their own, far from civilization. There they search for new resources, threats, or other interesting findings, and send reports back to their city comrades.

Deepwardens are considered the first line of defense against invasions or other threats, and as such they must be both physically hardy and able to survive in the wilderness for an extended period. A warden's first duty is to find out the nature of any threats to the community, then stay alive long enough to make sure his city is warned and can prepare. If a dwarf can meet these criteria, whether through magic or might, he is welcomed among the deepwardens.

Unlike most dwarf NPCs, a deepwarden spends most of his time away from other dwarves and far from dwarf communities. Many join with adventurers for a time as patrons or guides. Dwarven lore is full of tales of deepwardens who saved a group of lost or imprisoned surface adventurers.

Adaptation: The deepwarden prestige class has many class features suitable for any class whose members spend a long time away from civilization yet still need to communicate with it. Animal messenger, sending, and greater animal messenger would be appropriate class features for other prestige classes that focus on long-range reconnaissance, whether above the ground or below.

Hit Die: d12.

Requirements

To qualify to become a deepwarden, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Race: Dwarf.

Base Attack Bonus: +5.

Skills: Climb 5 ranks, Heal 5 ranks, Jump 5 ranks, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 5 ranks, Survival 5 ranks.

Feat: Endurance.

Class Skills The deepwarden's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Search (Int), Speak Language (n/a), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), and Use Rope (Dex). See Chapter 4 of the Player's Handbook for skill descriptions.

Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the deepwarden.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Deepwardens are proficient with all types of simple and martial weapons, all types of armor, and shields (except tower shields).

Track: A deepwarden gains Track as a bonus feat.

Trap Sense (Ex): A deepwarden has an intuitive sense that alerts him to danger from traps, giving him a +1 bonus on Reflex saves made to avoid traps and a +1 dodge bonus to AC against attacks made by traps. These bonuses increase by 1 at every three deepwarden levels thereafter (4th, 7th, and 10th). Trap sense bonuses gained from multiple classes stack.

Stone Warden (Ex): Beginning at 2nd level, a deepwarden knows how to use his strengths to compensate for his weaknesses. He adds his Constitution bonus to AC instead of his Dexterity, if the character's Constitution bonus is higher. The deepwarden loses this bonus to his Armor Class whenever he would normally be denied his Dexterity bonus to AC. In such a situation, the deepwarden would still be considered flat-footed.

Animal Messenger (Sp): From 3rd level on, a deepwarden can compel a Tiny animal to carry a message to his allies at a spot he designates. This ability functions as the animal messenger spell (see page 198 of the Player's Handbook), with a caster level equal to the deepwarden's class level.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Starting at 4th level, a deepwarden gains the ability to react to danger before his senses would normally allow him to do so. He retains his Dexterity bonus (if any, or his Constitution bonus, if it's higher) to AC even if he is caught flat- footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, he still loses his Dexterity (or Constitution) bonus to AC if immobilized.

If a character gains uncanny dodge from a different class (a deepwarden with at least four levels of rogue, for example), he automatically gains improved uncanny dodge (see below) instead. Stubborn Mind (Ex): Starting at 5th level, a deepwarden has a mental resistance to outside influences. If a deepwarden with the stubborn mind ability is affected by an enchantment spell or effect and fails his saving throw, he can attempt it again 1 round later at the same DC. He gets only this one extra chance to succeed on his saving throw. This ability also works against a mind flayer's mind blast attack.

Sending (Sp): Beginning at 6th level, a deepwarden can contact a particular creature with which he is familiar and send a short message of twenty-five words or less. This ability functions as the sending spell (see page 275 of the Player's Handbook), with a caster level equal to the deepwarden's class level.

Swift Tracker (Ex): Beginning at 7th level, a deepwarden can move at his normal speed while following tracks without taking the normal -5 penalty. He takes only a -10 penalty (instead of the normal -20) when moving at up to twice normal speed while tracking.

Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 8th level and higher, a deepwarden can no longer be flanked; he can react to opponents on opposite sides of him as easily as he can react to a single attacker. This defense denies a rogue the ability to sneak attack the deepwarden by flanking him, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue levels than the target has deepwarden levels.

If a character already has uncanny dodge (see above) from a different class, the character automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead, and the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum level a rogue must be to flank the character.

Greater Animal Messenger (Sp): At 9th level, a deepwarden gains the greater animal messenger ability. This functions as the animal messenger ability (see above), except the deepwarden can use an animal of up to Small size as his messenger.

Table 5-5: The Deepwarden

Base Attack Fort Ref Will Level Bonus Save Save Save Special 1st 1 2 0 2 Track, trap sense +1 2nd 2 3 0 3 Stone warden 3rd 3 3 1 3 Animal messenger 4th 4 4 1 4 Trap sense +2, uncanny dodge 5th 5 4 1 4 Stubborn mind 6th 6 5 2 5 Sending 7th 7 5 2 5 Swift tracker, trap sense +3 8th 8 6 2 6 Improved uncanny dodge 9th 9 6 3 6 Greater animal messenger

New Dwarf Feats

Earth Adept [General]

You are in tune with the ground at your feet, making you more dangerous in the shifting conditions of combat.

Prerequisites: Con 13, Wis 13, Earth Sense.

Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus on weapon damage rolls if both you and your foe are touching the ground.

Earth Sense [General]

You are in tune with the earth beneath you.

Prerequisites: Con 13, Wis 13.

Benefit: As long as you are touching the ground, you can take a move action to sense the number of creatures within 20 feet that are also touching the ground and the direction to each one. You cannot pinpoint the location of any creature with this feat.

Special: Creatures with the air or aquatic subtype may not select this feat.

Heavy Armor Optimization [General]

You have trained extensively in heavy armor, and you have learned to take advantage of the protection it offers.

Prerequisites: Armor Proficiency (heavy), base attack bonus +4.

Benefit: When you are wearing heavy armor, lessen the armor check penalty of the armor by 1 and increase the armor bonus by 1.

Special: A fighter may select Heavy Armor Optimization as one of his fighter bonus feats (see page 38 of the Player's Handbook).

Reckless Rage [General]

You are considered extreme even among other barbaric warriors, and you enter a deeper state of rage than others. Goliath barbarians favor this feat.

Prerequisites: Con 13, rage ability.

Benefit: Whenever you activate your rage ability, you take an additional -2 penalty to your Armor Class, but you gain an additional +2 bonus to Strength and Constitution. These bonuses and penalties stack with the effects of rage, greater rage, and mighty rage.