Evil United A 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons adventure for 8th-level PCs in the Dragonlance setting Designer: Tristan Zimmerman (Zarvox) Proofreading: Simon Collins (SimonCollins) Cover Line Art: Arthur Brown Cover Colors: Leeds Sidebar Art: Psycha Durmont Playtesters: Arthur Brown, Jonathan Hughes, Justin Moor, Katie Neher, Anya Johnson, Kelson Bain, Roy Wiggins, Derek Bell, Dylan Bell, Bryan Benson, Elhan Ersoz, Veronica Lynn, Matthew Payne, Cody Summerall, Justin Troyka, and George Wheeler Special Thanks: Trampas Whiteman (Dragonhelm), Cam Banks, Chris Knapp, Bret Sheeley (Carteeg_Struve), Daniel Schroeder, and the entire fan community at DragonlanceForums.com. Some of this product was inspired or taken from other sources online intended for use by DMs. I have tried to credit what I can, but some authors are unreachable, and some others I have forgotten. If something of yours slipped through the cracks, I apologize deeply. This is an unofficial fan-developed product made for the Dragonlance Nexus to be used with the Dragonlance Campaign Setting. Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Dragonlance, D&D Insider, Wizards of the Coast, and so forth are registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. Written by Tristan Zimmerman (Zarvox) Published on the Dragonlance Nexus fansite (dlnexus.com) in August, 2010 Introduction Sessions in Mohrlexctlan Act Three - The Planes 1 - Treehouse 16 What is Evil United? 4 Outline of Act Three 66 2 - Gnolls 18 What happens in Evil United? 4 Act Three - First Half of First Session 66 3 - Maze 20 How does session progression work? 4 1 - Great Red Tempest 68 4 - Khisanth 22 Dungeons and Dragons Insider 4 2 - Hestavar 71 Sessions in Nord Ambush Monsters 4 3 - Lightning Tower 76 1 - Colossus 25 Loot 4 4 - Mithrendain 78 2 - Clocktower 28 Difficulty 4 5 - Vale of the Long Night 79 3 - Grasslands 31 Leveling 4 6 - Sunderheart 83 Sessions in Teyr The Dragonlance Lexicon 4 Act Three - Last Session 85 Skill Challenges 5 1 - Vampires 33 Maps 2 - Flying Citadel 35 Nordmaar 93 The Villain and the PCs 3 - Art Museum 37 Act One - Last Session 39 Villain's Inside-Front Cover Map (list of The Villain: Mdetn, the One Who Walks. plots in Nordmaar) 94 6 Act Two - Ansalon and the River of Time Clocktower dungeon map 95 The PCs 6 Colossus map 96 Outline of Act Two 41 Flying Citadel map 97 Act Two - First Session 41 Act One - Nordmaar Ogre map sans guards (Far Future) 98 Sessions in Ansalon Outline of Act One 8 Ogre map with guards (Far Future) 99 Godshome 45 The plot 8 Map of the Planes (list of plots in the Teyr 49 Choosing sessions 8 planes) 100 Last part of sessions in Ansalon How many sessions? 8 Astral Godshome unlabeled 101 52 Feeding the PCs information 8 Astral Godshome labeled 102 Sessions in Time Diplomacy 8 Fall of the Ogres 53 How is Mdetn's insurgency and the Far Future 58 PC's counter-insurgency Sable's Bio Labs 61 going to work? 9 Act Two - Last Session 63 Nordmaar Geography and Culture 12 Act One - First Session 14 3 Evil United sessions on that list anyway, it doesn't affect the plot Introduction (in most cases). This may seem like a way to give the Difficulty players the illusion of control while still railroading This is not a difficult module, combat-wise. The them (and it is), but it does let the players plan out climax of Act 3 is only four levels higher than the PCs. What is Evil United? what order they want to do things, which makes for The climax of Act 2 is only three levels higher. Some Evil United is an epic, 21-session adventure that takes happier people at the table. fights in the module are even lower than the PCs' level. players from levels 8 to 16. It uses 4th edition D&D If you or your players feel like fights should be rules, and takes place in the Dragonlance setting. It is desperate, highly-tactical affairs, you might want to intended to stand alone; it operates under the Dungeons and Dragons Insider punch up the difficulty a bit. assumption that the players start playing these Dungeons and Dragons Insider (DDI) is a characters at level 8, and stop playing them at the end subscription-based service run by Wizards of the Leveling of the campaign. Coast. Evil United uses many monsters and traps (and a few other things) from DDI. Act 1 uses some rules In Evil United, leveling is based not on XP, but rather found in a Dungeon Magazine column, and Act 3 has when it is appropriate that the PCs level. The PCs will What Happens in Evil United? three sessions that are impossible to run without access level after every three sessions, and after the final In the campaign, the PCs will begin as mercenaries on to DDI. If you don't have DDI, I would urge you to get session of every act. That means leveling breaks down the peninsula of Nordmaar. They will uncover a plot to it, even if you (as I do) use a Mac. Access to the online like this: bring down the three nations of the peninsula, and Rules Compendium alone (which has all those replace them with one nation, where all races (even monsters and traps) is well worth the $6/month. Also, Act one evil ones) are equal. While this is a noble idea, it is one if you're a WotC representative, can I totally get paid Start at 8 that, in Dragonlance cosmology, will bring only death for being a corporate shill? After three sessions, level to 9 and despair. The PCs try to stop the plot, and wind up After three more sessions, level to 10, just before the trying to stop the mastermind's plots throughout climax. Nordmaar, across Ansalon, through time, and Ambush Monsters ultimately into the planes beyond. The mastermind's Evil United occasionally makes use of so-called Act two ultimate goal is to rewrite the Tobril, the book that 'ambush monsters'. These are monsters that present a Start at 11 contains the laws of the Dragonlance cosmology, so credible threat to the party, but can be defeated in only After three sessions, level to 12 that evil no longer turns on itself. While he does this a few minutes. An ambush monster uses the attacks After three more sessions, level to 13, just before the with the intent of creating a world free of prejudice (powers, ability modifiers, and skill modifiers) of a climax. monster of a much higher level than the party, but the and hatred, it will actually bring about a world Act three dominated by evil. defenses (HP, defenses, resistances, etc.) of a monster of a much lower level than the party. The point of Start at 14 After three sessions, level to 15 The campaign is very colorful, with each session ambush monsters is to provide brief excitement and threat without bogging down the session with an hour After three more sessions, level to 16 just before the featuring a different interesting location, villain-of-the- climax. week, atmosphere, and monsters. of combat that doesn't actually contribute to the plot. Loot The Dragonlance Lexicon How Does Session Progression Work? Evil United assumes the reader is familiar with the In acts one and three (and, to a lesser extent, act two), Evil United does not include any loot. I recommend letting each player pick out a new magic item of his Dragonlance setting. Fortunately, if I ever make the players get to choose at the end of each session reference to something you don't know, be it a god, a which of the villain's plots they want to combat next PC's level every time he levels up his PC. I also recommend just hand-waving money. If it's reasonable location, a historical event, or whatever, there's an session. This involves picking from a list. It gives the excellent online reference called the Dragonlance players a great deal of control over what they get to do, for the PCs to have it, they can buy it. Alternately, you can whip up some treasure troves of your own. Lexicon. Available through the Dragonlance Nexus but since they will ultimately play through most of the fansite (dlnexus.com), the Lexicon will almost Evil United 4 certainly have an article about it. rolls no longer mean much, don't abruptly finish the story ("aaaand Jon got that sixth success, so even though you're all only halfway up the cliff while being Skill Challenges pelted with arrows, you make it up the rest of the way Fourth edition D&D introduced the idea of skill without incident"). challenges, and Evil United makes full use of them. A skill challenge is a mechanic for the DM that lets him An important facet to presenting the skill challenges as present situations to his players and have a clear grasp stories is letting the players reason or roleplay them of how well the players are doing. Each skill challenge out. Often, the players will opt not to roll for requires that the PCs earn a certain number of successes, but to describe in detail how they will solve successes (rolls that make the DC) before earning a a problem, or to roleplay with the NPCs the skill certain number of failures (rolls that fail the DC). PCs challenge presents. Allow this, and count these as roll to determine their success on the actions they are successes – possibly even completing the skill taking.